Brace For It

The beginning

I hate my teeth. I really, honestly do. Everything in my life was going just fine until my teeth decided to be rebellious and were put behind bars for it. I got my braces on a year and a half ago and they are completely straight now, but of course my orthodontist wants to wait another six months before taking them off.

      My attention snaps back up to the front of the class when my name is called.
   "Leo Olsson, you really can't afford not to pay attention."
I stammer, "y-yes Mr. Daley."
He smiles. "Good, now-"
        He's interrupted by the bell ringing, signaling the end of the day. I wait outside until my mom drives up in her van to take me home from school. When we get home I sit down on the couch and start doing my math homework.

         "Leo dear, I'm going to go out for groceries. Your father should be home from the office soon." I hear my mother's shrill and excited voice from the other room. I hear the door close and the car pulling out of the driveway, and I know I'm home free. I pick up the TV remote and run my fingers through my black hair. Let's see what's up with the news.
         The news reporter, Lana Smith, is screaming about an explosion at a gas station a couple cities away. Wow, that sounds serious, hope everyone there is ok.
      Suddenly some guys in the back of her report are yelling at her to leave, and the camera cuts off. And lord, that explosion was like a lions roar, you could hear it from five miles away.

     I recently got my driver's license, so I hop in my car and drive to where the explosion took place, out of pure curiosity. I get to the parking lot of the gas station, and I see people! Well, sort of people. They have grey, wrinkly bodies, and where their eyes should be, there are only sockets. I back up before they see me, and pull into a random yard. I turn on my radio and the man says, "the victims of the explosion at the Jiffy Quick gas station  weren't injured by the fire, but a new chemical they were putting in the gasoline causes an extreme illness in anyone who comes in contact with it. Experts are calling this disease 'Hades' Mutation' because not even the devil himself could create something so ugly."
Great, so these things are zombies. Fantastic.