Here is a new one-word prompt for you.

My wife suggested this word for me and I liked the idea. Hope you all dig it.

Prompt: Pestilence

“Mom, please calm down,” Vicki said. “You’re freaking me out.”

“Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough for you!” The mother said.

“Mom, what are you talking about,” Don said, “we’re all on the same team here.”

“You’re not better than me you scum,” the mother said. “You’re scum, scum!”

“What’s wrong with her mouth?” Don indicated at the bright white foam at the corners of his mother’s mouth .

“I don’t know,” Vicki said, “But we need help, she’s not acting right.”

“Shut up you little whore!” The mother said.

“Mom, stop it,” Don said. “You’re scaring us, this isn’t you.”

“Scum, scum!” the woman said. “You never even tried at it you bastards, you scum!” At the last word, she lurched forward at her children and grabbed Don by the arm and dug her nails in to his skin.

“Get off mom!” Don said, trying to remove her grip from the red holes where his mother’s nails bored.

“Mom!” Vicki said and started pulling on the woman’s shoulder. The woman turned just long enough to smack Vicki hard across the face and shove her down to the floor of the living room.

“Don, what do I do?” Vicki said as she got to her feet.

Don let out a high cry and whipped his mother to the side and she sprawled on the floor and scrambled to her feet, cursing nonsense at her children and coming in for another attack. This time, Don was ready for her and he caught her with his fist across her left cheek. The woman shook it off and came at Don again. The strong teenager turned his mothers attack against her and tripped her to the ground.

“You’re sick mom!” Vicki said. “This whole damn town is sick!”

“I hate you!” The woman said. “I hate you, ungrateful scum!”

“Mom, please,” Don said. “You’re going to be alright. We just need to keep it together.”

“Scum, scum, scum, scum,” It said. Each time breathing a little harder and sounding a little higher.

“What are we going to do?” Vicki asked.

“We wait.” Don said. “Until ma gets better, we can lock her in the garage. We have to repair the window again and we should be all set.”

“Don,” Vicki said as she helped her brother force the woman through the door to the garage.

“What is it Vicks?” Don said as he locked the door. Almost immediately, the woman started scratching at the door.

“Do you think the people will ever get better?”

“We haven’t seen any of the ones that turned come back Vicks. I don’t know what’s going to happen with ma, but I think this flu getting around might be the last time any of us get better.”

“We can’t believe that,” Vicki said. “We’re okay for some reason. There has to be others like us.”

“Even if there are, we haven’t seen a healthy person in days.” They both went to the boarded window and peered out through the thin openings. The residence of the small cul de sac were pacing the streets, yelling to themselves and ripping at the air. One man was continually kicking a corpse that had been there for hours.

“I don’t know though,” Don said.

“What?”

“I don’t think we’re going to get out of this one.”

“We have the car.”

“I mean human beings in general Vicks. I don’t think we’re going to bounce back from this one.”

“I hope we can,” Vicki said.

“Yep.” Don said. “So do I.”

That’s all she wrote! Well, that’s all I wrote, but either way, this is the end. Thank you for reading my work.

Cheers,

Caleb


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