* Zoey Rogers
My alarm clock started blaring in front of me. I groaned and threw the pillow I was laying on over my head to drown out the sound. It didn't help. I sat up and yanked on the chord to unplug it. The thing barely even bulged as I pulled.

I stood out of bed and jerked on the clock until finally it flew out of the wall. I threw it in the corner of my bedroom closet and shut the door, crawling back into bed to get more sleep. It was only eleven am and I usually got up around one in the afternoon after staying up all night. I hated the daytime and was always a night owl.

Suddenly the sun somehow made its way through my shades and blinded me. I smacked my pillow and threw off my covers. “Okay, okay I'm up!” I screamed at no one in particular and stormed out of my bedroom.

I went into the kitchen, still in my pajamas to make myself breakfast since my sister wasn't here to do it. She was at an art show somewhere in New York and wouldn't be back for a couple of more days. She was hesitant to leave me alone for the time she would be gone, mostly because she figured I would get myself into trouble somehow, but I managed to convince her that I was old enough to be left alone. I was nineteen, and I'm pretty sure I could handle being by myself. Though later she would regret her decision once she saw the apartment and how trashed it was.

Now I had the whole place to myself, but the downfall was I didn't have anyone to cook for me. It’s not like I couldn't do it myself, I just preferred not to. I poured the cereal into the bowl and added milk, sitting down at the kitchen island since we have yet to get a dining table for the apartment. We've been living here for a while but were both low on money since I didn't work and my sister Ashley’s salary was minimum wage as she worked as a waitress in a waffle house. Damn it, now I wanted waffles. I guess we could make do with using the coffee table or eating at the kitchen island.

I took a bite and instantly regretted it. I spit into the sink and leaned over to wash my mouth out. Once I got the taste of rotten milk out I snatched the carton up and poured it all down the drain. The sour smell filled my nose and made me want to gag but I held it in.

I looked on the carton for the date. It expired a couple of days ago…great. I ate spoiled milk with my cereal yesterday. No wonder it had a funky taste…and maybe I shouldn't have left the carton on the counter yesterday?

I threw it into the trash, dumped out the bowl into the garbage disposal, and decided I might as well make some popcorn and watch TV.

Once the popcorn was finished, I put it into a giant bowl and threw myself down onto the couch, turning it on to my favorite show. It was close to the best part of the episode when suddenly the TV made an annoying beeping sound.

“What the fuck?” I asked myself aloud, sitting up to see what was going on with the bowl still in my hands.

Suddenly the show I was watching disappeared and a man began to speak. Before he could even say anything, I grabbed the remote and turned the channel. The same thing was on that station too. Every time I tried a different channel, the same thing was on. I grabbed a hand full of popcorn and threw it at the small screen, screaming at it.

I was about to give up and turn the damn thing off until the man said something that caught my attention. He mentioned a virus. I put the bowl on the table in front of me and began to listen.

This just in, we've gotten word from government officials about an outbreak of the Virus 12B. We received information that the medical labs in Washington, D.C had a spill and that the tube containing the virus had shattered and made contact with human skin. It is said that it was simply there to be tested and was never meant to make contact with the flesh. We have word that the virus is rapidly spreading and has now reached all the way to the Pacific coast. ‘Shit, that’s where I lived’ I thought to myself. If you’re watching this right now, we must warn you all to stay indoors. We aren’t sure if it is airborne or if it is only through contact. I repeat, do not go outside. Lock your doors and windows, don’t let anyone touch you and make sure to never-

Suddenly the TV made that same beeping sound and the screen went blank, as if the broadcast had somehow been shut off.

“Never to what? Never to what?” I shouted at the screen.Holy hell, what was going on? What about Ashley? She’s all the way in New York by herself. I jolted from the couch, ran to the kitchen, and grabbed the phone. I quickly dialed Ashley’s cell phone, pressing it to my ear. It wouldn’t even ring.

She must have had her cell turned off, even though she promised she would leave it on just in case of an emergency. I had a bad feeling something had happened to her. I tried calling Alex and Jordyn, not getting any answer from either of them.

What was going on? Was this…really the end of the world? What was I going to do if we really were under an apocalypse? That would mean people everywhere were dying and civilization would quickly become extinct.

Suddenly there was a quick rap at my door. I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sudden sound. Who the hell could have been at the door? There was no way I was answering it, especially without some sort of protection.

I quickly went back into my room and grabbed the machete I had hidden in my closet-the one Ashley had no idea about-and made my way to the front door. I tried making little noise as possible and held the long knife in position, ready to swing.

I took a look through the peephole in the door, not taking my chances on getting infected. Through a quick glance, I only saw two teenage girls standing there, but then I realized I actually knew who they were.

It was Jordyn and Alexis with a few bags in both of their hands. Jordyn was crying hysterically and Alexis seemed to be bouncing with anticipation.

My hand instantly reached for the doorknob, but then something inside my head made me stop and think twice about what I was doing. What if they were infected? I couldn’t just let them in. I sure as hell didn’t want to get the virus too.

They began to knock again. I sighed, not wanting to leave them out there like this. I mean, what if they were perfectly fine and if I didn’t let them in, they could get hurt. On the other hand, what if they were sick?

“Come on Zoey, I know you’re in there!” Alex shouted to me from the other side. “It’s not like you have anywhere else to go. You don’t work or go to school anymore, so get off you lazy ass and get out of bed!”

I sighed in relief, glad she sounded just like she usually did, but rolled my eyes at the same time for calling me lazy. I wasn’t going to let her off of that one anytime soon. “Are you guys okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, just open up!” Alex shouted back, hitting her fist against the door.

“I will, I just…Were either of you…bitten, by any chance in the last 24 hours?”

“What?” They both asked at the same time. “What kind of question is that?” Alex asked.

“I just want to make sure!” I demanded.

I heard her groan impatiently from the other side. “No, I swear! Just let us in, before we actually do get bitten!” I took in a deep breath and swung open the door.


* Alexis Ryder
The door finally swung open. Jordyn dropped everything and ran inside, throwing her arms around Zoey. I groaned at her for making me do all of the heavy lifting and tossed the few bags we brought with us inside, shutting the door behind me and locked back up.

“Are you sure you guys are okay?” Zoey asked again, holding up a machete, almost as if she were prepared to swing the long blade at any moment.

“Yes, chill out Zoe. I promise you, we were not bitten. We’re fine…Thanks for caring.” I said that last part sarcastically.

“Well I was just making damn sure. I am not going to take any risks. Do you even know what’s happening out there?” She said, beginning to swivel the blade around in the air as she spoke.

I shook my head and shrugged. “All I can say is that I don’t think I ever want to step foot outside ever again.” I said, going over and plopping tiredly down on the couch.

She finally took a real look at us and noticed how disastrous we must have both looked. “What the fuck did happen to you guys?”

Jordyn quickly went to clinging onto her again, sobbing into her shoulder. “It was all so horrible!”
Zoey shot me an annoyed look and apprehensively pat her back. She was never much of the comforting type, nor did she like to show any emotions other than anger and annoyance.

“Let me tell you, we’ve had hell of a day.” I sighed, glad that I was able to feel at least a little relaxed, not having to worry about being eaten for five damn minutes.

“Go on,” She grumbled as she walked Jordyn over to the couch for them both to sit down.

“Well, for starters, I had just got up and ready for work when suddenly I heard screaming from downstairs. I ran to see what was happening and saw my dad being attacked by some man-zombie like thing! I quickly ran upstairs to go hide, hearing a gun fire, and then next thing I knew, I had my dad lying lifelessly on my bed.”

Her eyes grew wide. “Before he died he told me what Michael and I should do to stay alive, so I warned my brother. We both packed our stuff and were just about to leave, but then suddenly Michael disappeared…” I said, unable to speak anymore.

The words just completely erased from my thoughts, but I knew the images would never leave my mind. There was no way I was able to talk about what happened, not ever again…

Zoey nodded, as if she were telling me she could see that neither my dad nor my brother made it out alive. She turned to Jordyn. “Do I even want to ask you what happened?”

Jordyn slowly shook her head, also unable to speak. She glanced up at me, silently asking me to tell Zoey instead. I nodded as I understood. “Let’s just say we both lost our families…and we won't ever see them again…”

I was pretty sure I saw a flash of remorse in Zoey’s eyes, but I couldn’t tell because the look vanished faster than it had appeared. “Oh…” She said softly, making what she would call an attempt to comfort Jordyn by wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

I looked over at the TV, seeing it was turned on, but the broadcast itself wasn’t showing. I grabbed the remote, flipping through the channels in hope of finding out more about what was going on.

“There’s no use. Every TV station isn’t on air anymore. I haven’t tried listening to the radio yet, but I doubt we’ll be hearing from anyone else right now.” Zoey mentioned. I sighed and turned it off. She was right, there was no use in trying.

“Well do you at least know what’s going on? I just don’t understand.” I shrugged. “Yesterday was just a normal day, and then today, my father gets killed and I don’t even fucking know where my brother is right now! I don’t even know if he’s dead or alive!” I began to scream, throwing my hands in the air in frustration and sorrow.

“All I know is, here I was, just lying on the couch, watching TV when suddenly the news pops on and interrupts my show.” She said, exchanging a few looks between me and Jordyn.

I sat up straight. “Well what did they say? Did they mention what’s going on?”

She shrugged. “They just said a bunch of crap about how the government had some kind of virus outbreak and now people all over the US were getting infected.” She said, matter of fact, almost as if it weren’t some kind of big deal to her.

My eyes grew wide in horror. “What?” Jordyn shrieked. “Well what does that mean for us? What are we going to do if the whole damn country is being destroyed?”

Zoey shook her head. “I don’t think this is going to stop here in the states. It’s probably going to spread off into the whole world.”

Jordyn was in state pure shock, speechless and frozen her place. I shot Zoey a glare for scaring her even more. She just had to go and make things worse…

“What?” She shrugged. “Well I'll tell you one thing,” She said confidently. “I'm not going down without a fight.”

I tried not to roll my eyes at her. I know she was completely serious in what she said, but there was no way she, or any of us, could take on the world and everything it was becoming. We were just a few 19-year-old girls, with nothing but a bunch of our clothes and just a gun and a machete to defend ourselves with. There was no way we were going to survive this…

“So…what do we do next?” Jordyn asked, exchanging glances between us.

I snatched up the phone. “Well for one thing, we need to call the twins and see if they’re okay.”

“And if they’re not?” Zoey asked, giving me a look that told me it wasn’t much of a question.

She and I both knew that they weren’t going to be okay, just like everyone else in this world, but with the little hope left in Jordyn’s eyes, I could just come out and say that without upsetting her even more, so I kept my mouth shut for now. I really did hope the girls were okay…

Notes