I always knew it would come. It was just a matter of time. The end of the world is here, and I refuse to go down with the rest of the planet. I will survive this.

I remember the day perfectly. I was sitting in Matt’s bedroom. He is my best friend. We were just playing Black Ops 2 on his Play Station 3 when we heard something walk in the door. Matt’s mom wasn’t due to be home for a couple hours, and no one else was out on the island. I paused our match and clambered to my feet just as an ominous moaning drifted from the kitchen. I turned to look at Matt, a knowing look across my face, “It happened.”

I dropped to the floor again, reaching under Matt’s bed for his two swords. I tossed one to him before walking out of his bedroom to come face to face with my first real zombie, “AHHHHHHH!” I yelled as I lifted the weapon and sliced through the zombie’s neck, decapitating it. Blood splattered across the walls and my clothes. Matt was right behind me and ducked to plunge his own swords through the forehead of the next zombie. The battle had begun.

I cast a look over my shoulder, back at the normal life that I was leaving behind, “Go get Jake, Jon, Dustin, and Eric.” I spoke to Matt without really paying attention to what was coming out of my mouth. We had so often planned and re-planned the Zombie Apocalypse that I had it all down by heart. My phone was pressed against my ear as I called James. He was probably the most important member of our to-be survival group. “James? Yeah. The zombies are here. Are you at home?” I paused for his answer, “Okay. I’ll be there soon to get you.” I hit the end button on my phone and made another series of phone calls to Danielle and Ryan. From there, the chain would begin. Everyone else would gather the rest of the people that were to come along.

I stepped out Matt’s front door and into the fading sunlight. My little green car sat on the side of the house and I almost went to it. No. I need something bigger. I spun around, looking at my options until I spotted an Escalade parked out front of some condominiums. I grinned and ran towards it, hoping that the doors would be unlocked, and if I was lucky enough, a spare key would be hidden inside the vehicle. I ran up on the big black SUV and ripped the door open. No alarm wailed as I climbed into the front seat and began my search. I jumped as I heard fists pounding at the driver’s side window. I grabbed my weapon, ready for zombies, only to find Matt, Eric, Jon, Dustin, and Jake standing outside the Escalade. I let out a sigh of relief and motioned for them to all climb in.

I continued to look for a key, “Once I get this up and running, I’m going to drop you guys at vehicles that you want. Get them running and get supplies. Weapons, fencing, food, anything you can find. After that, get on the interstate and head towards Dayton. We’re going to set up base there. Keep in touch with one another, and whatever you do, don’t get bitten.” With that, I finally found what I was looking for and the engine roared to life. I peeled out of the parking lot and down the narrow street, heading towards the bridge that leads us off the island.
I pushed 70 MPH on the back roads that lead into town. James and Ryan were now in my back seat along with everyone else. We were now on our way to pick up Lauren and Danielle before stopping for a few extra weapons, car drop offs, and supplies.
I was surprised to see such abandoned streets on the weekend. Maybe the authorities already knew about the epidemic that was sweeping across the world? The thought had hardly gone through my head when I came up on a road block, of course. Not caring enough to stop, I turned a corner and squealed to a halt. “That’s the one.” Matt’s voice came from the passenger seat. “Be safe kiddo,” I smiled fondly at my best friend as he jumped out of the Escalade and onto the sidewalk before running up to a black and red accented motorcycle.
As I continued to drive, Jake, Jon, James, and Dustin all picked out their respective vehicles. Danielle would be with Matt already, so all that was left for me to do was to pick up Lauren and gather the supplies we would need. I finally reached the edge of New Breman, where I would find Lauren, when the cops caught up to me. Against my instincts, I pulled over and rolled the window down. Hopefully this wouldn’t be too bad. After all, I was in a stolen car. Just before the officer went to get out of his car, Matt zoomed by on his motorcycle. I laughed as the policeman peeled after my best friend. “Thanks, man,” I muttered under my breath as I pulled away from the edge of the road and the last few blocks to Lauren’s house.
So far, everything had been going according to plan. I now had as much nonperishable food as possible packed into the Escalade and was on my way to pick up fencing. I’d found a trailer and hooked it up to the vehicle. Thank you Dad for making me know how to do these things. I was alone in the car and nearly to the tractor supply store in Sidney when cars around me began to slow down. Zombies…my eyes narrowed as I maneuvered around the slowing vehicles. There was no way that I was going to stop now. I pulled off onto the exit ramp and ran through the red lights and stop lights and into the giant parking lot outside the supply store. I ran up to the front doors and inside. I grabbed hold of anything that I deemed useful; mostly fence, barb wire, nails, and other home improvement items. I loaded the supplies onto the trailer and into the car.
As I was tying the rest of the fence down, I heard the unmistakable moans of zombies. I turned slowly to face the two undead coming my way. I grimaced and reached for the sword that I still carried from Matt’s house. I let out a battle cry and charged. I tried not to think about who these things used to be as I plunged my weapon into the head of the first. Without enough time to think of my next action, I let instinct take over and decapitated the second zombie before the first even hit the ground. Fresh blood splattered my clothes and face. I wiped what I could away and cleaned the blood from the sword before climbing back in the Escalade and returning to the interstate. I needed to make it to Dayton, and fast.
It didn’t take long to get where I needed to go. I pulled out my phone and dialed Matt’s number. It rang 3 times before he answered, “I found the perfect place. I’ll text you directions.” I didn’t even get a word in before he hung up. A few moments later, my phone beeped; the directions had arrived. I furrowed my eyebrows as I started to follow the directions I was given.
A prison? I wondered silently to myself as I came to a stop outside my destination. A few people were already making improvements to the facility, and I couldn’t blame them. The zombies would be coming in hoards after the living in the next few days. What we would all experience now would be nothing compared to it. I looked around at my friends as they all prepared to survive this. We can do this.