Zombieland

Zombieland - Chapter 1

I checked the time on my watch- 10:30am.

"Another 7 hours closer to Kansas," I muttered annoyedly pulling the nuzzle of the petrol tank from my car. I threw the last of the shopping bag of supplies into the back seat, swung the door closed and took my place behind the wheel.

With a sigh I opened the glove box and shuffled around inside until my hands found the photograph. Smiling back at me was a photo of myself alongside my family.

Dakota, Elle, Finn and mum at Christmas, when we were all a family. When we were closer; Finn was still at home, mum was doing great with the pharmacy and Dakota was topping her class and I was only 16. That was over three years ago.

We never had a father, he died of lung cancer shortley after Elle was born. He wasn't around a lot anyway, either working, smoking, or at the doctors. When he passed the prospect of not having a father around didn't exactly hit us as something as devastating as it should've because he was gone all the time anyway. But it was still hard. So, so hard.

I had to get back home to Kansas. Shortly after the outbreak, I got voicemails from mum. She, Dakota and Elle were there. But they hadn't heard anything from Finn except one phonecall saying he was on his way with help.

After that the phone lines went down and we lost contact. So here I was headed for Kansas in hope of finding them, hopefully Finn as well along with his 'help.' We get to the authority and figure out what's going on and if there was no safe place in America, then my plan was the lot of us get the hell out of the country and off to Australia we go.

I revved up the engine and sped off down the dusty, deserted Arizona Phoenix road and towards my hometown.

~

Three hours into the drive it was 1 o'clock and I was so hungry I thought my stomach was about to eat itself. I scanned the empty desert surrounding either side of the road, and decided now was a good time to pull over and get lunch.

I climbed out of the car and went around the side to the back seat. Swining open the back door I ravaged the plastic bags loaded with food and supplies and found my savior.

"Processed burrito, yes," I said, my mouth watering. I snatched it up along with a 1L bottle of water, 2 donuts and an umbrella.

A minute later I was relaxing under the shade of the umbrella strategically placed in the wind shield whipers, munching on my burrito spread out across the hem of my car.

After I was finished I lay down, sunnies firmly over my eyes, and just listened to the soft wind. Taking in a deep breath, I thought about whether the outbreak had reached Australia as well or not. I had always wanted to see what it was like. Australia, and Europe both, intrigued me greatly. I loved hot climates which is why I'd chosen Phoenix in the first place.

Although it had been almost a month since the dead decided to not stay dead, and still no help had arrived that I knew of. At first for a few days police had managed to keep it under control but were rampaged when one of their security was slack, and that was the end of that. People had to fend for themselves, but the panic was truly shocking. Stores were broken into, people were attacked and faught over food, supplies, transport. Survival instincts kicked in, and it didn't matter who they had to go through to stay alive.

Suddenly in the distance I heard the growl of an engine approaching up the road. I moved my sunglasses atop my head and sat up, alert. A large black hummer with the windows darkened came roaring towards me.

"Shit," I hissed, yanking the umbrella from the hem of the car and scrambling off the front of the car. I smashed my foot on the accelerator ignoring the burrito and donut wrappers as well as the empty water bottle that flew off the front.

I didn't know if the people in the car were the hospitable kind or not, but risking it with the state things were was probably not the best idea.

My question was answered when a hand with a gun appeared out of one of the windows and began to fire.

"Shit shit shit balls!" I yelped, spinning the wheel and dodging the bullets.

I heard cries and woops and laughs from the hummer. It was a gang, a bunch of hooligans looking for things they could scab off survivors. I recognised these gangs, two formed in Phoenix and they killed who tried to stop them from taking what they wanted. Eventually both gangs eventually just ended up killing one another and the survivors were hunted down.

We'd all become as animalistic as the monsters we were trying to escape from, maybe even more so. And if these guys caught me, I was dead for sure.

My hand dove into the compartment next to my seat and whipped out the gun and knife I kept hidden for emergencies, and shoved them into my jeans.

The hummer began to chase me along the road from Phoenix, firing bullets and the men inside screaming hysterically each time one hit the boot of my car.

One hit the back windshield and half of the glass shattered.

"Fuckers!" I roared, shoving my hand out the window and firing back at them blindly. I was 5 caps in before I finally hit something. It must've been something or someone important, because then they were pissed. 

"BITCH!" One shouted, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you, ya hear me!?"

I flattened the accelerator and they began to disappear in the rearview mirror. But not before they pulled out a machine gun and pelted the shit out of it. They put 4 bullet holes in the boot and were an inch from bursting a tyre.

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I was safe.

For now.