SEASON 2 EPISODE 3: Amassing the Pieces

          It’s been three days since the group had taken the church. Since then, Mr. McDowell and some of the men had gone to and from different neighborhoods collecting mattresses, bed sheets, blankets, pillows and whatnot. All the girls slept down the hall on the right side of the student center while all the boys slept on the left hall. It was nice for everyone to have their own beds. Even on the property they either shared beds or slept on the floor. Staying at the Nichols that one night was even worse.

            The same day half the guys left to scavenge beds, Ian and the rest of the boys helped reinforce the doors and windows with wood planks bolted into the metal frames. Three inch slits allowed guns to be carefully slotted through so as to shoot on coming rovers. Ian’s idea.

            The second day was spent with nothing but everyone carving points onto long sticks and driving them into the ground so as to surround the property in a temporary anti-rover barrier. The group hoped to build a wall around the church at some point, but lacked the fuel and supplies and other important recourses like guns and ammo to execute such an extensive job.  

            It was an overwhelming feeling: thinking about the walls. It was overwhelming just thinking about the future in general. It could be months before they finish the walls and so much can happen in these dark times within just a week. The group knows that more than anybody.

            Since the group took back the church, however, things have slowly begun to get better emotionally wise. Brittany has been playing guitar again, and the group spends an hour of their time in the evening to sing and pray. It’s not the same as it used to be. It never will be the same. The group won’t have Dustin get up on stage and gather the students before prayer, Shane won’t be messing with the lighting before the praise band worships, Lee won’t be banging on the cow bell because it’s too loud and the rovers will hear, and students won’t be playing nerf like they used to. The night won’t end with a great sermon from their youth pastor or a game of volleyball. It will end in silence.

            Now the group reaches their third day at the church. Tim wanted to bring his close friend Zack Castanon to a Police Department to collect supplies, and he wanted Ian to go into the neighborhoods and go house to house scavenging for fuel and food. It was going to be a busy day.

            Stepping outside with Zack, Tim gives Ian his last orders before leaving.

[Tim]: When you leave, let Mr. McDowell know he’s in charge at the church. Make sure you, Jenna, Christian, Lee and Bailey stick together.

[Ian]: Sure thing.

            A moment was spent in silence. It was a scary thing to leave the church with Bailey’s ATV barely having any fuel, and not knowing if this trip is going to be a complete waste of time.

[Tim]: Take care of yourself, Ian.

[Ian]: You don’t have to worry.

[Tim]: I know I don’t.

            The two climbed into the vehicle and they drove away. Watching them drive away, Ian subtly steps back inside the youth center. Since he’s been here, he’s realized just how much he’s taken for granted. The air still smelt stale and rotten: he missed a clean smelling room. He noticed blood stains on the carpets and remembered back when they were the maroon, cream and sand-pattern carpets that Dustin made sure were clean 100% of the time. Now they’re dirty. He missed clean carpets. He was thirsty, but he knew he couldn’t just walk in the fridge and grab water bottles. He missed the easy access to water.

            Walking upstairs where the rest of the group was hanging out, Ian stopped at the entrance to the living area of the student center and simply watched. He watched his friends interact with one another. Lee was playing with Dylan in a game of ping pong. Dylan was getting good, but Christian will forever suck at the game, but he will also forever continue trying. Kelley, London, and Maddy were talking in the corner of the room. They were laughing and giggling about something. They’re the only ones we see laugh more than anybody. Lauren, Bailey and Brittany were having their own conversation. Bailey would make that funny growling noise anytime someone did something annoy, which was very often.

            Then he saw Jenna. She was sitting in the chairs with Audrey, Hunter, and Lauren’s little brother who was also named Hunter. Having two people with the same name brought a lot of confusion, and Ian can’t even imagine what it would be like if Zach were here with Zack. He listened as his friends laughed and enjoyed their times together even though everything outside was trying to separate them. Ian wasn’t going to take any of this for granted. Not anytime soon.

            Walking up to Mr. McDowell and Mrs. Reed, Ian informed them of the situation. Ian could sense the irritation in Mr. McDowell’s voice.   

[Mr. McDowell]: Is there a reason why I can’t go? There shouldn’t be kids doing something dangerous when I’m quite capable of helping.

[Ian]: Tim never informed me of why, but I assume he did so because he needs you here.

[Mr. McDowell]: I’m quite confident this place is safe with all the rest of the people here. Who all is going?

[Ian]: Jenna, Bailey, Lee, Christian and I-

[Mr. McDowell]: I'm sorry? Tim can’t do that without coming to me first! Next time he’s here I’m having a talk. I'm not gonna sit here and take orders from a teenager.

            All eyes were on Mr. McDowell. Ian could see it. Heck, he could feel it. He stepped closer to the large adult staring him sternly into his eyes.

[Ian]: Hold on one second. He knows you are capable of helping. But we kids need to start getting more involved and start adjusting. We had a friend who tried to show us…teach us how to adjust. And he is gone now. We’re not going to repeat the past, so this situation must suffice.

            Looming over Ian, Mr. McDowell proceeded to poke Ian firmly in the chest. Maddy, Dylan, and Lee slowly reached for their weapons.

[Mr. McDowell]: Don’t you dare disrespect me. Just because you killed your father doesn’t mean you’re all big and bad. I’m going in my son’s place.

            Rushing to the scene, Christian steps between the two.

[Christian]: It’s ok, Ian. Calm down. It’s cool.

            Ian backed away. Mr. McDowell looked down at his son, emotionless and without words. It was like something was coming over the man; something dark. Ian suddenly found a flicker of fear in his heart. Suddenly Ian realized that Tim’s life could possibly be in danger. Nah, Ian thought, he was probably over thinking it. Mr. McDowell was just upset is all.

[Mr. McDowell]: We’re leaving in an hour.

            Who put him in charge? Ian was supposed to lead that scavenging mission! Ian turned around and looked at Mr. McDowell. He looked back.

[Mr. McDowell]: You have a problem? Or do you want to turn around and walk away?  

            What did Ian want to do? He wanted to pull his hand gun out and shoot Christian’s dad in the head right here and now. But instead, he turned around and sat beside Jenna.

[Jenna]: That couldn’t have been more awkward.

[Ian]: I hate him.

[Audrey]: He seem like a person who beats his kids. I bet he’s a great dad.

[Hunter Reed]: (laughs) Wow that’s, that’s... interesting.

[Ian]: He’s dangerous. He’s hot tempered and if we don’t watch him he could prove to be lethal.

[Audrey]: What are you saying?

[Ian]: He wants control. If he gets out of control Tim could be in danger.

[Jenna]: I agree, but Tim also should have spoken to Mr. McDowell before he just decided to recruit Christian to go on the scavenger hunt.

[Audrey]: I hate to say it, but Tim can be kinda a control freak sometimes. Like’s he’s entitled. But this was just one time, Mr. McDowell was just upset this one time. Let's not blow this out of proportion

[Hunter Reed]: Isn’t he entitled though? I mean you guys said you voted and he won.

[Ian]: Doesn’t mean it was the right choice.

[Jenna]: Ian lost by one vote. But now there are more people in our group. Maybe we should revote because now, there are obviously some of us who have changed our minds about Tim.

[Audrey]: I think so too.

[Ian]: Personally I think this is a bad time to do so. We should wait till after the walls are built and then we can revote.

[Audrey]: Awww, but that will take forever! I mean think about it! What are we gonna build it with? Wood? That won’t stand a chance against rovers and even more so to people who attack us.

[Hunter Reed]: Well, how else would we do it?

[Audrey]: Honestly, I think the two lumber yards have so many of those huge stacks of wood, that we could honestly load those stacks onto the 18-wheeler trailer thingies and line those up around the church in one big square shaped wall. There’s no way anything could get through that and we could always upgrade them with towers and other stuff.

[Ian]: That’s actually a good idea. We’d need two fork lifts and a truck big enough to drive back and forth with that size of a load. When Tim gets back I will speak to him about your idea because it is genius.

[Audrey]: (Cocky laugh) Oh I know it’s genius.

[Ian]: Shuttup, Audrey.

·        

            Tim and Zack were getting close to the police department. The yellow fuel light wasn’t on yet, but Tim reckoned it would begin flashing at any moment.

[Zack]: We should get there in a couple of more minutes.

[Tim]: Good, because we got maybe a couple of gallons left once the fuel lights go off.

[Zack]: What happens if we get the supplies but we run out of gas before we get to the church?

[Tim]: We look for a car, and until we find once we carry everything.

[Zack]: Sounds good. Also just out of curiosity, how are we gonna get water? Plumbing’s out and it’s not like we can collect rain.

[Tim]: Actually, we can. Back at the property they had a collection of tarps and 2-by-4s’. We’d make large troughs with little holes in them that drain into a five gallon bucket. Then we clean the water by boiling it over a fire. It’s a process but once we get it up and running and we ration it, and the rain continues to pour, we wouldn’t ever have to worry about water.

[Zack]: Sounds like a plan.

[Tim]: So…I never asked you: What happened to the rest of your family?

            There was a sudden pause. All that was registered was the sound of the engine and the car driving down the highway.

[Zack]: Dad turned into a rover and mom died of a heart attack. It was just me and my siblings for the longest time until we and a few other friends were attacked by a herd. I was the only one that made it.

[Tim]: I’m sorry.

[Zack]: Don’t be. Five days later I was scavenging for food when you found me. Turn here, it’ll be just a mile or two down this road you won’t miss it.

[Tim]: Alright, we need to get in and get out.

[Zack]: Yup.

            Pulling up to the one-story building, the two parked across the street. Out in the distance is one rover slowly stumbling towards them. For a split second Tim had panicked. Then swallowing the fear helped him remember just how slow the dead were, and being that it was just one rover out in the distance advancing towards two well-fit survivors, Tim loosened the grip of his rifle.

[Tim]: Leave it alone. It’s just one.

[Zack]: Yeah. I guess so.

            Coming up to the door, the two attempted to open it, only to be restricted by a chain and lock keeping the door shut.

[Zack]: Maybe we can kick it down.

[Tim]: Hold on. The doors are chained from the inside. Outside is understandable meaning whoever locked this up was trying to keep something in here. However, if it was locked from the inside that means…

[Zack]: Someone could still be in there. What do we do?

[Tim]: Find another way in. We need these weapons. Are there windows or other entrances we can use?

[Zack]: Pretty positive. I don’t know why there wouldn’t be.

            Walking around the building they discovered that all the windows and doors were barricaded.

[Zack]: I say we should shoot off the locks from outside the door and go in guns ready.

            Thinking it over, Timothy relayed his options. They needed these weapons and whatever recourses awaited them on the other side of the doors. But whoever locked them inside has access to all those recourses meaning that person is at an advantage. The moment they bust inside they could be killed.

[Tim]: I don’t think we should. It’s too dangerous.

[Zack]: I get that but trying to survive without bullets and fuel is even more dangerous.

[Tim]: Fine. Then we try to negotiate with whoever is inside.

[Zack]: And if they don’t want to?

            What if they didn’t want to negotiate? What would Tim do?

·        

            Mr. McDowell was loading his shot gun preparing to leave. It and only been thirty minutes and he had gotten too impatient and decided to leave thirty minutes early. Bailey had prepared her bow and her arrows, Lee took up one of the lever action rifles, Jenna armed herself with a 1911 and Ian with a pool stick he was currently sharpening. Jenna sat beside him as she loaded her firearm.

[Jenna]: This is stupid.

[Ian]: Melee weapons are more efficient than loud guns. Besides I’m handy with a staff. And I like billiards.

[Jenna]: I was talking about Mr. McDowell taking charge and changing his mind like this.

[Jenna]: Oh. Yeah. That too.

[Ian]: Tim needs to get back like right now. He needs to take charge.

[Jenna]: Yeah. I guess we’ll see. Let’s just focus on this fuel run and doing it right. It could get bloody out there.

[Ian]: Who’s blood…the rover’s or the people around Christian’s father?

            Jenna’s breath was cut short. It was a shocking thought that Christian’s dad could get to that point, but he was angry and as a loose cannon.

[Jenna]: All of this has all happened today. Maybe things will change a couple of days from now. Give him some time.

[Ian]: Possibly.

[Rich McDowell]: Alright let’s get going we’re running out of daylight!

[Ian]: Ugh.

[Jenna]: (mocking) “Ugh”.

[Ian]: Shuttup.

[Jenna]: Stupid idiot.

            Loading up into the truck, Jenna, Ian, Lee, Bailey and Rich say their goodbyes.

            Christian hugged his dad for but a moment before Rich pulled away and looked him firmly in the eye.

[Rich]: I’ll see you soon, son. Take care of the place.

[Christian]: Okay.

            Audrey gives her sister, Bailey a tight hug. Bailey cringed, but managed to hug back.

[Audrey]: Try to find me some cool stuff, Bailey.

[Bailey]: (Chuckles) I will try now let go of me.

            Finally, the five climbed into the truck, and they pulled out of the church parking lot. Brittany watched the truck leave, and her mind went down trails of different thoughts and emotions until they were interrupted by Audrey.

[Audrey]: Hey, we should go inside. See if we can find something to do.

            She was hesitant, but she complied.

[Brittany]: Alright.

            The neighborhood they arrived at was not even a few minutes from the church. They didn’t get within ten yards within the suburbs without catching glances from several rovers close to the truck and far off.

[Lee]: Dang. This is place is…I don’t even know.

[Bailey]: Most of the rovers look pretty rotten. This neighborhood had to have gone down a while ago. We might find some good stuff here. I don’t even know where to begin. What’s the plan, Ian?

[Ian]: I say-

[Rich]: The plan is we’re gonna start at the far right side in the back corner and work our way house to house to the other side and then leave.

[Bailey]: We’re staying together or…

[Rich]: Of course we are.

[Ian]: This won’t be safe. It would be better if-

[Rich]: If we stay together we will be safer. Your safety is what’s most important right now.

[Ian]: No, we-

            Jenna elbowed Ian in the shoulder. He looked at Jenna with so much confusion up until she mouthed the words “Let it go”. Normally he wouldn’t but in this case, the way she looked at him, and the concern in her eyes spoke much than the words she mouthed. Ian had to keep silent, and let Rich do what he wanted to do. If something were to happen; something bad: Rich would be to blame and the problem would be taken care of.

            Pulling up in front of the first house, the five walked up to the front door. Abruptly, Rich turned the door knob and barged inside.

[Lee]: Wait, slow down!

            As soon as he walked inside, a rover was standing there waiting for Rich. In response, he lifted his firearm, but before he fired a shot, an arrow impaled the rover through the eye socket, and in a spraying shot of blood, the corpse sprawled the ground. Rich turned sharply around.

[Bailey]: (Under breathe) Idiot.

[Rich]: Excuse me?

[Lee]: There is a system, ok? We don’t just barge in because of what just happened. The rovers are attracted to sound, so we use that to our advantage.

[Rich]: Do you now? Well believe it or not I had it completely under control.

[Bailey]: (Smiling) “Under control”? You were about to fire that gun which would have sent all the rovers in the neighborhood our way. We only use silent weapons. Guns are for emergencies.

[Rich]: Fine. So what am I gonna use?

            Irritated, Bailey pulls out a buck knife from her belt and hands it to Rich.

[Bailey]: Here you go. Lead on.

            It was only a few minutes before the house was searched. There were only a few supplies they were looking for. The most important was fuel. Checking the garage and the work shed in the back yard they found two small cans of gasoline. They loaded it onto the truck and moved next door. In an hour, they cleared five houses and collected a total of six cans of fuel. All of which could be distributed to make four full cans of gas.

[Lee]: This is going to take forever. We need to split up.

            Lee said to Ian. Ian was already way past his lowest point of patience.

[Ian]: I know. I’m gonna talk to him.

            Going up to Rich, Ian spoke firmly.

[Ian]: Mr. McDowell, me and Jenna are going to find ourselves another vehicle and we’re going to search the houses on the other side of the neighborhood. We’ll fire off two gun shots if we need your help.

[Rich]: That’s not going to happen.

[Ian]: I’m sorry but you don’t have a choice.

            Walking out of the house with Jenna, Ian found a pair of keys hanging on a hook beside the door. Unlocking the Chevy truck the keys belonged, the two step into the truck and drive away before Rich could apply any force to the situation.

[Rich]: I can't even... 

[Lee]: I mean...it's not a bad idea... 

[Rich]: Is that so?!

[Lee]: Yeah think about it: It’s been an hour and we’ve only covered five houses. We have to split up so we can cover more ground and get out of here. Plus the rovers will be drawn in either direction in case of emergency which gives us less corpses to deal with.

[Rich]: Fine, whatever, but if they get themselves hurt or worse, it’s on them.

[Bailey]: Actually no…

            Bailey corrected as she came into the living room.

[Bailey]: You’re the adult; you’re in charge. Whatever happens to us is your fault.

·        

            Tim and Zack are standing just outside the front doors of the police station. Tim holds his head close to the doors. He knocks several times but hears no response.

[Zack]: Say something.

[Tim]: Hello? If there’s anybody in there we need help!

[Zack]: My father worked here! 

            There was no response.

[Zack]: I don’t think there’s anyone in here.

[Tim]: I didn’t see any signs of someone exiting the building.

[Zack]: Try one more time.

[Tim]: Hello! Is anyone inside?!

            There is no response.

[Zack]: There’s no one in there. We should hurry up we’re drawing in rovers.

[Tim]: Fine.

            Raising his AR-15, Tim fires two shots into the chains and they push the doors open. The lobby is empty, yet clean. No files or unnecessary accessories or furniture: as if the building has just recently been purchased.

[Zack]: What…

[Tim]: Keep your eyes open.

[Zack]: I don’t like this.

[Tim]: Me neither but I don’t know this place. You have to lead the way.

[Zack]: I’ve only been here twice in my whole life! Even then the farthest I got was my dad’s office.

[Tim]: Then we’ll search room for room.

            The two scanned the building. Clearing one office after the other and each brought Tim and Zack the same result: empty and clean as if nothing ever happened. Suddenly, as they reached the back of the station, they heard a faint voice.

[Zack]: Do you hear that?

[Tim]: Yeah. It’s coming from the other side of this door.

            The wide, blue, metal door was closed shut, and the white walls were solid. But they both heard a faint voice on the other side.

[Tim]: You open the door and I’ll stand in front of it.

            Gripping the door handle Zack looked Tim in the eyes as he counted down from three. Reaching the end of the countdown he swung the door open. The room on the other side was large. There were two cells. One was empty.

            In the second cell was a man. He was shrill and reedy as twigs, his ribs protruding from his sides like a chees grader. His eyes seemed to have been sucking into his brain and his cheek bones looked like two baseballs on the side of his thin face. His facial hair was messy and long, and his clothes were blood stained and baggy. Surrounding him were empty bags and boxes of food, and all around the back wall and the floor were scratches and markings.

[Shrill man]: -only ones-only ones…the only ones supposed to live…the only-the ones supposed to live-the only ones supposed to live…

            Over and over he repeated the sentence, stuttering like a glitch in a computer. Tim and Zack could only stare.

[Zack]: My god…

[Tim]: How long has this man been here?

[Zack]: It looks like he locked himself in there not long after the break out. Look at all those boxes of food. And that smell…

            Suddenly the sound of doors banging disrupted the glares of shock. The two faced the course of the noise. Down a hall beside the cells was a two-door entrance and exit. It was barricaded with wooden boards. They were nearly broken.

[Tim]: Look! There's a sign next to the door!

            Looking at the sign, Zack realized just on the other side of those doors besides the undead was the arms and munitions room.

[Zack]: Typical. You sure we need those supplies?

[Tim]: We need them more than anything, Zack.

[Zack]: Then let’s do this.  

·        

            Ian knocked several times at the eighth house they arrived at. No response. Jenna kicked open the door, and the two searched the house. They had been fairly successful in their own endeavor, having found seven cans of fuel, three of them full. On top of that, the two had managed to collect twenty-three canned foods, six bags of chips and pretzels, and much more food supplies forced to fit in the small Chevy truck.

[Ian]: If we can find some keys we can use another vehicle to hold food. Preferable another truck.

[Jenna]: I saw keys in one of the drawers in the kitchen. I’m gonna go check the garage.

            Loading more supplies into their third vehicle: a 2004 Dodge Ram, Ian waits for Jenna to come out of the house. Coming their way were three rovers. Swiftly, Ian took his pool staff. He inched close towards the trio. This was the first time he approached rovers with a melee. He had to be careful.

[Ian]: Softest point is under the chin.

            Then there was contact. Ian jammed his staff under one rover’s chin. The crackling of the bone sounded like a handful of crackers, and was easier to penetrate than he thought. He pulled the staff out and batted away one of the rovers from getting too close, and then stabbed into the third rover’s temple. This time, however, the staff was stuck. The second rover was getting too close for comfort, so brutally, Ian kicked the rover in the chest, knocking it hard on the ground. Bracing his leg against the final rover’s body, he yanked the staff out and then victoriously rammed the staff into the final rover’s eye socket.

[Ian]: Where are you Jenna?

            Just then, Jenna came out of the garage with a small can of gasoline.

[Jenna]: Found some hidden behind a pile of old clothes.

[Ian]: Let’s load all the food supplies in the Ram, and we’ll continue with the scavenging.

            On the other side of the neighborhood, Rich, Bailey and Lee were loading up into the truck. They were successful in finding several more fuel cans. Rich drove calmly through the neighborhood as the numbers of rovers began to increase.

[Rich]: We better find Ian and Jenna. We gotta start heading out.

            As they turned a corner near the neighborhood entrance, they came to an abrupt stop to seeing at least a hundred rovers gathered in a giant herd. All their rotting heads turned, glaring them straight in the face. Moments later it seemed like their whole world shifted in their direction as the herd stumbled and twitched towards the truck.

[Lee]: Go, go, go!

            Driving backwards into a clear area of the neighborhood, Rich slammed his stick shift into drive, and sped away from the herd. In the process, Mr. McDowell ran over multiple rovers, blood splashing onto the windshield, and the road suddenly bumpy like an off-road trip.

[Bailey]: How are we gonna get out if that entrance is the only exit?

[Rich]: I’m gonna pull around and get more momentum.

[Bailey]: …Why?

[Rich]: We’re gonna ram our way outa here.

            Turning around, Rich slammed on the gas. The truck heaved into full speed. The engine roared and the whistling of the wind bellowed out of control. There was a peaceful moment where the wind blew hard and the space between the truck and herd was strangely a calming sight. Up until they hit the first five rovers. After that, everything fell apart.

            They didn’t come halfway into the herd before losing control. Before they realized it, the bodies sent the truck out of control swerving hard right. Two rovers were launched through the windshield inside the truck. Their vision blocked, Rich didn’t see the house he was speeding towards. First they hit the curb, then the brick wall. Lee was thrown out of the truck and through a house window. Airbags went out, one ramming into Rich’s face, the other blasting into one of the rover's chest, popping organs throughout the front interior of the truck. Bailey was slammed into the passenger seat.

            Moments later, Bailey opened her eyes. The two rovers were broken in every place. Just in case, however, she took Rich’s gun and fired a shot into each rover’s egg-shell-like skulls.

            From the other side, Ian and Jenna heard the gunshots.

[Ian]: Hurry we have to go!

            Racing into his car and Jenna into hers, the two sped towards the sound of the gun fire.

·        

            Standing at the ready, Tim and Zack set up stock piles of chairs to block the doors. Yet still, the man in the cell murmured the same sentence over and over.

[Shrill man]: The only ones supposed to live…the only ones…

[Tim]: We can do this. We can do this.

            The rovers banging on the other side of the door grew louder. The three 2 by 4s’ keeping the door closed was nearly shattered. Heaving back and forth, the twin doors creaked and groaned like the corpses themselves. Finally, in one last effort, the boards snapped, and the doors swung open, letting the flood rush threw.

            Spontaneously, the two opened fire at the rovers. One after the other they fell, but their numbers were too great.

[Shrill man]: …the only ones supposed to live! The only-the-the-the only ones…supposed to live!!

            Before Tim realized it, his gun was out of ammo!

[Tim]: I’m out!

            Moments after, Zack tossed his gun away.

[Zack]: Mine too! We gotta get outa here!

[Tim]: No, Zack, we need those supplies!

[Zack]: There’s no way we survive this!

[Tim]: We can, if we work together. We use our knives, and we spread them out around the building.

            Stumbling into the cell room, a lone rover that Tim had seen down the road had come through the police station and tracked down the two survivors. Neither Tim nor Zach could see the walking corpse stagger towards them, its bloody teeth grinding in hunger. The shrill man could only watch.

[Shrill man]: (Screaming) The only ones-the only ones-the only ones supposed to live.

THE END

   

SEASON 2: EPISODE 2: THE DIFFERENT WRONGS

          I opened my eyes. If the sound of the bustling crowds inside Costco hadn’t have been so loud I probably would have stayed asleep. It had been a while since I’ve slept so well and long. What time was it? The time of the day was lost to me since all the windows and doors were closed and absolutely zero natural light brightened the store. Here, the generators did all the work. I sat up, my head nearly grazing the top of the tent. Another perk: sleeping with some form of protection around you. What was that smell? I remember it from back before. It was faint but nevertheless I recognized it. I unzipped the tent exit. Then I heard it: the sizzling of the meat. But not just any meat…

            It was bacon.

            Suddenly I realized I was smiling. I quickly coughed away the sudden awkward expression and rose from the tent. Dom and Pat weren’t far behind.

[Dom]: Hey man. You want some bacon?

[Zach]: I guess.

[Pat]: Plates are over there.

            The line had died down to a bare minimum.

[Zach]: What time is it?

[Pat]: A little past 10:30.

[Zach]: I can’t remember the last time I’ve slept that long.

[Pat]: Right?!

            The line came to an end and Zach nearly overflowed his plate with bacon, eggs and biscuits.

[Dom]: That enough food for ya, buddy?

[Zach]: We’ll see.

            I sat in front of my tent surrounded by dozens of other tents and campouts to eat breakfast. It had been a few weeks since I had officially eaten a specified meal. Since the fall of the property, his meals were consisted of a few left over crackers in a bag that had been rationed throughout the whole day, and the next day was whatever he could get his hands on that was remotely edible. That said it was great to get an upgrade from leftover crackers and handfuls of grass to bacon, eggs, and biscuits.

[Dom]: So later today at about one o’clock, a few of us are going to a remote area and doing a trade off with Denbury. You wanna come?

            It was great to be inside. I loved being safe, but I also hated it here. This place, no matter how great it was right now, was doomed to fail. Even if they traded with other communities, once you use fuel you never get it back. I doubt there is anybody within five thousand miles who is still making fuel for the public. So one of these days, if not very soon, this place will run out of fuel and these spoiled survivors will riot. Fuel had become the new currency in this dark epidemic.

            But I didn’t want to see this place go. Why? Why the sudden heart for a community that I don’t even trust yet? I trust Dom and Pat and Allie, but they are three, and the community is many. This place could be corrupted, which is why I need to leave. Maybe After this shipment I will get a better understanding of this place, and then after that, I might leave for good.

[Zach]: Sure. Why not?

[Dom]: Alright man, cool. Once you finish up we can talk to Anders.

·        

[Anders]: You want to what?

[Dom]: I wanna take Zach along with us for the tradeoff.

            I was quiet. I let Dom do the talking and Anders does the negotiating. I stood in the corner watching the two exchange sentence after sentence. Why does this suddenly feel like a job? Clock in, kill rovers and trade with other people, then clock out for your next meal.

[Anders]: As much as I love the kid, we don’t know him. I don’t have enough trust for him.

[Dom]: Then let him shadow us. Let him see what we do. But let me just brag about him for a second. My buddy here: he’s killed two-hundred and thirty-six zombies. We could use him if things get rough.

            Anders was quiet. His mind had already changed; I could see it in his eyes.

[Anders]: Why not? We’ll test the kid; see how he does.

            I moved from the corner to the office’s exit. Dom followed close by.

[Anders]: And Dom?

[Dom]: ‘Sup, boss?

[Anders]: Get the kid a weapon…preferable melee.

[Dom]: You got it.

            I get it. Anders wants me to have a melee because he doesn’t want me to have a firearm. I understand. I do, really. If I were in charge of a community and had a crazy person in his group I wouldn’t give him a gun either. Thing is, he doesn’t know me.

            I never needed a gun to kill people. The first people I killed were on the property. It didn’t stop there. I’ve killed groups armed to the teeth using my mind and loctation to my advantage. I wasn’t proud of it, but this was the new world. The survivors adapt, and those that don’t will die and return to prey on those that had adapted to the madness. But I adapted too far into the spectrum. I’m way past killing rovers, now at this point I’ve begun learning how to kill people and adapting to that. Maybe I wasn’t crazy…maybe just ahead of the curb like some sick excuse for the next stage of survivor evolution.

[Zach]: (Low whisper) That’s what crazy people say.

[Dom]: What?

[Zach]: Nothing.

            He walked me to the weapons room. It was a small room: not very many guns. Then again, there were a large handful of armed guards around the community. On a table in the corner of the small room were all the melee weapons. Most of them were machetes, and the cheap cold steel roman daggers from Academy. But among the pile were decent looking knives, spears, and a few customized weapons like bats with nails driven into them, or mops with fish-hooks tied to the ends of the dreads.

            Then I saw it. I had never imagined seeing a sword like this one in a place such as Conroe, Texas. It was a Dao sword. The three-foot long, curved blade glimmered and reflected in my face through the dried blood and smudged finger prints. The handle was wrapped in brown leather cord under a disk guard. The sheath had fallen under the table, and was worn but in effective condition.

[Dom]: It’s a pretty legit sword. I heard it was made by Chinese, so it’s perfect for cutting stuff up.

[Zach]: It’s a Dao. Cutting objects into smaller objects is what it was crafted for.

[Dom]: I’ve used it once or twice and I’m surprised no one has just taken it as their own personal weapon.

[Zach]: Because swords don’t stand a chance against guns.

            I lied. They do.

            As I reached for the Dao, one of the guards came into the room.

[Guard]: Hey Dom, one of the civilians is looking for the pet food area.

[Dom]: Why you asking me?

            As the two began having their informative discussion, I lifted the Dao. It was light, but the handle gave the overall weapon the necessary weight to deliver strong blows with little effort. I kneeled to pick up the sheath. Just beside the sheath is a small bag with three throwing knives just barely protruding from it. I carefully take the small bag and hide it in my boot leg. They didn’t notice, but in the slight chance they did I kept the Dao tightly gripped in my right hand. Nevertheless, they continued with their conversation until it ended. By the time they did I was standing behind Dom with the Dao sheathed and buckled to my belt. They didn’t know I had taken more than what I needed; what I deserved, but this was the world now. Everyone and everything takes more than what they need because they can. But I did because I had to…and because I wanted to.  

·        

            Anders led the trade mission. One of his men drove an 18-wheeler half full with food, and the other half full of troops like myself, Dom, Anders, Allie, Pat and a several others. It was dark and hot inside the trailer. Every little bump on the road shook the vehicle. I knew I could slide my knives across each of their throats before any of them realize what happened. The bumps on the road would be confused with my footsteps, as well as the bodies falling to the floor. It was dark so they wouldn’t know who did or where the killer was. I would work. Wait…why would I be thinking that? I even thought about killing Dom, Pat, and Allie. Why? What was wrong with me? I couldn’t fathom why my mind raced behind such thoughts and for what?

            It was then that I realized my hands were gripping the handle of my sword. I quickly let go. I turned my head and realized that Pat had seen the whole thing. He looked at me through the dim darkness with confusion and fear; a look I was all too familiar with. I wanted to decapitate him so he wouldn’t keep looking at me like that. It had to have been three life times before he finally looked down at the ground and scooted a few feet away from me and towards Allie.

            The truck came to a stop. A few moments later the slide door to the trailer came open, the bright natural sun light slashed through. I squinted tightly all the while keeping my fingers close to the handle of the Dao. I didn’t know who was on the other side of the door. They could be friends, or enemies. Now in these days everyone looked the same except for the nice looking people. Those were the dangerous ones; the ones that would make you suffer in the worst ways.

            My eyes quickly adjusted, and I waited till I was the last one out. As I came out I saw ten other men who I hadn’t seen before. Behind them were two trucks with trailers latched to the tailgate.

[Anders]: Let’s get this going. You first.

            The leading member of the ten men snapped his fingers, and his nine other workers began collecting the supplies in the truck. It wasn’t long before it was empty. Anders motioned to us. The others climbed into their tailgate and began lifting small tanks of fuel and boxes of oil out of the truck and into our trailer. I was slow to follow. I loaded two tanks of fuel when suddenly one of our guys yelled at the top of his lunges in a confused rage.

[Ander’s man]: I only count six tanks! There should be eight!

            Dom raised his rifle, and then all of Denbury’s men and Ander’s men raised their weapons. I kept my weapon sheathed and gripped it tightly taking a step back towards the trailer in case I needed to run for cover. However, in all of this Anders was completely calm.

[Anders]: Looks like we have a problem here. Are you shafting us, Eben?

[Eben]: I could have sworn we had everything there must have been a mistake-

[Anders]: No, no, no. Don’t worry, Ebs I understand. I do. Really. You get busy, you’re in a hurry, and you rush things: I get it.

[Eben]: …yeah?

[Anders]: Yeah. Honestly, though I’m curious. What happened?

            I could see Eben getting nervous. He was hiding something.

[Eben]: It was like you said. We were in a hurry, we rushed into things and we miscounted. I’m sorry, Anders.

[Anders]: Everyone lower your weapons.

            Both Ander’s men and Eben’s lowered their guns. It was obvious who was above the other in this meeting. I took another step back. Something bad was about to happen. I could feel the tension.

[Anders]: There’s just a little tiny thing, though. It’s nothing really…to me that is.

[Eben]: What’s that?

[Anders]: Oh it’s just that…oh maybe I shouldn’t; it’s nothing really.

            Eben started smiling…like it was a big joke. How does he not see Anders’ hand moving behind his back?

[Eben]: What, what is it?

[Anders]: It’s just that…god you’re just such a bad liar!

            In a swift and brief moment, Anders pulled two grenades out of his belt bag, and threw them onto both of Eben’s trailers holding the food. The grenade went off engulfing all the food in it. Two of Denbury members raised their guns but were quickly shot down by Ander’s men. The remaining eight were frozen. They knew who was boss.

            Then I saw something. A glimpse in Eben’s eyes. It wasn’t much but it was a twitch; a sudden movement out into the distance. What did he look at? I turned around to see what he saw but didn’t notice anything.

[Anders]: Same time, and same place next week, but I want double the quota. No more, no less.

            Suddenly I opened my mouth.

[Zach]: That might not be necessary.

            Anders turned around and shot me a look that didn’t even require words for me to understand him. I can picture him screaming at me wondering who do I think I am. I answer the question for him as I step towards Eben, who was growing more nervous by the second.

[Zach]: He’s hiding the last two. I know he is.

            Without thinking, Anders draws his Colt 45 and points the barrel at Eben.

[Anders]: Where are they!

[Eben]: I’m not hiding anything! The kid is delusional!

            I was directly behind Anders just as he threw a punch into Eben’s jaw.

[Anders]: I will shoot you right now unless you tell me where the two tanks are! 

[Zach]: He won’t tell you. Not by brute force.

[Anders]: What do you know about anything?! Who do you th-

[Zach]: Bear with me for a second!

            I haven’t yelled that loud in a long time. I’ve been so quiet and emotionless for so long that I nearly forgot my real voice. What was I doing? What was I thinking? Sure, I knew what I was about to do but why was I doing it? I had no reason to do it but I guess that’s why: because I can.

[Zach]: Give me your gun.

            Anders’ face folded into a furious glare. Sure, he was in charge of everything, but not over me. Somehow he realized that and handed me the gun. I emptied five of six rounds and put them in my pocket.

[Zach]: Where are you hiding them? 

[Eben]: You don’t know nothing you little piece of sh**!

[Zach]: I hope so. So why don’t we say we find out?

            I spun the cylinder before flicking it shut. I pulled the hammer back, and held the barrel offering the gun to Eben.

[Anders]: What are you doing!

[Zach]: He’s not pointing the gun at anyone but himself.

[Eben]: Like h*ll I am! Have you lost your f***ing mind?!

[Zach]: Maybe. But we'll know for sure when you pull that trigger into your brain. Then we'll really see who lost their mind.  

            I drew the Dao out from the sheath. I point the sharp edge at him.

[Zach]: Do it.

            Eben thought for but a moment. I knew I already won. Slowly Eben held the gun to his head.  

[Zach]: Now. Where are the tanks?

[Eben]: I told you I didn’t hide them. I miscounted.

[Zach]: Is that really what happened? Because who knows, those could be your final words. You wouldn’t want your final moment to be a lie would you?

[Eben]: You really expect me to pull the trigger?

[Zach]: Of course I do. Because it’s either you tell the truth and risk your five chances out of six or the sword; and there aren’t any second chances with the sword.

            I could see the fear in Eben’s eyes. He had already made his choice. All he had left to do was act on it.

[Eben]: They’re…behind the tree next to the stop sign.

[Zach]: Good. Now pull the trigger.

[Anders]: We got the answers, Zach now fall in line!

[Zach]: I said pull the trigger!

            Anders took a step towards me but I quickly turned and looked him in the eye. He froze. I turned back to Eben.

[Zach]: Pull the trigger, or you lose your head.

            Eben’s eyes squeezed shut. Sweet dripped from his face and his teeth seared through his lips. In a last moment of exclamation he yelled loudly as he pulled the trigger. The gun only clicked. I put my sword away and took the gun from him and gave it to Anders.

·        

            The 18-wheeler parked behind Costco once more. I stepped out of the trailer just as Anders stormed out of the passenger seat. He raised his fist to hit me. I could see it coming seconds before it came, but I didn’t move. I accepted it. No…I embraced it. The impact threw me into the side of the trailer, the metal sides banging the back of my head adding to the daze.

[Anders]: You work for me! You pull that kinda sh** again and I will blow your brains out do you understand me?!

            I smiled. It was actually quite hilarious. He thinks I work for him. He thinks he owns me. My second day here and apparently I’m a part of this now. I guess Anders didn’t like my smile though because he hit me again. This time I didn’t see it coming and it was much more uncomfortable than the first time.

[Anders]: Dom, get this stupid, crazy son of a b**** under control, and I don’t wanna see his face till I’m good and ready!

            Dom helped me to my feat. Everyone who went on the trade mission saw the whole thing. I didn’t feel embarrassed though. I didn’t care. I got the community their weeks’ worth of fuel so in my book, those punches meant nothing. When they mean nothing they don’t hurt as much.

[Dom]: You good man? What’s your problem dude, you crazy or something?

            I stood tall and licked the blood from my lips.

[Zach]: Something like that.

[Dom]: Let’s just walk around the store and do a perimeter check before going inside, alright man?

            I nodded in response. It was a while later that me and him had walked around Costco at least twice that he finally started talking to me. Not that I wanted him to talk it just felt completely useless that we would walk outside without zero purpose except to kill a rover every now and then. Either way, the awkward and irritating silence ended with Dom.

[Dom]: Anders can be a b**** sometimes. He feels like he has to do everything so you finding out where the tanks were for him made him feel under you.

[Zach]: Anders is a man of action. Denbury nearly suffered for it.

[Dom]: You don’t know the Denbury community like we do. They are ruthless and smart. They use their minds to destroy their enemies for supplies and hardly ever get casualties.

[Zach]: They use their minds. They’re white collars. That’s why my tactic won today. They’re afraid to lose their lives.

[Dom]: They really are. They use the smartest tactics in the world when dealing with people. They collect zombies when they find them and when they stumble upon an active area with people, they send in the rovers to scare them off and then they loot the place for supplies.

[Zach]: Smart.

[Dom]: F*** yeah, it’s smart. We get written papers of all their successes so we know everything they get so we can establish trades. I’ve read some of them. They’re pretty freakin smart but every once and a while they fail miserably.

[Zach]: When dealing with rovers, miserable fails are bound to happen.

[Dom]: Yeah. Like their most recent fail was like sixteen or seventeen weeks ago. They went to some piece of property just outside of Conroe I don’t know where. Scouts saw two houses, a tractor, a sky track, and a gun room. They left to loot the place with a bus full of rovers and a truck but never came back. A week later, scouts went back and found rovers everywhere, the men nothing but piles of eaten flesh, two vehicles full of corpses burnt to a corpse, and the bus gone. Crazy right?

            The words felt like knives. I knew that place. It was all too familiar and distinct to be mistaken for anything else. My heart was frozen in my chest and my head boiled with dripping sweat and shock. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, but it was real… all of it. The man I tortured before making all my friends fear me said that he didn’t work for anyone. He lied to me! I knew he did, but I wasn’t given enough time to prove it. I knew it all connected to everything that happened on that fateful day and led it to this moment. When I returned to the moment I realized I was standing in the middle of the parking lot and Dom was yelling at me trying to get my attention.

[Dom]: Zach what the f*** is wrong with you, man?!

[Zach]: They killed them.

[Dom]: What? Who?

[Zach]: They killed my family…my sister!

[Dom]: Who, Denbury? How do you know?

[Zach]: That was my property! That was my family’s home and they took it from me!

            I felt myself hyperventilating. I was pacing the concrete. Dom was trying to understand. I mumbled words through a faint whisper that even I couldn’t understand.

[Zach]: Where is it?

[Dom]: Where’s what?

            I grabbed Dom by the collar and yelled straight into his face.

[Zach]: Where’s Denbury?!

[Dom]: Down 1488! It used to be an oil manufacturing place it had a sign at a stop light before everything!

            I knew exactly what he was talking about. I remembered it from my life before. Driving to the Roland’s house there was a manufacturing plant along the way called “Denbury”. That’s where it was.

[Zach]: Did he know?

[Dom]: Who?-

[Zach]: Did Anders know?!

[Dom]: Of course! One of our guys went on that mission! He drove the truck for Christ’s sake!

[Zach]: You are going inside. You’re gonna bring me two of whatever explosives you have, a sniper and a hand gun I don’t care what kind. Do it now!

[Dom]: You can’t seriously expect me to do that!

[Zach]: I do. So you will think of a reason to grab those items and bring them to me or I will take down this community before the night is over.

[Dom]: Ok, man just chill out.

            In the armory Dom was filling a backpack with all of Zach’s requests. Just as he was about to leave the room one of the guards stepped in.

[Guard]: What are you doing?

[Dom]: I’m uh…I going on a perimeter check and a supply run. I won’t be gone long. I just thought I’d do something helpful beside loading a truck full of gas.

[Guard]: (Laughs) I know right!

            Returning outside to Zach, he handed him the bag, and immediately Zach began walking away.

[Dom]: Where’re you going, Zach?!

[Zach]: Where do you think?

[Dom]: By yourself?

[Zach]: Of course not. I have the dead to accompany me. See you around, Dom.  

            I walked. I simply walked. Past the overpass, past the road lights, past the fertilizer company property, and along my way I collected many followers. At first it was just one for several minutes. Then it was another. After about an hour there were dozens scattered behind me. I ran a few extra steps forward towards a rover in front of me. I killed it, opened its insides and bathed in its blood. I didn’t want to say goodbye to all my rover friends behind me, though. So every ten seconds or so, to prevent the rovers from straying away, I would snap my fingers a few times, and they would all be back on track. The blood was effective. It was the mask; the camo to disguise myself from the dead. From a distance, I could easily be mistaken from one of them. I walked like them, look like them, and heck, with all the blood that slips into my mouth and down my throat I might as well sounded like them too. But I wasn’t. Believe it or not I was actually alive. Unfortunately.

            No, I’m not suicidal. I’ve been down that road. When I was thirteen I tried hanging myself because my whole world convinced me I wasn’t supposed to be alive. When I realized that was a mistake I continued on. Then this happened. All of this brought me back to such a low point that I’m beyond the point of breaking. I broke a long time ago. I lost my family; I lost most of my friends because of Denbury, and lost the rest of them when I destroyed them with fear and distrust. I no longer had friends, no one to lean on and no one to trust. I have become a man with nothing to lose. Sure, it sounds cliché, but nevertheless, I wanted to die. Just not at my hand. If I was supposed to die, it was today at Denbury in a blaze of glory, like any crazy teenager should.

            Before I realized it, I was at the stop light. The old sign half buried in the ground with the words “Denbury” had faded in multiple places. Timothy and Kelley used to live not even a minute from here. I’m surprised they didn’t run into them at any point. With vengeful hate I turned the corner and walked down the lonely road with my legion of rovers.

            I can see the chain-linked fences from a distance. I stop in my tracks so the rest of my friends can keep up. I wait till they’re about three feet from me before continuing on, making sure to snap my fingers and get their unwanted attention. I walked through the woods till I was about five yards from the fences, and finally, came to a stop. The rovers however, had seen the handful of guards on the other side of the fences and continued pressing forward. They walked around me, bumping my shoulder but never bothering to look closer at me. It wasn’t long before I heard an alarm go off, and the sound of running footsteps and guns firing. At the sound, I ran through the woods all around to the other side of the small community.

            My body ached and smelled and my sides hurt with the heavy expanding in my lungs as I heaved large amounts of air just to keep myself from suffocating with lack of oxygen. But I kept going, my anger and lust for blood pushing the limits of my mortal body to end this conflict of the mind.

            Reaching the other side I climbed up the first tree I saw. Reaching the highest peak I pulled out the sniper rifle and pulled the operating rod handle back, locking a single shot into the gear box. I looked through the scope and watched as nearly all the fence guards scrambled to the herd of rovers pressing into the fence. At this point there were three at my side of the property line. Carefully I aimed at the chest. I was never good enough to get away with head shots. I squeezed the trigger and the man fell to the gravel dead. The remaining two raised their guns looking around wondering where I was. They had my general direction but as soon as I fired the gun again the remaining guard would know where I am. Luckily, he was standing pretty close to a gas tank bolted into the ground surrounded by dozens of metal tubing systems. I fire a single shot into the tank, and the explosion was large enough to engulf the second guard, knock the third off his feet, and taking out two other scrambling gunners in the process.

[Zach]: (Mumbling under breath) Come on, baby, come on!

            Quickly I took out the last guard, clearing my side of the community. Handfuls of men and women loaded into a large bus and began to attempt to escape Denbury.

[Zach]: Oh, that’s not happening.

            Digging through the back pack I took out one of the homemade explosives and Dom’s lighter which he had fortunately packed. I leaped from the tree, climbed over the fence, lit the explosive, and tossed it onto the ground several yards from me just as the bus drove over it. The explosion shredded the bus in half, smothering it in yellow and orange flames killing everyone on board. I scrambled for cover behind other metal tubing. I could hear the fence bending under the weight of the many rovers. It wasn’t long before I heard screams of pain and agony. I turned to look and watched as my dead friends tore my enemies’ limb from limb. Their black, cold fingers prying into their guts and skulls and peeling the flesh from their faces while they still lived and breathed, screaming for mercy. But there was none. Not for them, at least. I can’t remember the last time I felt this happy. There was one who got away though: Eben. He managed to escape the break through and ran fearfully into one of the blue metal buildings. That had to be the headquarters.

            I took out the hand gun and raced for the door. I couldn’t just barge in though. I’m not a cop or military operative. I needed an advantage. I needed a shield of some sort.

            Just then a rover came stumbling toward me. All the sweat from my body must’ve removed just enough blood and deathly stench to make me smell alive. I took my Dao and sliced the rover in half across the waist just above the hips. I dug into his fleshy back and lifted it up using its back bone like a handle. The rover still snarling and biting the air, I kicked down the door and rushed inside.

            Eben and an older man behind a desk began firing shots at the rover. Bullets splattered into its weak body, a bullet managing to break through the torso and catch me in the side. I threw the rover onto to Eben, the rover gnawing into his neck almost instantly, and I shot the old man in the shoulder just as he shot me in the leg. Before Eben’s final breath he fired a shot carelessly. But his bullet barely hit its mark, just grazing the side of my head and continuing through the ceiling. I fell to the floor, slipping in and out of consciousness. I had to stay awake. I had to so I could win. So I could kill the last man, and right a wrong by doing more wrong.

            The old man was also on the ground, obviously impacted greatly with the shot in the shoulder. I must’ve have hit an artery because there was so much blood. His gun was too far for him to reach and so was mine. Blood leaked from my terribly burnt temple like a creek, and my leg and side did no different. I was already feeling light headed. But I had to stand up. I had to finish the task.

            I braced my hands firmly against the ground and pushed myself up. My throbbing leg was almost of no use, but I managed to stand firmly, picking the gun up in the process. I had seven bullets left. The old man was still on the ground. He was whimpering and clutching his bleeding hand. He was a coward. But the way he carried himself when I broke through the door said otherwise: he was their leader. Just the man I wanted to see.

[Zach]: You the leader?

[Denbury Leader]: Yes, look whatever you want, I can give you. Food, fuel, guns, women, you name it!

[Zach]: I don’t want your stuff! I want…I need you to die for me.

[Denbury Leader]: I-I can’t…why? What have I done?

[Zach]: That property you tried and failed to take and plunder…

[Denbury Leader]: …that was your home. Listen, I didn’t know, honestly I didn’t! We use the no-brainers as a precaution; a scare tactic!

[Zach]: (Violent yelling) You took everything I had left! You made me who I am! I want you to die and I want you to die a slow and painful death!

            I did. Every word out of my mouth was everything I ever wanted more than anything in the world. But I know I can’t. Yes, he is going to die, but he will not die any worse than my family did. Justice has to be served this time.

[Zach]: But I won’t give you a slow death. I want you to die as my family did. I want you to feel as they felt. That said I’m going to shoot the last seven bullets in this clip into your chest before tossing the rover onto you.

[Denbury Leader]: NO PLEASE, NO-

            I fired all seven bullets into his old chest. Blood popped in all directions. It won’t be long before the herd comes now. I grabbed the rover and placed it onto the leader who gleefully fed on the old man’s dead flesh. I had won.

            Now I am walking. I am alone. The rain was falling. Yes, it might be cliché but it is what it is. The blood ran from my clothes but the stains remained. The blood from my wounds still leaked, and the pain remained. Where old blood drains, new wounds form. It was an endless cycle of pain and suffering. I blinked, and I was on my knees. How did I get here? It stopped raining and the day was growing dark. I know I am bleeding out. It won’t be long before I am dead. This is how I want to go. Not eaten by the undead, not killed point blank in the face by some thug, but in the middle of the road, soaked to the skin and wondering: did I serve my purpose? Did I not die on that fateful day that I tried to hang myself because of this moment? Had I already fulfilled my purpose beforehand? I didn’t know, but I knew that before everything happened I did a good job of impacting those around me. I had the reputation of a godly and respectful individual. Was that what I was now? Probably not. Once a Christian, always a Christian, so hopefully I die and wake up in Heaven. Then again, I haven’t felt remorse for what I have done. I look up at the sky, and into the sun. It looks blurry. I’m feeling light headed and dizzy. I can feel my lips moving and repenting. Deep down I am proud to have avenged my family, but I know I have to repent now or it will be too late forever.

            Suddenly I hear footsteps. I look ahead and out in the distance as I feel myself slipping into unconsciousness I see a blurry figure. He is walking speedily towards me with a sword in his hand. He’s within arm’s length from me when he swings the sword. I hear the faint sound of flesh squelching. I feel blood run down my face. I look down and see a pool of blood expanding below me. Why did he kill me? I was already dead. Maybe he thought I was a rover. It doesn’t matter now. I’m leaving. I’m about to die, and it’s almost too hard to believe that after all this time of living I’m all of the sudden dead.

            Death was a beautiful thing. As I fell onto my side and my vision darkened, I could feel my lips form a grin. Death was simply a door. Most people were afraid to open it, but I’m not. The door was simply an obstacle…

            And I made it to the other side.

THE END