The Virus Within- Changing

In A City, An Unmighty City, The Zombies Hunt Tonight

Our course would take us north past Redding, through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, up to Crater National Park, through Idaho to Salt Lake City in Utah, past Zion National Park, through the Grand Canyon, past Las Vegas and Death Valley, and by San Francisco to get back to the stronghold. It was gonna be a long trip, seeing that there were gonna be detours and Strongholds, as well as natural barriers along the way.

On our first night, I went on the roof. The sky was clear, and it seemed peaceful up top. I spent a few moments thinking about life. What an unpredictable thing.

We made our way to Redding. There was a great open plain to set up camp, so we stopped in the middle and settled in.

There were a lot of zombies. They came around the campsite and the children went inside, whereas the adults got on the roof.

I was watching the window. A zombie was close up. It was not like other zombies. It was undoubtedly a Phantom. It had razor sharp teeth, sharp nails, and as I watched, It let out a roar so loud that Jake rolled off the bed. It clawed for the window, but an arrow or spear pierced its head.

It dropped to the ground.

I heard a sound and frowned. It was faint compared to the yelling of the adults and the groaning of the zombies. I listened again and froze.

"Help! Help!"

I looked through the window to find the source. After a few moments, I saw a bright yellow flag with black spray paint on it. I peered closer. I managed to make out an S. Then an O. Suddenly, a zombie sprang up at the window. I recoiled and didn't get a chance to see the other letter, but I knew what it said. SOS.

I decided to help.

I nudged Jake.

"Hey. There's a flag out there. It says SOS." I whispered.

"Really?" he asked.

"Shhh, keep your voice down. And yes." I looked out the window. "There!"

"I see it!" Jake sprung up and headed for the door.

"What are you doing?" I followed him.

"Duh. Telling the adults."

"Good idea." We headed for the door, but then Seth woke up.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked. Thankfully, he spoke so softly I could barely hear him.

"There's an SOS banner out there," I told him. 

"Really?" he walked to a window and pressed his face to the surface. A few seconds later he recoiled.

"I found it." He stood up.

"Yeah. We're gonna tell the adults so we can try to save them."

"I'm coming with you." he stood behind us.

It was got a bit crowded when Mark's dark form stood up.

"You punks. Trying to be the hero. Well, not today. No one's leaving." He barreled past me and blocked the door.

James stood up and ran to him as well.

I was getting a bit concerned. There wasn't enough room to slip past them, and only two people could fight them at a time. I could take them both out, of course, but that would reveal my secret, and trying to overpower them would take too long. So I went with the fastest method. Burns.

I said, "Wow, you guys are blocking that hallway really well. How many hamburgers have you eaten today? 20? 30?"

James reddened, but Mark held his ground. "You're mistaking muscle for fat. In fact-"