12 DAYS AFTER
As I drive the challenger down the road I pass by familiar buildings that are no longer recognizable. I even pass by the old demolished ice cream shop where I had my first date, sort of; I had caught the guy I was supposed to meet there locking lips with the blond waitress in the ally way, classy right? That was also the night his shiny new mustang was rewired, let's just say he didn't drive to school for more than a month. The memory still makes me laugh to this day.
As I near the gas station I notice at least 20 cars parked out front. You know, if you call the traffic jam of abandon cars "parked". I park the challenger in some trees where no one will notice it, then grab my hatchet and a gas can. I stride across the road and catch myself looking both ways before crossing; I guess old habits never die. My feet crunch under the dying grass as I make my way over to the pump, and I pass a few cars where dead bodies still lurk inside. My insides turn at the smell of the rotting flesh as I speed up my pace. I almost stop when I see a sign with the words NO GAS written on it. I let out a simple frustrated sigh; I was expecting this to happen but it still costs me more time.
I back track to the wave of cars and pop the hood off a ford f150, hopefully at least one of these cars will have some gas I can use. I locate the gas tank then loosen the clamp on the fuel line letting the liquid drain into my container. I get at least 3 gallons out of it when I'm done, if I go put it in the car now I can try some of the other cars to get more fuel. I'm about to do just that when I hear a slow heavy shuffle behind me, followed by a deep scratchy voice.
"Where yah goin' darling?" it says. I turn around to see a man with a knife in his hand. He wears a crooked yellowed smile with his searching bloodshot eyes. His clothes are dirty and stained with blood. As he takes a step towards me I sit the gas on a car's hood then grip my hatchet, I'm not going down without a fight. The man notices this and he starts to laugh. My grip tightens around the hatchet as I wish I had a gun. When the man's whiny laugh stops, I see movement out of the corner of my eye. He is not alone.
"I'm gonna ask again," he darkly states, "where ya goin?"
"None of your fucking business." I spit. Three men begin to emerge from behind cars and trees, they are all armed as well, and one even has a gun.
"Oh, we got a spicy one here fellas." The first one yells sending them all into slurred laughter. The men are obviously drunk, and I begin to question how one is still standing as he sways and stumbles. But even if they are drunk they are bigger than I and better armed. They have circled around me now trapping me, and the one with the gun is struggling to aim at me right. The first man shuffles up to me, so close that I can smell his sour liquor laced breath.
"I like spicy, ya know that?" he slurs. His hand reaches to touch my face but before he can touch me I knee him in the balls. When he drops to the ground I go for the man with the gun. I grab the gun by the side and wretch it out of his hands and send it flying across the lot, he then tries to grab me but I smack him with the end of my hatchet and He falls on the ground head first with a sickening crunch. Another guy charges at me with a knife but I swing my hatchet around and with a smack I know I've hit home. The last one sneaks up on me punching me in the jaw, I immediately taste the warm copper liquid as it fills my mouth. He goes to take another swing but I step out of the way. The man stubbles and falls to the ground and it is only until I notice the blood pooling under him that I realize he has fallen on his knife. I walk up to the first man who has just begun to gain conciseness. As his eyes scan around looking at his fallen mates I witness the rare moment where the predator becomes the prey. I don't feel anything for this man, he is not anymore human than the walkers are. He looks up at me with not fear or regret but amusement, and then taking his knife he drives it into the pit of his stomach. I jump at this reaction; this was not what I was expecting.
"Where all going to fucking die sometime girl," he breathes, "the only thing we have to hope for now is the right to choose how."
I'm not aware of how it happens, but the next thing I know he grabs the gun, aims it at me, and pulls the trigger. At first I am not aware that I've been shot, my head trails down and I see blood beginning to blossom on the right side of my stomach. I look back up at the man who has now gone limp. My head spins as a numb iciness takes over my body and I collapse on the ground unable to move. I can't feel any pain; in fact I can't feel anything. My vision soon blacks out as the icy numbness takes over my brain. So this is the end. I think. No heaven or hell, just black. No afterlife, just silence. No eternity with those I've lost, just… alone. Then I see the flashes of my life. My life with Jarrett, my first day of school, my first car, the outbreak, the last of Jarrett, the last of mom, the last of me, then I'm at the parking lot again; I hear the unearthly sounds of a walker then there's a gun shot, the soft thump of footsteps then come my way but I can't move. Now there's a voice.
"I got you." it says.
Then, I blackout.
