Chapter 1: On Our Own

Heather's POV

"James, I've got another one! Are you guarding your windows or what?" I called out angrily to my partner, who was supposed to be guarding two out of the four windows in the Nazi base of Kino Der Toten: the one upstairs and the one on the bottom of them. However, he let yet another slip by, and the stupid, decaying monster almost had me!

"James!" I repeated, seeing as he had not responded. All of a sudden, I heard a loud shout of fear and the cries of a hoard of flesh-craving zombies. He had done it again, the little fool.

I immediately sprinted upstairs, where I found him on top of a rotting dresser, trying desperately to escape the clutches of the seven zombies who surrounded him. I sighed as I saw his Olympia on the floor where he had accidentally dropped it. I ran my hand through my long, straight black hair in frustration, my light blue eyes glaring at him as he edged further back on the dresser, his face almost as pale as my skin.

"Nice going, you jackass. Maybe I should let them eat you this time… See if you learn your lesson." I said, but my voice called their attention. I calmly lifted my own M1 Grand as they charged, and emptied out my clip into each of their skulls. Not a single bullet missed.

Seeing as the coast was clear, James slowly set a foot down, but his grip on the dresser slipped, and he fell down on his back with a heavy thump. Almost instantly, the old dresser collapsed and all the rotting wood panels landed on top of him, throwing up a cloud of dust.

"I owe you one." He groaned through the debris.

"You owe me plenty." I said, and walked back to my own post.

When I reached my post between the two windows downstairs, I sat down, constantly looking at both of them to make sure that no zombies were on their way. Convinced, after about ten minutes of waiting, that no more zombies were headed for us at the moment, I relaxed, listening of the sounds of James nailing the boards back to their proper places, trying to plan our next move. We couldn't stay here forever.

I sighed once again as I fell into the exact same routine as I had for months. It was so depressing when you were always on the run. In all my nineteen years, I hadn't had to fight for my life, or experience this kind of pressure before. That just came to show how change could come so suddenly and change your life forever.

Just four months ago, I was at home with my parents and my younger brother, when we heard strange noises outside. At the same time, the emergency broadcast system appeared on the radio telling everyone in our area to remain in their homes and wait for a relief force.

"But we already have troops in our area." My mother said, confused.

All of a sudden, lustful cries filled the night, and soon enough, the converted townsmen were smashing our windows and breaking down our doors. My father bravely held them at bay with his shotgun, but not for long. Even as those wretched monsters from Hell tore his entire digestive system out, he was still shouting for us to get away. Their claws became entangled in his intestines and his voice came out as a gurgling sound. It was utterly horrifying.

As we ran for our lives out the back door, we found out that my mother wasn't fast enough. Zombies came at her from every angle, and eventually downed her. I feared the same fate would come to my brother, so I quickly picked him up and ran at full speed.

The night air held a bitter taste as the adrenaline drenched my blood and pumped through my veins. My tears spilled from my eyes and ran down to my chin. My seven-year-old brother clung to me, face buried in my neck.

I had always been the one to comfort him; the one to tell him that everything was going to be alright. But tonight, I was lost for words. My thoughts revolved around death, or a life living off of human flesh and blood.

The rotten stench… It was getting closer. It was becoming unbearably strong to the point of making my head spin, and I started getting dizzy. My steps became unsteady, and my sight, blurry. I came to a halt when a hideous animal crossed my path. It looked like a deformed monkey, emitting some sort of deadly gas. Without warning, it lunged for me, but I wasn't his target.

My captured brother struggled in the strange creature's grip, while I had to use all my energy just to stand. I was stunned and unable to do a thing but watch as my last surviving family member was devoured alive.

It would have hurt much less if he would have just died, even if he was crying, "Heather, Heather!" However, as if to mock me, the creature ceased his carnage, and allowed him to convert. He no longer had a mind of his own. My tears could have made a river through the neighborhood as the zombies closed in from every direction, my own brother in the lead.

Each of his moans were delivered as if he were in pain, and I could almost hear his new, rattling voice calling my name. I knew it was just my imagination, but I couldn't help but wonder. The gas had worn off after the creature put some space between us. I took this chance and ran. I ran for my life, though I couldn't see why. All was lost. I had nothing to live for…

However, a new light was brought into my world, and it gave me a reason to fight. I ran for the city gates as fast as I could, but not fast enough. People I once knew well were now after my flesh, and for a second, it looked like they were going to get it. A zombie with a swastika band tied to his arm slashed at me, but at the exact same time, I heard the powerful roar of an engine not too far away, and a split second later, an olive green Gran Torino slammed into him, leaving him in pieces.

"Get in! Quick!" A voice I would come to know like the back of my hand said, and without thinking twice, I hopped in. My savior's golden brown hair, pulled back into a ponytail, glowed under the moonlight, which also illuminated the rest of his features. He wore all-black clothes and jet black shades, even in the night. His light tan skin shone in the dark.

"My name is James." He said, and we rode away from the city, running over every zombie that got in our way with that car, which I soon found that he had hijacked from an auto shop. Boy, was he resourceful or what?

"Ah, I'd really kill for some light in here!" James called, but not from his post. I turned to my left and saw him next to me, stretching out on the floor, and allowing a loud yawn.

"James!" I yelled. "Get back to your post this instant before I tear your brains out and feed them to the dogs!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh!" He muttered, and began to walk back upstairs. However, almost as if on cue, the room began to get hazy to the point where you could hardly see your hand in front of your face. Menacing, inhuman voices began to whisper something about taking our souls, and we immediately knew what was about to go down.

"Shit, Heather! You jinxed it!" James cried.

"Hurry! Get up against a wall!" I ordered, and we quickly took formation.

A/N: Alright! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review. I could use some constructive criticism.