Survive: The Walking Apocalypse - Part 1 *EDITED*

The door to our house rattles on its hinges as they slam their bodies against it. The windows of our home crack beneath the force of their swings, blood smearing the glass as it slowly breaks. The soft, yet fearful whimpers of my little sister are almost drowned out entirely by the rabid howls and moans of the attacking monsters, amplified by the sound of shattering glass and splintering wood. Worst of all, a sound more horrifying than any else, is that of my dying father as he clutches his ribs, stifling the groans of agonising pain.

I kneel down beside him, eyes wide with panic, not knowing what to do. The flesh near the left side of his ribcage has been ripped clean off and blood is pouring out wildly, despite my father's attempts to stem it with his hand. I ask him what I should do to help. There must be something I can do. Something I can do, so that he doesn't end up the same as mother.

My father's free hand whips out and he seizes me by the chin. "Look at me, son," he orders, his voice unexpectedly fierce, yet sad. I do as I'm told and force my eyes to meet his own; a dark, misty blue, similar to mine. He captures them with his stare, one of desperation, fear ... and love.

"Look after your sister," he commands as his blood soaks the carpet, "don't let them get her, don't become one of them."

I glance behind me, toward my sister, who stands shorter than me even now, despite the fact that I'm kneeling. She is hugging herself, arms wrapped tightly around her small frame, watching us both with tear-stained eyes. I force my own eyes away from her and back into my father's, nodding fiercely. I feel like crying too along with my sister, yet none come. I lost my tears after my mother died.

"Survive, at all costs," he pleads, with both his voice and his eyes. He shudders, gasping with sudden pain.

If only I could do something.

His breathing suddenly grows shallow, coming out in short bursts. All the while, he never looks away. "I love you, son."

Those are the last words I ever hear him say. Immediately after, his eyes dim and all trace of life within them dies. He falls back with one final shudder, one final breath and then ... nothing.

I stare. It is all I can do. I stare at his face. His face, with its eyes wide and mouth open, frozen with an expression of pain. I stare at the pool of crimson surrounding us. Blood - his blood, seeping into the legs of my jeans and soaking his hair. I stare at the lifeless corpse before me, not believing what I see.

"Dad?"

No response. I shake him, tenderly, not wishing to do any more harm.

"This isn't funny. Dad?" I shake him again, roughly this time, not taking any chances. My little sister, Lucy, moves to my side, one of her tiny hands holding tightly onto the sleeve of my t-shirt. She watches in silence, but I hear her sniffling and choking as she cries.

I finally find my tears. "Dad! You can't do this! You can't leave us! Not no-"

The front door finally collapses against their weight. They stumble through the doorway and the now shattered windows, their moans replacing my cries.

I scramble to my feet, seizing hold of the already blood smeared baseball bat laying propped against the couch next to us. Lucy wails in agony, not from the attackers, but for the loss of our father as it at last dawns on her.

One of the intruders makes a lunge for me. I do not hesitate. Never again. My hesitation took the lives of both my parents, it will not take Lucy as well.

I sidestep and pirouette, smashing the bat into his skull. Blood sprays the walls and bone shatters. Lucy screams with terror at the sight and my own heart screams for her. I rush forward and lift her into my arms. She instinctively clings to my neck, allowing me to cradle her with one arm and wield the baseball bat freely in the other.

More attackers continue to swarm through the door, invading the room. I turn to leave, but something stops me. Something terrifying. A sight that will haunt me for the rest of my days.

My father is sitting upright. Gone are the once warm, blue eyes he used to have. In their place are now two, milky, white orbs, empty of all emotion. His mouth hangs open as he stares at my sister and I, dumbly, with an expressionless mask upon his face. I gape in horror. Lucy squeals, hiding her face in my shirt.

He has become one of them.

Do not hesitate, I tell myself again. I must not ever hesitate. I also cannot leave my own father behind in this state. To leave him to join with these monsters would be a crime against his memory. We didn't allow my mother to join them. I won't allow my father to go with them either, no matter how much it pains me.

I shift closer to him as he sits, legs outstretched, simply staring at us with those eyes of his. Those empty, white eyes. I press Lucy's face into my chest, hiding her away from what is about to happen. It's something she doesn't need to see.

Don't hesitate. Don't hesitate. Do NOT hesitate.

The bat raises.

I bite my bottom lip, holding back the rest of my tears. I'm so sorry.

"I love you too, dad. Goodbye."

Then it falls.