THE NEW WORLD: VIII

Miracle

The family held their breathes upon witnessing the doorknob continously twisting and turning. At first everyone, especially Randall, thought it was the woman that she shot earlier but she was as good as dead as he left her for the dead. Something that made it seem impossible to believe is how the doorknob moves, it doesn't look like it is being shaked but literally twisting clockwise.

"What is it?" Dylan whispers, the same tremble in his voice returned. He stares into the peephole of their frontdoor and sees a zombie standing right in front of it. He drew his gun and points directly at the door and everyone followed suit.

"The worst thing that can happen, those fucking things can learn" Randall thought of the worst and the most impossible thing that he can think. The doorknob continues to twist and turn like someone is attempting to open it, rather than just pushing on it. They stand there waiting until the zombie moves away or it opens though it is locked, they all forgot about it; what they're witnessing is nothing short of a miracle, only that could awaken their deepest nightmare. It kept going for longer and every minute that passes their sanity starts to crumble. They stood there waiting until they hear tapping on their door, then suddenly a thud. It startled them.

"This is not good… what do we do?" Amanda asked any of them including Craig as they see no other way of getting out of here. Though some of the zombies were attracted to the screaming woman there were some that stayed behind.

"We wait, we jus-- just wait" The only proper thing Dylan can think as of the moment as tfear did not allow him to think of anything at all. The thudding continued and it was clear to them something keeps hitting its head on their door.

"Or they're dumb and we're scared of nothing" Randall said.

"Right... where's the car?" Dylan asked. Craig did not have the heart to tell his uncle, the boy remained quiet and Randall quickly replied.

"No car, it was too risky to get it here"

"Shit, mine was outside, and then some loud men with guns stripped it clean and also brought this fuckers with it"

"Loud men with guns?" Dylan's description allured Randall to which he nods.

"Yeah, they were making loud noises, some of them even commanded to 'bring them' here"

"Fuck, okay, to Craig's room" Randall commanded. They made haste up to the second floor of the house with their things and fortunately there was not a lot. They quickly moved and drag heavy and sturdy things down to the ground in order to slow the zombies down in case they make a breach in the front door. Some of them have walked up to the windows in front of their house and may break in.

"In here" They got into Craig's room where they can easily access the roof through the window. Everyone used the bed, cabinet, anything to block the door as they have no reason to go back. Luckily as they finished putting up the barricades they hear the glasses of the windows in front of their house break, and the front door creaking wide open.

"They're in, where to?" Amanda asked, Randall pointed to the window and opened it. "We keep moving" He calmly said. They got out through the window and slowly moving as to not lose their balance and slip off the window to the ground. They lay on all fours to also avoid getting seen by the zombies, assuming that they are like humans. There might be a possibiltiy that they can distinguish a living being from one of their own, as so far the only that differentiates the 2 entities are noises. They move on top of the roof, trying their best to balance and not fall to the street.

"Right… now where do we go?" Amanda asked. Randall looks around, still hoping for an opening. "We'll make a run for it" Randall said, no time to plan or anything witty to get them out the situation, just his impulse kicking in to survive; that is better than nothing for them.

"right we'll just run… fuck this nothing is coming to mind but running too" Dylan supported the reckless idea.

"Will we make it?" Craig looks up to his father who appears to still be in the same nervous wreck as he did earlier in the car.

"Yeah we're faster" Randall replied in a calm and comfortin tone to his son.

"How do we go down Randall?" Dylan asked as seeing they have no way to go down, and the 2 have also abandoned the ladder.

"Using the bags"

"What?" Randall grabs Dylan's military grade backpack and moved to the edge of the rooftop.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, Craig… come on kid"

"Randall what-" Amanda tries to stop his husband from doing anything reckless but seeing as how there is nothing more they can do, she insisted on it. They cannot test if this will work, but they have no other option and their desperation demands them to do anything without doubt. And without hesitation Randall asked Dylan and Amanda to hold onto the bag.

"I'll go down first"

"Randal-" Amanda lies to herself that she insisted on it, but deep inside she sees it as a stupid idea.

"Come on…. just try" He begs her wife. "Dad…" Craig's eyes tells otherwise, "Goodluck" instead of "stop it".

"We will make this" He grabbed him by the back of his head and connected their foreheads together. Craig, Dylan, and Amanda all held firm on the shoulder straps, they grab the handle and anywhere else to have a tight grip on the bag. Randall held onto the compression straps and descended as if he is rock climbing. He puts his feet on the edge of the rooftop and the 3 are heavy enough to hold him.

"Slowly, slowly" Randall slowly moves down and trying to put as much weight as he can on his arms as if he is doing pull ups, the other 3 slowly lowers the bag down. He moves his feet and he taps on the pane. He grabs onto the gutters, and finally lets go of the bag and jumps down.

"Ah…" He bent his legs and other than the small shock that his body recieved, nothing more came of it.

"are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine" Randall sees the pipe and grabs it. It was rusting and it easily broke. He stops in his steps making sure nothing sees him, and fortunately nothing did. They are still feasting on the woman's corpse ando n the other side continues to roam about. He moved towards where they stand and puts up the pipe. Craig goes down first and slowly slides down making sure that he does not cut himself.

"See kid…" The boy softly lands on his father's arms "trust me, we will get out of this" the 2 smiled and had the exact same expression. He is his father's son.

"We will" He smiled brightly to his father. Amanda followed and carefully slides down the pipe. She sees into the window of their house and sees the zombies walking about, she warned them and they quickly moved. Dylan now stands by himself on the roof, he is the heaviest out of the four them and the pipe might not hold as it is also rusting and any more weight may cause it to break apart. Dylan grabs onto the gutter and then to the pipe, he wraps his leg around it and slides down.

"Mom" Craig said. A zombie has wondered to the side on which they stand. Amanda sprints up to the zombie and stabs it through the side of it's head. She pulls it down to the side. "Sweetie" Randall startled her and he immediately pulled her. Dylan managed to get down softly only tearing parts of his shirt and pants, no minor injuries sustained from his descent. They climbed across their metal fence and started to run as they gain distance from the horde. Though the zombies haven't noticed them, they know the creatures are capable of running after them.

They pass by zombies or push them away, and so far nothing was chasing after them. They managed to get to the main highway just before dusk and there they stopped and caught their breathes. Still how the things are going, taking a break might be the cause of their death, and so they have to continue moving without taking another break unless they all need it. Randall passed around a bottle of water, with lines segmenting it for different people. The biggest portion goes to Craig, next is to Amanda, then do Dylan, and Randall gets the least.

They moved down to the County route 555 in order to get to the main highway overlooking the 55 New Jersey route.

"We need to follow this road north, we find a car" Randall gave their objective. Knowing that there is no home and that they will be on the move, they have to find a tasnportation that can bring them to anywhere they wish to be, and for now they have to get out of the state.

"Aren't we going pass those malls?" Dylan's worried tone comes through.

"Yeah, but their slow, look we managed to outrun them" He sounded cocky for someone who has almost faced death in the hands of these 'slow' creatures, but it is his way to cope with the whole situation.

"Yeah, but the car is the problem, we also do not have the energy to check all of this"

"yeah we're gonna have to do it" They walked down to the 55 route and quietly checks the interiors of the car. The cars were proof that there was an evacuation attempt but sadly most of the owners are now eaten or the dead. It seems to be a terrifying fate to continously crave and devour the flesh of the living. Their minds taken over by a virus as their real mind rots away with the very skin that it onced control. They shined their lights into each and every window to see anything, but its just filled with blood, supplies, and corpses; they have been insensitize over this.

"Randall! You think that's gonna work?" Amanda called her husband and mentioned a military truck just right about where he is standing. The truck was used to evacuate but it crashed through other vehicles and even ran through some people. There are rotting parts under it and within the grills, it is also soaked in blood. They go around the truck carefully and unlucky for them the path is blocked by other cars; still they checked it.

Dylan gets into the front of the truck while Randall goes on the back. "Seems empty" Dylan was quickl to declare.

"We look for a key, we can't hot-wire it can we?" Randall asked.

"Uncle Dylan, over is this the key?" Craig shines his flashlight on a severed hand with something faint reflecting on it. Dylan hops down and inspects it and wipes the dirt off of it. He pulls the fingers open and he had to break, he then shows his finding to Randall.

"Good eye kid"

"Thank god, Amanda, ya think you can drive this?"

"I can" Dylan gave her the key, the 2 men pushed the cars in front of them and Craig gave all the help that he can but the 2 men had to make sure he had enough rest. They stayed there for over an hour clearing the path for the truck and cleaning the inside of the vehicle. It smells like the sun.

"Right… start it up sweetie"

She twists the key and after several attempts the ignition finally goes. The 3 breathes a sigh of relief and cheered their achievement; they can finally get out. But eventually what little cheering they have, or any joy at all quickly turned into a pant of anxiety. On top of their heads they hear a harrowing noise from jets, then explosions came along behind them. Their bombing Vineland and its surrounding areas. A hail of explosive fell around Vineland and they are chased after by the echoes of the destruction.

"Get in" Randall commanded his son, "Dad what's happening?" Craig asked but Randall did not have the courage to tell it to him.

"Their waking the city up, WE NEED TO MOVE NOW!"

Amanda starts up the car once more and checked on them if they are ready. Craig sits up in front with his mother while Dylan and Randall stay at the back. Randall gave her the thumbs up and she steps on the pedal.

The In-laws finally get to take a rest and lay down on their backs.

"Are you okay?" Dylan asked.

"Yeah, how were you guys over here?"

"Terrified, especially when they announced whatever the fuck caused all of this, just a nightmare isn't it?"

"Tell me about it"

"Sure"

"You said earlier there were loud men making a ruckus here, how true is that?"

"Yeah, even in this situation terrorists still exists"

"Yeah, what did they do?"

"Kill everyone, just, a massacre most of the people there all piling together including us then they arrived and started to shoot down everyone"

Randall did not have a comment and allowed his brother-in-law to speak. It must have been a horrible and traumatic sight for him, as he wanted to escape the sounds of guns and screams of people, but he was pulled right back into it and now it feels impossible to escape from.

"Then, hours later they reanimated, just right up... and then, walking about"

He can tell Dylan is devastated by what he has witnessed, and just imagining it cannot help comprehend what he has really seen. Randall can only offer his calming presence and touch to him.

As they continue forward they got near the malls and see the heavily dense area. They stood on top of the road in between the 2 Super Malls. They looked on both sides the massive horde walking towards the noises. They can hear their groaning and their sounds that are oh so haunting. Just aimlessly walking about like moths to the light.

"Holy fucking shit…"

It was a terrifying sight, an ocean of the undead moving as one, almost like ants but without the knowledge and just the lust for flesh and blood. A nightmare so real that it shocked the family down to their very being. 4 Months and something that they knew was fictional now is happening right in front of them. Randall hid Craig under his arm as he can hear the boy whimpering, bombs are dropped on the horde, and suddenly a massive explosion falls on the city of Millville. They see the mushroom and the bright light that made the setting day into an afternoon. The wave came and broke the glass, it gave the truck a nudge but not enough to topple it over itself.

Amanda can only drive after she got her bearings. They got out of the 55 route and into the 40. They eventually stopped at a township of Woodstown, it was abandoned. No signs of life, not even the dead which they expected to see raoming about. They see graffiti around the houses, and another military truck with the label 'Deserters' and 'The Damned'.

"Deserters" Dylan read out as he wiped the paint.

"I met a soldier, he seemed to be the deserted" He shows Empathy towards Tobias and what he had to experience as he and his brother-in-lawa are similar. Both men who are clearly traumatized by what they have witnessed and now forced to relieve it but with such greater consequences.

"we're all deserted" Dylan replied as the words struggle to manifest and escape his throat.

They stopped in the town. They looked at the best place they can stay in as it seems safer and much better than everything else; tranquility. Amanda and Craig looked around the different supply store, even weapons that they can use. Dylan examined and looted the bodies of dead soldiers, for ammunition and guns that they all can use. As for Randall, he looks for a house and a car that they can use as the truck was just a hair away from failing.

He then sees a house and a tree bearing fruit, he smiled upon witnessing such peaceful scenery. He then enters the house and remembered what he knows of this things, 'they stay indoors during the morning' and so he drew his weapon. He slowly eneters and said "shit… this is bad" Randall discovers a horrifying sight that shocked him to the core. A man hanged by his neck, with his body devoured, and it's devourers shot in the head. And one horrific detail he noticed about each person.

"They were killed when they were alive" A shaky voice speaks to him behind his back. Randall pointed his gun to the general direction of the voice.

"No no… don't shoot please…."

"You're not convincing" A man holds a gun and raises his hands as if he is greeting him. Terrified, but he seems to be acting too much for someone who is clearly a coward, he is scared.

"I'm… Corey Moe… I can help you, I'm a good shot"

"Yeah, so you can kill me, go ahead"

"No… please, no I can… I can tell you where the stash is, if you're looking for it"

"Stash?"

"There's a group, they call themselves the Aptissimum"

"The fittest?"

"Yes, some neo-nazi creeps… these people, they… fuc… the women… then they asked this guys to eat that man"

"Are they, I met them back all the way north"

"Canada?"

"New York"

"Oh" He puts his gun down but Randall kept his guard up/].

"Yeah, what the fuck is this about a stash?"

"Oh yeah, they go around cities or towns, stash, guns and foods… for themselves just some D-Day bullshit"

Randall despite not trusting the man was quick to believe the existence of a stash that he described. he approaches the guy with the gun now directly right between his etes, but he seems to be calm. He looks a bit older than Craig but no older than him. Dylan then enters and aims the gun at Corey who now starts to panic as he is threatened by the way he looks.

"who's this"

"Corey, apparently he knows of a stash"

"I.. I do, sir, I can show you to it"

The 2 left the house and shuts the door not allowing Amanda and he son see it. The 2 then returns from their own scoping and seeing as how the other 2 were aiming the gun at him they followed suit, but the man remains calm; either he is a good liar or an honest abe. Despite not knowing them Corey still moved comfortably, able to crack jokes but they do not threaten him apart from being aimed with a gun. He understands that they are cautious of him, and he is not. He smiles as he has now reconnected with humans.