The First Days (As the World Dies 1)

Katie shook her head and whispered, "No, no. I'm fine, but Lydia, she didn't make it. She…Daddy…she…"

"I'm sorry, Katie-baby. I'm sorry. "

She could tell by his voice that he truly was. Despite his misgivings with her lifestyle, he had come to accept and be quite close to Lydia. Though her mother had remained blissfully in denial until her death, her father had tried hard to understand. His painful, sometimes embarrassing questions had only showed her how much he was trying. And when he had shown up at her wedding, dressed in his military uniform, beaming and near tears, to walk her down the aisle, she knew that he loved her even if he didn't understand her completely.

Now they shared a moment of silence over the woman Katie had loved so much.

"I'm sorry, honey," he said again. "But you can't let it affect you right now, understand?"

"Yes, I know. I'm trying to keep a cool head. "

"Good girl. " A tinge of pride crept into his tone, though it remained dominated by fear. "Listen, Katie, whatever the hell this is, it's all over the city. You need to get down to the police department. We're barricaded in and you'll be safe here. We got the National Guard on its way. "

"Okay, Daddy. Okay. We'll be there as soon as we can. "

"Katie, be careful. " His voice was rich with emotion and she wiped a tear away.

"I'm armed, Daddy. I have a good vehicle. "

"Not that little-"

"No, no. A truck. I'm in a truck. "

"How…nevermind…this day…too many weird things. "

Katie nodded and pressed the cell phone tighter to her ear, ignoring the little stab of her earring against her skin. "Daddy, what are they?"

"I don't know. I don't know. The damn Ruskies are behind it. I know it.

We never could trust them. Everyone else is saying terrorists, but I'm telling you, Katie, the Soviet Union never really died. "

She couldn't help but laugh a little. He was such a Cold War warrior. She could hear many voices behind him, demanding, questioning. Without a doubt her dear old dad was at the center of the storm.

"Katie, I gotta go. I love you. Get here as soon as you can. Be careful. "

"Okay, Daddy. Okay. Love you. "

Katie snapped the phone shut and pressed it tightly against her lips. She couldn't think of Lydia right now. She couldn't think of how she had pulled up to their beautiful home to see Lydia tearing at the mailman with their neighbors at her side. She couldn't think of how Lydia had rushed toward her, not to kiss her and hold her and make the world better, but to kill.

"I know what they are," Jenni said softly beside her. She was intently staring at her feet, especially her one bloodstained toe.

"Yeah? Well, what are they then?"

"Zombies. ”

Katie laughed bitterly, then her voice died away as the crested a hill.

Before them lay the city. It was smoldering. Down in the city, chaos ruled.

Even from their high position, they could see clearly that it was overrun. The things were every where.

The phone rang.

"Katie?"

"Daddy?"

"Katie, don't come here! Don't come here! I just got word in. It's not safe to come in. The National Guard was overrun. Don't come, Katie! Run! Get the hell out of the city! Keep safe, baby, keep safe. "