The Beginning of the End

Chapter seven, The people we lose

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We had been hiding out in the basement of our house. We were only about two weeks into the apocalypse then. My father, Willow, and my very pregnant mother were huddled in a dark corner of the basement, wrapped in blankets to keep themselves warm. The basement was unsettlingly chilly.

I had been sent up to the kitchen to grab us some food and water, along with a few things we might need if my mother were to give birth. She was due any day now. I was supposed to be getting a little brother. Sure, I was fourteen at the time, but nevertheless I was ecstatic to have a baby in the house. I had been pretty young when Willow was born, so I couldn't remember it much.

I cautiously tiptoed through the kitchen, grabbing us some nonperishable food, bottles of water, towels, and the first aid kit that was tucked away in a cabinet. I had to be careful to stay quiet, we never knew what creatures could be waiting just outside of our home, bloodthirsty and hungry for souls.

Only a few days prior my grandparents on both sides had passed, one became a victim and the rest just simply succumbed to the stress and died naturally. Unfortunately there would be no time for their funerals. There wasn't even enough time to mourn for them. We had to focus on the ongoing problem. The apocalypse.

I had seen some of my classmates become victims. It was the first day of the disaster when it happened. In all honesty it scared me. But that's a story for another time...

I had been told to get some pain relief medicine from the cupboard as well. My mother was going to have to give birth here at home, since all of the hospitals were shut down. It seemed odd to me, you would think in times like these, that would be a place you need most. But I suppose when everything we used to know comes crumbling down everyone only cares about their own health and well-being.

I silently dug through the cupboards and drawers for the medicine, but I couldn't find it. I sneak upstairs. It was dark, I couldn't barely see a thing, but I didn't dare turn a light on or use a flashlight. That's practically asking to be killed.

I warily creeped down the dim hall, headed towards the bathroom. The eerie moonlight seeped through the cracks in our bedroom doors, giving the hall a bit of illumination.

I saw the bathroom door slightly cracked open. I wondered how it got like that. I'm almost certain we had shut all of the doors.

Just then I stepped on a wrong floorboard. The old board creaked groaning under my weight. I bit the inside of my cheek, so hard that I could taste blood and raw flesh.

I quickly but noiselessly stepped forward, off of the floorboard, hoping that no unfriendly ears heard the squeak.

We had found out the hard way that these creatures had very good hearing. Better than any normal animal or person has.

I stayed silent, listening for anything. After a while, I continued forward. I almost reached the bathroom when I heard a loud growl coming from outside of the house.

I didn't waste any time. I hastily rushed into the bathroom and searched the cabinet for pain medicine. Just as I heard another wolf-like sound, I found what I was looking for. As I was headed out, I spotted a bottle of liquor on the bathroom counter. I remembered that my father had been grumbling about not having any alcohol in the basement. He would probably want that. So I grabbed the liquor and rushed out the bathroom door and down the hall. I avoided the creaky floorboard.