SHTF: Zombie Apocalypse

This is a rewrite to my original story Found HERE , it is currently discontinued until further notice.

SHTF: Zombie Apocalypse

Day 1: FridaY

I was at home when the NEWS notification sounded on my phone. I recognized the alert tone. The image for the article was a stock photo of a parking lot with oversized police tape angled across it. The header read, “ Vicious animalistic attack at Mall”. I scrunched up my nose, trying to figure out what exactly that would entail. The story was, a man, who remained unidentified, had attacked a group of people in the back parking lot of a mall a couple cities over.

The 1st attack was severe, leaving the victim in critical condition. The victims friends were also injured trying to pull the attacker away. A passerby called authorities, who narrowly avoided being assaulted themselves. The man hadn’t responded to police orders, they tried various methods to subdue him, none of which had any effect. Eventually shots were fired and he was finally taken down. The attacker was described as seemingly rabid. More to come when they had more information.

Events like this made me want to homeschool my daughter, Skylar. She is 8. Far too social to homeschool. I finished my housework and headed out to the grocery store. I thought about the bath salt incidents years ago. I was pretty sure a homeless man bit off another mans face while he was on drugs. I remembered watching so many videos on that and Krokodil. That one sent shivers down my spine, the way the flesh was eaten away. Hopefully I could revisit those videos and compare them to this attack.

The window of the store was completely overtaken with missing persons fliers. Over the past week more people had gone missing, people of all ages. Human trafficking was suspected. Social media was filled with alerts from the authorities to be extra vigilant when going out. Most of them were clustered in the bigger cities. I hadn’t looked them all up, there were too many now. I quickly got my groceries and headed to my daughters school before the roundabout ran out of spaces.

I was outside her classroom when the NEWS notification sounded again. A similar story came up in a less than desirable part of town. It was infamous for the high level of crime and drug busts. They referenced the earlier story, saying there might be a new drug epidemic on the rise. This location was MUCH closer than the last. The bell rang and the corridor flooded with excited children. It was Friday, an early day. She got out around lunch time traffic.

I ushered her to the car quickly , warning that groceries were going to get warm. There was nothing out of the ordinary on the short drive home. No homework today meant she could play for the rest of the day with her best friend, Maddie. She was a few years older than Skylar. I sat by the open window watching and listening while I worked on some paperwork. Off and on the would vanish into Maddie’s house, her mother’s car was gone but that was nothing new.

I finished most of my paperwork and got dinner started, the NEWS notification sounded again but I couldn’t check it right away. Both girls came bursting into the house with phones and tablets in hand. I asked Maddie if she was joining us for dinner, she said she would ask her mom and get back to me. They vanished into Skylars room until dinner was ready. I got some free time to check the NEWS app while dinner was simmering. I was shocked, the victim from the 1st story had been pronounced DEAD?! His friends had taken a turn for the worse, though their wounds weren’t nearly as serious. Rabies was mentioned.

They suspected an infection had set in, actual cause of death was unknown. Skylar’s dad came home, he said a few roads were blocked off. He had to take detours when coming back into town, no one was at the barricades so he couldn’t ask why. I called Skylar and Maddie for dinner. She still hadn’t heard from her mom. I told her she could join anyway and I’d take responsibility if she got in trouble. It was getting late and I knew she hadn’t eaten yet.

She reluctantly agreed. After dinner there was still no reply to Maddie’s text or the one I sent. Skylar suggested spending the night , I was on board. Maddie said she was going to wait at home for a bit for her mom. I didn’t like the idea of her being alone, she was prone to asthma attacks when she was anxious. I told her she was welcome to come back if she got scared. It was about an hour later. When there was a soft knock at the door.

Maddie was visibly upset and asked if she could still spend the night. Her mom hadn’t returned home yet or responded to texts. I tried callling and it went to voicemail. Maybe her phone died. We went back to Maddie’s and got an overnight bag together, leaving a note on the front door just in case she came home late, “ Maddie is at our place – Hazel”. I pumped up the air mattress in Skylar’s room.

They liked to sleep on it together so it was a big queen sized one. It took up most of the floor space. I didn’t see any cars pull into the parking lot before turning the lights off and heading to check on the girls. They were talking softly, I let them be. My husband, Lucas and I talked for a little while before bed, it was strange Joanne hadn’t gotten a hold of Maddie. She was just in the next city over. Roughly a 30 minute drive with no traffic. I recalled getting stuck for 4 hours back when there was a blackout.

If we didn’t hear anything tomorrow we would make some calls. I had to work all day so it was bedtime.

I hope you enjoyed Day 1! Day 2 is in the 2nd writing stage before typing, I’ll announce when it is available, if you liked this story and would like to support you can make a donation HERE thank you so much.