The Dead Will Tear Us Apart

Chapter One

Usually I'd dread serving Mr. Hupy, a kooky regular at our corner shop, but oddly enough, I haven't served a soul all day and I'm relieved to finally be doing something other than daydreaming. I watch him shuffle over to the newsstand, he painfully groans as he reaches out for today's paper. I cock my head to the side in concern as he approaches the fresh section with a stumble; he takes a loaf of bread and unsteadily makes his way over to the counter.

"Are you ok sir?" I ask. I notice how sickly pale he looks.

Hupy chucks his selected items into a basket by my till. He leans against it, sounding out of breath. "It'll be the last time you see me in here, Alisa."

"Is that so?" I reply politely. I discreetly peer under my lashes and stare at his bloodshot eyes. I gawk at them for a few seconds before distracting myself and scanning his shopping.

"The dead are walking."

I gasp and choke on my sudden intake of air. I've heard many reasons why someone might never return to Koop's Corner, but never one as bizarre as this. "Excuse me?" Is all I can say.

"I'm sure a woman of your age has seen all those scary movies, the ones with the zombies?"

I agree with a nod. I wouldn't want to tell Mr. Hupy an outright lie when he seems so into his far-fetched tale. The truth is - I hate horror films with a passion. Even the slightest bit of blood, real or fake can send me into shock. A walking, blood curdling corpse would be too much for my squeamish brain to handle, so I avoid anything and everything related to that.

"Well there's a crowd of them forming outside. One of the more agile ones bit me too," Hupy reveals as he lifts his arm into view. "The fucker got me good, don't you think?"

I turn my attention to his bloody limb. I find it hard to believe this is actually happening. It takes a bit for my brain to catch up with my eye-sight. Eventually it does and oh my, what I see is not pretty. There's a dirty, open wound below his elbow, he's poking it with his index finger and mumbling something about it not hurting anymore. Red liquid dribbles out of his mutilated flesh and on to the bread loaf below. That's it. That's all the gore I can take. I become light-headed, my sight turns fuzzy before it fizzles out and fades to black with an almighty crack.

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Author's Note

My plan for this novella is to keep the chapters short and sweet. I want them to be bitesize and easily digested. Not everyone's got the time to sit through pages after pages of writing and I understand that.

I hope what you read so far was enjoyable and I'd appreciate a comment letting me know your thoughts. Did you like it? Will you be following the novella? Did you notice any typos/mistakes? I'd be only too pleased to return the favour!

Thank you and hopefully I'll see you again at the end of chapter Two...