Strain of Resistance (Prequel): Grand Escape by Michelle Bryan Page B

watching that stupid movie.
            Suddenly an unholy scream pierced the air, and the hair on the back of Sam's neck stood on end as if he’d just been hit with an electric shock. The echo of the scream didn’t even get a chance to fade before it was joined by another. The screams perforated the mist, muting every other sound. Frozen in place, Sam was vaguely aware of how glad he was now that he couldn’t see the street, for the screams were unmistakable sounds of sheer terror and agony.
          The windowsill slammed shut with a bang barely missing Sam's fingers, as Amy blocked out the terrifying noises.
       “Crap, Amy. You nearly took my fingers off!” He yelled at her, but more out of shock than anger. She simply stared out the window with saucer wide eyes.
          "Amy?"
         Crash!
           The woman's face hit the window so hard her nose broke on impact and blood splattered the clear glass. Her eyes were glazed, wild with fear and her lips were moving frantically as she screamed, pounding her hands against the glass.
          "HELP ME!"
           Amy's terrified screams blended with the woman’s. Powerless to move, brother and sister watched in horror as a hazy shape materialized out of the mist over the woman’s shoulder. It lurched closer to the window and morphed into a man in a business suit. Or rather, it must have been at one point, but the man's face was no longer normal looking. It was ripped to shreds like raw meat. Pieces of flesh flapped like waggling fingers as he moved steadily toward the woman. And his mouth! His mouth was this yawning void from which protruded a gray, worm-like creature. It was like something straight out of some horror movie. Sam couldn’t help the screams that tore at his own throat as the creature clamped down on the woman’s neck and ripped it apart like it was tissue paper. Blood arced in the air, almost as if in slow motion and then rained down on the glass, obscuring both the woman and the creature from their sight.
           Sam stumbled backward and hit the floor elbows first, pain shooting up his arms. The pain seemed to awaken him from his stupor.
          "AMY, BOLT THE DOOR! BOLT THE DAMN DOOR!" he screamed from the floor and Amy obeyed without hesitation, moving quicker than he had ever seen her move.
          Just as the bolt snapped down on the lock, the door buckled as something outside rammed it hard. Amy screamed as she backed away. Scrambling to Sam, he pulled her into his arms and they huddled together on the living room floor. Amy curled into a fetal position and her hands covered her ears as she tried to block the horrible sounds coming from outside.
          It felt like hours, but finally, the screams died out and an eerie silence fell over the normally bustling street. Sam tore his glued eyes away from the blood-splattered window and looked down into Amy's pale face. She too had gone eerily silent… her eyes vacant and empty. Sam wondered if she had maybe gone into shock.
          "Ames?" he questioned apprehensively. No response.
         "Amy!" he yelled, giving her a little shake. Her eyes blinked furiously as if suddenly realizing Sam was there.
          "Daddy?" is all she said, but Sam understood.
          "I'm sure he's okay, Ames. He was working in his office, so he was inside. Whatever happened to those... people, it happened outside. We were inside and we were okay. Dad will be too. I'm sure he’ll be home soon."
                                                             ***
     
           The water shut off two weeks later and the power shortly after that, but still no sign of the senior Samuel. Sam and Amy had taken to sleeping in their father's hobby room in the attic since the power went out. Even though Sam had bolted every door and drawn every curtain tight to block out the sight of the roaming “zombies” as Amy had