Follow Me

Prologue

Breathe. I need to breathe.

We're in an open field of wheat. Wheat as far as the eye can see. Trees line the edges of the wheat field. The sky is the perfect hue of blue. It's a scene that would have used to be considered beautiful, but not any more. Beauty doesn't matter in this world. It's not significant

I try sucking in as much air as my lungs will allow. A diminutive amount of air actually makes it through my clenched teeth, but doesn't satisfy my need for oxygen. I'm running too hard to grasp onto any sort of relief.

I glance to my side to make sure Jesse is still beside me. My insides shriek when I notice he's slowing down considerably.

"Jesse, you have to hurry, they are right behind us," I shout at him, trying to urge my baby brother to run faster. I look behind him and see the zombies gaining on us.

"Shit Jesse, put your ass in gear and get moving!" I say frantically, turning back forward and pushing myself to go faster.  I hear him grunt in response.

"Where are they, Asia?" He asks, his voice sounding closer to me. "They're supposed to be here." I look at our surroundings and look for any sign of the boys.

Where are they? Are they okay? Did something happen to them? I immediately start assuming the worst.

If they don't show up soon, we're screwed.

Suddenly a horde of zombies appear in front of us, coming from the trees to our left. We skid to an abrupt stop and recalculate our escape route. My muscles sigh in relief and gratefully rest briefully. I finally find an open space and make a break for it. Jesse's pounding footsteps behind me reassure me that I'm not alone and that he sees it too.

Zombies are all around us. They're surrounding him and me.

“Asia, we're not gunna make it." I ignore Jesse and press on harder. There's always a way. There's always a way.

The Munchers are getting closer. I don't give up.

You can cut the tension my brother is giving off with a knife. He's scared, not that he'all admit it. I slow down slightly and match his pace. I grasp his hand with mine and pull him to run faster.

Almost there. . . Twenty more feet. . .

Jesse starts to slow down again.

Fifteen feet. . .

I start to slow down. My body's giving up.

Ten feet. . .

I start getting light headed. No oxygen. Must breathe.

Five feet. . .

My foot snags on something and I start falling. My head hits something hard and then. . .

Darkness. . .