Days Past

Annabeth POV

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Day 0

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Everything changed in a day.

Life as we knew it turned upside down. I'm not talking about a death of a family member or a car accident. Millions of people died on the first day before anyone could do anything about it.

At first, I didn't know what was happening. The news had mixed information, and it was hard to trust any radio or news station.

It was complete chaos.

Dad and Helen came home and locked the doors. They barricaded all the windows and doors, and we locked ourselves in our home. When I asked questions, even they didn't know how to answer. No one had any answers.

Matthew and Bobby cried a lot on the first day.

We were huddled in our dimly lit basement that night. Screams and groans were coming from outside, and it scared us all. They were scratching at the walls and banging at the doors. Their groans echoed around our home.

"Daddy, what's going on?" Matthew asked quietly.

"It's a virus," he whispered. "It's hard to explain what's going on because no one knows. We just need to be careful."

"Are we going to die?" Bobby asked next.

"No, sweetie. We're going to get through this. Nothing is going to happen to us as long as we stay inside and not let anyone or anything in," Helen said firmly.

Those words struck me deeply. I internalized them.

I fell asleep in the corner of the basement. We had dragged our mattresses into the basement for the time being. However, I knew that the basement was strategically a bad location. It only had one way in and out. That was not good.

The echoes and screams reverberated in my ears. The world was turning into hell.

Maybe, there aren't any fire rivers or monsters, but the dead were coming back to life. But, they're no longer the people we used to know. Zombies.

The world is filled with zombies now.

The apocalypse is upon us.

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Day 16

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We lost electricity after a week. Our food supply was dwindling, and the only source of human interaction besides our family was an old-time radio. Most of the radio channels were disconnected within a few weeks, but one lone ranger was still broadcasting.

His name was Leo Valdez.

Leo is never shy of words. He speaks for hours on the radio every day, and it's his salvation. According to his story, he's locked up in a vehicle garage by himself.

Talking on the radio gives him something to do. He was postulating all these theories on the origin of Virus Z. That's what people were calling it. It originated somewhere in South America and spread all around the world. My dad couldn't connect to any other radio station, so we listened to Leo for hours.

He's my age, and he's also goofy.

He doesn't care about what he's saying because as far as he knew, no one was listening. Leo kept emphasizing that everyone could be zombies now.

I'd say about 85% of the planet were zombies already.

I saw my first zombie a few days ago. It was from the safety of my home. I was upstairs in my room when I decided to look out the window.

A big, fat zombie was slouching to the right as he walked through the street. Dark blood was oozing from the bites on his neck. According to Leo and previous radio stations, the only way to kill a zombie is to shoot or hit its brain.

It.

The zombies were not people anymore. It is the best to describe them. If you hesitate for even a second, they'd kill you.

"A zombie almost broke into my garage this morning," Leo's voice spread around the room.

I stared at the zombies outside. They walk so sluggishly, and they're disgusting. Since the electricity is out, the smells from outside would break the interior of our house. Helen kept wafting perfume every few hours.

"It was a small zombie. The body belonged to (at most) a ten-year-old boy. Of course, I had to shoot him in the head," Leo whispered. Sadness filled the air.

Matthew and Bobby are only ten-years-old as well.

Helen and Dad were making food by using the fireplace as a grill. Matthew, Bobby, and I were listening to Leo together.

"I've decided that I need to leave my garage. I ran out of food two days ago, and I need to go out. This is going to be my last broadcast," Leo said. I nodded in understanding.

"Hopefully, I live. If not, it doesn't matter."

"I'm going to leave you guys with my favorite song. It'll play on repeat until the battery of my iPod dies. I'm wishing everyone good luck."

Girl on Fire started playing silently.

I sighed while hugging my brothers. Of course, Leo loves this song. Based on his radio broadcasts, he has a weird fascination with fire. Even though I don't know Leo, I felt like I knew him. And, I felt like I was losing one of my friends.

Tears sparkled in my eyes because of the situation that we were in. The world is dying. We're still here, but no one knew for how long.

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Day 46

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Helen and Dad went out of the house a week ago, and they haven't returned. The twins and I knew what that meant. We just didn't want to accept it.

However, it's time to accept it.

Our food ran out yesterday. The only thing left was moldy crackers that everyone refused to eat. Now, Bobby and Matthew were fighting over them. I didn't have the energy to stop them from fighting. They deserve to let out some steam anyway.

I stared at the family portrait on the fireplace mantle. Helen and dad were smiling brightly while hugging their kids. I love my dad so much, and Helen was a great addition to the family. She wasn't mean or disrespectful. She was an amazing mother to the twins and me.

I missed them both so much, but I also knew that they were dead. They went out to find food for us. That's how they died.

I'm sure that they tried their best to survive, but no one can survive this. I'm done crying for my parents and feeling sorry for myself. The truth is that there's no point in staying at home anymore. We need food, and we need to fight.

"Matthew and Bobby, that's enough," I ordered.

I stood up straight and faced my little brothers. 44 days into the apocalypse, and it's time for me to step up. Helen and Dad are gone. It's up to me now.

My brothers faced me in confusion.

"We can't stay here any longer. We're leaving our home. Go pack the necessities, and meet me in the garage. I'm going to get the car started," I ordered.

A few minutes later, they showed up with bags and boxes. Bangs and groans echoed into our garage, but we ignored them. I could tell that Matthew and Bobby were scared. After we loaded the car, I entrusted them to wait in the car.

I grabbed a kitchen knife and breathed through my nerves.

Then, I rolled the garage door up. The smell of death permeated my nostrils and splashed my face. I almost gagged at the smell outside. However, the fresh air also followed. Three zombies were scratching at the garage door.

I looked at my brothers briefly. Their little heads were pressed to the car window in horror. Then, my attention snapped back to the zombies.

Two men and a woman. All three zombies were quite slow. They moved at a snail-like pace, which was good for me. I don't have experience fighting against the zombies yet. But, I do have information and skills.

The only way to kill a zombie is a strike to the brain.

A short male zombie came at me first. He was growing with dark fluid coming out of various parts of his body. I stabbed my knife through its left eye before retracting it.

I twirled on my feet and lodged my blade into the woman zombie next. However, my knife got stuck in its skull.

The third zombie pushed toward me, and I barely dodged his arms. I shrieked while running around my car. My heart thundered. The zombie followed with a heavy limp. I looked around my garage until my hand found a shovel.

"Come at me, Zombie," I shouted.

Just as he reached my proximity, I swung and smashed his head. The zombie crumbled and I jabbed its skull for good measure. His blood and brain juice splattered onto my pants, but I didn't care.

Those were my first three zombie kills.

However, if I intend to survive, there's going to be a lot more.

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Day 123

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It's been a while.

The twins and I spent the last few months on the road.

Everything is free now. There are no more clerks in grocery stores or security at gas stations. Gas is free. Food is free.

We tried to stay in the rural areas at first.

Then, we realized that food is scarce in rural areas. There are fewer stores and gas stations for us to raid. In the last 100 days, we haven't interacted with any humans but ourselves. I'm not even sure if there were humans left. I taught the boys self-defense. Specifically, I taught them how to stab or shoot a zombie. The perk of being in the countryside is that many homes have guns.

We stocked up on supplies. The twins were very good at finding hidden spaces in homes and buildings. That's where the guns and knives usually were.

It wasn't until late May that we drove closer to New York City.

We had stopped at a gas station on the outskirts of the city for the night. My hand was wrapped around my knife as I walked through the store. Matthew and Bobby were positioned with pistols behind the counter.

However, the station was clear. Most surprisingly, the zombies inside were already dead. Almost everything is in turmoil right now, so this place was odd.

My senses are on high alert.

That's when I saw them. I turned the aisle and was now facing the glass door. Three figures were walking toward the doors. I couldn't quite see their faces due to the shadows. But, they were human.

I sped to Bobby and Matthew, and we crouched down. I held my finger to my lips to silence them.

"I'm telling you, Jason. That gray car wasn't there before," a female voice said. Her voice was sweet and luring.

"We are at a gas station, Pipes. There are cars all over the place. We probably weren't paying attention," the boy replied.

Two girls and a boy.

I sucked in a breath, but the voices were only getting closer.

"Piper, it's all right. We fortified this place. It was ridiculous how much effort it took to terminate all the zombies. We can't give it up that easily."

"Can you guys go argue somewhere else?" a third voice chimed. Her voice was slick and deep for a female. There was power through. She had black hair and electric blue eyes. I peeked around the aisle to see them.

They were all around my age.

The other two, Jason and Piper, chuckled.

"Okay, Thalia. Piper and I have to check out the car outside anyway. Piper won't let up," Jason replied. The Cherokee girl nodded firmly.

The gothic girl smirked while crossing her arms.

"No funny business. I know that you guys are a couple, but come back here before nightfall for my own sake," Thalia instructed.

While the two went away, Thalia walked right toward us.

I stood up quickly and aimed my gun at her. She was fast though because she had a gun cocked at me just as fast. For a second, we were just analyzing each other. I didn't know what to do. This was my first time running into another human being. I was somewhat in awe.

"Zombie?" she questioned.

"No, of course not. If I was a zombie, I'd be eating your brains right now," I shot back. My brothers stood cautiously beside me. Their guns were aimed at Thalia too, but she didn't waver at all.

"I'd shoot you before you got the chance," Thalia smirked. "So, is the gray car outside yours?"

"Yes," I paused.

"How about we lower our guns at the same time?" I suggested. "Zombies are enough enemies. Humans don't need to be."

Her blue eyes sparkled. "Agreed."

We lowered our weapons at the same time. Then, she came forward and held out her hand. I gripped and shook it. We both looked quite different. She was wearing all black while I was in jeans and a t-shirt.

Regardless, we held a friendly connection. I can ally with her.

"I'm Annabeth. These are my younger brothers, Matthew and Bobby. Thanks for not shooting at us."

"I don't shoot humans unless I don't like them," Thalia smirked.

"I'm Thalia. (Jason and Piper) my brother and his girlfriend went to check your car. We only came here for supplies. We need to get back to the museum."

"The museum?" I questioned.

"Yes. A group of us fortified the museum near central park. We have almost 220 survivors camped there. If you and your brothers want to live, I suggest you come with us."

"Annabeth?" Matt and Bobby said questionably.

I stared at my brothers for a long time. I wasn't sure if joining a survivor camp is a good idea. After all, more people attract more zombies, especially in a populated city like NYC. However, if this is a fortified camp, Matthew and Bobby would be safe.

It was too good of an offer to pass up, especially since we had been traveling on our own for months.

"This place is safe?" I asked cautiously.

"Look around, Annie." Ugh. I hate when people call me that nickname. Why do so many people think it's okay? Regardless, I let Thalia continue.

"We're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Nothing and no one is safe. However, Chiron and Luke worked hard to create a safe space for survivors. It's your choice whether you want to join us or not."

"We're coming," Matthew and Bobby replied quickly. I knew that they'd be happy with going to a secure establishment. They were so tired, and they were just kids.

I smiled at them and nodded at Thalia.

She smiled in approval.

"Logically speaking, this is the best option. I can assure you that our presence will only help the group survive. We'll join the camp," I affirmed.

And, that's how I became committed to a zombie survival group.