Dear V.K.
I love you, my brother
May you rest in peace
For all of eternity
PROLOGUE
The man walked into Wal-Mart, feeling ill. He had been feeling off for a few hours, and he doesn't know why. Suddenly feeling the urge to vomit, he ran to the men’s restroom, and began to vomit all over the floor. The shouts of indignation for the other men fell deaf to his ears, as he continued to puke non-stop, and it was now looking like a black sludge was coming out of him, pouring all over the floor. The world spun, and he collapsed into his own vomit.
Unknowing to the males in the restroom, this was happening all over the store.
When he came to, he was on his back, with bright lights being shined on him. A face was over him, and it looked-delectable. He was so hungry, and he needed food, now. He sat up, baring his teeth, and ripped a chunk out of the woman’s face. He chewed it greedily, and went for another bite, when something pulled him back. He swung his arms, and managed to cut someone across the chest, loosening their grip on him. He broke free, turned, and leaped at his captor, ripping his throat out with his teeth.
The rest of the world was having the same issue.
People going down, and coming back,
Ready to feed.
That day was July 5th, 2018.
The Day the World Went to Shit.
TWO MONTHS LATER
Noon, September 17th, 2018
HARLEY’S POV
My name is Harley Martinez. I was one of the first people to encounter a zombie, and now, two months after the incident, the world as we know it is over, and I now lead a group of young adults, all struggling to survive the zombie apocalypse. The only rule now is survival, and we have banded together in hopes of that. This is our story.
“Duck and cover!” I shouted as I lifted my rocket/tuba. A Tocket? Ruba? I'm not really sure yet. I shrugged, and pulled the trigger, firing it upon the crowd of “zombies”. We shouted in relief when the explosion took down a large number of them with ease.
“That was awesome” Dusk told me, getting out from behind a bench and pointing one lightly tanned arm towards the flaming hole of rubble and gore. I looked at her. Even with dirt and grime everywhere, even in her dirty-blond hair, her blue-gray eyes sparkled with humor.
“You wouldn't have said that two months ago, my slightly shorter friend. I am not judging you, because neither would I.” I replied.
“Yeah everything has changed,” she said “Insanity is the norm now, but that’s alright I guess.” I shrugged without responding, staring off in the distance.
“You thinking about them?” Dusk asked me quietly.
“Yeah….I wish I could’ve made it to my family in time… I'm aware it's not my fault, mostly because you guys, but I wish they were still here with me,” I responded sadly.
“You got us.”
“I'm in charge of you guys. I went from teenager to a Pimp Daddy in two months.”
“And that’s freaking badass”
I shrugged. “I guess. C’mon, let's go tell the others the coast is clear.” She nodded, and we turned around. Before I could take a step, she kicked me. “Hey! What was that for?!”
“I’m not that short!” she exclaimed.
“I’m six foot!” I cried. “You are at least two heads smaller, of course I am going to call you short!” She growled, but I could see the corners of her mouth forcing back a smile. “You’re screwing with me, aren’t you?”
“Yup!” she said with a laugh. “Let’s go!” So we head back, back into Garfield High, back to the Band Room, where Dusk, myself, and about eighteen other people now call home.
As we walked back in, I looked around, seeing my best friends and closest allies, both before and after this ‘epidemic’: Faith, Eli, Amy, Jada, Frank, William, Oliver, Kenneth(Ken), Eveline, Kaytie, Phillip, Monte, Dominika, her sister, Jade, Ace, Sophia, Jon-Francis(Jon), and Christina Koorbs. Faith, Eli, Ken, and Dusk are my lieutenants, and it's not just because I’m biased (they are my best friends), but because they are the most capable zombie killers we have (we found Eli with an M16 in hand, and a pile of dead outside his house, and he is the ‘calm’ one here).
Faith and Eli serve as my advisors, helping me with difficult moral decisions. Dusk is my strategic advisor, with the best mind I have seen at this sort of fighting. And Ken? He’s my second-in-command. I trust him more than I trust anyone else here, and he frequently keeps me from going off the deep end. Other people of importance are a few trusted members that make up a small council that help me and my lieutenants make the more important decisions: Eveline, Oliver, Monte, Dominika, Kaytie, and Jada. Myself? Other than being the leader, I am excellent with electronics, both programming and building. I probably could build a robot if I put my mind to it. As for our base of operations? We reside in the High School Band Room, which proved to be an excellent hiding place once we barricaded the windows from both sides. There is only one door, meaning there is only one way in and out.
“Hey! They’re back!” Amy shouted, noticing us walking inside.
“How’s the field?” Sophia asked.
“There is now a smoking hole where the creeps were” Dusk declared happily.
Faith and Eli walked over to me. Now, these two are often described as the future of humanity, but I know this four-year couple in a different way. They are my two of best friends, and we are so close I often consider them to be my brother and sister. Now, Eli has a fierce, handsome complexion. At twenty-one years of age, he has short, curly hair, a well-muscled form (actually, most of us do now, due to constant staying in shape to fight the horde, among other threats,) and steely dark brown eyes. This look is all completed with stubble and a short mustache.
Faith, on the other hand has a kinder complexion. In the four years since we started talking, I have heard her been described by many different people (Mostly horny guys.) The nicknames include ‘sexy girl’ and ‘hot boob chick’ and ‘big booty Italian girl.’ I however, see my ‘sister’: A lightly tanned Italian with shoulder length dirty-blond hair, kind, blue-gray eyes, with a softer, kind face. Now, after two months of hard work, her softer figure, like Eli, has turned into a hard, more muscled one. Now of course, she still has the ‘womanly assets’ that he loves and she is so proud of.
Now the hilarious thing is that their personalities are slightly different than the way they look: Eli is the one who would sit down and talk to you, calmly and peacefully. Faith, however, is more high-strung, and always has one hand on her gun.
And if you must know, I am a tall eighteen year-old, with dark brown hair. Now, I do a crap job of describing myself, so I am going to use other people’s words: I have deep brown eyes, almost black. I am broad-shouldered, and well muscled (muscles due to vigorous exercise, both before and after the apocalypse.) I’ve been called handsome, but I don’t see it. Maybe I have a nice face under this unkempt beard, but if I do, it’s not going to be seen in a very long time, because I’m sure as hell not shaving.
Anyways, I looked closely at Faith and Eli, and I could see the concern in their eyes.
“What troubles thee?” I asked, smiling.
They didn’t laugh. “Dude are you okay?” He asked me.
“Yeah, why?”
“We are worried about you,”
“I'm alright guys. I just miss my family.” I responded to him.
“We all do man. I mean the other thing. The insanity? The anger? How you holding up?”
“I'm actually fine with that, probably because now when I get mad, I can shoot a zombie.”
He chuckled, “Anger management man. Anger management.” The four of us laughed at that, and I turned to address the group.
“Alright everyone. Now that the field is finally clear, we can start
doing food runs again. I’m taking Faith, Ken, Eveline, and Monte to Wawa. Eli and Dusk, you are in charge till I get back.”
Eli nodded, and said “We got it man.”
“Alright Harley, we got this.” Dusk declared.
“Why Wawa? Why not Price-Rite or 7-11?” Christina asked me.
I looked at her for a few seconds before responding. “Christina, Price-Rite is a larger building, and is more
likely to have a large horde inside. Wawa should have less or, if we are lucky, none.”
“And 7-11?” She queried.
“We already picked 7-11 bone-dry, remember?” I turned to my supplies group “No explosives guys. I don't want the building to collapse on us.
“Alright.”
“Sure.”
“Good idea.”
“I just want an energy drink.” Monte said, smiling. I could tell he was trying to lighten the mood of the danger, so we all smiled and went to grab our equipment.
Kaytie walked up to me. A steadily built eighteen year old, this is one is also one of my closest friends. Standing at 5’5”, this Italian had shoulder-length dirty-blond hair, is well-tanned, and has very striking blue eyes. Also, she has a Disney obsession. After graduating high school two years ago, she enlisted in the National Guard, where she won an award for being the best close-combatant in training. Oh, and she is Faith’s sister.
“Hey Harley.” she said “You sure you cool to go on this mission?”
“Of course I am.” I replied, surprised. “What makes you think that I’m not?”
“Well, it was only last week that you decided to smash a wall.”
“Hey, I was stressed.”
“Yea, and you destroyed an entire wall.” she responded, laughing, “I’m just checking on you. Good luck.”
“Thanks.”
After 20 minutes, we were all ready. We all had standard M16s assault rifles, Beretta M9 pistols, and army knives and bags looted from empty military encampments, and each had unique items. I carry my favorite weapon, my Colt 1911 model pistol, alongside the Beretta, and I left my-(Tocket?) Ruba?) I still don’t know- at base. Faith carries her clarinet, which isn’t playable at the moment, because she replaced her reed with a sharp blade, and strapped metal bands to it to reinforce the wood. Ken, my tall, dark, and handsome friend, carries his equipment like it weighs nothing. You see, he is in the Navy, and in his basic training, (which took place last summer,) he had an awful squadron. This lead to having to do extra exercise. Therefore, my already large friend has transformed into this heavily muscled, six-pack bearing behemoth. In fact, he is starting to remind me of a smaller Dwayne Johnson, because, even his Baritone Saxophone (which shoots grenades when he plays ‘The Final Countdown,’) seems to weigh nothing to him.
Eveline, on the other hand, is smaller, and kinder-looking. She has dark brown hair, soft brown eyes, and a kind innocent face. However, don’t let that fool you. Beneath that innocent smile is a stronger woman, ready to fight tooth and nail to survive. She even took her instrument, the flute, took the crown and cork out, did some tinkering, and made it into a shotgun of some sort.
Living proof that looks can be deceiving, she is.
Now for Monte. When you first see him, he would remind you of Danny, from ‘Grease,’ except for the fact he’s tougher, and not such a little bitch. With a kind face that constantly has a smile, this tall, athletic, sleek-haired young man would have you laughing, using his sense of humor, and positive outtake on life. However, when his friends are threatened, he is one of our most ferocious fighters.
My personal opinion is that he smiles and laughs, even when he absolutely doesn't feel good, just because he wants us to keep our humanity. With all of the death, he doesn’t want us going off the deep end, so he does his best to remind us that life is worth living, even now, in the face of all this horror. Combining that with his incredible accuracy, he is one of the most indispensable people we have.
I smiled inwardly. Yes, the world may have gone insane, but at least I have these guys to fight beside till the end.
I glanced around. “You guys ready? Awesome. Let's go.”
Around 3PM, Same Day
We took the back door, going through the back roads to Wawa. The main road is cluttered with cars and infested with the dead, so it's easier, and much less dangerous, for us to walk this way.
“You know what I miss?” Ken said “Porn. I would go on Pornhub, back before all this. Now I can’t.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I said cautiously.
“Of course I am! I'm not that desperate.”
“Yes you are.” Eveline said instantly, fighting back a smile.
“Oh, come on!” he protested.
“It's true!”
“Like you pleasure yourself to musicals?”
“I do not!”
“Yeah, sure, Miss Phantom of the Opera!”
Her cheeks colored. “Well I feel bad for anyone who looked at your search history!”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean!”
“Why don't you guys kiss already?” Faith said, smiling. They both whipped their head around and glared at her, while she, Monte, and I all laughed.
“Yeah that’s probably what it means.” Monte chuckled.
“We are here guys” I quietly announced. “Let's see what we are dealing with.” And, without a word, we slowly walked towards Wawa. At front of the door, I pointed to Faith, and then Ken. I then pointed to the ground, and twisted my hand, silently telling them to stay here and keep a lookout. They nodded, and Eveline and Monte followed me inside.
“Alright guys, look for food and water, and then you guys can grab yourselves a novelty item.” They both nodded, and we separated to search the store. I picked up coffee grains, some sandwich ingredients, and was picking up some of the employee’s toiletries when I heard someone shouting.
“DIE MOTHERFUCKERS! GO BACK TO WHATEVER FUCKING HOLE YOU CRAWLED OUT OF!”
That was Faith going off like a banshee. The gunshots most likely meant she was shooting at whoever the “motherfuckers” were.
“Beautiful way to alert us to an attack.” I muttered as I ran over and saw a horrifying sight. A horde of the undead, stumbling towards us like some cheap 90’s film, only real.
“WHAT THE FUCK!” I shouted “GET OUT OF THE STORE AND RUN LIKE FUCKING HELL!” We all sprinted out of Wawa, and towards the HS, with Faith and me covering the rear, firing into the crowd.
“Headshots are difficult right now, aren't they?” I shouted over the gunfire. She wasn't paying attention though. She was busy trying to put down the dead.
“Guys, up here!” I heard Ken shout. He was pointing to a ladder that leads to on top of Price-Rite.
“Alright, climb up! We will cover you!” Faith shouted, still shooting. They climbed up, and when they were safe, we could hear them shooting at the zombies. Faith and I swung our rifles over our shoulders, and climbed to safety.
“Safe.” I declared, watching the dead crowd the base of the ladder. “Good thinking, Ken. We really don't want to have them follow us back to base.”
“Thanks man. It didn't seem safe.” He got quiet for a minute, then asked, “What are we gonna do now?”
“I don't know yet. I'll think of something” I responded. I walked around in a circle “For now, let's set up a camp.” We pulled the emergency sleeping bags off our military bags. I was setting up my own bag when I heard the sound of flesh hit flesh, and a sharp exclamation of pain.
“Ouch!” Monte exclaimed
“What happened!?” I asked, running over.
“He told me and that sex is prohibited. I told him we aren't dating” Eveline told me.
“Then you slapped him?” I asked.
“No, I slapped him after he looked at me, and said ‘Eveline, I didn't know you were that kind of girl.’”
I looked at Monte, grinned, and fist-bumped him. “Nice one. And you know what Eveline? He's right. I didn't think you were that kind o
f girl.” I braced myself, and sure enough, the hand came swinging.
“Ouch!”
………..
………..
………..
………..
………..
………..
That actually hurt.
That Night
“No! Steven!” I fired my gun at the group of zombies. My baby brother, lying in the ground, has his throat torn out. The last of my family, dead. “Nooooo! I hate you fuckers! Ahhh!!!!!! I will fucking. KILL. YOU. ALL!!!!!”
“Arghhhh…..” I heard from my feet. He was reanimated. “Bragrhhhhhh.”
“I'm so sorry this happened” I say, tears rolling down my face.
“I am so, so sorry. But I have to do this, just like I had to the others that died here. I am so, so, sorry.”
I lifted his sniper off the ground and put the barrel to his head.
“Goodbye” I whispered, as I pulled the trigger.
I then collapsed beside him, covered in blood and zombie guts, as the hoard closed in on me.
I woke with a start, covered in a cold sweat. I looked around wildly.
“Only a dream” I thought to myself. “I'm going to check on the watch.” I walked over to Ken, who was on guard duty.
“Ken, I can take over from here” I said
“I just got here,” he responded “Go back to sleep man.”
“I-I can’t”
“Nightmares?”
I nodded. “Steven”
“Oh that one was awful.’
“I know it was man”
He faced me. “Harley. You aren't alone. I saw my own family brutally murdered in front of me, and I had to put them down myself,” he shuddered. “There isn't a night that I go to sleep and don't see their torn and shattered bodies. I know it's awful, but you need your rest.
I shook my head “I know man. It's just… I can't stop it. I keep reliving the worst moments of my life.”
“I know man. Just, please, try to get some sleep.”
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