Z

The woods were silent except for my footsteps as I headed east. I glanced up and noticed the suns position in the sky and figured it must be around four in the afternoon. I hadn't seen any walkers in nearly two hours and I was trying not to let myself get too comfortable, but my mind kept wandering back to days gone by. It had been close to a year since the world changed and the dead started walking.



I stood at the mirror in my bathroom carefully lining my eyes in black. The television was playing in the living room as background noise, the news anchor was talking about riots and looting happening on the outskirts of Atlanta and was advising the public to stay away from the area. Thankfully, my work was on the opposite side of town, so I wouldn't have to go near the affected area.

"It appears that the looters are getting violent with police, we have video of one of them attacking an officer and-" There was a pause, "This tape is very graphic, are we showing this?"

Another voice, not mic'd said "Run it."

"This is a very graphic video," The anchor spoke now, "Please have any young children leave the room," I stepped into the doorway of the bathroom to watch the developments. The video was shaky and shot on a cellphone, I watched as the looter attacked the officer, biting his neck. The blood spilled down the officers uniform as he let out a scream.

"Damn," I said to myself, "Crazy ass people." I stepped back into my bathroom and went back to getting ready for work.

The freeway was backed up and had been at a standstill for nearly 20 minutes, my level of frustration was growing at an exponential rate. I joined in with everyone else beeping their horns as I flipped my radio on.

"The police are urging citizens to stay home and lock their doors to protect themselves against the looters. We're seeing horrendous traffic backups all over Atlanta and, Just a moment. I'm receiving word that the President has declared a state of Emergency for all of Atlanta and it's surrounding counties. Please remain in your homes, or get to them as quickly as possible." I looked in my rearview, trying to find a way to get out of the traffic jam. I was slowly beginning to realize the seriousness of the situation when people behind me began getting out of their cars, I watched things progressing. People were beginning to run forward, towards my car and once they were past, I saw them. The looters, only they weren't normal. Some were moving quickly while others were shambling forward. I began to panic as I watched one of the quicker looters grab a person and begin tearing into him, I couldn't get out to run, but I couldn't sit there like a waiting duck. I rolled my window up, locked the doors, and killed my engine before climbing into the back of my car and pulling down the seat, giving me access to the trunk. I climbed in, making sure I had my keys before pulling the seat back into it's normal position.

I checked the time on my phone, it had been three hours since I'd gotten in the trunk and it was now silent outside. There had been so many screams and so much panic I'd heard from the safety of my trunk, I was terrified of what I would encounter once I opened the trunk.



Once I'd gotten out of the trunk, I tried getting back to my apartment, but discovered more of what I'd been calling looters. I realized they weren't living. I'd heard the Z word thrown around in those early days, but I didn't like using it. It made the reality of the situation feel too much like a cheap horror movie. They were walkers, people who'd died and gotten back up

In the year after things changed, I'd learned a lot about survival and how to take care of myself. I'd been mostly on my own and I liked it that way. I didn't have to worry about anyone else, I didn't have to protect anyone else and I only had to watch my own ass.


A branch snapping to my left pulled me from my thoughts, there were two walkers stumbling towards me. I felt my adrenaline begin to rush, but managed to calmly pull my Parang and took them out as soon as they were close enough. I tried to keep this process as silent as possible to keep from drawing the attention of any other geeks lurking in the trees. I made my way to the road after dropping the two bodies, I kept my weapon out and at the ready. I was hoping to find a cabin or small house before nightfall, so I wouldn't have to spend another night in the trees. I shifted my backpack as I continued walking, my canned goods were beginning to take a toll on my shoulders.

I stopped walking when I heard a growing noise coming through the trees. It was a car and seemed to be going away from me, I searched through the tree trunks for the vehicle. I began moving more quickly, knowing the noise would be pulling walkers from all over the countryside. My quick walk turned into a run as the car approached. I went back into the cover of the trees.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I said with every footfall. I didn't need to encounter a hostile group or a horde of walkers, but the latter was coming right for me. Walkers spilled over the hill and were coming right for me, pushing me closer to the road. I swung my Parang wildly as the dead got closer and began grabbing at me. I found my way out of the trees and back to the dirt road, just in time to encounter the car. The driver applied the brakes and skidded into me, I hit the windshield with enough force to crack it. My head was floating as I rolled off of the hood and hit the dirt of the road. I heard a commotion around me and bodies dropping.

"Shit, shit, shit," A female voice was saying from above me, "Are you alive? Can you hear me?"

"Stop talking so loud," I said, bringing a hand up to my head. A person grabbed me under my arms and began dragging me, I opened my eyes and looked up at the sky.

"I need you to get in the car, or we're both dying," The voice was stern as a car door was opened. I began crawling into the sedan and was given a hard push to help me. I toppled into the floor of the backseat and was followed by my backpack and the person who'd hit me; She shut the door hard behind her. Not a second later I could hear fists beating on the sides and windows of the vehicle, "Are you still with me?" The stranger had climbed into the front seat and began driving.

"Yeah," I grumbled, trying to focus, "Where are you taking me?" My vision was hazy.

"I'm getting us both away from them."

"You coulda left me," I said finding my way into a sitting position. The pounding in my head was unbearable, "You don't owe me anything." I looked at my backpack and my Parang, I was thankful to see they'd made it in the car.

"No," She looked at me in the rearview with her blue eyes, "I owe someone else."

And that was how I met Beth.