The Walking Nightmare

Chapter One

 A warm, scratchy object brushes against my face. It feels almost like a wet toothbrush. I feel a pounding on my chest but it isn't my heart. I open my eyes to blurry vision and golden hair. Finally when I regain my ability to see I notice that what I was feeling was the tongue of my puppy licking my face. Max was jumping up and down with excitement. He's only a couple months old. My parents had just gotten him for my eighteenth birthday. The one requirement was I stay at home with them while I finish college. I agreed mainly for the fact that usually I am home alone. They work a ton and I do online school so I spend most of my time without any social interaction. Max has definitely made the house a little less empty.

"Are you hungry boy?" I ask. He stares at my blankly. "Do you gotta go potty?"

He jumps off my chest and lands on the floor stumbling over his feet. I go to make sure he's alright but before I can check on him, he jumps up and takes off running down the hall. I can hear him fumbling down the stairs, and little happy barks manage to escape his tiny mouth. Slowly I crawl out of bed. Strands of my long, blonde hair have managed to escape the loose bun I had put in the night before. I grab my pajama pants and put them on as I make my way to the door. I don't want to take Max outside in my underwear. As soon as my foot hits the hardwood floor in the hall outside my bedroom, it sends a cold chill up my spine. I press on walking down the hall and then again down the stairs. Finally I make it to the living room where there is carpet. I pull on my shoes and take Max out the front door.

Stepping out the front door I see tons of people in their cars. Which makes sense because it's a Friday and people make plans, but there is more cars than usual. When Max is done doing his business he barks to let me know he's ready to go in and eat. I take him inside and he heads straight for the bowl. I walk over to the cupboard and take out his puppy food. Max was the runt of the litter so we were told he needed one and a half cups when usually a puppy his age and size would only need one. After feeding him I head back into the living room and turn on the TV. My dad usually watches the news before work, so that's what is on first.

Before I can change the channel the lady currently reporting catches my attention. She's standing in front of a hospital in Madison which is only about 45 minutes from me. She seems scared and out of breath. I can't hear her so I turn up the volume in order to figure out what she's saying. Behind her you can hear the faint sounds of screams. Occasionally people come running out of the doors. Across the bottom of the screen are the words: Dangerous Outbreak. My heart aches because the hospital is not far from where my parents work.

"Doctor Michaels has been privately creating his own diseases down in the basement of Meriter Hospital here in Madison, Wisconsin. He had tested each of these diseases on patients either elderly or near death. That way if they had passed it wouldn't have caused suspicion. One night a patient who Michael's had thought was dead had awoken. This patient then proceeded to bite Michaels who then reported the patients weird outburst to other hospital staff. They tried sedation, but it didn't work. They then proceeded to restrain the patient in one of the hospital beds. In the process of doing so three more hospital staff had been bitten.

Each staff member reported that they had become very ill after being bitten. Fever hit and nobody knew what caused the illness or how to cure it. Each staff member then passed away later to return the same way as the patient who had bitten them. They are now on the loose causing mayhem. They are reported to look as if they are still dead, and they have been seen eating human flesh. It's as if the dead have risen and are here to kill the living. Apparently Michael's has been working with colleagues around the country and the world. This strange occurrence has been reported in each continent and more than fourteen states. The military are at work to try and prevent the situation from escalating."

Behind the reporter the doors to the hospital burst open. Hundreds of people came running out, and many of them were covered in blood. Shocked the lady on the news started trying to get people to stay put so the military could figure it out. No one was listening to her and continued to run to get away from whatever was chasing them. A man with a limp and a strange look in his eye started towards the news lady. She asked him to stay back and he growled at her. He had a bite mark on his shin and was obviously infected by the strange new illness. He grabbed the woman's arm and bit down into her shoulder. She let out a horrible scream and the cameraman panicked dropping the camera. After a few minutes of static a warning went over the screen.

"Stay calm, and lock your doors. Call your loved ones to make sure they are okay. The military is working to fix the issue," read the warning.

I sat there for a minute. Trying to process what I had just witnessed. What happened to these people? How can an illness kill people and then bring them back to life? I need to get a hold of my parents. I try to stand but my legs are so weak. I almost fall over. Finally when I am able to walk I head back for my room. The cold wood doesn't bother me anymore. I'm too scared to care. I rush into my room and head straight for my bed. It takes me about five minutes to find my phone partly because I don't know where I left and and partly because my hands won't stop shaking. When I finally pick it up it starts to go off. My mother is calling. I take a deep breath and answer.

"Hayley?" She sounds scared.

"Yes. . ." My voice is just as shaky as hers.

"Oh baby. Thank God. I was so worried about you. Are you okay? Have you heard from your father? Do you know what's going on? They haven't told us much here."

"Mom," I manage to choke out. "There were dead people coming back and eating other people."

"What? Hayley that doesn't make any sense."

"A disease. This doctor created a disease and it didn't work right. People were eating other people."

"Oh my goodness. It's just like in those shows. Hayley have you talked to your father?"

"No," I say trying to choke back my tears.

"Call him and make sure the doors are locked." There was a pause. "Oh no."

"Mom? What's going on?"

"A man is here. He's covered in blood and has bite marks all over him. . . Wait. There's so many injured people. They don't look right. Hayley I gotta go. I will try to get home as soon as I can. Keep the house locked until you can see me."

The line went dead. I couldn't hold it in anymore. Tears start to run down my cheeks. Slowly at first but eventually I can't stop them from pouring. I try to pull myself together, and call my dad. I still have tears in my eyes as the phone rings. No answer. I try again and again but still no answer. I collapse to the floor and can't help but cry. I'm alone again, and who knows when my parents will be back for me. I climb off the floor and into my bed. I think the doors are already locked but I'm too upset to check. I don't know how long it took but eventually I cried myself to sleep.