Beware the living

Chapter 1 "Here we stand"

Two months.
It's been two godforsaken months since the outbreak.
We don't know what caused this even though our group has some theories none of us acctually know what happend.

We all experienced it differentlly.
Me and Jack for instance, Jack lost his parents that day.
But we were able to save Sarah his litlle sister who's six years old.
The poor child has no idea what is going on. To think she wont have a childhood like ours is making me sad.
She's going to grow up in a world where survival is needed,you have to be brave and if you're not then well you might as well just walk into a hoard of those things.
We call them the infected, Vic calls them zombies but for me zombies are creatures that are slow and dumb who's skin rot. These things aren't zombies, they are fast and gain intelligence the longer they live. They don't speak or understand us, all they want is to eat. They are the most horryfing things I've ever seen. Their teeth it's like they grow an extra row of shark like teeth.
Their nosses completly rot away but the rest of their skin is well preserved just real pale. Besides that they look pretty human. Infected are often mistaken for one of our own. thats why we never take a risk anymore and just back away from any sign of life.
No humanity is left in them. One of them looked me in the eyes once. Jack and Sarah were trying to get me out of a couple of beams that fell on me when we tried to escape from an infected. When I heard that the thing was getting in I convinced Jack and Sarah to go, they didn't want to but adventually they gave in and ran to savety. That was a moment where I felt nothing but regret, regret that I didn't tell Jack how much he ment to me.
It was too late the infected got in and ran directlly towards me.
It was examaning me as if he was deciding where to start eating first. Then it happend, it looked me right in the eye and I only saw a reflection of myself.
My heart was raising and the thaught that seeing myself like this is the last thing I'll ever see made my stomach turn.
I accepted my fate but right when the creature launched forward to attack a shotgun fired and pieces of meat were flying all over the place. The sound the infected made almost sounded like a cry for help, for forgivness.
It was laying on it's side one arm on the big hole in his body and the other in the air like it was trying to ask to let it go.
A second shot fired and the infected was dead.
Thats the moment I met Jonathan.
He's the leader of our group, not everyone always agrees with him but he believes his ways are the best.
He reunited me with Jack and Sarah and we've been with him ever since.
Our group has expanded, there's Kate Fing she used to go to school with us. She's a martial arts black belt and one of the best snipers I have ever seen.
Then there's Cindy- and Caleb Dover twins who both faught in Afghanistan. They have already lost so many friends and Cindy recentlly lost her husband and unborn child. I don't know what keeps her going but whatever it is I hope she doesn't lose it.
Rodrik Larson used to be an accountant, he's not very usefull but he keeps count on our rations and arsenal.
He never really talks about how his life was before the outbreak, he always just changes the subject.
Boris Gillis was a simple familie man. He lost his wife and 2 kids in the first days of the outbreak. He was surviving with his oldest son Will. Will got bit and turnend within 3 days. Not able to shoot his own son Boris locked Will in the house they were hiding in and fled.
We have all seen hell.
I don't know if this is going to end.
There must be someone out there that has their shit together.
"BANG"
A loud gunshot takes me out of my thaughts.
I run out of my tent and rush towards the sound.
There I see Jack pointing his gun to a pole with someone tied to it.
When I take a closer look, that can't be it's.
It's Sarah... her hands and legs were tied together around the pole.
She was screaming and moving hystarically in all diretions.
I slowly walked towards her.

When I was about 2 meters away from her I saw a bite on her right underarm.
It all made sense now she's infected but didn't die.
Most people who get bit die because the virus is too strong and destroys you from the inside.
Infected.
Sarah is pale and her eyes lost their color.
She hasn't fully transformed yet, her teeth are still normal and her hands haven't turnend into claws yet, I guess that growing the third row of razor sharp teeth takes allot of time.
Jack is pointing his gun towards her.
When he sees me he lowers it and says," I don't know what to do Jen."
He walks towards me puts the gun in my hand and tries to say something but he starts sobbing.
"You....please I can't do this."
I look Jack in his eyes, there's nothing but defeat in his eyes.
I... I can't shoot Sarah not like this... she's just a kid.
A few seconds past but they felt like ages.
Someone needs to do this and I don't know if Jack trusts me with this or that he just wants to get with this as soon as possible.
I take the gun and Jack nods and mutters," Thank you."
I put the barrel of the glock on Sarah's head, she's tied up but can't move.
Once the barrel touches her head she starts screaming and trying to escape the ropes.
Just close your eyes and pull the trigger, it's not Sarah. Sarah is gone and this thing whatever it is it isn't her! The voice in my head says.
It's not Sarah, it's not Sarah.
I close my eyes,take a deap breath and... "I'm sorry Sarah" I say under my breath.
I pull the trigger.
The shot was silenced but it still sounded like a bazooka.
A long moment of silence.
I can't look at Sarah so I turn around and open my eyes.
Everyone got out of their tents and are looking at me with disbelieve.
I look over at Jack who's looking at Sarah with no sense of emotion on his face.
He slowly walks over to her and falls down on his knees.
Cindy looks at Jack as if she knows exactlly what he's going through but the rest just looks shocked and constanly look from the gun in my hand to Sarah's body.
It wasn't Sarah. You put her out of her misery. No the voice isn't right Infected or not she was just a child and she was only six... how could I do this.