BOSTON
2003

A silent home would make an average person feel unsafe, it would send shivers down their spine and feel as if someone was watching them from afar.

Chase Clyde hated his house when no one was home, he hated how the wooden floor creaked, or how he could hear the wall clock chime every second. But right now, he liked the silence, it meant he was safe.

The seven year old boy was hiding under his bed, he could only hear a few noises downstairs from their neighbor who broke in and was trying to bite his parents. Sage Clyde took her child in her arms and ran upstairs, hiding the blond under the bed and herself in the closet, just in case.

Chase didn't cry, he didn't want to cry, he wanted to ask what was happening, but his mother had told him to be quiet. Chase wanted his dad with them, he didn't know what was happening with him downstairs, but he could only hear him screaming, he could hear the kitchen and all of the things being thrown around. Then silence, complete outer silence.

"Mom?" Chase whispered peaking his head out the bed. "Mom?" He repeated as he saw his mother putting her index finger over her lips.

"Stay right here Chase, I'll be right back, if you hear anything that's not me, you run, you get out from the window into the trampoline okay?" Sage never liked having the trampoline just outside her son's room, she always worried he would try to jump out the window into the patio this way, but this moment, she hoped it would be a good idea right now.

Chase didn't want to jump out the window, even though he had thought about it before, but honestly, he has been scared of heights, ever since he fell from a second floor at his grandmother's place, he didn't even want to be near an edge.

Sage walked out the room grabbing Chase's baseball bat from the corner, she looked back noticing her child creeping out the bed and being near the window. The older woman walked down the stairs carefully, her slippers making a faint creak, stopping just a second before continuing her way down. "Matthias? Are you there?" She whispered a few times until he reached the first floor, her eyes seeing blood brushed from the living room into the kitchen. Two figures laid on the floor next to the stove, their neighbor Adam whose body was covered in blood and a missing piece of his head, Sage looked next to the body, his husband breathing heavily with a knife laying next to his side.

"I'm okay Sage, where's Chase?" He asked pushing the heavy body off him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Chase's upstairs but we need to go, whatever is happening we need to leave." Sage searched her husband's body for any type of injury, with no signs of it she grabbed her car keys and screamed for her child to come downstairs.

"Dad." Chase exclaimed running toward his father and wrapping his arms around this waist making the older man loose a bit of balance. "Can we go please?"

Both parents nodded their heads and rushed out to the black family van it wasn't going to be useful but they didn't have another choice. The small suburban neighborhood was chaos, people screamed, fires were started and monsters just like their neighbor were attacking others.

"In the car now Chase." His mother exclaimed when she noticed the child standing at front scared looking at a neighbor ripping the flesh out of another person, the older woman took her child in her arms and entered the vehicle, her husband not hesitating to start the engine and drive off.
People tried to jump onto the moving car, either to stop it or join them asking for help, screaming to take the kid or even their dog. But didn't stop, they had to leave Boston.

"Mommy, what's happening?" Chase asked, he looked out the window noticing how his hometown was crashing down to the ground.

"I don't know baby, I have no idea." Sage smiled gently down at her kid, her left hand turning on the radio and searching for any station that could give some kind of information.

"All Boston Medical Services are overcrowded due to a virus that spread this early morning" The female news reporter voice was heard out of the radio. "We advise family to find a way out of the city, traffic may be long as officers and soldiers try to contain the sick ones."

"Virus? Are we sick mom?" Chase asked, his hands gripping tight around her mother's figure, he had been sitting with his legs wrapped around her waist his face looking up at hers with anguish.

"No sweetie, but I don't know what even the symptoms are, but I can tell you, we are okay." Pressing her lips against his forehead Sage tried her best to calm him down. "Matt, could you go any faster?"

"I have no idea where to go Sage, highways are closed, airports probably over crowded." Matthias looked down noticing the family van was reaching the 60m/h mark and it still felt slow. Various cars honked as they came the other way, arms waving to go back. "What the hell?" Matthias asked, braking softly, his eyes squinting at the scene before them. Hundreds of bodies running towards them, some leaping towards other and eating their flesh.

"'Honey." Sage glanced over to her husband. No other word was exchanged, they knew they had to go, they couldn't reverse with a car behind them. Matthias was quick on his feet, hitting the gas pedal with force and the wheel moving it to his right, the car made it sudden movement and entered the open field.

"Mom?" Chase tried peeking from inside but his mother's hand covering his face wasn't letting him, all he could hear were the screams and honks outside.

"Don't look Chase." Sage covered his eyes, terrified herself she tried to search for another way out. "Over there Matt, looks like another road." Matthias looked over where his wife was pointing, driving towards that direction and noticing the opening feeling a sense of opportunity.

Cars followed behind honking like crazy at each other,  the only light hiding them beside the vehicles was the full moon, it's bright light showed that the road wasn't a great idea either as army trucks began barricading the zone, soldiers already getting out with their guns. Then the worst, they fired at the incoming traffic, a bullet hitting the Clyde's tire, losing all control of the car.

Chase didn't know what was happening, all he could remember next was that he was twirling inside the vehicle, that he had hit his head and when he opened his eyes he was laying on his back, his mother was on her side and groaning in pain, while his father was nowhere to be seen and the crowd around them continued shouting, cars were on fire and bullets hit around them.

"Honey? Can you move?" Sage asked her son, she laid on her stomach and made her way to Chase who nodded his head at her. "Great we need to get out of here, come on." Sage pushed herself back and out the car, helping Chase as well carefully as she didn't want his to get glass cut him.

"Where's Dad?" Chase asked looking around, pointing at a body behind their family van. "Mom, is that him?" Sage took his hand and quickly hurried over noticing that the body wasn't his husband but a wounded person getting its flesh ripped away from him by a monster that looked just like a human.

"Run, come on Chase." Sage said pulling him away when the monster saw them and stood up. Chase looked back, his heart beating so fast, faster than it had been when he was at soccer tryouts. The monster was getting so close to them and all Chase could do was scream at his mother.

The monster was shot down, a man behind them with their gun and ran towards them, Chase recognized him quickly, it was his father. The child ran towards him with open arms, crying deeply against his chest when the older man lifted him, his wife running towards him as well but pulling her family away, the running didn't stop, they were in open field with soldiers shooting at everyone, not caring who they were, is they were healthy, sick or even wounded.

"I found someone who could get us into safety. Follow me." Matthias ran towards some vehicles from the highway they had just been on, an army truck was parked and a man just outside waving like crazy at them. "I told them you were a nurse and possibly could help them."

"I'm a pediatrician nurse Matt, I have no idea what's happening and why the fuck are you telling lies." Sage answered back, her husband looking down at her.

"This is our way to safety Sage, don't tell them what specialty you're in, we could have a place to stay, we need that." Matthias looked at his child, somehow Chase had fallen asleep, surprisingly as the chaos around them only continued. "Please Sage."

"Are we waiting for someone else?" The armed soldier asked when he rushed towards them, the silence only answering his question. "Great, into the vehicle now, we are going to the quarantine zone."

Sage didn't say anything to her husband during the drive, she only consoled her son in her arms who kept on sleeping peacefully, the soldier glanced a few times back at the family, no one dared to speak or move, they were terrified, Sage was terrified on how her husband trusted a soldier, she was unsure the moment even occurred, but she was glad her husband was okay, he was alive and that he had come back to rescue them.

The quarantine zone was located far away from the city, army trucks were parked outside, soldiers gripping their weapons tight against their chest ready to shoot at anything or even anyone who dared to cross.

"I brought refugees, one of them is a nurse." With a nod of the soldiers head the gates to the zone were opened, people were already inside, soldiers taking their temperatures, some others helping the wounded, and the rest cried for the loss of their loved ones.

"Chase wake up, we're somewhere safe." Sage whispered down at his child's ear, shaking him gently to wake his body. The child groaned as he opened his eyes and slowly looked around.

"Out of the car, we need to test you." The soldier shouted and helped the family out, Sage knew they were clean but still followed knowing there was no need to fight back.

Matthias thanked the soldier and stood behind his wife and child while waiting for their turn, the scenery was just as awful as the chaos of outside, a thermostat shining green when placed on the forehead, and when it shined red, they were pulled away ignoring the screams of family members only to have them witness their body getting shot and lay on the floor.

"Mommy why are they doing that?" Chase asked hanging tightly against her arm, terrified he looked up at the soldier. "Sir, we're healthy, I don't feel sick."

"I believe you kid, we just need to make sure that everything's okay." The soldier said as he leaned and took his temperature, the screen glowing bright green.

Sage felt a sense of relief then panic when she was next, she knew she was clean but as a nurse she also knew that sometimes you could be sick without any type of symptoms, same procedure temperature taken and seeing the bright green screen, relief again, she could breath. Passing through she turned around waiting for Matthias to be next.

Matthias was nervous, his adrenaline was sky high, from all family members he had been the one with the closest encounter with a monster, even when the car accident happen and he woke up, he saw a monster trying to get into the vehicle before getting shot. Matthias prayed that he was okay, was he in pain? Yes, too many hits and scratches on his body that he was surprised all of his limbs were together.

"Next." The soldier shouted lifting the thermostat to Matthias forehead, a few second he waited until the screen turned into the bright red color. "He's infected." He shouted out at his partner who quickly rushed to take him by his arms and way from the line.

"No, wait I'm a nurse I can help him." Sage panicked pushing through the people who walked into the other side. "He's my husband." Soldiers pulled her back while another took the child and avoided that he did the same.

"I am not infected, try it again, it has to be a mistake." Matthias screamed out fighting to get off the hold of two soldiers who pushed him further from the crowd and closer to the piles of bodies. "Chase, close your eyes son." Matthias screamed out when he saw Chase standing behind his mother with wide eyes and scared of what was happening.

Sage kept on screaming, she pushed and even dared to punched a soldier, getting as payment a hit at the back of her legs, Sage was on her knees praying out loud that someone stepped up and verified that he wasn't infected, he was okay.

"Close your eyes Chase." Matthias screamed out, his voice breaking at the say of his name. "I love you son."

BOOM

Matthias body collapsed to the side, the bullet hit him from the back, an instant death. Sage's scream made people turn and cover their mouth, Chase didn't move he couldn't do it, he just looked at the lifeless body of his father who was looking back at him. Maybe he should've listened, he should've closed his eyes and keep the last memory of Matthias Clyde that he was alive.

If only Chase Clyde closed his eyes.

hi! this was the first chapter, this was painful but I hope you liked it. I didn't really show much of Matthias getting bitten cause that would've ruined the surprise. So honest opinions about this? I hope you are ready for the pain that will come, sorry not sorry.