June 6th

Dear Diary, 

Well today was absolutely terrible. I'm surprised, diary, that you're still in one piece. I suppose I should inform you that the Purple Virus is now stronger than ever before. Yesterday, it was considered containable, something that you didn't have to worry about unless you lived in a contaminated area. It became an epidemic overnight...literally. Over 78 million new cases were reported this morning. Who knows how many they'll report tomorrow. Now, I'm waiting in my grandparent's vacation home, patiently awaiting my death. 

You're probably wondering, diary, how I ended up 12 hours away from home in the middle of the woods. I woke up beside Leo, as I do every morning, and nudged him until he woke up. I know I tell you this every day, but oh man is Leo attractive. All my friends say he's "like, a seven at best" but I disagree. This morning, he had dark stubble lining his tan face and his brown eyes, while tired, were as mesmerizing as the summer sun. (Which, come to think of it, I may never see again.) 

"Good morning, Dena." He whispered groggily, sitting up in bed. He must've put a shirt on sometime during the night. I, on the other hand, was simply wearing my bra. He seemed to notice this little detail before I did. As soon as I caught him staring, I grabbed the blanket and instinctively covered my chest. 

Leo laughed. I love his laugh. "Come on babe, we're engaged. I've seen your chest more times than I can count." 

"Well you won't be seeing it again until tonight...What do you want for breakfast?"

Before he could answer, a loud "BANG" came from outside our window. Leo and I exchanged nervous glances. Cautiously, I peered out the window, What I saw, diary, is what I sincerely hope is just a nightmare. (But as more and more time passes, I'm afraid it's all too real. But who knows? I could still wake up.) dozens of bodies lined the streets. My neighbor, who knows his name, was standing there with an AR-15. For a second, I thought he was absolutely insane, but then I saw why he had shot them down: they all had the Purple Virus.

"Run!" He yelled, staring straight at me. A purple virus victim, otherwise known as a "slug", seemed to pop out of nowhere from behind a bush. It was an older man, but his markings were clear. He had purple hair and matching spots all over his face. He was beyond saving, and my neighbor knew it. My neighbor didn't get the chance to shoot. Instead, the slug planted his teeth in my neighbors neck. Instantaneously, my neighbor seemed to lose his mind and act just like a slug. He looked at me and Leo and began slowly moving towards our house. 

"Basement...Basement!" Leo yelled, jumping off the bed. I quickly grabbed a sweater and ran into my tiny basement. We locked the door and leaned against it. At a complete loss for words, Leo pulled out his cell phone. "We don't live in a contaminated area, right?" Leo asked. He gasped. "Oh no...no no no no no." 

The news said that Purple Virus was virtually unstoppable; our lives were going to end whether we liked it or not. I couldn't just accept that. "We have to get to the car." I said. "As long as none of them manage to bite us, we have a chance of getting out of here."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Leo asked, eyeballing a pair of metal rakes on the other side of the basement. "Oh, I know, maybe we could stab them with those."

I knew he meant it sarcastically, but it wasn't a bad idea. I grabbed one of the rakes and let out a sigh. "No matter what happens out there...I love you."

"Even if I become a slug?"

"Yes, even if you become a slug."

It may seem odd, diary, that we were so calm during what could very well could have been our last moments on Earth. We were just...prepared, I guess. The news had been lying for over a year and everyone knew it. The Purple Virus was never even close to "contained", it just grew slowly until it exploded all at once. I had been expecting the Purple Virus to reach my town at some point. All me and Leo could do was fight and hope we survived. 

I slipped on my sweater and grabbed the doorknob of the basement door. "Well, lets get this over with." I muttered. I threw opened the door and stormed up the stairs. There was a slug standing in the kitchen. I froze where I was. I had never been so close to a slug before. To make matters worse, the slug couldn't have been older than twelve, a child. The look in their eyes was pure evil. Leo stepped in front of me, winced, and stabbed the slug in the chest before it could bite either of us. I watched in horror is the child crumpled to the floor. 

"We-We have to keep moving." Leo said solemnly. I could sense his guilt. But what else was he supposed to do? Let the child kill him? 

The stretch from the front door of our house to the car couldn't have been more than fifteen feet, but at that moment, it may as well been a million miles. Leo and I decided a mad dash to the side door was the best option. That way, we could both get in at the same time. I'm happy to say we were much too quick for the slugs and made it to the car with time to spare, thank God. 

"Where do we go now?" Leo asked once we were on the nearly empty road. "This entire place is a cesspool."

He was right. What had once been a quaint little town was a ravaged shell of it's former self. There are two types of Purple Virus: the first is instant, the second is slow. Instant happens in a matter of seconds after being bit, slow means you end up burning and destroying as many things as possible before the virus takes full effect. 

"My parents." Leo whimpered. "Do you think they're okay?" 

"The phone lines must not be working." I replied, trying in vain to call his parents. "We can check again in a few minutes." 

"I say we go to my Grandma's vacation home." I said. "It's our best bet at surviving. It's in the middle of nowhere and probably has some food." 

Neither of us suggested going to our parent's houses first. We both knew why. They were gone. Almost everyone was. Frankly, I was surprised that I wasn't gone. 

So yeah, the drive to the vacation home was nearly silent. When we finally pulled up to the house, I didn't hesitate to break a window to get it. The house was so rural that there wasn't a slug in sight. I only realized how hungry I was after finding canned food in a cupboard. Leo and I are sitting the couch. We're all that each other has left.

 As of right now, we're safe.

But who knows how long that will last.