Diary of the Last Seed by Charles Orangetree Page A

present and focus on the task at hand…holding on for her life.
     
    “This is some freaking bullshit!” she yelled as tears ran down her face. “I know you are out there, stop hiding in the fucking shadows and do something. You know, you will regret this for the rest of your miserable life. I know you are scared, but I am too, and right now I need your help.” The crawlers could hear her, but couldn’t pinpoint her location. They were roaming side to side on the bridge, one of them even felt down the bridge just at the bar where she was holding on and almost grabbed her. Emma completely ignored it, and kept yelling into the night.
     
    “Since you are not going to do a fucking thing for me, at least answer a question. Why did you tried to kiss me and tell me you loved me? Why, now, are you acting like you don’t even know me?” she asked. Emma was tired. Tired of not getting a response back, and tired of waiting for something, or someone, to save her from her current situation. She wished she had done something different; however, it was too late for that type of thinking.
     
    Emma’s mind was spinning a hundred miles an hour, trying to find a solution, and without realizing it her fingers let go of the metal bar. All she could do was close her eyes and hope that this was all a terrible dream. Images from when it all started filled her head. Flashbacks from those horrible first couple of weeks when she was alone, when her whole family had died, turned into crawlers, and tried to eat her. She could still remember the overwhelming stench of rotting flesh; the air around her had tasted of half-decomposed corpses. Crews of survivors worked at a feverish pace to purge the city of the dead, piles of dead bodies on every city block waited with sightless eyes for their turn on the pyre. Crows and other carrion birds descended on the endless feast of human flesh. She stopped staring at the tangled mass of arms and legs after what seemed an eternity. She could no longer bear the sight. The vision burned behind her eyelids of the young woman, only weeks away from giving birth, who lay nearby with her hands still clutching her swollen belly.
     
    She opened her eyes and arms as if she were welcoming the end of her life, and her body was swallowed by the night…
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER ONE
    Stacy Blackburn
     
    Stacy Blackburn found herself leaning against the window, trying to look down toward the hospital parking lot, but it was impossible for her to see outside due to the winter storm punishing the streets below. Stacy caught her reflection in the window. Noticing her own smile, she rapidly turned her attention to her son’s bed. Who could blame her? In normal circumstances every snow day would bring so much joy to her family. Especially to Stacy’s son. He enjoyed playing in the snow ever since he was a little boy. He would be so happy during the winter months playing in the snow. Stacy’s memories were filled with her son running around, making snowmen, and playing with the family dachshund. She could still remember the first white winter her son had. To her surprise, it had been back in Texas. With a good two inches of snow, it was more than enough to build a snowman between her husband and child. Her son was happy, even though it didn’t last long due to the Texas weather.
    The snowman melted within half an hour after construction. Stacy spent a few hours hearing her son grieve over the “dead” snowman. Stacy wished she could go back in time, back to the time when her son was happy and active. She knew that was not possible. All she could do was dream about having her son back and healthy. He had been in a coma for almost two months now and the doctors had not been able to figure out what was wrong with him. Stacy could not bear the sight of the snow anymore, so she slowly walked over to her son’s bed.
     
    Stacy’s hands were shaking and her face was covered with tears, but she managed to set