Alternative Universe: by Nick Venom (free novel reading sites .txt) 📖

even be touching a gun.” Braiden remarked with a snarky attitude. His words were already irritating Nathan and the others. However, they couldn’t get rid of him as he was still a human being.

“Forget about that. Let’s focus on getting out of her. Now, we have to think of a plan.” Nathan said, looking down at the contraband. 

Amanda, who was watching silently, opened her mouth to speak. “M-Maybe use the f-fireworks as a distraction?”

Nikki turned to her best friend and shook her shoulders. “Good idea! Let’s go set that up!” She shouted, her voice echoing off the walls of the principal’s room. 

“Amanda’s right. Let’s go back to the entrance we first were at. I’ll go outside and light the fireworks and distract the creatures while everybody else escapes.”

“Escape where? To heaven or hell?” Braiden muttered. 

“Uh…” Kiya whispered, her voice fading off. 

“Wait, Amanda. Aren’t your parents hunters? They have weapons at your house?” Nikki asked her, her eyes widened. 

Amanda nodded her head, whispering, “we have food as well.”

“Perfect, then Amanda and Nikki will lead the way. Kiya and Braiden will follow behind while I set off the fireworks.” He then walked past the group and emerged outside of the room with the fireworks in hand. He glanced over his shoulder at the group. “You guys ready?”

The group nodded, following the plan. They returned to the entrance they used earlier, watching as Nathan crept outside and lit the fireworks. The fireworks were set off some feet from the entrance, luring the creatures that were guarding the school to it. 

Meanwhile, Amanda and Nikki led the way to Amanda’s house. Braiden and Kiya followed them to Amanda’s house while Nathan took his time. He had sprinted in the opposite direction from them, watching as the creatures pummeled the fireworks into ashes. Fortunately, they hadn’t caught sight of him, allowing Nathan to escape and meet up with the others. 

They reached Amanda’s house, meeting with a familiar person. 

 

TBC…

Episode Three "Goodbye, My Brother"

They stumbled across a familiar person. Amanda’s younger brother, Andy, was standing at the door, his back facing the group. 

“Andy, what are you doing outside?” Amanda called out. She walked towards Andy, but Nathan grabbed her shoulder. He pulled her back. “What are you doing?” She asked him, furrowing her brows.

“Don’t you think something is suspicious? Your brother is standing at the doorstep, not making a peep or eye contact-” He looked down at Andy’s feet, a small pile of flesh laying by his toes. “-There’s flesh by his feet. He’s dead.”

“No!” Amanda shouted. “He’s not dead, just…” Her voice trailed off. She glanced down at his feet, noticing the flesh pile, but ignored the sight. Instead, she ran towards her brother. Nathan chased after her, but he didn’t reach her in time. She reached her brother before he could pull her away. 

“Andy! Turn around and show them that you aren’t dead!” She shouted. Her voice began attracting stares and growls from nearby zombies, some homeless people, and others dressed in tuxedos and long dresses. 

“Amanda, shut up! You’re attracting them here.” Nathan whispered into her ear. However, Amanda was ignoring her. She was focused on her brother, reaching her hand out. She touched his shoulder, waiting for a response.

Andy growled for a second before he slowly turned around. His movements were stiff and uncomfortable---he picked up his leg and moved it a few inches to make a complete turn. 

“Nathan’s right! Your brother is dead! Look at him, he can’t turn his body like a normal human!” Braiden exclaimed, his voice being louder than either Amanda or Nathan. 

“No, he’s-” Amanda’s eyes widened as her brother finished turning around. He glared at Amanda with his large stressed eyes. His jaw was dislocated, hanging a few inches under where it belonged. His stomach was eviscerated, showing clear signs of it being torn apart by human hands. Fingerprints and cuts from sharp fingernails were evident, covering seventy-five percent of his body. 

“W-W-Wh-y… ” He croaked, his voice sounding hoarse and rough. No longer was it crystal clear and youthful. His voice was damaged, his blood leaking into his throat and descending into his lungs. 

“L-L-Leff…” He croaked again, taking a step forward towards his sister. Amanda recognized this as him going for a hug, opening her arms. She closed her eyes while muttering a prayer under her breath, waiting to welcome her brother. 

Nikki, who had been watching with a face full of fright, acted quickly. She grabbed Amanda’s shoulder, pulling her away from Andy. “He’s a zombie, Amanda! He’s no longer one of us.” She declared.

“The pink-haired girl is right, we need to go!” Braiden shouted in a whisper. “Kill that kid and let’s get inside.”

Nathan glared at Braiden, taking a few steps forward to avoid looking at the man. “Amanda, stay clear of him. Nikki’s right, he’s a zombie now.”

“I… don’t… care!” She shouted, fighting Nikki’s grip. 

“Nathan, help me!” Nikki shouted as she tried to keep Amanda away from Andy. Nathan nodded, grabbing Amanda and dragging her away. She was lighter than Nathan.

Braiden looked around their surroundings and noticed that a horde was forming around them. Sooner or later, they would converge on them. “They’re closing onto us.”

“Amanda! We’re going to die if we don’t get inside!” Kiya exclaimed, watching as a struggle ensued. 

Amanda stopped fighting against her friends, giving up. “Give me the gun,” She said. Nikki glanced at Nathan who nodded his head. He handed the pistol with the half-filled magazine. Nikki grabbed the gun, handing it to Amanda. 

Amanda bit her lip, taking the gun. She brought the gun to Andy, placing the barrel in between his eyes. He snarled at her, shuffling towards her slowly. “Goodbye, my brother.” She remarked, inhaling and exhaling quickly, before pressing the trigger. A bullet whizzed down the barrel, piercing his skull and destroying his brain. 

His body dropped limp. His eyes, which were a mix of fear, sadness, and anger, dissipated into nothingness. His flushed face cycled the life out of his body and expunged them. Nothing was left in his corpse than the sad remains of a ravaged body without a soul. However, one thing remained; a small smile.

Amanda noticed the smile, breaking down into tears while Nikki and Nathan escorted her inside. She dropped the gun in the process, weeping into her vacant hands. However, she soon retracted her hands from her face, looking at them with a face of disgust. Her hands pressed the trigger.

Braiden grabbed the gun, locking the door behind them. He glanced out of the window, watching as the small horde grew and grew, slamming their decayed hands on the door. 

He glanced over his shoulder at a sobbing Amanda being consoled by Nikki. Nathan and Kiya watched from afar, sitting down at a circular glass table. 

“We’re going to die here,” Braiden muttered to himself, walking to the fridge. He grabbed a bottle of alcohol from it, undoing the cap. He drank the alcohol in three large gulps, slamming the empty bottle on a nearby counter. “We’re going to die here.” 

Meanwhile, Nikki consoled Amanda. “You’re going to be fine.”

“No, I’m a murderer.” She proclaimed. “I don’t deserve to live!”

Nikki grabbed her face, pointing it at herself. “Don’t say that. Andy would despise you for saying that. He gave up his life so you could continue. Don’t disrespect him like that.” She declared. 

“But I’m-”

Nikki slapped her hard, across her face. “Listen to me, you are Amanda Cline. You’re stronger than anybody I had ever seen. You were raised as a hunter, now where’s that pride. Did you forsake that?”

“No… I didn’t.”

“Then you have to show me,” Nikki said, her voice being soothing.

Amanda nodded, standing up. She rubbed her face, still feeling Nikki’s handprint. 

“Hey, what’s down here?” A slightly drunk Braiden asked, pointing at the basement door. There was a padlock on the white door with a black outline. 

“That’s the basement,” Nathan retorted, still irritated at Braiden’s behavior. 

“The armory-” Amanda said, wiping her tears with her shirt. “-my parents stored their guns down there.”

“Then shouldn’t we open it up and arm ourselves.”

“We’re surrounded, so that sounds like a good plan,” Kiya said, standing up from the table. “Sooner or later, those bastards will enter and slaughter all of us. We need to arm ourselves when that happens.”

“As much as I hate agreeing with that bastard-” Nathan pointed at Braiden “-he’s right.”

Nikki looked at Amanda, who nodded her head. “I’ll tell you the passcode.”

 

TBC…

Episode Four "Sean, Klara, Amanda, and Andy"

“The passcode is 16-21-11,” Amanda said. Kiya nodded, inputting the code into the padlock. She then popped the lock off the door, taking a step back. Braiden, who was by her side, rushed past her and opened the door. A staircase led them to the dimly-lit basement. Most of the windows were tapped off to prevent kids or intruders from seeing the guns. 

Amanda’s parents were hunters. As so, a handcrafted hunting rifle was positioned in the middle of the basement like it was their magnum opus. Inside a display case, the hunting rifle was stripped of its accessories. This action was done by her parents to prevent intruders from using the weapons on them. Likewise, every other gun in the 2,000 square feet basement was disassembled to prevent it from being used by intruders. 

“Wow, your parents have such a large collection,” Nathan remarked, gawking at the sight of an assault rifle. 

“How are your parents allowed to even have this many guns?” Kiya asked, staring at the collection of twelve guns; two assault rifles, two shotguns, one hunting rifle, six pistols, and a rusty musket. Aside from the musket not being operational, everything looked exquisite. 

“We got the permits for these weapons. Every single one of these weapons was bought and modified by my parents over three years. As for the musket, it was an heirloom from my father’s bloodline.” Amanda explained. She ignored all of the weapons, approaching the hunting rifle in the middle. 

She put in the combination for the padlock locking the modified hunting rifle in its display case. She took the rifle out of the case, inspecting it. A wooden hunting rifle with four names etches into the beautiful real wood. “Sean, Klara, Amanda, and Andy.” She muttered to herself. “My parents modified this rifle for me.”

“Your parents… are amazing,” Nathan remarked, gawking at the scoped hunting rifle. 

“Yeah,” Amanda muttered. 

“Is it okay to arm ourselves?” Nikki asked. Amanda nodded before heading up to her room. She grabbed a piece of paper with the codes to the other display cases. She brought it back to the basement, handing the paper to