The Outbreak Pt. 3 -Riley

            The very trees seemed to try and impede my progress, their roots climbing up to trip me, and their branches striking out at my clothes and skin as I sprinted through the dense forest. I could hear the trampling of the Treaders behind me, and I knew I could not carry on much longer. Suddenly an idea struck me, and I knew I had no other option. I slowed to a halt, gathered my bearings, and began to scamper up into one of the ancient oaks. Once I was roughly ten feet off the ground I slowed and searched the forest floor for the group of Treaders. Everything was quiet and it seemed as though I had lost them. I breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the trunk of the tree to rest before continuing my journey.

            I awoke with a start, nearly falling from my perch. I guess I had fallen asleep, and it was now near nightfall. I hated travelling at night, but I supposed it would have to do. I slowly began to make my descent when I heard a low moan from below. My chest fell as I realized the Treaders had found me. In the dim light I could not tell how many there were, but it looked to be perhaps a half-dozen or so. I knew I could not take them all, and I knew there was no way I was getting out of this tree without them attacking and ultimately feasting on me. I was done for. I was totally and completely helpless.. Totally and completely helpless. All the memories of Connor turning and Nick being eaten rushed back in, and a wave of nausea hit me like a brick. I began to retch, but my empty stomach could not produce anything to throw up.

             I realized that this was it. It was going to die here with no one around, no one to even know I was gone or to miss me. Hell, I didn’t even know if there was anyone else. For all I knew I could have been the last person on the planet. I hadn’t seen anyone in my months on the road, and even if I were to get out of this situation, what would be the point? I didn’t even know where I was or even what state I was in. It didn’t matter. I lay back against the trunk of the tree and lost myself in memories of the world before. Memories of my friends and family, and of my wonderful life before the world went to hell.

            I was jolted out of my reverie several hours later by the sound of gunshots, and it startled me so badly I toppled from my perch. My descent to the ground seemed to take an age, and as I was falling I again flashed back to the world before. I flashed back through my high school days, and farther back, all the way back to my childhood. My entire life flashed before my eyes. As I slammed into the forest floor, pain flared up red-hot all over my body, and stars flashed before my eyes. The last thing I remember seeing is a dark figure shambling towards me, and then blackness.

Outbreak: Kara

It’s been two weeks, maybe three, since I had been to my house. I’ve never been good at keeping time. Plus, this bus is pretty lonely. It feels like it’s been three years since I’ve talked to anyone. When I realized that the world had gone to Hell in a hand-basket, I decided that I would just keep the bus instead of returning it. No one’s come after me yet, so I just assume no one really cares.

And how could they care? All their friends and family have probably been eaten or turned into cannibals. You don’t have time to worry about a missing bus when little Jimmy is trying to bite your face off.

Honestly, this thing has pretty much become my new house. I feel bad for not going to search for my family, but I decided it was pretty useless considering Billy probably ate them. He always did have a large appetite.

“He’s a growing boy!” My mom would always say when anyone would ask why Billy was going back for a third serving at dinner.

Yeah, he grew up into a mighty fine cannibal and ate our whole family.

Or maybe they didn’t get eaten. I didn’t remember the car being in the driveway when I got home… Maybe they’re still out there somewhere.

The thought was pleasant but I pushed it to the back of my mind. I wasn’t going to hold my breath. The chances that they survived probably weren’t good. I wasn’t about to count on finding them alive because nothing hurts worse than getting your hopes crushed. I decided to cut my losses and abandon all hope of ever seeing my family again.

I laughed despite myself. I thought about how crazy I must look; camping out on a bus and laughing with myself. I thought I was weird before, but this is another level.

Time passed slowly for me. I don’t know how long it took, but I managed to make my bus self-sufficient. I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve become an excellent raider. Sometimes I feel like Lara Croft, raiding tombs and escaping risky situations. Except instead of tombs, I’ve been raiding local stores and houses for supplies.

I’ve almost been eaten a few times, but things are really looking up for me. I converted the front of the bus into a lounge area by removing a few detachable seats. Big Lots had a wide selection of comfortable pillows and blankets to make the area more comfortable. I grabbed a few board games and cards to play with. (Although after five straight games of Solitaire and a one round of single player Monopoly, things get a little dull.)

The back of the bus is purely for storage. Gas containers, weapons, extra food and water are all back there. I was lucky enough to fill up a few gas containers before the electricity stopped working and I’ve syphoning gas out of abandoned cars isn’t so bad. I have enough supplies to make it for at least a month by myself.

I try to move frequently to avoid getting swarmed by zombies, but there are times when I can park and relax, maybe nap if I’m up for it. I’ve taken up a hobby in knitting. I figure I might be in need of new clothes later and Hobby Lobby really didn’t have much else left.

Although things have been pretty peaceful for me, I haven’t had much human interaction since this whole deal started. I don’t know who I can trust. One time I drove right past a guy who was waving his arms and signaling for me to help him. I was almost tempted to pull over and let him aboard, but then my supplies would be cut in half and who knows what kind of person that guy was, anyway. I feel bad about it sometimes, but what are my choices?

Thinking about that guy that I left behind made me start thinking about my humanity and question whether or not I’d interact with another human again. Those types of thoughts only served to weigh me down. I had to brush them off and get on with my own survival.

The scenery in Knoxville was starting to get repetitive and a bit crowded with the general cannibal population. I decided to make my way towards Sevierville to look for new shops. I don’t know much about that area, but I feel like there should be some farmland out there. Thoughts of fresh fruit seemed like heaven on Earth to my stomach.

Outbreak - Kara II

It was only until I was cruising down Chapman Highway for a few minutes did I notice how hauntingly empty the roads seemed. There were only a few cars passing by me. None of them were going in my direction; most of them were headed towards Seymour. I did have to swerve a few times to avoid crashing into a few empty cars. I’m not an expert driver or anything, but I do know that you aren’t supposed to abandon your car in the middle of the road. I kind of assumed that the speed limit was 50, but I swear all the cars passing me were going like 80.

At least I was following the rules of the road. I basically hijacked a bus; but I wasn’t going to take any chances with a speeding ticket. I’m not even a licensed driver and I was feeling like a better driver than some of these people.

You know what? I saw some guys run over another guy and just keep on driving! I was appalled and I wanted to stop and help the guy, but after I drove by some more of those cannibals feeding on another person, I decided not to take any chances.

I felt like I had just jumped into Grand Theft Auto and all the pedestrians were on bath salts. It’s too bad I couldn’t enter any cheat codes. I would so fly home.

Instead I ended up driving all the way home. I ended up having to park my new bus in the old Hollywood Video parking lot because I didn’t know if I could maneuver that thing into my neighborhood.

I was just happy to be home so I could tell my mom how crazy my day had been! I knew everything would be okay as soon as I walked in the door. My mom would know what to do, she always does. She would probably try to scold me for borrowing that bus, but one day we could look back and laugh about it. Maybe she would even let my drive the car now.

As soon as stepped inside, I called for my mom. The only thing I heard was some rustling upstairs. My mom didn’t answer. I rolled my eyes and called for her once more. Still no answer.

“Billy, is mommy home?” I called up the stairs to my brother.

He didn’t answer either.

Seriously? No one around here listens. I wound up searching the downstairs for my mom. She wasn’t in her room, the kitchen, or the bathroom. I assumed that she must have walked to the store or something. I changed out of my work clothes and grabbed a bite to eat while I waited for her to come home.

While I was putting my dirty clothes in the laundry, I noticed a ton of bloody shirts in the hamper. I pulled them out and looked them over. They were my little sister’s clothes and they were sopping wet with blood.

My stomach sank as I dropped them back into the hamper. I threw my work clothes to the side, pulled out my phone and dialed my sister. From the kitchen, I heard her little iPhone ringing.

Of course she didn’t have her phone on her. Why buy a 12 year old with an iPhone if they don’t use it?

Instead of dwelling, I made my way upstairs calling for Billy. Even as I got closer and louder, he still didn’t answer me.

“Bill! What’s going on?” I yelled as I flung his door open.

Suddenly he attacked me. I didn’t know if he was trying to wrap his hands around my neck or what, but I pushed him off.

“Hey!” I cried.

He recovered almost instantly and made a grab for my shoulders. I tried to shove him away again but he snagged my shirt and pulled me toward him. Images of those cannibals flashed through my mind as he pulled me closer. I smacked his face and watched as he tried to bite my wrist. I wrestled out of his grasp and ran into my room.

I shut my door and grabbed an old bat from my closet. When he busted through the door, I slammed the bat into his stomach.

“Get out of here, Billy!” I shouted as I raised the bat again.

Not only did it annoy me that my brother was trying to attack me, but also that he was ignoring me! He knows that it drives me crazy when he doesn’t answer me.

I swung at him once me for ignoring me.  It didn’t even faze him. He just kept coming. I let him stumble toward me before I dodged out of the way and ran out the door.

I shut the door behind me and shouted. “You’re a jerk!”

On my way down the stairs, I started noticing all the blood that was actually on the walls. I don’t know how I didn’t notice it before. Handprints and blood trails were all over the place.

I didn’t have time for that at the moment. I had to get out of there. I raced back to my bus as fast as I could. I’m not much for cardio, but I definitely wasn’t about to walk around outside while there were cannibals running around.

The only thing I could do was drive. I didn’t know where to go.

Outbreak - Kara

My neck almost broke as the bus slammed into a hoard of those brain dead… “things”. I threw the bus in reverse to keep from getting overwhelmed by them. These “things” recently took Knoxville by storm and… I don’t know. They just follow you around. They’re really slow but if they catch you, they eat you.

It’s actually pretty terrifying, to be honest. The thought of being chased down like food makes me feel like I’m some kind of gazelle in Africa.

I was at work when I started noticing odd things going on. Just small things here and there, like people staggering into the bathroom and customers complaining about homeless people loitering around outside.

Then this customer just started leaning on the counter looking like he was going to throw up. I touched his shoulder to see if he was going to be okay and then the guy had the nerve to throw up right on me! Things started to get real when the customer literally climbed over the counter and attacked my manager. He bit him and broke skin! What a freak, right? That’s what I thought at first, too. I didn’t know it was a disease making the guy do it or something.

We managed to get the situation under control by tying the guy up in the back. My manager tried calling the police but the line was busy. He ended up just closing the store completely and going to the hospital. I haven’t seen him since.

I called my mom to see if she could come pick me up, but no one answered the house phone. I was a bit hesitant to ride the bus covered in throw up so I called the house again. Still no answer. I guess I would just suck it up and wait for the bus. When I got on the bus, I quietly took a seat in the back by myself.

We were almost to my stop when one of the older men towards the front of the bus started seizing. The woman across from him jumped from her seat and held the man’s arm.

She pointed at me. “Call an ambulance!”

For a second I was too stunned to react but the bus coming to an abrupt stop had me scrambling for my phone. I clumsily keyed in the right numbers as the bus driver got out of his seat to help his seizing patron. The ringing in my ear was just a distant hum as I watched on in horror as the old man suddenly pounced on the woman aiding him.

Like a cheetah on its prey, the man went wild. In a vain attempt to play the hero, the bus driver wrenched the old man off the woman.

“She’s helping you! She’s helping you!” The bus driver yelled as the old man turned on him.

The woman did nothing but lay against the seat and cry. Her sobs made it difficult to hear the automated voice on the phone. The line was busy. I held my breath and dialed again. 

By then the bus driver was wrestling the old man off the bus. He managed to get the door open and pin the man to the side of the road. The woman started to push herself off the seat and limp to the bus driver’s aid.

That’s real courage, I thought. Trying to help someone out even while you’re injured. I wasn’t hurt at all and I still wasn’t going out there. Call me a coward, but I’m not trying to get killed. That was one crazy old guy.

As soon as the woman stepped off the bus, another man approached the three of them. I couldn’t see him very well through the bus’s tinted windows, but I could sure see that he didn’t look good.

The woman called to him, I guess she was asking for help. The man didn’t seem to acknowledge her cries as he slowly reached for her. I held my mouth while I watched two people become dinner.

I felt a surge of urgency when I realized that the door was still open on the bus. Those “things” might try to board the bus. I sprang out of my seat and searched the control center for some kind of button to shut the doors.  I just started mashing buttons. The windshield wipers came on, then the air conditioner shut off, and then I somehow managed to turn off the little fan over the drivers’ seat. I couldn’t believe how complicated it was just to close a door.

My frantic motions must have alerted the little cannibals because they stopped their meals and moaned at me.

Like, sorry. Excuse me for interrupting your meal.

By some crazy stroke of luck, the doors finally slammed shut. That didn’t seem to faze the men as they just banged on the doors. I decided it probably wasn’t a great idea to let them in.

I’m not a licensed driver, but I revved the engine anyway. I had to get out of there and I would have rather taken my chances with a ticket than crazy people.

I sped away before I could get a first hand lesson in cannibalism.

Outbreak - Briana

If the smell wasn’t enough indication as to what was happening inside the house the screams were. It took me a moment to realize that the screams were my own. The scene before me was one that I had never imagined I would ever have to see. Blood covered the open door and soaked my shoes as I peered inside the house. My family, the only people I had left, were laid out on the wooden floor dead. Everyone else I knew was either long gone or dead. I was completely alone.

           My body sagged against the wall with the grief that weighed on my chest. My breath was shallow as I tried to maintain my composure. The world we lived in now wasn’t one where you could be weak. You had to be strong or you wouldn’t survive. A memory surfaced as I felt my body meet the ground.

           “Survival of the fittest,” my dad said softly as he taught Hanna how to use the bow and arrow. “The only way to survive is to be the fastest and the strongest. You can’t show mercy. If you do they will take advantage of that and destroy you.”

          Something out of the corner of my eye moved and I automatically pulled out my swords. The sluggish, clumsy movement of the Treader moved along the ground. It was the body of my mother. The disease had taken over and turned her into the dead thing we all had all feared before the world had gone crazy. One swift movement later and the body stopped struggling along the floor. I quickly got rid of the bodies and pulled out the cleaning supplies we had left over. Burying them would have to wait until I could gather the strength to look at them again without feeling the bile rise.

           The house stunk of iron and Clorox as I moved about the living room tidying up needlessly. My stomach felt like lead and I had to lean against the wall as panic raced through my veins. I suddenly couldn’t breathe and my head was spinning. My chest was extremely too tight as I fell to my knees struggling to breathe. I heard the familiar jingle of my dog’s collar as I felt a wet nose press to my cheek. Oliver whined low in his throat as he nudged himself closer to me. I finally found my grip on reality and pulled myself upright.

         

           “Hey Oliver,” I whispered gently. My throat was still too tight for comfort, but I’d have to deal with it. “I know baby. I know they’re gone.”

            I couldn’t stay here any longer. They’re presence was too strong in this house. I took a shaky breath and stood slowly to go pack a duffle bag full of clothes. I was going to head to my Uncle’s cabin in Sevierville. He had always predicted this was going to happen, but we had all called him crazy. Oh how we were wrong. I walked slowly back to my bedroom. An hour later I was on the road to Sevierville in hopes of finding my only relatives I might have left with my dog by my side.

            Driving through the shopping area that used to be a bustling Tanger Outlet felt incredibly strange. It was like driving through a ghost town. I was waiting for the minute a hoard of Treaders came running out into the street. I stopped to rest in front of an old Nike store and decided I was going to sleep for at least an hour. Reclining my seat I looked towards the ceiling thinking about how quickly the world had gone to crap. The hollow ache in my chest took hold once more as I willed myself to shut my eyes. Sleep was a friend to me in that moment. Every time I closed my eyes all I saw was my family’s faces as they stared blankly at the walls. Being alone in a world this cruel was a scary thought that I didn’t want to face. Not now, not ever. Nothing would ever be the same. I couldn’t dwell in the past and survive the harsh environments the world provided me with.

          A tap on my window startled me so quickly that I bashed my elbow against my emergency break. What I saw couldn’t be real. It was my best friend, Trystan, who I had decided dead like everyone else I knew. I had to be hallucinating. I gently drew my swords into my hands for the second time that day as I pushed the door silently open.

          “Step back,” my voice was hoarse from misuse. Oliver was wagging his tail happily behind me, but I chose to ignore him and shut the door. I didn’t need him interfering, “You can’t be real. Honestly, Trystan, of all places you’re here? I’m going crazy.”

          “What are you talking about, Bri?” She asked wildly as she eyed the weapons in my hands. “If I’m not real then why is Oliver acting like that? If I was a hallucination he wouldn’t be able to see me.”

         I bit the inside of my cheek feeling my inner battle. I desperately wanted to believe her. “Have you been bitten?”

          “No,” she answered. Her voice was soft and I could hear the underlying sadness. “Emily was though.”

          “Where is she?” My world apparently could get worse.

          “Dead.” The finality in her tone broke my heart.

           I took a breath before asking the question I dreaded. “Did you have to-“

          She cut me off with a brisk, “Yes.”

         I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I sheathed my swords and lunged myself at her. My arms wrapped around her in a tight hug. We took a moment to share our grief as I told her about my family. I told her of my plans to find my Uncle and she agreed to come with me. Maybe my world was looking up a bit with someone I knew and trusted by my side.

-Briana Griffin

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Outbreak

I walked into the kitchen, and Austin was sitting at the table. The dust is beginning to build, and the smell is awful. The food in the fridge is becoming rotten and moldy. I would move the fridge, but there is no way me and Austin can move it. The milk itself is producing an awful stench. Well, I guess its better than smelling a disintegrating body.

His face turned towards me. I was amazed at how much he had changed in the short time since the outbreak. The bags under his eyes began seemed heavier than yesterday, and the color of his skin has turned to a death pale.

 “We can’t stay here anymore Austin. We have already stayed longer than I wanted to.”

He stood up and pointed to the master bedroom where the rest of our family is.

“How can we just leave our family? They have supported us all of our lives, and we are going to leave them behind?”  

“They want us to leave. If mom was healthy and knew she was going to turn, she would make sure that we would be gone.”

My voice began to choke, and I was trying to hold back tears. Austin looked at me like I had no heart. I thought he was going to try punch me, but he held back.

“At least give me a moment to say goodbye to them.”

 Austin began to walk towards the door leading to them. I didn’t want to see any of our family in this state. Every time I see them so close to turning, I begin to wonder why I still want to live.

I heard the door open, and didn’t hear anything for a couple of seconds. I looked back, and I couldn’t see him in the room. I heard a scream, but I couldn’t figure out who screamed. I ran back to the room, and my breath was taken away from me. I couldn’t believe what I saw.

The Outbreak- Riley

The Outbreak

You’ll never forget the first time you see a Treader tear apart a living human. It is a horrible sight, which I would never wish upon my worst enemy. Unfortunately, anyone still alive in this abject mockery of a world has seen a feeding. It is a part of the life we fight so hard to live.

Even worse than seeing a loved one eaten by a Treader, is to see a loved one turn, and have to put them down. That one swift motion is enough to drive many people across the narrow line of sanity. Some might say that I have crossed that divide, but I would disagree. I do not feel particularly mad, but perhaps that is the nature of madness.

Killing your first Treader is similar to your first kiss, in the sense that you will never forget it. It is something that sticks with you forever. Everyone’s first is the hardest, it is usually a friend or loved one. The first time rarely goes well, like young lovers kissing in the moonlight. It may seem odd for me to compare killing flesh-eating undead corpses to kissing, but perhaps that is just a hint of my madness showing through. Or, perhaps I am simply an analogical genius. I will leave that for you to decide.

As I said, I will never forget my first time. It was a Thursday afternoon when I first made contact with the undead. It was just another day in the gym, like any other Thursday. That is, until a bent, shambling old man stumbled into the gym. I had seen enough zombie movies and shows to know what was happening. Unfortunately, my best friend Connor had not, and approached the Treader slowly. I will never forget the guttural growl that thing made, and Connor’s screams will haunt me until the end of my days. Needless to say, I did what needed to be done, and I feel no regret for it.

I have lost track of the days, but I believe today is Wednesday, which makes it nearly two weeks since the initial outbreak. Two weeks since my life was changed forever, my innocence lost. Two weeks that I have been barricaded in my once safe house, with no one to talk to except for my feline companion Boo, and needless to say he is not much of a conversationalist. My food and water supplies are running low and I tomorrow I will venture out of my home for the first time since this nightmare began. I cannot live my life devoid of any human contact, so I suspect Boo and I will not be returning to the place that has been our home for the past 14 years.  I hope beyond hope that we will find someone out there, otherwise I fear for my sanity, and ultimately for my life.

                                                                                           -Riley Dyer