Buzzinga! There goes the alarm on my phone. I really need to change that; it always scares me. I stare out my window; it's cloudy today. I wonder why. It's the middle of summer. We’ve had really nice weather. Why would it get so cloudy all of a sudden? And then.. BAM! My mom slams my door open.

“Hija, turn on your TV. Quick!” my mom exclaims.

What could be so important that I have to hurry up to turn on my TV?

“What’s wrong Ma?” I inquired.

She didn't answer right away. She turned my TV on, and turned straight to the news channel.

“… Everyone lock your doors, board your windows, and don't let anyone in your homes! There is a zombie apocalypse and we don't know who is a zombie and who isn't. Their personalities, their features, and the way the they act are still very alike to before. Please be careful everyone!”

My mom has always been one of those mom’s that worried about everything. This time though, it was different. Right now, I was worried, too. How will we escape? How will we know who’s who? I have so many questions and I need answers, like, now! Ma is still very young so if we really had to, we could outrun these monsters.

I still couldn’t believe what I just heard. There’s an apocalypse and I just now found out! Oh God, I feel sick! Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. I tell myself.

“Ma, when did this start? Why is this happening? Why HERE? Why NOW?”

“I don't know! I woke up and.. And.. I- I saw that someone was watching me from my window. I told them to go away, they wouldn't leave, so I tried calling the police. That didn't help. I’m scared, Hija.” she was crying now.

“Ma, don't cry, please. We'll be okay.. wait, where’s Papí and Eddie?” now I was getting a little worried.

I left my room in a rush and looked around the house. I ran across the hall to Eddie’s room, he wasn't there. I raced down the stairs to my parents’ room, my dad wasn't in his room either. I really hope they’re okay. My dad has always been very protective and he’s really strong, so I’m sure they’re doing just fine.

Eddie, on the other hand, was only 5 years old. To me he’s still just a baby. Where could they be? And why didn’t they take me with them?

I yelled, “Ma! Where’s Papí and Eddie!”

She came down the stairs in a slow and steady motion. She started laughing hysterically. Oh no! Not my family! Why MY family?

“Mom?.. Are- are you alright?” I need a plan, quick.

“Alex, you don't have to live like this.” Ma said in a very strange and serious tone.

  “Ma, please..” I’m crying now, “Please don't do this. I love you, please.” Bee Do Bee Do Bee Do. I answer my phone. Sniff. “Hello?” My cousin Yareli is crying on the phone, she's worried. “Alex, help me! Everyone at my house has turned into a zombie! Please come help me!” “Yareli, everyone at my house is a zombie, too. I don't even know where Eddie and my dad are right now.”

I have a plan, but how am I going to do it?.. I got it! “Let me call you back..” I turn to my mother and I tell her I´m going to the bathroom to wash up. Tap tap tap. I dial Yareli’s number and I call her back. “Leli, listen to me carefully.. I need you to go to your room and try to get out through your window. Okay?” I explained to her that if she fell for anything that her family said to her, she will end up just like them. This better work. Oh man, I hope this works. Ten minutes later...

“Hey, are you okay?” I examined her.

“I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m just really worried and confused. What’s going on, Alex. everything is so out of control.” We’re looking around the street to check if anyone else is coming. We don’t see anyone coming..

“Let’s investigate a bit more.” I suggest.

“Sounds good.” Yareli agrees. “What do we do if we pass by one of the.. you know.. Zombies?”

“Don’t show any emotions, somehow, I don’t know how, but they can tell if you’re not one of them.” I explained.

Yareli five years younger than me. She’s only 12 so, as of right now, I’m in charge of her. I just need to know where my dad is and then we’ll all escape this and be safe.

“First, let’s figure out where Eddie and my dad could be, okay? They weren’t at home so, either they’re already zombies, or they escaped before this whole thing even started!”  Yareli and I started by looking downtown at the library. Nothing. It was quiet, too quiet. I looked for a book that would maybe help me with the situation that we’re in right now.“Look for a book about zombies,” I demanded. “Hopefully we can find something helpful.” So far, there was nothing there that would help me fight off these awful creatures.

“Hey look! I found something!” I raced over to where my cousin was and I read the title of the book. Zombies: Why Are They Here? “Wow, that’s a weird title.” she said.

I checked to see if the Internet was still working. It was, thank God. I looked up What to do when there is a zombie apocalypse. That’s the first thing that came to my mind. “Come on, load.” It was taking forever to load. The Internet might’ve still been working, but it was slower than an exhausted turtle.

Creak.. I whispered to Yareli, “What was that?” She shrugged and mouthed the words I don’t know. What could it have been? Did the zombies find us already? That fast!? Oh no, we need to find somewhere to hide an quick, before they see us! “Come on, let’s hide.” I whispered to her again.

“Come on, Hijo, hurry before they find us.” It was my father!

“Dad?” I said out loud. I got up, “Dad, is that you?”

“Oh my goodness, Alex. I’ve been worried sick about you.” he gave me a big hug.

“Papi, why didn’t you take me with you when you left?” I needed to know.

“I didn’t take you because.. Because..” he looked around the room worried. “.. because..” he started smiling.. “This was all a test to see what you would do if this ever really happened. Eddie and I followed you guys here. You did a very good job, Hija. when Yareli needed you, you helped her out and you guys worked together to get through this.” he gave me another hug and then he hugged Yareli, too.

“Wait, this was all a test?!” I was a little angry, but at the same time, relieved. “How could you guys do this? I was so worried about you.. And Ma was acting crazy, I was scared, Pa.” I turned around to face Yareli and I asked her, “Did you know about this, too?”

She looked at the ground and then back at me, “Yeah, I did.”

Wow, I can’t believe they would do something like this to me.. I know that this was just a test for when it actually happens, but.. Wow. I guess I passed..

“So,” I asked my dad,”When and how did you think of doing this?” I had so many questions, but I wasn’t sure if I should ask them all at once.

He was disappointed that he did this, but he said, “About a couple months ago.. But I wasn’t really sure when we were going to do it. Also, we weren’t sure if we should do it just to you or you and your brother. We figured that Eddie was still too little so we just did it to you. But, congratulations, Hija, you passed! You did exactly what we expected you to do!” He smiled. Wow, he’s really proud of me. I guess now he’s not so disappointed anymore.

Well, that’s how my first summer morning went.. I woke up half scared to death, and I was them told that it was all a test. I guess I’m not so bad at tests, although I still had a C- in Geometry last year. I guess it’s not really the same, though. This was about survival, not some stupid numbers. I wonder what other tests they have prepared for me.