Aiden's eyes were glued to the television, growing more nervous with each word from the emergency alert. Near the doorway, his parents continued their attempts to talk to Jerry, seemingly unaware of how tense things were becoming. Then, without warning, the power cut out, and the entire room was plunged into darkness. Aiden's heart pounded as he looked around, anxious and afraid.
There was a slight tremble in Madison's speech. "Honey, the lights…"
"I know, I know," Jonathan replied, trying to brush off her worry. "It's just a power outage. Give it a few seconds."
A few moments later, the lights flickered back on, pushing the shadows away. Aiden felt a brief wave of relief, but it quickly faded when he noticed the television was still off. The silent, blank screen filled him with a sense that something terrible was about to occur.
"See? No big deal," Jonathan remarked. "Don't get too jumpy".
"I wasn't getting jumpy," Madison muttered. "I was just--"
Jonathan cut her off. "Letting me know? I'm right here, lady."
Before she could respond, Jonathan's attention snapped back to Jerry, who had also been momentarily distracted by the power outage. To his surprise, Jerry's wife and two children now stood behind him, having turned the corner just moments ago.
"Oh, there they are. Wait, is that…"
Jonathan's words trailed off as he stared at Jerry's family. They appeared to be afflicted by the same illness. What truly alarmed him, however, was the fresh blood smeared around their mouths and on their hands.
Jonathan froze, his face twisted in confusion.
Then Jerry lunged.
"Jerry, what the hell?!"
Jonathan stumbled back as Jerry grabbed onto him and tried to sink his teeth into his shoulder. He wrestled to push him off, his feet dragging across the floor as they clashed in the doorway. In the midst of their struggle, Jonathan involuntarily backed up into the house. Meanwhile, Madison and Aiden stood rooted in place, their eyes fixed on the harrowing scene.
With a burst of adrenaline, Jonathan managed to forcefully shove Jerry, sending him tumbling to the ground. "What's wrong with you?! Did you just try to bite me?!"
Before he could catch his breath, Jerry's wife and kids followed them into the house, compelling Jonathan to retreat further into the living room. As Jerry got back on his feet, he slowly turned toward Madison, who now stood closer to him than Jonathan did. His gaze locked onto her, and he started moving forward with a haunting, vacant stare.
"Wait, wait! Jonathan! Keep him away from me!" Madison cried out, her voice cracking with panic.
"Get over here!" Jonathan shouted. "Don't let him grab you!"
Aiden didn't move. His legs felt heavy, his eyes tracking every frantic movement his parents made. The more they fought to protect themselves, the more unreal it all felt.
Just as Jerry reached out to grab Madison, Jonathan pushed him away and pulled her out of harm's way. With his wife in his arms, they took several steps back, putting distance between themselves and the infected.
"Something's wrong with them!" Madison yelled. "We have to get out of here!"
Jonathan agreed without hesitation. Thankfully, the infected were moving slowly, giving them at least a little time to come up with a plan. Even so, the situation was so disturbing it filled them with dread. Jonathan glanced at the front door, but the sick family standing in the way made escape feel impossible.
Suddenly, Aiden's timid voice reached their ears. "Dad… the back door…"
"The back door…" Jonathan murmured, trying to process what his son had just said. Then it hit him. It was a valid option. "Right! The back door!"
They rushed into the kitchen, their footsteps swift but weighed down by fear. Jonathan headed straight for the back door and swung it open, only to find more infected waiting just outside. Before any of them could get in, he slammed the door shut. The infected began pounding on it over and over, each hit making the door rattle in its frame.
Madison stepped toward the window and looked outside. Her eyes widened as she watched one of their neighbors, caught in the clutches of the infected, getting dragged to the ground. Her cries for help soon turned to screams of agony as the infected began to feast on her. Jonathan joined Madison at the window, the shock of what they were seeing rooting them in place.
"They're… eating her?" Madison's voice broke the silence, trembling with horror.
Aiden, his face pale and confused, looked up at his father. "Dad? What do you see?"
Jonathan didn't answer. He just stared, attempting to make sense of what was happening.
Madison leaned in for another look, but the infected had already crowded around the scene, blocking it from view. "Wh-what… what are they? Are they zombies?" she inquired, barely able to comprehend what she was witnessing.
Jonathan's thoughts spiraled. The idea of a zombie apocalypse had always been fiction to him, something made up for movies and games. But now, with that woman's screams still echoing in his ears, it no longer felt impossible. As he came to terms with this new reality, the infected Jerry and his family finally stumbled into the kitchen.
Jonathan's expression tensed as he faced them, knowing they had to act quickly to avoid a fate similar to the grisly scene unfolding outside. His gaze drifted to Aiden, a harsh, grim plan forming in his mind. "You know, kid, you might prove more useful than I thought."
"Dad? What do you mean by that?" Aiden asked, his body instinctively stepping back. "Dad?" he repeated, his fear rising as Jonathan advanced towards him.
Driven by sheer desperation, Jonathan grabbed Aiden and shoved him toward the infected, drawing a terrified cry from the boy as he hit the ground near Jerry.
"Dad! No! Wait! Help me!"
In a reckless move to survive, Jonathan had used his son as a distraction, clutching Madison tightly as he bolted past the infected. Aiden, stunned and scrambling, was still on the floor when Jerry leaned down and grabbed his leg. The boy panicked and kicked out with his free foot, landing a solid blow to Jerry's face and forcing him to let go. With his heart pounding, Aiden pushed himself up and dashed down the hallway, heading straight for the bathroom at the end.
Meanwhile, Jonathan and Madison stepped into the living room again, only to find their escape path blocked. More infected had made their way inside, drawn by the sound of the commotion.
"Damn it!" Jonathan cursed, his frustration spilling out. "There's more of them!"
Madison's eyes darted around the room, alarmed. "What do we do now?!"
Jonathan's gaze flicked down the hallway, and for a moment, he felt relief at seeing Aiden make it into the bathroom. Since the boy had gone inside, Jonathan figured he'd open the door if they told him to. But that thought barely settled before the infected that had been chasing Aiden shifted their ravenous attention to him and Madison.
One of them, a tired-looking woman, slowly stumbled toward Jonathan with her teeth bared, aiming for his arm. He reacted on instinct, punching her hard in the face. Then he grabbed Madison's hand. "Quick! We can still make it to the hallway!" he shouted, the urgency clear in his tone.
As they ran past the infected, Jonathan backhanded Jerry in a burst of desperation, then followed it up with a kick to one of Jerry's kids, clearing a path forward. Jerry's wife reached out for Madison as they passed, but Madison pulled away just in time, narrowly avoiding her grasp.
When they reached the hallway, Madison's anxiety spiked. "Our bedroom!" she blurted. "Let's hide in there!"
Jonathan didn't even glance at the door. "It's locked! We keep it that way to make sure Aiden doesn't go in there!"
"Then what about the laundry room?!"
"It's locked too! And we don't have the keys!"
"Then what do we do?!"
Jonathan looked back. The infected were slow, but they had already entered the hallway, cutting off any chance to escape in that direction. The bathroom at the end, where Aiden was now, was their only way out. Since Madison hadn't suggested it, she didn't seem to have noticed him slip inside.
"I saw Aiden go into the bathroom," Jonathan said, finally voicing the plan he had in mind. "We'll tell him to let us in. We can get out through the window."
They sprinted toward the bathroom door and tested the handle, but it held firm. Aiden had locked it from the inside.
Madison yanked at it. "What?! It's locked!"
Jonathan slammed his fists against the door. "Aiden! Open the door!"
Inside the bathroom, Aiden was overcome by panic when he heard his father's voice. Hearing it startled him, causing him to lose his balance on the foldable chair he'd stepped onto in the tub, and he fell hard against the surface below.
Jonathan's voice grew louder, raw with anger. "I know you're in there! Open the goddamned door!"
Behind them, the sound of shuffling feet crept closer. Jonathan and Madison turned, their backs now to the bathroom door as they faced the infected coming down the hallway. Jerry, his sick family, and about a dozen others were slowly closing in. Madison's face was frozen in fear, while Jonathan's twisted with fury.
"They're getting closer!" Madison yelled, gripping Jonathan's arm tightly.
Jonathan stood there, overwhelmed and unsure of what to do next. The pressure boiling inside him finally broke as his rage snapped loose. "Aiden! You damned useless brat!"
Within the bathroom, Aiden overcame the pain from his fall, shaken but driven by a will to survive. He climbed back onto the chair, his hands trembling as he struggled with the window. After a few seconds, it finally slid open, giving him a risky way to escape.
The sound of the window sliding open reached Jonathan, fueling his impatience. He began to kick against the locked restroom door with growing ferocity. "Damn it! Open up!"
With a final, forceful kick, the door gave way just as Aiden slipped out of the window. The boy fell to the ground but quickly regained his footing, relieved to have landed on grass. Nearby, a few infected had already spotted him and started moving in his direction, but he took off running before they could get too close.
Having witnessed his son's escape, Jonathan was more than displeased. "Damn it! Our bait is gone!"
Behind him, Madison called out, full of distress. "Jonathan! Please! What do we do?!"
Jonathan's eyes darted between the infected coming down the hallway and the open window Aiden had just escaped through. He then focused strictly on Madison, and though he said nothing, the look he gave her made her stomach drop.
"Honey?"
Without a word, Jonathan's actions revealed the extent of his despair. He forcibly pushed Madison towards the infected, her pleas for mercy falling on deaf ears as she frantically tried to resist.
"Jonathan, stop! Don't! Please don't!"
Jonathan pushed Madison into the horde without hesitation. The infected grabbed her limbs, their teeth sinking into her flesh. Her screams were raw and unfiltered. She fought back, kicking and clawing, but their grip was unyielding. Her terror morphed into guttural shrieks of pain that echoed down the hall. Jonathan didn't look back. He shoved the chair aside and climbed out the window.
He landed outside and staggered upright, catching his breath. When he turned to look back, he saw Madison's body lying limp among the infected. They were still tearing into her, but he didn't flinch. There was no remorse in his eyes, only the cold, empty relief of still being alive.
"I'm safe… I'm safe…" he whispered, trying to steady his nerves.
But the world outside was no safer. Jonathan turned and froze as more than a dozen infected closed in, their slow advance shrinking the gaps between them. A chill crept up his spine, settling deep into his chest.
"No… No…" he murmured, unable to accept the situation he was in.
In the distance, Jonathan caught sight of Aiden fleeing down the sidewalk. Desperation drove his actions as he attempted to divert the attention of the approaching horde towards his son. He gestured and shouted, but his efforts were in vain. His pleas were ignored, lost in the mindless hunger of the infected.
Realizing he had no choices left, he attempted to force his way through the right, where there were fewer infected. Unfortunately for him, his plan failed almost immediately. As he pushed one aside, another grabbed his arm, biting into his forearm. A sharp cry of agony escaped Jonathan's lips. He swung wildly, striking the attacker in the face, but then another bit into his shoulder. In a matter of seconds, the rest of the horde descended upon him, tearing into his body and devouring him alive.
Aiden sprinted down the street, hearing his father's distant screams behind him. Tears blurred his vision as he ran, lungs burning from fear and exhaustion. Around him, the streets were chaotic with people fleeing their homes, chased by infected relatives. Though some managed to escape by various means, many weren't as fortunate. It was as if a switch had suddenly flipped, randomly turning part of the population into zombie-like infected.
The boy refused to look at the nightmarish scenes unfolding around him. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on the road ahead. Surrounded by screams and panic, he came to a sudden realization.
The world he knew was gone.