DAY ONE
-Manuel-
Fleecy gray clouds cluttered the sky of a spring afternoon on the day when a storm of death and horror washes over humanity. The beginning of the end.
SKEEERRRT!!! CRASH!!!
The unsettling sound of two cars colliding into a T-bone wreck on a stoplight intersection of Southern Avenue and baseline Drive, outside from a suburban neighborhood. The dark blue Nissan Altima was horribly ruined as it ran into the side of a white Mercedes.
Manual Rivick stepped out from the Nissan Altima, wearing a black suit and gripping tightly to a bloody blade that was broken off a paper cutter. And coming out from the Mercedes was an Older man, wearing a red polo shirt. He walked to the passenger side to see the damage of his car and was shocked.
"What the hell!?" He shouted furiously, He looked up to see Manuel, coming from the driver seat with a shock expression on his face. "You!" He stopped his fingers and pointed at Manuel with his index finger. "You better have insurance. Because if not, you're going to pay for this-".
Before he could say another word, Standby civilian tackled him to the ground and dug their teeth into the man's neck.
"AHHHHHHH-AK-AK-AK!"
He screamed in pain as blood ran down to the asphalt road. But Manuel was caught off garden, he looked around him, and he started to see the surrounding people were being attacked by one another, biting into their necks, screaming in agony from the unexpected attacks.
By instinct, Manual whipped around to see an incoming attacker. Their eyeballs were full blood, red and pupils pitch black.
Wasting no time, he continues to his destination by foot as he enters the suburban Neighborhood.
Around him as he ran, he saw the local people were being attacked by other monsters that were starting to buy into them as he was running. These monsters were trying to tackle him and bite him as well. He outran them until an oncoming swerving car was driving towards him. The driver was being bitten and attacked from inside, losing control of his vehicle. Not going to predict the car's direction. Manual ran towards the sidewalk and dove into the lawn into a roll. He successfully dodged The Out of control Vehicle and not just that the car took out his pursuers, leaving them until a bloody, mangled mess. The car crashed into one of the suburban buildings. Followed by an explosion. Man couldn't believe what he was seeing, but he got up and continued to his destination.
Everybody running and out running these monsters. As Manual finally arrived at his destination, home. As he's out of breath and relieved, he looks around and sees a familiar car parked out in the driveway. His wife's car.
"Julie!? No, no, no, no, NO!" He ignores his exhaustion and sprints into the house, hoping for the worst hasn't come.
-Jessica-
Crunching and munching continue as blood gushes, their teeth tear into flesh, and Jessica watches in horror as her mother is eaten before her.
"AHHHH-AK"!
Her mother, Julie screamed in agony, Hurting her ears and bringing pain to her heart with fear. Slowly, Julie's screaming turned to gargling, as her blood built up in her mouth. The monster continues to feast upon her, tearing pieces of our flesh bit by bit. There wasn't one monster, but the hoard of them reaping her apart. What remained? Was a bloody corpse with many chunks of flesh that's been bitten off, and a giant open bloody hole in her stomach where her guts were spilled out.
From the left of Jessica, a door burst open and a Man appeared. Holding a bloody, broken off paper cutter blade, he wore his black suit covered in tears and blood stains. Manual was too late.
"Jessica!" he said, looking at the group of five or six monsters that were crowded together that were eating his wife. He stood still petrified, like a deer in headlights at the Site of this bloodbath. He could barely recognize her. Half of her face was gone And what remains to be recognized is a horrific expression of petrified fear.
He woke himself and pushed aside his feelings of grief, despair and loss. To focus on what he has left.
He runs to Jessica and picks her up and on to her hand and pulls her towards where he's running, And Jessica follows as she still can't comprehend what she's just seen. Running out from the dining room to the hallway, navigating through the big house to the main hall and up the stairs to the second floor. He slows down a bit and looks behind him and sees the monsters following him at a fast-paced at the site he continues. And navigate through the second floor and find his bedroom door.
Opening And entering the room. " Just got here. Have a seat." Jessica sat on the bed, Manual then turned around to close and lock the door. Then extra securing it he took the chair from his work desk and leans it up against the door knob, and pushed the six drawers dresser up against as well. Then sounds of bangs and grows coming from behind the door As those monsters heard the dragging of the dresser. Sweat on his forehead he takes off the black suit jacket and throws it on the bed with Jessica.
In his white shirt and tie. He hurries to the closet and pushes aside his laundry basket to the closet floor. There was a hidden handle that was camouflage with the floor. He pulled it open to reveal a hidden cubby containing a Suitcase, a container of sorts. He pulled it out of The cubby. He opens it, to reveal a small armory. Containing a 9mm Glock19 pistol. Ruger LCR revolver. A Remington 870 pump shotgun. And four boxes of ammunition. Two contain 9mm ammunition and two were boxes of birdshot shells. He grabbed the Remington and started loading.
Jessica laid on the bed, curled up into a ball with a shock expression that stayed with her. She began to cry. The idea of those monsters being real is horrifying. She couldn't accept what had happened to Her mother. She wants to deny it and slip back into her memories remembering this morning.
"You said...of course. But... Your weren't sure?!" She continues to weep.
Every morning she would wake up and her house made Rosetta would help with her routine. From brushing her teeth to dressing up in her school uniform and eating breakfast. It was the usual roundabout. School is always the same destination from Monday through Friday and arriving she would attend her first period class for the year. The only thing different was that she had to take a test this morning that she had been studying for the last couple weeks.
When school ended, her maid would usually pick her up but for this day, this particular Monday, her mother will be picked her up. And the drive back home usually Jessica would always talk about the gossip floating around her school. From new students, to other students doing something different from their usual schedules. Jessica will always share this moment with Rosetta all the time. This time it was different. She was in the car with her mother. Between Jessica and Julie, they have a relationship that wasn't typically regular for a mother and daughter. Her mother was strict but she also shows her love. She could be sometimes feel stuck-up and be annoyed from typical tasks at work from during the day, but that's just regular adult stresses is what Jessica would usually get as an answer when she ask of what's going on with her mother. But on this ride home She wanted to ask her mother a certain question.
"Mom are you going to be here for my birthday?" The question was like a stabbing arrow to Julie.
Last year she couldn't make it to her dollars birthday, because of a business trip out of state. It was the last minute thing and Jessica was really worried that her mother might miss this year again. But sadly reality is harsh. Julie had a very important business appointment on the day of her daughter turning 13. It was a business meeting for the company to merge with a South Asian company that was struggling after the pandemic. It was an top priority importance and she could not have any excuse of missing work on that day. Julie sigh and put on a fake smile.
" Of course sweetie. But I will have to warn you let the company is very aggressive and they won't make no for an answer. But I'm very confident that I'll be there on that day." She never loved lying to her daughter but to keep her happy she'll always put on this mask for her.
" Really? Mommy All you really really sure?!" She quiet up for a moment. None of them talk as the music played over the radio. "Okay! I trust you mommy. Thank you!" She said blissfully.
"No sweetie... Thank you." She didn't put on the mask. She actually smiled as she saw in the rear view mirror that her little girl is in pure blissful joy.
They pull up in the driveway of their two-story house. As she locked the car and make her way to the front door. Strangely, Rosetta didn't open the door for them. Usually she will wait for them and open the door for them. But this time when Jessica and Julie open the door. She wasn't Even at the door it was odd but something inconspicuate That should not be argue about.
Just got hanged her bag on the coat rack with her school uniform blazer and race to the backyard. But before she could open the sliding doors She spoke out loud to her mother to see if she can hear her through the house.
"MOM! CAN YOU PLAY A LITTLE GAME OF SOCCER WITH ME AND ROSETTA!" She practically shriek but I did not hurt her voice.
A silent linger as an response wasn't given immediately then she heard Julie.
"OK! LET ME FIND ROSETTA! YOU CAN SET UP THE NETS!"
A smile raised up, plumping her cheeks in a red joyful smile. "YAY! THANK YOU MOM!"
Jessica ran outside to the back of the two-story fancy house. The backyard was a wide open area with a little mini fountain near the surrounding garden wall. Next to it was a little storage house where her family's Gardner would put his tools and equipment. And what was also in there, was a pair of soccer goal nets. Little hyperactive Jessica, still in her middle school uniform, rushed and set up the soccer goals. When she finished she got the ball out and when she was carrying it to the goal. Something horrifying stopped her.
"AHHHHH!!!"
The piercing screen came from her house. It was her mother. Soccer Ball dropped, and she ran to the source of her mother's screams. She ran inside and it was coming from the dining room. She opened the dining room door. And walked into a gruesome mess.
Rosetta the beautiful Italian lady that was part of the house staff was a pale gray monster with eyeballs fully red and pupils pitch black. And then behind Rosetta as she is this bloody monster, for more of them. It was the whole staff. They have become like her and then they started to dig into Julie. Jessica was paralyzed by the horror unfolding before her. The blood gushing as their teeth began to tear the flesh.
Crunching and munching continues as blood pores, and flesh herring, and they're growling and grunting as they dig in.
-Manuel & Jessica-
Manual continues to load a Glock magazine. The other magazines to the pistol were held in a little pocket that was hung off of the loose strap of the shoulder gun holster. The revolver was in a second holster that was tucked into the waistband of his pants. The shotgun was on the bed beside Jessica, ready to used. Guns loaded extra ammunition for spare. He was ready for a fight.
He had a backpack full with bottles of water, a handful of granola bars, some sweet snacks, and boxes of leftover ammunition. As he holsters his Glock. He picked up the shotgun and pumped it. He noticed Jessica had fallen asleep. He sat down on the bed beside her as she lay.
"Jessica. I need you to wake up. Please princess. I need you to get up to be strong." He shake Jessica shoulder, and she wakes up.
"Hmmm? Daddy? Mommy?" She still had a sad expression. She remembers. "Dad, I had a bad dream. Mommy."; She began to cry on the memory of her mother being gruesomely eaten by these monsters. "Mommy was... Dying. A monster. That look like Rosetta was killing her." Sniffling in her tears began to cover her cheeks as she hugged her father.
He had no idea what to do. All he knew was that when the world was falling apart around them, everything has falling. Scared not knowing what the world has fallen into?
-Manuel-
The morning, was usually normal. Ashley left off the school with Rosetta. And he and his wife will go into their separate work cars leaving to their respective place of establishment. His wife to the business building of AllianSuns.Inc. and for him he will go to the office building of LIFEling.co. punching on time and hit to his office space to continue his assignment for the larger project of the establishment. Around lunch time he was in the printing room of the office building. Give me some extra copies of a report that he finished. When he was in there, one of the co-workers looks sick. He began to vomit right there in the hallway. Minding his own business manual continued with his business until that same coworker began to scream. It fell to the ground on his back rolling around gargling. It was a scene that tried to everyone in the office of what was going on. It was freaking out and start calling the ambulance. But the sickoker quieted and froze like a petrified dead animal. Once still, he instantly set up.
His eyeballs were crimson red and his pupils pitch black. Then it began to attack the surrounding employees. Multiple people were screaming and panicking. Menu on the other hand, couldn't believe what was unfolding before him. It was on real scenario happening. That person was attacked by the sick coworker. Did the same thing. Eyeballs fully red and pupils black. And walk slowly towards Manual, bottom jaw extending wide, he had a bad feeling and then got the nearest weapon within the room. Hey Grandpa, hold of the paper cutter, or jokingly call around the office as a paper guillotine. The monster quicken its paste and it was coming for the attack. Manual, blocked and push the monster away, as a hold the blade from paper cutter. But it was broken off when he pushed the monsters attack. Now he was holding the paper cutter blade. The monsters were coming for him, but Manual came back at the monster with the blade and start chopping. Blood splashing all over him, the blade dugging deep into the monsters head. Manuel didn't know if it was dead, but he knew that more of these things were appearing with in the office. He thought fast and made his way to the emergency. Stairway down to the public garage where his car is. He need to know if they were safe. His wife, his child, were they in danger, if so, he needed to know of their safety or not. Manual drove like a madman, and the outside world wasn't any better.