"There is something bad going on."

The warmth of my younger sister lying closely next to me made me feel safe. I didn't have a reason not to feel that way but I just liked it.

My arms were wrapped around her as we cuddled on the couch together waiting for our dad. It was his birthday today but he was late getting home from work.

Dad was always working. He never seemed to get a break whether it was from taking care of my sister and I or his job.

Sara and I loved our father to death. He's been with us through everything.

Our mom wasn't in the picture but even then I wish I'd have met her. Dad never talks about her but whenever we bring her off he says something vague before changing the subject. All I knew was that she was out of our live after Sarah was born so I was about three. Dad, Sarah, and I stayed in Texas and that woman went God knows where.

My dad never liked talking about my mom for whatever reason he had but Sarah looked like her. There was always nostalgia every single time he looked at his youngest daughter.

On the other hand, I was almost the identical twin to my dad. We had blue eyes, his slightly darker than mine. Our hair was a dark chestnut brown.

He had this joke where he'd call me "Joelia" every time I reminded him of himself.

Our Uncle Tommy, my dad's brother called me that about fifty times a day. It started getting old since he was almost always over at our house.

My body flinched as the front door slammed before  my dad's voice talking on the phone echoed through the room.

"Tommy, I-...Tommy. Tommy, listen to me. He's the contractor, okay? I can't lose this job." He let out a sigh. "I understand... Let's talk about this in the morning, okay? We'll talk about it in the morning. Alright, goodnight."

Suddenly, the light flickered on making Sara wake up from her sleep as I simply sat up.

The both of us stretched as we let out a yawn before my dad made his way over to the couch.

"Hey." Sarah greeted tiredly.

Dad didn't even bother to lecture us about staying up so late as he simply shook his head. Whatever happened at work I knew he was stressed about it.

"Scoot." He ordered lightly.

Sarah and I did as we were told. Her small body quickly made it's way to the middle of the couch so she'd be between the both of us.

I smirked at my father lightly, "Fun day at work, huh?" I asked sarcastically.

Usually he would snicker and shoot something back at me but instead he let out a frustrated sigh before shaking his head once again.

He rubbed his face, "What're you two still doing up?" He questioned. "It's late."

My eyes rolled slightly as Sarah immediately fully woke up as she turned to look up at the clock.

Her worried facial expression soon turned into a cocky smirk as she turned back around.

Sarah looked at my dad, "But, it's still today." She remarked before glancing over at me.

A smiled joyfully as I reached behind the couch, "You're going to love us even more than you already do." I announced to my dad.

He groaned, "Sweethearts, please not right now. I do not have the energy for this." He commented.

I gladly hand the small box over to Sarah who takes it from my hand and quickly hands it to our dad.

My dad examined the outside of the box, his eyes narrowing slightly, "What's this?" He questioned curiously, his mood instantly changing.

A small smirk landed on my lips, "Your birthday, Joel." I reminded, calling him by his first name.

My dad ignored my remarked as he opened the box which contained a new watch. His eyes widened slightly as he took it out of the box.

Sarah got closer to him, "You kept complaining about your broken watch. So, we figured, you know?" She explained.

I leaned in slightly, "You like it?" I asked with a smile as he put it on his wrist.

He shook his head in disbelief, "Honey, this is..." He started, trailing off.

"What?"

My dad let out a scoff, "It's nice, but I-I think it's stuck." He said tapping the watch, before bringing it up to his ear. "It's not-"

"What?" Sarah asked sadly. "No, no, no."

A frown landed on my face, "No! That's not right." I exclaimed as Sarah and I both examined the watch.

As we examined the little hands on it closely, they almost immediately moved.

I pushed the man slightly as he chuckled at his prank, "Oh, haha." I said sarcastically before getting comfortable once again.

Sarah laid her small head on my knees, looking up as she gave me a small smile. She raised her hand up and I instantly gave her a high five before we made playful explosion noises as we always did after we gave each other a high five.

"Where did you two get the money for this?" Dad asked as he still examined his birthday gift.

"Drugs." Sarah answered jokingly. "We sell hardcore drugs."

I smirked, "Yeah, I'm in charge of inventory." I added making Sarah giggle slightly.

Dad turned on the TV, his body way more relaxed than when he first walked in, "Oh, good. You two can start helping out with the mortgage then." He remarked.

A scoff escaped my lips, "You wish, old man." I shot back.

Sarah let out a laugh as Dad simply snorted, shaking his head before throwing me a small couch pillow.

"You're going to be my age some day, Joelia." He snickered.

I shook my head, not saying anything before laying my head down on the pillow as I wrapped an arm around Sarah.

The flashes of the football players running on the sports channel were the last thing I saw before my eyes drooped shut.

My body curled into itself as I felt someone carrying me up the stairs before setting me down on a mattress.

I immediately knew it was my dad making a small tried smile curve on my lips as he pulled the blankets over me.

"Goodnight, Princess." He whispered before pressing his lips against my forehead.

A small yawn escaped passed my lips, "I love you, Dad." I whispered quietly.

"I love you more. Get some sleep, beautiful." He replied softly before walking out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Without missing a single second, my mind went blank and I fell into a careless sleep.

I only found myself being woken up by the sound of the landline ringing in my room.

A groan escaped my lips as I reached over, picking up the call and pressing the phone against my ear. Only to find that Sarah had already picked it up from her room.

"Hello?" Sarah questioned, her voice coming out with a small yawn.

There was heavy breathing on the other line which made me furrow my eyebrows.

"Sarah, honey, I need you to get your daddy on the phone." Uncle Tommy's voice rang through frantically.

I instantly shot up from my bed, fully awakening as a pang of worry hit my chest.

"Uncle Tommy?" I asked. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"Lily, I need to talk to your dad now." Tommy informed, his voice full of fear. "There's some-"

The line instantly went down, dropping the call immediately.

I still kept the phone pressed to my ear, "Uncle Tommy?" I questioned. "Hello?"

Why would he call in the middle of the night?

Why did he sound afraid?

Why did we want to talk to Dad so badly?

Without another thought I hung up the phone, standing up and stretching before walking out of my room to Sarah's.

"Sarah?" I called out as I stepped into the hallway.

Her small figure walked out from the corner were her room was as she wrapped her arms around herself.

She wiped her eyes tiredly, "Lil, what's going on? Why did Uncle Tommy call?" She immediately bombarded me. "He sounded scared."

All those questions were going through my mind too but I didn't want to scare her. Sarah was only ten.

I shook my head, rubbing her back lightly, "It's fine, Sarah. We just need to get Dad. It's probably nothing." I reassured.

She nodded, "Okay."

We began walking over to our dad's room and as soon as I saw it empty, I knew what I had said moments ago might not have been true.

The TV was on in his room as it played the local news, his bed was messy and unmade but he was nowhere to be found.

Something was going on and it had to be important since Dad wasn't even in his room.

Sarah and I looked around for anything that might tell us if our father had left. A note, a voicemail, just something.

My heart began beating a little faster as I searched through his drawers, hoping for something, anything.

This just wasn't like him.

"It appears that what we initially reported seemed to be somehow connected to the nationwide pandemic." The newswomen reported on the TV.

That slightly caught my attention, making me frown as I began focusing on the news report.

"Where are you?" Sarah asked to herself as she looked in his bathroom.

I stared at the screen which displayed a news woman in front of a building with police cars around her. My eyes narrowed slightly as I almost instantly recognized the building that was behind her.

The woman continued, "We've received reports that victims afflicted with the infection show signs of increased aggression and-"

Sarah joined my side, "That's nearby." She stated, interrupting my listening.

"Sh." I instantly shushed, bringing my finger to my lips. "It sounds serious."

On the TV you could see and hear a cop in the background talking to his unit.

"Hey, there's a gas leak!" The man exclaimed. "Hey! Get out of here!"

The policemen began blocking off the area and removing people close by but the news woman stayed put.

"There's some commotion coming from behind-"

Another reporter got into the shot, "Lady, get the hell outta here right-"

Without notice the building explodes making everyone around scream before the entire screen went black.

A gasp escaped my lips as I jumped slightly, stumbling back before using the the bed behind me to stable my stance.

What the hell was that?

Sarah looked over at me, "Uh... What was that?" She questioned, her voice coming out slightly scared.

I shook my head as I walked over to the window only to notice the large clouds of smoke coming from the city.

My eyes widened slightly as I turned around, grabbing Sarah's hand, "C'mon." I ordered lightly, tugging her through the hallway and downstairs.

"Dad?! Dad?!" I called out anxiously. "Where the hell are you?"

"Let's check his office." Sarah suggested sheepishly as she clung tightly to my arm.

I nodded, "Good idea." I whispered, a bad feeling rising in my gut.

Almost as soon as we walk in, Dad comes bursting in from the slide doors, instantly closing them behind him.

Sarah and I jumped back before we realized it was our father.

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth as I let go of Sarah, "Where were you? You scared the hell out of us!" I exclaimed.

He quickly moved over to us, bending down to Sarah's size, "Sarah. Are you okay?" He questioned instantly.

The small girl nodded, "Yeah." She answered.

Dad rose up, lightly grabbing my face, "What about you, Lily? Are you okay?" He asked. "Did anyone come in here?"

I made a face, shaking my head, "I'm okay." I answered making him nod before he began rooting in his desk drawer. "Who would come in here, Dad?"

He ignored my question as he pulled out a black handgun making Sarah get closer to me.

"Don't go near the doors." He ordered. "Just.. Just stand back there. Lily take care of your sister."

I've never seen him liked this before in my life. There was definitely something wrong but I just didn't know what.

Did it have something to do with the gas leak in town?

Sarah clenched my arm, "Dad, you're kind freaking me out." She drawled out. "What's going on?"

He shook his head, still breathing heavily as he put bullets in the gun, "It's the Coopers. Something ain't right with them. I think they're sick."

Sarah shook her head, "What kind of sick?" She asked slowly.

Something lit up in my brain making me hold my little sister closer to me.

I stared directly at my father, "Dad, do you mean that infection they were talkin' about on the news?" I asked, my voice small.

He turned to face me, gun in one hand. His face looked pale as if he had seen a ghost.

Before he could answer, something banged loudly on the sliding glass door, startling all three of us.

I looked forward, only wishing I hadn't as I saw Mr. Cooper viciously banging on the door. He was smearing blood all over the glass making my breath hitch.

"Dad?" Sarah called out as she clung tightly to my waist.

Dad stood in front of us as he kept his hand up, "Girls, c'mere, c'mere." He called.

Sarah and I got closer to him in an instant but I couldn't keep my eyes off of Mr. Cooper who continued banging on the door.

My eyes widened slightly as he began making odd noises. It sounded as though he was growling.

"Is he growling?" I stammered slightly.

Suddenly, Mr. Cooper crashes into the room making Sarah let out a squeal as I grabbed her, instantly jumping away from the man.

The man continued growling, fresh blood around his face and all over his hands. What sounded like snarls began erupting from his throat.

He didn't look right.

His skin was slightly gray and bloated. The green that were once in his eyes were now lifeless.

"Dad, I'm scared." I announced, clinging onto Sarah small body.

Dad didn't allow Mr. Cooper to get closer to us as he held his gun up, "Jimmy, just stay back." He ordered sternly. "I am warning you."

The man didn't do anything as he snapped his jaw making a sickening sound echo through the small room.

"Oh my god." Sarah whispered.

Mr. Cooper lunged towards dad making him yell, "Don't!" Before, a loud gunshot echoed throughout the entire house as the man slumped to the floor while I put my hands over my ears as they began ringing.

Dad has taken Sarah and I to the gun range but we always wore protective gear. I never thought a gunshot could be that loud.

Sarah and I stared down at the lifeless body as a pool of blood began forming around his head.

Dad grabbed our shoulders, "Go. Go." He breathed, ushering us out of the room.

We stopped once we were safely outside of his office but I couldn't stop looking back at the body.

Tears welled in my eyes as my heart beat in my chest.

Sarah couldn't believe it either as she clung to herself, "You shot him." She whispered in disbelief.

I looked up at my Dad, "He's dead." I added, my voice stern.

Dad rushed over to Sarah's side, grabbing her shoulders, "Sarah."

The small girl looked up at him, "I saw him this morning." Is all that came out of her mouth.

I couldn't form any words because whenever I felt myself trying my mind would just tell me to look back into the office.

Whatever that man was, it wasn't human. People; normal people, they do not make that noise. They don't have that much blood on them.

"Listen to me." Dad began towards Sarah before grabbing me, making me look at him.

His blue eyes bore into both of ours with total dismay, "There is something bad going on. We have to get out of here." He explained. "Do you two understand me?"

"Yeah." Sarah's voice whispered.

Once again, I remained silent as my eyes began wandering back towards poor Mr. Cooper.

Dad grabbed my shoulders making me turn my attention to him, "Do you understand me, Lily?" He asked sternly.

I nodded, sniffling lightly as I wiped my nose, "Yeah, yeah, we have to get out of here." I repeated back to him.

Headlights shun through the curtains making me bring my hand up to my eyes as I looked out the window.

"Tommy." Dad announced quietly. "C'mon."

His hand grips both Sarah and I's arms tightly as he quickly guides us out of the house. The rocks and grass immediately pricking my bare feet as soon as we stepped outside.

Uncle Tommy stood outside impatiently with his car before walking over to us.

"Where the hell have you been?" His voice asks Dad. "You got any idea what's going on out there?"

Dad let us to Tommy's SUV, "I got some notion." He responded to his younger brother in monotone.

He boosted Sarah into the car, "Get on in, baby."

It was my turn to get in but I couldn't even move as the scene from earlier kept replaying in my mind.

I felt his hand grab my shoulder making me flinch slightly but I calmed down as his calm stare found my eyes.

He squeezed my shoulder, "Just get in the car, Princess. Don't you worry." He soothed.

I nodded, "Okay, dad." I responded softly before crawling into the car.

As soon as I got in Sarah looked at me with a rightened look on her small face.

"Lily, I'm scared. Why did Mr. Cooper try to hurt Dad? Why did he have all that blood on him?" She questioned. "What's happening?"

I put my face in my hand before running them through my hair, "Sarah, I don't know but we're going to be okay. Uncle Tommy and Dad know what to do." I reassure before squeezing her arm, looking her in the eye. "We're going to be just fine."

Sarah wrapped her small arms around me, surprising me slightly before I embraced her back, stroking her blonde hair.

"It's going to be okay, Angel. We're gonna be alright." I cooed in her ear before hearing the doors open making the two of us jump in our spots.

Uncle Tommy got into the drivers seat as Dad got into the passenger seat. The two of them were still engaged in their conversation.

"They're saying half the people in the city have lost their minds." Uncle Tommy informed.

"Can we please just go?" Dad asked impatiently as he looked out the window.

Tommy was caught up in the horrific moment as his lips kept moving, "Some sort of parasite or something." He said as he began driving away from the house. "You gonna tell me what happened?"

"Later." Is all that Dad responded sternly

Uncle Tommy nodded, swallowing loudly as he looked in the rear view mirror towards Sarah and I.

"How you two girls holding up?" He asked nicely, his tone not changing.

I held Sarah in my arms, "We're okay." I answered not entirely truthfully.

"Can we hear what's on the radio?" Sarah asked as she peered out of the window.

Uncle Tommy tried the radio but all the stations were complete static. He switched over station after station but it was completely off air.

Dad simply turned off the stereo, "No cellphone. No radio." He spoke up before grunting. "Yeah, we're doin' great."

Tommy shook his head, "Minutes ago, newsman couldn't shut up." He commented.

I looked at my uncle in concern, "Did they say where to go?" I spoke up.

He glanced over at me before looking back at the road, "He said, ah... Army's puttin' roadblocks on the highway. No gettin' into Travis County."

Red and blue lights made me grimaced slightly as police cars raced passed us. My eyes followed them as I whipped my head around, an ominous feeling getting stronger and stronger by the second.

As we passed by a burning farm I couldn't help but feel a lump in my throat.

"Are we sick?" Sarah questioned.

I looked at my younger sister, her blue eyes were full of fear as she fumbled with her fingers. Her shirt had tiny spots of blood on it and when I looked down at my pajamas, I realized there was blood spots on them too.

Dad shook his head, "No. No, of course not." He responded.

There was a tone in his voice that made me slightly question what he had just said.

I bit my lip, slumping down in my seat as I stared out the window.

My eyes narrowed slightly as I saw a small family on the side of the road a little further down. They looked like they needed help but part of me hoped that we wouldn't stop.

What if one of them was sick?

I didn't want one of us dying or getting infected.

Tommy began slowing down, "Let's see what they need." He said.

My heart began racing slightly as our car began getting closer and closer to the family.

"Tommy." I blurted out, my voice frantic.

Dad looked at his brother, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He raised his voice. "Keep drivin'."

His younger brother looked at him in disbelief, "They got a kid, Joel." He pointed out.

Dad's eyes got this cold look in them as he continued staring at him, "We got two." He shot back.

Sarah leaned in between the two seats, "But, we have room." She defended.

I pulled Sarah back slightly, making her look at me, "They're strangers. We don't know what they're capable of." I reminded.

Tommy glanced at me through the rear view mirror before staring back at the road. He had an uncertain look as he glanced at his brother and then to the family we were getting closer to by the second.

"Hey!" The father of the family yelled, waving his arms.

Tommy looked at the family, guilt immediately hitting him as the car began getting slower.

Dad stared his brother down, "Tommy, keep drivin'." He grunted his voice rough.

Tommy looked at my dad, glancing over at the family before cursing under his breath as he stepped on the gas making the car speed past them.

"Hey! Stop! Stop!" The father yelled as we drove past.

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I ran my fingers through my hair.

"We shoulda helped them." Sarah announced, her eyes glancing at me.

There was guilt in Tommy and Sarah's eyes while my father and I were in a sense of relief. I wasn't going to lie and said that I didn't feel bad but they could've been dangerous.

My family always comes before anybody else.

Our car suddenly came to a stop making me look forward only to see that there was a traffic jam.

Tommy grunted slightly, "Oh, this is bad. Everyone and their mother had the same idea." He remarked, glancing around to see what was holding everyone up.

Dad sighed, "Well, we could just backtrack and-"

His voice was interrupted by a man getting attacked by a woman as he got out of his car.

The woman snarled before lunging at the man, leaving him completely helpless as she ripped into his neck. Her teeth tearing apart the fragile skin on his body.

I felt like I was going to be sick as a gasp escaped my lips, my entire body trembling at the scene.

"Holy shit." Tommy breathed, his entire eyes wide in shock.

My eyes glanced back to the road only to see that more of those sick people were starting to get closer to us.

Dad noticed this too as he began shaking his brother, "Turn us around, Tommy." He said sternly. "Tommy."

His brother couldn't move as he was in too much shock.

"Tommy!" I yelled, but he didn't do anything.

The infected began snarling towards our car and they began getting closer.

Sarah whimpered making me look out her window to see one of the sick people only inches away.

"Dad!" I screamed as I gripped Sarah in my arms.

"Tommy!" Dad shouted.

Tommy came out of his trance as he backed up the truck, speeding out of the highway and turning to a side street.

My heart was rapidly beating in my chest as I turned around to see the infected killing more people and their families.

"Goddamn." Dad breathed out. "Turn here, turn here."

We turned to another street in the city only to find it in complete chaos.

There was fires everywhere and people running around in terror. Their screams pierced my ears making me clench my eyes closed.

This was a nightmare.

"Get us outta here." Dad demanded.

Tommy tried to find a way, "I'm trying." He defended, honking his horn but it didn't seem to do any good.

The car began moving further down the street but a guy ran across making Tommy abruptly stop as we almost ran him over.

We were right in the middle of the chaos making my breath hitch as I watched the city I grew up in slowly descend into hell. The car couldn't move because there was a motor home blocking us.

"We can't stop here, Tommy." Dad commented.

Tommy looked fed up, "I can't fucking drive through 'em, Joel!" He shot back. "They're behind me too!"

As if on cue, there was a small opening as people began running away from the street.

"Hold on!" Tommy warned.

Sarah held on to me tightly as the car sped through the street making me jolt back in my seat.

I could hear my heart beating in my ears while my mouth began moving as I quietly began praying. The prayer felt like a safe haven to me since I haven't been to church in a couple of weeks.

Dad's been too busy with work and of course he trusted me enough to go alone with Sarah but I didn't want to.

Church was a place where our family always found their strength and hope. I didn't want to find that without my dad with us.

Dad was Sarah and I's world and he was ours too.

Sarah gasped making me look at her as she pointed at the window, "Look out!" She shouted.

My head whipped around in time for headlights to blind me.

A loud scream erupted from the back of my throat before I felt an impact on the car sending me flying back towards Sarah.

Then, everything went pitch black.