The Wasteland Chronicles

Chapter 1

Connor and Hana huddled on the sofa, and Harlow hid in the chair in fear. Horrible, inhumane screeches echoed through the apartment from the outside. A thick haze sliding through the apartment.

"We can't wait here any longer," he finally said, followed by a shaky sigh.

"Well where the hell would we go then?" questioned Hana, frowning, "We can't just run outside and hope for a miracle. We'd get torn apart by demons in seconds."

Connor sighed again, and decided to stare out of the shattered window. His body trembled in utter terror as the bone-chilling screams of what couldn't be humanoid were released into the air. He leapt from the sofa in shock, as a thud darted from the hallway into the apartment room. Hana bit her lip, and slowly turned her head to Connor. She nodded in understanding - they had to go. Connor got up and grabbed his 'Adidas' branded bag, zipping it open and moving to the kitchen. He opened the cupboards and took a few cans of beans and tuna, dumping them into the jet-black bag. Hana encouraged Harlow to get up and the two moved to the door. Once Connor finished packing the food, he slowly closed the cupboards. They made a rattling creeking sound, sending chills down Hana's spine. Connor grabed two butchers knives from the kitchen, taking one for himself and handing one to Hana.

"You never know what we'll come across out there," he whispered to Hana, so Harlow wouldn't hear.

"Fine... Are you definite about this?" she cocked an eyebrow at him, and was responded by a small nod.

"It's our only choice."

As Connor took lead, he slowly opened the door and peered out through the crack into the dark, musty corridor of the apartment block. A low growl was heard from further down, causing Connor to clench his eyes and take a deep breathe. He lead the two girls out of the apartment block and readied his butchers knive. The three crept slowly down the corridor, the damp smell filling their noses and the dim light from a shattered window lit the way. As the creature ahead of them turned, making a growling-mixed-choking noise, and sent spit darting at Connor. He briefly eyed the creature, and identified it as a zombie - with a pink, fleshy, snake-like creature wrapped tightly around it's head, and a rotting body with torn clothing. The thing on top of it they came to name a "Posessor", as it took control of humans who were unfortunate to cross it's path, and turn them into mindless slaves.

Connor yelled and sent his butchers knive flying into the neck of the zombie, and it let out a piercing scream. Harlow wailed in fear, clinging onto Hana's tight leggings as Connor continued to hack at it, until the head was decapitated. The snake-like creature ontop of the head quickly fled, slithering into the darkness of the apartment corridor. Connor bent over, panting and grunting. He shook his head in disbelief, "What the... What the fuck?" he yelled, startling the two girls.

Hana placed her hand on Connor's shoulder "You need to calm down," she said, and looked into his eyes sternly. He shook his head and looked down at the corpse in utter disgust, the maggots crawling from it's gashes and wounds in the pale skin. Harlow whimpered and stared at the commotion, unable to comprehend what had just happened. "C'mon, let's bail," Hana smiled, patting him on the back.

As they burst out of the front door, they looked around at the devastation of the city. In the distance, wrecked skyscrapers towered over cracking streets, explosions still erupted in clouds of ash and fire. The chaos in the inner-city was terrifying, to say the least. Hana clenched her fist, and sighed again. She noticed a group of hellhounds feasting on a corpse. Their feisty jaws snapped up intestines, broke bones, and gnawed on the decaying flesh. Hana gagged and looked away, tears growing in her eyes.

"This really is the end, isn't it?"

The group of three took off out to the parking lot. The entire place was abandoned and seemingly untouched. Yet the thick fog and haze that haunted the land remained, and the cars looked like they hadn't been touched for years. Connor grabbed the keys to his Nissan SUV, and they all hopped inside. With Connor driving, Hana in the passenger seat, and Harlow in the back clenching onto her teddy bear for dear life, the three were ready. Connor shook off his Adidas bag and threw it at the back seat, followed by him turning on the ignition. The SUV roared to life, as he reversed out of the parking lot and onto the main road, Hana bit her lip and stared at him. But Connor was too busy focusing: focusing on an escape.