Mankind

by Stalletti, Matthew

  Dan continues to walk and reflect about his life up until this point. Ever since the start of the apocalypse, he has been a lone wolf. He never had any family or friends to go to when everything went down, so he's been alone this entire time. Dan thinks about the people he had killed. He did it in self-defense, but he always questions whether or not he was in the right. He never feels guilty about it, and to be honest, he never found it that difficult.

  Dan has encountered less than a handful of survivors on his travels, but his encounters always end the same way. They always end up dead. Dan thinks about himself for a moment. In his eyes, he is the strongest person that he knows. He knows he’s not going to die by the infected, so he feels like it's time that he starts looking for other people to ally with. Dan reaches an opening in the tall wall separating the train track to the neighborhood. Dan stops walking and looks into the abandoned neighborhood. He only hears the sound wind and the crackling of metal from the deserted cars on the streets. He can't hear any kids playing on the swings, or cars driving by, or planes flying overhead. All he hears is the sound of no life. It’s sad once he starts and thinks about it. Dan accepted this reality a long time ago and continues to walk.

  As soon as he places his next foot forward, Dan hears the loud scream of someone coming directly from the neighborhood. Dan stops, surprised by this. It was the last thing he was expecting to hear. Dan thinks about whether or not he should approach the sound, but he quickly begins to think about all the previous survivors that he had encountered. Deep down he knows that it will end the same way, but part of him still has hope for something more. Dan hesitates, but ultimately decides to run toward the scream. He is hopeful and hopes to start himself on a new path. Dan runs off the train tracks and into the neighborhood.

  Aaron falls onto his back hard, and screams. A rock had been on the ground where he had just landed. Aaron lays on the lawn of an abandoned house. He has a black long sleeve shirt on, and white jeans. Over his back is a sling bag, most likely filled with his supplies. Aaron leans up and grabs his silver m1911 handgun that he had just dropped. Only a few feet in front of him is an infected woman. Aaron knows that he has to deal with her quickly before the rest of them show up. The infected reaches Aarons feet and lunges down to try and eat him. Before he can, Aaron raises his handgun and fires two shots. One bullet hits the infected in the shoulder, and the other hits it directly in the head. The infected dies and falls flat on top of Aaron. The body is heavy and is hard for Aaron to push off of him. Suddenly, Aaron looks in front of him and sees another infected approaching. Aaron starts to panic because he knows that he is trapped. Aaron continues to try and push the infected off of him, but he struggles. The approaching infected lunges down and tries to bite Aaron but is quickly stopped by the dead body on top of him. Now Aaron is being crushed under the two infected, one of which is trying to kill him. Aaron tilts his head back and looks behind him. Now there is a third infected trying to come and kill Aaron. The problem with this one is that he’s approaching from behind him, so his face is exposed to the infected. Aaron really must free himself now.

  Suddenly, and arrow flies through the air and strikes the infected in its face from behind Aaron. Aaron looks back to see the infected with an arrow in its head. The body quickly falls. The realization that another survivor is coming to rescue him gives him hope. Suddenly, Dan lunges down and stabs the infected on top of Aaron with his bowie knife. Dan pulls the knife out of the dead infected skull and pulls the bodies off this new survivor he just saved. Dan quickly walks over to Aaron and puts out his hand to help him get up. Aaron hesitates, but eventually grabs Dans hand and slowly raises to his feet. Aaron looks at the stranger with gratitude. Dan wants to speak to this stranger, but quickly looks over his shoulder and sees something unsettling. Dans eyes widen as he sees a mini herd of infected walking toward them on the street. Aaron sees Dans expression and turns around to see what he is looking at. Aaron turns and looks at the herd. He feels the same way that Dan does. Dan turns around and runs toward the passageway on the side of the house that they are in front of. Aaron does not question him, and just follows.

  Dan kicks the gate that leads to the backyard and runs down the narrow passageway leading to it. Aaron runs through the gate and closes it behind him. Aaron and Dan run toward the back yard. Dan runs into the backyard and sees two infected roaming about. Dan raises his bow and pulls and arrow out of his bag. Dan pulls the arrow back, aims at the infected, and releases. The arrow flies and plunges through the infecteds eye. Dan quickly runs over to the dead body and pulls the arrow out of its skull. The second infected approaches Dan from behind. Aaron runs up behind the infected, pulls out his knife, and stabs it from the underside of the back of its head. Aaron pulls out the knife from its head, and the infected quickly drops to the ground. Dan walks back over to the narrow passageway and looks back toward the gate. Dan is suspicious that the infected will make their way over to the backyard. To no avail, the small herd of infected barges through the gate to the back yard. One by one, they begin to walk down the narrow passageway.

  Dan steps forward drawing another arrow from his bag and aims his bow. Dan fires the bow and kills one infected. He realizes that it's not enough. Dan needs to engage with his knife to quickly dispose of all these infected. Dan pulls out his bowie knife and looks back at Aaron.

  “Come on! We’re doing this now!” Dan screams.

  “What!?”

  Dan looks back and charges the infected herd. Dan reaches the closets infected and kicks him in the leg. The infected falls over, causing a few infected behind it to fall as well. This is Dans chance. Dan strikes down with his knife at the closest infected on the ground. Dan does this again to the next infected, and then again to the next one. The infected catch on quick, they rise to their feet and walk over the dead bodies to get to Dan. Dan stabs the oncoming infected from the bottom of its head upward. He struggles to pull out his knife, but he eventually does. Before he knows it, another infected lunges at him and tackles him to the ground. Dan falls on his back, and the infected falls on top of him. Dan struggles, but uses his forearm to prevent the infected from biting down on him. The other infected looks forward and notices Aaron in the backyard. Their attention focus’ on him now. The infected herd walks around Dan as he lays on the ground with the infected on top of him. He is surprised that the herd is not trying to kill him. He never knew that this could be done to lure the attention of other infected away from himself.

  Aaron looks at the herd and sees that Dan was attacked. He never saw him get swarmed and eaten, but he doesn't know how he could be alive in any way. Aaron watches the infected walk toward him in that very narrow space between the brick of the house, and the wood of the fence. Immense guilt falls upon Aaron; a complete stranger saved him, and now he is dead. Aaron, enraged by the infected, pulls out his m1911 handgun and aims at the herd. Aaron begins to fire his handgun none stop into the mindless skulls of the infected. One by one, the infected drop.

  Eventually, the herd of infected fully passes Dan as he lays on the ground. Now he knows that he is safe from the rest, so he raises his arm, pushing the infected on top of him upward, and lunges his knife into its temple. Dan struggles, but ultimately pulls out the blade. Dan throws the body off of him and stands up with the knife in his hands. Dan turns and looks at the group of infected walking toward Aaron. There are only a few left. Dan sees Aaron on the other side shooting his gun, but that means nothing to him. He proceeds to stab the infected from behind, killing them one by one. Dan lunges his knife in the back of one of the infecteds heads. Aaron sees Dan alive and is relieved. He wasn't expecting him to make a comeback like that. Aaron points his pistol at the last infected and pulls the trigger. Aaron quickly realizes that he is out of ammunition. Aaron panics and looks up at the infected in front of him. It is approaching. Aaron puts his gun away and struggles to pull out his knife. Before he knows it, Dan runs up behind the infected and stabs it in the head. Dan violently pulls the k
nife out from its head, and the body drops to the ground. Dan looks up at Aaron with blood all over him. Aaron is breathing heavily and is still filled with adrenaline. They had both just cleared a herd of infected on their own. Dan turns around and looks back at the narrow passageway. It is filled with dozens of infected just lying on the ground. Dan never realized how many there were, but it’s nothing he hasn't dealt with before. Dan is a strong survivor. He must be if he's been alive on his own this entire time.

  Dan turns back and looks at Aaron.

  “Thanks. You just saved my ass.” Aaron says.

  “What’s your name?” Dan asks.

  “Aaron.”

  Dan looks around, “I’m Dan.” He looks back, “What the hell were you doing firing your gun like that in the street anyways?”

  “There was a lot of them. I had no choice.”

  “Next time stick with the knife.” Dan says.

  “Yeah I know. Keep the bullets for the bigger threat, right?” Aaron says, “There was some pricks… they killed my friend and took everything I had. They left me with my bag and my knife. I found a gun, but it only had one clip. That's why I was being stupid… because I didn't have anything anymore.”

  Dan looks at Aaron. He never expected anyone to be so cruel to a stranger, but he knows what it's like. He has his own dark past with other survivors. Aaron looks angry. He doesn't like how Dan was judging him. He feels threatened by Dan and his judgment.

  “You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?” Aaron asks.

  Aaron slowly turns around and walks further down the fenced off backyard. Dan can't believe that he is acting this way right after a saved him. He knows it's hard to lose people you care about, but he shouldn't be so rude to someone who is friendly.

  “You really gonna be like that right after I saved your life?” Dan asks.

  Aaron turns around. He realizes that he had been unfair to Dan.

  “Sorry, it’s just that everyone I meet dies or turns on me.”

  “Don’t worry… I know exactly what you’re talking about. Neither of those things will come from me.” Dan says.

  Dan walks up to Aaron, “We should stick together. There’s strength in numbers.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. We should get out of here, there could be more infected on their way right now.” Aaron explains.

  Dan is cautious about staying with Aaron, but he also wants there to more to life than just being alone. After everything he has been through, he knows that he must try. Dan pushes his doubts aside and commits to sticking next to Aaron for the foreseeable future.

  Dan looks around and notices a house on the other side of the fence in the backyard. He decides its best to loot that house for supplies, and possibly stay there since the sun is slowly setting. Dan walks over to the fence near the next house.

  “Come on.”

  Dan climbs over the fence and drops down onto the grass of the backyard next-door. Dan looks up and slowly walks toward the glass door at the back of the house. Aaron jumps over the fence as well and follows Dan. The two of them reach the back door. Suddenly, Dan starts knocking on the glass. This confused Aaron. He doesn't understand why he would be knocking on the glass. They stand there, waiting patiently. Aaron is a little confused but says nothing.

  Out of nowhere, some infected slams onto the glass door from the inside of the house. Suddenly it makes sense to Aaron; he had been banging on the glass to lure any infected inside. Aaron is impressed with Dans strategy. He feels more confident now being around Dan and trusts him to not get himself killed. Dan grabs the door and looks at Aaron. He is about to open it.

  “Ready?” Dan asks.

  “Go for it.”

  Aaron steps back from the door, and Dan swings it wide open. The infected is caught off guard and falls flat on its face in the backyard. Aaron quickly runs over to the infected and stabs it through the back of its skull. Dan watches Aaron. He is smarter than he looks.

  Dan proceeds to enter the house with his bow and arrow drawn. He doesn't expect any more infected, but he is ready just in case. Aaron follows from behind, ready with his knife. Dan walks through the house and reaches the staircase that leads to the basement. Dan looks back at Aaron for a short moment.

  “Check downstairs. I’ll check up here.” Dan requests.

  Aaron nods his head and proceeds down the staircase that leads into the basement. Dan walks into the kitchen of the house and looks around for any supplies. Dan goes through the cupboards, but they are empty or filled with useless utensils. Dan opens one cupboard and finds a can opener. That seems useful to him, so he takes it. Dan continues to search through the main floor of the house, but he finds nothing else of use. He begins to think about what Aaron had told him. It went over his head, but he is starting to wonder if what he said was that serious. If Aaron had been attacked by strangers, maybe they are still around here. Maybe they heard the gunshots. Dan thinks about whoever these strangers might be. If they do come across them, Dan will do what he needs to do to make sure that neither him nor Aaron get hurt. He has done things like this before, and he is confident that he can do it again. Dan is truly done losing people, so he will kill who ever poses as a threat.

  As he walks down the hall, he takes a quick glance out the window and sees that it’s much darker than it was before. It’s almost night time, so he and Aaron should rest until morning.

  Dan walks down the basement stairs and sees Aaron sitting on one of the couches down there. Dan walks down to the bottom and walks over to Aaron.

  Dan sits on the couch across from him, “You find anything?”

  “Just this water bottle. Here… there's not a lot left. I already had some.”

  Aaron tosses the bottle toward Dan. Dan grabs the bottle and starts to drink from it. There isn't a lot left, so he finishes the bottle quickly.

  “What about you? What did you find?” Aaron asks.

  Dan finishes drinking, “Not much… just a can opener.”

  “Oh… well I guess we’ll find more stuff tomorrow. We didn't even check the top floor.”

  Dan looks at Aaron. He feels grateful for coming across him on his travels. He didn't think that anyone he found these days would be as generous as him and share water that they found. He feels like he can trust him now after he gave him that bottle to drink out of. Dan starts to think about everything leading up to this. He wonders if Aaron won’t turn out the same way that all the other survivors he has come across did after all. Dan feels joyful on the inside. It's been so long since he has had someone to travel with, so he knows that he will be able to rest better a night knowing that Aaron is trustworthy.

  Aaron looks at Dan from across the room, “You should rest. I’ll wake you up in 3 hours and then you can keep watch.”

  “Alright with me.” Dan says.

  He gets comfortable and lays on his back. He feels like he won't have to sleep with one eye open tonight like he always does. After a few minutes, Dan shuts his eyes and falls into a deep slumber. Aaron keeps watch.

  Many hours go by. It is now morning, and both Aaron and Dan are asleep in the basement. Dans eyes are sealed shut. He hasn't gotten this much sleep in weeks. He feels great sleeping and not having to worry about anything.

  Suddenly, Dan hears a gunshot right next to him, and jolts up in the couch. Dan wakes up to the sight of an older man pointing a gun in his face. Dan is shocked and has no idea what is going on. Dan looks over to see where Aaron was once sleeping. A man stands over Aaron on the couch, pointing his gun at him. There is smoke coming from the barrel of the gun. He must have been the one who shot the gun. Dan looks down and sees blood all over Aarons chest. Aaron opens his eyes wide in shock and touches his chest. He sees that he had just been shot and rolls off the couch onto the floor. Aaron lays on the basement floor and bleeds to death. Dan watches what he thought was going to be his friend dying on the floor. Dan looks back at the man standing next to him. He has no idea who these guys are, but the thought of them being
here for Aaron crosses his mind. He quickly remembers the conversation that they had yesterday; Aaron told him that some guys killed his friend. Dan is starting to understand what is going on here. The man standing next to Dan gets closer to him and puts the end of the gun up to his head.

  “You know why we’re here? Because Aaron had shot at one of my boys. Now, I wouldn't try anything stupid if I were you!”

  “Yeah! We got our boys only a few miles down the road. They’ll beat down on yah like you’re nothing!” The other guy says.

  Dan looks up at the two men and says nothing. He observes their appearance and notices that they are dirty and smell bad. One of the men is wearing a fur brown hoodie. The other is wearing a tank top and his armpit hairs are longs and disgusting. The second man walks over and picks up Dans bow.

  “I like you already. You see, anyone can pick up a gun and shoot. Hell, look at us! But a bowman is always a bowman, and I sure as hell respect that.”

  “I hope you two aren't friends, cuz it would be quite unfortunate if we had to kill you as well. See friend, we have a community of respectful survivors like yourself.” The Fur hoodie man says, “My name is Dylan, by the way. Who are you?”

  Dan doesn't know what to do. He is outnumbered, so fighting them at gunpoint isn't the wisest decision. He is left with no decision other than to play along and tell them what they want to hear.

  “My name is Daniel… and he’s not my friend. I just met the guy. We were sticking together, but I had no idea he was such an asshole to the point where he had guys hunting him down.” Dan explains.

  “There you go, friend. See, now we don't have to kill you. Wanna roll with us? Our boys are about to hit up a camp and get a shit load of supplies. Then we’re heading home for the next few weeks.” Dylan explains.