“Wake up, Laura,” I say in a panic. “God, damn it, please wake up!” I shake her vigorously.
She doesn’t move.
My hands shake and my vision blurs, salty tears trickling down my scarred cheeks, falling onto her perfect porcelain face. Her heart offers no beat, her breath is nonexistent, her body emits nothing but coldness despite being wrapped in layers of blankets.
I don’t bother to console myself because it is futile. Laura is dead. Just like that, gone. Killed by those monsters that rampaged our world and feasted on our dead bodies.
I leave her lying on the mattress. My last gifts to her: a kiss on the forehead and an oath to avenge her, to kill the venomous monster that had did this to her. A terrible funeral, I know, but what else could I do in this world of malicious creatures? Wiping my eyes with the back of my hand, I tell myself crying is not allowed. When our parents were killed, Laura needed me, her older sister and her only family, to be strong. I will stay that way for her, even if she is dead. So I lock the apartment door behind me and start running. Running anywhere far from home, where only bad memories and a corpse reside, where I am in danger of more tears.
The dim streets are deserted, since everybody is either dead or in hiding from the predators. The most logical thing to do is to seek protection and find a way to stay alive for now. Except I have no hints as to where I woul-
...What was that? I blink again to make sure my eyes are not playing tricks on me. But I had definitely seen a child run into a building.
I stealthily follow it into the building. When I enter the structure, however, I am suddenly overwhelmed by a terrible odor of decaying bodies. Corpses are littered all over the floor, some with blood spewing and others with body parts missing. I find a few more bones lying in a pile toward a corner, no trace of blood or meat left on them. The monsters obviously relish every single bite of human they can get.
In the center of the carcasses, however, is a young weeping boy. He must be around 12, close to Laura’s age. In front of him is the body of a woman, probably his mother. While I would love to help him out, he probably will just be another person to look after, another person I would grow to care for, another person that will die and leave me crushed again.
He must have noticed me come in, for he turns around and opens his mouth to speak. I’ll never get to know what he wanted to say, as a small shadowy blob-like creature lunges at him from its hiding spot behind a plant, an eerie smile plastered on its face. The words he is about to say turn into shrieks of pain, as the monster bites into his chest, razor sharp teeth easily piercing through the skin and flesh of the boy. Blood splatters on my clothes, and I immediately flee before the monster gets to me next. An intestine forcefully hits my head on the way out, but I do not suffer from any other injuries.
…That is, until another creature similar to the one that killed the boy suddenly ambushes me and reopens the wounds on my cheeks, this time using its intimidating claws. I kick him off and run into a dark alley, hoping the monster does not chase me into there or I can find a way out this way.
Despite my hopes, the monster pursues me, and I reach a dead end. Gritting my teeth, I realize there is no other way of escape. But there was no way in hell I would go down without a fight. I will be brave for Laura. Maybe even get to see her again.
There will be no tears coming from me. With a furious battle cry, I charge at the monster.