Doomsday Diaries: Day 1, Alone Together

I sat alone in the cold cellar under my house. A little piece of wood shoved in between the cellar door's handle was the only thing that protected me from the hell unfolding outside.

I wasn't prepared, no one was. It just happened all of a sudden. A blaring siren sounded across the nation followed by an emergency broadcast. A panicked broadcaster informed her viewers that zombies were erupting out of the ground and to seek shelter.

I was home alone when it happened. My parents were at work and my little sister was still on her way home from school. Unsure of what to do in such a situation, I locked myself in the cellar. I sat there, cold and alone, wishing for some sign that my family was alright.

My heart jumped when I heard someone banging on the cellar door. I huddled further into the corner, trying my best to keep quite. "Anna! Annabel! Are you in there?" the voice outside the door screamed. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized the voice belonged to my little sister, Phoebe.

I rushed to the door to let Phoebe in. I removed the wood block from the door's handles and pulled open the door. "Phoebe," I cried happily, "you're okay."

"I thought you, mama and papa were all gone," Phoebe sniffled.

"Hurry inside," I urged Phoebe. She entered the cellar while I resealed the door.

"Are mama and papa down here?" Phoebe asked as she took a seat in the corner.

Once the door was secure, I sat besides her. "No, they're at work still," I responded solemnly.

"Will they be okay?" she cried.

"I don't know."

"Will we be okay?"

"I don't know."

"What are we going to do?"

"All we can do is wait. The phone lines are still working and so is the power. The military can handle this. I'm sure they'll issue another broadcast saying the government has everything under control. Until then, we'll just wait."

Phoebe gave me a small nod.

We spent the remainder of the day reading books Phoebe bought home in her bag under the light of my cellphone. Sometime around ten, Phoebe crawled onto my lap and buried her head into my chest before falling asleep. As she slept, I stared at the cellar door. I prayed that at any moment my parents would walk through them and tell me that everything was alright.

They never did.