Believer

October 20th, 4:25 pm

Current Location: Meridian, MS

Current Temperature: 36 degrees Fahrenheit
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Evelyn wasn't stupid. She sort of knew what to expect, but she didn't predict that it was going to be like...this. It was horrifying to look at, but after she finished her rampage, Evelyn looked at the bodies without a hint of emotion at all.

"We really need to leave, Evelyn," Jeremy called out to her. "I know you might want to stay longer, but the zombies are almost here. Maybe when it calms down, we can visit again."

She turned around and faced him. "We?"

His head tilted ever so slightly. "Yeah, of course. I'm sure that all of us would want to know all of the memories that your family witnessed together."

Evelyn looked at the rest of the group, who nodded in agreement. A small smile formed as she nodded. "Alright then. Let's get out of here."

With that, Evelyn followed the group away from the closet. Jeremy gripped her hand as they ran out of the apartment, and the screaming of zombies filled the air. It was a terrifying image to look at, as they only got closer and closer to their building.

"How the hell are we going to get out of here?!" Amelia exclaimed, clutching Braxton tightly.

William's eyes looked wild. His head shot back and forth between the incoming horde of zombies. "I...I don't know. We can't take that many on at once."

"Should we try the back entrance?" Evelyn asked frantically. "There should be a way to escape from there..."

William nodded. "Lead the way. We've got your back."

With that, Evelyn led the group down the stairs that led towards the main office and the basketball court. Of course, she just remembered that there was a back entrance because her dad usually entered through there due to convenience. She could hear the insane howling of the zombies behind her, and it only made her run faster.

"Watch out!" Jeremy called from behind her.

Evelyn hit the brakes as soon as she saw the problem. A Goul was charging straight at her, baring its claws in murderous intent. She almost let out a terrified scream, but Jeremy rushed out and stabbed the zombie with the knife he kept and continued to run in full stride.

"Let's go!" he called out to her. "Take my hand and come on!"

To this day, she'll never fully understand what it was about Jeremy that changed her. He filled her with confidence that she's never felt before. So, she took his hand and ran closely beside him.

"The gate is over there!" Evelyn pointed to a gate that had a rusted chain around it. It was a lot smaller than the main one, and it could easily be climbed if needed. Once they reached it, Evelyn tried the gate but it was rusted shut.

"We have to climb it," Bryan announced.

"Jeremy, climb over first and I'll help boost the kids over," William commanded, and he did as he was told. Bryan and Evelyn helped Jeremy over, and Amelia and William boosted Braxton over first. Then Olivia was next, climbing herself over with assistance from Evelyn.

"Evelyn and Amelia, go," William said, motioning them along. As they got over, Evelyn noticed that the zombies were getting dangerously close.

"Hurry!" Olivia exclaimed. "They're getting close!"

Bryan easily hopped over, but William had the most struggles. As the zombies closed in, Jeremy and the kids began to grow even more frantic.

"Daddy, hurry!" Braxton exclaimed over the noise. Olivia began to whimper.

William made it to the top of the fence, and the zombies were about thirty feet away and closing in fast. Then, one of the Gouls latched onto his leg, and Olivia screamed.

"Dad, no!"

With his off foot, he attempted kicked it off before it bit him. It worked, but Evelyn knew that it would only last for so long before he got angry. Jeremy reached up and grabbed his arms to pull him down with some success. William slowly began to fall forwards, and with the help of the others, they barely managed to save him from the zombies.

The giant horde pounded on the gate, desperate for just a nibble of somebody's skin. All we could do at the moment was stare in shock.

"Guys..." Bryan mumbled, but nobody answered him. We couldn't.

"Guys," he said again, this time louder. Evelyn glanced over at him. "We should get out of here before they bust down the gate. It can only hold so much weight."

Now that he mentioned it, Evelyn did happen to notice that the hinges on the gate getting looser by the second. She stood up and caught her breath.

"He's right," she said, tapping Jeremy's arm to snap him out of the shock. "We need to leave."

He looked at her for a moment before his mind brought him back to reality. "Y-Yeah. Dad, are you okay?"

William looked shook up and in a lot of pain, but he still managed to nod and begin to walk the way they came. "I'm okay. Let's make it quick and get the hell out of here."

Amelia suddenly gasped. "What about the van?! Didn't we lose it?"

Will hesitated. "She's right. It broke down near the high school."

Then, one of the hinges snapped off, and the weight of the zombies almost came crashing forward. If another one broke, it was likely that the last one didn't stand a chance.

"We don't have time to ponder this," William concluded to the group. "It's best that we run until we can find something to drive. Let's just hope that there's something out there."

William began to lead the group back towards Meridian's downtown area. Evelyn stayed closely behind Jeremy and in front of Amelia who carried Braxton, hoping that their prayers for a vehicle will be answered.

What about the supplies that were in the back of the van? Without the food and water that kept them alive, how will they manage? Evelyn was quite sure that this was in the back of everyone's minds. But in the meantime, they had other problems to worry about.

William stopped and looked in every car and truck that they passed, but nothing ever seemed to be suitable enough. No keys, no tools to hotwire it, nothing. Although most of the zombies were once chasing towards the apartments, they now are held up back at the gate. This gave William some time to really search the cars, but everyone knew that they were still deep in danger.

"Anything?" Jeremy asked quietly as the father searched the toolbox of a run-down truck.

"Hotwire tools are in here," he said. "But the red wire is busted clean open."

Evelyn bit her bottom lip as she looked around for what felt like the hundredth time. Now that she stood still, the cold air began to sink into her skin. Her breath was visible and she began to slightly shiver.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Olivia, audibly scared and worried. Jeremy pulled her a little closer for her comfort.

William slowly sighed out of frustration. "My knees can't take much more of this. I'm nervous that they're going to give out at the worst possible time. We should find a place nearby to rest for the night and keep looking in the morning."

"Here?" Bryan asked with his eyes wide. "There's no way we could make it through the night without getting eaten alive!"

"If we just stay quiet, they won't mind us," William said in a calming manner. "I just can't-"

"They're bloodthirsty killing machines," Bryan argued back, still trying to keep his voice down. "I'm sure that if we keep looking, we can find something for all of us."

Nearby in a building, something that sounded like metal clattered against the ground, followed by a howl.

"We can argue about this later," Amelia said, pushing Bryan along. "Let's just keep running."

They followed her command, running east away from whatever could've been hiding in that building.

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Evelyn was pretty sure that she lost track of the number of vehicles that they searched throughout the city. It would always come down to being impossible to hotwire due to a lack of tools or the car being too damaged to operate.

William suggested that we should only use the guns if we absolutely had to. So far, it hasn't gotten to that point since the apartments.

"Should we check this one?" Jeremy asked, pointing to an SUV that looked decent. It was parallel parked in front of a building. "I think it could possibly work."

Will pulled on the handle, and it was unlocked. He looked around and was fortunate to find that there was currently nothing that could come out of nowhere and attack the family again.

"Are the keys in there?" Evelyn asked, biting her fingernails out of nervousness.

He opened the glove box and searched through it and found a few pens and some chewing gum. After closing it, he then checked the armrest component and gasped.

"Holy crap, there's a set of keys in here."

It felt like a huge weight was just lifted off of her shoulders. "Oh my God..."

"Well, let's get in and get out of here!" Amelia said, setting Braxton down and opening the rear door.

After everyone climbed in, William seemed to hesitate before starting up the car. He looked around again, and he was visibly nervous.

"Do you need me to drive, Dad?" Jeremy asked from the passenger seat, his eyebrows furrowed.

He shook his head. "No, I think I'm fine."

He pressed the ignition button, and it successfully started. Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief before William pulled off and she could finally relax just a bit.

But, she was still scared. Her entire family was dead, and she was most likely the only one left that was still alive. And without any food, water, shelter, or warmth, they're facing an even closer chance of death as well.

Evelyn believed, however. She's made it this far and can only be grateful that she's met people that care about her. This was her new family, and they've transformed her into a believer.

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