Elek Branson yawned as he flipped through the pages of his adult magazine. He’d decided to take the day off from school. After all, his workaholic mom and kid sister were gone for the day. Who would stop him? His eyes skimmed greedily over the images of scantily clad women staring out at him from the pages of his favorite issue.
“Yes ma’am,” He mumbled, grinning to himself. If he could find women like these anywhere in Houston, he’d spend the rest of his life content. Too bad he wasn’t getting out of bed for anything that day. He’d earned this quiet morning of rest. Why waste it chasing a dream?
“Elek!” The voice of Bandi, his thirteen-year-old sister, echoed down the hallway. He barely managed to stash the forbidden article under his mattress before she burst through the door without knocking.
“Good Lord, Bandi. How many times do I have to tell you to knock before barging in like that?” He scowled at her over the hem of his comforter.
“I’m sorry… El… but this… is an emergency. There’s,” She was gasping for air. He could she she’d been running; her hair was windswept and her cheeks flushed. He prodded her to continue.
“Get on with it,” He spoke impatiently. She glared at him, her blue eyes sparking with frustration.
“STAPH… there’s been a weird outbreak. They sent us home early from school because something happened in Dallas,” She stood up straight and brushed the light blonde hair from her face. Naturally, he disregarded her “emergency” as something from her wild imagination. It wasn’t something of importance.
“Get out of my room,” He threw a pillow at her head.
“Come on El! We need to call and check on Mom. The way the principal was tripping out has me concerned,” She started, but Elek cut her off.
“Ban, do we live anywhere near Dallas? No. Does Mom work near Dallas? Nope. So you should get out of my room and go play with your stupid Barbies or something,” He thrust his head back into the fluffy pillows and listened for the sound of her departure.
“I’m thirteen, you dweeb. I don’t play with barbies anymore,” Bandi rolled her eyes as she slammed his door shut. Elek debated on whether or not he should get out of bed or lay there for another hour.
“Eh, the apocalypse can wait a while longer,” He grinned with satisfaction as he retrieved his magazine and continued to flip through the pictures, “There are more important issues at hand.”

It was two o’ clock in the afternoon when he finally decided to get up and take a shower. The water was hot and steaming, and he let his shoulders relax as his mind wandered. He thought about Denise from English class. He liked the fire he saw in her golden eyes when she walked into the room. She was confident, but soft. Her body curved in all the right places, and her hair cascaded down her back like a goddess. There were few girls that could captivate his attention like Denise. Too bad she didn’t give him the time of day.
With that thought, Elek scrubbed his hair and self before turning off the faucet. As he was towel drying his hair, he heard the distinct sound of breaking glass in the kitchen. Bandi, you’re going to be in so much trouble, he thought as he wrapped the towel around his midsection before walking out the door. As he strode down the hall, he could hear the sound of the TV on in the kitchen. The familiar voice of Tammy Masters, the news anchor for channel ten, was addressing the public in a panicked voice.
“Scientists aren’t sure what to make of this rapidly spreading virus, but we encourage everyone to stay indoors, and if you have any issues, report them immediately…” She sounded unconvinced, and, if anything, terrified. Bandi stood against the counter over a pile of what used to be her favorite tea set. She stared wide-eyed at the television screen without seeing it. A stream of blood trickled down her arm, and in her hand she held a shard of glass too tightly.
Elek skirted around the broken pieces and gently took hold of her arms. She looked up at him with her electrifying eyes, and he carefully pried the shard from her grip.
“You gave yourself a nasty cut there, Ban. What on earth are you thinking?” He asked, reaching into a nearby drawer for a towel. He dampened it and pressed it to her palm, but she didn’t even wince.
“El, look at the TV. People are dying; they’re killing each other. It’s like… like they’ve all gone crazy!” She broke from the daze and began to do exactly what he hoped she wouldn’t: flip out.
“Listen to me, Bandi; you are too old for this crap. You’re thirteen, and you’re running around breaking stuff and cutting yourself while I’m trying to take a damn shower. I don’t have time to babysit you,” He scolded her. Her gaze changed from one of fear to one of fury in a matter of seconds.
“No, you listen to me, Elek,” He winced at the way she spat his name, “I don’t have time for your condescending bull. If you won’t listen to me, then I’ll just let the zombies eat you,” She threatened. He couldn’t resist laughing.
“Zombies? Seriously Bandi, are you insane? I don’t see any zombies anywhere, but I do see a little kid with a cut hand and a pathological fear of something that doesn’t even exist. Should I load you up in the car and ship you to the loony bin?” He raised his eyebrows at her.
“Go to hell,” She growled before walking off to her room and slamming the door. Now stuck with the task of cleaning up after his kid sister, Elek reached for the broom to begin sweeping up the mess as his feet. She is so annoying. Why couldn’t I have been an only child? He thought angrily. She was always causing trouble for him, especially when their mom wasn’t home. When she returned from another day at the office, he’d surely take the blame for the wreckage of the dishes.
Once he’d finished sweeping up the debris, Elek noticed that the trash was nearly overflowing. He figured that their mother wouldn’t be as angry if she came home to an empty garbage can, so he headed into his room to get dressed. Once he was clothed in a T-shirt and jeans, he put on his old tennis shoes so he could walk outside. Bandi still hadn’t come out of her room, so he figured she’d fallen asleep. At least she won’t be in my way, he thought, combing out his light hair. He placed a ball cap over it before heading back into the kitchen to take care of the remainder of the mess.
While tending to the garbage, he noticed that the news cast was still on, but this time it showed the streets of Dallas in utter pandemonium. Tammy Masters was still streaming live from the station in Houston. Her red hair was in tangles and her green eyes wide with horror. She wasn’t even speaking, for words could not describe the scene that they as a city watched together.
Dallas burned. People were running around frantically and without purpose, and some of them looked really sick. They had bloodshot eyes and gaping mouths with saliva dribbling down their chins. The way they walked looked more like they were dragging themselves along, stumbling and reaching out as they moved. They reminded Elek of something that he’d seen in a movie once before: zombies.
“Ladies and gentlemen, according to the reports recently delivered to me by the CDC, the virus responsible for the outbreak displays symptoms similar to that of STAPH infections. This explains why it has gone undetected. It is highly contagious, but can be prevented if you remain indoors and avoid contact outside of your family. I repeat: stay indoors and avoid contact outside the family,” Elek tuned her out after that. It was really happening. Bandi hadn’t been imagining things after all. He rushed to her bedroom door.
“Bandi! Bandi, open up! You were right, and I’m sorry. There really was an emergency -” He was cut short when she opened the door and looked up at him.
“I told you so. Now, what do we do?” She asked, leaning against the door frame. He shrugged.
“I’m going to take out the trash. Try to get ahold of Mom, and if you can’t, then we’ll pack up the car, ok?” He came up with a quick game plan. She nodded and began dialing the number on their home phone.
As he was walking back out into the kitchen to finish the chore, he heard the sound of car alarms going off. What the hell…? He thought to himself as he made his way to the window. He moved the curtain aside enough so that he could see what was going on throughout the neighborhood. A lump rose in his throat and he caught his breath. Bandi jogged in from the living room.
“El, I couldn’t get her. The phone line is down -” She began, but she stopped at the sight of his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Don’t worry about it Ban. We’re too late,” He whispered, “They’re already here.”