Rise up

Chapter One: The Outbreak

It's all over the news- or it was everything has shut down its just everyone for themselves now. But that doesn't matter not when you can just look out the window and see it. Dead people are walking around and eating the living.
       As soon as it started I grab Ramona and Lilo from school and called Nani to get her ass back home now. So when she refused I told her Lilo was sick in the hospital. She was home the next day, pissed? Yes. But she was safe wasn't she? I told them to pack their shit and be ready to leave they did as told like always.
       "I don't understand why we're packing up. Are we moving?" Lilo asked confused. Poor Lilo she was only ten.
    "No- Yes- Um kinda?" It was hard finding the right words to tell her we were going to find a safe place but I knew she wouldn't understand. "Yes we are moving to Atlanta, Georgia."
     "Why?! I like it here! All my friends are here! Why do you have to do this?! What's wrong with South Carolina?!" She yelled at me.
    "It's not safe here anymore." I said  quietly. "We need to go somewhere safe. Now get your clothes in a bag and be ready to go." She opened her mouth to say more but thought against and went to her and Ramona's room and started packing.
      "Why is it not safe here anymore?" Nani asked from the kitchen. "Do you really believe it's safer anywhere else?"
"Do you believe in dead people walking around?" She opened them closed her mouth but then went back to putting food in the duffle bag she was filling. I went to my room and put all my clothes in a bag and turned to my safe. But then I remember something in my bedside table. I opened it up and looked at what was inside. A small box with my secret in it. I grabbed the box quickly and shoved it to the bottom of my bag. I then look at the picture on the table. It was of my family. My messed up family. It had my sisters, me, a woman who was my mom's best friend Nicole, her husband Tony and her two daughters Leeanna and Crystal. I broke the frame and grabbed the photo and the two behind it. I folded them up and put them in the inside pocket of my leather jacket and zipped it up. Then I looked back at the safe.
        I opened it and started taking everything in it out. Five handguns, four hunting knifes, a rifle, a shotgun, and ammo. I grabbed my crossbow and Nani's bow and arrows she never learned how to use. I put on my holster and put one of the guns and one of the knives in it. I grabbed a metal baseball bat and put it in my bag along with the ammo. I put my bow and Nani's quiver of arrows on my back. I put her bow with my bag and shotgun.
     "Girls in here now, all of you." I yelled for my sisters to come in my  room. I gave them each a holster that could hold a knife and a handgun.
       "Put those around your waist." I instructed.
"Why do we need this?" Ramona asked.
"To hold these." I gave them each a gun and a knife. They all know how to shoot and Nani knows how to use a rifle. "Here." I said giving it to her.
     "To bad I never learned how to shoot my bow, right?" Nani said trying to lighten everything up. All I did was give her a small smile.
    "Ok your guns are to stay in your holsters unless you have to use them. Understood? I'm not going to take them away from you I'm not stupid you need to protect yourself and I'm not taking that away from you okay?" They all nodded I know they won't use the them unless they have too. Lilo looked unsure about the gun and knife she now carried on her person. "Okay everyone has everything packed and in the living room?" They nodded "And it's only things we need? Like blankets and clothes, food and water?" They nodded again but Lilo was a little hesitant. "You packed your bear?" She nodded. "That's ok. We need him." She gave me a slight smile. "Ok let's go" We had seven bags, four for our clothes, one for our blankets and pillows, and two for our food and water. We were on our way.
    "I wonder if anyone we know is okay." Lilo said about thirty minutes into the ride.
    "Their dead." I said keeping my eyes on the road.
"You don't know that." Ramona said.
"Might as well be we ain't ever going to see them again." They just turned to look out their windows. I know she was thinking about. Nicole, Tony, Leeanna, and Crystal.Nani was sleeping because she was going to have to take over for me once I got too tired, she wouldn't have liked the answer I gave Lilo.