::Chapter 1::

I was at home. My three year old Rottweiler, Turtle, was lying in front of the couch I was lying on. My hand was draped over the side of the couch, my fingers lightly brushing the top of his head.

I was watching the Boondock Saints and, like the nerd I am, was reciting the prayer they say right before they kill the big boss dude.

I looked towards the window and saw clouds start to roll in. It was gonna rain eventually. Probably not soon which sucks. I love the rain.

I continued watching the Boondock Saints on low volume, not really thinking about anything. Turtle's head shot up, his ears perked up and he was baring his teeth. A low growl escaped from his throat as he stared at my front door that was dead bolted and had a dresser put in front of it.

I turned off my TV and stalked towards the door, lightly placing my ear against it. I heard some slow footsteps and a sort of muffled sound. I didn't think that a zombie would be able to break through my door but you never know. Maybe they could.

I went to my bedroom where I left a duffle bag all packed in case I had to get out of here quickly. I was glad that I was able to stay in my apartment. I knew where all the exits were and I was allowed to smoke.

I grabbed my silenced 9 millimeter and loaded it. During the first days of the infection, I broke into a gun shop that was a couple blocks from my apartment and just took whatever I wanted. I didn't take too much. Just the 9 millimeter and a Remington Model 870 Shotgun. There were some throwing knives there that I just took for shits and giggles.

I walked out into the living room, my duffle bag on my back in case I felt the need to leave. I would be able to just go down the fire escape and then I'd be good. Kinda…

This is what I got for living in Atlanta. Thousands of people flooded towards Atlanta because the army said they could "protect" people. When they failed to comply, those thousands of people became infected so now there's way too many Walkers. Way more than needed.

I stood behind my couch, my gun pointed towards my door. I was thinking about how the Left 4 Dead zombies just kinda broke through any door they wanted so I was being cautious. Right when I thought that the zombie had passed by, Turtle decided to stand up and come stand beside me. In that process, his shoulder blade hit roughly against the coffee table, which caused him to give a surprised, and loud, yelp.

My shoulders slumped, "Fuck Turtle… shut up." I whispered as sternly as I could while whispering. He whined and crawled to my feet, trying to look as apologetic as possible. My heart started racing and my breathing accelerated. The only reason I was able to stay in my apartment was because Turtle and I were quiet. He was more of a growler than a barker and I made sure that whatever I did was quiet. Then he just blew our cover in two seconds.

I tried to calm myself and listened closely. I didn't hear anything. It could've been possible that the Walker already walked past and unknowingly past his possible next meal. My hopes were shattered when I heard scratching at the door.

A small groan escaped my throat and I leaned against the back of my couch. I knew that I wouldn't have to worry about one zombie but if there's one, then more will come. Two options came to mind.

One, I could stay here until I had to leave or two, I could leave before I had to fight my way through fifty billion zombies to get to safety.

I decided to choose none of the above. I was gonna wait just to see if more zombies did come and if more than five came, I'd leave. Simple solution.

I grabbed anything I'd need in case I did need to leave. Stuff like a few extra clothes, some memorable objects like my two DS's, my PokéWalker, a couple of my favorite DS games and my DS chargers. Of course, soon the power was going to go out, obviously, but I brought them anyways.

I sat back down on the couch, my duffle bag zipped up and Turtle was sitting beside me with his choker chain on and a chain leash attached to it. I got up and went to my door, pressing my eye against the peephole. There were three zombies there now and a fourth was walking towards the door to help its undead comrades.

I went to the kitchen and began looking through all the cupboards, hoping to find some food. There was nothing. I guess I'd have to leave soon anyways…

I sighed and walked towards the window that led out to the fire escape. I grabbed Turtle's chain and my duffle bag as I walked past the couch. I let Turtle out of the window first then hopped out right behind him. I never realized until now that I had no idea how I'd get Turtle down the fire escape. I was on the second floor so it wouldn't be that far down…

I stood there for a minute before getting a brilliant idea. I told Turtle to stay and went back inside. I got as many blankets as I could and went back out. I tied the blankets together and wrapped it under Turtle's belly. I let Turtle start going down the ladder before he slipped forward. The blankets held him up and my "strong" muscles made sure he didn't fall down on the pavement below.

My muscles were screaming in agony as I lowered him as quickly as possible without full out dropping him. When he finally got to the pavement, I felt like I just finished working out with hundred pound weights for ten hours. Turtle looked up at me expectantly, whimpering and squirming anxiously.

I went down to meet him and grabbed his chain again. He jumped up at me, licking my face happily. I laughed, "Quit it Turtle. We weren't even seperated from each other." He just gave me a dopey smile. I pushed him off me, "Now, come on. We gotta get food and find somewhere to live."