It was midday, the sun was shining high and the sky was clear, while the lady was driving through the quiet streets with her daughter dozing in the back seat, hugging her favorite stuffed animal. Everything seemed normal. The murmur of the engine, the warm breeze coming through the half-open window, and the soft crunch of the wheels on the asphalt gave a false sense of calm.
Then the phone rang.
The shrill tone broke the stillness. The lady pulled it out of her purse with one hand, keeping her eyes on the road. On the screen, her husband's name blinked.
—Hello, sweetheart? —he replied, not imagining what she was about to hear.
—Evelin, you have to get our daughter back to the house now! As fast as you can! —Her voice sounded urgent and anxious, almost desperate.
—What? Why? —she asked, frowning, feeling a growing uneasiness turn her stomach.
Before she could get an answer, a deafening boom shook the air, so loud that the steering wheel vibrated in her hands. The signal cut off abruptly, leaving only the dull beep of silence.
Althea, startled by the noise, sat up in her seat with wide, watery eyes. She clutched her stuffed animal tightly to her chest.
—Mommy... what's wrong —she whispered in a trembling, almost breathless voice.
The lady's heart skipped a beat.
—Calm down, my love, it's nothing. Everything will be all right—he said, trying to sound firm, but his own voice was trembling.
He stepped on the accelerator.
The streets began to blur as the car sped forward. But that sense of urgency, that something horrible was coming, only grew. As she turned onto a main avenue, the image that appeared in front of her took her breath away.
Broken glass scattered like broken stars on the pavement. Crashed cars, abandoned in the middle of the road with their doors open. Some were still smoking.
Something was not right.
Suddenly, Althea looked out the window and shouted.
—Mommy, we have to get out of here! —Althea pleaded, terrified.
Evelin, alarmed by her daughter's scream, turned to see what had caused her such terror, leaving her pale and shocked.
In the shadows of an alley, something emerged. They were people... or at least they seemed to be. Their bodies moved erratically, with inhuman spasms. Their clothes were torn and covered with blood.
One of them turned his head in her direction. His eyes were blank.
—Mommy! Mommy, let's go! Now! Please! —Althea cried out in desperation.
Evelin reacted and turned the steering wheel sharply, avoiding the alley. She stepped on the accelerator with all her might, leaving those... things behind.
But up ahead, the road was blocked by crashed cars. They couldn't go on.
Without thinking, he slammed on the brakes.
—Honey, we're going down. We have to go on foot —she said in a firm voice, although inside her heart was beating uncontrollably.
He got out of the car and opened the back door.
—Come, my love. It's all right. I'm with you.
Althea, though trembling with fear, nodded at her mother's request.
Evelin lifted her in her arms, hugging her tightly, and began to run.
The streets were eerily silent, but fear drove her on.
Suddenly, a figure emerged from some bushes at the edge of the road. A young woman, staggering, her clothes in tatters and blood on her face, raised a hand towards them.
—Help... please...! —she pleaded, her voice cracking.
But she was not alone. Behind her, as if from hell itself, the creatures from earlier caught up with her in a matter of seconds.
Evelin, unable to do anything for the young girl, turned without looking back and kept running. Clutching her daughter to her chest, as if she could protect her from everything. Sweat blurred her vision, but she did not stop. He crossed eerily empty streets, dodging bodies, garbage, blood stains. And then she arrived.
The gate that marked the entrance to the complex where they lived was shattered, reduced to a pile of rubble. The wall had completely collapsed.
—No!
There was no way to get through there carrying her daughter. He looked back. The creatures were approaching, shuffling, snarling, panting.
His eyes searched desperately for a way out... and then he saw it. Between the twisted iron and fractured concrete was a small hole leading to the other side. It was narrow, but enough for her daughter to pass through.
She didn't think twice. He lowered his daughter to the ground and looked into her eyes urgently, kneeling down and gently taking her small hands.
—My love, listen. You're going to go through that hole. You're going to run all the way home, without stopping, okay?
—And you?
—I can't go through there, it's too narrow. But you can.
—Then let's find another way out, where we can both be safe.
—There's no time, my child.
—No! I don't want to leave you! —Althea sobbed, hugging her mother and clinging to her clothes.
Evelin felt her heart break into a thousand pieces.
—You have to, my darling. There is no other choice. You have to live.
The creatures were rounding the corner. Time was running out.
Las criaturas doblaban la esquina. El tiempo se acababa.
Without wasting any more time, the lady carefully pushed her daughter down the hole, keeping her from scraping through the wreckage.
—Mommy!
— Come on, sweetheart. Hurry up. Get in there.
Althea crawled through, crossed over, and on the other side, shouted:
—I'm through, Mommy!
The mother felt a momentary relief and forced a smile.
—Very good, my love. Very good. Now run. Run all the way home. Don't look back.
Althea looked at her mother through the hole, her eyes glassy with fear and sadness.
—Mommy, those things aren't coming yet, and if you try to get through, too. —Althea looked at her mother through the hole.
—My dear, I'm sorry, but I can't. Now you have to go on, through two. Yes?
—Yes… —Althea murmured, though her voice cracke.
—That's my girl...always be brave Althea.
—I love you, mommy…—Althea said, her eyes crystallizing with fear and sadness.
Evelin felt a lump in her throat, but she could not break down.
—YI love you, too, with all my soul. Now go. Run!
Althea obeyed and ran without looking back. The lady stood there a second longer, holding back tears and swallowing her fear. Relieved, though, to hear her daughter's footsteps walking away.
She stopped and turned. The creatures were already upon her.
She grabbed a rusty iron from the ground and picked it up, holding it tightly.
"I must protect her"
She fought with all her might. She hit, she pushed, she resisted...
She hoped to get out of there. To see his daughter again
But that hope vanished when there were too many of them.
In the middle of the fight, a scream resounded in the distance. Someone else was calling the attention of those creatures, attracting several of them. Taking advantage of the moment, Evelin got rid of the few that remained around her and broke into a run.
As she ran away, she looked back... and saw it.
The person who had diverted the attention of the monsters was being devoured. But that was not the worst of it.
With horror, he witnessed how, after a few seconds, his body twisted... and he got up again. She had become one of them. His breathing became erratic.
"This can't be happening..."
He kept running until he found a narrow alley. He took refuge in it, hiding behind some dumpsters. His body was shaking uncontrollably. The air was escaping from his lungs.
"What the hell is going on?"
Then he felt it. A stinging burn in his hand. She looked down and saw the mark...the bite.
For an instant she froze. A distinct chill ran down her back, deeper than fear.
Then she remembered it, like a flash amidst the confusion of the fight.
One of them had lunged at her. They struggled. She screamed, she punched, she fought with everything she had. And in the midst of that chaos, the creature had grabbed her arm with brutal force... and then she felt it: the dry tear, the stinging burn. It had been so fast that she ignored it, focused on surviving. She shook him off with one blow and kept fighting. She didn't think anything of it. She didn't think it was serious.
But now, seeing the wound, I change everything.
His pulse quickened. His skin was beginning to darken, his veins were swelling with a blackish color, and an unbearable heat was taking over his body.
Then he understood. He was becoming one of those creatures and he didn't have much time left.
Her eyes filled with tears. He could not allow it. He couldn't be one of them. Not when he still had a daughter to protect.
He pulled out his phone and typed a message. Sending it.
Then he searched through the wreckage and found a piece of glass. He held it in both hands.
She took a breath. And before the darkness enveloped her, she could only make one last plea:
"Please...let my little girl be safe."
As tears rolled down her face. She was not crying out of fear. She was crying out of love. For the little girl she had just left behind. And for the daughter she would never hug again
With trembling hands, she brought the shard of glass to her throat and, with the last of her remaining strength, ended her life, making sure she would not become one of them.
The phone slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.
The screen that was still on, showed the last message that still remained there, like an echo of love, of courage, of farewell:
"I love you... take care of our little girl."