Surviving This Life

Surviving This Life

By Salice Rodgers & N. Nieto

Surviving This Life

By Salice Rodgers & N. Nieto

Published by Entertwine Publishing

Cover by Entertwine Publishing

All rights reserved

License Note

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without authorization of the Author or Entertwine Publishing. Any distribution without express consent is illegal and punishable in court of law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental

Chapter One

Willow

I jump at the sudden sound of the sirens blaring outside and look out Liv’s window. The screams can be heard over the sirens.

Liv and I have been best friends since birth basically. Our parents went to school together and were friends, so we played together all the time. My house is being remodeled so I came to stay with Liv until it is done.

Liv runs down the stairs looking all around the house like it is on fire.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?” Liv asked in a worried voice.

“I don’t fucking know,” I replied.

Liv peaks out of the blinds. “What the fuck? Willow come here!” she demands.

I ease my way over to the window and cautiously peer out.

“What the hell are they running from?”

“Only one way to find out,” Liv says as she walks to the front door.

“Don’t open the damn door!” I hiss.

“Well you want to know what they are running, from there for we have to open the door,” she sarcastically says.

“Well I don’t want to be running from whatever they are running from.” I spit back.

Grabbing my arm she yanks me out the door with her. “Don’t be a pus Will,” she says as she drags me unwillingly onto the front porch.

Liv’s neighbor is running and screaming at the top of her lungs. She spots us on the porch and keeps running. I guess even in a time of need she doesn’t want the help of ‘the wild young girls’, as she used to call us. Liv has been living here since she moved out of her parent’s house and the woman next door has never liked us.

She would sit on her porch and watch us for hours before she called the law for no reason other than we were running Liv’s sprinkler in a drought. She trips over the sidewalk and falls on her face with her husband hot on her heels. He lunges on top of her and bites her ear pulling his head back like a dog taking her ear with him. She screams louder and claws at the ground trying to get away.

“Uhm Liv why did Mr. Portwood bite off his wife’s ear like a fucking dog?”

Mr. Portwood slowly raises his head and locks eyes with us looking back and forth between the two of us like he is trying to decide who to go after first. He stands up over his wife and starts staggering towards us. He looks like Mr. Portwood, but I can see subtle changes such as his eyes. They are not the same welcoming brown as they once were. They are bloodshot as if he has had too much to drink, except I know he hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol in years. He has lectured us many times over our casual drinking, about how that stuff is addicting and we shouldn’t do it. He was an alcoholic for many years until he finally got help. So I know that’s not what is wrong with his eyes.

As he stalks toward us I can see a limp in his step. I look down and to my horror I see his right foot is completely backwards. His pant leg is torn at the hem all the way up to his knee. There is what looks like a huge chunk bitten away from his leg.
What the hell happened to him?
He advances toward us.

“I don’t know. Go ask him why he did it,” Liv says sarcastically while she hesitantly steps back towards her door.

I follow her in the house tears running down my face. She slams the door and locks it and we both back away watching as his silhouette make its way towards us. He slowly makes his way up the steps and his fist bangs against the door seeking entrance. He bangs violently against the fragile stained glass.

“Holy shit! It’s going to break!” Liv screams. About that time his fist smashes through the window, scattering shards of glass everywhere.

Liv grabs my arm and we start running towards her back door. The sound of the glass breaking follows us to her back porch. As we step outside and look around I see bodies on top of bodies like it’s an all you can eat buffet, the screams of the not yet dead bellowing out for help. Both Liv and I back into the house and run out the side door into the garage and jump in her SUV.

I always thought it was a waste of gas, but now it feels like it would be safer than my small car. Liv hits the button to open her garage door and floors it in reverse out of there, quickly spinning the car around frontwards and peeling out of there.

“Liv where the hell are we going?” I cry.

“I don’t know, but it ain't here,” she proclaims.

The streets are filled with people eating people. The scene forces me to squeeze my eyes shut. I feel the car shake and I open my eyes just in time to see Liv plow down the mail man.

“Liv what the hell? You can’t just run over people!” I yell.

“I can if they are trying to kill us! Did you happen to see the butcher knife sticking out of his neck? I don’t think me running him over would make much of a difference. He was already dead!”

“So what are you saying? They’re zombies or something?”

“I don’t know what they are, but I do know that no one could still be up and walking with their foot backwards or with a knife sticking out of their neck,” Liv replies.

“Oh my gosh Liv. I’m scared. Watching it on TV is one thing, real life is another!” I feel like my whole body is shaking. It’s not just my hands, but my whole body. I have never been this scared in my life. I look to Liv and can’t believe she is so calm.

She has always been the calm one. When I freak out she seems in total control. I grab my cell phone and try to call Devin.

“Liv my phone isn’t working.”

“Here try mine.” She digs in her pocket and tosses me her phone.

I frantically dial Devin’s number on her phone and feel the tears I was trying so hard to hold in fall down my face.

“They aren’t working!” I cry.

She reaches over and takes my hand. “Calm down Wil. I am sure he is fine.” She gives my hand a tight squeeze before letting it go and reaching for the wheel again.

“Can we go to his house? We can check on Tony on the way!” I beg.

Devin and I have been together for four years. We met in high school and instantly fell in love. I couldn’t imagine life without him.

“Already headed that way.” She glances over at me giving me a reassuring smile.

I breathe a sigh of relief and try to sit back in my seat. Devin and Tony live in the same town which is about two hours from us. I want to be there now and know that he is okay. Liv’s driving any other day would have me grabbing the oh-shit handle and yelling for her to slow down. Now I wish she would go faster. The zombies or whatever they are, are all over the road along with running and screaming people. Some are trying to flag us down and others are just running for their lives. Liv doesn’t even attempt to stop to help anyone, but keeps plowing right on through the crowd of the flesh eaters.

Finally we hit open road and she floors it causing the front of her hood to lunge forward. I grip the oh-shit handle a little tighter and welcome the increased speed.

Chapter Two

Olivia

I know I may look calm on the outside, but on the inside I am a nervous wreck.
What in the hell is going on?
I am snapped out of my thoughts with the sound of Willow’s sniffling. She has been a fountain of tears since this whole thing started. It’s like one minute we were talking and getting ready to go out tonight and the next we are running for our lives! And now that she hasn’t been able to get in touch with Devin it has added more stress and tears on her.

I don’t blame her for being upset. A love like that only comes around once in a lifetime. I hope Tony and I can have that kind of love one day, but as for right now I don’t know where we stand. We got into a huge fight last weekend and haven’t really said much to each other since. I love him but I honestly don’t know how much more I can take from him. We have been together for two and a half years and ever since he and Dev got into Auburn U he hasn’t been acting the same.

I met him when he came down with his mom, Devin’s aunt, to live here after his parents divorced. Devin introduced us when he first arrived. If they wouldn’t have told us they were kin I would have never guessed it. Tony has dirty blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, where Devin has darker colored hair and green eyes. The only thing that could make you even guess they were related is they are both tall, about six feet tall and have a muscular build.

I look over at Wil and give her a reassuring smile. “I am sure Dev is fine. Don’t worry so much. He was the captain of the wrestling team, he can hold his own. And you know you are the only one he lets bite him,” I tease.

“Liv what if he is looking for us? Why is this happening?”

“If he is looking for us we will cross paths. I have no idea what’s going on.” I shake my head to confirm I don’t know.

“Okay Liv just please get us there alive.”

I snicker. “When does my driving ever not get us from point A to B alive?” I look over at her and smile.

Ever since I got my driver’s license Willow has teased me about my fast crazy driving.

“Never, but your neighbor has never tried to eat us before either.”

I laugh, “What about that creep in college? If I recall he tried to do more than eat you.”

“That was supposed to be the good kind of eating. He sucked!”

“If he sucked then it wasn’t the good kind.” I burst out laughing, not paying attention to the road. “FUCK LIV LOOK OUT!” Willow yells.

I look up in time to see a black Camaro merging out on the road. I try to slam on my breaks, but it’s too late. I plow into it knocking it sideways and sending us spinning until a light pole catches us. The air bags spring out knocking me in the face. I try to brace for the impact, but fail. I thought these things were made to keep you safe not break your face. I shove the bag out of my face and quickly look at Willow.
God please be okay.
After fighting the air bag down I look to my passenger seat. I see Wil with her head leaned up against the window clutching her right arm.

“Wil are you ok?” I frantically ask.

“I can’t move it, it hurts right here,” she says pointing to her elbow

“Is that all that hurts?” I quickly scan her body looking for any more injuries.

“Yeah, that’s all just sore a little.”

“Do you think you could get out?” I ask.

She tries to wiggle her door but the pole has it pinned shut.

“It’s not going to move Liv. It’s against the pole.”

“Oh shit! Well we better figure out something. Look!” I point to the mangled up Camaro. There are a pack of flesh eaters swarming the car dragging an unconscious girl out of the driver side and descending on her like she is the last piece of bacon at IHop. They lunge at her neck and bite a gaping chunk out. A red haired guy staggers out of the passenger side screaming.

“JESSICA! JESSICA!” He rushes to her now half eaten body and tries to fight the ravenous flesh eaters off of her, but he is quickly engulfed by them as they tear at any exposed skin, ripping chunk after chunk off. Devouring him like they did Jessica.

“Willow! We gotta move!” I scream as they turn their attention to us and start their slow staggered pace toward us. I frantically unbuckle my seatbelt.

“Shit! Go Liv! GO!!” she says pushing at my back

I jump out as quickly as I can. They are just a couple feet away from us. I turn around to try and help Wil out but she is already on my heels. An eater is already descending on the crushed in hood of my SUV.

“RUN!!!!” I yell at Wil and dash off in the direction we were first coming from before I smashed into the Camaro. I glance back hoping to see Wil right behind me but to my horror I see one of the son of a bitches has grabbed on to her shirt. She is desperately trying to fight him off, but he is grabbing her good arm.

“FUCK!” I turn around to speed back to her. I see a broken piece of the wooden pole lying on the ground. I quickly pick it up and shove it in the dick’s eyes. I pry his hands off of her just as two more round the hood headed straight for us. I Yank her by her hand and take off running.

“QUICK INTO THE WOODS!” I don’t give her the time to reply. I continue to yank on her arm, practically dragging her behind me.

We run for what seems like miles until I can’t run one more step. My lungs feel like someone has set them on fire. I stop and bend down resting my hands on my knees gasping for air.

“Are… you…. okay?” I breathlessly ask looking at Wil.

“F…..fine…”

I nod, not having enough air to reply. I sink down on the ground resting my back on a tree still trying to catch my breath.

“Damn I never should have quit track in high school,” I try and joke.

“Joke once we are in a safe place. What the fuck are we going to do now?”

“We need to find a hospital for your arm. I saw how you couldn’t even lift it back there. Do you know where we are?” I stand up and look around. Dense woods surround us.

“In the woods?” She sarcastically quips.

“Ha ha you are a real girl scout,” I snip back.

She stands and looks around us putting her good arm above her eyes like she thinks it will help her see farther or something.

“That’s not going to help you see any better you know,” I snap. “Here take this and tie your arm in a sling while I climb this tree and see if I can get a better view of where we are.” I yank my flannel button down shirt off handing it to her, leaving me in my pale pink tank top.

I hoist myself up to the first branch of the tree and climb up like I used to when I was a kid. I guess having all brothers did finally pay off. I make it mid-way up the Oak tree when I spot another pack of flesh eaters coming over the far hill.

“Shit,” I mumble to myself and keep climbing up. Finally I reach the top and look out over the other trees.
Damn this is too high. I’m going to get sick.
Just as I am readying myself to climb back down and give up, I take one final glance over the trees and spot a tall building. To my dismay it’s in the same direction as the flesh eaters. “Shit,” I say again, then make my way back down to Willow.

When my feet hit the ground I look at Willow. She has done just as I said and made a homemade sling from my shirt.

“Well I got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?” I ask.

“Let’s just get the bad out of the way first,” she puffs out.

“More flesh eaters headed our way,” I blurt out.

“Fuck! The good news better be good.”

“I found the town. Now do you want the excellent news?”

“Yes please.”

“We have to go in the exact direction of them to get there,” I sigh.

“Fucking hell one day in the damn zombie apocalypse and they are kicking our ass.”

“Pretty much. Grab a stick or something, you will need it.” I bend down and pick up a good sized stick.

“A stick Liv? Seriously?” She shakes her head and picks up a stick. “A fucking stick. You have got to be kidding me.”

“Well it’s not like we have much to choose from. Would you rather take them on in a fist fight?” I counter sarcastically.

“No,” she sighs and motions for me to lead the way.

“Ugh. Of course you would want me to go first,” I sigh and head off in the right direction, I think.

“Well you are older than me. I still have a lot of life to live,” she says and giggles.

“Wow a whole two days. I wouldn’t want to make you die before your time,” I laugh.

We make our way down the small hillside and instantly lose the cover of the trees and end up in an open field. I can see the flesh eaters in the distance. Just knowing I am walking toward them instead of running away from them causes a huge knot to form in the pit of my stomach.
What the hell am I going to do if something happens to Willow? What is she going to do if something happens to me? She can’t survive out here alone, she will just panic about everything and not think straight.
I pull myself out of my own dreadful thoughts. I will not let myself think about that. We WILL make it to the city and get her help for her arm. And I will be damned if I don’t get her to Devin. He is like a brother to me I am worried about him just as much as Wil…. Well maybe not
as
much, but still, I am worried.

“Wil no matter what happens when we get to them fight like hell and run as soon as you can. DO NOT wait for me Wil. You run!” I look over at here waiting for her reply.