I suppose you've earned something from me now. I'll let you in on one of my many, many secrets. I've never been that, how do you say it. . . Experienced, with the ladies. As a matter of fact that was the only time I had a girl's head in my lap. Apparently that happens all the time, just not to me, right? Before the world went through it's radical reconstruction I was on the verge of acquiring a female companion, of sorts. At least I like to think that. It all started a few weeks before the outbreak. There was this girl I met with my friend. I mean she was amazing. Every time I made her smile my heart literally stopped beating. When we made eye contact I couldn't hold an intelligent conversation what so ever. I was lost in her gaze every single time. Ah. . . Good old memories, the things that keep you disappointed in the future. Anyway, now you can't say Brooklyn never gives you anything.
"Hey, when is she suppose to text you?" A voice over the phone questioned.
"When you shut your mouth and hang up the phone. That's when." The kid on the other side of the phone retorted, one hand on the car's steering wheel.
"Very funny Danny."
"Do not, call me Danny. You know I hate that."
Yup, that's me. My name was Daniel Bloomfield, before my zombie escapades of course. It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?
"I know you do. That's why I said it. Anyway I'll let you go so you can get that text message. Maybe you'll lose your virginity tonight."
"Oh you're just a bucket of laughs. . .You make me sick Troy, you really do." Dan stared forward, smiling in disgust.
"What? Why? Isn't that what it's all about?" Troy halted, confused by his friends tone.
"It's not even that, you're way out of the park. It's much more than that. This is something on a grander scale."
"Pfft, c'mon. You're a hopeless romantic, you know that?"
"Aren't we all. . . Well, all except for you." Daniel shot another snap at his friend before ending the call. He then tossed the phone on the passenger seat.
That was my best friend. Well, best friend in California. He was a shallow prick, but a good friend. The way he talks, I swear. I felt sorry for every girl that became his girlfriend, or even came in contact with him for that matter.
The black Celica Dan drove traveled down the street, the night's veil of shadows practically making it invisible. Its destination was this girl's house, the one Dan wanted to ask out. He had sent several messages before he took off to her place. She hadn't replied to any of them for over twenty minutes. He had no choice but to go pick her up. They had planned to hang out tonight for over three weeks so the best thing to do was stick with it. Daniel couldn't wait till tonight. The chance to see this girl again was almost frightening, but it was sheer bliss. Her smile, laugh, personality, and those eyes, oh those eyes. No holiday could come near the excitement that the promise of seeing her again could summon. Above anything else he wanted to ask her out. He had never asked any girl out in his life. Which is quite strange, if not pathetic, for a nineteen year old male. But these feelings, these feelings for her couldn't be ignored. Dan had never experienced such intense emotions for a single person. No other human of the opposite gender ever captivated him the way she did. A horn blared loudly from behind his car, ripping the teenager from his thoughts. Dan looked up at the green traffic light in front of him and pushed down the accelerator gently.
"There you go again, thinking about her too much. Snap out of it, drive, and don't crash." He instructed himself while gripping the steering wheel tight.
Five more minutes of driving passed, he was now within a few miles of the girl's house. Suddenly a light beamed up from the seat next to him, it was his cell phone's backlight going off. Then another was received, the phone vibrating wildly. Dan's heart pounded as he looked for a nice place to stop the vehicle. It was against him to do what so many other teens have done, text while driving. The black car pulled into an office building parking lot. Then after scanning the flat area with the car's headlights he put the Celica in park and reached for his phone. He clenched the phone and tilted his head back, praying for the text messages to be from her. Sliding his phone open the name on the message said 'Rachel'. Yes, it was her! The adrenaline rushed through Dan's body as he opened the message.
'No don't come!' it read. Daniel's spirits shattered as he stared at the small screen. He eyed the black words in shock, his mouth open. Then he read the sentence one more time and closed the message. He opened the other text, searching for an explanation.
'Some friends came over.' The message displayed. Dan's hopes were utterly crushed as the excuse rung within him. How could friends that came over just minutes ago beat plans that were set nearly a month ago? He slammed his head back on the headrest, disappointed. There was nothing he could do about it that wouldn't make him look like an ass. He hit the enter button to reply.
'Oh wow. Good thing you messaged me when you did. I'm still at my house.' Dan lied. Not wanting to make Rachel feel guilty. Light beamed from the back window of his car, it rocked up and down in a peculiar fashion. Then, the next thing he realized was his nose buried deep within the driver side airbag. He felt his car skid for several feet until it lost momentum. The sound of stressed tires and crinkling metal resonated in his busy ears. Daniel groaned and looked up from his oddly flavored safety pillow.
"You hit me? In a parking lot. . .?" He muttered to himself, pretending to speak to the driver that smashed into the rear of his Celica. "This is gonna' be fun. . .".
Opening his car door he stumbled out of the vehicle and turned to the pickup that was happily lodged in the trunk of his car.
"So what happened? Just didn't feel like driving on the road tonight? What brilliant idea triggered this wonderful chain of events?" Dan continued to question in utmost sarcasm.
He wheeled around to the driver side of the large gray truck. He leaned forward to check on the driver, who was obviously caught in the more serious side of the crash. The airbag in the cab deflated slowly as the female driver showed clearly. Her hand slid down to her side, blood streaked down the white air blanket with her fingers.
"Jesus. . . Ma'am, are you alright?" Daniel grew concerned. He stepped right next to the window and knocked slightly.
"Ma'am can you hear me?" No response was heard. "Oh god." He gasped as more blood appeared where the woman's chest was pressed against the fabric. Dan quickly stuck the tips of his fingers under the door handle and tried to pull the door open. The lock must have been set or something, he couldn't get the door to budge for the life of him.
"Miss! -knocks on the window- Miss! I'm going to go get help, stay there!" He yelled through the window. Suddenly the woman ripped her head toward the window, her bloody face apparent.
"Ho shit!" Daniel roared as he leaped backward, as far as his legs could spring away from the sudden stimulus. The female shook violently in her seat as she repeatedly struck the truck's door.
"What in the, world." Dan whispered in disturbing amazement. The lady then smashed her head with such force on the window that the truck began to rock side to side.
"Lady! I really wouldn't advise that!" Dan got up to his feet, holding his hands out in a sign to cease her activity "Tha-That is not what car accident victims are suppose to do!"
Finally the window shattered and collapsed upon itself. The woman then screamed at Daniel and draped her arms over the window seal. The bottom of her arms shredded on the bits of glass left as she disregarded the pain. Then she spilled over the door and landed on her face. A quick snort sounded as she toppled over.
"Now I'm really not surprised you hit me in a parking lot, the way your dumb ass is handling the situation." Dan commented as he watched the lady slowly recover from the fall. "There are defiantly more efficient ways to exit a vehicle."
"Aah, ruuuh. . . Rah! Murh!" The woman barked as she rose to her feet. Blood flooded out of her mouth, along with other unsightly substances. Dan grimaced as he eyed the liquid hit the pavement with a distinct splatter. Her eyes pierced through his body with a demonic gaze. She screamed again, this time with a frightening shrill. Dan backed up slowly as he distanced himself from the very intimidating human. The woman then burst in a full charge at the kid in front of her.
"Holy shit!" Dan yelled as he turned and began running. Pants and huffs echoed from behind him as this, thing, chased him. He looked over his shoulder to see the bloody lady right on his tail. Daniel rushed down the street as fast as he could. An intersection was off in the distance. That meant other people, and other people meant safety. Each time one of his feet hit the ground it jarred his body to the core, not having ran like this, ever.
"The worst day this year!" He said to himself in an elevated tone. His pursuer wheezed and roared behind him, as if she was replying to his words. The traffic lights were now thirty feet in front of him, two people stood waiting for their turn to walk across the road.
"I can't believe this traffic." A man in a suit spoke.
"It gets bad this time of night." The woman next to him, in jogging attire explained.
"Yeah? how long have you been living here?"
"Seven years. You'll get used to it."
"Really?" He question inquisitively.
"Yup." She answered, keeping her speech short as she kept her cardio up, bouncing up and down on each foot.
"So, are you -"
"Someone kill this bitch!" A boy exclaimed as he ran in between the two.
"Hrruh! Erraah!" A woman grunted, as she too passed through, in step with the kid she was chasing. The man in the suit followed the two with his eyes then stared at the jogging woman next to him. She did the same. Both had an incredibly confused look in their expression.
Daniel sprinted across the busy street. Cars honked and slammed on their brakes as he passed in front of them. A taxi skid to a hold right in Dan's way. He jumped as high as he could and planted one foot on the hood. Then he set his left foot down on the yellow sheet of metal and sprung off the car. He was more than nine feet off the ground. A sedan slid on it's brakes under Daniel's tucked in feet. In slow motion he met eyes with the driver, a shocked look upon his face. Then Dan's shoes slapped on the concrete median. Dan tucked his shoulders in and rolled to avoid most of the shock recoiling in his legs. He stumbled to his feet and glanced back. The ravenous person chasing him still pressed forward.
"Fuck me!" He exclaimed before snapping his head forward. As soon as he did a truck horn bellowed to his right. A semi truck's grill grew in size, coming at him. With a heave Dan dove forward, bending his feet over his knees. Crashing to the ground he skid on his chest and stomach on the asphalt. As the dust settled he looked back just in time to see the woman that was chasing him flying off to the side.
"Holy, -snaps." Dan gasped as he saw the woman collapse to the ground motionless, obviously struck by the huge truck just a foot away from his legs. He twisted on his back, propping his body up with his left elbow. Daniel studied what he believe was the dead body of the psycho-lady. Then her arm twitched and her palm pressed against the ground.
"You have got to be kidding me!" He shouted in disbelief. The stubborn woman climbed to her knees. Dan did the same but instead of running, he watched the superhuman event unfold. The lady stepped on her right foot but the shin buckled and tore off altogether. She then began to crawl after her prey, wagging her fleshy nub about.
"Dear god." Dan's jaw dropped as he witnessed the sickening event. Not making the same mistake twice he bolted away from the obsessed female-thing.
That was my first encounter with a zombie. It's surprisingly similar to what all zombie encounters look like. The running, the heavy breathing, the involuntary urination. It all is some sick algorithm of Zombieland survival.
Daniel walked at a brisk pace up the hill, next to the very street he drove on earlier with much higher hopes. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and hit several buttons before putting it up to his ear. It rang several times before it sounded like someone picked up.
"Hey Troy." Dan greeted with haste.
"Oh hey man-" Troy's voice spoke.
"Dude, I need to ask you-"
"How's it going? I'm beast, thanks for asking. As you may have guess I'm not at the phone right now-"
"Damn it! I hate his voice mail!" Dan shouted before ending the call. He then dialed it and tried again. Again it rang a few more times before background noise hummed in the earpiece.
"Troy?" Daniel questioned.
"Yeah?" The real Troy sounded back."Hey, I need to ask you a big favor."
"Ok, what is it?"
"I need you to pick me up. My car's been wrecked."
"What? How?" Troy slung the questions at Dan.
"Some lady ran into the back of it. It happened in a parking lot-"
"You've got to be kidding me!" Troy laughed on the other end.
"No, that's not even the weirdest part. I'm pretty sure she tried to eat me afterward."
"Well, did you let her?"
Dan let his arm go slack and fall to his side while rolling his eyes "No, I didn't."
"What about Rachel? Why aren't you two hanging out?"
"Hey- listen. Just - can you come pick me up?! I'll tell you everything in the car." Daniel stumbled for words.
"Ok. Where are you?"
"I'm at the plaza with Best Buy and JC Penny's. Meet me in the parking lot."
"Alright. On my way man."
"Ok, bye."
"Bye." Troy ended the call. Dan pressed the end button and slid the phone in his jeans pocket. Low beats sounded off in the horizon. Daniel looked to where the sound was emanating from to see multiple lights in the night sky. They were helicopters, must have been ten of them grouped together. He ran to the middle of the large plaza parking lot to watch them fly across the sky about a half mile out. Off to the right where it looked like the Chinooks were headed, the clouds pulsated with an amber tint. It looked like something was glowing over there, like an incredibly large fire. Dan ran toward a near store to see if he could get some information. He looked toward the right to see a Sports Authority tucked in between two other storefronts. He pointed his finger slightly to the sporting store and nodded before jogging to the store. Daniel had something in mind, just incase things went even more down hill.
Entering the store he saw people behaving normally, as if nothing has or will happen. Dan passed a section of the large store with treadmills and stationary bikes. He eyed the signs hanging from the ceiling to see if he could find anything of use to him. He didn't have the money or the means to buy a firearm, nor did the store sell guns. He stepped in a slight jog to the tools section. Before he could enter the isle he saw a few people gathered near a TV. Dan inquisitively walked over to it and looked over two men's shoulders.
"- However the National Guard is estimated to have the rioting contained by eleven o'clock PM. Now on to Stacy Butler for live coverage." The news anchor on the TV spoke in that emotionless, news-y tone.
"Yes Rick. Right now we are situated about a half a mile from the center of the rioting. The National Guard has set up a perimeter and hasn't allowed KCAL News to go passed the blockade. They haven't given us any further information about the uproar other than possibly hundreds of people are involved in the rioting. The cause of which is still unknown. A News Conference is to take place within the next hour Rick." The reporter updated.
"Has any events accorded since you've been out there Stacey?" The anchor asked.
"No Rick. However, we did here gunshots moments ago. It is unknown whether it was live or non-lethal ammunition."
"Jeez." Dan muttered to himself before walking back to the tool isle. Sifting through the various products with his eyes he looked for something of use. A shovel caught his attention. It had a standard metal handle on the back and metal shaft. The digging end was a nice shiny steel color. If there were anymore of those things, this would be the piece of hardware to get the job done. Whatever the job was, he hadn't put that much thought into it. Daniel took the spade and ran to the cashier booths. Ducking and weaving through the sports clothing and outdoor wear Dan spotted an open cash register. He turned into one the empty desk and put the shovel on the counter.
"Is this all for you today?" The female cashier spoke.
"Yes." Dan nodded, shifting his head up from his wallet.
"Ok, your total will be forty three eighteen."
"Alright." Dan confirmed as he slid his credit card through the machine.
"Have a great night." She said after confirming the transaction.
"Thanks, you too." he walked off but stopped a few paces away "Hey, you might want to get yourself one of these too." Dan warned the girl but she turned away before he finished the sentence. He shrugged and went for the front entrance. Shovel in hand he opened his phone and scrolled to the text messages. No new ones in his inbox, not even an apology. He opened the older messages from her, the ones that told him not to come pick her up. As Daniel exited the brightly lit front door to the parking lot he sighed at the sight of the words on his phone. A roar came from his left. Instantly he turned his head to see a rather heavy set man charging at him. Dan took off with haste, knowing the drill. Daniel kept a mental note that; if anyone were to roar at him before exchanging words, it was time to run. He tucked his phone in his pants pocket as he ran. Coming down the lot was Troy's distinct red Mustang. Dan took off toward his friend leaving the wheezing zombie in the dust. Looking back Dan saw the large brute slowing down behind him, but then something collided with his legs. As he slammed into it he noticed it was Troy's Mustang, he had ran into the front. The shovel clanked menacingly on the shiny metal hood. A honk blared in his face, Troy's disdain evident. Daniel stepped to the passenger side and opened the door.
"Dude! You damaged my hood!" Troy scolded.
"That's the least of your worries. Now let's go before slim decides to repeat what I did." Daniel hurried.
"So why didn't you pick Rachel up?" Troy interrogated.
"She was busy." Dan excused.
"With what?"
"She - Her parents wanted her to stay home. - Because of this riot." He lied. Avoiding the sting of the truth.
"That sucks, that's why I live by myself."
"Yeah. . ."
"So her 'rents will let her come with us?"
"Yes, we need to save her. Shit's about to get real. We've got to - Dude watch out!" Daniel yelled, clenching the ceiling handle while Troy dodged a person in the street.
"Shit dude. Why are all these people in the street." Troy vented the quick adrenaline rush.
"They're - They're not people Troy." Dan swallowed as he noticed the same look in their eyes as the woman that chased him earlier.
"What do you mean?" Troy question, his voice unsure.
"I mean they're not human, they're something else - Zombies, they're zombies."
"Bullshit."
Dan shook his head at his friends unwillingness to accept the situation for what it was. "I hope she's alright."
"What the fuck. . ." Troy gasped, unaware of what Dan said.
"What?"
"Dude, that guy's eating someone!"
"Oh my god. . . I told you they were zombies."
"Why isn't the National Guard out here?! We need help out here!" Troy yelled in the sports car, furious that there was no help in sight.
"I don't know. Maybe they got over run? I don't know man let's just get to Rachel's!" Daniel's voice cracked with unnerving anxiety. Troy slammed on the gas pedal, causing the Mustang to launch violently forward. More zombies shuffled on the street as the red car weaved side to side. They were now going well over sixty miles an hour, in a forty mile an hour zone. From the lack of authorities and people all together the speed limit really didn't matter. As the Mustang crested a hill a SUV blared past, another driver trying to escape. Dan peered out his side window noticing the wide view he had on the high ground. Down below in an apartment complex parking lot flashes erupted from the middle of the lot. It was gunfire from, what looked like four people defending themselves. Daniel eyed each muzzle flash, left, right, top, bottom as they went off. Then the group of people fell out of the range of view as the car went down the other side of the hill.
"I can't believe this is happening man." Troy confessed.
"I know. . . We need to accept it for what it is and keep ourselves together if we want to survive this."
Troy turned the steering wheel hand over hand to the right "How can anyone accept this?"
"I don't know. . . Ok, here's her house." Dan pointed at the fifth house on the right. It was a two story white colored house. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, nothing at all. The Mustang pulled next to the curb, it's lights still on.
"Ok, how are we going to do this dude?" Troy questioned, one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gear shift.
"I'll go in by myself-"
"Are you insane?! This is a zombie friggin' ass outbreak! We need to stick the hell together. Not to mention you just said 'stick together'!" Troy exclaimed in a flurry of rational thinking.
"Ok, ok. Come on, lets go." Daniel grabbed his shovel and put his hand on the door handle and opened it. Troy stepped out of his side of the car and ran next to Dan. The two nodded to each other and began walking to the front door. Gun fire pounded in the sky as Dan kept his ears alert. He led the way up the front steps and to the front door. The two friends shot a glance at one another again before Dan knocked. Three distinct pounds on the wooden door thumped. A few moments pasted and there was no activity present within the house. The thoughts in Dan's head flooded with dreaded scenarios. A cold sweat began to perspire on his forehead and face. He turned his side to the door and rammed his shoulder into it. A crack sounded near the door lock. Stepping back he threw a kick near the handle, the door swung open with bits of wood splintering to the ground. Stepping in to the house Dan eyed the immediate area, looking for some indication of the girl.
"Rachel!" Dan shouted in the house.
"Mister and Misses Brown?" Troy asked aloud. Daniel turned his head to the left and right before quickly marching up the stairs.
"Stay down there. I'm going to check upstairs." Dan ordered. Troy nodded and stepped toward the living room. As Dan met the top of the stairs he turned to the left in the hallway. Walking cautiously through the narrow hall he kept the shovel to his side. He clenched it tightly in his grasp as he came upon a doorway on the left. Leaning his head and shoulders in the open door he saw nothing. It was a bathroom, the shower curtain was kept nicely closed, a flower print on them. The sink had several foreign utensils on it, possibly used to straighten hair, or cook small pieces of toast. Dan moved back down the hallway looking for any signs of Rachel. Suddenly a noise came from the furthest room directly at the end of the hall. Daniel sprinted to the room knowing for sure that was Rachel. As he stepped into the door he saw a pair of legs laying behind the foot of a bed. They looked to have penny loafers on and gray creased pants, defiantly not Rachel's.
"Hello?" Dan managed to say at the legs, seeing if he could get a response. Upon the sound of his voice fading from the room a figure stood up from behind the bed. It was a female with a white short sleeved shirt on and blue jeans.
"Rachel. . .?" Dan called out to the girl. It was undoubtedly her, but he asked anyway, to see if she was alright rather than asking for identification. She slowly turned around, toward his voice. Daniel smiled briefly, it was her, and she could hear him.
"Rachel, we need to get out of here." He took one step into the door. The girl whirled around, screeching an audible 'no', whether she meant to say it was unclear. Blood covered her mouth and down her neck and chest, soaked fully into her shirt. Dan's mouth opened in shock as his eyes instantly went to a sad look. Zombiefied Rachel charged at the living human. Dan quickly looked around for something to help him. Not finding anything he leaned into the room, closer to the zombie, and grabbed the door knob on impulse. Pulling it toward him it shut. Things went quiet for a moment. Bloody arms burst from the wooden door and grabbed his left arm.
"Ah!" He cried in shock. Rachel then slammed her head through the door, her mouth agape to bite his forearm. Dan landed a swift punch in her face through the door and the zombie's upper body leaned back. Pulling his hand out of the door he grabbed onto the arm still latched onto his. Pulling with all his being Dan managed to escape, but the hand still squeezed his arm.
"Ah! Ah shit!" Dan jumped up and down, swatting the zombie arm wildly with his right hand. Finally it fell off and he turned to run to the stairs. Two more zombies stepped out of the doors on both sides, must have been Rachel's friends. Daniel's eyes opened wide as he still went full sprint at the two walking corpses. He brought the shovel forward and up to his shoulders. Keeping it horizontal he aimed both ends for the two zombie's heads.
"Eerr!" Dan growled as the impact came with in milliseconds. The shovel finally kicked back in his hands as both the digging end and handle collided with the undead heads. They grunted and fell to the ground. Now within feet of the stairs Dan held his hand out to grasp the railing. He stopped himself and turned at the hellish hallway. Zombie Rachel limped quickly after him, one arm missing and a large pieces of door lodged in her abdomen and chest. Dan turned his left side to her and twirled the shovel in his hands.
"If I can't be with you, I might as well end your misery. . ." He muttered to himself as he prepared to kill his crush. He charged at her, shovel raised chest high behind him. The zombie wheezed wildly as her potential meal came closer.
Daniel lifted the spade over his head and sized up his target "Erraah!" He roared as he brought the handle forward and into the zombie's teeth. Teeth and blood burst from Rachel's mouth, the same mouth that once held that beautiful smile. The Zombie then dropped to her knees. Dan stepped back and brought the shovel once more over his head. Like an axe he swung the digging tool down on the zombie. The side of the spade lodged deep within Rachel's head, right square in the middle. Her eyes, the eyes that used to leave Dan in a trance, rolled back into her head and she went limp. Blood oozed from the fatal injury, running through her light brown hair. Dan pulled at the shovel, but it was firmly stuck in the zombie's cranium. He repositioned himself and tried again. One good yank slid the blade a few centimeters but not fully out. Releasing his grip he once again repositioned himself, this time his foot placed in between the dead zombie's chest. Dan tugged and rocked the handle up and down. Fleshy grinding sounded as the metal ground against the skull. Finally with a sharp singing, the shovel came loose. Daniel placed the shovel's end on the carpet and he rested on it. He collapsed to his knee as he let out a sharp gasp of anguish. He placed his hand on his forehead and shook his head slowly, not wanting to accept what he had just done. After a few minutes of disbelief Dan stood up and walked down the stairs.
The eerie silence that was present when Dan entered the house befell it again. He reached the bottom of the stairs and stepped into the foyer. On the table right next to the door sat a phone, it was Rachel's phone. Leaning his head in intrigued, Daniel picked up the iPhone and turned the screen on. The alert message showed seventy-nine new text messages.
'Seventy-nine!?" Dan's tone was that of disbelief. In hindsight it wasn't that ridiculous. He knew she was popular and a lot of people knew her as a friend. He didn't have any experience with this sort of thing. He was never real popular so the estimated number of text messages one would receive in a zombie apocalypse was unknown. Dan scrolled through a few of them. Most of which asking whether Rachel was alright and if she knew what was going on. One said that they were chased by their insane father and hid in a cabinet, begging for Rachel to help them. Then Daniel noticed that there was one text message saved as a draft. He opened it and to his amazement it was to him.
'1 of my friends came over in shock. She said she was bit by sum1 on th-' and that was where the message ended. So it was one of her friends that came over and infected her.
"Why couldn't you have just followed our plans. . ." Dan sighed. A vibration in his pocket alerted him. He dug franticly in his pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Hello?" He answered.
"Dan, Dan it's me." Troy spoke back.
"Troy?! Where are you?"
"Jus. . . Just get out of there. Erm." Troy's voice was laden with pain.
"Wha-? Where are you?" Daniel repeated.
"I don't know. I ran out of there. Hurm. . . Rachel's mom bit me. . . Run."
". . . " Dan couldn't speak. On hearing the word 'run' he pieced together the puzzle. Troy was bit by Rachel's mom and ran, ran from the house, Rachel's mom was still in the house. He turned his head around to see a larger figure behind him. Startled he bolted for the door. Jumping of the front porch Dan continued to run as fast as he could down the street. Troy's red Mustang was still out front but Dan didn't have the keys, it was on foot from here.
"Troy! Where are you?! I'm coming for you!" Dan yelled over his heavy breathing and footfall.
"There are more coming, just run. Get out of here."
"No! I'm not leaving you!"
"Go, leave man. . . You've been a good friend." Troy's voice was now labored and somewhat frightened, zombies were coming, and they were in his sight.
"Fuck. . . no, Troy!" Daniel managed to yell into the phone before Troy hung up. Dan looked back quickly then forward. Tears welled up in his eyes, he wiped them with the back of his right hand, still holding the phone. Daniel gripped the shovel with his left hand firmly, channeling his emotions. He was now alone, from here on out.