Just Another Zombie Story

Chapter 3

Dean's POV

               Shit has gone down.

I dont know what the hell is going on to be completely honest.

My mother is dead, and I am assuming my dad is as well. Charlie's family is gone too except for baby Leland. We are in her car, driving around with no direction in mind whatsoever, in pure silence. The ride was unpleasant.

"Want to listen to some music?" Out of nowhere, she asked.

I nodded. I watched as she pulled out a CD. It read 'Mix' on the upper part. Charlie began tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as Panic! At the Disco's 'House of Memories' played. I watched as she began humming slightly. It was making me wonder how she was being so calm right now. That was until I saw the stains of make up on her shirt. The way her lips formed an automatic frown even though her favorite band was playing. Or the way her face seemed to have gotten 50x lighter than the rest of her body.

She was broken.

Never in my years of knowing this girl have I seen her like this. Hell, she was the poster child of big smiles since elementary school. Charlie was known as the girl who always smiled. On the ugliest days, you could count on her having a cheerful toothy grin on her face.

I lowered the music and looked at her. Her light brown eyes looked into mine for merely a second before looking at the road.

"What?" She said.

"You don't have to pretend to be okay." I said. The words came out hoarse due to the lump of sadness in my throat. I felt the car come to a stop and the engine shut off. She looked out the window and remained like that for a minute or two before I pulled her into my arms. Her body shook as she cried. And it honestly made me feel angry. Angry at the world. Angry at God. Angry at everything.

I felt myself begin to cry along with her. Salty tears sliding down my cheek.

***

It doesnt really dawn on you what is happening once you actually sit down and talk about it. People always joked about what they would do when the zombie apocalypse came. But something they never put much thought about was the things that they would lose.

No one ever took it seriously; it was just a fantasy created by the morbid human mind. But that fantasy was now quickly becoming reality. And it honestly sucked major balls.

You would think:
I'll just raid some random gun store and I'm set.

Bullshit. There isnt any time for that. It's either run, or be eaten. There is no maybes. No 'I should' or 'we should '. There is just 'survive or die trying' in this world. Its not a game were you can just pause and start over.

It sucks. It really, really, really, fucking sucks. My mind was completely dumbfounded about this thing that was happening.

I was driving now. Charlie rested next to me; her gentle intakes and exhales of air keeping me from having a panic attack. Right now knowing she was here with me is what keeps my from going absolutely insane. Seeing Leland in the back seat, kept me from giving up. It was just us for now. Why has everything come down to this? Is this how everything is going to end? No goodbyes? This is painful.

My hands tightly grip the steering wheel as I try to stop myself from falling asleep. I began to drive slower, just in case. Soon enough, I spotted a building.

"Hobb's Inn. Seems kind of sketchy but whatever."

Now,  I know this is a bad idea. But driving while tired with a child in the backseat is also a bad idea. I looked back at the rearview mirror and saw Leland looking out the window; his round eyes reflecting the dark sky and the stars. If only he knew what was going on, I thought.Without a second thought, as I reached the entrance, I made a turn and went into the empty parking lot.