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by lethalex
Tags   romance   drama   fantasy   death   originalcharacter   | Report Content

A A A A

I ran. I don’t know where to, but I know why. They’re everywhere. My heart beats fast as I hear so many earsplitting gunshots from my neighbors. Screams are heard too, but one doesn’t escape from my mouth. All I do is run. While everybody else is fighting with a weapon, I don’t know where the heck they got; I’m running and throwing rocks at the monsters’ heads. I aim for the heads because everyone else is. No, I’m not joining the bandwagon. Every time I see one get hit in the head, then fall and die, for sure. They don’t get back up and attack. But when people aim anywhere else on the body, they still keep moving. You can cut their body in half and the upper half that has the brain will still move.I figure that their brain is their source of life since I once threw a rock so hard and aimed at the heart that it went right through. But it kept on moving about.
 
The monsters. I’ve only known and seen them for about half an hour now but I already hate them with so much rancor. By now people have already died and… and turned into one of them. I saw many of my weak elderly neighbors get bitten, eaten. I never shed a tear but my heart still fell into a bitter, bottomless pit. Maybe one day, someone ever so kind enough will go down there too and throw it back to me. However that day I believe, will never come. The dead are coming back to life, and they’re hungry, very hungry.
 
So far most of my neighborhood is corrupted and destroyed. A cold wind blows everyhwere and I'm cold without a jacket as the scarlet color of blood is seen everywhere. My eyes can't escape the picture of people getting killed. My nose gets filled with the smell of death as I hear moans from the walkers – yes, that’s what I call them, walkers. They tear down the foundation of the house so quickly when in groups. I don’t get why they’re so high in strength when at the same time their vitality has no endurance at all. In fact, their body endurance to getting hit is so pathetic that it’s possible for me to throw a rock through their skull.
 
Right when I was doing that specific action, something finally clicked in me; I know where I’m going. I’ve yet to get my family. My house is the most dilapidated one in the whole neighborhood. Now tears form in my eyes as the idea of my family dead, and coming back, runs right in my mind. I run faster until I see the house, there were already walkers coming to, and away from it. I had no idea why they were leaving the house, maybe my family ran away and they found no source of food anywhere. Even though I thought about it, I still kept going. I was going to make sure that my family was there, or not.
 
I got close enough to throw a rock right through one of the walkers’ head. They're surprisingly weak because they're already dead. Their skull seems like a material that can break when it's hit; it's like glass. I ran past it and got a glimpse of its face. I stopped in my tracks as I developed in my head of who it is. I go back and kneel on the floor. No more walkers come to me; they were all occupied with eating something else I didn’t care about.
 
The walker I just killed is my mother. I cried out and I saw most of her arm eaten off and the side of her stomach stabbed by a knife. I look at her face once again and examine it. Her black, ebony eyes are still open. The white part became red as if she was on drugs. Her mouth is filled with blood, probably from eating someone or herself. My mother’s teeth has become teeth that are not for a former vegetarian.
 
I stare at her face and think deeply about it. I drop her head on the ground. The knife in her side looks usable so I grab it and clutch it in my hand. I stand up, lifting my foot and crushing her dead head. Fresh, blackish blood surround the area of my shoes. This thing, this monster, is not my mother.
 
The realization hits me right in the face; People are just dying, they don’t come back as themselves. It’s an infection that spreads to the brain, hence the vital headshots. I don’t know why they’re extremely hungry, but I figure that it’s their only purpose of living, again.
 
When I finally stop the reverie in my mind, know the next place I’ll go to. One walker runs to me and I stab it right in the forehead, twist the knife, and pull it out. It falls to the floor and I spot a gun in its pocket. I’m hesitant in taking it because it might still be alive. I saw how painful it looked like to get bitten and I do not want to feel that horrid pain.
 
I got hold of the gun, and point at a walker in the distance that’s about to attack from behind one of the people I know. There aren’t any walkers in my area of the chaotic street since no one wants to get close to my creepy old house. That gives me time to get a good aim. It’s the first time I’m ever using a gun. It takes time to learn.
 
When I’m finally content with my aim, I shoot and the walker falls to the floor. Unfortunately, another walker on the floor got a hold of her leg and bit. My friend’s scream almost broke my ears. I look away, not wanting to see her suffer. Then I remember that when you get bit, you turn. I look at her and finish her off before she turned. That’s two successful shoots for a beginner like me. Of course, I’ve had practice with aiming.
 
Of course, it occurred to me that I just lost someone. Still, the tears were only for my family. I never really knew her that much anyway.
 
I was just about to go and escape the dreadful neighborhood when I heard the moans and groans of the walkers. I hate that sound. Sound! The gunshots… I was the only one shooting. Walkers are attracted to sound. They probably guess that wherever there’s sound, there’re humans. I guess these beasts are a little bit smart.
 
I kill off the rest of them with my knife because I couldn’t risk anymore coming at me from other neighborhoods. I set aside where I was going to search for survivors. I didn’t find anyone, but at least I cared enough to try.
 
Now I run off to find my desired partner in crime, my best friend. Her neighborhood isn’t far; I still had to kill off some walkers though. When I reached my destination, walkers weren’t surrounding the place, but there were still people lying on the floor, dead, and eaten up. Now I start to wonder why my place was filled and her place wasn’t. I guess because my neighbors got bit and turned fast.
 
Fortunately, her house isn’t occupied with walkers and I go right in since the door wasn’t locked. “Chris!? Chris! Are you here?” I whisper, afraid of the walkers to come in behind me.
 
I looked in her room and it reeked of dead stench. Her bed had something under the blanket and my heart stopped. No, no, no, Chris cannot be dead. She’s tough… She can’t. “Chris...” My voice cracks as I hold back from the tears. My hand is hesitant when reaching for the blanket. The knife I hold points at the bed just in case it’s a walker of my best friend. Next thing I know, I’m on the floor, pointing the knife at the person sitting on top of me. My face shows relief and tears of happiness when I see that it’s Chris. We embrace each other for a while and let go to discuss what’s happening.
 
First, I ask her if she’s bit and she answers with the respond I wanted.
 
“Did you lose anyone?” Chris asks me. I look at her with pain in my eyes and she instantly knows that I lost everyone. I don’t bother to interrogate her if she lost anyone because I’m practically the only person left that she could lose. Except for my brother, they kind of had a thing for each other. As I looked in her eyes, I could see the pain she's feeling about him.
 
Her family died long ago. Actually, Chris is an only child who’s also an orphan. Her parents died when she was little. Her mother passed when giving birth to her little sister who was born dead. Her father unfortunately lost it due to the deaths and committed suicide. Now she lives alone in the house while I come by and hang out often. Most of the time, she would go to my house. She seems to like it there for some reason that I don’t know of.
 
Of course, she still had to pay the bills and I shared my unwanted and useless money with her. She appreciated it; now It doesn’t matter. Money doesn’t really matter to the world now.
She reassures me about my family’s death and tells me that the pain will eventually wear off. I tell her that it already has. After watching my neighbors dying one after the other, then I shot my mother, the only person I really care about losing now is Chris.
 
After having a bit of silence to think things over, I break the ice and tell her everything I know and figured out about the walkers.
 
“They’re attracted to sound?” Chris says, “I wasn’t making any kind of noise and then next thing I know my room is filled with those freaks. I was just cooking…” She paused, “The smell! Not only sound, but smell, they can smell food!”
 
“But you were cooking food. They only go for living things, in other words, humans. It wasn’t the food they smelled, it was you, Chris.” I add on to her false fact.
 
“Way to burst my only smart thinking.” She rolled her eyes at me and I just grin. Even if the world is at stake, we could still have some fun. I looked at her annoyed face and it drops. She grabs her knife and points at the door way. I turn around to see a gun point right at my face.
 
“Ebony,” Chris tells me, “don’t move.”
 
I take her advice and stop moving. I still move my eyes to see who my predator is. It’s a guy, about our age. His hair is blonde and I don’t really see kindness in his eyes. Splatters of blood design his former all white shirt that is semi-covered by a black jacket.
 
“Drop the knife,” he says, “We all know that I have the advantage, because I don’t think you can shoot me with a knife.”
 
“I can throw the knife.” Chris talks and I can tell she is grinding her teeth together, being adamant to this dude.
 
“Throw and I shoo-“ I interrupt him and point the gun at him. He didn’t shoot because he didn’t quite see me moving my hand to get the gun when he was talking back to Chris.
 
“My turn to talk; you’re not the only one who has a gun. She throws, and we both shoot, none of us live.” I send daggers at him with my glare and he backs down. Point one for Ebony.
 
“Fine.” He puts down his gun and crouches down. His hands go up as if he’s a criminal. “None of us living isn’t the reason I went here. I didn’t mean to threaten. In fact, my group sent me to look for survivors in this neighborhood.”
 
We look at him as if he’s crazy. But the idea of going with a safe group would be good for us. Still, the guy gives me the creeps with the way he approached us. I don’t quite trust him.
 
“You barge in here while we’re discussing and then point a gun to my head. Do you really think we’re that stupid to trust someone that did that?” I wait for his defense
 
“Hey, I’m not exactly the type of person that’s great at searching for survivors. I didn’t want to be the one but my group sent me without having me approve of the choice.” He says, “Plus, I’m not one to complain when the dead are having an evolution.”
 
“Well, it sounds like you’ve taken all of your complaints and dropped them on us.” Chris hisses at him. I calm her down and look at her to be quiet.
 
“Your group, how big?” I ask him, still a little bit hesitant so I point my gun at him.
 
“We’re not exactly a big group, but we’re decen-“
 
“How many?!” I get impatient because of his indirect answer.
 
“There are three of us. Okay? All of us doubt that we’ll survive with just the three of us so we’re looking for people we could trust.” He stands up and I put down my gun.
 
“Get out, we need to discuss this.” He nods and tells me that he’ll wait outside the house. Chris turns to me and asks what I think.
 
“There’re three of them. That guy looks tough and I could tell by his bloody shirt that he’s killed quite a few walkers.” I tell her, “Two more people like him could be a benefit for us. We’re tough too; two people like us could be a benefit to them. You don’t know, we might be helping a few people out.”
 
“I don’t exactly like him and two more people like him won’t get my mood up. But I agree with you, we need more people too.” Chris agrees with me and I go outside to tell him. I don’t really see any merriment in his face but I guess he’s still content.
 
“Where’s the other one?.. uh, Chris.” He asks me.
 
“She’s getting knifes and the food that she has left. Do you guys have any supplies?” I say.
 
“Yeah, but we need all we could get.” He pauses for a bit, “Is Ebony your name?”
 
“Yeah. It’s not exactly the most optimistic name but it matches me.” I respond. “Yours?” I say in wonder.
 
“Jack.”
 
I hear footsteps running and I figure that’s Chris. But I don’t have any idea why she would be running. If it was a walker, then she would have killed it with the knife. I turn around just to find her grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me with Jack just going along with it and running behind.
 
“Did you get the supplies?” I ask her while we run. She nods and I see that she’s has a backpack on. “Then why are we running? Is it a walker?”
 
She looks back at me and my hopes drop at the fear in her eyes.
 
“Ebony,” She says, “It’s not just a walker; it’s a hoard of them.”

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