CHAPTER TWO

LOUIS

I drifted in and out of consciousness. I could hear screams all around me and frantic voices yelling to one another. Everything sounded distorted like I had been submerged underwater or something. I heard gunshots far off in the distance at one point. Another time I could hear a woman screaming for help. And then I would hear the crazies and their screams drowned out all other sounds.

And then, finally, I woke up.

My car was lying on its left side at the bottom of the ditch. The driver's side window had shattered and broken glass was everywhere. The passenger side window was gone completely, and the windshield was cracked but intact for the most part. McDonald's and Taco Bell bags were all over the place because in college all you eat is fast food and your car is a trash can. Through the windshield, I could see that some of my bags had been ejected from the car.

Searing pain shot up the left side of my body when I tried to move. I looked down at myself and saw that my clothes were covered in blood. My left pant leg was crusted with dry blood. My mouth was very dry, and when I glanced at myself in the cracked rear view mirror I saw dried blood on my lips and chin. I assumed it was a nosebleed, and there was a large cut on my forehead where I hit it on the steering wheel, and the blood had dried there too.

I looked like some kid in a slasher movie.

I needed to get out of here and get to Rae and my aunt. I fiddled with my seat belt, which was a pain in the ass to get off. I fell onto my left side, yelping in pain. I pulled my feet up and shifted around. I kicked at the windshield, and after several attempts, it shattered and I pulled myself from the wreckage.

I winced as I stood up, but luckily my leg wasn't in too much pain. At least I could walk on it. Or run if I needed to.

I walked up the ditch and back onto the street. The city was so quiet I could have dropped a pin and it would have echoed. The silence was almost unbearable. What had happened to everyone? When I had been unconscious I heard gunshots and the crazies. Were they still around?

I walked down one street that was full of car wrecks, most of them on fire. I needed a vehicle if I wanted to get to my aunt's house quickly. But where the hell was I going to get one?

The silence was shattered by several ear-splitting screams on the next street over.

"RUN, LILLIAN!" a man's voice shouted. "RUN AWAY!"

I crept down a nearby alley to see what was going on, though I had a vague idea of what it was already. I could hear their screams too. The familiar, nails on a chalkboard screams. I reached the mouth of the alley and peered around the building.

The scene before me looked like something that had been taken straight out of someone's nightmare. A man and woman were running away from five crazies. "LILLIAN, KEEP RUNNING!" the man was yelling. One of the crazies jumped and tackled him. He fell onto the pavement, trying to kick the crazy man off of him. It didn't do any good, though. The crazy man tore into the man's neck, ripping out a mound of flesh with his teeth. The woman turned and screamed, and the crazies got a hold of her as well. They pulled at her hair and she fell backward. She tried to get up quickly, but they pounced on her and ripped her limb from limb.

I backed away, suppressing a scream and shaking from head to toe. What was wrong with these people? Did everyone just decide to go postal and cannibalize each other?

One of them perked their ears up and whirled around. He glared at me, his red eyes burning into me. It let out that terrible scream and charged at me.

I turned and sprinted down the alley. My leg hurt with every footfall but I didn't care. I needed to get away. I needed to find safety. I turned to look over my shoulder, and all the other ones had spotted me too. I ran down the next street and saw a car repair shop several blocks away. I made a beeline for it. I could hear them gaining on me, their screams getting louder and louder. Soon, they'd be tearing me apart, spilling my blood on the streets. . . .

I reached the door to the repair shop, which was slightly ajar, and slammed it shut behind me. I leaned against it while the crazies banged on the other side, screaming and yelling in what sounded like frustration. I wondered how long I would have to stay this way when gunshots came from elsewhere in the city. The crazies stopped trying to get in and ran off towards the sound of the gunshot, their screams fading. I sighed with relief and sank to the floor.

And then I did something that probably anyone in my position would do. I started crying. And not the crying that's calm, where only a few tears run down your cheeks. It was the uncontrollable sobbing where you're borderline screaming and you want to hit something. I thought of Rae, my aunt, my mother and all the memories made me cry harder. Were they all dead? Were they okay? Were they acting like the crazies outside? Were they normal? Were there any normal people left in Baton Rouge?

Too many questions, and not nearly enough answers. I needed to get to my aunt's house, and if she and Rae weren't there then I would go to Shreveport. It's the only place they would have gone.

I knew I wouldn't be getting anywhere without a car though. What was I going to do, walk to my aunt's house? And would I walk with Aunt Lisa and Rae all the way to Shreveport? My aunt had a bad back, there's no way she could make that walk. All the cars I had seen so far were all wrecked. I could go out into the city and look for a car, but there's no telling how long that would take.

I stood up and noticed there was a glass window on the far side of the car shop. The window looked out into a garage. My jaw dropped at what was inside.

It was like an answered prayer. Parked in the garage was a green Toyota Corolla, which had been washed and the tires looked new. I was almost bouncing with excitement. If there was a car here, that meant the keys were nearby. I started digging around in the drawers behind the counter but found nothing but old forms and transaction papers. There was a small doorway that led to an office, and inside hung the keys on a wall of hooks. I snatched them off the hook and hurried back to the garage. The inside of the car was warm and very clean. It looked brand new. I started up the car and was relieved to see that its tank was three-quarters of the way full.

Things were looking up for sure. I could get to my aunt's house now. The only thing between us was the crazies and the garage door. I wasn't sure how many crazies could be on the other side, but I had to take the risk. Leave the car running, open the garage, get back in the car, drive off. It was an easy plan, though most of the time they're only easy in theory.

I got out of the car, my heart pounding like it was trying to break out of my chest. I reached the garage door and took in a long, deep breath. I heaved it open and immediately turned around and ran back to the car. I only heard a few screams behind me, which I took as a slightly good sign. However, I was sure their screams would draw more to the area quickly. I got back in the car, put it in gear, and sped off.

I would have reached the subdivision my aunt lived in quicker if I hadn't had to maneuver around the many car wrecks in the city. Driving past the forlorn looking suburban houses, I could see that most of them looked like they had been looted. Windows were broken and doors hung off their hinges. Kid's toys were thrown all over the yards and at one of the intersections, I saw an abandoned tricycle. So far, this didn't look good.

I turned onto Melrose Street and come to a stop in front of my aunt's house. It was one of the few in the neighborhood that had its door still intact, however, it gave off the same empty vibe the rest of the city had. I shut off the car, trying to listen for any sound. But this place was quiet, I couldn't even hear the screams of crazies.

I got out of the car and walked up to the house. I raised a fist to knock on the door but noticed it was slightly ajar. I pushed it open, and my heart stopped.

Inside, there was a large pool of blood on the living room floor. I could hear movement from somewhere in the kitchen, a rustling sound. I could also hear grunting.

"Aunt Lisa? Rae? Are you guys here?"

A figure appeared in the kitchen doorway.

I gasped. My aunt stood there, glaring at me with blood red eyes standing out against her olive colored skin. Blood was seeping from neck and down her front. Her fingers were curled like claws. When she snarled I could see her teeth were bloodstained. She let out a shrill scream and charged at me. I pushed her away. This couldn't be real. Aunt Lisa was one of them. Was Rae the same way? She came at me again. I pushed her away from me. "Stop it, Aunt Lisa! This isn't you!"

"Louis!" Rae came bounding down the stairs, carrying a broken broom handle. He handed it to me. "Hurry!" I shook my head. "What's wrong with her?" Aunt Lisa charged me again. I tried to push her off, but she tackled me to the ground. She yelled again and reared her head back, getting back to bite me.

RAE

"RAE, HELP!" Louis shouted.I picked up the broom handle he dropped when Aunt Lisa had tackled him. I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice. She was going to kill him. I knew because I had seen the same thing happen to her. . . .I struck my aunt in the back of her neck. She screeched and turned to glare at me. I swung at her again, hitting her in the jaw. She jumped off of Louis and started to run at me. Louis shoved her down and she smacked her head on the wooden floor. Louis took the broom handle from me and brought it down hard on her head. She fell silent and was motionless. Louis dropped the broom handle.

LOUIS

felt sick, a heavy feeling had settled in the pit of my stomach. I retched and vomited all over the floor next to my Aunt Lisa's corpse. She was never alive. The fact was slowly sinking in. She was dead, Rae was alive. She was crazy, he wasn't. I was sad, but I was also happy. I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and looked over at Rae, who had tears streaming down his voice.I pulled him into a tight hug. We were both sobbing. I had spoken to my aunt right before I had left, and I had just killed was self-defense, but was I a murderer?

I leaned back and looked down at my little brother. He had red hair and blonde eyebrows. He wiped the tears from his hazel eyes and he looked up at me.

"Rae," I said, "what happened here?"