Into The Dark

{1} The Beginning

[Ash]

I sit in my room reading Crank. Its about this girl who visits her dad and meets a boy who gets her into drugs and then when she goes home, all these terrible things happen to her.

It's very interesting. Considering the faults of this world.

"Ashley! Get down here! Now!" Father screams at me.

I jump up and run down the stairs. Father is holding a smashed glass beer bottle in hand, standing in front of mother who is on the floor in the corner.

Father turns to me and I back up a bit. "Finally! What took you so long?!" He asks me, walking up to me.

"I-I'm sorry... I was just reading and-" I begin.

"Shut up! I need you to run to the store for me! There ain't no food in the damn fridge!" He screams at me.

"Y-yes father." I say quickly and run out the door, giving mother an apologetic and scared look.

I am currently 18 years old. My father has been like this since my older sister died five years ago. It was my fault.

I begged and begged her to let me go to a party with her. She finally said yes and after the party, we were cornered and she was killed protecting me.

Father has been really angry since. He hurts mother and me, but mother tries to protect me and I hate it. She just gets in even more trouble and gets hurt a lot more.

I don't pay attention as I run through the streets to the store until I run right into a person. We both fall and I quickly apologize.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't see you! It's completely my fault!" I say and look up.

It's a man but, his face is wrong. His skin is hanging loosely on his face and it is extremely grey. His teeth, the most horrifying part, is covered in blood and snapping at me.

I scream and back away on my hands. "S-stop! Leave me alone!" I scream at the man who continues to bite at me with his bloody teeth.

I find a way up and run. I run in the general direction of my house, looking around me incase of another biting person coming towards me.

I make it to my house and run through the door. I slam it closed and lean against it in fear and exhaustion.

"Mother?! Father?!" I call out.

I hear clunking in the kitchen and I walked towards it quietly. I peek around the corner and see mother with the glass bottle in her stomach but she's still alive and clawing at something on the ground.

I walk around her and see that it is father. His stomach was ripped open and she was eating his organs.

I put my hand over my mouth and choke on a sob and gag. Tears stream down my face.

"Mother! Stop it! Please!" I beg as I pull her shoulder back gently.

She zips her head back at me and starts biting at me. I scream and fall back, mother crawling towards me. I cry as I back up. "Mother! Please! Stop!" I kick her in the face which stuns her for a second.

I use that and get up quickly. I look back at mother as she slowly stands up. I turn around and run back out the door.

I run through the streets of Griffin, Georgia. I run as far as I can, seeing people attacking other people and ripping them apart.

I try to look away, but it's everywhere. The people's cries of fear and pain echo through the streets. I can't tell if these people are alive... or dead.

I make it to the country. I fall to the ground out of breath. The sun has already set.

I have no supplies. No food. No water. No place to sleep. I'm alone and I have no hope of surviving with these... Biters... Roaming around.

I stand up and walk to an abandoned car that's in the field. I make it to the open door and look in. A biter is sitting there.

It turns its head to me and starts biting at me. I look around quickly and grab a large stick. It comes at me and I quickly stick it in its stomach.

It continues to come at me even with the stick in its middle. I panic and back up with the stick still in my hands. I throw the stick as hard as I can and tip the biter away from me and onto the ground.

I quickly run back to the car and shut the door. I look for the keys and start the engine.

I breathe in deeply, scared and excited to finally drive. I put my foot on the engine softly and it starts moving.

I continue driving at this pace until I reach the road. Once I am on the road, I drive faster. I'm not completely sure where I'm going, but I can't stay there.

I drive until I feel my eyelids start closing. I pull over and park the car. I lean the seat back after putting the keys in the pocket of my jeans, and lay down.

I start sobbing. I can't believe this is happening. It started out a normal day to finding my parents literally killing each other.

I cry harder remembering the picture of my mother and father in the kitchen. I will never get that picture out of my mind.

I feel the guilt swelling up in me for leaving my mom like that. Not helping her and just abandoning her. I will never forgive myself for leaving her behind like that, even though I know that there was no way of stopping her from becoming a biter.

The thing that scares me the most, is knowing that this is only the beginning. The beginning of something so horrible and terrifying that nothing will ever be the same.

I finally find sleep, but it is plagued with nightmares of the biters and my parents. And worst of all, my sister as a biter.