I saw something on the news I wasn't supposed to, then it cut to static. (Zombie Apocalypse Hand-Written Story, Episode 6)

June 23^(rd), 2026, 12:35 PM. 

Coulee City, WA 

N Fourth Street 

As soon as my body hits the couch, I feel instant relief to the massive amounts of energy I spent getting ready to leave for the road trip to Wenatchee. In a little under twenty-five minutes, I'll be on my way to my childhood home to hopefully reconnect with my parents. My body feels slick with sweat, not because of the heat, but because of the anxiety of what could have happened to them. Are they safe? All of the answers to the endless amounts of questions I have in my head ultimately don’t matter; their situation is how it is no matter what and there's nothing I can do to control it.  

After five minutes of worrying, I have twenty minutes left. The news frightens me. Shots of a sea of cars on an unknown highway, none moving. The only mobile objects appear to be humans? Not walking in a traditional way, almost like something that hurts. A shuffle, hands at the side, and heads either looking as high as they can into the blue summer skies or slumped like they are high on drugs. It's an unsettling sight, invoking a feeling in my stomach slightly different than the anxiousness, akin to the instinct of fear, but rooted further into who I am as a person. Instinctual is the word I would use to describe it, almost primal. Before the scene develops any further, the camera hits the floor with lens-shattering force, and the broadcast cuts static. Not black, static, insinuating that whatever happened after the broadcast was not meant to be seen by anyone. 

On N Fourth Street, a coarse but uninterrupted moan carries down the stretch of road, and is muffled by your front door, just enough sound seeping through to hear it, but not enough to be satisfied with your guess of what you would see if you opened your curtains. 

What do I do now? Comment Below. All words are my own. AI is only used to structure events and roll probability-based outcomes.