The First Days (As the World Dies 1)

Human! She barely kept from pressing the trigger. Katie jumped through the doorway and the door slammed shut behind her. Instantly, there was banging on the door behind her.

Oh, God! There had been a zombie or zombies right behind her and she hadn't seen them she had been so panicked.

Jenni stood nearby crying with her hands over her face. Katie grabbed her arm.

"Don't do that again! We can't afford to screw up!"

Jenni looked at her stricken and Katie suddenly grabbed her close and held her tight. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I thought…I thought…"

Katie became aware that they were standing in a hallway into the kitchen. Beyond the door at the end of the hall stood a tall, good-looking boy with masses of straight brown hair falling into his eyes.

"Jenni?"

"Jason?" Jenni's voice rose in a scary pitch. She ran down the hall into the arms of a boy almost as tall as she was. "Jason! Oh, Jason. "

"Jenni, where's Dad? And the kids?"

Katie glanced at the door and the other boy standing there. He was staring at her with such sorrow it made her wince.

"The door will hold. The others won't," he said simply. He pointed at another set of doors. They probably opened into the mess hall. They were trembling under the onslaught of someone or maybe quite a few people, throwing themselves against it. Heavy kitchen equipment had been piled in front of the door, but Katie knew the boy was right. It wouldn't hold.

Jenni was sobbing to the point she couldn't answer the handsome boy who was cuddling her close.

"Jenni? Jenni? Where are Dad and the boys?"

Finally, all she could do was shake her head "no" and the boy's face crumpled and he fell against her and began to sob.

Katie collected herself, forced her fear down and looked at the other boy.

"What is the situation here?"

He sighed. "My family drove out here to get my sister last night. They got here this morning. All day yesterday people were showing up and picking up kids. Me and Jason and a few other kids ended up here all night. The counselors bailed and left us here, saying our families would get us. Around midnight one of the families showed up, but one of them was bitten. We didn't know that. We thought the mother was just asleep. We were all asleep in the mess hall…you know…to stay together and saf

e. We woke up and she was eating one of the girls. The one you creamed outside. Jason hit the Mom over the head with a chair and kept hitting her until she was really dead. We ditched the girl out the door before she could…come back. "

Katie nodded, but motioned to him to hurry up. Behind her, Jenni and Jason were crying together, holding each other, mourning.

But they didn't have time for that and Katie knew it.

"What we didn't know is that others had gotten bit by her in the scuffle.

Jason and I had come in here to get some food when the screams started. We looked in and saw another attack. But this one was bad. He was a football player before. We…just slammed the doors shut and bolted them. But…" He showed Katie his hand. "I got bit. "

Katie looked sharply at Jason.

"He's fine. We were going to try to escape, but that was when my family got here. But…the girl outside…she bit my Dad. He's over there with my Mom. Dad lost the keys out there in the scuffle. I…didn't…We couldn't leave…" The boy's sad eyes looked at Katie again. "I know we're dead. I watched zombie flicks with Jason. But take my Mom, okay?"

Katie looked back at the door behind her that was being systematically tackled over and over again. Jack sat in front of the door growling low in his throat. She looked at the door to the outside behind the boy.

"I think there are more out there now. From the interstate or maybe from families that didn't make it to safety. "

Katie nodded. "We need to leave now. "

"Kill me and my Dad first"

Katie looked sharply at the boy.

"Please, I don't want to be…that. " The boy looked at the doors to the mess hall, his lips trembling.