(The monstrous 5k word intro to my book It's Only Us...)
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Just in case, much of the Intro is through Jordan's eyes when she is eight...

"If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?"

Jeremiah‬ ‭12:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

http://bible.com/1/jer.12.5.kjv

The Day Before Micah's Birthday

Micah

I laid on the couch, phone in hand, texting my crush from school. The party was later tonight and mom and dad are in town for the presents and party supplies. Jordan came in,

"When are you going to work, Micah?"

"I'll be at work today at five, and I will be back at eight."

Later as I was getting ready for work she came out from building Legos and asked,

"When are mom and dad gonna get home?"

"I think sometime after I am at work."

Day 1- eight year old Jordan 2:05:57 (2:06 A.M.)

I rose groggily to get a drink of water. We didn't have Micah's early surprise party yet and the more I thought about it, the more worried I became. After going to the bathroom I went to Micah's room, surely he was asleep. I was in my jams and bunny slippers so I don't make much noise.

I peeked the door back carefully, and then shut it tentatively. The goosebumps made my skin cold, he wasn't in there. "Maybe mom and dad are home", I thought, going towards the staircase.

Before getting there I was made more scared from the sounds outside. It was hunting season, but there was more gunshots than normal. A police siren passed by, my friend's dog next door was barking a lot and it's a nice doggy.
When I was at the bottom of the stairs the doggy yelped. I'm scared; the floor had wet footprints on it. Lightning struck, it was cold and rainy outside and I could see the back door open. First I thought, "Robbers!" But then I  halfheartedly reasoned, "Nah, maybe the wind blew it open?"

I then carefully followed the tracks to not get my slippers wet. Part of me wants to run to my room and hide under my bed but I was hungry. I went to the kitchen and the footprints did to.
We have night lights throughout the house because I am scared of the dark.
As I neared the kitchen I saw a shadow eating dad's anchovies. I said worryingly,

"Dad?"

The shadow flicked it's head toward the sound of my voice and gasped in alarm. Robbers! I ran into my parents' room and hid under their bed covering my eyes.

It was a moment before I heard the footsteps. Then the breathing, and I couldn't hold my eyes any longer. I opened my eyes thinking to see boots but I saw my friend's dad's bunny slippers under his bedtime robe. Water was dripping from him and bubbles, or, is that foam?

I almost called his name but he didn't seem right. Every breath he took sounded kinda like a strained burp. The way he stood was like a dog with it's ears perked up. He was more like a animal than a man.

I covered my mouth and my eyes were stuck with fear. He sniffed at the air, and then the heater kicked on in the kitchen, sending him away. I reached up to dad's bed stand and took his smartphone. Uncle David tried to call him twenty-two times, but that didn't matter to me now.

I wrestled with the code to the phone but I didn't know it. Giving up I pressed the emergency calling. A recording lady told me to wait.
A scream broke the pounding rain, closer and more numerous gunshots, and the ghostly wind with the lightning made tears break my eyes. I waited on the phone for an hour and the recording played over and over again. I heard a distant helicopter and-and a car outside. I didn't dare move.

I waited for any noise at all, but then I heard someone wrestling with a key. It had to be Micah! Only Micah has a car and house key!

First I checked the bedroom and ran to the bedroom door; I was NOT going into the hall. I waited for him, he will see me and everything will be okay! The door opened and I gasped with shock.

Micah usually smiles a lot, with big dimples letting his brown eyes and white teeth shine out from his black hair. He's white with a few chocolate chips dressing his face and body here and there. He would kidnap me laughing and kidding saying,

"Here's BackBeard!"- but he's hairy but not THAT hairy.

Micah's face now was spattered with blood, and his eyes. His eyes were so blank, lacking emotions, that my fear might never leave me. He was like a robot, I was startled when he spoke,
"Jordan, what are you doing?"

I told him about everything and when he heard about Mr. Toms, my friend's dad, he strode strongly into the room his coat billowing in the wind. A short half-white; half-Spanish woman with black hair followed him closely, also spattered with blood. She had Micah's work uniform on, a coat, and her name-tag said, though covered with a little blood, "Esperanza." She looked like a older and shorter Selena Gomez working for Whataburger with prettier eyes.

"One of them are here."

He said as he got the key from the closet, and opened the gun safe. Was he going to use those on Mr. Toms?

"Micah? Where's mom and dad?"

He replied as if unconsciously droning a answer, like he himself couldn't believe it, "They are trapped inside the city, in the quarantine."

"Quarantine?"

"Esperanza," he passed dad's loaded gun to her, "you might be better with an AR than me."

When she caught the gun I noticed dog tags, like my friend's puppy's, around her neck like a necklace.

"We can't take everything." She said like my mom would say to dad before a trip. Kinda syrupy? Maybe?

"I know-"

"What," I said, "is going on!"

They both said at the same time, "Shh!"

They both looked at each other and Micah's gaze drifted to his co-workers necklace, but it held there a moment strangely. Was he looking at her? Esperanza seemed not to notice.
He smiled shyly, snapping his eyes back to the gun safe, "You might be better than me with all my guns, actually."

"C'mere kid," Esperanza said, she guided me into her hands and gaze, my eyes facing behind her to the hall. I only went to her because she is a girl herself, "we are going to need you to be strong and obedient okay?"

I was too upset to answer but then I saw a tall white mass go into the room across us. I pointed, and stifled a scream. Her eyes grew wide and she turned with my dad's gun.

Micah had his shotgun and the 45. Colt, he raised the shotgun but was distracted by Esperanza's belt. He shook his head vigorously before she turned to him,

"Take the .357," he tossed that to her and she clicked the holster on very very fast.

Esperanza led into the hall, looking side-to-side; dad's gun in her arms.
"So," she queried, "Mr. Toms?"

"Yes, I know him," then darkly drawing emotion, "you might need to help me."

"Help with what, Micah?"

He almost cried snapping his head to glance at me, I could tell because I am his sister.

"Don't worry Jordan, don't worry."

I worried more, but now I can't bring myself to speak because I was  so worried. Esperanza walked very quietly and we were in the living room. Esperanza was aiming at the aquarium and I saw it.

Mr. Toms' hand was like a paintbrush being dipped in the watercolors washing cup. Except blood was the red paint and the aquarium the washing cup. Mr. Toms was trying to catch my fishies!

Micah grabbed me and pulled me back,
"Cover your ears."

I did, but I could still hear, just not as good. Micah came next to Esperanza, and checked his pistol. My eyes grew wide, surely not! He stood saying forcefully, tainted with sadness,

"Mr. Toms!"

I heard him gasp and bark. I think he growled like a cat wanting to get to my fish friends. Micah held the gun up and I heard Mr. Toms hobbling toward us like kids did when their momma gave them a spankin.

"I don't wanna do this!"

I yelled Micah's name and grabbed his legs and stopped fighting when I saw Mr. Toms face. Blood completely covered his nose, and chest. Blood trailed to his belly, and his forehead was spattered with blood. He roared like a T-Rex, but his mouth dropped foam and looked like his nose to his face.

Micah shot.

Blood and a chunk of meat came out of his chest. His mouth and eyes formed O's as he fell, and he croaked like a frog. A pool of blood mixed with water was forming when Micah grabbed me.
We hurried to the kitchen when a second shot rang. Micah had me pack a backpack with all the food I thought would last the longest. He said I had two minutes, but I stood there sniffling the whole time.

Are we moving now? Are we safe now? What's going on? Micah came back and noticed that I was standing in the same place, the exact same place. He held me and sent me to tell his friend 'two more minutes'. I did and I think she seemed to understand something I didn't.

We waited in the car, and Micah came to the wheel.

"Exactly two minutes." She said wryly looking at her watch, tears in her eyes.

"And I am tired as well. Bonus."

He started the car and started driving. We didn't drive far when he swerved scaring me.

"Are you alright?" Esperanza said worriedly.

"Yes, Hope, I'm fine."

"Hope?" I asked confused.

"Esperanza," she said with a fake smile, she was trying to make me feel better, "is a Spanish name for Hope. So it's my nickname."

I thought a moment. Hope. Hope is a nice name so I will call her that. I wonder how Micah can remember that mouthful of 'Esperanza' though.

After a while we were closer to town and Micah spoke,

"I thought we were going to see more trouble."

"Don't jinx us Micah."

We were coming up to some people walking down the road. The dad of the family saw us,

"This guy better not flag us down."

I gasped, "That's Sarah in the tu-tu!"

Hope spoke, "It's a family Micah."

"Thank you for the observation." Micah said darkly.

Sarah's dad ran toward us waving his arms and yelling nicely for us to stop. We swerved to get past him and then he got mean. He was grabbing the door ordering me to open it and I began to cry; Micah floored it.

After he held the ground door so much that we dragged him till he let go. When we got to town there was a big accident in the middle of town square. Two guys who had Micah's Whataburger uniform were in the car.
Hope sighed and raked her fingers through her hair, she exclaimed, "My car!"

"What those touchy punks get for stealing it."

We stopped behind traffic waiting for the G.I. Joe guys ahead to let us through. Hope looked at Micah confused,

"Touchy?"

Micah's eyes widened and he gulped nervously, "Is that Army?"

I thought I sensed that he wasn't nervous about that. It fooled Hope though,

"No, I think it's National Guard. Wish it was my old friends, be trippy to see the people that I trained with."

I sat forward, "What?"

"You don't have your seatbelt on?!"

Micah chastised, but Hope continued on with a story in her eyes,

"See I was in the Army until I was medically discharged-"

She was telling her story and I could see the cars in front of us. A man climbed through his car to get out of the passenger door and I wondered, 'why doesn't he just open his door and go around?' He bursted out and yanked open another person's car door. I screamed and cried as I learned how Mr. Toms was covered in blood.

Micah yelled something and backed the car to burn down the side streets. Several other cars did the same. I tried to clean my thoughts like momma cleaned my clothes. It didn't work.

Did Mr. Toms do that? Did Mr. Toms eat his wife and daughter like my dad's anchovies? The last question broke out of my mind like Superman from chains, and I screamed,

"Why are they doing that!?"

"Their sick!" Micah said forcefully, as if to clean his mind like momma's cooking did.

"Slow down Micah!" Hope said alarmed.

People were running in the streets and I couldn't tell who was good or bad. Everyone fought each other and no one was friends. A man pointed a metal thing at us and Micah crushed the brakes. Hope reached for her pistol and a window broke next to me the cold and rain enveloped us. A African American man took my teddy bear away!

Everyone screamed for us to get out of the car while we screamed for them to get away. The man who was in front of the car started shooting, blood covered the windows, and then people beat or ripped all the windows out.

The man who broke the window next to me was hit in the head with a bat. Hope was telling them to get away from me but they all didn't listen. She started shooting and her eyes, they didn't have the sparkling that they had when telling me her story. It was like daddy's eyes when he was very angry with me, and they drained my attention as red sprinkled my face and jammies.
Micah floored it, but for a moment mean men pushing the car made it slower. When Hope shot at them they stopped and ran. The car see-sawed over them that were shot or to slow. The man that shot at us was getting hit by another man with a bat. The man with the bat got away but the other guy made the car feel like a big evil kiddie horse.

"Why are they doing that!?"

I screamed and screamed. Tears flowed down Micah's face and his lip quivered, but he still looked angry. Hope was yelling Micah's name. I screamed to myself,

"Why can't they just be nice!? Why is everyone mean!?"

After one more scream my throat hurt so much I sat and sobbed.

"Micah!"

"What Jordan!?"

His voice was full of anger, like I was draining him.

"Why is everyone like animals?"

"I told you Jordan, their sick."

"Are you sick Micah?"

His expression turned into hurt like when mean kids at school bullied and made fun, but I wasn't trying to be mean. Esperanza pulled my head close like momma did, she whispered,

"I need you to be a good girl and do something for me okay," I saw more blood on her face, "stop asking questions okay?"

I was distracted by a fire, and at first I thought someone was cooking s'mores. I was wrong, as we passed I could hear and see a woman screaming; beating the car like older kids did listening to rock or pop music. Her skin was peeling like that of a marshmallow but going into the air like the sparks of a fire bed.

"That person is on fire!"

Micah moaned and wiped tears from his face.

"Jordan," Esperanza said, "don't worry about them. Just stay quiet, can you do that?"

People were running everywhere and she jerked, no, guided my eyes to her's, after seeing the urgency in her eyes I nodded. She smiled and turned to Micah,

"Are you going to be alright?"

He swerved sharply to not hit someone and he gave her a look like, 'Are you crazy?' His eyes full of tears and the color of the blood everywhere. She gave him a playful (as possible) look like, 'Are you going to answer me?' 'They act kinda like mom and dad' I thought.

"I guess," he said reluctantly.

He swerved again and I put my seatbelt on, at first it wouldn't come out but I got it. I was cold but we were almost out of town. Then a lot of white smokey stuff was ahead of us.

Hope cursed, "Tear gas!"

"Cover your eyes Jordan!"

We went straight into the smoke, squealing and screaming was around us. Shadows played differently in the smoke than normal; everything was like a ghost. Gunshots were seemingly going off right next to us. In one of the shadows it seemed like men were ripping Silly String from someone's tummy, and other shadows you could tell were running or armed and shooting people.

I saw a burning man that reminded me of the Human Torch. This man was squealing though. Micah exclaimed,

"Ice him Hope!"

She rose her gun to shoot but the human torch ran into the car.
The car see-sawed and then it rolled several times going into a street light; laying on it's side. Glass and water went everywhere, but I had my seatbelt on, it was fun! Until I saw Micah and Hope's faces.

Micah turned slowly to my stopped laughter, and he said slowly from the pain that the airbag thingy did, his teeth grit, he growled out,

"Get. Out. Of the car. Jordan."

He had a bad cut in the temple, and his eye was red and swelly; he looked scary. Hope looked sleepy and in pain. I did what he said, I got OUT of the car.

Well, I tried anyway.

A mean firefighter like the human torch guy jumped on the car and was reaching down at me like a gorilla trying to get a banana, the tear gas following behind the roaring foamy gorilla; billowing into the car. If dogs could squeal with delight, that's what I heard a lot of. Hands gripping the car flipped it upright and all reached for us. The car was on top of the fireman.

Thunder boomed in the rain and Micah kicked his door open shotgun in hand. I tried pushing the door open closest to him and he aimed his gun at me, I ducked and he shot someone who had his face in the floor of the car. It's hands were so close to me, wet with water and with blood. He shot near Esperanza next, and then he lifted me out with one hand.

"Esperanza!" He yelled.

She was slowly getting out the driver's side but she held her wrist like it had a boo-boo. She helped Micah shoot the bad guys with her pistol though. It's not like the cartoons though, I clung to Micah as meatballs fell from whoever they shot.

I heard lots of guns at the end of the street and all the mean hungry people ran away like doggies from the dogcatcher. Through the lifting tear gas the Army guys that Hope called 'National Guard' were shooting at everyone. Hope saw this and said wearily, "Into the buildings."

I was confused about that, 'Won't they help us?' I thought but Hope told me to be a good girl. Micah strode with the shotgun into the nearest building, 'tax office' was on the door. Lots of offices were inside, and I stole a mint off of one. It had two stories and we watched the army guys, Micah had dad's AR.
We all watched them get closer and closer to us. Then with the gas gone, a familiar man ran up to them loudly telling them not to shoot. It was Sarah's dad coming from where the guys were at when I saw them! Sarah and her mother slowly followed him!

The National Guard were right in front of the office and we could hear them.

"Get on your knees and hands behind your head!" They complied a little scared. "Sorry, just protocol."

They calmed a little to this. I was holding on to Hope's arm and she listened to the guys.

"Control," -they reported what was going on-, "over."

The silence that followed made Hope uncomfortable. The man who was talking glanced at Sarah and away,

"I don't know if I can do that,"

Esperanza seemed to panic, her eyes grew wide and her hand was clammy, and she gripped the gun tighter like something was coming,

     "Micah find a way out!"

     Sarah's dad's face turned white and he looked nervous.

     The man then said, "they have a kid with them Control!"

Silence followed then he said, "Okay, over and out."

He turned slowly, raising his gun slower. No, their-their not, they are the good guys! The rest of the men followed his example.

     Sarah's dad yelled to them, "No! No! We're unarmed!"

     Strained with emotion he replied, "I'm so sorry."

     Her dad ran to Sarah screaming before they shot. Sarah fell down with a boo-boo and her mother picked her up and ran away. The blood from her daddy mixed with the rain like a spilled watercolors washing cup.

     I could hear Sarah's mother screaming Sarah's name when Micah got us. Micah helped Hope through a broken window when a shot rang, silencing Sarah's mother. He helped me next, we were in someone's back yard, and Hope yelped and shot something.

     One of the hungry goonies was on the ground rolling around, a pool of blood mixing with the mud. Hope shot again and made a hole in his head the size of my Xtra wide school pencils. Micah spoke in surprise,

     "They climb trees!?"

      A slam sounded and the army guys behind us exclaimed a muffled, "Clear!"

      "C'mon!"

      Hope pulled on my brother's arm and I followed quickly. The rain was pouring down on us and we got to the back doorstep of someone's house. Micah barged in,

     "Is anyone home!"

     He crouched AR in hand, thinking of what to add,

     "We're armed so don't do anything stupid!"

     A rough voice bellowed, "Come closer."

     He did tentatively and stuck his head around a corner.  He placed his AR barely in front of him and said,

     "There's the gun in my hand," he stressed that a moment, "you lower your's and we'll come right out."

He must have because Micah came out and slowly put the gun on his back and Hope put away her guns and carefully followed. I held her hand sucking on my mint and trying to figure things out in my head.

     "We're a mess; so if you have kids," my brother said guiltily.

     "C'mon in."

We entered their living room and the family all looked up at us. The kind man told his wife to help Hope with her wrist, and his daughter to give me some new clothes and a coat. After he warned her to be nice and to share. I smiled.

Day 1-Micah 4:38:37 (4:39 A.M.)

The wife and son, helped fix Esperanza's wrist and she yelped from the pop. I noted sleeping bags and a bucket with a trash bag in it. The man who took us in was maybe in his late thirties and had a normal man's haircut, an athletic build and brown eyes and hair. His face held determination, a hint of kindness, and a five'o clock shadow.

     "Name's William; you can call me Will."

     "Micah," his son tossed me a water and Esperanza sat on the couch her hands embedded in her hair, her breathing straining. I drank deeply from the water,

     "What is going on out there Micah?"
I told him everything, the refugees escaping the quarantine showed up at Whataburger with whatever Infected that they had with them. In the chaos Hope's car was stolen and I kinda had to take her in. I hurried home for Jordan and then all the trouble after that.

Esperanza told the last part,
     "The military shot an innocent family, and killed a friend of Jordan's! A kid," she began to sob and mumble things to herself.

Will said, "Well," he paused and told someone to help with my eye, "I am a survival teacher and I thought about 'bugging in' until the quarantine passed, but if what you say is true we will 'bug out' with y'all right now." He shook his head in anger, "With the Guard killing kids I almost wanna stay in and give 'em some!"

Hope got up to load the mags and she distracted me as she passed. Amazing the power a little woman can have on a man. I have a crush from school, but I also have a few from work. She's twenty-two and for 4'11 she was well rounded being large-breasted and wide hipped with a good waist sandwiched in that Spanish spiced figure. Her complexion was pale, but I can't stop looking at her at times. Her face was like a beautiful yin-yang sign, black hair over her silver eyes with her white skin beneath. They fixed my cut and they trusted me to watch the back door, the locks don't work.

I was perched in the attic with a good view, the zombies were eating the one that Esperanza shot. Thunder boomed and rain drilled, guns drummed close and far, and screams and squeals filled the night. I sat perched with blood and chaos battling for my mental attention. Then around 5:30 they came.

The military climbed out the window I had smashed, a group of eight. My eyes widened and I went to the others, they knew already when they shot the 'crows' away. The packing seemed almost done and Will gave me a pained look,

     "Micah," he said, "we need more time."

     I got the drift, but I held mixed emotions. I don't want to it because they are human, and I have never killed anyone till today. Then the other side of me wants to avenge the innocent people they have killed. The latter side won, I had no choice, and I had always been good at using my anger in football and stuff.

     I got in my perch and aimed. They must be reporting to Control and didn't see me. I still didn't want to do it, it's like corporal punishment on a much larger scale. You don't want to hurt, but you must to teach a kid wrong. You force yourself to do it and every time it's hard to start, but easier to follow up on once begun. Now I must kill to make time.

     Hope told me to aim for the chest; I aimed for the throat on the first one. I blew out one's Adam's Apple and got another one in the shoulder. They all threw curses at me. Sorry, but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, murderers.

     The perch was peppered with gunfire and I stood back up. All but three were in coverage, only one was aimed at me. I felt one shot go by my ear and I plugged two in his chest.

     There's six of them now, the guy who has the throat wound is on his face. Two are closing in on the house. One is in the middle prone behind the tree and two others with the wounded in the back. One wasn't dying with the shoulder, but the guy I shot in the throat is done for.

     I leaned back to not show anything through the window to the guy by the tree. I planned for the two coming to the house. When I went into action we both looked at each other and my fright helped, I accidentally hit the jackpot, his helmet falling to the ground with some of his head.

     Hope shouted from below and I bolted I didn't like that guy behind the tree or his friends. Going down I heard the squeals and barks of the Infected mixed with the yelling and fire of the military. When I met Esperanza the lower house door slapped open.

     I froze as the jerk was blown over by Hope's twelve gauge, thanks Will. Butterflies filled my stomach as Esperanza tugged on my arm. Then the urgency caught up with me, the enemy might be able to tell we were retreating.

     "Get in!" Will yelled.

     I had to pull Esperanza in as we broke through the garage door. We peeled into the streets and the Infected ran toward us swinging at the air. Like old demon villagers throwing us out of town. We swerved in the van, putting it on two wheels.

     I done near shot myself.

     "Honey," Will told his wife, "the car might get messy before I overturn it okay?"

     Esperanza was crying and I put my arm over her shoulder. My mind went back to the night and the kids stared at us without me knowing; I was in another world. I could tell what they were staring at. I did the same thing to the refugees, the refugees saw the real thing but they can't believe it. It's real, but hope tries to tell you it's not, even though you're absolutely sure it is real.

     Esperanza dug deeper into my embrace. It takes a lot to get a Army man to be scared like any normal man. Does it take even more for a woman to do so? Jordan should be cuddling up with me, but they just stared at us.

      We saw so much it doesn't matter. It's like we only have one another and we are the only ones who understand. Jordan gasped,

     "The sunrise!"

     Will's wife looked back to check on us.

     That kid's blood splattered face smiled and said, "Happy birthday!"

     I sighed, I sadly didn't care, although I wish I did. I rested my head on Hope and tried to get some sleep.

Yes, ... it's only us.