After The End

Chapter 8: I DID IT!!

I looked at Stacy and Megan, the two of them were holding each other tightly. Jaydon stood nearby, watching them both. Then I noticed it, the machete, it was lying on the ground beside Stacy's feet.

I slowly picked it up. The infected growled in the police car. Its milky eyes were fixed on me. I stared back, my hands shaking. My heart pounded in my chest.

Could I really do this? Could I kill another human being?

Behind me, Stacy's voice cracked.

"I can't do it."

Tears streamed down her face.

"I can't kill another human being."

Jaydon's expression remained cold.

"They aren't human anymore."

His voice was calm.

"They died the moment they were infected."

The creature hissed and slammed itself against the seatbelt.

"What you're looking at isn't alive."

I swallowed hard.

I stepped forward, closed my eyes, and swung.

Miss.

The machete hit the police car. The infected lunged at me. I stumbled back, my hands trembling even more.

No.

I had to do this, I opened my eyes.

"He's dead," I whispered.

The infected growled.

"He's dead."

I tightened my grip.

"Nothing but flesh and bones."

I swung again. The blade struck its neck, but it was too shallow, and the infected jerked violently. Blood splattered across the dashboard, and I nearly dropped my weapon. then raised it one last time.

And put everything I had into this swing, the machete came down.

Silence.

The infected stopped moving. For several seconds, no one spoke. I stood there, staring and waiting for it to move again. It didn’t. My knees gave out, and I dropped to the ground. My heart started to race.

Too fast, way too fast, i had to try counting.

One. Two. Three. Five Ten.

Then backwards.

Anything to calm down, finally, I looked up, Jaydon was standing over me. I forced a weak smile.

"Hey."

His gaze shifted from me to the severed head on the ground. Before he could speak, growls echoed through the street. More infected were coming fast.

"Move!" Jaydon shouted.

Everything happened at once. Stacy grabbed Megan. Jaydon ran off. I rushed to the police car. The phone lay on the floor. I reached inside and grabbed it. Then I snatched up my bat and the machete.

Then ran.

"SARA!" Jaydon shouted.

I ignored him and kept running.

When I finally caught up, Jaydon had found an apartment building. We rushed inside. Every door we tried was locked. Some apartments held infected people trapped inside, while others were silent. Finally, we reached the fourth floor.

We searched and searched until one apartment opened. Stacy rushed in with Megan, and Jaydon followed. I stumbled through the doorway seconds later, completely out of breath. The door slammed shut behind us.

The infected pounded on the door. I collapsed on the floor, a smile spreading across my face. I did it! I actually did it. Then I looked up. Jaydon stood over me, he was furious.

"You psycho."

My smile disappeared.

"What?"

He grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet.

"I knew you were crazy the first time I met you."

His jaw tightened.

"But this?"

He pointed toward the door.

"Next time you want to feel the thrill of dying, do it by yourself."

I blinked.

"What are you talking about?"

I held up the phone.

"The bat."

Then the machete.

"I ran all the way here carrying these. What did I even do?"

Jaydon stared at me. For a moment, he seemed ready to yell. But then he clicked his tongue, turned, and walked away, leaving me confused.

I calmed down and watched Jaydon leave. Then, I went to the living room and sat next to Stacy and Megan.

"Are you okay?" Stacy asked, concern written all over her face.

I nodded.

"I'm alright."

Then I held up the phone with a grin.

"But look what I got."

Stacy frowned.

"The policeman's phone?"

I nodded excitedly.

"We can use it to see what's happening in the world."

The three of us huddled together as I pressed the power button.

58% battery.

The lock screen lit up.

A smiling man stood beside a woman, both holding a little girl between them.

It was the policeman and his family. My excitement faded as notifications appeared at the top of the screen.

12 missed calls from Wifey ❤️

28 unread messages.

I clicked them.

Honey, where are you?

Babe, I'm scared.

The things outside are trying to get into the house.

Please answer.

The kids keep crying.

What do I do?

Babe?

Please answer me.

Honey?

The messages continued. Then they suddenly stopped. The last one was sent one days ago. I stared at the screen.

"Even in her final moments..." I whispered.

"She thought he was still alive."

Nobody spoke. Beside me, Stacy looked like she was trying not to cry. The room suddenly felt much quieter. A moment later, Jaydon entered the living room. He pulled a chair from the kitchen and sat down across from us.

His eyes immediately landed on the phone. I quickly exited the messages.

"No password," I said.

"Seriously, who has a phone without a password?"

Stacy rolled her eyes.

"Does that really matter right now?"

She pointed at the screen.

"Check the news."

I shrugged.

"Fine."

I opened one of the social media apps. Most of the posts were old. People asking for help. Warning others to stay away from certain towns. Videos of infected attacking people. Then I spotted a news report.

LIVE EMERGENCY BROADCAST.

I clicked it. The screen flickered. A woman in a suit appeared behind a news desk. She looked calm at first, but then I saw her hands shaking.

Newreporter: “ "This is Emma Carter reporting live from Capital News.

Authorities are urging citizens to remain calm as reports of a violent virus continue to spread across several regions of the island.

Government officials have confirmed that multiple towns have been placed under emergency lockdown. Residents are advised to remain indoors and avoid contact with anyone displaying symptoms of extreme aggression, confusion, or unusual behavior.

Police and military forces have been deployed to affected areas.

Again, citizens are urged not to panic."

The reporter paused and touched the earpiece in her ear.

Her expression changed.

"Wait... we're receiving new information."

The camera shook slightly.

People were shouting somewhere off-screen.

"Authorities have confirmed that the infected are attacking emergency responders."

The reporter swallowed hard.

"This is no longer being treated as a public health emergency."

A loud scream echoed through the newsroom.

The reporter froze.

"What was that?"

The camera suddenly turned.

Someone in the background stumbled into view.

Blood covered his shirt.

The newsroom erupted into chaos.

"Cut the feed!" someone shouted.

The infected lunged.

The camera crashed to the floor.

The last thing visible on the screen was the reporter backing away in terror before the broadcast abruptly ended.