Have you ever had that panicked moment when you realise you’ve been playing too long and someone will be home to catch you in the act soon? Riley has, normally things don’t quite go like this though.. Happy Halloween. Sorry in advance?

 

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“Oh god, is that the time?!”

I hopped off my bed and made a break for the door.
Two turns and I was inside Mum’s room.

My hands reached for the buttons on the dress I was wearing when the phone rang loudly through the house making me pause.

No-one calls us at this time day?
Cautious to not be visible from the windows of either Mum’s room or the stairs I raced back out to the cordless handset on the hallway table and snatched it up.

After a moment to get my breathing back to normal I pushed the button and raised it to my ear.

“Hello?”

There was a lot of heavy breathing on the other end of the line.
Somewhere in the distance someone screamed.
After a lot of shouting there was a short burst of really loud noise that I think might have been gunfire?

“H.. hello?”

The shouting kept on echoing in my ear, followed by another set of gunfire and more heavy breathing as someone loudly ran somewhere.
There was one more blast of gunfire and something metal crashed loudly down.
It sounded a bit like our garage door but it’s hard to tell on the phone.

“Riley? Riley honey, can you hear me?”
My breath came out in a gasp that I hadn’t realised I’d been holding.
“Riley. It’s Mum, I’m okay honey but I need you to be brave for me. I’m not going to be home for a while, I need you to go downstairs and lock all the doors and windows okay?”

“Mum? What’s going o-”
There was a loud crashing sound down the line followed by shouting, groans and rattling metal that was so loud it made me jump in fright.

“Riley. I can’t talk, just do what I say and go downstairs quickly. I’ll sort things out and call you back when I can. Make sure all the doors are locked solid, get some food, close all the curtains and go upstairs for the night okay?”
Someone yelled in pain, it sounded really close and REALLY loud.
“GO Riley! Don’t leave anything open, don’t let anyone see that your home, be as quiet as you can and whatever you do DON’T let anyone in!”

My legs were shaking.
I could feel tears on my cheeks too.
Mum’s never shouted at me like that before?

I jumped again and gasped when a man’s voice roared out from the other end of the phone.

“LINDSEY! HURRY THE FUCK UP THEY’RE BREAKING THROUGH!”
I don’t know who the man was but Mum’s name is Lindsey?

“I love you Riley. Stay inside, put the phone ringer on silent and keep it with you. No matter what you hear outside DON’T let anyone see you!”
She paused and something crashed loudly in the background followed by more shouting.
“I love you baby. I’ll call as soon as I can.”

The line went dead.
For a long moment I stood frozen in the hallway, stunned silent.

“Mum?.. M.. Mum?..”

She didn’t answer.
The phone just buzzed in my ear.

My breathing sounded so loud in the suddenly silent house.
My heart hammered away in my chest for some reason too.

I’m not sure what shook me back into the real world but with a surge of adrenaline I shot off for the stairs.
I didn’t fully understand what was going on or why Mum sounded so scared and worried but she REALLY wanted me to do what she said, so I will.. QUICKLY!

It wasn’t until I hit the bottom step that I remembered what I was wearing.
My first instinct was to run back up and get changed but Mum’s words rang in my ears enough to overpower my fear of discovery.

It doesn’t matter, she told me to make sure no-one outside saw me anyway so this will just make me more careful about it!

I got to the front door and chanced a nervous glance through the spyhole but all I could see was our driveway lit by the afternoon sun.
With a stretch I managed to throw the top bolt, followed quickly by the middle lock and the bottom bolt before pulling the big curtain that Mum had put in to stop the draft during winter closed, just in case.

Mum’s always been a bit over the top with security stuff but I’m kind of glad for it now.

Cautiously I made my way around to the front room.
The lights were off which made me nervous despite the sunlight still coming in from the windows.

I flicked on the light switch and snuck over to the bay window.
It took a few tugs to get the curtains moving but I managed it in the end and checking each windows lock as I went until I’d made the full circuit.

It felt really weird to have the front room so dark despite knowing that it’s still daylight out.
I took a few steps out to the kitchen and moved quickly over to check the back door.
It wasn’t locked so I turned the key and hid it in the old mug on the shelf like Mum does at night.

I had to go on my tiptoes to reach the top bolt this time but I managed it eventually and threw the bottom one shut as well seconds later.

Being in the kitchen made me a bit more nervous because, while it’s not facing the street, the backdoor has two little windows in it at my head height and the wall next to it is practically one long run of windows.

It took a bit of struggling and I almost fell when the dress I had on held my knees awkwardly as I tried to step up onto the countertops but I managed to get under the long window and check each lock while pulling the curtains too.
When I finally managed to check them all, I slide carefully off of the counters and sighed in relief, taking a moment to straighten the skirt of Mum’s dress and cover the slip I had on underneath.

I had a flash of guilt when I realised what I was doing, what I was wearing at the moment but before I could sink too much into guilt there was a shout from somewhere outside.

It really didn’t sound like a good shout?!

I froze in place and strained my ears to see if I could hear anything more but after almost a minute of silence there was nothing more to follow it.
Feeling even more worried and remembering Mum’s orders I rushed over to the pantry cupboard.

I wasn’t really in the right state of mind to make anything, Mum doesn’t like me using the cooker when she’s not around anyway.
In the end I snatched up the big multi-pack of crisps that we get in bulk for my lunch at school and raided the fridge for the big water bottle with the carry handle on the bottom shelf.

At the last moment I decided to grab the packet of cut chicken we use for sandwiches and brought it along with me as I moved through the house, shutting internal doors as I went until I reached the second floor.

My eyes cut down the hallway and I hesitated for a second.
We’ve got three bedrooms up here along with Mum’s office and the bathroom that connects between her office and her bedroom.

I kind of wanted to get changed at the moment.
Guilt was gnawing at me as I stood there ruffling the side of Mum’s dress against my leg nervously with my knuckles.. but Mum’s office has a computer in it, so I could go in and check the internet to see what’s happening instead?

Mum doesn’t know but I know her password.

It’s Dad’s name.
I found out by accident while trying to go on there and play some games ages ago but it didn’t seem like a good idea to tell her that I knew or how, especially after seeing his name again like that..

I dithered for a few more seconds before making my mind up and rushing over to my room to get changed.
My curtains were still open so I slipped over to them and after a peek outside that gave me nothing but a few empty back gardens, including ours, I shut them tight with a heavy sigh.

After a bit of struggle I managed to get the buttons on Mum’s black dress with the white polka-dots all over it undone.
It’s knee length on Mum but on me it ends practically at my ankles.
The silky soft slip went next and I blushed brightly as I pulled Mum’s lacy white bra up over my head to take it off.

Standing in my room wearing only a pair of white lace panties that Mum ‘lost’ years ago I shivered and dithered again uncertainly.
When I first got the panties I just liked them because they were soft and the lace felt nice, they were way too big for me at the time but now they actually fit relatively well, if still a little loosely.

I finally made up my mind and kept the panties on while tugging my jeans up my legs followed quickly by my baggy red T-shirt.

Feeling a bit less nervous, now that the prospect of being caught had been lessened a fair bit I bundled the dress, slip and bra together with the food for easier carrying.

A grunt later I had the water bottle up and I rushed over to Mum’s room, dropping the food on the bed before moving over to hide the clothes in the back of a side cupboard she rarely uses.
She never checks there usually and when she does she tends to assume she must have put whatever she finds there away by accident while she wasn’t paying attention as far as I know.

On light feet I pulled Mum’s bedroom curtains shut, then quickly rushed through the attached bathroom and out the other side into Mum’s office.

She’s got shelves of books all along the walls around her big wooden desk which is covered in photos of us together along with pens and other office-y stuff.

I shot a cautious look out of the big window behind her desk.
From this angle I could see just a little bit up the street and something was obviously happening up there?

I jumped a moment later when someone yelled out from the same general direction I’d been looking.

My eyes caught nervously on a few strange plumes of thick black smoke drifting in the air a fair distance away, somewhere much further into the city, but when another yell broke the silence I rushed over and closed these curtains too.

With a heavy sigh I slid into Mum’s leather office chair and turned on her computer.
It seemed to take forever to power up.
Eventually though it reached the login screen and I could enter the password.

“D-A-V-I-D”

The screen flashed before loading up onto Mum’s desktop.
I waited for everything to finish loading then clicked the browser.
The screen lit up for a moment as things loaded in the background.

When the computer finally stopped playing around it brought up Mum’s favorite news website.
Splashed across the main page was a string of stories with titles like ‘Cannibals attack the mid-west’, ‘Zombie’s in Zimbabwe?’ and ‘Emergency order issued as attacks spike’.

There were far too many words for me to bother reading them all so I clicked up for the ‘watch live’ link and waited as the computer chugged along with loading the page again.

“-secretary of state continued his statement to categorically deny rumors of a chemical attack and foreign powers involvement in this afternoons events, which have now been confirmed to have spread across every continent on the globe.”
The news man paused and shuffled some papers on his desk.
“We are striving to bring you the most current information possible but new information is coming to us at a constant rate. The government has declared a state of emergency across the United States and the British PM has advised people to take shelter until more information is available.”
His hand came up to press into his ear slightly and he ducked his head for a moment before turning back to the camera.
“I’m being told we can now go live to Tracy live in-”

The phone rang for the second time today.
I paused the news video with a click and accepted the call in a panicked rush.

“Mum?”
For a painfully long moment there was silence.

“Riley..”

“MUM! Are you okay? What’s going on?”
I strained my ears for any sounds I could make out on the other end.
At least there’s no more gunfire or shouting?
That’s good right?!

“Riley honey, I need you to be brave for me okay?”
She sounded like she wanted to cry for some reason.
“Be my big brave boy okay? I’m going to come get you but it’s going to take a while. I’m with some soldiers, we’re on the other side of the city and there’s no way I can get home tonight but you have to stay safe indoors and keep quiet okay?”

“Mum..”

“Get what you need to be comfortable honey, don’t go back downstairs but gather what you need from upstairs and pull the loft hatch down. It’s like camping okay?..”
Her voice trailed off for a second and when she started again there was a tremble in her voice.
“You need to take everything into the loft with you and pull the ladder hatch shut behind you. REMEMBER to tuck the pull string up as you go. You’re going to have to stay up there until I get home, okay?”

My voice didn’t want to work for some reason.
She sounds really scared?
It’s making me scared..

“Be Brave honey, no matter what you hear or see stay in the loft until I get you.”
She hesitated one more time, I think she’s crying or something?
“Go now, while there’s still time. Bring the phone with you, grab your games and books. Get as much as you need up there then hurry inside okay?.. if.. if you hear anyone downstairs get in the loft RIGHT away!”

“What’s happening Mum?..”
My voice broke and trembled almost as much as hers had when I finally got the words out.

“There are some bad people around honey, they’re doing bad things, you need to hid from them until it’s safe. Don’t forget to get-”
Her voice suddenly cut off.
A second later something in the distance exploded.

The noise was so loud it shook our house.
I screamed in fear.
Frantically I clung to the phone but there wasn’t even a buzz coming from it now?

The computer’s light suddenly cut off.
I could hear more than one frightened voice from up the street but it didn’t help me feel any better to know there were people nearby.

With stumbling steps I made it over to the wall and threw the light switch.. nothing happened?
My hand frantically threw it a few more times but still nothing?!

All I could hear was my breathing.
All I could see was a slight glow from the edges around the curtains on the other side of the room.

It wasn’t until another, much scarier scream of fear came from outside that I managed to jump myself back into action.

I pushed through the still open door to Mum’s bathroom and moved through to her bedroom.
Cautiously I moved over to the window to give the curtains a slight tug, just enough to let a crack of light inside the room.

It made it much easier to see what was going on AND made it much easier for me to breathe again.

Mum said take what I need.. what I need..
I grabbed the water and food first.
Stepping out into the hallway I froze slightly as the darkness surrounded me again but with mental shove I managed to push past my fear long enough to reach the loft hatch.

I had to leave the food underneath it so I could go get the little wooden stool from Mum’s vanity table and reach the dangling rope to pull the hatch down.
It moved almost silently and in one smooth motion the ladder slid down to sit at my feet.

The stool went back under Mum’s vanity and with one last deep breath I started climbing the ladder, the bottle of water in my free hand.

It was awkward and heavy but I managed it in the end.
I barely pushed it over the lip into the loft before climbing back down for the food.

Those key essentials covered I paused for a second uncertainly.
Take what I need?..

My eyes cut between my room and Mum’s.
Eventually I made my mind up and went back to Mum’s room.

Her closet door slid open easily.
I started pulling dress after dress along with some skirts and tops out of it.
When I had an arm full I rushed back to the ladder and hefted them up inside.

Two more trips to Mum’s room had a pile of underwear along with her bedding.
At the last moment I snagged her perfume bottle from her vanity too.
Everything of hers smells like her, that’s kind of why I started wearing her things so long ago, it made me feel better when I missed her..
I really miss her right now..

Against my better judgement I paced over to my room cautiously and went inside.
I grabbed a few books, my stash of ‘borrowed’ things, a torch and my favorite cap with the coat to go with it.

I managed to get it all up into the loft and had just turned away from the ladder to make one more trip when there was a loud crash of broken glass from downstairs.

At first I froze.
It wasn’t until there was a crunch of broken glass and a groan from the kitchen that I managed to kick back into gear.

I frantically climbed up the ladder and the moment my knees hit the lip I spun around to pull the hatch back up.
It took me a few seconds of struggling to get the ladder pulled back in.
My heart was hammering in my ears so loudly I couldn’t even tell if whoever was downstairs was coming closer or not.

As the hatch closed up at last, I managed to just about flick the pull string inside with it.

The moment the hatch shut tight I pushed the bolt on it shut and froze.
My heart was so loud as it thumped away in my chest!

I tried to keep my breathing quiet but it was hard to do when my lungs didn’t seem to want to work anymore.

Something crashed around down below.
As my heart slowed and my breathing evened out I could just make out some heavy footfalls.
My imagination was running wild with what it could be down there.

The obvious but stupid answer was like the news website said ‘Zombies’.
I’m not young enough to believe in that sort of thing anymore but some part of me still shuddered at the very idea of them.
My cousin showed me a movie with zombies in it when I was five, I couldn’t sleep for weeks afterwards!

Eventually the movements downstairs stopped.

I cautiously slid across the floor and got further away from the hatch.
Honestly, I don’t know why it made me feel better but it did.

Careful to not knock anything over I moved around to the high little round window at the far end of the loft.

There’s a bigger rectangular one on the other side of the loft but there’s boxes in the way to it and I’m not really sure I WANT to chance being seen through that big window.
The dull musty light coming through the dust coated little round window was more comforting and I THINK I can peek out of it without being clearly visible from down below.

I finally managed to get up to it and stretched up slightly to just peek over the edge.
The moment I got a clear view I let out a gasp and sunk back down before anyone could see me.

There are people out there?
A lot of them..

I think I saw some blood on the street?
It was hard to tell in my brief glance but there was definitely some dark liquid dotted around the place at the very least?!

“..zombies..”
The word hissed out of my lips and I frantically brought a hand up to cup over my mouth.

For a long moment I sat there frozen, waiting for the.. the zombie downstairs to move..

It HAD to have heard me?
It only came out as a whisper but in the silent house even a whisper was loud and easy to hear..

Nothing happened?.. it can’t have heard me somehow?

I let out a long breath of relief.
The feeling washed over me, bringing me back to myself a little more.

It’s really cold up here?

I shivered and shook as the cold seemed to dig deeply into my bones.
It’s really, really cold?

On silent feet I slipped over to the piles of clothing by the hatch.
My jacket went on easily along with my cap.
I pulled Mum’s bedding closer to the round window and doubled back to snatch up one of her nightgowns.

When everything was moved I settled down on her quilt and folded it over myself to get warmer.
My head propped against the pillows easily, with slightly shaking hands I brought her silky nightgown up and rubbed it against my face like I used to when I was younger.
It smells like her.. it smells like her and it’s so soft..

“..Mum..”
My voice trembled as I hissed the word out under my breath.

Somewhere outside, far in the distance from the sound of it, there was another explosion followed closely by something that sounded like the screeching of a car’s tires.
I huddled down tighter into Mum’s bedding and pulled her nightgown up to hide my face as tears started pouring from my eyes.

I.. I want my Mum..
I want my Mummm..

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Something crashed loudly.
I jolted awake with a surprised yelp.

It took a few seconds for me to work out what was happening.

My eyes stung from tears.
The loft was really creepy, barely lit by the moonlight coming from the circular window above my head.
I considered getting up to check what made the noise but it’s even colder now and honestly.. I don’t want to know what it was?

For the rest of the night I stayed huddled up in Mum’s bedding with her nightgown clutched tightly to my face like some kind of protective amulet.
When the first rays of the sun started making themselves known I slowly pulled myself free from the cocoon I’d made and carefully started moving around the loft a bit.

My goal was to make the space more comfortable.
I’m not going down into the house any time soon and honestly there’s not much else to do up here.

After a bit of searching I found a box full of old sheets.
I think Dad used them for painting at some point because they were covered in paint but they would do for what I needed them to do.

It took a while to move the boxes around and clear space when I was doing my best to not make noise but eventually I unburied the bigger rectangular window at the other side of the loft.
Naturally, I chanced a glance outside and breathed a sigh of relief when the street’s appeared to be empty.

That didn’t mean I trusted them though.
Mum was right, hiding is the best option!

A box of dad’s old tools gave me some cable ties and rope.
I used the safety blade from his box with a screwdriver to force holes through the sheets and tied them together to make a progressively longer single sheet.
It took a bit of struggling, in the end I had to undo the first sheet’s rope and wrap it around the long rafter that ran from one side of the roof to the other just above my head, but I got it in the end.

The finished product looked a bit like a shower curtain by the time I was done with a white canopy above it leading over to the ‘curtain’ on the other side.

I’d have to test it again when dusk comes but I left my torch on inside the ‘tent’ and when I stepped outside it I couldn’t see any light coming out at least?
I don’t think I could cope with having another long night without the torch again so having this bit done was a relief at least.

I opened the chicken packet to celebrate with some water but held off on using any of the crisps for now.

I’m NOT going back downstairs!
The food and water has to last me, and as horrible a through as it is, I don’t have a toilet up here either.

With that thought in mind I slipped out of the safety of the tent and got to work on my next project.
I stayed low as I moved about in the area nearest to the rectangular window but it was worth it, from under a pile of boxes I managed to get two old tires.
I think they are the spare wheels from Dad’s car, I have no idea why they’re up here but I’m SO glad they are!

It really didn’t feel like a good idea to put my ‘toilet’ near the big window but my head overruled my feelings on the matter.
They showed us how to make a ditch toilet in scouts, it’s different but the rules still apply, don’t dig the ditch too close to your tent.

A bit more box searching left me with some old bedding and cloth bits.
I used the blade to cut open the cardboard from the boxes and made a thick layer of them at the bottom, right in the corner by the window.
Hopefully the angle should keep me out of sight mostly.
The tires went on top and I draped a thick sheet over them, forcing it down into the center of the tires as much as possible.

The last of the rope went into tying around the tires to pull the sheet in tight so it wouldn’t slip and make even more mess.
I packed around the tires with anything heavy but roughly ‘brick’ shaped that I could find until the lowest tire felt like it wouldn’t move come hell or high water.

A long side of cardboard from one of the bigger boxes slid easily on top of the ‘toilet’ to create a lid of sorts.
From scouts I remember just how quickly these things can smell REALLY bad.
I don’t have any sawdust or anything to cover for it but I’ll keep looking as I go.
My last act before declaring the ‘toilet’ complete was to carefully tuck into the side of the rectangular window and slowly, so slowly it felt like I wasn’t even moving, crack the little window slits at the top open one at a time.

My heart was hammering in my chest at doing something that could so easily get me caught but luck was on my side.
True to what I saw earlier, if anyone was out there still they didn’t see the windows open at least.

The windows gave a lot more ventilation and the fresh air was nice but they brought the cold in with them too.
I dived back into my ‘tent’ for my jacket again just to stay warm.

The two most pressing jobs complete I was kind of at a loss for what to do next.
Despite the lack of power in the house I kept the cordless phone with me obviously, it made me feel better even if it didn’t work anymore.
After almost ten minutes of waiting I gave up with a huff and slid back out of my tent to start sorting through more boxes.
Half the stuff up here is ancient, I don’t think even Mum knows some of it’s up here?

I found some fancy looking plates and cups in one box and more importantly a wooden box of silver tableware.
Along with blunt dinner knives and forks there were five progressively large sharp knives, the kind that Dad used to use to cut the turkey at Christmas.

The biggest of them looked dangerous, the others weren’t much better but at least they were smaller.
I took all five anyway.
The smallest one I slipped next to Mum’s pillows and the rest I dotted around in hidden corners of the loft, just in case.

Despite how uneasy it made me I kept the big one at my side.
I almost cut myself on it a few times before I got used to its presence enough to remember not to put my hand down where it sat but it made me feel better to have it there and I DESPERATELY want to feel better right now!

Some old baby toys and clothes got moved to the circular window side of the loft and a set of musty old bedding got put inside the tent so I can make the floor more comfortable later.
I’d processed through about a quarter of the boxes of mostly junk on that side of the loft before I hit the jackpot.

Maybe it wasn’t exactly going to help save me from the Zombies or anything but I found a box full of photo albums which made me smile widely.
The box was heavy but I managed to quietly drag it into the tent by taking things slow and wiggling it a lot when it got stuck.

With something to focus on properly the rest of the day went fast.
I went through as many of the albums as I could, finding my favorites and splitting them out into one short but fat little album that had been empty beforehand.

Tears came at first, I spent about twenty minutes just staring at a picture of Mum from a few years ago when we went ice-skating.
She looked so happy..

Eventually the pain eased a little as I got swallowed up in memories of that day and with a tight smile I slide the photo into ‘my’ album before moving on to the next one with thankfully dry eyes at last.

By dusk I’d about half filled my new little album with photos and worked through about half the box worth of other albums too.
My stomach rumbled at me but I limited myself to a tiny sip of water instead of eating.
As the night truly fell I left my torch on and slipped out of the tent to double check how well the light was hidden.

A bit of left over cloth from the boxes earlier came into use as I tucked them in under the slight gap where the tent didn’t quite reach the floor.
There was a small amount leaking out from where the tent crossed the rafters so I tossed what cloth I could up there to lay over the edge until I couldn’t see any more light bleeding out.

Slipping back inside the tent was like coming in from outside with how bright it suddenly felt.
Instead of going back to the photo’s I grabbed one of my books and settled in for the night, propping the torch up against the low roof panel to limit how far the light spread while lying on top of the old bedding and wrapped up in Mum’s bedding for warmth.

After a few hours I marked my place, turned off the torch and settled down to sleep.
It didn’t come easily but eventually it did come at least.

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I lasted almost three days before giving into the stomach pains and eating a packet of crisps, another few hours went by before I had to give in to the inevitable and use the makeshift toilet as well.

It was really gross.
I had to use some strips of cloth to clean up and just a little bit of water but my gut felt better for it afterwards.

My album was finished and tucked inside my jacket for safe keeping.
I moved the box full of other albums back out of the tent into the ‘toilet’ area which had become a bit of a dumping ground for anything I found useless at this point.
In one of the last boxes to go through that side I found some battery’s for the torch and, while some of them had leaked probably from age, the ones remaining should last me for a while at least.

Two days after that I grew bored of reading and probably a bit stir-crazy too.
I hadn’t seen or heard anyone for days but fear and my half-formed nightmares about being eaten alive kept me from doing something about it.

Instead of being productive I sank into old habits, with a bit of a new twist at least.

I had a ‘tea party’.
I know it’s childish and silly but I’ve never had one before and I had all of Mum’s clothes sitting there and.. and I was desperately bored?!..

It kept me busy for a day cobbling together ‘dolls’ from the baby toy’s by the round window at least?
I used the plates and cups I found in that one box and spent a few hours carefully going through my options from Mum’s clothing trying to work out the ‘perfect’ outfit.

In the end I felt immensely silly kneeling on Mum’s bedding in her church dress with the ribbon belt awkwardly half tied into a bow at my back, pretending to pour drinks for ‘dolls’ and talking to them as if they were real in a quiet hush only I could hear, but it kept me sane in some small way.

I felt stupid and embarrassed when I eventually stopped but the crushing loneliness that had been building over the last few days had eased at least.
I was so desperate for human contact at this point I almost hoped to see a zombie outside or something just so I could pretend someone was out there again.

By the start of the second week I began marking my days on the floor with one of my knives.

My stomach became a constant nagging problem as hunger, ironically, ate away at me.
A little math told me that if I managed to stick to my current pattern of one packet of crisps per three day’s I would have enough to last a solid month but I’m not sure if I can keep going like this honestly?

I sorted more boxes, from the round window side this time, and found a stash of really old clothes that I think might have been Mum’s when she was a kid?
Some of them were way too small for me but others were a near perfect fit or a bit baggy in places.
The clothes were a lot more girly then Mum’s stuff, full of ribbons, ruffles and poufy underskirts.

The first day I wore them I was in heaven and couldn’t stop playing with them but as time went on they just became ‘my clothes’ to a point that I didn’t even realise what I was wearing half the time.

Mum’s clothes had slowly lost her smell to them as I wore them, instead of even trying to keep going I tucked most of her stuff into one of the spare boxes and stuck to the new, better fitting outfits to wear as the week went on.

To try and gain back some of what I’d lost, as well as cover the growing smell of the ‘toilet’ I sprayed the tent and my new outfits with her perfume.
It took a bit of trial and error to get the right amount down so I didn’t just get swamped in it but luckily it’s a pretty big bottle so I didn’t run out or anything.

I held another Tea party on the fourth or fifth day of the second week, I’m not really sure which, I think I might have forgotten to mark off a day at some point?

I felt less silly this time and it really helped when I gave the ‘doll’s the voices of people I know, in my head of course.
It may have been a mistake to give the most ‘female’ looking doll Mum’s voice though..
I ended up cutting the party short and huddling under the covers with the doll hugged to my chest while I cried heavy but silent sobs..

The next day I felt better and dived right in to sorting out more boxes.
I think I’m going crazy?
I swear I heard someone talking when I woke up but by the time my head had cleared I couldn’t hear anything at all.. just like always..

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I think I finally reached week three today!
I’m not sure, I’m running out of food.. I think someone’s been eating my crisps?..
Was.. was it me?..

Everything’s blurring into a big mess.
I spent all of yesterday holding another tea party I think.. or was that the day before?

At some point I piled all the heavy stuff up against the wall under the round window and perched myself against it like a big cat.
I even meowed a bit and tried to lick my hands but that got boring quickly so I settled into sleeping under the warm sunlight and staring out at the dark city.

Maybe.. maybe it’s over?
I’ve not seen any zombies in ages.
There’s no-one here.. there’s no-one out there at all is there?!

The idea stewed in my head for ages.
Was there ever any zombie’s at all?
I’m starting to doubt myself.

Mum said bad people, she didn’t say zombies..
Maybe the news was wrong?

My head hurt almost as much as my stomach that night but I clung to the idea that just wouldn’t stop battering away at my resolve.

What if there are no zombies?
What if I’m just crazy?
What.. what if I can go outside again?

I could go find Mum!
She’d sort everything out.

During our tea party the next morning I asked my dolls for advice and they agreed with me.
It made so much sense, too much sense to ignore.

Zombies aren’t real!

I put on my best new dress, the cute one with the hearts and flowers on it and the fluffy warm underskirt thingy.
It looked really nice with some thick white tights from the box and my trainers.

I was practically humming as I lay on my belly near the hatch and considered it hard.
Maybe I can go outside again?.. I want to go outside..

The decision made I flicked the bolt open and slowly pushed the hatch down until the ladder could glide down clearly to the floor.
A thrill of nerves hit me as I lay there waiting for something to happen but it didn’t..
Nothing happened.. nothing ever happens?..

I slid over and put my feet onto the ladder to make my way slowly down, back into the hallway.
The house was a mess?
Things were knocked everywhere, all over the hallway..

Did I do all that?.. I can’t remember..

The hallway was dark with only a little light coming in from Mum’s bedroom windows still.
My belly grumbled and complained but I ignored it.
My belly never shuts up anymore.

Downstairs there was a sound.
I spun around to stare down the hallway, watching with bated breath as a slight shadow seemed to move towards me.

It’s Mum!
It’s got to be Mum!
She said she’d come for me and she did!

A wide smile came to my lips when the shadow moved a bit more but it died a moment later when a hand came past the wall followed quickly by a horrible, putrid, blood coated body attached to it.

I couldn’t tell if it was male or female but it turned and bared horribly white teeth to me.
Despite the way its jaw drooped and hung slightly loose with a great tear leading up its left cheek towards its eye it could still look at me.

I screamed.

It moaned and with almost glee it started moving towards me.
Cold reality and fear kicked through my idled brain.

I spun and started rushing up the ladder as fast as I could.

It reached the ladders base just as my chest eased past hatch and grasped my foot with cold, painfully tight fingers.
I screamed again and thrashed, kicking both of my feet while clinging on to anything I could get a hold on to stop it pulling me back over the edge.

In my panic my eyes settled on the big knife.
I’d left it a bit too far out of reach, I can’t remember the last time I even picked it up but I NEED it!

My kicks became more frantic and suddenly my free foot connected with something heavily.
The weight tugging on me let go and I scrambled back up the last few steps into the loft.
With trembling fingers I snatched up the knife and turned back towards the hatch.

The.. the thing.. the ZOMBIE..
It had fallen over but it was quickly getting back to its feet.

I dropped the knife at my side and tried to pull the ladder hatch closed.

The ladder seemed heavier now then I remember it being before.
I frantically tugged at it trying to get it closed before the thing could get back to its feet.

I’d almost managed to pull the whole thing closed when a horrible bloody hand landed onto the hatch and pulled it down.
Despite my position and stance I was almost pulled through the hatch as it fell open again.

Zombies aren’t meant to be this strong!
Zombies aren’t meant to be this STRONG!!

My fingers slipped and the hatch fell down, the ladder unfolding with a crash which is sure to bring more of the things after me.

My hands flew up to the side of my face and I almost gave up right there as the sunken eyes and wide hanging mouth of the thing turned up to me with a covetous groan.

I was sobbing and crying and panicking but it didn’t care!

My fingers found the knife again.
My hands shook so badly I couldn’t even pick it up for a moment but when I did I brought it forward and held it tight with both hands as if it would somehow scare the zombie away like a cross against a vampire.

It didn’t care.
It moved forward and landed a big solid hand onto the ladder.

Zombies can’t climb!
It can’t get up, Zombies can’t climb!!

Its head bowed slightly and after a horribly long moment as I stared at the patchy hair left on its decaying head in fear, it shifted a foot forward and placed it on the bottom rung of the ladder.
It’s horrible blood spattered face turned up to me and my heart practically stopped.

Zombies can CLIMB?!!

It stretched its hands up to grab me and almost managed it as I knelt at the hatch’s edge in shock.
A sudden jerk that was almost instinctive was the only thing that saved me, but its horrible hand stroked a bloody path along the skirts of my dress.

I screamed again.

Instinct came into play for the second time, the same instinct I used to get from spiders and other bugs.
It touched me! KILL IT!!

My hands shot down with the knife held tightly between both of them and in almost a dive-like movement I lunged at it and planted the knife solidly into its forehead.
For something so strong, the blade went in easily as if there was no bone to resist it at all.

I overbalanced when the zombie started falling and in a painful tumble we both collapsed to the hallway floor.

It took me a moment to realise that the screams were coming from me.
I stared at my arm, covered in blood, and back down at the now not moving but still horribly decayed zombie that had partly cushioned my fall.

Some primal part of my mind took over.
With a rush I practically sprinted back up the ladder and managed to pull the hatch up again with more strength then I seemed to have before this moment.
The second I managed to get the ladder pulled in I slammed the bolt back across the hatch and collapsed against the side of the roof in deep wracking sobs.

I’m not sure how long I sat there crying but eventually I came back to myself enough to realise one thing.

My dress was ruined?
There was blood all over it!
My nice warm tights weren’t much better, I lost one of my trainers too at some point?
My arms.. even my arms are coating in blood?..

Like a cornered animal I shot through the tent’s side into the toilet area.
I barely managed to reach the one unused corner before I puked.

I couldn’t stop shaking.
My hands scrubbed together frantically but the blood wouldn’t come off!

I yanked the dress over my head without opening the zipper in an effort to get it off quicker.
My hands scrubbed themselves all over the already bloody dress coating it in even more gore but cleaning themselves off neatly.
My remaining trainer went next and my hands trembled as I pulled down my white tights while trying to ignore the bloody handprints all over them.

After a long moment I pulled down my panties too.
I don’t know why I didn’t notice before but I wet myself at some point..

When everything was clear I kicked it all into the corner to cover the puke and huddled up against the roof again, naked and shivering but alive.
I stink!
The whole loft stinks!

I can’t.. I can’t go out of there again..
The zombies are real!

I lost myself to my tears again.
The blood dried on me by the time I stopped.

Almost mechanically I moved over to the water bottle and pulled it out of the tent.
A bit of spare cloth, in this case one of Dad’s old shirts, was spread out on the floor and I tipped as little water as I could out from the half empty bottle to wet it.

I rubbed the shirt on itself to get as much of it wet as possible and set to work cleaning off as much blood as I could.
Half an hour later and a little more water wasted I was about as clean as I’m going to get.
At least I don’t see blood every time I look at my arms anymore..

The water bottle went back inside my tent and I followed it, collapsing on my bedding and wrapping myself in Mum’s quilt for warmth.

My hands still shook as I reached out for the torch and flicked it on.
It glowed for a moment before slowly dying out again.
I shook it and bashed it on the floor a few times but it didn’t work.

With another sob I dropped the useless thing to the floor and pulled myself tighter into the quilt again.

Zombies are real.
Zombies can climb.
Zombies.. zombies, zombies, zombies!

Something loud crashed to the floor downstairs.
It was followed by more crashes and bangs.
There was an audibly echoing groan which obviously didn’t come from just one source right below me, it seemed to rumble up through the wood into my ear.

I sobbed harder and pulled myself tighter into the quilt one more time.

Never again!
I’m NEVER going outside again!!

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My eye’s cut over to the big window.
Something’s going on out there..

It’s not near but I can hear loud noises and stuff coming from the far side of town.

I gave up trying to be sneaky over the last few days.
The zombies know I’m here.

I think my house is possibly the last place nearby full of them at this point.
They all know I’m here.

They don’t let me forget that they are here either.
Even now I can hear them groaning and shifting about below my feet.

It’s driving me insane!!

Without secrecy being a priority anymore I could at least get a few things done.
I opened the bottom windows on the rectangular one wide enough to use some cardboard to toss out the filthy clothes from the corner.
It took a bit of working but I managed to change the sheet in the toilet too by boxing and tossing it.
The smell is actually bearable now.

I’m still spraying everything with Mum’s perfume when needed but it’s not as bad at least.

I got dressed eventually, although my clothing choices have taken a swing towards the practical.
I paired my jeans with two sets of thick tights underneath them.
Along with a thin dress made from some stretchy material from Mum’s stuff, I put a puffy knee length dress from ‘my’ stuff over the top of it all too.

A soft black waistcoat from one of Dad’s old suits went over the top of the mish-mashed outfit for practicality’s sake.

More layers is good, it makes me harder to grab and bite, the dress is light enough that if they get a hold on me the fabric will tear before I get slowed down too much but the dress doesn’t have any useful pockets.
I’d wear my jacket again but for what I’m planning that’s probably not going to help..

Dad’s waist coat is so good because it doesn’t get in the way much, it reaches my knees and the pockets are so deep that I can carry all but the big knife with me at all times.
Not that THAT’S much of a problem considering the big knife is still stuck in a zombie’s head downstairs.. there’s even an inside pocket that I can keep my photo album is too!

Part of me wants to run.
I’m out of food, I’m running low on water.
Things are happening outside too.

If I’m careful I could climb out of the rectangular windows onto the roof and shimmy my way to the ground somehow.
The zombies are all in the house, I’ve not seen any of them on the street at all despite practically camping out at both windows for the last few days.

It.. it feels like it’s my only chance?..
I’m not sure how much longer I can last here honestly.
I don’t want to go..
I don’t want to go outside again.. but I think I have to?

That’s why I’ve been preparing.

My cap is on tightly to protect my head as much as possible.
At least it stops my hair from being easy to grab.

I don’t have any gloves.
There’s nothing protecting my neck either and I’ve got these little girly shoes on that don’t seem to have much grip to them but they’re the best option from what I have.

I’m about as ready as I’m going to be.
A think I saw smoke coming from somewhere up the road yesterday morning, it didn’t last long but it wasn’t thick black smoke either.

It looked like a campfire?
A campfire means people, people mean food!

It’s either going now or giving in to the inevitable at this point.
I’ve had to catch myself more than once from staring at the hatch thoughtfully and considering if it wouldn’t just be the better option?

I’ve got my knifes, I’ve got my photo album and I’ve got my cap.
There’s nothing else important left here.

Even Mum’s nightgown has lost its meaning by now, for all it matters it’s just another bit of cloth.

“Now or never Riley..”
For a moment it felt like I could hear Mum’s voice again, encouraging me, echoing my words back at me.

The moment passed and all that was left was that incessant groaning again!

“SHUT UP!”
I stomped my feet down hard a few times which set them all off again.
They flooded around below me, in Mum’s office I think.

The curtains are closed.
If I’m quiet they will be chasing that banging for hours and completely miss my exit stage-left..

I cautiously moved over to the rectangular window on silent feet.
It was a bit of a squeeze but I managed to slip out of the bigger, lower window on the right-hand side.

For a moment I almost slipped and fell but a desperate swing of my arms managed to catch me on the windowsill instead.

There didn’t seem to be many options for getting down.
I know there’s a drainpipe outside my bedroom window but that’s on the other side of the house!

My eye’s scanned around and settled on next-doors back garden.

They have a trampoline?
It feels so long since I used to go over and play on it with Sam.

It’s not big or anything but it’s close to the low fence between our houses.
If I can make the jump.. I’ll have to cross half the roof to manage it but what other options do I have?

It was slow going.
I had to take gentle steps to make sure my useless shoes didn’t slide too much and cling to the tiles on the roof as much as possible.

In a few places I ended up pulling the tiles out but after a moments panic I regained my balance each time, slipped the tile into my waistcoat pocket to save any noise they would make as they fell and used the new hole as a more solid gripping point to move on from.

After a while I was purposefully pulling out tiles just so I had somewhere to hold properly from the hole they left behind each time.

Eventually I reached the far side of the roof and with a hand on the stone work at the edge I turned around to face the trampoline.
It looks a LOT further away from here..

“Don’t be a wuss Riley.”
My free hand moved to clench uncertainly at the edge of my dress’s skirt.

I don’t want to do this!
I don’t like heights!

I don’t like trampolines or Zombies either!

With a forceful gasp I pushed down my fear and before I could second guess myself I pushed off into the open.
My waistcoat caught slightly on the fence as I went down which jerked me about a bit.
There was a burning sharp pain in my side a moment later.
I landed on the trampoline with a loud creak and bounced a few times into a rolling stop.

I was on my feet in seconds but stopped short when the pain seared out again.

Tugging my waistcoat to the side slightly I could see what caused it..my knife?..
The little one, it had slipped somehow and cut into my side as I fell?

For a long moment I felt faint as I stared at the blood slowly spreading from the little hole in my dress but noise from my house followed in quick succession by a loud crash inside the neighbours place jolted me back into reality.

I slammed my waistcoat shut over the wound and tried to ignore it as I ran around the side of the house and yanked the bolts on the gate open to get outside.
My hand came to my side and I hissed in pain but the sounds coming from both houses were getting louder by the second.

I set off into a kind of lurching sprint down the street towards the place I saw the smoke yesterday.
I came to a hesitant stop at the first crossroads but a glance both ways showed only a single zombie off in the distance, standing around listlessly and completely ignoring me.

Despite the growing pain in my side I ran straight on.
A few hundred meters later the road bent and I came to a halt in shock as a massive barricade of overturned car’s came into sight.

It was still a way’s off but I swear I could see movement along the top of the ‘wall’?!

With cautious steps I moved along the street, my eyes peeled for any zombies that might be lying in wait for me but none came.
I was half way to the barricade when I spotted him.
Someone was behind the barricade!

I raised my arm to wave at him hopefully but before I could get my arm all the way up there was a loud bang and my arm exploded in pain.

I screamed.

I screamed REALLY loudly and collapsed to my knees in shock!
My eyes wouldn’t look away from my shoulder.. there’s so much blood?

I felt my screams die off and a sob replaced them.
There’s so much blood!

“No shit, it’s a KID?!”

My body collapsed forward despite my attempts to stop it.
I was face down on the floor curling around my bleeding shoulder in silent sobs of pain by the time a shadow crossed above me.

For a moment I thought it was a zombie.. and I was kind of relieved..

At least the pain will stop.
My stomach hurts, my head hurts, my side hurts and my shoulder hurts..
Everything hurts.. just.. just make it stop.. please?..

“Shit.. SHIT! JONAH GET THE MEDIC!”
Someone crouched down to my side and started trying to move me.
I batted at them weakly with my good arm but it was no use.
In seconds they had a grip on me and a moment later I was lifted into the air.
“Oh shit, it’s a little girl.. I shot a little girl.. shit, shit, shit!”

The world spun and we were moving.
I could hear his heavy footfalls but my eyes wouldn’t focus properly.
Just hearing his voice was soothing.. hearing another human’s voice again..

“Shit.. shit, shit! Hang in there kid! Stay awake!.. oh fuck, JONAH!”

We started rocking about and something sharp jabbed into my side.
I think I screamed but I’m not sure, the world disappeared in that moment.

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Fin?