Test Story

“Where do you want this box to go?”
Colby Callahan barely heard her brother’s question. She was lost in her own thoughts, staring at the childhood home that she swore she would never go back to.
“Hey,” Greg repeated, “Are you there? Where do you want this box?”
“My bedroom I guess” said Colby, snapping back into reality.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of space for it,” Greg smirked, “Mom and Dad never changed your room into a home gym like they wanted to. They knew you’d be moving back in soon.”
Colby gave her brother a nasty look. “Shut up” she told him.
She knew he was right, though. They kept her room exactly as it was two years ago when she went to college because they never believed she would finish. And they were right, she didn’t. Colby hated giving her parents the gratification of being right about her, but it wasn’t the first time.
Her whole life, Colby handed her parents one disappointment after another. She got kicked out of her private elementary school when she punched a boy on the kickball field for calling her “ugly”. She spent most of her formative years rebelling against her parents, her school, and basically any other force that was trying to make her “behave” like a well-brought up young lady. Then, at 22 years old, after waiting tables for 4 years and living with her parents, she decided to do something with her life. Colby applied to the University of Miami to pursue an engineering degree. To her and everyone else’s surprise, she was accepted.
But now, two short years later, she sits staring at her parent’s home back in Clearwater. How could this happen again? Why couldn’t she just pull herself together and make something of her life? Where does she go from here? These questions assaulted Colby’s thoughts the entire time we was carrying boxes filled with her mediocre possessions back into the home that she was so sure was not hers anymore.
“You should see if Texas Roadhouse will hire you back”, Colby’s mom, Ruth, said in a disappointed tone. “You are going to have to find some way to pay us rent.”
Ruth was always hyper-critical of Colby. A traditional woman, Ruth values normalcy; a nice house with a white picket fence and matching shutters, a husband who works full time as a kitchen appliance salesman, and two smart, well behaved children. She always resented the fact that she only got one of the two.
“Give her some time to settle in, Ruth” Benjamin, Colby’s father, chimed in, “We haven’t even gotten all the boxes inside yet and you’re rushing her off to her first shift.”
“The girl needs a kick in the ass, Ben. I won’t have her living in my house rent-free again. She is expected to contribute.” Ruth was never shy about saying hurtful things in front of her daughter.
Colby wanted to give a snarky reply, but what’s the use. Those kinds of remarks won’t stop, especially now that she has another failed venture under her belt.
Benjamin Callahan was a gentle man. He had a soft spot for his only daughter; unlike his wife, he didn’t take satisfaction in being right about her failure. He desperately wanted her to succeed, but when she didn’t, he wasn’t too surprised. Still, Ben feels the need to protect his daughter, even if it’s from the words of his own wife.
“She will do just fine,” Benjamin retorted, “she knows what is expected.”
“She knew what was expected of her in college too but she still couldn’t manage to pass” Greg said as he lifted another box to bring inside.
Greg was the antithesis of Colby. He was intelligent; not that Colby wasn’t, but he knew how to use his intelligence to survive in the real world, a skill Colby had not yet mastered. Greg graduated at the top of his class in high school, without incident. He achieved a law degree from Columbia Law last spring and was now in the process of buying a home down the street from his parents. To Ruth and Benjamin, Greg was their golden child. He was the standard to which Colby had been judged all her life – and he knew it.
What neither Greg nor Ruth and Benjamin knew was that Colby did not fail out of college. She was a straight A student on her way to a 4.0 GPA. Leaving college was never about the grades for her, that was only a story that she told her family. She knew they would never forgive her for dropping out of college because engineering didn’t make her happy. It didn’t leave her feeling fulfilled or enthusiastic about her future, so she left. It was better that her parents think she just couldn’t make the cut, rather than that she could, and she chose not to.
“I’m right here, guys” Colby muttered in a quiet, somber voice as she picked up another box.

In the coming weeks, Colby managed to stay relatively under her parent’s radar. As advised by her mother, she was able to get her serving job back, and it was almost like the last two years hadn’t even happened. The dust had settled, and everything was business as usual in the Callahan household.
Arriving at her shift on Tuesday night, Colby immediately noticed a strange vibe in the restaurant. The place was completely dead, which wasn’t unusual for a Tuesday, but her coworkers would normally be hard at work preparing the restaurant for the dinner rush – not tonight. Everyone had a strange, glazed look in their eyes, as if a spirit had walked into the door and asked for a table for three.
“What’s going on?” Colby asked her coworker, Christy. “What’s up with the energy in here right now?”

Christy was hesitant to answer. It was almost as if the words to describe what she saw were escaping her. “It’s Adam. He’s in the hospital.”
“Adam? Oh god, what did he do to himself now?” Colby knew that Adam, another server, was famous for being clumsy and visiting the ER every so often after an accident on the job, but it was never as serious as this seemed to be.

“No, Colby, you don’t understand,” She shuttered, “something happened. Adam was… attacked.”
Colby was taken back by how Christy seemed to choke out that word – attacked. She waited for Christy to continue.
After a pause, Christy started. “It was during the lunch shift. Adam noticed a man just kind of wandering aimlessly around the parking lot. He was chasing birds and squirrels and stuff… so weird. There were no managers in yet so Adam decided to go out and ask this guy what his deal was, if he needed help, whatever, you know?”
Christy’s voice got high. It was obvious she was on the verge of tears again, but she collected herself and continued.
“The guy bit him, Colby. I don’t know why, he just… he bit him. Took a huge chunk out of his arm, and he wouldn’t stop. Adam ran towards us, screaming like crazy… he came back into the restaurant, and we locked the doors. The guy was chasing after him! He didn’t stop banging at the door until we all went into the back room where he couldn’t see us. We called 911 and they took Adam in an ambulance.”
Colby couldn’t gather her thoughts quick enough to reply. Adam got bit? What? Apparently her face said it all, because Christy just shook her head as if to say she understood what Colby was feeling, before she burst into tears again and came in for a hug.
Finally, Colby found her voice again. “Did someone call the police? Did they find the guy?”
“We don’t know,” Christy replied, “the police said they would look for the guy, but they were so vague and weird about it… like they were hiding something that they knew and we didn’t.”
“That can’t be,” Colby uttered, “I’m sure they were just shocked by the whole thing. We all are.”
“Yeah… probably. Well, Angela called corporate and asked if we could close the restaurant for the night after all this, give people a chance to calm down. They said no. Can you believe that?”
“Yeah,” Colby laughed, “I can.”

The two shared a chuckle, and went on with the night.

“Hey, wake up.”
“What?”
“Wake up! We’re going outside.”
Colby opened her eyes to see Greg sitting at the foot of her bed.
“It’s my day off,” she told him, “go away.”
“Come on, I want to talk to you. Let’s go.”
Colby begrudgingly got out of her bed and got dressed to go for a walk. It was a cool autumn day, and she would be lying if she said she wasn’t glad to finally get to see the orange foliage in the daytime, thanks to all the night shifts she had been working – even if she was forced to see it at eight in the morning.
Greg wasted no time getting to the point – he never did. “I wanted to talk to you about your future.”
“What future” Colby said flatly.
“Come on, don’t be like that. We both know you can’t live with mom and dad for the rest of your life. You need a plan. One that you can actually succeed at.”
Colby ignored the dig, looking at her feet and kicking acorns along the way. She was silent.
“There’s an opening at my firm for a secretary. I know it’s not ideal, and you will be forced to wear work-appropriate clothing…”

Another dig.
“…but I think it would be good for you.”
Colby didn’t hesitate with her reply. “You know me, Greg. I screw everything up. The whole place will burn down if you allow me to file documents for you.”
“I can’t believe you’re not even willing to-“
Greg cut himself off and stopped walking. It took Colby a moment to realize he had stopped. She looked up from her feet to see what had stopped him short.
A man was on his knees, in front of what looked to be the body of a neighborhood dog. Both were covered in blood.
Greg leaned in and whispered to Colby, “What is he doing? Do you think he’s okay?”
Colby said nothing. She stood, watching the man tear the dog apart. He was eating it. Instantly, she remembered what happened to Adam.
“We need to go home, now” She warned.
“What? No! I think he needs our help. It looks like his dog was hit by a car. Sir! Are you okay? Should I call someone? Sir!”
“Greg, shut up. We have to go, now.”
Colby didn’t know what instinct she was feeling, but she knew that they have to escape this situation – and fast.
Greg ignored her. He jogged toward the man. “Sir, did your dog get hit? Is he alive?”
The man slowly turned his head toward Greg. His eyes were milky and white, absent of color. His skin was pale, almost rotted. He was missing an ear.
Before Greg could react, the man was on his feet. He lunged at Greg. Wide-eyed, greg backpedaled out of the man’s reach. He pleaded with the man to stop.
Suddenly a rush came over Colby. Her heart began to beat and her mind raced, giving her directions to save her brother. She bursted into a sprint toward the man, grabbing a rake from the yard the man had slain the dog on. Colby ran up to the man from behind and hit the man as hard as she could in the head with the rake, while simultaneously screaming to Greg to run home. The spears of the rake went through the man’s skull – she didn’t mean to puncture him in such a way, but it felt as though his skull was soft and easy to pierce, as if he had been dead for some time before the blow. She let go of the rake, as both he and it fell to the ground. Greg took her advise and sped off, and she followed after him.

The two got back to the Callahan residence and slammed the door.
Before they could speak about what happened, Benjamin hurriedly approached them.  “Are you two okay? Has anyone bitten you?”
Greg was confused by the question, but Colby knew what he was asking.
“Bitten? What are you talking about? Colby just killed a guy!”
Colby and Ben then shared a look, conveying that they both understood what Colby just did – and why.
“She didn’t kill him, son. He was already dead.”
At that moment Greg noticed his mother, crying in front of the television in the living room. He could hear the reporter detailing other instances similar to what they just saw. He pushed by his father to wrap his mother up in a hug and watch the news coverage. Together they listened to the newscaster struggle to explain what was happening.
It would seem as though the dead have risen up to eat the living. There are countless reports coming in of folks checking on their neighbors, only to be attacked by a corpse attempting to eat their flesh. The military has deployed almost all of the troops from all branches stationed in the continental United States to cities and towns all over the country in an attempt to contain this epidemic. Please, do not leave your homes. Do not let anyone inside your house. Stay calm. The military will be coming to save you shortly.

They never came.

Three months came and went without any sign of military intervention. Colby knew better than to believe that her family would be saved, anyway. They were on their own from the beginning. The Callahan’s had survived by rationing what food they had left in their house, and scavenging around the area. Colby did all of the scavenging – no one else was capable of doing it without incident. Ironically, it seemed as though the natural progression of the situation had put Colby in a leadership position. She had an undeniably instinct about how to keep herself and her family alive, and her parents had grown to look to her for guidance.
Greg, however, was a different story. Jealousy had overcome him; the leadership role had been his since he reached adulthood. In an attempt to usurp power from his sister, Greg had been constantly undermining her decisions for the past three months – on some occasions, at incredible risk to the group.

1900

“Okay,” Colby addressed her family, “we’re running low on water. As soon as the sun comes up we need to go down to the quarry. Greg, come with me. It’s a long walk, no one should be walking that far alone.”
“Mom and dad should come too. The more people we have to carry water back the better. We won’t have to make the trip as often.” Colby shot Greg a look for his suggestion – he knew their parents would not do well with such a long, tiring trip.

1925

“It’s best that you and I go alone. We’re faster.” Colby replied definitively. Her tone indicated that this would be the end of the discussion. Greg said nothing.
At 6:05 in the morning, the sun rose, and with it, Colby. She had gotten in the habit of getting up early since the world had ended. These days it seemed as though the days were shorter than ever before, now that survival was at stake. She grabbed her pack full of survival gear, put her dagger in her holster, and headed outside to wait for Greg. To her surprise, her parents stood and Greg stood waiting for her instead.
“Greg, we agreed-“
“They’re coming” he interrupted.

“No.”
Greg turned around and motioned for his parents to walk with him, ignoring his sister’s command. Colby was toward the end of her rope with his behavior. She begrudgingly made her way to the front of the group, enraged at Greg once again.
The majority of the seven mile trip spent in silence. By early afternoon, they reached the quarry. Having already developed an effective system to extract water from the quarry with little risk, Colby explained to her parents.

“We want to avoid getting in the water at all costs, we don’t know what is in there and we don’t want to find out. Taking turns dipping the jugs into the water off of that narrow ledge is the safest way to do this. We will carry the water home and boil it to get rid of any bacteria that may be in it.”
“Not fast enough.”
Colby was surprised at how easily three words had lit a fire inside her stomach. Furious, she wiped around to Greg.
“Safety is the number one priority, Greg. Or do you want this family to die?”
“The more time we spend getting the water the earlier we will get back. I won’t have you getting us all killed in the dark when we don’t get back in time. It’s time someone put you in your place.” Greg’s eyes did not leave Colby’s the entire time he spoke.
“My place,” she said, rage enveloping her voice, “is as the leader of this group. You have no idea what the hell you’re doing. I won’t let you make any more stupid decisions, that’s all over.”
Silence. Greg’s eyes narrowed on her. Neither of them moved or blinked for several moments. Suddenly, he grabbed his mother’s arm so hard she instinctively shrieked. He dragged her into the shallow water with him.
“Come on. We’re getting water – the right way.”

1950

“Please, Greg, stop, you’re hurting-“ Ruth was interrupted by her own stumble and she tripped and fell into the water.

Before Colby had the chance to physically take over the situation, she was drowned out by the screams of her mother. A sight that she had been fighting against for months was suddenly happening right in front of her – a corpse was buried in the silt, and when Ruth landed on it, it latched onto her arm. Colby watched as a living dead monster consumed her mother’s bicep.
Again, her instincts took over. Colby jumped into the water, drove her dagger through the corpse’s skull, and dragged her mother out of the quarry. By now Ruth had passed out from the shock of what had happened to her.
“Dad!” She screamed. “Hatchet – NOW!”
Benjamin stumbled through his pack to find the hatchet and give it to Colby. There was only one way to stop the infection; she had to cut off her mother’s arm. Colby raised the hatchet, pausing only for a moment to grasp the severity of what she was about to do, and finally brought it down as hard as she could just below Ruth’s shoulder.
“We have to get her indoors, somewhere with clean sheets… We… We need to keep the wound covered…” It was hard to stay strong after having done what she just did.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” an all too familiar voice echoed, “you just disfigured our mother, you’re a psychopath!”

1975

Out of patience, and out of time, Colby wiped the tears from her face, incidentally covering her face in blood. She rose to her feet and faced her brother. They shared a fiery gaze. Greg snapped. He came at Colby, tackling her to the ground. He began punching her over and over again. Colby held her own, and began choking her brother. She had no intention of killing him, but she couldn’t stop herself – this was a long time coming. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Greg grasp his knife from its holster on his hip. He took it out and swung it at her, aiming for her head, but slicing the back of her shoulder instead.
Colby now had no choice. Her own brother had gotten his mother bitten, and was now actively trying to kill her. She reached for her dagger. With Greg pinned to the ground, she put her hand on his forehead, shoved the back of his head into the dirt, and drove her dagger through his temple. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he realized what had happened. As quickly as it began, it was over. Greg was dead. Colby had murdered her own brother.
Benjamin watched the entire situation unravel in front of his eyes, helpless to stop neither his wife, nor his children, defend themselves against the attacks that had transpired. He didn’t know whether to continue tending to his wife’s wound, or go to his son who lay dead on the ground only a few feet away. He stayed in place, silently sobbing, thanking God that his wife hadn’t seen what just happened.
Colby stared blankly at her brother’s lifeless body. For a moment, it felt as though she was in a dream. It would be a lie to say she hadn’t considered taking out the largest threat to the group, her own brother – but she doubted it would get to that point. Until now.
Covered in blood and dirt, Colby stood up. She choked, “we have to dress her wound. Let’s go.”

Wordless, Benjamin nodded his head, still in tears. He and Colby lifted Ruth up, and silently headed toward the nearest town.