The sun is in the final stage of setting now, and soon everything will be covered in darkness.
I'm crouching behind a rusty, old car, with two skeletal remains inside. Approximately 25 feet away from the car, I can see the creatures. The leader still straddling its kill, while the others huddle in a circle close behind, watching, cheering on.
The woman finally stops screaming. Without skipping a beat, the creatures' chanting cease as well.
I watch them, waiting for the right moment to leave my perch, holding my breath in anticipation. Then, a glint of silver catches my attention from the corner of my eye. What the heck is that?
Slowly, I reach through the broken window and into the car, to the silver object. It's partly wedged into the seat between the passenger door and the remains.
What used to be a hand, now just a pile of bones beneath a tattered shirt, lay atop the metallic object. As I push the bones and the cloth away, I see a gun. I nearly squeal out loud in delight.
I grab the gun, then scan the rest of the vehicle for any other treats. No dice. Now that I'm looking more closely though, I notice a distinct hole in each of the skulls. Judging by my recent find, I have a pretty good idea how these two died. I will do the same to myself before I allow those monsters to feast on my living body.
"Please be loaded. Please be loaded." I say as I eject the magazine out. A loud cheer; a combination of grunts and shrieks, erupt from the opposite end of the street. I snap my head up in attention. Just like before, I see the leader holding a swath of human skin up in the air, the rest of its kind rejoicing.
I look back down at the gun and I see at least five bullets. I pop the magazine back in place, throw the sack over my shoulder, and ready myself to run. The instant the leader walked away, and the rest of the creatures descend upon the woman's corpse, I book it.
I head south on Meridian Street. If my memory serves me right, there should be a highway less than two miles from where I am now.
"Don't look back. Don't look back. Don't look back." I say over and over to drown out the loud thundering of my heart and the animal shrieks that are starting to sound like they're closing in.
I pick up my speed, pumping my arms faster, stretching my legs as far as they go, lengthening my strides. I need to widen our gap. A random thought suddenly pops in my head, zombies! I don't know if a bite or a scratch from these deformed monstrosities have the same effect, but I have no intentions of finding out. With only five bullets left, I need to make sure that I only use the gun as a last resort. If I don't make enough damage by the forth bullet, I'm using the last one on myself.
An ear-popping screech fills the air. They're starting to sound closer than before. Goose flesh rise at the thought of their proximity. They're trying to box me in, I just know it. I can feel them all around me.
"Don't look back! Just keep running." I scold myself. But I couldn't help it, and I look.
Maybe three or four streets over I see something moving, moving towards me. It's hard to see what it is exactly. With only a thin veil of red on the sky, and no streetlights, I can only see their silhouettes. Dark, shapeless blurs are starting to come into focus on to my left and to my right. If one of them come at me from the front, I'm done for.
I think I'm getting closer now. A row of streetlights up ahead illuminates a clear path to the highway. I suck in another lungful of air. I'm almost there. I'm almost the—THUD! The sound I make as I crash into an invisible barrier. Then… lights out.