Apocalyptic Diaries - Tough Luck

Chapter 1 - Waking up

*Eric*

        I must have been hallucinating. I opened my eyes and was in my house. I could feel the warm covers, hear the streets full of life. The sun was shining through the window next to me. But that's not possible... I was shot. Shouldn't I be in a hospital? I started recalling the events leading up to this point. The walk to school. The fight in the hallway. A teacher trying to break it up. The misfired shot. The ricochet of the locker. The leap to protect my friend. All of this had landed me in the hospital. The scene started to shift. I was now in an ambulance, losing lots of blood. That's right, I thought to myself, the bullet broke a vein. I'm surprised I'm alive right now... or am I? Is this what happens after you die? I couldn't bear the thought of being dead. The scene shifted once more. It showed a blurry view of my friend visiting me in the hospital, with flowers in a vase. Whatever happened to her? A pain in my arm started taking over my thoughts. I... I can feel pain! I can't possibly be dead.

* * *

        The scene changed one final time, but this time, I was fully aware of everything. The pain in my arm. The uncomfortable bed. The half-eaten tray of food on the table next to the bed. The blood-stained sheets. Why hadn't they changed them? Then I saw the giant hole in the wall. I tried to sit up, but fell back, exhausted from the effort. Come on! Move! I sat up. The breeze was kind of cold, but that was normal in Toronto. Everything outside was blurry. I'll have to get closer to see. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and tried to stand up. The floor was cold, sending chills throughout my body. I stood up, but started to fall. I braced for impact, but then felt hands on my back. "Careful." a familiar voice chided, "Don't want you falling out that hole, now do we?" I then realized I had almost fallen down four-stories. That would've hurt a lot more than my arm right now. The person pulled me up, steadying me before letting go. I turned around, to see my friend standing there. "You've been out for a few months." How's that even possible? I couldn't have been out that long. I glanced at my half-eaten tray of food. Isn't food one of the things I need to live? Before I could ask anymore questions, Samantha spoke up. "It's not safe here. We need to go, now, before they find us here."

        What the hell? What did she mean "before they find us"? Was someone following her? I had so many questions, but when she pulled out a shotgun, I was floored. Why does she have a shotgun? Where'd she get a shotgun?! She pulled something else out and tossed it to me. A... sniper? What the hell? "Why do we need guns? What's going on?" She looked at me for a second. "Can't you see everything around you? Welcome to the apocalypse." Everything made sense now. The hole in the wall. The bloody sheets. Something had happened, the question was when did it all go to hell? Almost reading my mind, Samantha thought for a second. "Things went south from the very start. Ever since the Walkers started feasting, that is. They only have one goal. Eat. They'll eat any living animal. Birds, deer, though they love the taste of human flesh. They'll go out of their way to get it if they have to. It's disgusting." I was already throwing up out the hole. Below, I could see a few figures walking around. Could they be Walkers? They looked human to me. I looked through the scope on my snipe to get a better look. One looked up, and I almost fainted. It was missing one eye, half its face was ripped to shreds and it was missing an arm. It let out a ghostly howl and dashed over to the wall. Samantha pulled me back into the room. "Nice going, dingus. Now they know we're here." She paused. "What'd it look like?"

        She looked crestfallen. Did someone she know fall victim to these speedy horrors? "I... It was missing an eye, and half its face was turned into half-cooked pasta, why?" She didn't answer, but then again, she didn't have to. She looked down, and primed her shotgun. "We need to go, now! Before they get up here." She turned to the door, just as it flew open. What was once a man now pounced on her. She blasted the Walker in the head, sending blood and chunks of its head all over the place. I dodged an eye and a piece of skull as they flew out the hole. Below, I heard more screeches. The gunshot must have attracted more. A lot more. Bangs could be heard as they tried to break into the stairwell door. Samantha motioned to the open doorway. "Only one way out, unless you wanna be torn to shreds." She looked at me with a half joking look in her eye. "I'll pass." I said, and we headed into the hallway.

        Papers were strewn everywhere, blood covered most surfaces and lights flicked, illuminating previous victims. A Walker fell down the elevator chute, screeching as we passed it. Seconds later, a splat sound could be heard from below. It fell its last fall. As I tried to hold back tears, the banging got louder. "Why are we heading towards them? Shouldn't we be heading away from them?" She turned to me with a look in her eye that told me I was the dumbest creature on earth. "There's only one stairwell, so unless you wanna climb the elevator chute and risk being hit by a Walker, this is the best way to go." We had reached the door leading into the stairwell. We went in and closed the door. The sound echoed through the pitch black space. Samantha dug through her pockets and pulled out a lighter. She lit it, but it didn't provide much light. Even with it, we could only see a few feet ahead of us. The walkers below were making a huge ruckus. All we could hear was the bangs of hands trying to open the door and the screeches of so many walkers, that it just sounded like one long screech with many notes to it. We were halfway up to the next floor, when we heard the one sound we wished we wouldn't hear. The door below made a cracking noise. Our pace quickened. We got to the fifth floor. "Just one more..." Samantha was determined to get to the roof, in hopes of avoiding death below.

        The door gave way, just as I slipped on a pool of blood, flying over the railing. I was flung into empty space, falling. Is this it? Am I really about to die because of a pool of blood? A hand grabbed my shirt. Samantha was trying to pull me up. I heard a tear. My weight was too much for the shirt to handle. It was gonna rip any second now. I had to think. I looked around in the dim light, trying to find something, anything to help me get up. Below us, the screeches got louder. Pounding footsteps could be heard as the Walkers sprinted up the stairs. My hand caught something. It was the side of a railing! I grabbed on and hauled myself up. I heard a "pop" as I flung myself over the railing. Gonna feel THAT later. Samantha went to hug me, but I stopped her. "No time. The Walkers will be on us any minute now. We need to get to the roof." She nodded, and we made our ascent. We slammed into the door to the roof, and rebounded of it. It didn't budge. "Are you kidding me?! Now, of all times, you lock the roof?" The door clicked, and opened. We dashed out, slamming the door behind us. I wasn't watching where I was going, and ran full force into a wall. As I lay there, dazed with blurry vision, I lost consciousness, the last thing I see being figures appearing in my peripheral vision. Then everything went black...

                      ____________________________________________________________

Hey everyone!

Just wanna say thank you if you've read this far. It really means a lot to me! I'll probably end up doing one Chapter every couple days during school, but no promises. This is my first story, so if you do have any edits you want done, comment them on the paragraph you want edited and tell me what it is. Also, feel free to vote, but I won't force you to. Feedback is welcome, but not required, and if you have plot or character ideas, let me know (my discord will be at the end of the next chapter).

Thanks again!

- ThatGamer