Life As We Know It

by Harper-Adams, Connor

  Still, she was trying desperately to stay awake so that she could be with her friends and family for as much time as possible. She didn’t know wether or not this place in Washington existed, or if it was going to cure her. She was dying, and she would be dead by that night if she didn’t get help. She could just feel it.

  At around 9:00 AM, Charlie started noticing zombies. In the armoured van, they were protected, but Charlie was worried about Walt and Megan. He signalled to them, to see if they were all right. They were fine. Charlie saw more and more zombies, until he cleared a large hill, and to his absolute horror, saw a crowd of more than 300 decomposing, snarling, blood thirsty zombies approaching them.

  ***

  “Fuck!” Charlie said, scaring everyone. He signalled for Megan to stop the van by the side of the road. She did so, looking terrified. Charlie stopped the armoured van. Jack looked out of the window and saw the herd approaching them.

  “Oh, shit.” Jack said. “EVERYBODY GET THE FUCK DOWN.” He hissed.

  Jack, Penny, Charlie, Santa, Jessica and Audrey lay flat down on their bellies, silently. All of them were trembling, horrified at the prospect of coming this far, only to die at the hands of a herd.

  “What if they get inside?” Jessica said.

  “I wouldn’t worry about us.” Charlie said. “But if those zombie’s try to get into the other van, Walt and Jessica are dead.”

  Everyone in the van was completely silent. Santa stared, open-mouthed at the window as the shadows of the zombies began to pass by. Even from the armoured van, they all heard Megan scream.

  “No!” Santa whispered frantically. Santa prayed that the zombies had ignored the screams and walked by. His prayers were not answered. The inhabitants of the armoured van all listened in pure horror as they heard the zombies tear into Santa’s van.

  Charlie and Jack had to physically cover Santa and Jessica’s mouths so the zombies wouldn’t hear them scream out. They heard Walt and Jessica scream louder than they had ever heard another person scream.

  They all lay there, helpless, for 10 minutes before the gargantuan herd passed. As soon as the herd passed, all 6 inhabitants of the armoured van, Audrey being supported by Charlie and Jack, left the van and went to check on Walt and Jessica. Immediately, their worst fears were confirmed. They didn’t need to see any bodies to know the truth. Santa’s van was completely destroyed. Bits of twisted, ragged metal stuck out at weird angles. Pools of blood lay everywhere, with bits of flesh sitting in the middle of them. The largest of which was a whole arm, with Walt’s characteristic gold watch on its wrist.

  Walt and Megan were clearly dead.

  ***

  Santa and Jessica sobbed for their lost family members. Audrey’s condition was now so bad that she could barely even register what was going on around, and she simply slumped in Jack and Charlie’s arms.

  “Oh, fuck.” Jack said.

  “Santa, Jess.” Charlie said, tears welling in his eyes. “I am so sorry. I really am. We need to survive this for them. I know it is awful, but their sacrifice meant that we could survive, and now we owe it to Walt and Megan’s memories to get to Washington and get this cure for Audrey. This is it, you guys. We are less than four hours away. By this time tomorrow, Audrey will be fine, and this nightmare will all be over. I promise you.

  Almost delirious with grief, Santa and Jessica nodded, and with the other 4 survivors, they got back into the van. Charlie keyed the ignition and started the van.

  ***

  Almost 4 hours later, Charlie looked at the clock on the dashboard of the armoured van. It read 12:50.

  “OK, guys. We should be seeing signs of humanity in 10 minutes.” He said.

  As the clock on the dashboard ticked over to 12:58, Charlie, Penny, Jack, Audrey, Santa and Jessica; the survivors, finally saw what they had been dreaming of since the apocalypse had started all those months ago.

  Humanity.

  “We’re here.” Charlie breathed.

  Chapter 20: Washington

  Charlie had seen the city of Washington many times, but he had never appreciated exactly how beautiful it looked. Unlike all of the other cities they had passed while driving to get to Washington, Washington looked exactly how it did 16 months ago, with one change.

  The city of Washington was now completely protected, a monumental concrete wall now surrounded the city, blocking it off from zombies. A single massive gate now stood in the middle of the wall, guarded by an army of guards, each holding U.S Armed Forces standard issue Heckler and Koch MP5’s, looking very lethal.

  While other cities had started to collapse and become overturned with shrubbery and zombies, Washington had maintained the same level of awe that it had always had.

  Despite everything that had happened to him, even Santa cracked a small, watery smile. They were saved. His daughter was saved.

  “OK.” Jack said. “We need to get in there quickly. Audrey won’t survive much longer unless she receives this treatment.”

  As predicted, there was a multitude of guards patrolling the gates of Washington. Even though they looked scary, they were human, and these survivors, save for Charlie, hadn’t spoken to any other humans for more than a year.

  As they approached the gates, guards swarmed the van. Charlie came to a stop and rolled down the windows. He put both his hands out the van, palms up. He told the others in the van to do the same.

  “STAND DOWN!” Came a roar from outside of the van. “EVERYBODY OUT OF THE VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS OUT IN FRONT OF YOU!”

  Everybody, including Audrey, whose unconscious body was being supported by Santa and Charlie, got out of the van and put their hands up. When the guards saw that they were unarmed, they lowered their guns and changed their demeanour completely.

  “Was she bitten?” The guard who had yelled at them asked, concern in his voice.

  “Yes.” Jack said. “Please tell me you can help her.”

  The guard looked at his fellow men.

  “Follow me.” He said.

  ***

  The guard opened the massive doors with the help of the other guards. Charlie, Jack, Penny and the others gasped as they saw the inside of the gates. Inside was a bustling city, exactly how it would have been before the world had ended. People were walking around, enjoying the sunny day. One woman was pushing a newborn baby around in a stroller.

  “I am Sergeant Damien Reilly.” The guard said. “What are your names?”

  “Well.” Jack said. “I am Jack, this is my wife Penny, my best friend Charlie, my good friend Santa, his daughter Jessica and his other daughter Audrey. Audrey is the infected one.”

  “I see.” Damien said. “Why do you look so upset?” He asked, referring to Santa and Jessica.”

  “We lost two good people today.” Charlie said. “Family members.”

  Damien looked at Santa. “I am truly sorry to hear that.” He said.

  “Thank you.” Santa said, clearly in pain. “That means a lot.”

  Charlie, eager to change the subject, asked about the city.

  “So, why didn’t you guys crumble like the rest of the world?” He asked.

  “Simple.” Damien said. “We never gave up. When we started getting reports of zombies walking the earth, we immediately quarantined the city and started building that wall to keep those bastards out. Thanks to the solar power initiative the government had been working on, we were able to have power. We kept our government running, and we had Washington’s finest scientists working non-stop in our medical centres to try and find a cure. About 4 months ago, we finally found one. We can treat your friend. She will be absolutely fine in no time. The serum is extremely fast working.”

  Charlie looked ecstatic. “Really?” He said. “That is fantastic news.”

  Damien quickened his pace.

  “We do need to hurry, though. She looks like she is in the advanced stages of the disease. She won’t last much longer unless we hurry.”

  “What about after she is cured
?” Jack asked.

  Damien looked confused. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, when Audrey receives the cure and is better, will you throw us out?”

  Damien laughed. “Before the apocalypse, this city had a population of 550,000 people. Now we have about 95,000 people living here. You can stay, I guarantee it.”

  Jack grinned. “Thank you, so much Sergeant.” He said.

  “What about our van?” Charlie said. “I have kind of gotten attached to the van.”

  “Once we get accommodation settled, you are welcome to go and retrieve your van.” Damien said.

  Charlie looked pleased. After about 15 minutes of walking, they finally reached their destination.

  The hospital.

  “This is where we will be treating your friend.” Damien said. They walked through the hospital doors, and were blown away. Everything just felt so normal. Penny jumped when they heard a voice coming from the loudspeaker.

  “Dr. Wesley, please report to Cardiology, Dr. Wesley to Cardiology.”

  Damien marched up to the front desk, with the survivors in tow.

  “We have a bite victim here, we need a shot of serum 193627 right now.”

  “Serum 193627?” Charlie said.

  “I had campaigned for ‘Serum Zombie Ass Kicker’, but I was outvoted.” Damien said.

  Again, the loudspeaker blared above them.

  “Requesting a nurse to administer a shot of serum 193627 right now, please.”

  “Head to room 406.” The nurse at the front desk said.

  Damien ushered them into room 406, and waited for the nurse to arrive with the shot. When she did arrive, she was holding a large needle in her hand, filled with the life-saving serum. The serum itself was magnificent. It glowed a mysterious, beautiful red, and Charlie was certain that if they turned off the lights, it would light up the whole room. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie. Then again, everyday of their lives had been like a science fiction movie for the last 16 months.

  The nurse walked over to Audrey, who had started to wake.

  “Where am I?” Audrey mumbled, trying to sit upright. When she realised she didn’t have the strength to, she slumped back onto the hospital bed.

  “Audrey, sweetie?” Penny said. “We made it. We are in Washington! You’re going to be OK!”

  “I am?” Audrey said. “Well that’s just neat.”

  It was nice to see that she hadn’t become any less of a smartass.

  “OK, here we go.” The nurse said.

  Penny and Jack helped Audrey sit up. The nurse pulled the cap off of the syringe and plunged it into Audrey’s arm. Audrey gasped as the glowing serum flowed into her veins. The serum could be clearly seen flowing through her bloodstream, and within minutes, Audrey’s whole body was glowing a dull red. She gave another gasp, and slumped back down onto the bed, all of the glow from her body fading instantly.

  “Holy shit, is she OK?” Jack asked frantically.

  “It’s fine, this is perfectly normal.” The nurse said soothingly. “She should wake up in about 5 to 10 minutes.”

  She looked over to Damien. “Call me if there are any issues.”

  “No problems.” He replied.

  Damien hadn’t been kidding when he had told them that the serum was fast acting. Within 2 minutes, her skin had reclaimed its normal tone. Within 5 minutes, she stopped sweating. And exactly 8 minutes after she had received the life saving serum, Audrey Scott opened her eyes and sat up.

  “Holy crap.” She said, testing her limbs.

  “How do you feel, honey?” Santa asked, already noting that her clear and confident voice had already returned to her.

  “I feel…. Fine.” She said, much to the relief and joy of everyone in the room.

  Audrey stood up. It was remarkable how much a difference the serum had made in such a short amount of time. Even her hair, which only ten minutes ago had been damp and sticky with sweat, was now the usual silky smooth it had always been.

  “Do you remember anything about the bite?” Charlie said.

  “I remember it all.” Audrey said, eyeing Charlie. “You saved my life.”

  “Well, it was nothing.” Charlie said.

  “Yes, it was.” Audrey said, smiling.

  “Yeah, you’re right. I’m pretty fucking fantastic, aren’t I?” Charlie said.

  Audrey looked at Charlie. Then she ran towards Charlie and kissed him full on the lips.

  “Yes, you are.” Audrey said, smiling at him.

  “Wow.” Charlie said, grinning crookedly.

  “Oh, God, don’t encourage him.” Jack muttered.

  After the nurse had returned and declared Audrey officially cured, Damien took them to their accommodations. He said that they could pick any house that was uninhabited.

  Damien looked at his watch.

  “Damn.” He said. “I really have to go. I have to get back to the wall.”

  Charlie, with his left arm now around Audrey’s waist, offered his right hand to Damien. “Thank you for everything.” He said.

  “Not a problem, Charlie.” Damien said, shaking Charlie’s hand.

  Jack, Penny, Charlie, Audrey, Santa and Jessica watched the figure of Sergeant Damien Reilly retreat, until they could see him no more.

  The survivors walked around the streets. They wanted a big house, something that would be spacious. After looking for almost 2 hours, they realised it would be a lot easier if they had the armoured van. It would be a lot quicker. Charlie went to retrieve the wonderful old van and 20 minutes later, Jack, Penny, Charlie, Audrey, Santa and Jessica were sitting in their respective seats, looking for a new home.

  Suddenly, Charlie spoke up.

  “Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me.” He said, chuckling.

  “What is it?” Audrey asked.

  “Look.” Charlie said, pointing to a house in the distance. Both Jack and Penny gasped.

  “Holy shit.” They whispered.

  “What?” Santa said.

  The house in the distance was amazing. Two stories high, it towered over the other houses. The house looked strong, and old, like it had been there decades before all these other newer houses were built. The paint was fading and peeling, but the resemblance was still uncanny.

  This house looked almost identical to Jack and Penny’s house. The house that Charlie and Rory had first found refuge in when all of this had started. The house that had given them absolutely everything it could.

  “It’s almost identical to our old house.” Jack explained to Santa, Jessica and Audrey.

  “It’s beautiful.” Audrey said.

  “What do you guys think?” Penny asked. “Is this our new place?”

  “I think so.” Audrey said.

  “It is quite lovely.” Santa said.

  “I love it.” Jessica said.

  “Home.” Charlie breathed.

  They were home.

  Epilogue

  So they survived. After more than 16 months, Jack, Penny, Charlie, Audrey, Santa and Jessica had survived the apocalypse. They were safe inside the walls of Washington. Safe from the horrible, undead, snarling, decomposing zombies that had killed so many of their friends and loved ones. They were free from the horrible, twisted people like James, who wanted to enslave and torture innocent people, just for the fun of it. They were free from the outside world tainting their friends and turning them into monsters.

  Soon after they arrived in Washington, the remaining survivors decided that they wanted permanent memorials for the loved ones that they had lost throughout the last 16 months. Charlie made 4 more crosses to place in their large backyard, as a constant reminder of the sacrifice that these people had had to make so that the others could survive. Even though they had no bodies to bury, they still managed to have a lovely service for their friends

  One sunny morning, Charlie went to visit the grave sights of his fallen friends. He ran his hand over the engraved crosses that decorated the back yard
.

  Megan.

  Walter.

  Vanessa.

  Rory, Peacekeeper.

  He placed his hand on the cross of Rory.

  “We did it, my friend.” He whispered, a tear falling to the ground.

  “We finally made it back home.”