Emelia POV
When my big brother Luke woke me up and said we had to go, I was really sleepy but I could tell it was important.
He sounded serious and I got scared because he's always calm.
We went up to the top of our house and outside, which was strange because it was still dark. Luke said something about the 'apocalypse' and that made me feel even more scared because it sounded like a monster name.
We started jumping from one house top to another.
It was like a game, but not fun because Luke looked worried and I could hear lots of loud noises. People were screaming and crying and it was really, really loud.
It made my tummy feel funny and I didn't like it. I asked Luke why everyone was so upset, and he just told me to not look and that it would be okay.
But I wanted to see why, so I peeked around him.
What I saw was super scary, like the monsters in the movie I wasn't supposed to watch.
There was so much ouchies everywhere, and people were lying on the ground not moving. Some people were being really mean to each other and it didn't make sense.
Why were they not being nice? It made me feel really sad and I started to cry because it hurt my heart to see so much ouchies and hear so much sad.
I tried to be brave like Luke and not cry, but it was too hard.
All the scary and the loud and the ouchies were too much. I hugged Luke really tight and wished we could go back to bed and wake up and it would all be a bad dream.
But Luke kept running and jumping with me on his back, and I knew he was trying to take us away from the scary.
I just didn't understand why all this was happening. It was like the whole world turned into a scary monster place and I just wanted it to stop.
.
.
.
.
Luke POV
As we finally reached the compound, a wave of relief washed over me, tempered by caution.
The towering gates that once seemed overly imposing now offered a semblance of safety.
The last jump from the shallow rooftop to the ground was a minor hurdle, but the sight that greeted us within the compound walls quickly extinguished any sense of relief.
Scattered bodies, likely the guards who once patrolled this area, lay motionless, a grim indicator of the chaos that had breached even this supposed safe haven.
"Shit," I muttered under my breath, the reality of the situation setting in.
The presence of the bodies meant there was a high likelihood of undead lurking around. The stakes were higher now, with Emelia on my back and the urgency to remain undetected paramount.
We moved with stealth, every sense heightened for any sign of the undead.
It wasn't long before we encountered one, grotesquely hunched over its gruesome meal on the ground.
My approach was silent, methodical, every step calculated to avoid detection.
With a swift, precise movement, I ended its existence, my knife finding its mark in the creature's skull with a silence that belied the violence of the act.
Beyond this unfortunate sentry lay our objective: the door to the compound and, beyond that, the heavy-duty jeep that represented our hope of escape.
The lack of bloodstains or signs of a struggle within these immediate confines was a small mercy, a sign that perhaps this area had been spared the worst of the onslaught.
I made my way to the jeep, Emelia still secured to me, her weight a constant reminder of the precious cargo I carried.
Gently, I settled her into the passenger seat, ensuring she was as comfortable and secure as the circumstances allowed.
It was then, in that fleeting moment of respite, that the guttural scream pierced the relative silence, shattering any illusion of safety.
"Ohhhhh fuck, give me a break!" I exclaimed, frustration and fatigue battling within me. The scream was a harbinger of more trouble, a stark reminder that in this new world, moments of peace were fleeting, and danger lurked around every corner.
With a deep breath, I steeled myself for what was to come, my resolve hardened by the knowledge that retreat wasn't an option.
For Emelia's sake, and for our future, I was prepared to face whatever challenges lay ahead, one guttural scream at a time.
As the undead creature lunged with a mindless ferocity, adrenaline surged through me.
Protecting Emelia was my only thought. I slammed the passenger door shut, ensuring she was safe inside, away from the immediate threat.
The creature, caught off guard by the sudden barrier, snarled in frustration, its grotesque features twisted in hunger.
Without hesitation, I used the creature's momentary disorientation to my advantage, delivering a forceful kick that sent it staggering.
Seizing the opportunity, I ended its existence with a precise, powerful thrust of my knife, the blade sinking into its skull with a grim finality.
The creature collapsed, its threat extinguished as quickly as it had arisen.
Breathing heavily, I gathered the extra gallons of diesel we'd need for our journey and loaded them into the jeep's trunk.
The weight of our survival, measured in fuel and miles, was a tangible thing, each gallon a promise of distance put between us and the chaos.
Sliding into the driver's seat, I caught Emelia's gaze. Her eyes, wide with fear from the encounter, searched mine for any sign of injury.
"Are you hurt anywhere, brother?" she asked, her voice small but laden with concern.
It was moments like these, her innocence shining through the horror, that grounded me.
I offered her a reassuring smile, ruffling her hair affectionately.
"I'm okay, Em. Don't worry," I assured her, trying to ease the tension that had knotted between us.
Her relief was palpable, a small oasis of calm in the storm of our escape.
With a turn of the key, the jeep roared to life, its engine a growl of defiance against the despair that sought to claim us.
We pulled away from the compound, the rear-view mirror reflecting a world we were leaving behind, at least for now.
Ahead lay Jungoria, our beacon of hope, our chance at a semblance of safety in a world gone mad.
The road ahead would be fraught with danger, each mile a test of our resolve and our will to survive.
But in that moment, as we drove away from the compound, I felt a surge of determination. We were Jungoria bound, our spirits bolstered by the smallest of victories in a world where each moment of survival was a triumph.
Together, we would face whatever lay ahead, our bond a shield against the darkness encroaching upon the world.
As we navigated the desolate streets of the city, the jeep became our vessel, steering us away from the main thoroughfares now choked with the undead.
The fabric of society, once so familiar and comforting, was unravelling before our eyes, its demise marked by the flames that consumed it and the screams that echoed through the abandoned buildings.
The rear view mirror and the jeep's windows served as grim canvases, reflecting the horror we were leaving behind.
Each fleeting image captured in the glass was a stark reminder of the brutality that had overtaken our world.
Scenes of unimaginable terror unfolded like a macabre slideshow, each one more harrowing than the last.
Families were torn asunder in the most literal sense, the bonds of love and loyalty severed by the primal urge for survival.
I witnessed scenes of desperation that defied comprehension; husbands forsaking their wives to the ravenous undead, friends turning on one another in a bid to escape the same gruesome fate.
Amidst the chaos, there were those who stood together, their solidarity a fleeting light in the overwhelming darkness, yet even they were often overwhelmed, succumbing together to the relentless tide of death.
The streets were a tapestry of carnage, every inch stained with the evidence of the apocalypse's unforgiving onslaught.
The sight of an elderly woman, her body a grotesque testament to the brutality that now governed our existence, was particularly haunting.
Emerged from the bath, her vulnerability was laid bare in the most horrific manner, her body desecrated beyond recognition as she joined the ranks of the wandering dead.
Her stomach hollowed out, a dark void of a reddish hue, as her guts and entrails trailed behind her.
The slacking of her jaw that hung only by a thread of muscle fibre still clattering with a devious hunger.
This was the reality of our new world, a landscape devoid of humanity's former grace, replaced by a primal, unfathomable cruelty.
The images that played out in the windows of our jeep were not just reflections of what we were leaving behind; they were a chilling preview of the challenges that lay ahead.
As we drove further from the burning remnants of civilization, the weight of this new normal settled heavily upon us.
The past, with all its joys and sorrows, was now just a ghost, flickering in the rear view mirror as we ventured into the unknown.
Our journey to Jungoria was not just a quest for safety; it was a pilgrimage into a future where the very essence of humanity would be tested, where every day would be a battle not just for survival, but for the preservation of the fragments of decency and compassion that the apocalypse sought to obliterate.
This was our new life, a journey through the heart of darkness in search of a light that we could only hope still existed.