I didn't know it yet, but the world was about to end.

It was May 5, 2009. I was living like any other citizen in the town of Suburbia. I had heard rumors that a new form of plant life had evolved. I didn't believe it, of course, but I had no idea they would come in handy.

When I heard that scream, everything changed.

I didn't see who was screaming, but I realized someone was in trouble. I rushed over to a park, where I saw three people running away from something. No, someone, because I heard a voice. A bone-chilling voice, one that would send shivers down your spine. A single word came out in a low moan. "Brrraaiiiinnnsss…"

That was all I could hear before I heard brakes squeal and saw a car swerving towards me. Then I blacked out…

…

When my eyes opened, I felt woozy. Like I suffered some sort of concussion. How did I get hit by a car and survive? I must have been lucky. Groaning, I tired to stand up.

I stopped. The whole area around me looked different. The grass and trees were purple, houses had a goth-like appearance, and mailboxes and lawn mowers had a vicious, robot-like face. Flies were buzzing here and there, making me swat at them in annoyance. They must have thought I was dead. In the distance, crows cawed while circling around something behind a house. Curiously, I moved closer… and what I saw what it was, I was glad my stomach was empty.

The crows were circling a human carcass, a man whose chest was torn open and insides sprawled out. His face was expressionless, his eyes filled with pure horror. Two bald people wearing suits were crouching down, their heads bent over. I heard munching sounds, like bones being crunched and flesh being torn. My God… I realized. They were eating him!

I slowly backed away, one hand over my mouth. What the heck was happening here? A loud snap came into earshot, indicating I had stepped on a stick. The two people stopped their feast and turned around. Their skin was a light gray, their mouths were red from their meal, their clothes were torn and ragged and-ugh- parts of their skin were gone, exposing flesh and bone. They approached in a stumbling manner, producing low groans and moans from their throats. Occasionally, the word "brains" would come out. They extended their rotting arms towards me.

"No, no, no! Stay back! Stay back!" I warned them, desperately trying to find a weapon. Spotting a pistol lying in the grass, I snatched it and pointed it at the people's chests, my hands shaky. "Don't make me shoot you!" I shouted at them. They did not stop. Without hesitating, I pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit the first one's heart, but to my shock, he did not go down. Instead, he acted like the shot never even happened. "I-I'm warning you!" I yelled, only to receive another "brains" from him. I fired again, this time aiming for the head. The shot rang out, and the first person collapsed, blood trickling down his forehead. The second one went down too as the next bullet penetrated his skull, falling on top of his partner. Quickly checking my gun's ammo, I saw that I was out. I would have to find more.

Questions flowed through my head as I explored the transformed town. It was empty, abandoned cars lying on the streets, skeletons every two blocks, and TV monitors on telephone poles that had a guy in a white lab coat and a large brain broadcasting something illegible. Telephone poles and road signs had been ripped out of the ground by something, along with the entire frontside of a house. I tried knocking on doors of the houses, but no one came. Two minutes into my exploration, a mailbox's eyes glowed red. It dropped its newspaper from the "mouth" and an alarm blared from it. Odd. What kind of mailbox would have an alar…

WHACK! Something struck the back of my head, making me see black.