Free Suspending Reality by Chrissy Peebles

anything—who got too close. “Hang on, kids!” the officer said. With another yank, we sped up into the sky, stopping at the very top. This time, shaking the cart for thrills or making out was the last thing on my mind.
    “That policeman…he…that cop shot my sister!” Sherry said between gasps. She buried her face into my chest and wept. I pulled her close, not sure what words of comfort to give her. More shots were fired, followed by ear-piercing screams and then…nothing. Panic ensued from other riders still stuck on the wheel at various positions. Better to be up here than down there, I figured. We had to be at least 150 feet up in the air, and that made me feel safe from whatever was happening below.
    My cell phone rang jolting me out of my stupor. I fumbled in my pocket and answered the call.
    “Dean?”
    “Dad!” I said. “What’s going on?”
    “Oh, son, thank God you’re alive. There’s no time for explanations. Where are you?” he asked, his voice betraying an edge.
    “I’m on a date with Sherry. We’re stuck on top of the Ferris wheel at the beach. It isn’t moving. Dad, I think everybody’s dead down there! I-I don’t know. It’s all just so…it’s crazy, Dad, like some kind of horrible movie!”
    “We’re coming to pick you up, and then we’re getting the heck out of town.”
    “It’s too dangerous,” I said. “I know this is going to sound absolutely crazy, but you gotta believe me. People are turning into some kind of cannibals…and they’re attacking people.”
    “I know. Don’t worry. I’ll be armed. I’ll get you out of there, I promise. Got it, son?”
    “Where are we going?”
    “Your brother’s flying us to the island with Grams where we’ll be safe. These things are attacking everybody in Myrtle Beach. We’ve gotta get far away from here as fast as we can.”
    On the other end of the phone, glass shattered with a crash, followed by my mom’s piercing scream. I gasped as the line went dead. “Dad!” I shouted. “Dad?”
     
     
     
    Chapter 2
     
    One year ago, a deadly virus decimated the world leaving swarms of brain-eating zombies in its wake. Survivors rushed to the makeshift fortresses, walled-in cities protected by towering concrete walls and a military force to be reckoned with. I managed to make it to one of these safe havens with my brother and parents, and that afforded me the chance to spend the last year sheltered from the gloom that rocked the land. My brother, on the other hand, decided to leave the safe confines and continue fighting with the U.S. Army to fight the onslaught of the undead. He became a top-notch zombie-hunter, but my parents and I didn’t see much of him after that. My mother feared he might not come back alive, if at all.
    Initially, the virus immediately turned anybody into zombies who had type 0+ or A+ blood. The rest of us seemed safe as long as we didn’t get exposed through broken skin. We never knew what really caused the outbreak. And when scientists thought they had it figured out, the rules would change slightly. The virus mutated, and now if somebody was bitten or scratched, it could take up to five days before they turned…unless they died which meant the change came immediately.
    I tried to make the best of the situation. It wasn’t that bad. Our house had electricity and water, and I led a fairly normal teenage life—right up until I had to leave and jeopardize my safety (and consequently my future) for the sake of a girl I’d only just met. But I really had no option. She was scheduled for a lethal injection, and I could not stand by and watch that happen. I planned on stopping the execution, even though I knew the stakes were high. After all, if I’d have been caught by the authorities, they would have promptly booted me out into Zombie Land. It was a fate I did not want to subject myself or my parents to, but after pondering it and considering my options—and the girl’s, which were none—I realized