biblical Armageddon. The guy with the big ears was pleading
with his viewers to send in money as a faith offering and they would be spared
from God’s impending wrath. Jeremy didn’t know much about the bible, but he
knew that wasn’t right. No one seemed to know what was exactly going on. Only
theories and opinions.
The sound of a car door shutting caused him to jump up to
his feet.
She’s home!
Relived, he ran to the side door to greet her. She was
walking up to the house, a look of intense alarm on her face. His mother had
aged well over the years. Her hair was still a bright red, and her skin was
remarkably blemish free, except for the few freckles around her cheeks. The
only thing that revealed her age was the few strands of gray hair over her
ears, probably mostly brought on by Jeremy and his testosterone fueled antics.
He wouldn’t claim full responsibility though, he was sure his father and the
divorce brought on some as well.
“Jeremy,” she started. “You’re okay! I was so worried! It
seems that everyone is going crazy! I saw this man attack another man. He beat
him to the ground and then began to bite him! Can you bel-”
Her words were cut short. Jeremy watched on in shock from
the doorway, as a man came shambling out of nowhere, and tackled his mother to
the ground. His clothes were tattered and there were stains of blood still
fresh around his lips. He put his full weight on her, and began to claw with
jagged, broken finger-nails into her skin. His mother held him at bay until,
finally, he overpowered her and sunk his teeth into her neck.
“No!” Jeremy screamed.
He flung open the screen door and ran to the rescue of his
mother. He ran straight into the ghoul, knocking it off, but he noticed the
dark, red blood gushing from his mother’s neck. The zombie began to crawl back
to the woman it attacked. It was not deterred by Jeremy’s tackle. It only
wanted to feed.
A flat-head shovel leaning against the fence caught Jeremy’s
eye. The zombie reached out with its dead hand towards Jeremy’s mother. He
quickly grabbed the shovel and brought it down hard on the zombie’s arm. It
moaned in frustration. Jeremy winced as he thrusted the shovel down, over and
over again into the dead flesh.
Yes, it was dead flesh , he decided.
It finally broke through bone and tendon, severing the lower
arm completely. It moaned again, this time deeper and hoarser. Jeremy now had
its full attention.
Jeremy started to turn his attention back to his mother, but
another zombie stumbled up the driveway, and was making its way towards her.
Another was coming across the front yard.
Shit.
He quickly stooped next to his mother and picked her petite
frame up into his arms. As he lifted her up, he got a better look at the wound
on her neck. It was dark purple and already looked infected. Blood steadily
trickled down her neck onto her white blouse.
“Sweet Jesus,” he muttered.
She was passed out from the shock. Her body was completely
dead weight. Jeremy did his best to carry her back towards the house. He was
struggling with getting the door open, when a dead hand took hold of his
mother’s foot. The two dead had finally caught up to him.
They both lurched at her feet and with some un-human
strength, pulled her away from him. He watched as his mother was quickly torn
limb from limb and devoured. Skin and flesh was torn from the bone. Her arms
were pulled out from the sockets; a sickening pop announced the arrival of
fresh blood pouring from her arteries. Even the zombie with the severed arm had
made its way into the bloodbath.
Tears uncontrollably streamed down his face, as Jeremy fell
back into the house. He locked the deadbolt, and grabbing one of the dining
table's chairs, jammed it under the door handle. What should have been a fairly
simple task, his mind struggled to focus and he began to feel himself shut
down. He felt numb. He fell to his knees in the living room and began to sob.
“No, no, no,” he