ANOMALY 2: The road to Atlanta (prequel)

(author's note, just like the last one, this was all copied from an AI Dungeon adventure using the Dragon AI model. Please excuse any grammar or formatting mistakes.)

You are a 16 year old young man named Jackson Stonehill. You live in relative privacy with your grandfather in a house located in the woods. Your duties are typical: mowing the yard, setting up traps for small animals to catch and eat, do household chores, and take care of your aging grandfather. He has grown quite old, and while he still has a fighting spirit, he is not immune to the passage of time.

You have access to a rifle that your grandfather gave to you for your fifteenth birthday after earning his trust that you have become a man. You have a large box of ammo and several magazines for it in your closet. You're quite good with it.

Your life, day in and day out, has been rather boring, but peaceful. That's all about to change when you hear something from outside in the middle of the night. Something unnatural. You hear screaming. It sounds like someone is being tortured, or worse. You can't help but get up and investigate what could be causing this commotion.

> You grab your rifle, put on your boots, grab a flashlight, and run outside.
You run outside and see nothing amiss. You look around, but there isn't anything suspicious going on. You are filled with a sense of dread anyway.

> You try to find where the screaming came from.
You hear the screams again, and this time they seem to be coming from your right. You shine your flashlight in that direction and see a young girl with long blond hair being chased by something... you can't see what.

> You run after the girl and try to see what's chasing her.
You run as fast as you can, but you still seem to be quite a ways away from the girl. Your flashlight starts to flicker, and then it goes out.

> You say "Shit!"
You're running blind now. You can't see anything, and you start to hear a raspy, gurgling sound coming from your left.
"What the hell is that?" you think to yourself.
You continue to run forward, hoping you're going the right way.
You see the girl again. This time, she's on the ground, with her back to you. Whatever is chasing her seems to have caught up to her. You're still not sure what it is, but you raise your rifle and fire at whatever the hell it is.
The muzzleflash briefly shows what the thing is that chased the girl. All you could gather was that it vaguely looked like a human, but much much thinner.
It's a pale white, and looks emaciated. Its long black hair hides its face, and its long fingers nearly reach the ground as it walks.
You bullet catches it in the shoulder. You hear it screech in response, then run away. For a moment, you hear nothing but the sounds of the forest and the girl's sobbing.
Suddenly, something tackles you to the ground and snarls. It smells like rotten meat and death. You can make out its face in the pale moonlight. It looks like a skull covered by stretched skin, like a rubber mask, only much thinner.

> You kick it off of you and shoot it.
You kick it as hard as you can, and you see its head jerk back. Its jaw dislocates with a crunch. As it's recoiling from the blow, you fire a shot into its chest.
It falls back, violently squirming on the ground. You hear it moan and squeal in an unearthly tone.
"What are you?" you ask, not knowing what else to say.
It continues to squirm and moan. It's a very strange sight.
"What are you?" you ask again, scared out of your mind.
The creature continues to moan and writhe.
The girl rises to her feet. Her demeanor is shaky, fragile, and terrified. "Shoot it! Kill it! Please!" she begs.
You fire another shot into its chest.
The creature stops squirming and moaning. It gasps loudly, then goes limp. You stand up and walk towards it with your gun pointed at it.

> You say "What's going on? Who are you and what are these things?"
"A-Amanda... My friends and I were looking for my little sister, b-but... We couldn't find her, a-and these things, they..."
She hesitates. "I don't know what they are! They're horrible, and they can't be human! They just can't!"
"Sshh. Settle down. Take a breath. I'm sure you'll feel better if you calm down and tell me what exactly happened. Maybe I can help."
"I don't know... I don't think you can... Fuck, I can't handle this!" She says.

> You say "Look, come back with me to my house. I live in these woods with my grandpa."
"What do you mean, 'come back with you'? You can't be suggesting what I think you're suggesting."
"Well, yeah. I'm suggesting that you come home with me. Where else are you going to go in the middle of the night?" You say, the implications of what she said going completely over your head.
"Well... OK, but only until tomorrow morning! I need to find my sister!"
"I gotcha. I'll help you look tomorrow. We'll talk more in the house," You say, motioning for her to follow you. She hesitates for a moment before going with you.
You lead her back to your house.
"How far is it?" she asks.
"Not too far. We're almost there." You continue leading her through the woods until you arrive at your house.
"This is it. My house," you say.
You lead her inside. "Jackson! What in Sam hell is going on out there!? Who is that!?"
Your grandfather is awake in the living room.

> You say "Pop, something weird happened out there. Something was chasing her out there. Something dangerous. I don't know what's going on, but I think it would have killed her if I didn't shoot it."
"You shot something? What in the world are you doing out of bed? And who is this?" he asks, now that he's fully awake.

> You say "I heard her screaming out there and I went to investigate! And yeah, I shot something dangerous that tried to kill her, Pop. She says her name's Amanda."
"Amanda, huh? What in the world are you doing out he- Oh dear goodness, you're bleeding!" He says.
You look over and notice a large claw mark on her arm. It looks nasty, but nothing you haven't dealt with before. "See Pop? I told you!"
"Alright, alright. Let's get you cleaned up," he says, taking her to the bathroom.
You follow them to the bathroom and watch as your grandfather runs hot water over a rag. "This may hurt a bit, but it's necessary." He says to Amanda. He cleans her wound, but it's not as bad as you thought it would be.
After some debating with your grandfather on what should be done about Amanda, he concedes and lets her stay for the night on the condition that you sleep separate from her. You don't get why, being as innocent as you are, but you agree. After securing every entrance to the house, you walk back to your room and lie in bed. You think about what you should do. You can't go to sleep. Not after this. You need to be alert in case something tries to break in. You should probably spend the night trying to find out more about what happened. Maybe Amanda knows something, but you don't want to disturb her. She was very out of it and she likely needs a lot of rest before she can talk about what happened.
You begin to wonder if the thing that tried to get her is still out there. You already killed one of them. Maybe you should go out and look for the remaining one. Not like you could sleep anyway.

> You decide against it and try to sleep.
You lay in bed, wide awake. The events of the night have got you so worked up that you don't know whether to laugh or cry. You can't sleep. What if it comes back?

> You desperately try to sleep.
After tossing and turning for a few hours, you manage to doze off into a light sleep. You don't have any dreams. Or at least you don't remember any.
"Jackson? You awake?" Your grandfather says, knocking on your door. You awaken and mumble something. "Come down to the dining room, we need to talk with this girl you brought in." You sigh and get out of bed.
You walk to the dining room and see Amanda sitting in a dining room chair, her head down and her arms folded. She looks stressed.

> You say "Morning..."
"Morning," she replies.
Your grandfather walks in, carrying three cups of coffee. He gives one to Amanda, and another to you. "Alright. Now that we're all awake, let's talk. I want to know exactly what the hell happened last night."

"Amanda likely knows more than me. I barely know anything." You say.
"Amanda, why don't you tell us what happened last night. From the beginning." Amanda takes a sip of her coffee and nods.
"I was hanging out with a few friends when I got a phone call from my brother saying that our little sister went missing. We went into the woods to look for her where he said he last saw her, then it got really dark on us. We looked and looked and couldn't find her. Then, something made a... really awful noise, and it tried to tackle my friend. We all ran away, but I got separated. Then I found your house and Jackson saved me."

> You say "I think I got a look at what it was. It almost looked like a human, but something really weird. It had unnaturally long arms, and it smelled like death. It had a disgusting face."
"A human?" Your grandfather says. "That can't be. No human can do that kind of thing that happened to her arm."
"No, I don't think it was actually a human. Something imitating a human. I don't really know, it freaks me out when I think about it."
"We should call the police." Your grandfather says.
"Are you sure? If it WAS a person... I dunno, you and me both don't trust the government already, so..." You say.
"If it was a person, then it means there's a bunch of psychos on the loose. If we don't call the police, I'm not sure what that says about us." Amanda says.

> You say "Wait, I think one of their bodies is still out there. I killed one of them. We could go and look for it."
"Well, I think we need to call the police regardless of whether we find a body or not. I'm not letting the police find anything before we do." Your grandfather says
You nod. "Okay, then let's go find it. I'll grab my rifle just in case."
"Just let me get dressed, Jackson," Your grandfather says, getting up. He leaves you and Amanda alone in the dining room together.

> You say "I should probably go get my rifle."
"You're going to get your rifle?" Amanda asks.
"Yeah, I don't wanna be caught with my pants down out there. I'm still a bit freaked out."
You walk back into your room and put your boots back on. You take the magazine out and manually fill it up to the top with bullets from the big box of spare ammo in your closet.
You look at the wood of the gun and caress it. You look at the trigger you pulled last night. You think about the creature you killed last night, and you feel unease.

You, Amanda, and your grandfather meet in the living room. Your grandfather has brought out his revolver, but didn't take any spare bullets with him. He also brought a hunting knife with him just in case.
You all get ready to leave and you and Amanda lead him to where you believe you shot the creature.
The woods are eerily quiet, the only sound being an occasion sound from a bird and your footsteps and breathing.
"I really hope we find it. I'm ready to get out of here." Amanda whispers.
"Me too." You whisper back.
You arrive at the field where you killed the creature. The body is gone.
All that's left is an indent in the grass and blood. "Oh God, it's gone!" You exclaim.
You grandfather kneels down and examines the indent in the grass and seems disturbed. "These ain't normal human proportions..." He says.
"Yeah, that's what I told you last night when I was describing it..."
"Yes..." He replies. "You know I trust you, Jackson. I believed you last night, and I sure as hell believe you now. Amanda, you seem a bit like a city girl. Do you have a phone on you to take a picture of this?"
"N-No... I don't..." She says.

> You say "Should we still call the cops about this?"
"Well, it's out and about. There's no way the police are going to take us seriously if we say there's a bigfoot running around now." Your grandfather says.

> You say "Yeah, you got a point..."
"This thing is vicious, as we can see from what it did to Amanda's arm. I can't imagine what it would do if it got a hold of you. You should really go home and stay inside until this is over." Your grandfather says. "Do you know where your home is, Amanda? I bet your folks are worried sick about you."

> You say "I fended off two of those things last night, Pop. I can help."
"No, you're going to go home and stay inside." Your grandfather says.

> You say "But Pop!"
"No buts, boy." Your grandfather says.
You grumble and turn away from your grandfather.

> You say "Fine, but if I hear any screaming, I'm coming back and I won't hesitate."
"Go home, Jackson." Your grandfather says.
You walk away from the field and towards your house.
You open the door to your house, frustrated. You thought your grandfather trusted you. You thought he considered you a man. Instead, he's treating you like a boy, and he even called you one.
You're frustrated and emasculated. You grip your rifle tight in anger, but make sure to keep your finger away from the trigger.

Everything is silent for a while while you stew in your own thoughts in the living room. After a few minutes, you hear some noise. It's a quiet sob. You stand at attention, bewildered. It doesn't sound like Amanda, and both of them are gone and trying to get Amanda home.

> You investigate the noise.
You walk down the hallway and into the kitchen. You hear the noise again. It sounds like it's coming from outside.

> You go outside and look for the source of the noise.
You open the backdoor and step outside. It's a bright, sunny day. You don't see anything at first, but as you step out into the backyard, you notice something laying in the grass. It's Amanda.
"Amanda? What are you doing back here? Where's Pop?"
She doesn't answer. She only stops sobbing and slowly rises to her feet. Her head begins slightly twitching unnaturally and you feel freaked out.

She turns around to face you. Her jaw is split into two toothy mandibles, her tongue is as sharp as a knife, her eyes are blood red, and most of the other features on her face are smoothed over by throbbing flesh. This thing is NOT Amanda.
You don't know what it is, but you're sure as hell aren't sticking around to find out. You run back into the house and slam the door shut behind you.
The creature begins violently banging on the door and clawing at the walls. It makes angry, distorted shrieking sounds that don't sound remotely human. You stomach is beating a mile a minute and you feel tears prick at your eyes. You hold your rifle close as you shake with adrenaline.
This is it. You're going to die in this house. Chances are, if you don't escape, that thing will kill you. If you do escape, that thing will definitely kill you. Your chances aren't good.
Suddenly, you hear the creature stop making noise for a brief moment. Then, it shrieks again, but not towards the house.
The house shakes with the sound of a loud gunshot, then the shrieking stops.

The back door opens, and your grandfather runs inside. The barrel of his revolver is smoking. Droplets of blood are on his shirt and face.
"Come on, we have to go!" He says.
"What the hell is going on? What was that thing!?" You ask
"It sure as hell wasn't Amanda. Now come on, let's-"
"Where's the real one!?"
"In the truck, now no more goddamn questions, let's GO!" He yells.
Your grandfather grabs you by the wrist and yanks you outside. He drags you to the truck, and opens the door to the backseat. You climb in, and he slams the door behind you. He climbs into the back seat.
Amanda is in the passenger seat and is hyperventilating. She's also looking at you in the eyes, then looking away, then looking back again.
You've never seen someone so scared in your entire life.
The engine roars to life, and your grandfather peels out of the grassy driveway and heads towards the highway.
Something vaguely humanoid jumps out of one of the bushes and growls, but it gets hit by the truck and falls to the ground.
You look at it from the back window and see that it has a malformed body of a human, but the face is indescribably terrifying and disgusting. You look away and notice that Amanda is staring at you.
"Are you okay?" You ask, out of genuine concern.
She stares back into your eyes, but then turns away.

> You say "Amanda. Are. You. Ok?"
She continues to look out the window.
"Ama-"
"She's in shock, Jackson. Leave her be." Your grandfather says in a stern voice.
You turn around and face the front of the car.
The truck drives for a few minutes in silence. You hear an occasional human scream, gunshots echoing far out in the distance, and distorted roars.
Finally, you arrive at the highway.
"God damn it... God damn it, it's Armageddon out here... Something very bad is happening and I don't know what." Your grandfather says.
The highway has a few abandoned cars, smeared with blood with the occasional bullet hole. You see trails of blood, and a severed hand on the road. Your eyes widen and you nearly begin panicking.
You continue driving until you see another car enter the highway. It's about to pick up speed, then something pounces on the car. It punches a hole through the windshield and you hear screaming. Then, it collapses onto the hood of the car and you see what it is. It's another malformed humanoid, except much larger and muscular. It looks almost like an ogre from the fairy tales you read when you were little.
Your grandfather slows down and rolls the window down before aiming his revolver at the monster.
You do the same and aim at it with your rifle.
The monster turns to look at your car before both you and your grandfather shoot at it.
You grandfather hits it in chest and you land a shot in its throat and it falls to the ground, twitching and convulsing. The car drives away, and your grandfather follows it.
"Come on! Let's go!" He says.
He keeps driving down the road, passing several abandoned cars and trucks with blood smears. Some have corpses, dismembered and mutilated.
You suddenly hear a loud screeching of tires. You turn around and see another car speeding towards you. You look back and you see a panicked woman with a man in the passenger seat. The man is covered in blood and is clutching a dented shovel. They're in the same situation as you.
The car quickly gets closer to you, and your grandfather swerves out of the way. The car speeds past you and your grandfather follows it.
"This can't be happening... This can't be happening..." Amanda mumbles.
You keep driving, and then you see a creature run out in front of the car. It's another one of those monsters. This one is female and naked, with long black hair and entrails snaking out of its stomach as if she has complete muscular control over them. Your grandfather swerves out of the way, but the truck still catches the monster in the leg and you hear it crunch just before it starts shrieking.
Your grandfather takes control of the truck again and keeps driving.
"What the hell is going on out here?" He asks.
Your grandfather pauses for a second, looking deep in thought.
"It's the beginning of the end... It doesn't look like the second coming of Jesus Christ, but it looks like something bad."

> You say "No, no, it can't be the end of the world. That can't be what it is."
"Then what the hell is it? Flesh eating monsters running around with incredible strength and acting like rabid animals? Tell me how that isn't the work of the devil!" Your grandfather says.
You pause and think for a second.

> You say "Well I don't know what it is, but... God, I... I don't know!"
"God has nothing to do with this!" Your grandfather says.
Your grandfather stays silent, and Amanda's eyes dart between the both of you, as if she's watching a tennis match.
"Look, I know this is all a lot to take in-" You say.
"You don't know! You're just as clueless as Amanda!" Your grandfather says.

> You say "What I was going to say is that we need to stay strong and keep our wits about us. I'm scared, but I'll be damned if I let these things take me."
Your grandfather looks at you with a stare that pierces your soul. He sighs and then nods.
"Yeah... Yeah, you're right. We need to keep going. We can't let these things stop us."
Your grandfather keeps driving, and Amanda's breathing eventually normalizes.
The road clears and becomes empty after long enough. You and the other two cars seems to move as a group unconsciously. All headed towards the same random direction.
Your grandfather seems to take notice of this as well.
"Looks like we're a pack or somethin'."
"...W-What?" Amanda asks.
"Us, the other cars with us. We're all going the same direction. We've passed quite a few exits and they haven't gone anywhere." Your grandfather says.
"What do you mean? What are you saying?"
"Herd mentality, hun. Humans feel safer in numbers. If we stop, we should try and talk to the people we're driving with and see if we can work together." Your grandfather replies.

> You say "That's a good point, actually."
"Yeah... Yeah, it's a good point," you continue. "I don't think I can drive forever."
"I hope the people in the car that got attacked are okay. That thing punched a hole in their windshield..." Amanda says.
"Yeah, we saw. Christ..." your grandfather replies.
You drive in silence until you get to the next exit, which has a gas station on it. The two other cars with you move in the same direction, and they both pull into the gas station as well.
The area is deathly quiet.
You see a dead monster body in a pool of its own blood. Its face is smoothed over except for its eyes, nostrils, and mouth full of sharp teeth. Its arms are tentacles lined with yellow, bony spikes.
A man walks out of the gas station with a cigarette in his mouth. He blows a puff of smoke as everyone gets out of their cars.
"Hey there folks. You in this shit too? That's one hell of a fucked up windshield." He says, pointing to the car that was attacked earlier.
The owner of the damaged car is alone. It's a Hispanic woman who greets herself as Carmilla, but she pronounces it as "Carmida". She has glass in her hair, and there's a a bloody gash on her forehead.
She has long black hair and sparkling ear rings. She seems very disturbed and anxious.

> You say "Hey Carmilla, I'm Jackson, and this is my grandfather, Louis. This here is a recent friend of mine, Amanda. Me and my grandfather shot that thing off your car."
"Well I'm glad to meet you all. Is that thing dead?"
"Yeah, we're sure."
"I'm not. It's still out there and it killed my brother Jose and his wife!"
You all look at each other before continuing. "Christ, I'm so sorry... But- But I think we killed it. My Pop here shot it in the chest, and I got it in the throat. That's not very survivable."
Carmilla shifts her gaze away from the rest of the group.

The couple with the man covered in blood introduce themselves. The bloody man with the shovel introduces himself as Greg, and his wife's name is Jessie. "One of those things out there looked like my wife here, but its mouth was... It was outside of its skull. I killed it before it could kill us..." Greg says.
"Same here. We saw something that looked like Amanda, but it had a split mouth. Its mouth looked like that of a mantis and it tried to get at my grandson." Louis says.
"Well, it looks like we're all dealing with this, huh? I'm Chuck, and I'm the manager at this here gas station. I lost my only two employees because they drove off to their families when they saw what was happening on the news. I think they're both dead, but I dunno. I hope they ain't, but these things are right dangerous. I saw a helicopter blow up because of them. It just suddenly blew up!" Chuck says.
"Why do these things look like people?" Amanda asks, perturbed.
"Hell if I know. They just appear like people and then start acting crazy, like this guy right here. He kinda looks like one of our regular customers almost..." Chuck says, motioning his shotgun towards the dead monster on the ground.
"So what now? We just wait around to die?" Greg asks.

> You say "No, we can't do that. I'm not a stranger to death. Me and my Pop live out in the woods, and I've had to kill my dinner plenty of times. You can wait around to die, but I'll do anything to make sure me, Amanda, and my Pop get through this."
The group thinks about what you said. "I'm not just gonna wait around to die." You say.
"Well count me in, son." Louis says, he's getting up in age and knows it.

> You say "Hey, you said your employees looked at the news? We haven't lost cable in all this? We should go inside and look at the TV and check to see what's going on."
"Yeah, all y'all, come on in. I've been watching the news and the military is trying to set up safe areas. Maybe we can find one closeby." Chuck says.
You all follow him inside and the TV is already on in the corner of the ceiling behind the cash register. It's on the news.
"Reports of this are still coming in as we speak," the news anchor says. "We have... We have confirmation that the safe zone in Huntsville is gone... People are flocking to highways, trying to leave, but it reports indicate that this is happening in all parts of the United States, as well as Canada, most of Central and South America, Europe, Russia, China, and lesser numbers in Japan, among other countries. This is a worldwide phenomenon that began three days ago and has only been increasing in intensity. 911 is down and not taking calls. What started as what was first called "riots" have turned into something much more horrific than civil unrest."

Everyone in the gas station is staring in disbelief. You live in an area where most people try to live off the grid, and likely don't keep up with current events much. This is a massive shock to every one of you.
The TV cuts to a video of a live news report.
A female news anchor wearing a kevlar vest and helmet stands next to several of the American National Guard. "We are standing here in the Jasper safezone, and barricades have been erected all around."
You hear several gunshots in the background of the broadcast. "The military says it has control over the situation, but we cannot be certain. The president issues a statement saying to stay indoors, lock any and all entrances to your homes, and do not communicate with people attempting to enter your home. Reports suggest these... These things, whatever they are, seem to mimic human appearances and even sometimes human behavior, pretending to be friends and loved ones. If you encounter such a person, it is suggested you use lethal force. Stay safe, and God bless America."

The TV cuts to static and then shows the news anchor again. "We have been getting reports that a large wall is being erected in Atlanta, mainly by civilian efforts. The government initially tried to oppose this, as it was unauthorized, but they soon began voluntarily assisting the civilians trying to wall off the city as the situation degenerated over time. The wall has gotten over fifteen feet already in many areas around the city, but the wall suffers frequent breaches by the creatures currently plaguing the world." The anchor says.

"The National Guard has been focused on Atlanta to ensure that the wall gets completed, and even fortified. The city of Atlanta itself is in chaos as monsters still slip past and roam the streets, killing civilians along the way. Even with all of this, Atlanta has actually become one of the safest cities during the crisis. Many African American street gangs have put aside their differences and joined forces to cooperate with authorities to fight back against the monsters as well. This has led to the government officially recognizing these groups and offering them supplies in exchange for their assistance. Other cities such as New York and Los Angeles have also had some success with the same strategy, but not without consequences. Most notably, the newly-formed gang the "Triggernauts" has terrorized Los Angeles, freely looting and pillaging for their own gain at the expense of everyone else. They have quickly been named as a terrorist organization earlier this morning in a presidential conference." The anchor says.

"And-... Breaking news, we have received word that the wall around Atlanta is expected to be completed within the week. The city has been cleared of these creatures, and it grows safer for human life each passing day. It is not advised to travel to Atlanta if you can help it. Stay indoors, stay safe, and God bless America."
The TV cuts to static once again.

"So... Atlanta, anyone?" Greg suggests.

"I'll go." Carmilla says.
Everyone else seems to be in agreement. You have all been exiled from your homes by these abominations, so you don't exactly have much of a choice.
"Well then, sounds like a plan!" Chuck says. "Carmilla, your windshield got might fucked there. Take whatever you need out yer car, and you can ride with me in my pickup truck. You can all take whatever you need from my store, free of charge. Stock up, and let's hit the road and drive to Atlanta."

Carmilla almost protests leaving her car behind, but only nods and goes back to her car to fetch a few belongings she brought with her.

You take this opportunity to look through the store and see what you might need or want. You find yourself a duffel bag in the back room to put everything in. You grab as much food that isn't junk food as you can, along with several Gatorades and Powerades. You help your grandfather load enough heavy cases of water bottles into the truck that you all still have enough room to sit.

Your grandfather also grabs a few bottles of hard liquor and whiskey.

Everyone seems to follow the same strategy. Carmilla grabs a very specific brand of wine while Greg grabs multiple cases of beer to slight disapproval from his wife. Greg also takes the time to clean as much blood off of him as possible in the bathroom.

Chuck's store has a stockpile of radios and batteries for them, seeing as how the area is quite woodsy and away from the cities. You all take one of each for all of you, plus some spare batteries.
Before everyone's cars are full to bursting, you suddenly get the idea to tell everyone to grab jerry cans and fill them with gasoline for later.

After a while, everyone's cars are pack with food, water, alcohol, spare gas in jerry cans, and the cars themselves are refueled until they can't take any more gas. You know it's a race against time and you predict that these vehicles will most likely never make it to Atlanta due to the ferocity of the monsters, but they'll certainly get you there faster than if you were on foot.
Carmilla and Chuck get in Chuck's car together, the couple get in their car, and you, your grandfather, and Amanda get in your grandfather's truck.
Even though you're not the one driving, you can tell that the vehicle is dealing with much more weight than before. Before you leave, you look at the vehicles as a whole. There are three of them. It's going to be slow and tedious trip ahead of you. Chuck leads the group of cars and gives orders over the walkie talkies taken from his store. You all move as one unit together

Amanda looks over to you, and smiles a bit. The smile seems forced, however. She is dealing with a lot emotionally.
Amanda senses that you aren't buying her smile. "You don't need to worry about me, Jackson. I know my sister is dead by now... I've lost family before... I can take it..." She says, tears visible in her eyes again.
You look away for a moment. The car is silent and your grandfather doesn't say anything.
"I lost my dad when I was little. A fire broke out at his work, and he didn't make it." You say.
Amanda's looks you in the eyes and sees that you're serious.
"He was a good man, too. He was married to my daughter, yet I thought of him like a son." Louis says.
"Then uh... My mom went missing when I was twelve. Nobody knows what happened to her, but we suspect she got kidnapped. I've lived with my Pop ever since." You say.
"Oh... I'm sorry..." Amanda says.
"It's fine... It still kinda hurts, but that was around four or so years ago. I've had time to heal..." You say.
"...You're sixteen?" Amanda asks.
"Yeah, why?" You ask.
"My big brother is only a little older than you..." She says. "I'm... I'm going to be sixteen in a couple weeks."
"You're awfully young to be dealing with all this mess," Your grandfather says to her.
"I... I just can't believe I've lost my sister. It doesn't feel real... Like, I know she's probably dead, but it's like I can't accept it." Amanda says.

> You say "Makes you feel numb for a bit, doesn't it? Like you're not even angry or even that sad, but you can't feel happy either. I dealt with that for an entire year when my mom went missing. It's awful, and I'm sorry you're going through it."
"Yeah... It does. And thanks..." Amanda says, wiping her eyes.
The trip is silent so far, save for some small talk between the cars buzzing on your radios. You can tell that Amanda is deep in thought, as she sits there with a dazed look on her face.
You pass by a few abandoned and even totaled cars.

"So, Chuck, how long have ya been a manager at that store?" Your grandfather asks, interjecting into the conversation over the radio.
"Me? Oh, seven years or so. It was pretty nice, and I know I'll miss it. Especially our regular customers... Actually, want me to tell you about one of em? You might get a kick out of this guy." Chuck replies.
"Please do. It's been a quiet ride so far." Your grandfather replies.
"Alright then! A few months ago, we get this one guy coming in. He's a big guy, dressed in a ratty old cowboy hat, a leather duster, and has a big beard. He's missing a couple teeth, and is just overall an unpleasant looking fellow."
"Sounds charming." You say.
"He walks in, asks for a few cans of chili and a box of crackers. Simple enough, right? He eats the chili right there at the counter, in front of other customers. This guy does this every damn week he comes on, then asks for cigarettes and chewing tobacco. He's pretty gross. We always wondered why he came here instead of the gas station across the street."
"I'm guessing there's a catch?" Your grandfather asks.

"Well, this fellow was actually an entire third of our income, funnily enough! We actually couldn't afford to make him go away for good. That, and when you actually talk to the man, he's actually pretty funny and interesting to listen to. I swear, he must have a million stories."
"Sounds like a local character."
"Yeah. Too bad he died of a heart attack, the old guy. Was a couple weeks ago. Big funeral too, lots of people loved him. I went to the funeral to pay my respects, and it turns out he was quite the business man. Left a wife and three kids behind, as well as his extended family. All in all, I'd say he was a pretty important guy around here, even if some of the snobbier folks 'round here may disagree."
"That's sad to hear. I'm sorry for your loss, Chuck." Your grandfather says.

> You say "Shame, I think I would have liked to meet him. What was his name?"
"His name was Darryl. Spelled D-A-R-R-Y-L. His wife's name was Laura. I met her at the funeral, and she was a GORGEOUS woman, not to mention charming. Before any of y'all groan, I left 'er alone because I'm not a snake in the grass that takes advantage like that." Chuck says.

"It's good to have some respect for the dead..." Carmilla says over the radio.
"Yeah, you know it." Chuck replies.
"Hey, passengers, look behind y'all! We just passed by a store that had been looted and burned to the ground." Louis says over the radio.

You and Amanda look back and see a store in the distance that has been reduced to smoldering embers and smoke. Just before it disappears out of view, you can swear you almost see something absolutely massive with long arms crawl out of the burning building, but you can't be sure.

"Oh wow..." Amanda says.

> You say "Did anyone else just see something moving around in that burning store? It look big. I'm starting to worry about these damned creatures and what they're capable of..."
"I did see something, and I'm concerned too. We should start paying attention to the specific types of creatures we come across, and how dangerous they are. Also, we need to make a habit of watching our backs." Carmilla replies.

"I didn't see anything!" Greg says. "Maybe it was just the flames moving weird because of the wind?"

> You say "No, this thing had arms. Long arms."
"Y-You're freakin' me out, kid..." Greg says, "Come on, let's not talk about these monsters anymore, okay?"
"If you want. I'm going to keep an eye out for them, though." You say.
"I heard that!" Chuck exclaims in agreement with you.
The convoy slows down as more and more cars litter the highway. Soon, each of the cars needs to move through a maze of abandoned and destroyed vehicles.
You all see a large, fleshy monster tearing someone out of their car on the other side of the road as you all pass it. "Don't slow down, keep moving!" Chuck says over the radio, and every driver in the small convoy agrees. You look back out at it after passing it, and you see it rip the person in two as it eats the person's intestines.

 You all silently agree never to mention that event again. You see Greg vomit out of the window after witnessing someone getting devoured like that.
After a while, the dead traffic clears up a bit. Bits of gore on the side of the road become slightly more frequent.

"We should be coming up on Oxford in a minute." Louis says over the radio.
"I just hope we can get through." Chuck says. Greg says.
You all see a sign that reads "Oxford 5 miles ahead".
"Oh boy..." You hear someone sigh on the radio.
"This is a major area, so we might run into some trouble here. Just keep driving and don't slow down for anybody!" Chuck orders.
"After we get out of Oxford, if we take the straightest route possible, it's only around an hour or so to Atlanta in good traffic. It might not be good traffic, though..." Chuck says.
"I think I saw an alternative route on a sign back a few miles. It would take longer, but would it be safer?" You ask.
"I saw it too," Chuck replies, "but I don't think we're going to have the time for that route. We'd have to drive through more towns and cities, through all the dead traffic jams."
"Let's try the other route when we get out of Oxford. We might not have time for it now." You say.
"I agree," Louis says, "We don't want to rush into any rash decisions."
"I'm with Louis," Greg says.
"I hope Oxford isn't destroyed..." You hear Greg's wife Jessie say.
Jessie has been rather quiet during most of the trip so far, so it surprised you to hear her.
"Alright, we'll try another route when we get out of Oxford that's a bit less in the way of major population areas. Everyone remember to keep an eye out for that sign," Chuck says.

Just as Chuck says that, a large, muscular monster jumps onto the road. Everyone swerves out of the way, and Chuck's truck ends up in the bushes but is otherwise not damaged.
The monster roars. You look out the window and see that it is completely splattered with blood. It had multiple bruises, cuts, a few gunshot wounds, and its face is so damaged that the bone is visible. Its eyes are blood red, its head twitches unnaturally fast, and it looks angry.
"Shit! Shit! We're stuck! God damn that thing is big!" Chuck screams over Carmilla's panicked screams.
You get out of the car, rifle ready. "Jackson! Get back in the car! That thing is gonna kill you!" Your grandfather says, but adrenaline blocks him out.
You scream into your radio. "Chuck! Get your shotgun ready! I'll distract it!"
"Alright alright, gimme a sec! We're buried deep here!" He replies over the radio.

"Jackson! What are you doing!?" Amanda yells from the car.
You don't answer her.

You fire your rifle at the monster and hit it in the shoulder. It grunts in pain and charges at you. You hop over a car for cover, and it smashes into it, nearly sending the car into your legs.
You keep shooting at it while running, hitting it in the leg, chest, jaw, and arm. It gets angry, and it swipes its arm at you, forcing you to roll out of the way. You end up next to Chuck's truck.
Chuck comes out of the car and readies his shotgun. Just as the monster is approaching, he aims and shoots at the monster's face. The impact of the pellets colliding with its skull knocks its head back and destroys its eyes.

Your grandfather jumps out of his truck and shoots the last 4 remaining bullets into its back.
It's still standing, but it is severely weakened.
Greg runs out of his car, shovel in hand. He swings the sharp part at its knee as it flails around, screaming and roaring in agony. It falls onto the ground, and Greg repeatedly stabs it in the head as you shoot it three times in the stomach. Eventually, it stops moving.

"I... I think it's dead..." Greg says, panting.
"Yeah... What a big, mean bastard that was. I didn't think it'd actually die for a sec there..." Chuck says.

"Jackson! What the hell were you thinking!?" Your grandfather yells, approaching you angrily. "You could have gotten killed!"

> You say "But-"
"But nothing! You're not going to be a hero, you're going to be a survivor, damn it! You're going to survive!" He yells.

"Now hang on there chief, that big mean bastard could have pulled me outta my car and broke me in half! You brave grandson over here s-"

"This is between me and him, Chuck. He is not YOUR grandson. Stay out of it." Your grandfather spits at Chuck. Chuck backs off, slightly embarrassed.

> You say "I get why you're mad, but I-"
"No! I'm trying to keep you alive! I don't give a flying monkey's banana peel about anything else!"
Your grandfather grabs your shoulders firmly, but not nearly hard enough to hurt. You stare at each other for a moment, and he sees the defeat on your face.

He takes a moment to breathe, still holding your shoulders. "Listen, Jackson... We had a saying back in the military. A quote, actually. "You are not a superman." It means that you are not invincible. You are not unkillable. You are mortal, and can die just as easily as the rest of your brothers in arms. You are all I have left, Jackson. The rest of my relatives are six feet under, and my only daughter, your mother, went missing and she's most likely dead. I'm NOT losing you."
"But I'm not going to just sit around and-"
"Yes. You. Are." He says, his voice stern.

> You say "Well, what if YOU'RE in trouble!? What if a monster pounces on you? Do I just wait for someone you don't care about to save you while I stand around with my thumb up my ass?"
"Yes." He says, matter-of-factly. "Because you will not get yourself killed under any circumstances. I am willing to die for you, but you are NOT to die for me. You are the only thing I have left to live for, but you are only sixteen. You will stay safe, and ALWAYS take the coward's way out of any bad situation because you are going to LIVE." He says.
"Uhh... Fellas?" Chuck says nervously.
"Stay out of it, Chu-"
"FELLAS, INCOMING! GET READY!" Chuck interrupts. You both look where he's aiming and see three monsters rapidly approaching.
Your grandfather rips the rifle out of your hands and asks "How many bullets left?"
You stammer before saying "23!"

He takes a shot and hits one of them in the head, killing it instantly. Another one gets hit by Chuck's shotgun blast, though it only stumbles a bit as it keeps running.

Their appearance disturbs you. They look like twins, but they both looked like children if you gave them the proportions of adults. Their bloodsoaked, blonde hair stood as if each strand was a tentacle. They had bloody smiles on their faces, with their teeth literally going from ear to ear. The one that got hit by Chuck coughed up a bit of blood as it ran, but it was otherwise undeterred.
"SHOOT THE DAMN THINGS!" Your grandfather yells, shooting another one in the leg. "Jackson, get in the car with Amanda! Me and Chuck got- AUGH!"
As Chuck blows the head off of one of the monsters, raining a shower of gore on the street, one of them quickly caught up to your grandfather and tackled him to the ground. It grabbed his head and began strangling him with its hair as it attempted to bite a chunk of flesh from his face. Your grandfather managed to keep it at bay, yet before anything else could happen, you picked up a rock and bashed it in the back of the head. Chuck grabbed the monster, threw it to the ground as its hair let go of your grandfather's neck, and blasted a meaty, bloody hole into its chest.

> You say "Is... Is it dead?"
"Yeah I think so!" Chuck says.
"God damn it, Jackson..." Your grandfather wheezes as he slowly begins rising to his feet again, "I told you not to be a hero..."
"No time for any of that, I think we attracted the wrongest kind of attention! Jackson, help me pull the car out of the bushes!" Chuck says.
You nod.

"Carmilla! Get in the driver's seat and put it into reverse!" Chuck orders. You see Carmilla shifting into the driver's seat through the window.

> You help Chuck pull his truck out of the bushes.
You pull the truck forward as Chuck pushes from behind, and you barely manage to get it out of the bushes with Carmilla's help.
You get it back on the road, but hear your grandfather shoot again. Another monster was quickly approaching, but he landed a clean shot to the head.

"Alright, it's out of the bushes, everyone get into your cars and let's get the fuck outta here!" Chuck says as he runs over to the driver's seat, scooching Carmilla out of the way and shifting it into drive.
You and your grandfather hightail it back into his truck where Amanda is waiting. You take one look at her and see that she's panicking more than appropriate for the situation.

"Amanda, you alri-" You almost ask until you see a large group of monsters rushing towards you from the distance. "Holy shi- HOLY SHIT! POP! DRIVE DRIVE DRIVE!" You scream.

Every vehicle in the small convoy rushes away with screaming tires. You all barrel through dead traffic at breakneck speeds, nearly crashing several times. You eventually leave the monsters in the dust, and things get silent again as you all approach Oxford.
"Everyone alright?" Chuck asks. Everyone confirms that they're alive, if not a bit shaken.

> You say "......Was that thing's hair... alive?"
"Yeah, it was." Chuck says. "Nearly strangled you grandaddy to death. That was some scary shit, lemme tell you what!"

> You say "That can't be possible, hair isn't a muscle you can just move..."
"It's dead now. That's what matters. I don't want to dwell on it." Your grandfather says. "Now we're just gonna drive through Oxford and to Atlanta. We'll get behind that wall, and we'll be safe." He continues.
"A-Are you sur-" Amanda tries to ask, but your grandfather interrupts her.
"Sure as cowshit. You heard the news anchor. We're gonna be fine if we just get behind that wall..."
The convoy goes silent after that. The sun slowly sets as you travel down the road. The convoy enters Oxford.
When you arrive, nothing but absolute chaos greets you. Blood in the streets, gunshots echoing through the air, screeching abominations prowling around, and fire.
You arrive at a military checkpoint, luckily. National Guard soldiers wave you inside the checkpoint while others in sniper towers pick off approaching monsters.
"This is as far as we go, folks. Get inside the checkpoint!" A soldier orders.
"Are you sure? I mean, won't you let us through?" Amanda asks.
"I'm sorry, but there's a lockdown in progress. We hope it isn't permanent, but we need you to stay with us for your safety."
"What?! But..." Amanda continues to protest, before your grandfather puts a hand up, signalling her to stop.

"We might not need Atlanta. If the military has things under control here, then we're safe here." He says.
"Do you not hear all that fighting right next to us? We're-" Amanda continues, but the guard interrupts this time.

"We have ammo for months, kid. These things aren't infinite. Just keep moving on in!"

You are all led into the checkpoint. You see blood in the streets and on the walls, but cleanup crews in HAZMAT suits are cleaning them off. There are no bodies to be found.
The entirety of Oxford seems to be barricaded off, and the military seems to have things under control for the time being.

You enter Oxford. The gate is shut behind you, and the sounds of the battle outside the perimeter become muffled as you move further in.
"It's OK! You're safe in here!" Soldiers shout at you from the fence.

You are directed until you reach a large parking lot at a shopping center. It's filled with cars but you all manage to park near each other.
"Alright, everyone out! Let's get set up here." Chuck says.
The parking lot is filled with cars, some of which are hooked up with RV's and trailers.
A soldier walks up to all of you and addresses you. "We're sorry, but we won't be able to house y'all for the night. You'll need to sleep in your cars for now until we can make some room." He says.
You hear a few groans from the group.
"Why not the hotels?" Amanda asks.
"We have a lot of people here, miss. That, and there's been a lot of destruction and fires. I'm sorry but you'll need to wait." He says.

After a bit of meaningless back and forth between multiple members of the group and the soldier, he leaves you all to yourselves.

> You grab a bit of food and water from the car.
You grab the duffel bag you found at the gas station and open it up. You grab a can of soup and a bottle of water. You stop for a moment, then ask "Pop, Amanda, y'all hungry?"
"I'll eat something in a minute." Your grandfather says.
Amanda approaches and asks what you have.

> You say "Some snacks, I grabbed some soups, some energy bars, stuff like that. I got some Gatorade and Powerade too. The soup will be cold, but it's still soup."
"I'll take the soup now." She says.
You pull out a can of clam chowder and hand it to her, then hand her a plastic spoon and a napkin from the duffel bag.
"Thank you." She says.
You and Amanda eat soup together while the rest of the adults huddle around, beers in hand.
It's silent for a few moments until you decide to speak up.
"Amanda, what grade are you in?" You ask.
"I'm a Junior. Why?" She asks.

> You say "Just trying to start some conversation. My Pop homeschooled me ever since we couldn't afford the gas money to get to school, and no buses came around where I lived."
"Oh. I knew a kid who was a homeschooled. My brother's friend. He was kind of... weird."
"Weird how?" You ask.
"I dunno, just... off? I mean, he acted really young for his age and was super into Pokemon."
You laugh. "I liked Pokemon a bit, especially the show on TV. That's not a bad thing."
"Yeah, I guess. I dunno. I think it was mainly because he acted so young that got to me."
You pause for a second, then ask "...How old do I act, by the way? Since we're on the subject."
"I dunno, I'd say your age? You don't act like a kid, so that's a good thing."

> You say "I'm trying to be more of a man. I helped Chuck and Greg kill that thing in the road before we got here, so..."
"I saw out the window... That, uh... That took some balls, even if it got you yelled at." Amanda says, looking away and shoveling another spoonful of cold soup into her mouth.

> You say "Yeah... I get where my Pop is coming from, but... I dunno, I don't think he trusts me to take care of things. I don't think he trusts me to, you know, BE a man. I'm no invincible killing machine, but I'm worth something."
Amanda nods and finishes her soup. You look up, and see the moon rising in the sky. It's big and orange, and you remember your parents taking you outside to look at it when you were a little kid.

> You say "I asked him if I should just wait around for someone else to help if I saw him in danger, and he said yes. He told me to always take the coward's way out."
"What did you say?"
"I didn't have time to say anything. Those other monsters came at us, and we had to act quickly. We haven't said anything on the subject to each other since." You answer.
"You feel guilty." Amanda says, more than asks.

> You say "W-What?"
"You feel guilty about it. You want to help if there's trouble, but it feels like rebellion, right? Like you're stepping out of line and being disrespectful by doing what you think is right, even though you don't think you're doing anything wrong." She says.
You pause for a second, then nod. "I guess," You say, sighing.
"I would know. My brother is always like that with me. He wants to do everything himself, even if he realistically can't..."

> You say "I'm just torn. I want to honor my Pop's wishes and be a good grandson, but we're in the middle of what feels like the end of the world. I'm not one to just sit and wait when there's something wrong..."
"You should just go with what you think is right."
"But what if I'm wrong?"
"Then you're wrong. You can't live your life in fear of being wrong. If you think something's right, then you should go for it."
You think about it for a moment. "Yeah... I guess. Pop will give me so much shit for it, but I'll stick to my guns."

"So what are you going to do now?" Amanda asks.

> You say "Just wait. The current plan seems to just be to try and carve out a little place for ourselves in Oxford. If shit hits the fan, we go to Atlanta."
"That's... Reasonable I guess..." Amanda says, sighing.
"That's life right now..." You say.

You both sit in silence for a moment. You hear the adults explode into laughter at an apparently really good joke, but you didn't hear it. You finish your soup and set the can down, twisting open a bottle of Gatorade.

> You say "Want a Gatorade? I got some in the bag."
"Yeah... Thanks." Amanda says, and you pass her the blue Gatorade.
She opens it, taking a long swig from the bottle.
You drink yours, yellow-lime flavor. You prefer it over the other flavors, but you grabbed a few others just in case.
"You know," Amanda says, "If we're going to be stuck here, we should have as much fun as possible. No stress. No worries."
"Yeah. I like that idea." You say.
"So, you got any games we could play for now?" Amanda asks.
"I'm not sure, I've never really been very social before..." You say.

Amanda thinks for a moment, then comes up with an idea.
Amanda spots an abandoned mini-fridge hooked up to an outdoor wall outlet at the entrance of a store.
"I've got it. There's a mini-fridge in the corner over there. Go look and see if there's any drinks. If there is, bring them here, and we'll play a game."

> You search the mini-fridge.
You walk over to the mini-fridge and open it. It's a normal mini-fridge, packed with all types of drinks, both alcoholic and not. How convenient. There's a "Please don't touch my stuff." note, but you ignore it considering that it's been here long enough for a cobweb to form on the power cord. You hold up a can of beer for Amanda to see, and she gives you a thumbs up.
You bring an armful of drinks over and set them down.
"Okay, so what game do you want to play?" You ask.
"Truth or Dare!" Amanda says.

> You say "I've... Never heard about that one."
"Really? It's pretty common."
"I'm a country boy that's lived a life of solitude, Amanda. Just tell me the rules."
"Okay. It's really simple. I say Truth or Dare, and you choose between telling the truth, or doing a dare. If you lie, or refuse the dare, you get punished."
"Uh... Punished how?" You ask.
"I don't know. That depends on what the dare is. Now, let's begin. Truth or Dare?"
"Uh... Truth.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I guess." You say, shrugging your shoulders.

> You say "...You're supposed to ask the question I need to tell a truthful answer to, right?"
"Exactly."
"Uh... Alright... Ask, then?" You say.
"Hm... I don't know if I should..."
"Amanda..."
"Okay, fine. Which do you prefer, men or women?"
"What do ya mean?" You ask, genuinely confused.
"You know..." Amanda says, narrowing her eyes.
"What, like... If I'd rather have a boyfriend or girlfriend?" You ask.
Amanda nods her head.
"Oh, then I prefer women a hundred percent." You say, truthfully.
"Oh... Cool." Amanda says. "Now, ask me."
"Hm? Oh, uh... Truth or dare?" You ask.
"Truth." Amanda says.
"Ugh... Why did you pick truth?" You ask, annoyed.
"Because I trust you to do a good dare." Amanda smiles.
"Alright, so uh-" You try to say, but Amanda stops you.
"You already asked me a question, Jackson."
"What?" You say, confused.
"You asked why I chose truth. I said it. Now it's my turn." She says devilishly. You don't like the way she said that.
"Uh... Okay, then dare." You say.
"Great. You're gonna take this can of beer, and you're going to drink the whole thing in one sitting." She says, handing you a can.
"What?" You say. "I can't do that, Amanda."
"Sure you can. Did your grandad never let you have a sip before?"
"I mean, a few times, and it made me feel a bit funny. Kinda dizzy, almost. I had his permission, and he watched over me when I did it." You say.

"Well, I'M watching you. So do it!" She teasingly says.

> You hesitate.
"Alright, fine. If you insist." You say.
You take a drink of the beer. It tastes bad and makes you gag, but you manage to gulp it down.
You stop to burp a few times, but you manage to get it all down. You shiver after the last gulp. "That... That was really bad... People like this stuff? The stuff Pop gave me was mixed with fruit juice and it didn't taste THIS bad..." You say.
"That's because you're not a big boy yet." Amanda says, patting you on the head. You frown and glare at her. She giggles.

"Alright, now it's my turn." You say, putting the empty can down.

> You say "Truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Do you do this a lot? The drinking thing, I mean." You say.
"Yeah. Every weekend, with my friends."
"Really? Your parents let you do that?" You ask, shocked.
"What? No, they never knew. One of our friends knows how to get alcohol because he knows a few sketchy people over 21. I think my dad would have killed me if he ever knew..."
After saying that, Amanda looks a bit sad. You figure that she just reminded herself of her family that she doesn't know if they're even still alive.

"Hey, let's just keep playing, alright? Let's not think about sad stuff from before." You say.

> You place a comforting hand on Amanda's shoulder and look her in the eyes.
"Amanda, come on... Let's just have fun."
"No, it's fine. I mean, it sucks, but I'm sure my parents family is safe somewhere..."
She gives you a quick smile, but it's another one of those forced smiles that is obviously fake.

You get an idea.

> You say "You know what I think will get your mind off all that? I take back that truth I made you do. New dare, drink one of the beers in one sitting like you made me do."
You can't imagine that would taste good, but maybe it would cheer her up.
"Pffff.... You can't take back a truth or a dare, Jackson..." She says, putting her face in one of her hands. A normal, genuine smile creeps up on her face.

"Just do it. Once the alcohol kicks in, you might feel better. Really." You say.

> You take a beer can off the ground and put it in Amanda's hands.
"Come on. It's the least I can do to cheer you up."
Amanda looks at you with a small pout.

She sighs. "Fine, I'll drink it, asshole... If it'll make you stop prodding me." She says, cracking the beer open and chugging. She looks like she has a much easier time than you did in chugging in down.
Amanda crushes the can, then sets it down before releasing a burp. "Oof, 'scuse me..."
"You're fine." You say, chuckling. "Now, uh... wait, who's turn was it?"
"Mine." Amanda says, snickering.
"Oh, right."
"Truth or dare, Jackson?"

> You say "Truth."
"Do you think I'm pretty?"
"Yeah." You say, without even thinking. You then realize the implications of her question and for some reason you feel a bit weird in a way you've never felt before.
She notices your body language and expression change after a moment of silence and laughs.

> You say "Please stop laughing at me..."
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, it's just... The look on your face is all... Heh..." She says, still chuckling a bit.
You look down at the cans and bottles on the ground and sigh.
"Come on, stop being so glum. It was a joke, you don't have to worry." She says.

> You say "Was it really a joke? You seemed serious about your question."
"I was, but not really. I was just trying to see how you'd react."
"That's pretty mean." You say, giving her a disapproving look.
"Yeah, well, call me a demon then, because I'm as mean as they come," She says, jokingly.
You roll your eyes.

> You say "Are you always like this when survival isn't an issue?"
"Like what?"
"You know... Weird and a little... Pushy?" You say.
"Oh come on, you dork. I'm not pushy. I just like to have fun. I know you're a dude who lived in a forest and all, but you gotta learn to live a little."
"I am having fun." You say, frowning.
"You don't look like it. You look constipated."
You groan and throw a crumpled can at her, which she catches and laughs.
"Say, actually, your attempt at battery reminded me. We got some drinks to go through. The adults seem really occupied with each other, so I think we got plenty of time." She says.
"Wait, now?" You ask.
"Yeah, pick up a can! Why not?" She says.
"Because it tastes awful."
"Come on, you big baby. It's not about the taste, it's about the fun side effects!" She says, picking up a can and cracking it open.

> You relent and crack open another can.
You crack open another can and give in to Amanda's request. It's pretty obvious that she's not going to let you relax until you do what she says.

> You drink the can down as fast as you can.
"Hah! I knew you had it in you, Jack." Amanda says, tossing you another can.
You catch it and give yourself a few moments before you even think about tasting that awfulness more. Then, you remember that she said it's not about the taste. You pop the top on the can and hold it in your hand.
Amanda finishes her can, then starting drinking another. All that remains is a few bottles, but there's more in the mini-fridge you raided some minutes ago.
You wonder what the point of all this is, as drinking these things doesn't seem to make you feel any different. You're about to say something about it, but then suddenly you notice that it's a tad harder to keep yourself steady. You feel a bit odd inside your eyeballs and inside your brain. This is that woozy feeling you remember from when Pop let you try a few mixed drinks back home.
"Ah hah! You're catching a buzz!" Amanda half cheers, half teases before finishing her current can.
"I am?" You ask, unsure.
"Yeah! I can see it on your face. You feel different, huh?" She asks.
"Yeah, a bit..." You say, unsure what else to say.
"Here, drink this one. It's the strongest." She says, handing you a green glass bottle with a red star logo on it. She already opened it for you by twisting the cap off.

> You take a few gulps, then put it down.
"Ugh..." You grumble, shivering a bit from the taste.
"Yeah, I don't like that brand much either, but it's stronger." Amanda says.

"Oh, by the way, wanna keep playing Truth or Dare? We kinda got sidetracked." Amanda says.

> You say "Uh... I suppose..."
"Cool, you start then."
You think really hard for a moment, wondering what you should dare her to do. Then, you have an idea.
"I dare you to... To stand up and attempt a perfect twirl like a ballerina." You say.
"What? Why?" Amanda asks.
"Just do it."
Amanda stands up and faces away from you. She positions her arms out like a ballerina before taking a deep breath in and slowly exhaling. Then, she quickly turns. Almost immediately, she loses balance and falls over backwards, nearly hitting her head.

> You say "Oh shit, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Amanda says, laughing. "Come help me up!"

> You help her up.
You quickly grab Amanda's hand and help pull her up. She stumbles forward and falls into you, causing you to fall down against the back of your grandfather's truck.
"Hey, watch it!" You say.
Amanda only laughs. "Okay... Hah... No more dares that require balance... Hah... I think we're both getting a little too drunk for that..."

She stays in your arms for a moment. It feels almost... nice? You've never been this close to a girl before, let alone one as pretty as Amanda.
The moment is interrupted by Chuck approaching you two.
"Hey there, you two crazy kids alright? I saw ya fall, there!" He says, sounding a bit inebriated.

"We're fine!" Amanda says, letting go of you.

"Hey, where's you kids get this stuff? You ain't drinking without adult supervision, are you?" He asks. He stumbles a little.
"Oh, come on, dude. It's just a couple beers." Amanda says.
"That's what they all say." Chuck says, trying to be serious but his current state makes him less able to comprehend the situation.
"The world is ending all around us, who cares? We're about to stop anyways..." Amanda says.
"We'll be alright." You say with a slight slur.
"Alright then... Ya know what? I actually don't care. We witnessed some horrible shit today... You especially, Jackson. You.... You are a fuckin' warrior, kid. You did some REALLY... really ballsy shit today that not a lot of kids your age would have. You deserve a fucking drink... Just don't let your grandad see you, cuz I don't know what his policy is... I'd hide those." He says, before stumbling back to the group.
You both laugh at how silly he was acting and take the bottles and empty cans out of sight. You sit down together in front of the truck out of sight of the adults. You finish the bottle of beer, and Amanda downs one without even thinking about it.
You feel bloated and full until you let out a large, drawn out burp.

After a moment of silence, Amanda laughs. "Good one!"
You laugh with her, before you realize something. You're sitting next to a pretty girl in the dark, laughing about nothing in particular.
You feel funny, and it's not just the alcohol. You've never experienced something like this, but you've seen a few similar situations on TV.
You barely even know this girl. You've known her for only two days, but you think you're starting to like her, even though she does make you a bit uncomfortable.
You don't know what to do in this situation. What does she feel? Does she like you too? Should you kiss her or something? Is that even right?

Before you can do anything, she leans into you and closes her eyes. "You know... You're pretty cool, Jackson... How do you hold it together when... When fighting, uh... Scary things like those monsters out there?"
You think about it for a moment. You could just tell her the truth, that you didn't really think about it, or you could lie and say something heroic.

> You say "I don't know... I guess I'm not really scared easy. I don't think of them as human, even if they look a little human. I was never scared of horror movies, and I've seen a lot of gore with small animals like squirrels and rabbits and stuff out in my forest."
"That's really... mature of you? But I don't know that they're not human. I mean, did they used to be? I dunno, they have red blood just like us and all..." She says, slurring her words.

> You say "I don't know. I hope not."
"Yeah... I don't know... I like to think that they're something... else. They started all over the world, er, right? All at once and stuff? This isn't like any zombie movie I've seen or something..." She says.

> You say "I don't think they're humans gone bad. I think they're just monsters."
"You're probably right. I can't imagine what it would be like to be one of those things.... So gross and soooo.... errr... violent..."

> You say "Well, they die to a bullet to the head, that's for sure!"
She laughs at your attempt at a joke, and you laugh with her.
You're silent again. She feels very warm against you, and you can feel her breathing.
After a minute of silence, Amanda speaks up again. "Thanks for saving me... Last night... You're uh... bra- *hic* really brave..."
You feel yourself turning red, and you almost want to laugh at how silly this all is.
"Well... You're welcome." You manage to say, trying not to laugh.
"Yeah... Sooooo... How brave do you feel, er... right now?" She asks with that devilish tone from before.

> You say "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean... Do you feel like doing something really brave?" She says, a little louder than before.
"Like what?" You ask.
"I dunno... Like... Giving me a kiss, maybe?"

> You say "W-Wait, wha?"
You try to say something, but the words won't come out.
"Awwww... C'mon, I know you want to..." She says.
Your mind starts racing. You wonder if this is some sort of trick.

> You say "Do... Do you want me to?"
She leans in a little closer to you, and whispers in your ear. "Yeah... Do it..."
You feel the heat rising in your face, and you lean in towards her. Your faces draw near to each other, and you close your eyes.
You feel her warm breath on your face, and then...
She pushes you down and hovers over you.
You open your eyes and see her with a big grin on her face. Her hair drips all around your face. You feel your face getting even redder.

> You say "Whuh- What are you..."
She gets closer and closer to you, and your eyes close.
Her lips meet yours, and you feel like you're going to explode.
She backs away, leaving you bewildered.
This doesn't feel real, even though you know it is.
"That... That was my first time." You say.
"I know. Feels nice, right?"
You feel a little dizzy from all of this, combined with the alcohol. This is all so surreal.
"Want me to do it again?" She asks.
"Uh..." You mumble. You're too embarrassed to answer. She only giggles and lowers her head towards yours again, this time also lowering her body until she's on top of you.
You feel the world spinning, and you close your eyes again.
You let out a nervous laugh.
"You don't need to be nervous..." She says, her voice now extremely soft as her face inches closer.
Your lips meet again, and the whole world seems to disappear. You can feel her body on top of yours, and it just feels... Right.
You instinctively reach your hands up and caress her back and the back of her head.
She seems to really enjoy that, as she lets out a pleasured sigh.
Your hands continue to explore her body, and eventually move to her sides.
Then, you feel something you didn't expect to feel.
You feel a certain stiffness. Amanda feels it too and pulls away from you, giggling.
"Oh god..." She sighs, looking down at you.
"Huh? What? What's wrong?" You ask.
"You're... Well..." She whispers, looking away.
You reach your hand down to where she's looking and feel a massive bulge in your pants. You pull away from it in embarrassment, which makes her laugh even more.

> You say "Uh... Is that... Bad?"
"Well... No..." She says before repositioning herself above you. She plants another kiss on your lips before saying "You don't know how any of this works, do you?"

> You say "Uh..."
She smiles and caresses your cheek.
"That's OK, you're cuter this way." She says.
You feel the blood rush to your face again, and you can't help but smile.
She almost snakes her hands down to your pants, but she decides against it and just continues kissing you.
"I'd take this further, but... I think we should wait before anything too drastic..." She says with a drunken slur.

> You say "Huh? What uh... Do you mean?"
"There's... A LOT of things we could do, but... Just not yet... Kissing is good for now..." She says.
"Uh... Okay...?" You ask, not really understanding what she means.
She smiles at you one last time before she lies down next to you on the pavement. You almost say something, but then you hear her quietly start to snore. You try to shake her awake, but it doesn't work so you just give up.

> You pick her up and put her in the back seat of the car.
You pull the passenger seat forward to make sure she has enough room, then close the car door. You stumble around, clearing the area of used bottles and hiding the two that you and Amanda didn't drink.
You walk over to where the group of adults were talking and see that only your grandfather and Greg are remaining. Everyone else went to their cars and fell asleep.
"There you are! We were wondering where you went!" Greg says.
"We saw you sneak off with that girl, with that alcohol I saw you take from that mini-fridge over there. You're not as sneaky as you thought, Jackson" Your grandfather says, a little tipsy.
"Oh, uh..." You mumble, trying to think some something to say, but your grandfather continues.
"I know you two didn't do anything crazy. You still have your pants on. Keep it that way. I just didn't say anything because, well..." He says, scratching the back of his head.



> You say "Yes?"
"I was a teenager once too, you know. I... Believe it or not, was quite a ladykiller back in my hayday..." He says with a slight chuckle. "And Jackson, you look real red in the face. I heard you two giggling and gaffing over there. Just remember that you've only known that girl for a couple days. I'd wait a while before going too far with her."
"Okay..." You say. "She said kinda the same thing..." You say, being a social idiot with a big mouth.
Your grandfather sighs and shakes his head and Greg nearly does a spittake. Greg raises his hand and says "We don't wanna know what you two were up to in detail, kid. Come on, now."

> You say "What? Er... Oh, uh, uh sorry, uh-"
"Don't worry about it. Just remember what I said. We're about to wrap things up. Is Amanda sleeping?"

> You say "Yeah, she passed out and I put her in the back seat."
"Okay, good. I hope she doesn't have a hangover tomorrow. Thanks for cleaning up the bottles and whatnot, too. The last thing we need is a broken ankle."
"No problem, sir. Uh... What's a hangover?" You ask.
"Oh, you'll see soon enough." Greg says, chuckling.
Your grandfather rolls his eyes. "Ignore him." He says, half serious, half joking.
"A hangover is when you drink too much alcohol without drinking enough water. Your body gets dehydrated, and you feel awful. Drink some water and Gatorade before you go to sleep." Your grandfather explains.
Greg chuckles. "I'll be sure to laugh at you if you end up with one."
Your grandfather elbows Greg in the arm and says "Oh, leave my grandson be already, you big bully."
You roll your eyes as Greg laughs. "I'm not a bully, I'm just..." He says, before pausing. "Oh, you've rolled your eyes at me. How rude."
"Greg, don't tease the kid." Your grandfather says.

> You say "I'll be alright."
"Don't worry about it. Just go drink some water already." Your grandfather says.
You nod and head back to the truck. You grab the duffel back and chug down as much water and Gatorade as you can handle.
After a minute, your grandfather joins you and drinks some water himself. He looks inside the truck and sees Amanda sleeping.
"Oh Jackson, you don't need to pull the seats up THAT far, she has enough room. We need to sleep too, you know." He says, opening the car door and lowering the seats. "Get in the passenger seat. I'll sleep in the driver seat." Your grandfather says.

> You try your best to sleep.
You manage to fall asleep after a couple hours of tossing and turning. You have a dream...
You're in a house. It's dark, and you can't see anything. You start to walk around, but the darkness is consuming. You can't see your hands in front of your face. Then, the lights flicker on, and you find yourself in a house similar to your own. You walk around and look around, when you hear a door close behind you. You turn around, and the front door is now closed. You go to open it, but find that it's locked.
You begin to panic and desperately search for another way out.
You turn around and see a giant wall, and you're suddenly outside. The wall begins to crack in front of you.
"Hurry up and wake up, kid." You hear a distorted voice say from behind the giant wall. It breaks away enough for you to see a blood red eye staring at you.

--

You jolt awake in the car. You look to your left to see your grandfather gone. You hear a groan from the back seat.
"Ugh..." You hear Amanda grumble.
"Hey." You say.
"Hey, you... My head is killing me..." She says.
"My grandfather told me what a hangover was last night. I think that's what happened to you."
"Yeah... I feel like someone beat me over the head with a baseball bat and the world won't stop spinning..."
"Here, lemme get some water." You say before getting out of the truck and retrieving some water from the trunk.
"Mornin', Jackson!" You hear Chuck call from his truck. You wave, then open the car door to hand the bottle of water to Amanda.
"Thanks." She says, taking a swig from the bottle.
She sits up and makes room for you to sit with her. You sit together as she drinks her water.

> You say "So... Uh..."
"What, thinking about last night?" She says with a smirk.
You look away, feeling sheepish. She laughs and shakes your shoulder. "You're a big dork, you know that? Don't look so embarrassed."

> You say "I've never done anything like that with anyone before."
"Oh yeah? Well, more can happen than just kissing and making out..." She says vaguely.

> You say "What do you mean? Does it have something to do with, uh... My uh... Pants?"
She bursts out laughing, and you look around in embarrassment. She keeps laughing for a while before she finally manages to stop.
"No, come on, I know exactly what you mean. And yes, it has something to do with that stiff feeling you got down there last night."
"How do you know what I'm talking about?" You ask in confusion.
"Because I've actually socialized, Jackson. I know some things because I've seen some things."
"Oh."
"Now you've gone and made me feel old, you asshole." She says, laughing and punching you in the shoulder.
"Sorry..."
"It's fine. I just hope you're not too weirded out. It's natural stuff. Nothing to be ashamed of."

> You say "Well... That's good..."
You trail off.
"You alright?" She asks, looking slightly concerned.

> You say "Yeah, just weird. It felt nice, but it also feels a little... Bad? Like, maybe I shouldn't have, since we were drunk and we barely know each other..."
Amanda's face goes from concerned to amused in a split second.
"You really are a big dork." She says, shaking her head and smiling.

> You say "What?"
"You are so innocent and pure, Jackson."
"I just feel weird about this. I'm sorry. Maybe I am a dork."
"No, it's fine. It's cute." She says, reaching over and poking your cheek.
You look away, feeling your face get warm.
"Hey, come here and gimme a hug." She says, opening her arms up to you.

> You lean in for a hug and embrace her.
You lean in and hug her. She hugs you back. You feel her arms tighten firmly around you as she plants a kiss on your head.
"You're such a goof. You're a big bad killing machine that wants to stand up to his grandpa, but you're so soft and stuff on the inside." She says, still hugging you.

> You say "I'm not soft..."
"A big bad killing machine that's soft on the inside. I'm writing this down." She teases.
You groan as you both pull away from the hug. She finishes her water and sets it down on the floorboard.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going to be thinking back on this moment many times in the future." She says.

> You say "You gonna shout about it from the rooftops, too?"
"Oh, you know it." She says with a wink.
You smile and shake your head. "So, what now? I don't know where my Pop went."
"He's probably talking to a soldier about getting us somewhere to stay. Cars suck to sleep in." She says.

> You say "That's rich coming from someone who had two seats to sleep in. Me and my Pop only had one seat each."
"Yeah, well, I'm not your Pop." She says.
"No, you're not." You say. "You're much prettier than he is, though."
"I bet you tell all the girls that."

> You say "You're delusional."
"I'm sure." She says, rolling her eyes.
"You're a flirt. You like to play around and mess with people's heads."
"Not true!" she says in mostly fake offense.

> You say "You know it's true. You're messing with me right now."
"Maybe a little bit." She admits.
You grin. "I knew it."
She sticks her tongue out at you, which makes you laugh. She smiles as the two of you sit there in silence for a while.
Minutes pass, and your grandfather returns. He has news. He knocks on the window and you roll it down. "I talked to the soldiers, and we have somewhere to stay!" He says with happiness in his voice.
"Where?" You ask.
"One of the houses in a nearby neighborhood. They said we could use it." He says.
"Is it empty?" Amanda asks, sitting up in her seat and turning towards your grandfather.
"They said it is. I was told it was a tad dirty. Needs a bit of vacuuming and scrubbing on the walls, but it has beds and a couch. Us three can take it. Everyone else is staying at a hotel since a few rooms opened." He says.
"Well, let's go, then!" Amanda says.

> You say "It'll be nice to sleep in a bed again. I feel a bit sore from sleeping in the car seat..."
"Yeah, well, you're young. It was worse for a rickety old man like me." He says with an expression of annoyance.
Your grandfather gets in the car, and you all drive to the house.
There are people in the neighborhood out and about. Some of them look rather shaken by recent events, some are crying, others are doing their best to stay sane by confiding in each other, some are going about life as if nothing is wrong. Some of them are still covered in blood from when they first arrived. You arrive at the house and enter. It's as it was described: the carpets were rather dirty and in need of vacuuming, and the walls had slight stains. Otherwise, it is relatively clean. The three of you settle in and decide who will sleep in which room. You unload all of the loot from Chuck's gas station, and you speak with everyone over the walkie talkies. The distance between you and others staying at the hotel causes the signal to be patchy, but you can understand each other well enough. After a day or two, the three of you try your best to live as if nothing's wrong in the world.

You miss your old home dearly, but you know it's way too dangerous to ever return. The monsters had swarmed your forest in search of human prey, and the road back there is splattered with blood.
This is your life now.
A perimeter is properly secured around the city, and the sounds of battle significantly die down. The military seems to be winning the war against the monsters, at least in eastern Alabama.
You and Amanda take the time to better get to know each other. As it turns out, Amanda acts quite boyish. That's the only way you can describe it. She teases you, tells somewhat edgy and dark jokes, and has seemingly taken in interest in learning more about firearms. You teach her what you know off the top of your head, seeing as you have a lot of experience with your rifle. Louis takes an interest in her, as it turns out. He's aware that she's not his own kin, but he does his best to make her feel like she's a part of the family. You've all endured a lot of trauma together, after all.
The first month passes. You hear news that a large portion of the eastern seaboard has been lost to the monsters, with the survivors retreating to Canada.

The news slowly grows more and more grim as time goes on. The monsters get better at mimicking human behavior, resulting in more human losses among civilian populations.
Their numbers grow as well. More wandering monsters are spotted outside, and the sound of gunshots echoes in the distance more and more frequently outside the barricades blocking off the city. Food is scarce, and your supplies are running low. You're starting to eat your seed corn, so to speak.
Life continues on.

Then, one day a few weeks later, you and Amanda are walking near the edge of the city together. Your rifle is slung over your shoulder and fully loaded, and Amanda has a Glock 18 in her pocket you traded in exchange for some things you scavenged from some of the abandoned areas of the city and gifted to Amanda for her sixteenth birthday.
Things are quiet and peaceful.

...

You're about to return to the house when you hear the nearby sniper towers rapidly begin shooting at something you can't see. You hear something from behind the barricades when the soldiers in the towers aren't shooting. It sounds like a mixture of a monster's roar and a human speaking.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire, you morons!" a voice screams from behind the barricades. "It's us! US!"
The soldiers keep shooting.
Amanda is in the middle of asking what the hell is going on before something tackles one of the barricades. You can't see it, but it's big. Really big. The barricade cracks from only one impact. The soldiers begin screaming for backup on their radios, sounding incredibly panicked.

After a moment, frozen in fear, you yell at Amanda to "RUN! FUCKING RUN!"
You take off running towards the center of the city as the gunshots only increase in volume and intensity.
You and Amanda run like track stars, not looking back.
You hear distorted screeching and roaring. You look back once and nearly trip over from the horror you feel.
A large, gangly monster with long limbs has crawled up one of the sniper towers, and is currently ripping one of the soldier's throats out with its teeth. It's not only hairless, but its scalp seems to have been sliced off entirely. You look back forwards and try your damndest to run harder.
Another large monster charges into one of the towers and you hear crashing and human screaming behind you.
An emergency alarm wails throughout the entire city. People flee from the barricades for their lives alongside you.
You run through the city with Amanda, both of you panicking. You weren't ready for this. You didn't think this would happen, but the monsters that evicted you from your home in the woods and killed so many people are at your doorstep and it feels like the walls are closing in on you.
After what feels like forever, you and Amanda finally make it back to the house to see your grandfather on the porch, wielding his revolver.
His eyes are dark, and his expression is grim. He sees the both of you slow down and pant heavily. You both struggle to breathe as you try to explain what happened, but to no avail as your lungs can't seem to get enough oxygen.
"Slow down, you two! I can't understand a word you're saying!" he yells.
You take a moment to compose yourself and then explain what happened. "The... THE MONSTERS, THEY'RE HERE!... Guh... They... They're breaking the barricade down! Soldiers are dying left and right!" Your grandfather listens intently before nodding slowly.
"What.... huh.... what do we do!?" You ask between breaths.

Your grandfather is about to answer, but instead he only yells for you to watch out before firing his revolver at something behind you.
You look and see a monster with a bloody hole in its chest. It falls over and squirms on the ground, struggling to get the blood out of its windpipe.
You see a small, dog-like creature with human features pounce one of your neighbors. You raise your gun to shoot it away, but it's too late. The creature rips the person's throat out, and they collapse to the ground.
The monsters seem to be winning. There's nothing you can do.

You kill the monster anyway, shooting it twice in the torso and neck. It twitches on the ground before going still.

Another monster crashes through a neighbor's window, and you hear screaming and the sound of flesh ripping.
Your grandfather's radio crackles and it's Chuck on the other end. "Louis! What the hell is going on!?"
Your grandfather doesn't answer and just hurries the both of you into the truck. You open the car window as your grandfather peels away and aim out the window.
Amanda seems quite scared, but less so than when she first encountered the monsters. She seems more sad, than anything.

You fire at an approaching monster and catch it in the knee. It falls over, and your grandfather runs over its body, likely killing or at least incapacitating it.
"Chuck! Get Carmilla somewhere safe! The barricade has been breached!" He screams into the radio.
The radio hisses static for a bit before Chuck comes through, "What!? Louis, where are you?"
"Just get her somewhere safe!"
"Alright, I'll get her out of here!"
Your grandfather attempts to contact Greg and his wife, Jessie, but he can't get a hold of them.
The truck barrels through the city, dodging screaming civilians, military personnel, and an occasional bloodsoaked monster.
Your grandfather makes a sharp turn down a side street and guns it down the road, trying to reach the front gate.
He runs over something and you hear a distorted squeal. "SHIT!"

"Keep driving! That didn't sound human!" You say. He nods and keeps going. You look out the back window and see something that nearly makes you vomit. It has the shape of a human baby, but it looks... wrong. Its Caucasian skin is turned a sickly dark color, and its arms and legs are at least a foot long each. It's violently writhing and twitching on the ground.
Your grandfather makes a turn and sees the gate, but you are all surprised to see it reduced to jagged metal as a giant monster covered in disgusting looking burns that didn't heal right. It's tearing through the gate with its large arms. It has a bulbous head lined with bony plating, and its teeth looks like that of a wolf's.

Your grandfather slams on the brakes and you all nearly get ejected from your seats. The large, burnt monster makes eye contact with your grandfather, and he freezes.
"Pop? Pop, come on, snap out of it! We'll find another way out!" You say, grabbing his arm. He just continues to stare at the monster, horrified.

The monster begins to advance slowly towards you as people get tackles and torn apart in the streets all around you. The world seems to slow to a crawl.

Then, you see something odd from the corner of your eye. A businessman in a suit, placing ornate, shiny coins into a small coin purse. You look at his face, and it looks... Wrong. His eyes are as black as the void, and the flesh around his eyes are the same sickly dark color as the baby monster you saw a moment ago. He's bald, and his face looks impossibly smooth. He looks unsure of himself, yet confident enough to attempt something drastic. He ties the coin purse up, then slings it until it has enough momentum to be launched.

It hits the giant monster in the face, then the odd man snaps his fingers.
The coin purse suddenly bursts into a large explosion. The windshield of your truck cracks from the force, but it thankfully doesn't shatter.
The fireball consumes the monster, knocking it away and destroying its head. As the smoke clears, all that's left is a mess of gore and jagged metal. There is a gap large enough for your truck to move through.
"Drive, drive, drive!" You yell.
Your grandfather complies and you all speed through the gap in the gate.

You look back and see the man with the black eyes make eye contact with you. He no longer looks worried. In fact, he looks rather pleased with himself. He gives you a nod before he seemingly disappears into the shadows.

"What the hell was that!? Did someone shoot a rocket at that thing!?" Amanda asks. It seems like she didn't see what you saw.
"Who cares? We're out of the city now! Pop, how much gas do we have!?" You ask hurriedly.
...
"Pop?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, uh... E-.... Enough to make it to Atlanta, like we planned from the start..." He says.
You look at your feet, brows furrowed. You sigh and nod.

> You say "God... DAMN IT! God damn it, what the hell happened!? How did they break through!?"
You let out a string of curses, but nobody seems to have an answer.
"How did they break through!? They were being slaughtered! It was a one-sided battle in our favor!" You exclaim.
You bury your face in your hands. This can't be happening.
You feel Amanda grab your shoulder and squeeze it. You look up to see her looking at you with a sad look on her face.

Suddenly, the radio starts buzzing with the sound of Chuck's voice again, but you can hardly make out what he's saying. It sounds something like "G..g and Jessi...e dea... --- no hope.... for us..." before the transmission breaks up completely.
"What happened? Chuck?" Your grandfather asks.
The only sound you hear is the static of a disconnected line.

"Did... Did he just say that Greg and Jessie are dead...?" Amanda asks with a shaky voice.
Nobody answers.
Suddenly, the truck starts swerving as your grandfather avoids monsters in the streets. They attempts to tackle the truck, but they fail and at most only end up getting injured. The truck's speed only slows slightly.
"Pop, do you know where you're going?"
"We're headed East, we'll be fine!" He says, continuing to dodge monsters in the road.
You look out the window and see what looks like hundreds of monsters. They are all approaching Oxford, climbing through holes poked in the barricades by the larger monsters, some of them climbing upwards over the barricade and getting caught in the razor wire. It won't be long before Oxford is completely destroyed.
"Oh, God... This is a disaster." You mutter under your breath.
"What was that?" Your grandfather asks, not hearing you correctly.
"I said this is a disaster!" You repeat.
You grandfather nods in agreement.
The road continues on for miles ahead of you.

Eventually, the road begins to clear. You don't register the moment that you stop seeing as many monsters as before, but you do notice that the numbers have thinned.
The ones you now see are all just wandering around, seemingly unaware of Oxford's existence as they continue hunting for animals and occasionally giving chase to your truck to no avail.
"I think... I think we're going to be fine." You say to yourself.
"I hope so, Jackson... I hope so..." Your grandfather says.
"We're going to be fine." You say, more confidently this time.
You look at the road ahead of you. It's not clear of danger, but it's going to have to do.
"Damn it all... Damn it all... Damn it all..." You hear your grandfather cursing under his breath.
Other than your grandfather cursing, the car ride is silent. It's a long way to Atlanta, but a feeling in the back of your head tells you that you might not be allowed inside.
The road is long, made longer by the tension so thick in the air you could cut it with a knife. Amanda is looking out the window, clutching her pistol.

Then... You hear something. The roar of an engine behind you. It grows louder as it grows closer.
You grandfather looks in the rear-view mirror to see what the hell is making that racket, then his eyes widen.
"Is... Is that Chuck behind us?" He says.
You look behind you, and sure enough it's Chuck in a blood-splattered car you don't recognize. In the passenger seat is a shellshocked Carmilla. Blood is on both of their faces and shirts.
Chuck has a look of determination and hope on his face. You see the silhouette of his shotgun in his back seat.
"Y-Yeah, oh my god, that's Chuck!"

You see Chuck reach for something as you look at him. Then you hear your grandfather's walkie talkie buzzing.
"Ha haaaa! I don't die that easy!" He yells into the radio.


> You say "Chuck! How the hell did you survive!?"
"I'm a fighter, kid! Me and Carmilla stole a car from a dead man!" He replies.
"You stole a car?" Your grandfather questions.
"The dude who owned it was in two pieces on the side of the road! The keys were in his hands, so I took it, and I got me and Carmilla the hell outta there!"

> You say "Well, if he was dead, then what does it matter?"
"It doesn't, but I still took something that wasn't mine and I don't give a single damn!"
Your grandfather laughs. "We weren't sure you were gonna make it, Chuck! You would not believe how ecstatic I am that you're still with us!"

"Hey, wait... Chuck, before we all got out, I think you said something over the radio about... Greg and Jessie?" Amanda asks.
There's a long pause, then you hear a sigh.
"Yeah... Yeah, they... Shit, kid, they didn't make it."
"W-What? No! No! No! This can't be happening!" Amanda says, starting to panic.
"I'm afraid it did... I... I saw them, after the monsters were done with them... Christ, those bastards are cruel..." He says in a defeated tone.
Your grandfather says nothing, but you see his expression darken in the mirror.
Amanda's eyes water and she sniffles.
"Oh, god... They didn't deserve this..." She says.

> You say "We... We gotta keep moving. We have to get to Atlanta..."
"Yeah... Let's survive for them. They'd want us to keep goin'." Chuck says over the walkie talkie.

> You say "Yeah. It's only an hour drive if nothing bad happens, right?"
"Right." Chuck says.

"Hey, is Carmilla alright? She's been pretty silent..." You say.
"She's in shock. She'll be fine once we get to the city." Chuck replies.
Your two-car convoy drives in silence for a while, and you start to feel tired again. The sun sets slowly on the horizon.

> You say "God, I'm tired, but I feel like I need to stay awake until we get there."
"Then try and stay with us." Your grandfather says, "We might need you if something goes awry."

> You say "Yeah..."
You yawn, but then you notice the truck slowing down. "Pop? Why are we slowing down?" You ask.
You look out the window, and the shock of what you see snaps you back awake.
It's a large, fleshy, tree-like structure. Its surface rises, then falls as if it's breathing, releasing a thick fog into the air.
You notice that the area around you has gotten foggy. "Chuck, do you see this?" Your grandfather asks in disbelief.
"Yeah, I see it. What the fuck am I looking at?" He asks in a serious tone.

> You say "If we have any AC on, let's turn it off and close everything in our cars. We don't know if that foggy stuff is dangerous."
"Good idea, kid." Chuck says.
You turn off the AC and roll up your windows and assume Chuck does the same the best he can.
Your grandfather speeds back up. You pass by more of these fleshy, tree-like structures. Some of them are covered in blood, and you can see that some of them look fleshier than others. You begin to wonder if the grosser looking ones are newer.
"Hey, Chuck, what do you think these are?" You ask over the walkie talkie.
"No idea. But they're giving me the creeps." He replies.
"They're disgusting..." Amanda says.
"Then don't look at em." Your grandfather replies.
You drive for what feels like forever. The fog still surrounds you, and you still see the fleshy trees off in the distance. You try not to look at them.
After a while, you see more and more buildings pass by.
The sky has darkened, and the fog has become rather dense. It's clear enough to see through for now, but you don't know how long that'll still be the case.

"We're gettin' close, guys!" Chuck says over the radio.
"How can you tell?" You ask.
"The buildings are gettin' taller and there's a lot more of them."
"Oh, okay." You say.
Your radio squawks again.
"I hope they let us in... Those bastards better not keep us out..." Chuck says.
"Why wouldn't they let us in?" You ask, suddenly worried.
"I dunno, there's been reports of these monster bastards gettin' smart. Masquerading as people. You never know these days anymore. You're either getting ripped apart, or getting stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a friend." Chuck replies.

> You say "So then the people in Atlanta might think we're monsters trying to pass as human?"
"I dunno, kid. But it's possible."
You take a deep breath, and try to calm yourself down. You've never been particularly scared of anything, but this is really getting to you.
The rest of the car ride is mostly uneventful until the car radio begins buzzing. "What the hell? I thought I turned in off a long time ago..." Your grandfather says.
A panicked voice starts speaking. "To anyone that can hear this, Oxford has fallen! I repeat, Oxford has fallen! There is nothing left! Stay away from Oxford!" The man on the radio says.

"Chuck, turn your radio on, there's a signal coming through!" Your grandfather says into the walkie talkie.
"Already ahead of you, now keep quiet! I'm trying to listen!" He replies.

"Atlanta is the only safe place left in the southeast! Head there! Their wall only gets stronger and stronger by the day!" The man on the radio continues.
"We need to get the hell out of here!" You hear a different voice shout.
"We can't! Look behind you! They're everywhere!" A third voice says.
"Shut up, I'm trying to send out a distress signal!" The original voice shouts. "I repeat, get to Atlanta, it's the only safe place left! I'm gonna set this message to repeat until this damn thing breaks! GET. TO. ATLANTA!" He says. Suddenly, there's a crashing sound.
"Oh, shit, one of them got in! FU-", then it goes silent.

After a moment of silence, the message repeats.
Your grandfather turns the radio off and sighs. "That was a hell of a thing."
"So... No hope for Oxford..." Amanda says in a sad tone.
"What, you really expected such an attack NOT to wreck Oxford?" Chuck asks.

"Leave her alone, Chuck." Your grandfather says.
"Alright, sorry, but... it's just a good thing we got outta there..." Chuck says.
You grab a hold of Amanda's hand and squeeze tight. She returns the squeeze and looks into your eyes.
"We'll be fine, Amanda. We'll be fine." You say to reassure her.
Amanda shakes her head, lowering her gaze with a fake smile. "Maybe..." She says.

"HEY. Look at me, Amanda. Me and my Pop will keep you safe no matter what. We've survived hell, and we'll survive it again." You say.
"Okay... Thanks, Jackson." She says.
The car goes silent, but you two don't stop holding hands.
The drive lasts for a bit while longer until you see something large in the distance.
A massive, circular structure with skyscrapers within it. You see bullets streaking across the sky from tall sniper towers, going towards things moving on the ground.
There are helicopters circling the area, spraying the area in hot lead.

You see large cranes behind the wall piling pieces of scrap metal on the wall.
You've reaches Atlanta, but you need to go through hell one more time before you can get in.
"This is it..." Chuck says.
"Will... Will they let us in?" Carmilla asks.
"They better!" Chuck replies.

As you grow closer to the walled city, the sound of war grows louder. Gunfire, explosions... But it seems as if the people of Atlanta are winning. As you grow ever closer, you see countless bodies strewn about.
Mutilated monster corpses pumped full of lead, lying in puddles of their own blood dot the streets leading into the city. Leviathans the size of buses like the one you saw destroy Oxford's gate lay motionless with large chunks of flesh missing all over their mutated bodies.


Just then, you hear something jump on top of the truck. "Oh shit, one of em's on you guys!" Chuck says over the radio.
"GET IT OFF!" Amanda shouts.
Your grandfather swerves and turns, trying to get the creature off, but to no avail. The creature repeatedly bashes its claws on the roof, making an awful sound.


> You say "Wait, I got an idea! Chuck, move out of the way, and Pop, slam on the brakes!"
You tell your plan to your grandfather, who nods in approval.
Chuck moves his car to the right, and once he gives your grandfather the all-clear, he says "Everybody hang on!"
He slams on the brakes, coming to a screeching halt. Chuck speeds past your vehicle as the monster that was on your truck tumbles onto the street.
The headlights reveal a disgusting creature, covered in boils and gashes. It roars, showing its yellow teeth as it tries to get up. Your grandfather floors it, and the Truck crashes into it.

Its bones break under the weight of the truck as the truck itself picks up momentum again.

> You say "Woo! Yeah! That worked!"
"Nice one!" Amanda says.
"Good thinking, son." Your grandfather says.

You get close to the walled city. You can see a closed gate. It looks heavily reinforced.
You grip your rifle tight in anticipation. The gunshots killing the monsters around you are loud now. Two spotlights shine on your cars.
Suddenly, there's a loud voice over a speaker. "Slow down as you approach! We're opening the gates for you, just hang on!"
You hear the scraping of metal as you enter the gate and into... another closed gate. An airlock of sorts.
"Come on out! We're closing the gates!" A man wearing army-like clothing says, waving at you to come over.
You all exit the car, and you have several guns drawn on everyone.
"Drop your weapons and put your hands up!" A man shouts.

You all slowly drop your firearms. You drop your rifle, Amanda drops her pistol, and your grandfather very slowly takes his revolver out and sets it on the ground before putting his hand back up. Chuck's shotgun stays in the car, and Carmilla has nothing to drop.
You are frisked for weapons and are cleared.
Your weapons are confiscated for now before a man in a HAZMAT suit comes out to greet you, holding a strange looking device.
"We're gonna need to check your blood to ensure that you're not anomalies."

"I'm sorry, did you say "anomalies"? Did I hear that right?" You ask.
"Monsters." The man in the HAZMAT suit says. "We like to call em anomalies."
"I see."
"Let's not waste time. Submit to the testing so we can ensure we don't need to put a bullet in you."
"Alright. Before I move, I'm going to say that I'm gonna reach over and roll up my-"
"We get it, kid, you've already been search for weapons. Just don't move too fast." He interrupts.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, you slowly roll up your sleeve and the man in HAZMAT gear places the device onto your arm.
You feel a sharp pain, and you grunt. You see a small bit of your blood in a small vial that gets drained into the device itself. After a moment, a green light blinks. "Clear!" The HAZMAT man says. He points you towards a medical tent set up in the airlock before he tests everyone else.
You enter the medical tent. The medic looks up from his clipboard. He has "Eugene Pomson" written on his nametag. "Name?" He asks.
"Jackson. Jackson Stonehill."
"Any preexisting conditions, illnesses, or injuries?" He asks.
"No sir, not that I'm aware."

He writes some things down on his clipboard. "Date of birth?"
"Fifth of August, nineteen-ninety-eight." You reply truthfully.

He writes in his clipboard again. "So you're about to be seventeen..." He mutters to himself.
"Any medications, drugs, alcohol, or tobacco products?"
"No."
"Any history of mental illness or psychological treatment?"
"No."
"Any sexual contact with an unknown party or individual infected with any STD's or STI's?"
"No."
"Blood type?"
"O-."
"Aaaalriiiigggghhhht...." He drones as he writes all your information down. Your grandfather joins you from behind. "Oh, good, you got cleared too. I'll be with you in one moment."
He finishes writing your information down, and looks at it.
"Now, sit down on the bench. I'll process all of your friends and family that you have brought with you. You'll need to wait a bit before we can process you." He says.
You sit on the bench and wait as your grandfather, then Amanda, then Chuck and Carmilla get processed the same way you did. Thankfully, none of them were monsters in disguise, but it's not like you had any doubts anyway. As you wait for your information to be processed, you feel Chuck tapping your shoulder. You can see Carmilla smiling.
"Yeah? What is it?" You ask.
"Guess what?" He says with a smile.
"What?" You ask, growing a little impatient.
"Carmilla's pregnant!" He says.

Your eyes widen, and Amanda squeals in joy. Your grandfather smiles and looks away.

> You say "Oh wow, that's... Amazing!"
"Oh wow, that's... Amazing!" You say, legitimately happy for them, and even happier that Carmilla made it with life growing inside of her.
"Are you sure it's mine?" Chuck asks jokingly.
Carmilla slaps him in the stomach, and he winces in pain before laughing.

A question pops into your mind.
"...Have you thought of a name, yet?" You ask.
"Hmm... Well, if it's a boy, we'll name 'em Lucas." He says.
"If it's a girl?" You ask, curious.
"If it's a girl, we name 'er Carol." He says.

"Those are nice names, Chuck." You say.
After your information is processed, you are let into the city of Atlanta.

Days pass. Weeks pass. Months.
The wall seems much sturdier than the barricades at Oxford. The horrors of the outside world slowly fade away from your mind.
You grow closer to Amanda. You both learn as much as you can about each other, both the good and the bad, and you fall madly in love.

A few years later...

Eventually, after you had long since learned all about the birds and the bees, Amanda becomes pregnant with your child.
You find out it's a girl, and you name her Lois. You and Amanda raise her, teaching her all you know about the world and sending her to the best replacement for school Atlanta can provide.

The fighting and the gunshots outside the wall eventually slow, then stop. The monsters realize it's fruitless, and give up attacking Atlanta. Your city is here to stay.
As you and your now wife Amanda age and watch your daughter grow, she eventually grows up. She meets a man named John Carter, and they too fall in love.

You strangely don't hear much from your daughter anymore a few years after your daughter marries John. You don't want to assume the worst and just want to think that she only wants to live her best life, even if that means not contacting you for a while. You eventually catch wind that your daughter gave birth to a boy. This boy's name is Lee.

You won't live long enough to know it, and neither will Amanda, but your grandson will grow up to be a detective, and will become one of the most important men in human history following the collapse and fall of Atlanta at the hands of a foolish man named Jenson Fritz.

Your story ends here.