text: [Themes: modern, humor, female protagonist]
  
  Things aren't going to "calm down", they're just going to get worse if anything. You've already had too many intruders inside this house, staying here obviously isn't safe even if you do barricade it. You need to get out now.
  
  "Julie get some bags and start packing items like flashlights and the like because we're getting the hell out of here." You say.
  "But again, where are we going to go?" she asks.
  "And I still don't know, but I'm thinking we need to at least get out of this town though. From there I guess we'll play it by ear. Your car is still at the shop so we're going to have to use Donna's. Do you know if Donna had a spare set of car keys? When I had to...clean up, it wasn't like she was clothed at the time so there wasn't anything on her."
  "She probably left her keys on a dresser in her room when she first stormed in the house on Monday. I'll check. Speaking of Donna, what are you going to do about her? I mean you were going to bury her, but now?"
  "Yeah, I'm sort of wishing I'd buried her first instead of the asshole that killed her now. I dunno, I mean there just isn't time. (Sigh) Fuck it, she's just an empty shell now, the person that she was is gone and we need to make haste if we don't want to end up like her, so let's start getting a move on."
  
  Julie and you both split up to pack your bags. One of your bags that you brought hasn't even been opened and is still full of clothing. You fill your other bags with more useful items like some of the non-perishable snack food Julie has, the duct tape you were using, a few of the bigger kitchen knives, loose batteries, some of the medicine in the bathroom, etc.
  
  You then finish up with packing a few more of your personal items and are ready to go.
  
  "Julie, are you ready yet and did you find the keys?!" you call up to her.
  "Yeah, yeah I'm just making sure I got everything!" she calls back.
  
  You hear more gunfire coming from outside which sounds like its right outside the front door. A quick look out the window and you do see several guardsmen firing on those crazy people running at them. It looks like the National Guard have set up a bit of a "base" in one of the houses further up the street. You just hope you can drive off without too much problem. You're going to have to be quick that's for sure.
  
  Julie comes running down the stairs with two bags and a big luggage case.
  
  "Julie, what the hell, I told you to just focus on the essentials!"
  "I did! I need all this...shit!" Julie says and trips down the stairs due to all the stuff she's trying to lug around and going at a fast pace. You attempt to keep her from breaking her neck by getting in the way of her fall. You're partially successful though getting crushed by a tumbling body and heavy bags isn't fun.
  
  "Fuck...shit...goddamn..." you utter as you feel the pain. Surprisingly Julie doesn't seem any worse for wear.
  "Wow. That was lucky. Thanks Suzy." She says in a bit of an animated tone. You look at her eyes and see that her pupils dilated.
  "Julie are you fucking high right now?"
  "Uh...I don't know..."
  "Goddamnit Julie, really?"
  "I needed a little to take the edge off! I mean I've been practically sober for the past few days and I needed something to keep myself from breaking down completely! I've already proven I'm no good in these high stress situations and now we're going to enter a whole new level of fucked upness by leaving this house! I'm sorry if I'm not as strong as you!"
  
  You don't really have time to argue with Julie about this right now, but she might have a point. If drugs are going to keep her from melting down into a quivering mess then maybe it is for the best that she's a little high. The funny thing is before all this happened you were the one that was a bit more of a worrywart and Julie tended to have a more laid back approach to life. Just goes to show how one can never tell how people will react in an emergency situation.
  
  "Alright fine, but we're going to deal with this later and where are the car keys? I'll be damned if I'm going to let you drive in your condition."
  
  Grabbing the keys from Julie, you pick yourself up and grab your own bags and cautiously open the front door.
  
  "Alright we need to throw these bags in the back of car as quick as possible and then drive off equally as fast. These weekend warriors are patrolling all over this neighborhood and who knows where those rabid things are."
  
  You and Julie run over to the car and open up the doors and start throwing in your bags. Takes a moment for Julie to shove in her big luggage case, but she gets it in. The pair of you then get in the front seats of the car and you start up the car.
  
  You actually manage to swing the car out into the street before you hear shouting and then fired upon. Julie screams as the sounds of glass shatter behind you from the bullets. You keep it together and just drive hoping that there aren't too many of the guard in front of you.
  
  It's a false hope as you do indeed bump into more than a couple patrols with itchy trigger fingers. Some you try to avoid by going down other streets. Others are actually busy fighting off others. How you and Julie aren't hit by any that do shoot at you is something of a minor miracle, but the car certainly doesn't come through unscathed since by the time you manage to make out of Julie's neighborhood, it's making rattling sounds.
  
  "Oh god! I knew we shouldn't have left! The car's gonna die and then so will we!" Julie shouts.
  "Julie take some more of your happy pills or calm the fuck down, I'm trying to think! Shit! There's some of those things!" you say as you smash the car into two insane looking individuals that just jumped out of nowhere. One goes flying off to the side and the other falls backwards in front of your car, which then promptly runs over him entirely.
  
  You continue to drive and try to keep off the main streets though with your car now making several clattering sounds you're not exactly keeping a low profile.
  
  "We're never going to make it out of this town! Not with the car in this condition! We need to go back!" Julie exclaims.
  "We can't go back now Julie! I told you to take some more of... whatever it is you take and let me try to fucking think!" you say while trying to keep an eye on your immediate surroundings.
  
  "Okay. I'm thinking that we're currently not too far from my house. I suppose we could go there and try to help Peter look for my brother's shelter and hold up in there. At the very least we could exchange cars there. I'm sure Peter isn't going to have any intention on using his.
  
  Julie doesn't really answer you, she's too busy digging in her pockets for pills. You decide to just go ahead and head to your house.
  
  Your drive there isn't quite as eventful as your escape from Julie's house, but it isn't without peril. The National Guard isn't quite as in control in your part of the town and there are far more of the rabid roaming around either chasing down normal people or attempting to break into houses. Most of them don't attempt to attack you, or if they do, you just continue driving fast enough that they don't get the chance.
  
  By the time you get to your own house, your neighborhood is eerily quiet. There are definitely signs of past conflict all over the place, but there is nobody on the streets and most homes are not lit either. (Though you do see broken doors and windows on a lot of them) Fortunately your own house doesn't look damaged (At least not from the front)
  
  You half expect to get swarmed by crazies as soon as you park in front of your house, but instead your only major concern is herding Julie's high ass to the front door and getting inside with all the bags you're both carrying.
  
  "PETER?! Are you here?!" you call out when you get in the door since you saw his vehicle in the driveway. There is no answer though. You dump all your bags on the floor while Julie practically just collapses on the floor with her bags.
  
  You help her up and lay her down on the sofa and see that she's feeling quite numb now, though she still tries to grip on to you when you pull away.
  
  "Suzy, don't leave me...please..."
  "Julie, I have to see if Peter's in the house or if it's just us. I won't be that far away."
  "Suzy...I'm sorry I'm so fucked up...I don't know what...I would've done if you weren't around..."
  "Julie, just rest right now."
  
  With this last bit of reassurance Julie faintly smiles and closes her eyes.
  
  The first thing you do is search the ground floor. Amazingly it doesn't look like your house has been attacked at all. Even looking out into the backyard things look fairly untouched.
  
  Then you search the connected garage and that's when you wish you hadn't.
  
  You find Peter and another unknown man both not quite entirely dressed, but that isn't the disturbing part. The fact that they're both dead is the disturbing part.
  
  The garage itself is a bit of a mess, like there was definitely a struggle, and your brother's body and the body of who you presume is his lover or client both show signs of blunt trauma. Looks like their necks were both broken to ultimately kill them though.
  
  You aren't sure what to think. You feel like you should be more upset than you are, but given what you've already experienced you've become desensitized. You're actually more concerned with how this happened. There isn't anyone else here to your knowledge and if it had been one of those things, the bodies would probably have bite marks. You suppose it could've been regular bandits or robbers, but you'd expect gunshot or even knife wounds and neither have that.
  
  Also if it was bandits that killed them, you wonder why they wouldn't take Peter's car since his keys are still sitting on a dresser nearby. Whether Peter was planning on leaving himself or still looking for Ben's hidden shelter (And if he found it or not) you'll never know you suppose.
  
  In any event you have the means to leave immediately if you so desire which given the uneasiness of this situation might not be a bad idea, but then again it's starting to get dark so it still might be best to bunk here for the night at least.
  
  > Stay
  Chances are, you'd not only have drag Julie's ass to Peter's car, but you'd also have to load up all the bags yourself as well. Since you don't particularly want to spend much time outside at night, you figure you'll stay here, rest and figure out exactly what you're going to do tomorrow.
  
  Besides if you still want to leave, you'll have time to pack more supplies you can get from here too.
  
  In the meantime, you still have to search the rest of the house because it's still entirely possible that it isn't safe here.
  
  You exit the garage and check on Julie again. She's not quite asleep yet, but is heading in that direction. Fortunately you don't have as many windows in this house and your doors are a lot stronger so you're confident that if something tries to break in, you'll hear it and be able to react in time.
  
  You head upstairs and cautiously search with your pistol drawn. Much like the downstairs though, you find that there isn't anyone lurking up here. You even manage to find the courage to peek your head into Kelly's room, but given how messy her usually room is, you don't know if she's ever returned here. You get the idea to call her up, but predictably there isn't any answer. Who knows what's happened to her.
  
  Finally you end your search of the house by heading to the place where you started from, the basement. Again, not much looks different and fortunately there isn't anyone down here either. Your own room is about the same as you left it. You shake your head that the though of all the bullshit you went through this week, only to end up back here. Makes you wonder why you bothered.
  
  Still, there is a part of you that realizes that it's probably best that you did break your habit of hiding out in the basement. Chances are you wouldn't have developed the courage to do some of the things you are able to do now. You also saved Julie's life and while she's certainly been needy and a bit of a wreck during all this, you're a little glad you don't have to go through this crisis entirely by yourself.
  
  After a bit more perusal of your room, you head back upstairs to secure the ground floor as much as possible. Still not risking turning the lights on, you put chairs in front of the front and back doors. (As well as the one leading to the garage)
  
  You also move a bookcase in front of some of the windows. It's not the most fun thing to do in the dark and you bump and bang knees and elbows in the process, but it's secure enough that you're confident that if someone does try to get it, they'll make such a loud noise in the process that you'll at least wake up first.
  
  "Suzy? What's going on?" you hear Julie ask in a sleepy tone. You figured she'd be fast asleep by now.
  "Nothing, just securing the area. Nothing for you to worry about, go to sleep." You say.
  "I'd like to, but I want you with me on this sofa.
  "Julie...(sigh). Look I'm not sure if there's room for both of us to stretch out on that sofa. I'll be right here you know. I'll be in the recliner."
  "No, I'll move over as far as I can, and you can squeeze in next to me. Please, I just want your body next to mine. You make me feel so safe." Julie says.
  
  You put your hand to your head and start to wonder why you're becoming more comfortable in even entertaining ideas like this especially with all that's going on right now.
  
  Though maybe that's the reason. This is the end of the goddamn world for all you know and at this point you've lost everyone that's been remotely close to you. All of your family is dead (or in Kelly's case missing). Your boyfriend is also gone. They were all dysfunctional, but it's what you knew and you still miss it.
  
  So maybe even as dysfunctional as Julie is, you still feel that need for her companionship because it's familiar. You have no one else close to you except Julie and she's going to be "it" if the dark future is any indication.
  
  "Okay, Julie, scoot over." You say placing your pistol on the table in front of the sofa and start to squeeze in on the edge of it.
  
  There actually is enough room, it's snug, but you aren't quite in danger of falling off the edge. Julie puts one arm and leg over your body almost in an attempt to make sure you don't fall off, but it's just her being affectionate as usual.
  
  "Suzy..." she says and she starts to drift off.
  "Yeah?" you say still trying to get comfortable.
  "I love you..."
  "I know Julie. I know." You answer in a non-committal way.
  
  You sort of wonder exactly when she began to feel that way. Adulthood? High school? Middle School? Whenever it was, you guess it makes sense since even when you were little you were helping her out of trouble when you could. You probably were the one constant in her life that was genuinely a friend and also not looking to fuck her.
  
  You still haven't quite sorted out all your "feelings" yet on this, but you do realize that if you didn't care somewhat about Julie, you wouldn't have been making the effort to save her as much as you have.
  
  You guess at least someone is appreciating you and that's definitely been a rarity in your life.
  
  You're up for a little while longer so you just lie there in the dark going over in your head some of your possible choices of what to do tomorrow. The more you think about it, the more you think that probably leaving is the best solution. You'll gather some more items from here and load up Peter's car and tomorrow you and Julie will be heading somewhere else. You still aren't entirely sure where though.
  
  You eventually do get sleepy and slowly drift off.
  
  > Next day...
  "I got your call. Wakey wakey sis." You hear a voice say.
  
  You slowly open your eyes and at first see what looks to be a man standing in front of you holding a shotgun. Then after the blur of your eyes clears a bit, you see that it's your sister Kelly.
  
  Unfortunately it looks like not all your family is dead after all and of course it had to be Kelly that survived. Judging by the fact she's pointing a shotgun at you she's still hostile as well. You don't know why, but then has she ever needed a reason?
  
  You look at the pistol on the table and Kelly just shakes her head.
  
  "I guarantee you wouldn't make it sis. I suggest you don't even try...heh I doubt you'd have the balls to go through with it anyway. I have to admit when I came up here to get something from my room, I didn't expect to see you here."
  
  At this point Julie wakes up.
  
  "Suzy what's going...oh my god..." she says upon seeing Kelly.
  "Shhh, it'll be okay." You say trying to reassure Julie.
  "So when did you turn dyke Suzy? Always sort of figured you might be down for the rug munching. Guess that's why things didn't work out with Bobby eh? Still though, Julie? I have to say even I think you could do better than some used up party whore. Now the pair of you lesbos sit up."
  
  At this point you and Julie move and shift on the couch until you're both sitting upright. In the meantime Kelly grabs your pistol from the table and places it in the front of her pants. She continues to focus the shotgun on you.
  
  Given that you barricaded all the doors and searched the entire house last night you wonder how the hell Kelly got in. If she had been lurking inside, she definitely would've made her presence known and ambushed you yesterday and if she broke in, you definitely would've heard something before now.
  
  You're also a little concerned not just because Kelly's pointing a shotgun at you, but you think back to what you saw in the garage. Peter and the other man's body. Their bodies were beaten and their necks were broken. Kelly certainly has the strength and the skill to do such a thing. Kelly's always been hostile to you and barely civil to your other sibling, but to actually kill one...
  
  "Kelly, our siblings Peter and Donna are dead." You say.
  "Peter's dead?" Julie says.
  "Oh? Didn't know that about Donna. Can't say I'll shed any tears. The spoiled little whore wasn't much better than your girlfriend here."
  "She was fucking chopped up by a goddamn serial killer, you bitch!" Julie exclaims.
  "Hm, interesting. So how did you two survive?"
  "I shot him."
  
  Kelly's a little taken back.
  
  "Wow, I'm impressed. Guess you would have the balls to use this pistol then. Tell me, was that the only person you killed this week little sister?"
  "No... I shot one of those rabid people too. Ran over a couple as well."
  "Well, well, well aren't you the bad ass now? Heh. Funny what an extreme situation like this can do to folks isn't it?"
  "Yes."
  "Yeah...so I'm guessing if you know about Peter, you've probably figured out by now what happened or at least have a strong suspicion. You're a lot of things Suzy, but I'd never call you an idiot."
  "I appreciate that. So why'd you do it?"
  
  Kelly chuckles a bit before answering.
  
  "That little faggot found out where Ben's old shelter was and thought he was going to hide out from the current shitstorm in it with his boyfriend or whoever that other faggot he was with. Had to convince him that he had to go, he didn't listen and tried to resist and well you saw how that turned out."
  "So you know where Ben's old shelter is then." You say.
  "Oh yeah. I've always known where it was. Crazy old Ben thought he was being so sneaky moving the goddamn entrance around all the time, but I knew where the fuck it was nearly every time. He had just moved the entrance again a few days before he blew away his family and himself. I'm just surprised YOU never accidently found it given that you lived practically right near the fucking thing for years. If the entrance was any closer you would've been sleeping in the damn thing."
  
  Well that explains how Kelly got in without alerting you. Still, if she's actually admitting the entrance to the shelter is somewhere in the basement and what she did to Peter, then that pretty much confirms she has no intention of sharing.
  
  "So what's next Kelly? You gonna kill us too?"
  "Don't know sis...don't know...severely thinking about it. I've never like you. You've been a thorn in my side since you crawled out of mom's vagina. Always having to be compared to how good and pretty you were and how bad and rotten I was despite the fact I was the one who was shouldering most of the responsibility in this fucked up family. What did you ever do except hide in the goddamn basement? Even now you left the house only to come crawling back here. Yep, I've thought about killing you on many, many, MANY occasions."
  "Actually that wasn't my initial intention. My initial plan was to drive out of this forsaken town. I only stopped here because our own car was badly damaged and I had hoped to maybe get Peter's car and some extra supplies before heading out again." You say.
  "Oh? Hmm, you're just full of surprises today aren't you? Well if that is true, you may have just bought yourself a bit of a reprieve sis...okay. What the hell, I'm in a good mood. I'm gonna let you and your whore walk outta here alive and you're going to be thankful."
  "I don't suppose you'll allow us to gather our bags or give me the gun back will you?" You say.
  "Heh, no I don't think so. Wouldn't want you getting any ideas of attempting to come back here. Leave with what you got on you or die, those are your choices sis. I'm being very generous here. Take my offer."
  
  You stare at Kelly, but it's not with fear. It's with anger. Anger at all the past abuse you've had to endure from her. While she may have a minor point that you were the favorite and she did a lot for the family, she still had no right to bully and torment you for the majority of your life and she certainly had no right to murder Peter.
  
  "Come on Suzy, let's go..." Julie says wanting for the both of you to be out of danger.
  
  > leave now
  As angry as you are, making some foolish attempt to stand up to Kelly while she's holding all the advantages is not going to help anyone. You'll have to re-supply elsewhere, at least you have a better car now.
  
  "Okay, okay, we're leaving Kelly. You got all the advantages and you win." You say.
  "Damn straight I win." Kelly snorts.
  
  Julie removes the barricades the front door and cautiously looks around.
  
  "Come on, come on, if any of those crazy fuckers were out there, they would've been beating down the doors and windows by now." Kelly says motioning the pair of you to leave quicker.
  
  Julie exits and when you step up to the entryway, Kelly speaks up.
  
  "Hey Suzy."
  "Yeah?" you answer turning around.
  "Changed my mind. I fucking hate you too much."
  
  And with those words Kelly blasts you in the chest with the shotgun. Julie screams and Kelly laughs, but you make no more sounds at all other than your body falling backwards on the cement.