Page 2

That was all I needed.  With eyes wide, I sprang from the back of the couch and high-tailed it into the kitchen.  There were two more people in the kitchen, and I skidded to a stop on the linoleum.  These  people were equally as filthy, and they  reached for me, but I was faster.  I bolted around their outstretched arms, and through the smashed kitchen door, narrowly missing yet another trespasser.  Another few seconds and I was out into the cool night.

I realized I had never been outside the house by myself before.  I had tried valiantly to get out on various occasions, but Dad would always stop me.  He said it wasn’t safe with the street so close.   A fleeting Moment of panic was almost my undoing.  I stopped dead in my tracks, looking up into the starry sky.  Footsteps behind me gave away another of the weird people, and I regained my composure and fled.

I ran into the neighbor’s back yard, and heard screaming from my house.  I looked back, and could see shadows fighting in an upstairs window.  A splash of thick liquid covered the inky panes from the inside, and I could imagine what it was.  It was my Mom.  One final scream, and then the only thing I could hear was the moaning and shrill cries of the intruders.

To say I was terrified was an understatement.  I had just seen my family get killed, I was outside by myself, and there were people attacking other people.  Fear and confusion were the emotions of the Moment.  I decided that I wanted to be far from here, so I just ran.  I ran and ran.

Ten minutes later I was hopelessly lost.  There were staggering forms in every direction, and I had no idea where to go.  I was small, and well hidden in the hedge of someone’s house, but I was filled with despair.  What could I do?  Where could I go?  Who would take me in?  I realized I was hungry too.  The incessant moaning was also frightening.  From the cover of my hedge, I saw a man run past and through the glow of a streetlight.  He ran into the arms of two of the stumbling people, and they immediately attacked and tore into him.  It was horrible.  The running man started screaming, and other stumblers came out of the shadows.  They ate him alive.  I could see the bad men fighting over pieces of the guy who had been running.  After his screaming stopped, the stumblers continued to feed for a while.  Suddenly, the runner pushed the others away, and they left the runner alone.  The runner stood up, but he was different.  In the cone of brightness from the streetlight, I could see that the man had been savaged.  His throat was torn, and his stomach area was open.  The man was missing an arm.  I could see his insides spilling out, and it looked like some of his innards were missing.  He started lurching in my direction, and I hunkered back into the hedge.  The new stumbler was coming right for me when there was an ear piercing scream from down the street.  As one, all the stumblers on the street turned and made for the scream in a slow but steady pace.

My sigh of relief was cut short.  I almost had a heart attack when I heard "Hey!" whispered from behind me.  I turned and there was a man signaling me to come to him.  I could only see his head and hand, as he was in a basement window.  He motioned  at me with his hand using a "come here" gesture.  I was hesitant.  Maybe this guy was as bad as the others?  The screaming down the street had stopped, and I got very scared.  "Come on!"  the man in the window said.  The moans were coming back, so I decided to make a break for the window.  I ran for it, and the man pulled me in, closing the window afterward, but holding me close.

"Hey buddy," the man said.  "You shouldn’t be out there."  I just looked at him.

"What’s your name?" he said, but I didn’t answer.  "It’s ok, my name’s Paul," he continued.  "I’ve been down here about three hours hiding."

 I must have looked frightened, because he put me down.  He continued to talk in hushed whispers, but I wasn’t really listening, I was exhausted.  We sat there for another hour or two, the sun was just starting to stream through the broken basement window.

He started to say something when there was a crash from above.  Paul looked scared now.  "They’re in."  he said.  He looked around, and picked up some type of tool.  It looked like a monkey wrench, but I couldn’t tell.  He walked to the basement stairs, and looked up.  There were many shuffling footsteps upstairs.  Another splintering crash, and a thump on the floor.  Dust and grit filtered down on top of us.

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