No Fear

Fear I will not allow. It takes over the instant I am caught unaware. It chokes my throat and blurs my vision. It is unacceptable. I will not die a coward. I will die with meaning; protecting my family and friends, as is my job. 

In the first hours when no one had yet to figure out what was going on I gathered them. I, a nineteen year old, convinced my family to trust me.  My father and my young brother. My father was a usually brave man, but after seeing the fierceness of my face he followed without a word. 

I am prepared. I am always prepared. I Protect and I Defend. He knew in that unspoken way that a father and daughter talk that I was prepared. He grabbed my brother and followed. 

It is my fault for not making it to my friends house in time to prevent disaster. I drove like a demon from Hell. My little brother crying in the back seat my father sitting grim faced in the passenger's seat. Already the road was cluttered, but no obstacle would stand in my way. 

Laura was my first stop. She lived the closest. After I warned and practically threatened my father and brother to stay in the car I got out. The screams were already all around and the monsters that people had turned into moved with hunger. It was something out of a horror movie. It was almost a programmed instinct how I slammed open the door and grabbed screaming Laura. She was yelling at the shapes that could no longer be called her parents. 

It took all my effort to shove my frantic friend into the car and drive away without looking back. She cried and muttered and looked out the window with despair, but I kept my attention focused on the road. We had to get to Red's house before he was taken by the creatures. I heard a shout calling them Zombies, but this was too realistic to relate these things to a movie or book. 

Almost as an answer to my prayers Red was safe. His toddler sister stood hiding behind his legs as he picked off the beast the ran at them with his bow. Being the best shot in the county was finally paying off. I drove the car into the creatures and screamed his name. Then we were all crammed in the car and driving.

Now here we are; a ragtag group that won't be taken. I will protect, I will make them survive, and I will never fear.