The End

Chapter 2 - Loss

   I screamed, and the thing eating my daddy looked up at me. It growled and put down the part of him it was chewing. I was hysterical, there were tears running down my face and I was terrified. My father was long dead, the man who taught me everything; but I knew that I couldn't just stand there and mourn him yet. I had to do something.

   "M-mommy! Please!" I shouted. It wasn't even actually words that I was yelling, because I could hardly even speak. I was sobbing, but I remembered Sammy and how she left to go help people and I tried to be strong. "Mommy!" I screamed again. It was then that it occurred to me; either my mother escaped the house, or was eaten just like my father. She could be dead. Even Sammy could be dead now. For the first time in my life, I was alone.

   Well, not entirely. The thing was now starting to get up, and began to walk towards me. It was a person, definitely. One of the sick people. But when I looked at it, there was no life. Nothing in its eyes, nothing that deemed it a human being. Sure, it could eat, breathe, and move, but the thing I was looking at was not living. It was not a sick person; it was a dead one.

    My mind was racing desperately as I tried to figure out what to do. I didn't know anything, I was just a scared little girl.

   What would Sammy do? What would Sammy do?

   It repeated itself over and over in my head. The thing walked slowly, and I backed out of the room and towards the next one over:  Sammy's. I slammed the door shut and stood against it, thinking and thinking and thinking. I have to kill it, I thought.

   I looked around, wondering how I could kill something that was already dead. I mean, I didn't know for sure that it was. Maybe it really was sick, maybe it wasn't a person at all. But I knew it had to die. I felt the thing against the door and began getting frantic. I started thinking back on what Sammy had said about her science classes, and what I had learned as well. I remembered that the heart keeps people alive. The chest. I'd go for the chest.

   I felt pounding at the door again, even harder. I looked around the room once more, and I saw Sammy's baseball bat from
when she played. So I let go of the door and ran to the bat.

    When I turned around, it was there growling and groaning. A few more tears slid down my cheeks.

   Be brave, I told myself. And with that, I swung as hard as I could at its chest.

   It backed away when I hit it, but it barely even affected him. It grabbed me, mouth wide open trying to bite. I kicked it and slipped away, but knew it wouldn't stop.

   What do I do know? I was beginning to really panic, and then I remembered my father. When he talked about the disease, he always said something about brain stems.

   The thing got closer, and I swung at it again. And again. And again, until I was in the right spot to really attack. I realized, this is the thing that killed my father. And once more, I swung so hard that I thought that bat would fly out of my hands.

   When I made contact with the thing's head, it automatically crumbled. It fell down and just stopped. I could see its brain, and I noticed how thin and rare its skin was. I took the bat with me, and left the room shaking.

–

I walked toward the office, and to my horror heard the growling noise again. No, I thought to myself. Please.

   I stopped at the end of the wall and peered in. All I saw was my father's annihilated body. I walked in slowly and cautiously. I felt the tears coming again, and a loud, broken sob came out as well.

   The noise was coming from my daddy. He was one of them. The things. His arms were flailing, but he couldn't get up nor reach me.

   "Daddy..." I cried. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I love you!" I was screaming, now. "Please! Come back!" I yelled. I just sat there, staring at the thing that was once my father.

   "Lexie? Lexie!" I heard in the background. "Lexie, listen to me." The voice was sobbing, too. I turned around and saw my sister, covered in blood.

   "S-sammy?" I cried. "Sammy, what happened! You said we were safe!" I screamed.

   "I know, Lex. We have to go." she whispered.

   "No! No! What about daddy? Where's mommy? We can't go!" I shouted some more.

   "Lexie, daddy's gone. Did you... did you see the thing? The, uh, sick person?" she asked me.

   "Yes! I killed it, Sammy! You need to get the head! It still has a brain!" I yelled, still crying. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't.

   "Yeah, I know. So, I need you to step out of the office for a minute. Just a minute." Sammy told me. The growling was getting louder.

  "But, why?" I shakily asked. To be honest, I don't think I wanted to know the answer.

   "Well, Daddy isn't Daddy anymore, Lex. He's one of the things." Sammy said, tears streaming down her face.

   "I-I know. So... oh. Sammy, you can't. You can't kill him." I was sobbing again. He wouldn't stop groaning.

   "No, Lexie. It's... it's not him anymore. Just go stand outside with the bat. Please, Lex. We have to get out of here. We need to hurry." she said, bawling. "We just... we have to go." I could hear the pain in her voice.

   I stood up, and I couldn't bare to look at the 'thing'. I still thought it was my father. I knew then that Sammy was right. We had to get away.

   I heard Sammy crying. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I love you." And then, the growling stopped. She came out with her knife covered in blood and said, "Come on, Lexie. Let's go find Mom."