The Subtle Destruction of Humanity

Chapter 1

Jazzy woke up with a warm blanket wrapped around her shoulders tenderly. She blocked her eyes when she felt the sun's gaze upon her. She sat up slowly while rubbing the exhaustion out of her eyes. Her mouth stretched open in a small yawn before relaxing her muscles. The day was upon her and Hailey. Her bat was still gripped tightly in her left hand but the rubber on it was old and beginning to peal. It did not help that Jazzy always was holding it like it was her life support. There was old duck tape trying to keep the rubber on but it was not much help. The bat was from her freshman year after all. It had gone through a lot of uses when she was on the softball team. She heard branches being snapped and immediately scrambled to get up. She had her bat ready to swing when Hailey emerged from the forest. A quick sigh of relief relaxed her after seeing it was just Hailey. Her hair had a couple of twigs poking out of it.

"You scared me to death," Jazzy replied while beginning to pack up there stuff. She did not want to set up the tent for a one night deal in the woods so there was only the blanket and a lighter. She considered packing the left over rabbit but decided against it. It would rot in her bag anyway.

"How much longer until we make it to Lake City?" Hailey questioned while slinging her back pack straps over her shoulders.

"We are going to somewhere near that," Jazzy replied with a straight face trying to show confidence like she knew where they were going.

"Are you kidding me?! We walked all the way down here and we aren't going to Lake City?" the small girl said as if she was about to throw a temper tantrum. 

"Yes, unless you want to walk into a herd alone," the calm older sister replied with a satisfied smirk. There was a private school in White Springs. Jazzy knew this because her parents were considering to let her go there when she was Hailey's age. It was expensive to dorm but her parents could of course afford it. I mean, her parents were loaded. She never liked that factor of her parents were never home though. Yes, being a spoiled rich kid might get you whatever you want but you can't buy parents. She did not care much for it but she was never close with her parents, more like her aunt, Auntie Saph. She was always smiling and had the greatest laugh. Jazzy always got a new book when she went to her house, once every other week. Even as she got older, her aunt would always be there with something to read so she was never bored alone at home while babysitting Hailey. Her favorite genre had to be realistic fiction though, it was always interesting to relate to a character. 

"Earth to Jazzy! Are we leaving?" Hailey asked sarcastically. Her hand was pushed on her hip in a relaxed sort of position. "The soles of my shoes aren't breaking themselves." Jazzy quickly picked up her bat after she settled her backpack comfortably on her back for the millionth time. She twisted her bat in her wrist, as if it changed weight, before settling her arms by her side. Her bat was caked with all types of things. Blood, mud, and the occasional bug or leaf. It was dirty but it did get the job done at least. Jazzy turned her backpack around to her stomach. She opened the zipper to try and find her map. She stumbled from the weight when the first started journeying, and now her backpack felt like feathers. Her map was delicately slipped near the side of the backpack.  She unfolded it to its broad full length to study their next move. They would have to go down 41 a little bit longer and then the might reach it. That is if it was still standing after all the chaos. Jazzy returned the map to its former place, in her backpack. She zipped it up before turning it on her back again. 

They were still walking as the sun was reaching the top of the sky. They still had not escaped the forests that ran along the sides of their path when they trudged up. The zombie outbreak has not happened for long so there were not as many zombies while walking as Jazzy expected. The apocalypse had only just started but it felt like this has been their life all along. It felt like this had always been their everyday routine, wake up, walk, eat, walk, break, walk, sleep. Jazzy's eyes were glazed over almost. She wad not on a healthy sleeping schedule at all. She almost ripped over the train tracks they were about to cross.

"Jazzy, are you sure you're okay? You seemed dazed," Hailey observed while quickly jumping over the railroad tracks. Jazzy laughed before stumbling over the tracks. 

"I'm fine, Hai. We need to keep moving and stay away from the herds," Jazzy mumbled out. Hailey accepted her sister's stubborn attitude and kept walking. Boom! It happened so quickly. Jazzy never thought being shot felt like a pebble just smacked you. It reminded her of the good days when Hailey and her would go in Auntie Saph's garden. They would make up adventures and would flick tiny pebbles at each other. Auntie Saph was always planting some sort of lower. They would pretend that plant could end any type of horrible disease that was ever discovered. Maybe if that was reality, Auntie Saph would not have died so quickly. Jazzy felt blood trickle from her right eye and slowly down her cheek. She heard Hailey scream. She quickly grabbed Hailey's hand and ran towards the woods near White Springs. The open fire slowed down as they tried to dodge the bullets. Once they made it out of the fields, Jazzy collapsed under a tree.

"Leave me here for now and get help," Jazzy muttered quietly to Hailey. Hailey had a bullrt graze her right leg and arm but nothin worse then that.

"You're bleeding! Your eye got shot out! I can't leave you here!" Hailey exclaimed while trying to help Jazzy with her wound. She took off her blue and purple varsity jacket and tied it to Jazzy's head.

"Go. I'll be fine," were Jazzy's final words as consciousness escaped from her.