Chapter 2

Eric Mercer

2:23 AM, Monday

Hands trembling, I cocked my gun and pointed it at the zombie in my bathroom. I didn't know what to think when he turned to face me. He didn't really look like a zombie. White guy with messy black hair, about six feet, medium build. I couldn't be too sure, though.

"Who are you?" the man asked cautiously, looking me over.

"You first." I replied, still not lowering my gun. I wasn't about to take any chances.

"My name is Jay Box." he answered. "I came here to get some weapons. I'm from Los Santos, and I was one of the only ones alive there."

Sounds like a human, I thought. Looks like one too.

"What are you doing in Angel Pine if you're from Los Santos?" I asked, still wary.

Jay stared at me as if I was the dumbest person he had ever seen.

"Uh, I don't know if you know, but we've got a little infestation going on. We've got zombies here, dipshit. And being the smart, God-fearing zombie-hater that I am, I thought it would be a good idea to get as far away from Los Santos as possible."

"Oh. Right." I muttered. What a jerk this guy is.

"No, wait. I'm sorry." Jay said. "I didn't mean to go off on you like that. I'm tired, scared, and hungry. I can't help it if I'm a little hot under the collar right now."

Oh, I realized. Never mind.

"Who are you, anyways?" he asked.

"My name's Eric Mercer. I own this store."

"Alright then. Mind if I just call you Mercer?"

I raised a curious eyebrow, but replied:

"No problem."

"Hey, you got any good weapons around here?" he asked me.

"Unfortunately, no. Most of it was destroyed when the zombies attacked."

Jay shrugged.

"Hey, did you know there's some dead people in your bathtub?

I winced.

"Yes." I answered quietly.

"Ok, goodnight Mercer. I'm gonna hit the hay."

Sleeping here? I thought. Hell no you're not. Not with all these things going on.

"The hell you are!" I retorted, grabbing Jay's arm and pulling him out of the bathroom.

"Noooo..." Jay groaned, as I led him out of the house. I shoved him into the backseat of my car and I got into the front. I could tell the poor dude was really sleepy, but I didn't want to leave him here and risk him getting killed.

"You can sleep in my car." I offered. He grunted in reply, and I could only assume that he meant, "Way ahead of you."

We woke up that morning at 6:40, according to my watch. Damn, I thought. I fell asleep too, didn't I? I was glad that we were still alive, but I did not want to let that happen again. Next time, we might not be so lucky. A "CLUNK" behind me told me that Jay had fallen asleep again, but not before smacking his head against the door. Better hit the road, I thought, and get out of here while there's still time. Unfortunately, if we had woken up five minutes earlier, and left five minutes earlier, we would have escaped the zombie ambush that occurred next.

The first one came down from the trailer roof and slashed at my windshield. Of course he scared the living shit out of me. Aiming to keep my car as intact as possible, I regained my composure, reached out my window and shot the zombie point-blank in the face. His grip loosened instantly and he flopped to the ground. Two more zombies came lumbering out from behind the corners. They both walked with a limp, but that didn't seem to slow either of them down at all. The first one flew onto my roof and slashed at it. Jay, who was now wide awake, pumped his shotgun, jammed it into the ceiling of my car, and blew the zombie clear into the sky. Meanwhile, I reached back out the window and shot out the second zombie's right leg. He roared in pain and collapsed to the ground, and that was when I decided to gun the engine. Body tissue, bone fragments and blood exploded from the zombie as my car smashed into him head-on, knocking him out of the street and into a nearby wall. Then, about five new zombies stumbled out from behind the Ammu-Nation. Or at least that's what Jay said. I didn't dare look back.

"Go! Go!" Jay was screaming frantically. "Don't stop!"

I breathed a sigh of relief as we got onto the freeway five minutes later, away from the zombies. I didn't know where I was going, but it didn't matter. It was now 7:00 exactly. The rising sun was peeking through the trees around us, drenching everything in a yellow-orange glow. But Jay and I didn't have much time to celebrate. Further up the road, at the next intersection, were three, maybe four army men. They were being attacked by another swarm of zombies. I knew I had to get in there and help out.

My car skidded to a stop as Jay and I jumped out, him with his shotgun and me with my old-fashioned 9mm. Jay cocked the shotgun and fired at the first zombie, blowing a hole clear through his midsection. I fired my gun at another zombie, taking out both his legs. The army men, having regained their confidence at the sight of two new men with guns, snatched up their M4s and shot at the zombies too. Deciding that my 9mm was not very effective against these guys, I dropped it and took an M4. A steady stream of bullets poured from the barrel as I shot at every zombie in sight. Chunks of flesh and showers of blood rained down as the zombies were decimated by the combined force of me, Jay, and the army men.

"Oh shit! Look over there!" came a voice that I didn't recognize.

I did as I was told. From the bridge behind us came another onslaught of zombies. They were pulling themselves onto the bridge, up from the creek below, and were slowly coming towards us.

"Everybody get back." ordered the same voice. I turned in its direction and saw one of the army men, with a rocket launcher strapped to his back. The guy unshouldered the large weapon and knelt down on one knee. Steadying the rocket launcher in front of him, he slapped it on the side, loading the next rocket down into the tube. Then he fired. What happened next was a result with mixed emotions. The zombies on the bridge, along with some of the ones who were already on the road, went up in a blazing fireball and fell into the creek. Unfortunately, so did the bridge.

"You idiot! That was our only way into the city!"