The Evolution of Dakota Graves

Dead Man Walking

I storm to the kitchen.

"Daphne we gotta go!" I shout, Daphne walks towards me.

A day ago Miss Jenkins passed away, we couldn't really go over there, the radio is somehow still on, Daphne turns towards it.

"This is the emergency broadcast system......those who are bit....or have gotten the fever.....will be refused the permission to evacuate and will be quarantined....." Hannah looks at me.

"The fever....is that what they're talking about?" Hannah asks.

I nod, looking at Daphne, she closes her eyes.

"Hannah baby.....grab your clothes, pack very very light and be downstairs by five minutes." She says softly.

"Okay." Hannah nods, running down the hall and into her room. Daphne rushes to the small bookshelf with the white paint that's been peeling off, she pulls out the photo albums.

"We have to get there as soon as we can." I said, Daphne continues to pack the family photos, she goes into ths kitchen, she rummages through the cabinets causing packs of weed and some cans fall out. She stuffs them inside her bag.

I walk into my room, it had nothing but a bed inside it, I keep it clean, although there was a hole from the day my friend Brian got pissed and punched a hole through the wall.

I grab my bag, packing several clothes, and a picture of Hannah.

We have to get the hell outta here.

I run back into the kitchen to see Daphne holding a glock.

"Daphne, what are you doing?" I ask, she puts it down quickly.

"I'm sorry, just shook." Daphne says.

"You should get everything you have, leave a note to your husband if you have to but we're not staying." I say, she nods then jogs down the hall, the phone beeps.

"Daphne, I'm not coming home tonight, you should stay off traffic, since the fever is killing everyone you should stay home, I can't have you get sick." He says.

"Message two, Tuesday, 11:30 pm."

"Daphne, I'm at work, they won't let us leave and I'm not sure what's going on, my coworker went crazy....I'll call you once everything settles down."

"Message three, Wednesday, 9:26 pm."

"Thank God! I've been trying to contact you for hours! More people keep surrounding the meat shop, we don't know what they want, I swear that moaning and groaning is driving me insane!" I could hear low groans and moans.

"Message four, Friday, 12:49 am."

"D-Daphne?? Are you safe??? It's just me, I got away from those things, they're slow but they won't stop, they got Fred! L-look I have to go, I love you, get Hannah and find somewhere else that's safe-" It gets cut off, I take a deep breath.

I look out the window, some woman in a pale pink dress staggers around, she had pale skin, and some dark blood around her mouth, well, there was no skin on her cheek, like it rotted off, her neck had dark blood, she kept walking.

She opens her mouth then closes it, she turns around. Her lifeless eyes meeting mine.

I stagger backwards as she staggers towards out house, I hear more moans, there were more, their skin was rotting.

I'm not talking about the look on a corpse during a funeral, I'm seeing a woman, with some of her teeth gone, her hair was only in patches, her skin was pale and rotting off, she moans as she saunters closer, her hands roaming around the door like she didn't know how to open it...and her walk was like she was taking the first steps of her life.

I walk down our slim hallway with the white wallpaper peeling off, I open the door to see Daphne holding a glock.

"Daphne." I said quietly, she winces.

"I don't know what I'm doing Dakota." She admits.

"As a mother or are you talking about the gun?" I ask.

"You have no sympathy." She says.

"I lost it a long time ago." I said with a shrug.

I put the cigarettes in my pocket, then I look down at her. She hands me the gun.

A blood curdling scream causes us both to jump, I run towards the window to see a man screaming, more people surrounded him, Hannah stood beside me with her pink backpack on her shoulders, looking at the window.

I see more of those people who walked like they're drunk. Another man bites into the man's neck, tearing his skin with his teeth, the blood going to his arm, I try to cover Hannah's eyes.

"T-they're eating him! Oh my God!!!!!" Hannah shrieks, backing away from the window, I bend over to the side to throw up, my pills coming right out, I take short breaths.

"Dakota I'm scared..." Hannah says, her legs shaking.

"Don't look!" I shout. Daphne hugs Hannah.

"I'll use Drew's truck." She says, going to the desk and grabbing the keys off the corkboard, we hurry to the garage, I hear the glass shatter.

Shit.

"Go!" I yell aggressively, holding the glock up as they opened the garage.

Something pulls me behind, I struggle to get away, the I hear the aggressive moaning of one of those bastards, I pull my arm with my other hand, causing the bastard's hand to rip off, I pry the fingers off then ran towards the truck, the engine starts and Daphne starts to pull away.

She was trying to leave me behind.