Made to Endure

Chapter 01: Hometown

The sound of a clockwork motor, the gears ticking softly as their metal teeth interlocked and separated. Melanie Parkhurst had listened to the rhythmic sound for the last five years. The sound reminded her of a watch, slowly running down until it died. Her own life was similar. For half a decade, she'd been wandering a world beset by the undead, fighting and killing any of the walking corpses that happened to cross her path, wondering when her time would be at an end.

She was alone. Her companions were gone, having either taken refuge in fortified cities or died fighting the undead. One by one, they'd departed until only Melanie remained. She'd considered many times following the example of those who'd survived, finding a place to live and settling down. Every time the thought had arisen, she'd quickly rejected it. Melanie had changed too much. Peaceful, civilian life wasn't for her any longer. She was a wanderer of the wastes, a hunter of zombies. This was her path, her destiny, and nothing would change that as long as she lived.

Her worn leather boots, secured with five belts each between her ankles and knees, caused small stones to crunch together as she walked the forgotten road. The sun beat down mercilessly from a hot summer sky, but Melanie had a hood up over her head, shielding her from the heat and brightness. The use of the hood was more from habit than necessity as she rarely felt either the heat or the cold. After what she'd been through these last few years, the ambient temperature didn't even register in her mind.

Without humanity to curb its influence, the natural world had reasserted its dominance with a vengeance. Vines had invaded cities, climbing the pipes and support structures on the outside of buildings while also tangling themselves around the wrought iron lampposts. Trees had grown up everywhere, breaking through sidewalks and contorting the foundations of buildings. Wherever a tiny crack or crevice existed, plants grew, oblivious to the damage they inflicted on human constructions.

Even with the trees and thick undergrowth, Melanie managed to recognize her surroundings when she entered the small town. It had been her home for the fifteen years before the zombie outbreak. The streets no longer had carriages taking people two and fro, the hooves of their mechanical horses clopping along the cobblestone. The people who'd once lived in the town had either fled, died, or been turned. Melanie didn't know why she'd come here. There was nothing left for her in this place except dusty memories.

Her eyes looked up, but no airships were to be seen, not even the clouds were visible in the endless blue sky. Melanie remembered how after the outbreak, people had sought refuge in the flying machines, away from the zombies on the ground, but it had been a trap of its own as any infection getting onboard left the humans with nowhere to flee.

Walking with a measured pace, she approached the house she'd shared with her mother. The wrought iron fencing had long ago rusted away, leaving nothing behind to show it had ever been there. Pushing aside the overgrown hedges, Melanie proceeded to the front door.

The copper door of the front entrance was old and tarnished black. Melanie turned the crank beside the door to open it, but the gears hidden in the wall were no longer functioning. She pulled hard on the crank lever, causing it to break off in her hand. The door had moved slightly, forming a gap between the door and the jam. She was about to try and force the door open the rest of the way when a wheezing moan reached her ear.

Spinning around, Melanie saw three zombies moving slowly down the road toward her, obviously attracted by the noise of the breaking crank. Despite having a flintlock pistol holstered behind her on her right side, she wanted to avoid making any further noise, so she reached across with her right hand to unsheathe the sword hanging on the left side of her hip. Her speed and skill were more than enough, and she put down the zombies with hardly any effort on her part.