YouTube Goes Zombie

Chapter 3

My first instinct is to protect the dog, so I grab Yukon and push him into the woods. I roll to the left, anticipating a bullet. No more shots, but I know the gunman is there. I jump to my feet and dive head first into the woods, rolling to my feet. I run after Yukon. Another gunshot, the bullet close to my head. They've got a good shot, but not good enough. I weave through the trees, desperate to stay alive.

"Stop moving and let me kill you!" They yell in a low voice. It's a man, doesn't sound that old. Twenties probably.

Like I'm just gonna stop running and die without trying.

"I'm not going down so easy!" I shout back and keep moving, skidding from side to side so he can't get a good shot.

"Stop! Stop, please!" He calls, no more bullets flying at me.

"Why?!" I yell at him, worried if I do he'll blow my head off.

"You're," deep breath. "Not," another deep breath. "One of them."

Did he mistake me for being part of a gang? Maybe they killed his people, yeah that sounds right. Things like that happen, I know because I played The Walking Dead. I played a lot of zombie video games in preparation for this apocalypse. Not that I thought it would happen for real.

"Who are you?" I ask, grabbing Yukon by the collar and pulling him behind a tree.

"Zack." He's too honest, too trusting. I'm still debating whether or not it's a trap. Just in case I grab my pistol and load it.

"Why did you shoot at me and my dog, Zack?" I don't give away our names and grip the gun with both hands.

"I thought... You looked like one of them."

"Them who?" I peek out from behind the tree, shocked to see him sitting on a tree stump only five yards away.

"The people who killed Tundra, and I wasn't shooting at your dog. I'd never kill a dog." He tells me, and I'm not sure if he's really a nice person or just pretending to be.

I walk out from behind the tree and point the gun at him.

"Who's Tundra?" I ask.

"Whoa, calm down. I'm unarmed." He puts his hands up.

"Give me your bag and empty your pockets." I order.

Zack throws me his bag, pulling various items out of his pocket and tossing them to me.

"Who's Tundra?" I ask, motioning for Yukon to guard Zack while I dig through the bag.

"My horse, Tundra was my horse." He looks down, voice full of sadness.

"You're a farm boy? That explains the choice of clothes." I look at his dirty blue flannel shirt, jeans, and riding boots.

"You don't like my style?" He asks.

"It's not appropriate for the zombie apocalypse. If we come across a clothing shop I'll pick out a better outfit that you can move and actually run in." I reply.

"So we're a team now?" He asks.

"You're a good shot, I don't want you on my bad side." I reply and pull out his rifle. I inspect it and hold my eye up to the sight. If I was to use this I'd be pulling the trigger with my left hand.

"You're a lefty?" I look at him.

"Yeah." He says, running a hand through his messy black hair.

I put all of his stuff back in the bag and look at the pocket items. Pack of almonds, phone, kitchen knife, and a credit card.