7

post zombie apocalypse begins

His family wasn't safe here. They couldn't stay here any longer. And that's why he had to leave. If he wanted to make sure they would live through this he needed to leave. So that's what he did. Leaving before his family realized what he was doing or even what had happened here earlier. He took as little stuff as he could carry with him, leaving nothing but a few pieces of clothing and the things his brother had given him. He ran away as fast as he could while staying hidden behind the bushes. It was easy for zombies to find him since he didn't have to hide properly. All they needed to do was walk around the neighbourhood and follow his scent, so once he was deep inside the bush the screams stopped abruptly and everything went silent. Only his heartbeat could be heard, pounding loudly inside of his ears, his whole body quivering as adrenaline coursed through his veins.

Then someone started to yell at him to turn around, to run back to his house as fast as possible, but he couldn't. The person sounded angry, frustrated, angry and scared. And that's exactly what Zumwraek was doing, it was all just too overwhelming to think clearly right now. He needed to leave. He didn't know if he could survive the next week, let alone the next month or more. There were too many dangerous things out there. Too many unknown dangers lurking around every corner waiting for him to trip and fall prey to their evil clutches. They couldn't stay here, they simply couldn't. They were going to have to go, they needed to leave, and Zumwraek needed to get them out of here before they got captured or killed. He could already feel the tears forming in his eyes, ready to flow down his cheeks as the fear gripped his heart and made it hard to breathe. He couldn't cry yet, he had to keep it together, otherwise, they would hear him coming and get themselves caught. Then it would all be over. They would never escape and his parents would die and…

And Zumwraek lost control of himself and burst into tears. He buried his head in his hands and sobbed quietly, unable to stop. He didn't want anyone to see him like this, he hated crying in public. No matter how badly he wanted to stop and to hold it all in…to stop and not cry…no matter how scared he actually felt…he couldn't. Every time he tried to put all of his emotions into his grief he broke down and it just couldn't happen again. The last time he had done that…well…he had ended up losing his family. That's why he shouldn't even attempt to do that again, ever. Ever.

He knew he should stop crying, knew that he needed to get up and go somewhere and calm down and come up with a plan to get his family off this hellish island and away from danger. But when he glanced up he found that no one was watching him. None of his siblings were looking at him nor was his father, they weren't saying anything either, not wanting to get themselves caught as well. They had already been punished enough. It was better if they stayed quiet. Especially his mother, she knew that if she said anything he would just give in and start crying again. She was good at hiding her emotionless mask when it came to other people's, but when it came to him she could no longer fool him. Her face was as pale as snow and her eyes were full of fear as they locked onto him.

"Mom," he whispered, his voice hoarse and raspy from all the screaming he had been doing earlier. He had to do something or she'd die. He needed her to live and get them away from here. He needed to protect her from harm, he needed to save her. He needed to save them from their horrible fate here on earth. "Please, mom, I need to get you guys out of here!"

She shook her head lightly. "You can't do that by yourself…we can't leave now. Please understand, son. We will be alright, we are strong. We can handle anything," she replied firmly, although he could see that there was a slight tremble in her voice as she spoke.

"You haven't listened to me, mom! Please, please listen," Zumwraek pleaded, desperation laced into every single word he uttered as he started to crawl towards her, his heart breaking upon seeing the bloodstain on her dress as he grabbed her hands and tugged it slightly until she released them. He gently placed them on his waist, his arms circling her petite frame as she clung unto him and buried her nose in his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her, burying his face against her soft, blonde curls, whispering in his desperate attempt to convince her that he would definitely rescue them both. She was the mother figure in his life and he knew he couldn't imagine without her and he couldn'