~ Luke ~

The truck bounced and jerked from dropping off the curb. I flicked my eyes to the rearview mirror to make sure they didn't follow us.

"I understand why you failed your test..." Lucy said as she gripped onto the door handle.

"We're alive aren't we? Besides I panicked with those guys there..." I swerved around cars parked in the street in front of houses.

I slowed down as we passed a small family packing up their car from the light of a street light. I was about to stop, but remembered what that guy said so I sped back up. People were in their houses with their lights on, living like nothing was happening. They don't know the severity of present events or that their home can be next.

"Didn't they watch the news? Our house couldn't have been the only one broken into."

I stopped at a stop sign and was about to accelerate when a truck sped by going to the left. The truck jolted to a stop as I hit the brake. Lucy squealed before covering her face in her hands.

"Lunatic... you alright Luce?" I tried to slow my own heartbeat.

"Just go please... let's get to the cabin and to Pa and Ma." She said from behind her hands.

The truck pulled forward and followed the reckless driver's path. This road was dark. No lights, no people, and smoke was in the headlights. I turned on the brights, but that didn't help much.

The orange glow from the city was bigger and the smoke was forming above like thick clouds. The change in visibility with one turn was surprising. "I can barely see a thing..." I continued forward and turned right.

"Keep going straight and you'll head out of town to the backroads. Then it's a fifteen minute drive to the cabin." Lucy rested her head against the window. I sighed and focused on the road as we broke through the smoke.

A figure stood in the road. Lucy leaned up as I stopped the truck. The figure limped slowly towards us.

"Oh my god... Luke! He's hurt!" She started to unbuckle, "we gotta help hi-"

"Stay in the truck."

I put it in park, grabbed the bat and opened the door.

"Are you going to hit him?! He's dying! We need to get him help Lucas!"

I glared at her. "I said stay in the truck!" My voice was harsh and loud. It made Lucy jump and she quieted down.

"Stay here. I need to check something." I shut the door and walked toward the man who was getting closer.

"Be careful..." Lucy said through a slightly cracked window.

My palms got clammy as I inched closer to the man, or what seemed like a man.

He was just as the robber described; sickly looking, blood covered his clothes and his eyes were glazed with a cloudy film. There wasn't an accident nearby that I could see, so maybe this is just a freak coincidence and he's a human who needs bad medical treatment.

"Maybe I'm being filmed and this is all one big joke. If this is a TV show, this is a bit extreme."

But my cautious side kicked in.

"Make sure. You have to see for yourself."

"S-sir, are you OK?" The man didn't reply, just kept walking my way.

As he got closer, I saw more of this man. There was blood everywhere on his body, not just his clothes. It's like he was blasted by paintball guns...full of blood. In fact, this is what I envisioned someone to look like after devouring another living creature.

I widened my eyes when I noticed an object sticking out of his body. Bones maybe? I wasn't sure.

The man didn't look at me directly, more like, in my general direction. The man made a sound similar to that of a dying animal. It started low at first, but grew to a growl as his jaw opened and snapped shut.

I took a few steps back, looked at the truck then back to the mangled man.

"Stay back!"

The man slowly picked up his pace as he groaned.

"I'm warning you..."

The man lunged and I yelped and tripped over my own feet and stumbled backwards.

"These shoes are too small, my feet are cramped... Man that hurt."

Quickly getting up, I ran back to the truck. Lucy opened the driver's side door for me and I got in as the man made his way to the front of the truck.

"What the hell..." My heart thumped hard against my chest.

I put the truck in drive and hit the gas. The driver's side mirror cracked against the head of the man, knocking him down as we took off.

Lucy was wide eyed and breathing heavily, "Did we just murder someone?!"

I couldn't believe what just happened. "The guy was right..."

"What guy? And right about what Luke? What's going on?" She questioned.

I tried to collect the thoughts that were going crazy in my head. "The guy in the house. He said people are dying, and-and coming back to life. That guy had a piece of something through his chest! His chest Lucy! He should be dead, not moving around... he was a dead man, like... a zombie."

Lucy was in disbelief. "There's no such thing as zombies! Those are only in movies!"

An intersection appeared in the headlights. I prepared to turn without stopping and accelerated quickly, turning to the left.

"I don't know, but I do know-"

POP!

I was cut off as the truck's passenger front tire collapsed under the pressure and snuck underneath. The truck leaned towards the passenger side and made contact with the concrete and skid to the road's shoulder. As the truck tilted over, the world slowed to a crawl. Lucy's screams and the dizzy feeling, all of it slow.

The whole world seemed to turn upside down. The truck tipped over and rolled twice down a ditch before resting on its top. I hit my head on the window during the rolls, hard.

Lucy's muffled cries seemed distant.

"...Luke..." I heard her voice, but couldn't see her. Everything was dark.

Blood made its way down from the open wound on the side of my head. It dripped to the ground and onto my arms as I hung helplessly in the seat belt.

A light flashed around the car. I couldn't really pinpoint its location because I couldn't focus on anything at the moment. The blood rushed to my head while I tried to shake the ringing from my ears.

Lucy's cries became clearer. "Luke wake up! Please... please I need you...this can't happen again..."

My vision refocused and the dizziness stilled. I found her as a light flashed in from behind her. Hands reached around her and took her out of the car.

"LUKE! HELP! LET. ME. GO!" She kicked and screamed as she was dragged away.

Anger built up inside me, but I couldn't do much. The light reappeared and flashed over my face, blinding me temporarily. A hand took our backpack. The light hurt my head so I closed my eyes while drifting in and out of consciousness.

A girl's voice sounded from the dark that seemed to consume me. "There's a lot of blood on this one.. He probably won't make it. Should we finish him?"

A man's voice cut through the darkness next, "Not with her here... we'll come back later. He isn't going anywhere. We need to get her and the rest of us away from here."

I watched the light move around the truck from behind my eyelids. After the light was gone, I forced open my eyes.

"Lucy...," I gasped, trying to retake the air I had lost, "Lucy..."

Muffled screams from outside sounded as Lucy struggled against being pulled away.

I pulled my arms up to the seat belt and pushed hard on the seat belt button, it clicked loose and I fell straight down on my back.

I groaned in pain while rolling over and sliding my hands across the bottom of the truck. I winced as glass dug into the fleshy part of my palm. Blood now ran down my cheek and tried to sneak into the corner of my eye. My hand brushed across the bat, I grabbed it and pulled it close then pushed the drivers side door open.

I crawled out of the totalled truck. My head spun and pounded, my hands shook and throbbed and my back ached. I stumbled to my feet using the bat as a support for my limp weight. I carefully made my way up the ditch, hearing Lucy's screams nearby.

A car door shut and then another, followed by the sound of an engine. I made it to the road as the car pulled away. I reached forward with my hand as the car sped away.

There was a small road ahead and they turned on it. Dust kicked up from the tires as they took into the trees. The bright red of the taillights showed through the dark, they couldn't be far. The world began to straighten out and finally, I was able to stand more firmly. Everything was still sore though. I lightly touched my head and instantly regretted it.

Pain surged through every nerve and my fingers were coated in something wet. It was dark so I couldn't see well, but I knew what it was.

Blood.

I limped towards the trees and bit my lip to endure the pain.

"Hang on Lucy... I'm coming."