Hey, NutBar, Thanks for your interest in Ties That Bind: 7/28/78. Your application is accepted and your information will be given to you closer to the day of release!
... But, I've got some more information for you!
That afternoon, as Helen waited at the school to pick up Charlotte, the other mothers buzzed about news of a train derailment on the edge of town. Several tankers had exploded, and a massive evacuation was underway. Dread curled in Helen's stomach as she drove home, taking a detour to avoid the chaos of emergency vehicles. By nightfall, Charlotte's small body was wracked with tremors. As Helen tried to soothe her daughter's growing fever, she couldn't stop replaying the snippets of news reports she had heard—reports of strange illnesses spreading through the evacuees, and unconfirmed sightings of military presence. Where was Jimmy, and why hadn't he called? Steeling her nerves, Helen bundled Charlotte in blankets and knew she had to get her to the hospital.
Rushing out of the house with Charlotte cradled in her arms, a guttural growl rose behind her. She whirled around to see a haggard man lurching their way, lips peeled back in a feral snarl. His clothes were tattered, his skin a sickly gray, and his eyes burned with a wild, hollow hunger. Helen just managed to dodge, using her body to shield Charlotte from his snapping teeth. With a burst of adrenaline, she bolted for the car and laid Charlotte gently in the backseat. But as she turned to slam the door, her gaze locked with the man's. One eye was ripped from its socket, while the other was a milky white. Chunks of his face were missing, exposing bloody teeth that clacked together with a terrible eagerness.
Helen gunned the engine and peeled into the night. As she drove, she chanced glances in the rearview mirror, watching Charlotte whimpering and twitching in the back seat. Desperation clawed at Helen’s mind as she tried to focus on the road, but the sights and sounds around her made it impossible. Entire neighborhoods were consumed in orange flames; people staggered aimlessly through the chaos, some covered in blood, others moving with the same unnatural jerks as the man who had attacked them. Helen turned up the radio, trying to drown out the horror, but even the music couldn’t mask the screams and the distant explosions.
All she could do was step on the gas and pray she could get Charlotte to the safety of the hospital before whatever had gripped their town caught up to them.
