Open Season

Chapter 1

Face to face with death once again. Except death came in disguise of a half rotted corpse. I was surrounded by them. They dragged themselves closer and I had nowhere to run, not this time. Their faces were decomposed, eyes glazed and distant. Not one part of these things was human, not anymore. After all this time, I don't feel human either. There are many names thrown around for these dead beings. I like to stick to calling them biters. Not that it mattered. Nothing was the same; with the old reality I once knew becoming a distant memory. However, this was my reality now, and I had to fend for myself. I reached for my weapon, a machete, which was attached to my belt. I stretched my fingers in anticipation, finding the perfect moment to strike. Their growls were all I could hear, and I felt my panic levels raise. I grasped the machete, trying to keep my focus. As the swarm of death closed in, I inhaled deeply before fighting for my life once more.

The first one lunged at me as I lashed out, striking it immediately. Blood sprayed at me as I impaled it. It made a grotesque groan before dropping to the floor. Time seemed to slow down. I couldn't keep track of how many there were left. I lost count after the fifth one. My thoughts drifted and my mind became distant as I continued to fight my way through. I was in survival mode, and I wouldn't stop until I knew I was safe. With each mangled, rotten body dropping to the floor the smell became more and more nauseating. The crowd seemed to diminish after what felt like forever. Time seemed to return to normal as I picked the fast few off, knowing I had survived for now. I started to relax a little when I suddenly felt something grab my pant leg. Before I could react it had pulled me to the floor.

I scrambled to free myself, kicking it in the face four, maybe five times, but it was no use. It was slowly dragging itself upon me. As it grew closer I swiftly swung my weapon at its head. I heard the connection and felt the splatter of the cold blood on my face. The biter went limp against my legs. I couldn't bear to look at it. I kicked my legs from under it. I clumsily jumped up and tried to adjust myself. I swung around checking that there wasn't any left. I could feel my heart pounding, and that was all. I paused for a moment, staring at the ground around me, which was littered with the bodies of the biters. I shook my head and turned away. I started to shake as I stumbled away from the bloodbath, a tear escaping from me.

I walked for a while before stopping and slumping myself by a tree. I closed my eyes and tried to control my breathing, to no avail. I jumped at every surrounding noise, still in a state of panic. I took a long drink from my water bottle. It never used to be like this. It was just like domino. Once one fell it would cause the rest to. I didn't know where it came from, I still don't. There were reports of "bizarre" cases on the news but even then there wasn't much information. Nobody really took much notice. If only they had. Soon enough it was a huge problem. Everyone fled their homes to a place of safety, only there wasn't one. It spread like wildfire. See, once you were bitten by one then that's it. No cure as of yet. It's been this way for months now. Everything just feels so disconnected. The world has just fallen apart.

As for me, I'm alone; I have been for over two months. It's hard to keep track of days, but it try. I was in a group. There were six of us. We had a nice little set up. We basically lived in cars and tents, but it worked. Well... it did. There was a swarm, and unfortunately our camp was in the firing line. They are like sheep, they just follow each other. There was so many, at least a hundred. The two people on watch – Damion and Gino – got caught that night, right in front of us. You don't forget an image like that. We all grabbed what weapons we could, got told to flee and meet up back at camp once the herd had passed. Unfortunately with the biters around it forced most of us to go in different directions, making it harder. I've never ran so much in my life. Once I was out of the firing line of the herd, I hid in some shrubbery for the remainder of the night. Fortunately no biters discovered me. I spent that night wondering. Wondering how everyone was, if they were okay. I just wanted to run back and see if they were there. But I refused to move until I saw sunlight. I still don't know why I chose to wait until I saw the crack of dawn. But I walked back to camp. It took longer than I thought, but I made it. There were a few straggler biters but nothing serious. I was the first one there. And I waited. I waited all day long. They wouldn't have left me, everything we owned was still here, they would've at least taken supplies. I sat there, on the bonnet of the car, watching the sun go down that day. I stayed until I saw dawn break once more. They weren't coming. My hope had vanished like the night. They were the last people I had who cared for me as I cared for them. I simply packed all I could, and retreated into the still breaking dawn.

I've been solo since then. Another tear slithered down my cheek. I wiped it away roughly with the back of my hand. I stared at the sky, and noticed it was turning early evening. I had to find somewhere to rest. As I picked up my bag I heard a twig snap not far from me. More biters. I had to move out. A few seconds passed before I heard another, and another. They sounded too fast to be a biter. I froze and listened, hearing it grow ever so closer. I swung around, heart racing at the pace of this thing. That's when my eyes met his. About 10 feet away from me, was another human being.