Horizon

Chapter 1 Town


On a dirt road on the side of Clear Rock Mountain stood a three-bedroom home. It had dark brown siding
with a green roof. The large bay windows faced outward, overlooking Clear Rock. The town was in the
foothills down below. They had a small front yard, but the backyard was a good size. It was the beginning
of May, and all the snow was gone for the year.

Arabelle Benson awoke to the annoying sound of the alarm clock. She wanted to smash it and then took
a few moments of silence. She took a deep breath and told herself it was time to get up. Arabelle flung a
purple bathrobe around her body and strolled down the hall. The bedroom on the right was still dim until
Arabelle pulled the curtains open. A small moan came from her youngest daughter, Cara. “Time for
school,” Arabelle said. Kissing Cara on the forehead. Alana was still sound asleep. Arabelle pushed her
long, dark blonde hair out of her face and kissed her nose. “Honey, it’s time to get up for school.”

Cara was 6 and the first to the kitchen. She already had a bowl of cereal poured. She brushed her curly
shoulder length dark walnut hair out off her face while taking an bite off cereal.
Alana 10 was busy tucking in her shirt. Just then, they heard a loud noise. It sounded a lot like
fireworks but louder. “Mom, what was that?” Alana asked. Glaring out the window, she saw vast smoke.
There were small fires down below in the town. Smoke rose into the sky. After opening the widow, they
could hear sirens in the far distance. Arabelle called her office; she was a part-time secretary for a law
firm. The coworker on the phone was stuttering as she said, “Sssstay aaaway. There are people sssick
here.” Then the phone sounded a beep beep beep tone. Arabelle knew something scary was going on in
the town. She could hear her heart pounding as tears swelled in her eyes. Turning, she hides the fear
from her children. Firework explosions continued while Arabelle ran to the hall closet and grabbed her
husband’s longest sword. She grabbed Alana’s hand, picked up Cara, and told them they would play a
game downstairs. The basement was dark; the light bulb Arabelle had always meant to change to a
higher wattage but never did shone, only part of the basement. Arabelle’s hands were shaking, and she
wanted to cry but had to be strong for her girls.

Arabelle found a bag of her old clothes she was going to throw out and put some on. “Mom, we are
missing school. What is wrong?” Alana said. We are just going to wait down here awhile.” They started to
sing one of the girls’ favorite songs. Just then, they heard someone upstairs. Arabelle grabbed the sword,
shoved the girls into the corner, and stood firm, holding the sword up, ready to strike.
They heard a rustling, and then a dish hit the floor. Suddenly, the basement door creaked open, and they
listened to the stairs squeaking.
There in the dim light stood a short, old, gray-haired woman. “Barbara,”Arabelle said. It was their
neighbor who lived down the road. “What on earth is going on in the town? Did you see the fire and
smoke?” Barbara Asked. Arabelle told her neighbor to go home; she would check it out and let her know
what was happening.

It was only a five-minute drive to Clear Rock. Arabelle convinced her nurse friend to meet her at the
clinic. She and the girls climbed into their red SUV. It was a beautiful ride down the mountain. There were
many different-colored wildflowers along the side of the road. The town was busy; people were rushing
around. A few buildings were on fire. That must have been where the smoke and noise came from.
There stood Elena Conlee, a middle-aged woman. Her partly gray hair hung long; she was short and had
thick thighs with a large scar on her neck. She was the sweetest person Arabelle had ever met. Elena
held up her badge and entered the deserted clinic. They passed through the lobby, and Elena swiped her
badge and held the door as Arabelle, Alana, and Cara walked through. Medical supplies and papers were
scattered on the floor. Elena went into a supply cabinet, grabbed some gauze, bandaids, Cobain, and a
few other things, and stuffed them into a bag, handing it to Arabelle. They all had a seat in one of the
rooms.
It started a few weeks ago. A man in hiking gear came through the emergency door carrying his cat. He
collapsed to the floor, and the cat jumped out of his arms and ran off. A few nurses picked him up. Day 1:
He had a fever. His eyes looked glossy, and he spoke of blurry vision. Pain covered his body, and after
some medicine, he was out like a light.

Day 2: He started talking crazy about how he was deep in a cave, fell in some slime, and found a cat in a
purple bubble. By now, his breathing was beginning to slow, his skin turned a pale color, and he felt cold.
He began to stutter and slur his words like he forgot what to say. A few minutes later, he shrieked in a
high-pitched voice. After a shot, he was out again.
Day 3, when he awoke, he was mumbling. His skin was changing, and the doctor’s gloves were filled
with a sticky residue when touching his skin. This man was infected with some kind of weird virus. Five
minutes later, he lets out a low moan and becomes enraged. Three nurses were trying to restrain him
when suddenly, five people came in. All dressed in protective white suits and took him away.
Elena’s supervisor had called them and reported and updated their patient’s status. A few patients went
home before the hiker got picked up. A few days later, people came in with some of the same symptoms.
Some went home, and some were taken by the ZENT organization. Even their families were put in
quarantine. The clinic tryed to keep it all quiet so they wouldn’t scare anyone. After about 3 weeks, the
clinic was forced to run a skeleton crew, and then soon after, everyone decided to go home and be with
their loved ones.

When leaving, they heard the sirens of a firetruck. Arabelle stopped and prepaid for gas. Next, she pulled
up to the ATM and withdrew as much as she could. Further downtown, some more buildings were on fire,
and smoke rose to the sky.

The doors at the grocery store were open, and people darted in and out with armfuls of stuff. “Alright,
girls, lay down in the back seat and don’t move until I get back,” Arabelle said.
The store was ransacked, and most of the aisles had food on the floor. Arabelle grabbed a cart and filled
it with oatmeal, cereal, water, toilet paper, sandwich stuff, Chips, and a few other things. Standing in the
noodle aisle was a woman glaring at her. “You need to hide or leave, the world is ending,” she said with
fear in her eyes. Arabelle felt guilty for walking out of the store without paying.
The girls helped load the red SUV. Alana was sidetracked when she saw Owen, someone from school.
Owen and his father were running down the street. There were many people rushing around, babies
crying, and people packing and leaving everywhere you looked.
Sitting in the vehicle, Arabelle took a deep breath. “Mommy, what are we going to do?” Alana asked.
Arabelle decided to call her husband, Henry. The phone rang four times until it went to voice mail. Just
then, Arabelle saw her coworker April on the sidewalk.

Tears were rolling down her face as she wept into her hands. Her light brown hair stuck to her face as
Arabelle hugged her. “I was making lunch when I heard a moaning in the next room. It was Dan; he
lunged toward me and tried to bite me. I was far enough away out of his reach. I threw the basket of
laundry, sat on a chair by the fridge, and managed to escape,” April said. She began to sob again. " I’m
on my way to my mom’s now,” April said. Arabelle hugged her tightly and then rejoined her girls in the
vehicle.
Driving down Main Street, a person stood in the middle of the road. His face was distorted, his skin was
pale ivory, and he had blood on his clothes. He looked around like he was in a daze. He walked stiff-
legged slowly, then suddenly, something got his attention, and he stumbled off viciously. “Mommy, what
was wrong with that man?” Cara asked curiously. They sat silent for a bit. Then Arabelle said, " How
about we have lunch in the park?”

The sky was cloudy as they entered an empty parking lot. It was 60 degrees out. They walked over to the
bench, where Arabelle took a seat. Alana ran over to the blue pond to feed the ducks some bread. Cara
ran over to her and handed her a few pieces. The ducks floated over to the edge to get the bread. A few
let out a quack. The ducks seemed fine, but Arabelle was a little skeptical that her daughters were so
close to them.

The afternoon sun was trying to peek through. Arabelle scanned her surrounding there was no one in
sight. She laid some bread on a chip bag and put some lunch meat and cheese on them. Alana laughed
as the ducks took turns dipping their heads under the water and splashing around. Cara joined in with a
cute little giggle. Arabelle whistled as to call the girls over to get lunch. Alana tore the crust off her

sandwich while Cara enjoyed some chips. Cara let out another giggle as the juice box liquid rolled down
her chin onto her pants. Arabelle just smiled. After lunch, the girls run back over to the ducks.
The sky became overcast with clouds. Arabelle decided to text Henry, “How are you and where are you?”
She closed her eyes, and for a moment, it was peaceful, then a crow squawked overhead. Alana was still
by the pond, but where was Cara?

Arabelle skimmed the park with worried eyes. Squinting to see further away, she spotted movement in
the patch of trees afar. Alana ran beside her mother as they entered the tree patch, and there, next to a
big maple tree, was Cara. She stood still as she pointed up into the tree. A few feet up the tree was a
medium-haired tabby cat.
Cara climbed the tree to rescue the cat, and Arabelle helped her daughter back down with him. The cat
was heavy and soaked. His left back paw and right ear had some cuts. He began to lick his wounds as
he let out a cute little meow.
When they touched his tail, he let out a cry. “Mommy, can we keep him?” Cara asked. The look in her
mother’s eyes said yes. Alana helped Cara dry the cat with her jacket.
In the back of the red SUV, the girls sat with the cat wrapped tightly in Cara’s arms. After they turned off
Park Lane, they saw a house on fire. A group of people watched it burn. The red SUV slowed to a halt
when they discovered a large reinforced truck and a transport bus patrolling the area. They had a team of
ZENT members who were gathering people to quarantine. They watched as a family was broken up and
put in different transport buses. The town just got worse as more army vehicles entered the streets.
Arabelle knew it was time to leave.

Clear Rock stood in shambles. Buildings were vandalized by people who didn’t care. They saw more
houses on fire. People were dragged from their homes to be quarantined. On the right side, another
person was pale, confused, and lifeless. They rambled into an oncoming vehicle and were demolished.
Both girls screamed as the red SUV sped up.
Back home, Arabelle sat in the kitchen, puzzled and unsure of what to do. Alana was reading a book
while Cara was playing in her room. Turning on the TV, it spoke about a virus that was infecting
numerous people. They were asking people to stay home and cooperate with the ZENT Organization
that was patrolling. People infected or exposed to a person who was infected would be quarantined. Click
went the TV.
Suddenly, Arabelle’s phone buzzed. It was a text from Henry. It said, “Find Emma.” Arabelle knew
precisely what she had to do.
She clapped her hands and said. “Get your school backpacks, dump them out, and pack some clothes, a
jacket, a book, and a stuffie. Get a pillow and blankets. We are going to Kansas to see Mommy’s friend
Emma.” Cara was holding the injured cat in a blanket. She was trying her best to nurse the cat back to
health. The cat let out a tiny meow. Arabelle went over and unwrapped the cat and washed the blood off
his paws. A couple of the paws had a few deep cuts. They gave the cat some water and tuna fish. Cara
turned to her mother, smiled, and said, “Thank you, Mommy, for helping Dex.” “Dex!” Arabelle said. “He
likes that name,” Cara said.

After grabbing bottled water, a few boxes of crackers, all the boxes of mac and cheese in the cupboard,
and juice boxes out of the fridge, she tossed them into a box. Then, she rummaged through a drawer and
found her utility knife.
Next, she zoomed into her room, climbed into her closet, and reached up to find her hiking backpack.
Arabelle flung clothes onto the bed, a phone charger, Tylenol, jacket, and purse. She tucked as much as
she could fit.
Down in the basement, she grabbed flashlights, a tote of camping gear, and sleeping bags.
Upstairs, She found Alana dancing around in her room. She had put on a tutu over her clothes and had a
tiara on. Her purple backpack with the unicorn keychain was lying on the floor, unzipped and halfway
packed. “Alana, please finish packing. We have to get going,” Arabelle said.

Cara was sitting on the floor in her room with the cat wrapped in a blanket. Her backpack was full and set
neatly by the door.
After packing everything into the vehicle, Arabelle realized the day was slipping away. She helped move
the cat to the backseat with Cara. She ran back into the house to check if she had all they needed and
remembered to grab her sword before she left.

The red SUV pulled onto the dirt road, and she decided to check on their neighbor. Their house was a
few miles down the road. They approached the house, and Arabelle knocked at the front door. There was
no answer. Since the door was unlocked, she let herself in. The living room was dim as she adventured
further in. She heard a low grunting and smacking noise. She still moved closer, and Barbara sat in the
recliner. Martin, her husband, hoovered over her body, chewing on her cheek and ripping her flesh. Blood
streamed down Barbara’s face and onto her shirt. Martin turned his head, and a piece of bloody, gristly
flesh hung from his mouth. Arabelle backed up slowly and turned to run.