"Get your sock off the couch Allen " my mum cried from the kitchen. Apparently, she had managed to somehow see me fling it upon entering the house.
"Jesus Christ mum!... " I exclaimed "...what are we; living like cavemen now . That's no way to welcome your son home. "
She poked her head from behind the wall; appearing through the kitchen doorway, "if you want a proper welcome, then you will have to do the proper thing, else... Leave it be." she stated with an arched brow disappearing once more behind the wall as the chopping of something on a board resonated likewise.
Letting out a sigh of defeat, I walked towards the couch and picked up the sock; shoving it down my side pocket.
"there.. How about now? " I asked, making her poke her head again from behind the wall, "Hmm.." she hesitated for a second glaring at the couch ".. Okay clear; bring it in " she said, but this time letting her entire body come into view through the doorway with her arms held out for an embrace which I wasted no minute in taking. My mum's hugs were one of a kind, and I was always happy to get one any time I could. At this point I was a few heads taller than her, so it meant I had to bend a little.
Gently; she pulled away as she spoke "so, how did school go today? ". "meh!.. Boring, had to spend practically the entire day listening to Mr. Reeves and his dumb theory on plant pathology", I said making her give a flabby laugh and a slight punch to my shoulder.
I advanced further into the kitchen "what's cooking? " I asked , when few sniffs at the atmosphere was all it took to lay my guess "smells like pasta".
My mum smiled, the wrinkles accompanied with aging on her face protesting slightly at the gesture , "yes it is; lunch will be served soon. In the mean time, I need you to go take a shower... You smell worse than that thing you just took off the couch". "ouch!" I hollered as she walked out of the kitchen.
I moved to the fridge and took out a jug of orange juice; pouring some of it into a glass cup.
As I sipped down on the juicy content, the flashing of the TV from the corner of my peripheral vision drew my attention making me turn towards it.
The headline the news channel displayed on the screen immediately grasped my Interest.
'HAVOC WREAKS STATE AS PLAGUE HITS NORTH CAROLINA '. I grabbed the remote and quickly turned up the volume as the news reporter spoke.
"... Where footages show clips of citizens being attacked by the biogenetically mutated creatures commonly known as 'Axions' in the state ... These viciously large creatures are rumored to have a like resemblance to those who have not long been deceased as eye witnesses claim to be able to sketch out quite a number of similarities between the creatures and recently lost loved ones... Renowned physiologist George Svensson has also affirmed the possibility of this being true; stating that after his sheer study of the virus, the results tested positive to the reanimation of the human brain and restructuring of the cells in the body. He also advised that those not yet infected should avoid being bitten by the Axions as the virus transmits itself through bites, scratches, excretion of a toxic chemical substance into the air by these creatures, and other modes of transmission not yet verified.... "
Engrossed as I was at the happening, I had barely been able to notice the presence of my mother who had walked up and was now standing beside me; also entangled in the news.
"... The military in support with the government are urging individuals of the affected areas to go into self quarantining themselves, as disturbed states must now observe a mandatory lock down. a list of these states are given on the world health organization platform along with Few safety guidelines on how to prevent getting infected as it is believed that the virus not only have an effect on the dead but on the living as well... That's it on the news hour at the moment, thank you for tuning in... God help us all. "
When the news had ended, it rendered I and my mother speechless. We had heard of a virus in Korea, Russia and China few months ago that killed and turned people into huge terrifying monstrosities; though we had thought it was just a rumor, precautions were still taken.
We were later made to believe that the virus was on an epidemic scale and that the government had an upper hand in the situation, convincing United States citizens like myself not to worry.
Somewhere down the line; more information was received that the virus had eventually found its way into the country and that it was spreading fast; stopping free movement in and between states. Now, here it was; knocking on our doorstep.
Whatever this thing was; I wasn't ready for it....