Those Camsten One Shots (Stitchers)

Why Does the Sun... (Part 1 of Zombies)

It started with a virus. A mild virus. A small one. "We have a cure!" said the television doctors. "Nothing to worry about!" said the news women.

The cure killed the patients. I believe you can figure out how the rest went. Lord knows I could.

Which is most likely why I'm still alive. I already knew what was going to happen. By the time the first zombie hoard reached Cali's border, I was already on the move, a gun in my pocket and a firecracker in my hand.

Zombies are very flammable. I didn't know this when I started, but I hypothesized that this would be the case. Rotting flesh seems like quite the fuel.

Recently, I've taken my running to the next level. The townships that still remain (usually places that only housed about two-hundred people before the hoards) hire me. I keep them safe for a couple weeks before moving on. It pays well enough.

I'm always careful to never go back, or ever listen for news about the townships. I know they never last long. That's why I never stay.

Kirsten Clark, zombie killer. Who would have thought?

Now, why did I tell you all that? If your reading this, then why do you even need to know that zombies are flammable, or you should stay away from townships? The answer is simple. I'm about to tell you a story.

A story about a man.

A man that can save us all.

***

Kirsten feels her breath zooming in and out of her chest like a tree feels the fire taking over the forest. It hurts, it hurts like hell, but she keeps running. There isn't growling from behind her, but there are sharp screams coming from the undead.

The undead don't growl. They scream. Kirsten wonders, as she runs, why they scream. Are they in pain? Are they scared? Are they calling for more reinforcements?

Kirsten finds herself really hoping it isn't that last one.

She throws a firecracker behind her, and the pop makes the screaming reach a new octave. Kirsten is trying her best not to scream, too, but her eardrums are about to burst and she's also pretty sure she's about to die.

Go figure.

Finally, she reaches her camp. The trees have squirrel urine all over them, layered over and over again so anyone can smell it. Kirsten discovered a few months ago that strong scents can confuse the predators, so much that they'll lose her scent entirely.

Kirsten doesn't stop running though. No, she doesn't stop until the camp is in her view. And when she does stop, it's not because she sees her camp, it's so she can pull her gun out.

There's a man sitting by her tent. Kirsten almost shoots him.

Almost.

Instead, with her gun aimed at his forehead, she raises a finger to her lips so he knows to be quiet. The only reason she doesn't shoot him is because the zombies will hear it.

Zombies only have two senses - smell and hearing. A gunshot would not only kill the man in front of Kirsten - it would kill her, too.

The man - tall, rough around the edges, brunette, Kirsten notes - nods, and doesn't move from his place on the ground. Kirsten stays completely still, even as zombies can be heard shrieking around the camp. A few venture closer, where both Kirsten and the man can see them, but the smell sends them away.

They have lost their prey, their dinner. They will be back. Kirsten has to move. Again.

Once the hunter is sure she can speak without risking a brutal death, she does. Kirsten isn't exactly sure what to say, considering she doesn't speak much at all anymore, so she feels like she has something to blame her words on when she lets out-