Two

Assault Of The Dead

Not much has changed since then. They still walk around, lifelessly eating any living creature they can grab.

We had just managed to get some guns from an old hunting shop. As I sat against a wall, waiting for Ryuu and Osamu to return from their scout, Aimi sat next to me. "Hiya Ken." She spoke with her sweet, smooth voice. "Are you doing good?"

"Yeah... I'm alright. How about you?" I replied, still tired from my watch last night.

"I'm great! Thank you for asking!" I always wondered how she could be so high-strung and outgoing with the world like this.

I could tell she was worn out too. Her uniform was dirty and her shoes were tattered. She shivered and I offered her my jacket. "You look cold..."

She accepted it and quickly put it around her shoulders. "Thanks! You're really nice!" She rested her head on my shoulder, which made me blush. "I-I'm also tired..." She mumbled and closed her eyes. Seeing her sleep allied with my drowsiness and slowly I closed my eyes and fell asleep too.

I woke to the sound of Ryuu screaming, "Ken! Aimi! Wake up you two lovebirds!" I heard a few gunshots as I sat up quickly, knocking Aimi to the ground. The sight around me changed from a peaceful, windy day, to a loud afternoon. I heard screaming and moaning. Gunfire and the splatter of blood filled the area around me. "What happened?" I screamed at Ryuu.

"Well, that dumb-ass over there decided to attract Them!" He shoved a thumb at Hayato and shot a few more rounds. Isamu quickly shot a comment. "I'm sorry! I didn't think I'd bring a hoard!" He jumped back and grabbed some more ammunition. "Ken? Get up and help us!"

"R-right!" I hopped up and grabbed my M21 sniper rifle, then sprinted to the truck, where the girls were cuddled inside. "Stay in here!" I shouted at both of them. My reply was a nod from each girl.

I climbed up and mounted my gun on the roof of the Ram, firing on the approaching undead. "Shit!" I peered through the scope at a few of Them attacking Isamu. As I jumped off the truck, I grabbed my sword from the bed and faced the girls. "Just stay here!" I glanced at Aimi and dashed off into the hoard.

I headed in what I believed to be the direction of Isamu, slashing and hacking Them as I dodged and twisted through the crowd of mindless beasts. I could have sworn I heard Ryuu screaming, "Ken! You fucking retard! What the hell are you doing?" I ignored him though, and raced through the hoard of Them.

Whatever he did, Isamu had attracted more than the zombies. I heard screaming and saw people being eaten. I gagged but tried to hold the temptation to barf. As I dashed around a corner, a horrible stink caught my nose. I slowly looked over and saw a body, a little girl, half-eaten. It was horrible, in fact, so horrible I lost it. I ignored the screams, the smell, the noise. I ignored Them and threw up. I lost all sense of control and vomited on the sidewalk.

All I could do was sit against the wall. I was silent, as if waiting for something, but the only thing I could receive at this rate was death. There were feet shuffling around me, screams from nowhere. Screaming. Screaming! I heard Isamu's voice and jumped to my feet. "HAYATO!" I screamed and forgot it all. Forgot all the heads turned toward me. Forgot the fight, the bodies. Even though we were winning, my one target was so far away, and possibly dead. Or even undead. I shook the thoughts from my mind, and sprinted into the attacking zombies, mumbling, "Dammit... Isamu..." I heard more gunshots and figured the girls had grabbed our spare guns and joined Ryuu and Osamu.

I hadn't been watching so carefully, and somehow one of Them stood on my shoelace, tripping me. "Fuck!" I reached for my sword, but it had slid right away from my grasp. I looked over and began kicking at a zombie in pursuit of me for a meal. I kicked and pushed, still stuck by my shoelace. I almost had It off when it slid toward me, falling with it's arms reached out. I prepared for the pain. The long pain of being eaten alive. I remembered what had happened about a month ago at school, when this first started. Except this time, there wasn't a wooden sword to save me. I screamed as it approached. Another gunshot was heard, and the zombie fell over. I looked over at the truck in the distance and saw Aimi holding my M21 pointed in my direction. "Damn... She has aim..." I jumped to my feet, and resumed my chase.

I eventually made it. I dashed into a clearing with Isamu fighting several of Them, using his gun as a club. I raised my sword and prepared to strike, but one of Them grabbed my hand. I tried to rip free, but I couldn't. The thing was just standing there, towering over me. I yanked on my arm, and tried to free myself more. I turned my arm in It's wrist and sliced it's head off. I pivoted back and screamed. "Behind you!" I realized I was late and fell to my knees. I tried to make sense of it all. My closest friend had just been bitten by a zombie. I sat on my legs, looking sadly at the ground. The closest person in my life was withering... Flopping around, screaming... I just sat there and watched these crazy beasts eat my best friend... I fell over on the cold, blood-wet, concrete. As I saw more bodies fall, and my companions approach, I closed my eyes and passed out.