Contest: Infectious

Host: PJHDstoryteller

"Hey Luce?" Ana wonders, flopping down on the grass beside me.

"Hmm?" I peak a glance at her as she pulls long blonde hair over her shoulder and begins to braid it.

"Why do you think they made walls around the city? What could be out there?" She questions, batting big violet-blue eyes at me. I shrug and flip over onto my back, letting the book clasped between my hands to fall carelessly against my chest.

"Maybe there's an invasion. They're protecting us." I respond absent-mindedly as I watch the way the cloud creep cautiously through the gray colored sky.

"From what though?" Ana pushes, kicking her feet out behind her as she wraps a band around the end of her braid. I sigh and press my palms into my eyelids, seeing colorful stars dance behind my closed eyes.

"Ana, I don't know. Really, what does it matter?" I snap, irritation humming along my skin as the subdued sun colors it a light brown. She huffs, casting me a dark look of annoyance.

"Whatever." She mutters as an ear piercing scream breaks through the calm. Ana lurches to her feet, lunging upward onto a tree branch and scampering up the bark with barely a moment's delay. I scramble up and dash toward the house, my feet hit against the side of the building and I flip backward, grasping ahold of the clothes line pole. Using only upper strength, I swing myself up onto the roof, where Luciana was already staring out over the enclosed city.

"Where's Adi?" Ana questions in a high pitched tone as I step up beside her, observing the horror with fearful eyes. The once peaceful city was in ruin, cars were spread out along the streets and the blood stained ground was littered with bodies. Ana and I watch in shock as some of them moan and rise to their feet, terrible mutilated scars and wounds spread out along their bodies. Some were missing limbs or stumbled along on limp appendages.

"What on earth?" I mutter under my breath, terrified by the scene unfolding before me. Ana grips my arm tightly between white knuckled fingers, her body shaking slightly.

"Luce! Where is Adelaide!?" She yelps, attracting the attention of several walking corpses. I jerk, turning my head toward her in a daze.

"At Lance's place, he took her and Marnie our for ice cream." A shudder runs down Ana's spine and she jumps over the edge of the roof, glancing wearily up at me.

"Luce!" She hollers, running into our small home and letting the door slam behind her. I remain on the roof, my eyes transfixed on the slow moving creatures with unabashed terror. Then finally, Emily's face fills my mind's eye and I'm suddenly overrun with fear. I needed to get to Adelaide.

Stepping to the edge of the roof, I jump off and land on the soft grass with a dull thud. Clenching my fists, I follow Ana into the house to find her packing three backpacks. One mine, the other hers, and then a smaller one for Adelaide, I assumed.

"Ana?" Her head snaps up at the sound of my voice and she tosses me a package of waters.

"Shove those into your pack and find any canned food you can. I've packed clothes for all of us in Adelaide's pack, it'll be light enough for her. And we'll need a few blankets." I glance around the poor interior of our small home, looking around anxiously for those camouflaged blankets I normally despised.

"Like those?" Ana turns her attention away from rummaging through the medicine cabinet for a split second. Her eyes light up when she catches sight of those stupid blankets.

"Yes! They fold up easily and they'll keep us warm, pack them." I snatch up the blankets and fold them into softball sized bundles, shoving them hurriedly into Adelaide's pack.

"Get those knives you keep in the basement." Ana demands as she brushes past me, dropping a bag of medication before me.

"What's this?" I question, rummaging through the items.

"Just stuff, Luce come on, we need to hurry!" Ana barks, shoving her feet into a new pair of tennis shoes. "I imagine you'll want to wear these." She says, throwing another shoe box at my feet.

"Yeah, thanks." I say as I cram the waters into my pack, followed by cans of food. Slipping my feet into the shoes, I dash down the hall and swing the basement door open to snatch the knives hooked on the wall beside the door. They were in case of an emergency. Ever since that incident a few years ago with Ana and that stalker we've kept these on hand.

"Luce!" Ana yelps as moments later a huge crash vibrates through the house. I jump to my feet and dart out into the kitchen where Ana was currently fighting with a badly mutilated creature. I grasp the hilt of the one of knives and toss it at Ana. It soars over her head and notches itself into the wall. She reaches up and pulls it free, jamming it into the thing's head. It gives a cry of defeat and falls to the ground in a heap. Ana sighs and falls backward, her skin splattered in blood.

"Ana, you alright?" I ask, running to her side. Ana nods, grasping my free hand and climbing to her feet.

"Zombies. That's what they are. Dead beings." Ana mutters.

"How do you know that?" I snap, refusing to believe it. She scowls and places the bloody knife hilt in my palm.

"I just looked one in the eyes Luce, trust me. It was completely void of any humanity." She says, just then my cell phone starts beeping and we both jump. I pull the device from my back pocket and hit answer without thinking twice about it.

"Hello?"

"Daddy!!" Adelaide shrieks, her child-like voice ringing through my head.

"Adelaide, where are you?" I ask, fear striking through my heart. Ana grabs the three packs and tosses one at me. She lifts one of the wooden floor panels of the kitchen and pulls out our absentee father's gun and a couple packs of bullets.

"Come on." She snaps as Adelaide continues to cry on the other line.

"Marnie is hurt! Her daddy bit her!" Adelaide yelps as animalistic snarls echo in the background.

"Where are you?" I repeat, my voice a little more forceful.

"Marnie's room! She's bleeding Daddy!" Adelaide shrieks, her voice quivering.

"Shhh! Adelaide, calm down and wrap the wound in some form of clothing. Okay? Lock the door, I'm coming to get you. Just stay put."

"Hurry!" Adelaide whimpers and the line erupts in a series of crackling.

"Where is she? Is she okay?" Ana asks as I follow her out of the house.

"Marnie's hurt, they're locked in her room." My sister clenches her jaw and swings herself up onto the wooden fence, balancing on the top.

"They're everywhere. We'll never make it to Marnie's if we have to fight." I duck my head, clenching my fingers in my tangled hair.

"We have to." Ana hops down, her eyes glistening with determination.

"I know, do you have your car keys? We'll bulldoze through them." She decides, walking through the yard toward the garage. Ana forces the door open, making a loud screeching noise in the process, and dashes inside. I press the unlock button on the car and run around to the passenger side.

"Here." I say, throwing her the keys once we're in the car.

"Put these in the back." Ana demands, turning the key and pressing the gas. The car lurches toward and rams into the fence at the end of the driveway. I climb into the back and drag the three backpacks with me, watching as she runs several walking corpses over in the street. The car jerks as it runs over several bodies and Ana loses temporary control of the vehicle. It swerves, the nose coming dangerously close to hitting a light post.

"Careful!" I snap from the back, Ana glares at me from the backseat.

"Hush!" She barks, turning the car into Marnie's backyard. A loud bellowing howl erupts from the interior of the house as Ana parks the car and switches off the engine. With the gun in hand, Ana lunges from the car. I follow closely behind, a knife in each hand.

"Adelaide!" Ana shouts, eyes focused on the Marnie's bedroom window. Suddenly, a little head of blonde curls appear at the window, tear streaks across her rosy cheeks. I push past Ana and stride forward.

"Daddy! Marnie won't wake up!" Adelaide yells, attempting to push the window up but to no avail.

"Back away from the window." I tell her, slashing savagely at the screen and digging my fingers under the edge of the window. When it doesn't budge, I release my hold and back away from the glass. There was a tree growing in Marnie's backyard and one the branches had grown right above her window. With enough speed, I could grab it and break the glass with my feet.

"Luce!" Ana calls as several dead come hobbling through the hole we'd created in Marnie's backyard fence. "Hurry!" I nod and focus my attention on the branch. Taking several steps back, I clench one knife between my teeth and run forward. Pushing off the ground, I reach up and clasp my hands around the rough bark and swing my body forward, sending my feet flying through the window. Adelaide shrieks as I release the bark and roll into the room, the knife falling free from my mouth.

"Daddy!" She squeals, running toward me as I pull myself up off the floor. Adelaide falls into my open arms, her small body shaking violently. I wrap my arms around her and hold her tightly for several moments before a loud bang echoes off the bedroom door and Adelaide yelps.

"What was that?" I question, finally noticing Marnie passed out on the floor for the first time. Crimson blood pooled beneath her, dripping steadily from a wound in her arm that was poorly tied by a white sweatshirt. Adelaide tucks herself behind me and whimpers.

"Marnie's daddy, he's been trying to knock the door down. He bit Marnie." She whispers as another quiver runs through her body. The bang sounds again and Marnie stirs. But a strange creature like yelp leaves her lips.

"Okay, Adelaide I need you to climb out the window now. Ana will catch you." I say, keeping my eye on Marnie's wiggling form.

"Wait, is Marnie waking up?" She asks, taking a step toward her friend. I place my hand out before her and move her to the window.

"Adelaide go." I glance over my shoulder to see creature Marnie stumbling to her feet. "Ana!" I yell, my sister glances over and stabs a creature in the head before dashing to the window.

"Yeah?" I glance behind me, my hold on Adelaide tightening.

"Catch her!" I yell, shoving Adelaide out the window just as Marnie lunges forward. I twist, kicking my foot out and nailing her in the chest. She stumbles back but gets up just as quickly.

I pull a knife from my belt and dodge as she barrels toward me. Marnie slams into the wall, blood oozing from a fresh wound on her forehead that she doesn't even register. She just makes a gurgling noise and stands up again.

I catch a glimpse of her eyes to find them dull and empty, void of any human emotion. Just dead and crazed.

Without a moment's thought, I chuck the knife at her skull and watch her small, child-like frame fall limply to the ground. Resting my hands on my knees, I stare at the girl's dead body and silently rejoice that it wasn't Adelaide.

The loud thump comes again, but this time the wood splinters a bit. Shaking myself free if my daze, I pull the bloody knife from Marnie's head and take a clean t-shirt from her to and wipe it down. Then I place the knife between my teeth and jump out the window.

Once on the ground, I pick the other knife up from where I'd left it and get in the car. Ana revs the engine and drives off as Adelaide curls herself against my side.

"Daddy?" Adelaide asks after several moments of silence. "Where are we going?" I look down at my seven year old daughter and sigh.

"I don't know."