First Steps | A Zombie Apocalypse Story (Completed)

Day 8.0

A/N: The video above matches the emergency alert written in the book (I made it).

Clarissa

I don't know what happened to my fiancé. The phone lines recently cut off. He was supposed to be back from work six days ago now. I've gotten absolutely no answer whatsoever. The chaos that I saw at the school has only escalated and spread to everywhere else. I look over to Hannah who's sleeping on the couch. She looks exhausted despite all the sleep she's been getting.

I walk over to the couch, sitting beside her. I look down at her, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"Hey, Hannah. Hun, you need to wake up," I demand softly. Her eyes peeked open, revealing her glassy grey eyes. I am beginning to get worried about everything given that we are almost out of food and will have to leave this place. If I learned anything from my college days, it's that any massive sickness spreads in the city the fastest.

She sits up, stretching her arms over her head.

"How long was I asleep for?" she asks, her voice light.

"Eleven hours. I think that is a record," I say, smiling slightly with a slight chuckle. When she doesn't smile back, my expression goes neutral. I sigh. "We're gonna have to leave soon. We don't have that much food left. Ya know, if I had known that an apocalypse was impending, I would've gone grocery shopping."

"Can we not call it that?" Hannah whines, hugging herself.

"I'm sorry. I, uh-"

"Stop!.. acting like everything is okay. Cause it's not," she glowered in her high pitched voice. I am taken aback by her blow up. I have never heard her speak so loudly. "My parents are dead. Your fiancé is dead. Why are you still in denial?" I cough harshly, clearing my throat. I stand back up and walk toward a window in my apartment. I look out at the street, a stream of blood running down the sidewalk. According to the news, the looting is only gonna get worse as this continues to spread.

The TV cuts on, the news being the first channel that plays. I turn my head when I hear a loud buzz noise from the TV, followed by a flatline noise.

"The following message was transmitted at the request of the Virginia National Guard. Civil authorities have issued a warning for the Virginia commonwealth area. At 5:43 am on Sunday, April 14th, 2019 the state of Virginia issued a warning of the outbreak of a highly contagious virus. The center of disease control has published guidelines to follow to avoid contact with infected persons and to contain the virus. Symptoms of the virus include fever, nausea, heat flashes, excessive sweating, hallucinations, loss of coordination, confusion, and aggressive behavior. It is strongly advised to avoid any persons who possess any of these symptoms. The Virginia National Guard has formed a safe haven in the Richmond Coliseum, the Richmond Diamond Flying Squirrels Stadium, and in the surrounding areas. All uninfected persons may stay in the following safe locations and in their homes until more information regarding this virus is known. All bitten persons may report to their local hospitals for further care until treatment." I instantly rush over to my backpack in my closet and pull it out. I begin to gather everything I can.

"Go and take a bag out of the closet and begin to fill it with the remaining supplies we have."

"We should go there. It will be safer," Hannah says, her voice sounding light. She begins to fill her bag with the few canned and dry goods I have, followed by water and the little medical supplies I have. Meanwhile, I take a few personal belongings such as my fiancé Taylor's watch that he left at home and a picture frame that has the two of us in front of the mountains in a photo. He asked me to marry him that day. I hold the picture close to my chest before tossing it in my bag with a sigh. It makes me wish I had a photo album as my mom suggested. I finally process the suggestion Hannah made.