CHAPTER 1

He was never around much to begin with, so I guess it wasn't a big surprise when God completely split town. Humanity has never needed him more, but he was gone. Went out for a pack of smokes and has been gone for four years now. Maybe the line is just long?

Before all of this happened I never really believed in God, Demons, and Angels. Things like that just seemed like a story you told to your kids to make them behave, but wow, had I been so wrong.

Another scary realization. I admitted I was wrong. That's new.

I'll break down the shit storm that had pretty quickly progressed over the course of four years. A whole lot of daddy issues and redirected anger. It doesn't sound so bad, right? Well too bad the one with daddy issues was the archangel Lucifer, and the one with redirected anger was the archangel Michael. Since they couldn't seem to choose any other place to slap at each other, it ended the world partially. Half of the world would still be alive hadn't some freak virus arose from nowhere. There's a lot of theories about where it had come from, like the government released it to try and destroy the angels left on earth, which was probably a sham too, why would they still be here? Another theory was it manifested from Luci and Mike's angel grace, their anger forming some sort of toxic blend that a human came in contact with and went from there. Personally, I don't really give a crap how it came around, it's already here we have to deal with it.

Fortunately for me, the virus can only turn aggressive if you are bitten. It's airborne, but it stays dormant in your body until you die. By then it wont really matter anymore I suspect.

The virus itself, I suppose isn't too terrible, it doesn't do much unless it enters the bloodstream, but it's what it does to the body that is terrible. It turns you into a brain-dead flesh eating monster. Typically called Zombies, but I have not come across a single person who calls them that. Maybe we're just afraid to. Some sort of denial tactic? I hear the word Walkers thrown around a lot, so I just decided to go with that. If not calling them Zombies helps people get through the day, who am I to judge? We all have our coping mechanisms.

People are a little frantic in the new world. They're afraid to stay by themselves, and always do whatever it takes to get into the biggest group possible. Those always go downhill. People and their quest for power cant even be stomped down by the fear of dying. Hell, maybe it even makes it worse. Thinking rationally is pretty difficult for a typical person as it is. A Walker and Angel apocalypse definitely didn't help. But me? I preferred to do things my own way, and not have others slow me down. I was my own leader, and I make fast decisions without having to ask for the input of others around me. That gets people killed, and I will not be responsible for their deaths. Not anymore.

Life in the apocalypse was one of doing your best award winning rat with a machine gun impression. You scavenge for supplies and shelter fifty percent of the time, killed Walkers twenty percent of the time, and dealt with people the rest of the time. Regardless of a Humans v Angels v Walkers war, we still turned against each other. It was just human nature. I liked to keep moving, I never stayed in more than one place very long. I just drifted north with no real destination in mind, and the only weapon I owned was a 9mm I found in the back of a cop car. no ammo, and only one clip though. Nine bullets. I didn't even bother using it, I just used the knife I had, which wasn't much but it got the job done. I'd like to find a machete one day.

"Oh God, please help me!"

The scream of someone in trouble drew me from my thoughts. I quickly looked around for the source of the sound and noticed billows of smoke coming up from some place over trees a little ways away. They flames must be incredibly high, it would probably turn the forest I was in to ashes in a few days. That was my cue to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, but the cry of the person made me hesitate. Should I just leave them to deal with their own mess, or help and possibly get trapped myself?

Well, if I wasn't human, then what was I?

I turned and pulled my pistol out from the side of my jeans and ran towards the smoke, frowning. My decisions were stupid a lot, but preserving a little bit of my humanity was important. I'd want help if I was in that situation too.

I made my way around a tree and slammed face first into someone. I stumbled back but they caught me and drew me closer. Before I could see who it was, the growl escaping their mouth answered my question for me. I threw the butt of my gun into the Walkers face. It's head flew back but it was un-fazed. I struggled to get free from it's grasp but it was holding on tight. I pushed against it's hold and managed to turn it around and slam it into the tree it was hiding behind. I held it against with my left arm and used my right to pull my knife from it's holster and jammed it into it's forehead. The growling cased and it slid to the ground with a thump. I tugged my knife out of it's skull and wiped it off on the Walkers shirt. Putting it back in my holster, I continued my trek towards the person in need. I was getting very close, I could hear the lick of the flames now, and the heat was beginning to make me sweat. I quickly pulled up my sleeves on my purple jacket as best as I could, but I could tell they were going to fall anyway pretty soon. It would have to do for now until I could take off my jacket and rest.

When I broke the tree line, I just had to stop and stare for a moment to take in what I was seeing. It was an entire town that was lit up in flames. It was small, and had a wooden wall built around it, but the wall had already collapsed and I could see the houses inside. Two story and one story houses sitting just waiting to also be egulfed as the fire grew, people peeking through the windows waiting for the torment to be over. Some chose to make a run for it, but were quickly cut off by walkers outside, waiting to pick them off one by one, their eyes managing a single flash of fear as they were surrounded, the Walkers not wasting any time and making agonizingly slow work of their bodies. The people stared and watched in horror helplessly as they were eaten alive, not even raising a hand to the monsters that devoured their flesh. Others were running around desperately, trying to escape the Walkers that were oblivious to the flames. I was a witness to a man that got grabbed as a Walker bit hard on his forearm. He howled in pain and stabbed the thing in the head while it still had it's teeth in him. He only drug them in further and he yelled again, tugging it off his arm. It pulled a chunk of skin and flesh with it as it fell, blood gushing out from his new wound in waves. He stared widely at his bleeding arm before crudely taking his shirt off and wrapping it around, turning and sprinting off into the trees leaving a trail in his wake. I wonder if he knew he was a dead man regardless of how fast his legs could carry him.

"Help me!"

My eyes snapped to the source of the sound that emitted from inside the chaos, calling to me. I hesitated once more, feeling the churn of an internal argument with myself, but the decision seemed so obvious. Swallowing my fear in one enormous gulp, I started towards the walls. Removing my knife from it's resting place, I stabbed a Walker in the chin, tugging it out with a grunt and stepped out of the way as it fell, and jumped over at the last second to grab another one behind it, giving it the same treatment.

I picked my way through a spotted sea of infected former people, finding paths and barely managing to avoid the swipes and chomps of my attackers and making quick work of the ones in my way. Once I reached the end of the wave, I saw the source of the crying for help. A Woman was pinned under a heavy looking chunk of wood. It had already been halfway swallowed by flames, and as they drew near the woman's face was lit in terror. I ran forward and grabbed onto the board on top of her, pulling hard with all of my strength, the wood digging into my skin. She didn't even seem to notice me, her eyes cast over my shoulder. I could see the flames dancing in her eyes.

With one final heave, I let go of the board, making no progress. It was no use, unless I found something to help me I simply wasn't strong enough. I turned and looked around for something to use to help pry the board off and saw a much smaller wooden board propped up against a house not too far away, a few nails scattered on the ground next to it. It looked as if they were right in the middle of building when the place caught on fire. I waved at the woman and pointed towards the house but she continued to ignore me, her face only knowing one expression. I ran towards it regardless, throwing a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure the fire wasn't drawing too close. It was.

I reached the board and hauled it up and onto my shoulder, it's weight pulling me down towards the earth. While I was adjusting it on my shoulder to make sure it was balanced, I glanced around to make sure there were no Walkers nearby, and my sight fell on a single man about a quarter of a mile away. He stood expressionless as he watched the town be consumed by not only the fire, but the dead as well. He had long sandy brown hair that hung over his blank eyes and curled naturally at the collar of his pale greenish button up shirt that was unbottoned and flew without a care with the wave of heat that floated up towards him, making his hair shift slightly. He had a very loose posture, but still managed to stand tall like a warrior after a devastating battle. Even from where I stood, the sadness emitting from him was unmistakable, and almost staggering. Could this be the man that caused the fire?

I shook my head, I had more immediate matters to attend to than to scope out the fire-starter. The fire was already here, we have to deal with it. I ran slightly hunched over back to the woman who had not moved whatsoever, not even to panic. I lodged the board under the larger one next to her arm and pulled down hard on the side I was holding. It lifted slightly, just enough for her to possibly squeeze out from under, but the woman still lie unmoving.

"Get a move on, lady!" I yelled at her, kicking her shoulder softly with my boot. She blinked a few times and looked up at me, realizing the situation, she writhed and slithered out from under the board, kicking as she went. Her movements shook the wood and it began to shift under my hold and the wood began to creak with the effort of holding up such a heavy thing. I held on tighter, feeling the splintered wood break the skin on my palm and the wet stickiness sticking to my hands. The moment she moved her foot from under the board I dropped mine, shaking my hand in slight pain. She stood and looked at me, her eyes glistening from tears. She didn't say anything as she turned tail and ran off towards the tree line. She didn't have to.

I looked to the north and continued forward, dodging Walkers and flames as I ran through the remainder of the camp. Once I jumped over the collapsed wooden fence, I pushed even harder towards the trees. All this commotion was sure to draw dozens of walkers and I was not about to stick around to see this place get any worse.

Being reminded of something, I took a moment to stop and look back to where I last saw the alleged fire-starter, but he was nowhere to be seen. Must be guilty after killing dozens of people, now he wants to run from his decision. Typical.

Shoving him out of my mind, I started again, stop slowing even after I reached the tree line. The red and orange leaves that littered the ground occasionally made me loudly lose my balance as I tried to sprint on them. After several attempts and one painful fall, I gave up and settled on a half-jog, able to more easily keep an eye out to my surroundings and avoid colliding into one of the tall trees that blocked my view and my path at every turn. I slowed to a walk as the faint rays of the setting sun trickled through the near bare branches high above my head. I heaved with heavy breathes, stopping for a moment to catch my breath, placing my hands on my knees.

The snap of a branch made me freeze. I held my breath, drawing my knife. My lungs were screaming for air as I walked slowly around a tree, holding my weapon ready. A pair of hands reached out suddenly and reached for my knife, but I jumped backwards last second but they managed to hit it out of my hand. It stumbled to the ground. The person responsible stumbled forward and fell along with the knife.. They let out a sudden scream when landed on it, the jagged edge stabbing through their pants at an awkward sideways position. They twisted and grabbed onto their now bleeding leg, whimpering and yelling in pain. I quickly drew my gun and pointed it at them, taking a few cautious steps back.

"Who are you?"

I could see now it was a man. He had short brown hair and dull blue eyes that looked almost greenish, like a polluted lake. He glared up at me with tears in his eyes, "You bitch!"

I frowned, "You lunge at me for no reason and I'm the bitch?"

He looked away and growled, grabbing onto his leg and staring at the fresh wound. "I needed your knife. Survival of the fittest sweetheart."

"Says the person who just fell on a knife and now has a gun pointed at his head."

The man grabbed a hold of the knife and tried to tug it out but retracted his hand quickly in shock, throwing his head back and falling backwards at the sudden wave of intense pain. He held his arms out and his fingers were sprawled. I couldn't help but chuckle at his odd expression of pain.

He shot his eyes up at me once more, "You think this is fucking funny? I don't even know if I can walk!"

I shrugged, "Something you should have considered before you ran at me. Now, I want my knife back."

"It's not going anywhere. It's stuck in my leg pretty deep. Not like i'd give it back to you anyway. I need it more than you, you have a gun." His eyes trained on my 9mm, filled with the desire to that it from me. This guy was so self absorbed. Probably why he was still alive.

Feeling agitated now, I walked froward and slammed the butt of my pistol into his forehead. His head flew back and while he was stunned I reached down and grabbed the hilt of my knife with a tight grip and yanked it hard out of his leg. His scream echoed throughout the woods as I did so, but my knife was vital to me. It was worth the attention of the walkers and getting on a dead man's shit list.

He threw a wide variety of swears and threats to choose from as I turned away but I hesitated, looking back, "What happened to that community over that way?"

"Why the fuck should I tell you? It would just be a waste of time since I'm going to kill you."

"Answer the question."

He scowled, trying to stand up but falling right back down when he leaned over on his injured leg. He hissed in pain and just threw his hands up in defeat, "Kitchen fire. Someone forgot to take a fucking cake out of the oven. Can you fucking believe that?

I'm dead because some fat bitch couldn't just eat something else like the rest of us."

"It was an accident?"

"That's what I just said." So that man didn't start the fire.

I spoke, "Was there a man in your community with long-ish brown hair? green shirt?"

He scoffed, shaking his head, "Looks fucking miserable all the time?" I nodded, "Yeah, that guy creeps me out. He's been at our community for all of a week, just staring at everyone and being a weirdo. Kept going on about wanting to leave and go look for something but our leader wouldn't let him. Thought he might be a spy going to get reinforcements. Take what we had."

"He just showed up one day? new guy?" I asked, making sure to glance around to make sure there were no Walkers or people. I wasn't sure why I was asking all these questions. Though, It would be good to see if that man was a threat.

"Yeah. I'd tell you to keep an eye on him, but you know, your impending death and all." He laughed, rocking back and forth with his hand still around his wound.

"What was his name?"

"That's all you're getting out of me. Fuck off."

I rolled my eyes and began walking north again, which fortunately for me was not the same direction as the not-so-fire-starter. It would be best to just ignore him all together, if he was a threat it would be best to just keep my distance.

"Yeah that's right! Run away! You better watch your back!"

I ignored him, continuing my journey to nowhere.