Zombie Files: The Cadence of the Dead

 “You hear about the end of the world all the time on TV, in books, and in classrooms. You never think that it can happen to YOUR world. Well, it did happen…and not a single human being was prepared for it.” –The President of the United States

Present Day:

The entirety of my day once entailed of playing RPG’s continuously and ordering fake Chinese food from a real Chinese man. Now, I can’t even remember what it’s like to have a normal life; to brush my teeth and comb my hair; to watch my favorite TV shows and read Palahniuk novels every other weekend. That’s all gone now. I’ve had to teach myself how to shoot a gun, how to sew up wounds without passing out, and how to survive in a cold, dead world. What I do distinctly remember is Jacob. His ocean blue eyes and soft hands. His smile would lighten up a room and he would give the most sentimental compliments you’d ever heard. He was the first one I killed. That was 36 months ago, and it’s been almost 60 months since the dead started walking. It’s now late October or early November. I can only tell by the color of the leaves that are left.

54 months ago:

Just after the riots broke out, my dad came to my doorstep and begged me to go away with him. He knew a way off the mainland. He had his firearms license for years and in many different states, but I’ve never seen him even fire a gun. He never told me what his job was or what kind of man he worked for, but I knew it wasn’t the kind of job that required a person to help another in an ANY aspect. I didn’t know much about my father and he didn’t know a damn thing about me. He didn’t even know about my fiancé, Jacob, until I was forced to give him a reason to know that day. “I haven’t seen you in months. What the hell do you want?” I said to my dreadful father when he asked me to go with him. “Cadence, I’ve been searching for you a long time. You ran away with no word and after what I heard about on the news... I had to come for you.” I looked at him with complete amazement. It takes an apocalypse for him to give a damn! “I’m not going with you. I’m staying with Jacob and I’m leaving tomorrow at noon to get the hell out of the ci—.” “Who the hell is Jacob?” he yelled. Before even thinking of a clever reply, I immediately snapped back at him. “Oh yeah, I never told you why I ran, did I? Well, I guess you can figure it out by now.” I slammed the door on his face and sunk to the ground. He called after me, banging on the door. But I just silently wept and told him to leave. I went upstairs to pack and I came across an old family album. A bunch of pictures were missing and I couldn’t figure out why. The only pictures in there were of my father and I. “Where’s my mother?” I mumbled under my breath. I dismissed that thought and closed the photo album. The next morning I went downstairs and my father was still sitting on my porch outside with a pistol tightly clutched in his hand. He finally departed a couple of hours later and left behind a note etched in wood with a rock. It read, “I wish you had come with me.” This chilling message made me realize that he was really gone this time. Out of my life and into countless others. He had always been a leader though, and I knew he’d survive out there. It was time to worry about the big day ahead. Jacob was downstairs when he called out to me. “Honey, make sure you only pack what you NEED.” I replied, “I know babe.” At that same moment I stepped on a crayon that stuck out from underneath the bed. “That’s weird, I don’t even own crayons,” I thought to myself. When I looked back up there was a distant figure in the backyard through my window. It moved very slowly, but I couldn’t tell if it was an animal or something else. I moved back the curtain more to get a better look. It glared straight at me. Blood slowly dripped from its mouth, viscera hung out of its stomach, and its broken foot dragged behind.

 It was only the second time I’d seen one, but I was glad to be getting out of the city that day... evacuations started earlier that week and I hoped we could still leave without any altercations. I then heard a loud sudden thump that sounded distant, but still in the house. I ran downstairs and found Jacob covered in blood. Right next to him was a corpse of a young girl. Most of her hair was gone but what was left of it indicated that she had red hair and she wore a tattered and bloody shirt that read “Super Girl.” She appeared to be about 5 years old. Jacob then said without any hesitation, “I’ll get the one in the backyard.” Jacob was ex-military and was prepared for war against any type of enemy. I, however, didn’t even know how to turn the safety off of a gun. I never thought I would be forced to see that ruthless side of him. I barely even recognized him... the man I loved.

Present Day:

I’m being chased by these damn Ferals. They’re not that fast, but there’s so many of them! Every corner I turn, there’s more of them just waiting to feed off fresh meat. I need to find a safe place immediately, just somewhere to breath for a second while I think up a plan to escape.  I need to get to the boat docks, but first I need supplies. There’s a gas station I know of that’s close, if I could only get there. Damn it!  I don’t have any way to defend myself and they’re surrounding me. Now would be a really good time to for someone to save my ass…

Special Guest Writer-Celeste