world of hearts

war of hearts

The slow, antagonizing sounds of gravel shuffling underneath his feet was pretty much the only thing he heard ever since he was on his own. Fighting against his exhaustion and his bones were visible, especially his wrists. The outer bone stood out the most, even through all grime painted on his skin and tattered clothes. The bags under his eyes, the stench and the harrat walk made him look like one of them.

The ones that led this world to come to an end. Bloody zombies.

If you asked Marley Jacobs if zombies were real ten months ago, he'd laugh in your face. But now, it wasn't even remotely funny. He wished nothing more than to be home, in his bed, with his late dog Archer and wife Angie. His Angie. God, he missed her.
He had been searching her for what felt like a lifetime. When in reality, it was weeks.

She just had to go and search for supplies. How he wished he would've gone with her.

Marley stumbled into the fallen city days ago, almost sure his Angie was here. She had to be. There was no other answer acceptable for him.
But now, realizing how big the city is and how many of those meat munchers would be out there, Marley feared the worst. Those who were dead and remained dead were everywhere. The repulsing stench of rotten flesh burning his nostrils.

He stumbled upon many of those bodies who looked like Angie. Sending Marley into a spiral of misconceptions, only for him to turn a deceased woman he spotted and see it wasn't her. It made him sick to the stomach knowing how relieved it made him feel that it wasn't Angie. But it also gave him hope that she was out there. Yet, fearing she might be in danger, and he wasn't there to help her if she was.

He was walking slowly, limping the slightest. His body was crying, begging Marley to stop. But he didn't listen.

He looked up to the sun, it looked nothing like it used too. The warmth it used to bring wasn't there, nor was the yellow-orange colour when it would go down. It was a sickly looking colour, reflecting only a little bit of light on the broken world.

It looked like absolute hell.

A flow of Marley's breath escaped from his lips, the vapor spreading out and slowly dispersing. A good fifty feet away from him, a small ambush of zombies were walking around, scavenging for any kind of food. Causing Marley to subconsciously hold his breath.

Marley slowly retracted, looking for a nearby escape route. Stealthily, he made his way to one of the torn buildings. Draped by broken down fences, some of them on by a thread. Ultimately making the man duck his way through the alleyway. He got out from under the other side and checked his surroundings, there was one zombie on sight.

A young girl. Her face was pale and with open wounds, but it was her eyes that scared him the most. It was always the eyes. The deceased girl had bright yellow eyes. It was the only thing semi lifelike about these creatures.

Marley unbuttoned the leather sheath, which contained a knife. He gripped onto it as tightly as he could. He was ready to lunge at her when he got a good look at her. She was an exact copy of his wife when she was younger. Remembering the cherished pictures in the photo albums.

There was always one that always struck out to him the most. The scenery was just beautiful. A big, green garden in the background. And in the middle, a small brunette girl, smiling widely at the camera. She couldn't have been older than six, standing way too close to the camera. Only a small glimpse of her eyes were seen. But the smile, that was the winner. There was a big gap in the middle where her two front teeth were missing. Her shirt was white and covered by a cute set of dungarees.

Angie would always turn beat red, get all embarrassed about it and feel somewhat insecure looking at this picture of her childhood. But Marley loved it. He loved her.