The End of an Era/Epilogue

Class Four/Five(?) Outbreak: June 23rd at 12:00am

Current Location: Greenville, SC (Williams's POV)
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I watched the first rack fall, and the huge thud probably alerted the zombies I managed to escape from. Thinking about it now, I figured I made the right decision anyways, escaping the grocery store where the raider I was kind to.

A constant whirring noise was keeping me from losing consciousness, but it was so loud that I couldn't even decipher what it could possibly be.

That's when I began to slip into a deep sleep, my body still fighting it, but my mind telling me that I was to exhausted to fight anymore.

That was when everything went black.

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"Hurry! Before it collapses!" The sargent screamed over the noise. "We have about three minutes!"

Navarez helped opened the door, then he turned to me and pointed outside. "I'll stay with the kids, you two go!"

I wanted to protest, but Navarez was already climbing into the drivers seat to help keep the helicopter afloat. Both my heart and mind were overwhelmed with emotions, barely able to process anything.

Nodding and taking a deep breath, I jumped onto the ground. I turned to look back, and I saw my siblings pressed up against the window with fearful expressions on their faces.

"Let's go Jeremy! We have two minutes!"

That caught my attention. I ran to follow the sargent towards the store that was almost caved in on itself, praying to God that we were in the right place.

Once we got there, Sargent Brown leading the way, both of us began to scramble to look for him. I made my way over the concrete blocks towards the back of the store.

Fire began to break out as everything started to tip over, and I noticed that the sargent was beginning to get scared. Then his eyes lit up with realization. "He's right here! Help me lift him up!"

My heart jumped, and it was my dad, with blood all over his body. His left arm was bent in a strange way, but nothing else seemed too out of the ordinary. I quickly picked up his backpack, which had a journal in it. I grabbed the gas mask and then began to lift him up.

We walked him to the helicopter, which was still where it was before, and Navarez began to scream, "We have to go now! Thirty seconds!"

We walked faster, eventually hoisting him up on the floor of the cabin. Braxton and Olivia helped us by dragging him out of our way. Sargent Brown pushed me inside, quickly followed by him closing the door right behind us. I also saw hundreds of zombies chasing at us as Navarez began to pull away.

As the sargent began to work on our dad, I saw a bright light get closer and closer towards us, and I stared. I was mesmerized by its flash.

Then it made contact to the ground, and every single building, except for a few houses far outside its limits, crumbled to dust and debris.

I held my sibling close as Navarez mumbled something under his breath, loud enough for me to hear.

"It's the end of an era."

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Around an hour or so later, still in the skies, Sargent Brown walked up to me. He took a seat and stared out of the window. Clearing his throat, he looked at me and nodded. "Your father is going to be fine."

I glanced behind me, and Brax and Olivia were asleep in separate seats across from each other, which made me happy. Turning back to him, I nodded. "I'm glad. Thank you for everything."

"You're welcome, son. We may not have escaped death back there like we did if you were any slower," he said, smiling a little.

I grinned as well. "Yeah, sorry about that. I couldn't really process anything because of-"

He waved his hand, causing me to stop. "No no, don't worry about that now. We have your dad, and he's going to be fine, kid. Trust me."

After everything that's happened in these last few days, it was hard to trust anybody. Sometimes, I can't even trust myself with my own decisions.

• • • • • •

Navarez landed in the same spot we took off in, and I carefully woke up my siblings. Olivia immediately asking Sargent Brown several questions about Dad, but I calmed her down, for his sake at least. Braxton just stayed back, probably too shy or scared, or both, to speak. I didn't really blame him for it.

"Here, I'll go get a stretcher for your dad. Give me a minute," Navarez said, hopping out of the helicopter.

It had to be at least three to four in the morning, and all of us were exhausted. I could tell off of everyone's faces. The sargent was about to pass out in the seat.

A few minutes later, Navarez poked his head in the helicopter, startling me a little. "Um, sir? You may want to check this out."

A concerned look grew on the sargent's face, and it made me worried as well.

He signaled me to stay back, probably to keep an eye on the kids and Dad. As they left, I knelt down to Dad, putting my index finger under his nose. He was breathing gently, which gave me some relief.

After a while, neither of the men had returned, and it was worrying me a little more. I was curious on what Navarez seemed upset about, but I didn't want to leave the kids alone by themselves.

Eventually, the men came back, and I could tell something was wrong.

"What happened?" I asked, a little cautiously.

"Jeremy..." Navarez said, looking me dead in the eyes. I stared right back at his face, not knowing what to expect.

"Everyone's dead."

A big silence grew across the helicopter, and I knew then that a new adventure would start.
This time, I was better prepared, and I was going to do whatever it took to survive, with the help of two good people.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

The sargent looked at my dad, then at me.

"Whatever it takes."
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To be continued.....