Godead

II

The two continued down the street, carefully avoiding any and all signs of danger. As they walked through the night, Claude recalled the woman he'd seen earlier. Her expression was frightful, almost as if her soul had been ripped out. Her and the ones who'd accosted Misty, for that matter. Their faces... their eyes... the way they moved. The way they acted. They all seemed less than human. More like... drones. More like... corpses. More like...

...zombies.

As Claude thought things over, he smiled. He recalled all the zombie films he'd seen over the years. Surely nothing that ridiculous could ever really happen. There had to be some rational explanation for what was going on. Maybe mass hysteria. Maybe a contaminated water supply. Maybe some strange new disease.

As Claude and Misty moved through the streets, a shrill scream suddenly came from the roof of a building. Claude looked up, spotting a woman near the edge of a three story condo. She nervously edged back, several zombies fast approaching her. Claude looked around, noticing a fire escape ladder leading up to the roof. He ran over to it, Misty close behind as Claude tried in vain to reach it.

"...Damn. It's too high! Misty, if I lift you up, you think you can pull it down?" he asked. Misty hesitated.

"I... I'll try," she replied.

Claude lifted the little girl up, carefully hoisting her onto his shoulders. The girl gave a blush, nervous that Claude would see her panties under her sleeveless white sundress. Her white flip flops balanced on Claude's shoulders. She extended her tiny hands to the sky, pulling the ladder down moments later.

"Nice! Way to go, Misty!" Claude said. Misty gave a shy smile, the two hurrying to the top of the building.

As they arrived, Claude noticed the woman at the other end of the roof, zombies closing in as she screamed in fright. As Misty held her hands to her mouth, Claude stepped forward.

"Stay here, Misty," he said, readying his metal pipe before rushing across the roof.

As the zombies closed in on the woman, Claude raised his weapon, knocking one of the zombies to the ground. The other zombies looked to him. Half turned his way while the other half pressed the advance, creeping toward the woman as she backed off in fright. Claude swung his weapon, bashing another zombie to the floor. As he managed to dispatch a third creature, the woman's scream changed to a blood curdling shriek.

Claude's legs froze in place, eyes watching as two zombies bit into her flesh. Their claws tore her stomach open, blood spurting out in all directions. Her scream was near deafening, but the zombies paid it little mind. The ravaged woman fell to the ground, the zombies feasting on her flesh in a mad frenzy. Claude's eyes went wide, the grip on his weapon tightening as he watched the gruesome spectacle. He then gritted his teeth, rushing in before disposing of the remaining two zombies.

As they fell to the ground, Claude stopped, eyeing their corpses in disbelief. No... that didn't just happen. It must have been a dream. Surely. But... even so, the screams. The blood. The cold metal pipe. It all felt too lucid to be a dream. Claude then paused, spotting a phone lying near the pile of bodies. He picked it up, noticing it was still half charged.

"Hmm. This may come in handy," he said.

As he put the phone in his pocket, Misty approached, looking on in terror at the bodies strewn around. Claude turned to her, shielding her eyes from the gore with his hand. The two moved to the other end of the roof, taking a seat as they looked out at the city. Several sporadic fires had broken out, smoke billowing up from faraway buildings. The streets were oddly quiet, save for the occasional scream coming from the distance. As the two sat near the edge, Misty slowly leaned her head forward.

"Claude... did you hear that?" she asked.

"Hmm? Hear what?" he replied.

"I heard something just now. Listen...," she said, slightly tilting her head. As the two sat in silence, a faint popping sound echoed from afar.

"...You're right. Sounds like fireworks. Or... gunfire," Claude said, staring at the horizon.

On the other side of town, a squad car stopped in the middle of the road amidst burning wreckage, two police officers firing shots at a steadily approaching mob of zombies.

"This is endless, Nelson! Let's just get out of here while we still can!" a young female officer said.

"...You go. I'll hold them off here," an old male officer replied, gunning down several of the creatures.

"But this is crazy! There's no end to them, and we're nearly out of ammo! Just what the hell is wrong with these people, anyhow?!" she asked, firing off more rounds.

Just then, a slender zombie snuck around an overturned car. It snaked through the shadows, suddenly jumping out from nowhere. It gave a dry hiss, latching onto Nelson from behind. He yelled, firing off several wild shots into the air. The creature's teeth sank deep into his neck, blood splattering onto the door of the squad car.

"Nelson!" the lady cop screamed, firing a single shot, killing the zombie.

She then ran over, holding Nelson as he lay on the ground. She shook both his shoulders, desperately calling his name to no response. Suddenly, her pupils shrank. As she realized her partner was dead, she froze, trembling as she rose to her feet. The policewoman looked around as dozens of zombies closed in from all directions. The officer raised her pistol, hands shaking as she angrily opened fire. She fired with a vengeance, felling one zombie after the next. As another creature shambled its way forth, the woman raised her weapon, carefully taking aim.

Click.

Click. Click.

Her eyes grew wide. She was out of bullets.

As the mob closed in around her, she turned, getting into her squad car. As she tried to close the door, a zombie suddenly reached in, preventing the door from shutting. The young officer screamed, watching in terror as the zombie pried the door back open. It swiped its gangrenous claws, chasing her to the passenger side of the vehicle. She leaned against the door, desperately avoiding the zombie as it crawled into the car. She kicked at it, but the zombie was unfazed, swiping its nails mere inches away from her face.

As ever more zombies drew near, the policewoman cringed, tightening her fists. She suddenly raised her legs, giving a fierce kick, forcing the zombie from the car. As the mob reached for the door, the woman grabbed the handle, shutting it in the nick of time. She started the engine, flooring the pedal as the vehicle took off. The tires all squealed, car plowing through scores of zombies before driving off into the night.