*6 months later*
I could feel the sun through my thin t-shirt, sweat dripping down my arms and legs. The city was in ruins, although it hadn't been that long since the end. A car, parked just a few feet away, creaked and moaned in the heat. I reached around and pulled my hair in a tight ponytail, it was slightly wet.
My boots made light footsteps that bounced off the walls of the crumbling buildings around me. All I needed was to cross the bridge then I'd be back in West Springfield and home. I'd hoped to find some survivors, maybe people I knew. I didn't want to be alone anymore. Though, I wasn't really alone, just surrounded by thousands of flesh eating zombies. Not really a comforting thought.
Ever since leaving Maine I'd tried to find some form of living things, but by the time I realized what was happening it was too late. I had to protect myself.
I could see the heat waves rising from the bridge. Cars were scattered haphazardly along it, anything could be in them. I approached cautiously, looking in every window. A woman and her child sat in one. The little boy was laid across her lap, they almost seemed to be sleeping. But the gash in the side of the moms head and the bullet hole in the child's stomach gave away the truth. I shoved back the tears welling in my eyes. This was life now, I had to deal with it.
I trudged along, my head pounding. I couldn't remember the last time I'd eaten, or slept. It really didn't effect me anymore though, my body had grown accustomed to the lack of substances.
The railing was warm beneath my fingertips, the metal rusted and worn. Without thinking about it, I started singing softly to myself. My voice echoed a little ways, jumping back to me. I could pretend It was just another normal day. That I was on my way home to see Sage, or Alex. I could hear Sage's light laughter her loud footsteps carrying throughout the house.
But I knew it was to good to be true. They were both gone. I'd never see my brothers light green eyes that resembled my own. I would never feel his tight hugs or see his crooked smile. I had to take a deep breath to bring myself back to reality. It hurt in my chest..the ache for someone familiar ever present and weighing on me.
Then a moan filled the air. My blood turned to ice in my veins. I whipped my head around to see a short man limping towards me. His thigh was missing a chunk, his skin peeling and gray. His eyes were glazed over, but they looked like they had been brown at one time. I stared at him a little while longer, watching his light blue shirt blow in the wind.
Then with a sigh I pulled my gun from its holster and raised it till it was level with his head. I closed my eyes, took another deep breath, then pulled the trigger. His moans stopped immediately.
I used to feel guilty for killing these creatures that were once as alive as me. But if convinced myself that I was doing them a favor, releasing them from that awful state they were forced into. It helped to think this way, I could keep a little of my sanity. And humanity. Which in this new world, was all I seemed to have anymore.
