Survivors of the Z’s- Graham Jackson, 30/07/2016, Nottingham, UK
The road was long and merciless. I could feel the cold colours making their way through into our world
My world
Where my family and I had lived always. The world used to have a blue sky to it. Now the sun seemed to be setting permanently and a forever- black- sky looked like the sky we would be looking at from now on. We travelled fast and gazed at the people going by. Each one was running. Running from the infected, what used to be, men and women. Screams from both ends.
The infected screaming after them
The people screaming, crying. Desperately trying to escape them. Some ran onto the road.
“Shit!”
Evelyn swerved. She tried not to him them and we just missed them by inches. My heart pounded like a machine gun. Each beat cracked into my rib cage.
“Mummy!” One of the girls cried
We zoomed right and saw more of them. The shopping centre was in sight
In full view
And we saw the masses of people flooding the streets with their screams and bellows. It was an earthquake of chaos. An horrendous scene. A moment that would stay in your mind forever.
Kids running away without their families and being chased. We had to swerve once more. To try and not hit them. It was hard to watch. It was like watching a massicre unfold right in front of our eyes.
MAYHEM
It seemed what ever this thing was, was spreading faster than a blink and the authorities were failing to contain it.
Had they lost?
Had they lost control?
What I saw answered everything and my answer was
YES
They had lost control.
And now we were going to suffer. This was our home and now all of a sudden it was being catapulted into
What felt like
A fucking computer game. Everything seemed to be falling a part. It was happening too fast. Like a flip story in a notepad.
In turbo speed and soon. It was going to be over before we knew it. The world as we know it…
GONE
“All these people,” she said, “I can’t look”
I looked her way. She looked dead straight.
Away from the gruesome picture to the right of us. Some people tended to be waving to us. I heard some of them shouting
“Help us, please help us!”
She forced herself not to look as she guided us away from the cruelty.
“Can we leave them here, why aren’t I stopping to help?”
“We have to get back, if we stop it’ll be all over”
“I feel so cruel, I feel like humanity has been sucked out of me, I should stop, but I’m choosing not to”
“Say if we do stop and they’re bitten, what then?”
“I”-
“Then we get surrounded and become one of them and the kids…”
I hoped she wouldn’t stop. I hoped to the heavens that the guilt she was feeling wasn’t going to overpower her and have her pull the car over.
Inside
I had my fingers crossed
Outside
I kept my eyes on the surroundings.
Where the people ran.
I looked on and winced at the sight. Some of the people that were running had turned on the others that were running beside them. We saw it all. My angel shuck with fear at the sight.
“Keep it together, we’re fine, they can’t get to us”
More helicopters then flew over our heads. I watched them go over us. It was turmoil where we once were. Even though we were out of the hole with bloodied teeth. I had an inkling that it wasn’t going to be the last of it.
It didn’t matter how far we drove
How far we would’ve ran
Or
Maybe
How far we could fly
This thing
This disease
Was in the US. It was everywhere, so it didn’t matter where we went. We were going to end up fighting for our lives once again.
“I want to go to grandma’s,” Michelle said
“We won’t be long honey, mummy is going as quick as she can”
Army jeeps flew passed us. They were there and then they were gone. The men and women had their guns at the ready, but I figured they were fighting a losing battle. That was my gut feeling.
“We’re nearly there guys,” I said
The army kept coming and coming. I looked and saw more down the road. A long line making their way into the town centre. Then we were out of sight and we couldn’t see them anymore. To the left of me was a large field with astroturf football pitches on them and as we drove further. We spotted more people running in the distance.
“Oh, that little boy,” she said
I felt it
I felt the pain and the guilt that she was feeling. I watched the boy being chased by them and they weren’t that far behind.
Where were his parents?
Were they dead?
Were they alive?
How long was he going to last?
Would this be a good time to stop the car?
What about my granddaughters?
Should we risk it?
“What do I do dad?” She asked, “should I stop the car, should we save him?”
She was quickly glancing at me for guidance. I felt the pressure. I had to make my mind up quick.
Drive passed?
OR…
Stop?
