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Chapter 1

  I remember falling... Beyond that... Nothing. I awoke, finding myself on a beach, soaking wet and feeling a wave of pain crashing through me. I sat up, fear and confusion rushing through my heart. It was dark out, and I couldn't see much beyond what the stars lit. I could make out a pier that jutted out into the ocean. The sea was strangely calm, which surprised me... I managed to drag myself to my feet, and as I did so, a bolt of pain tore through my right leg. I yelled out into the night, and collapsed, my vision becoming a blur of red. When the pain finally subsided, I mustered the courage to look down at my leg. What I saw sickened me. There was a large gash, oozing blood, across my upper right thigh. The skin around the wound was white and dead looking... I fell back onto the sand, and looked up at the night sky, panic and fear washing through me...

  I began to yell, as loud as I could, screaming for help, hoping that someone was nearby. After about three minutes, my voice cracked, and I just laid there, tears running down my face, cutting tracks in the sand caked on. As I began to sit up again, I could hear shouting coming from behind me, somewhat nearby. I sat up, and started yelling again, praying that whoever it was could hear me. I waited for what seemed like an eternity, hoping that someone could come and help me. I heard the sounds of yelling get closer, and I could also make out a far off moaning sound. I didn't really know what it was, but it chilled me to the core. I immediately quieted down, and began to listen closely. I flinched as a loud cracking noise broke the silence, very similar to a gunshot.

 My mind was clouded with fear. Who was shooting? Why, were they shooting? I curled up in the sand, the pain temporarily forgotten. The moans were louder, and closer now. They actually sounded... Human! But, that was impossible... No human could make noises like that... I heard more shots, and my mind began to shut down, relying solely on instinct. I stood up quickly, the pain in my leg numbed by the surge of adrenaline, and I began to limp off towards the pier. I could see buildings rising from the boardwalk... My only thought was making it beneath the pier, and taking cover. I began to hear more sounds among the moaning, snarling and growling sounds, as well as a sickening crunch every so often, a sound that completely turned my stomach. After a time, I finally reached, and ducked under the pier, gritting my teeth with the pain.

  As I slid under, I heard another groan, much much closer than the others, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. But this one sounded much more human. It had come from my right, further under the pier... In the shadows... I peered into the darkness, trying to sense what was down here with me. I crawled a bit closer to it, the pain returning to me with a vengeance. I looked up to the bottom of the pier, about 4 feet from the ground. Not enough room to stand, which worried me. The groan came again, more guttural than before, and with an air of... Sorrow? I began to crawl backwards, fearing what was down here. The gunshots had stopped, and so had the yelling, but I could still hear the moaning, and it sent shards of fear tearing through my heart.

  I backed out from under the pier, and looked down at my leg again. What I saw there shocked me... Where blood and dead skin had been before, there was a large scab, which was slowly getting smaller. My cut was litterally healing, in front of my eyes. The pain was fading too. I slowly stood, and looked toward the buildings, where all the noises were coming from. I needed to find a place to stay, somewhere safe, where I could try to find some answers.  I had no memory of who I was, and no clue where I was. I didn't know how old I was... But, I did have a name stuck in my head. One I couldn't shake away. The name, one I decided to adopt, was Ludo. I stared into the city, and began to walk towards it, calmly, ready to face what I had to.

  I had been walking for around 30 seconds when I saw a figure in the distance, shambling around. I couldn't make out much because of the dark, but something was off. The person was walking slowly, and stumbling all over the place. He was also one of the sources of the multitude of moans I was hearing. I began to walk towards him, cautiously, and I called out to him.

  "Sir? Sir, are you alright?"

  His only response was to moan louder. I noticed a horrible smell coming off of him, one that nearly made me gag. It was terrible, the smell of death and decay surrounding him. I cursed under my breath, and stumbled away from him, trying to avoid puking my guts up. I pulled the collar of my shirt up, covering my face, and I looked back at him.

  He let out that inhuman moan again, and I began to notice other figures standing around, shambling towards me in the near-blackness. I turned, and began to run, ignoring the new wave of pain in my leg, and I tried to pick a place to run. I saw what looked like the entrance to a boardwalk hotel, and I ran for it. There were even more figures, and the smell of rotting meat became stronger, as did the moans. Fear and disgust coursed through me as I ran towards the building, hoping that it was open. It was maybe 30 yards away when I noticed many of the figures shambling in my direction. Some of them even began to stumble along in a macabre representation of running, moving much faster than the others.

  I finally managed to reach the hotel, and I shoved my way through the doors, the adrenaline in my body making me tense and jittery. I looked around in the lobby, unable to see anything. It was darker in here than it was outside. I began to walk forward slowly, trying to slow my breathing, and trying not to run into a wall like a dumbass. My eyes weren't adjusting to the dark, so I was blind for the moment. I could hear the things from outside trying to get inside, but they weren't able to get through the doors, fortunately for me. As I walked further in, I stepped on something wet, and squishy. I didn't stop walking to see what it was. Given what was going on, I'd rather not know.

  As I walked, I could get a vauge sense of where I was. It wasn't exactly like being able to see, but I could tell where things were. I could kind of... Feel, the reception desk to my left. I stepped towards it gently, hoping to find something over there. I could hear a faint sound, like wind. I figured it was probably just a draft, or something like that. I slipped behind the counter, and just sat on the floor, leaning against it. I closed my eyes, and tried to calm my mind.

I reviewed what I already knew, which wasn't much. I woke up on an unfamiliar beach, in an unknown city, which seemed to be overrun by hostile creatures. I didn't know who I was, or how I had gotten there, and all I had to go on was a name. I had nothing except for the clothes I was wearing. I must have gotten good and comfortable there, because the next thing I knew, I awoke to a gun in my face. 

* Okay everyone! I'm new to this, and this is my first published work. Leave comments, suggestions, hate mail, whatever you want. I'll do what I can to take your opinion into consideration. Thanks for reading!*