"M" is for Mankind

III

There before my very eyes was an eerie sight I never would have dreamed of seeing. What was most disturbing, however, was not the streets completely covered with blood and vacant cars scattered here and there, but the awful silence. It then dawned upon me that the chaos had already subsided in this part of town and the macabre thought that all those innocent lives were probably in jeopardy, caused my stomach to drop. I glanced at Kurt who was now standing right beside me.

"This is what I was afraid of", he muttered just barely loud enough for me to hear. I threw him a questioning look although I was already sure that his thoughts somewhat resembled mine. He glanced at me and then nodded his head in a certain direction. "We should get going", I nodded at his words as I turned to see where Tiffany was already heading. Kurt found a large shard of glass on the floor by a shop window which had been shattered in prior. I followed his lead. Setting my Pradas down -with a hint of hesitation, might I add-, I grabbed a shard of my own, my hands shaking as I held it in both hands close to my chest in a defensive mechanism. I was very careful not to step in any of the smaller shards as I began my stride once again. I was on high alert and shaken at the mere thought I might actually have to use a weapon for the first time in my life. I noticed Alex had found a pipe and was keeping it at hip level, ready to use it if necessary. I couldn't believe this was happening. There was no way this could actually have been real. Then, through the corner of my eye I noticed something. Movement. Kurt's reflexes were faster than mine, however, as in no longer than what seemed like a millisecond, his grip was around my arm and I was tugged to the side as he stabbed the person in the head who was about to attack me. "What the fuck!", I cried in confusion as I watched the scene unfold. I stared wide-eyed at the body of the human slowly collapse onto their knees, glass penetrated in the eye, before a soft thump followed as it plummeted face-first onto the concrete. My body couldn't move, I felt paralyzed as shock overwhelmed me. "Move your ass", I felt someone pull harshly on my arm, dragging me forcefully away from the scene.

"They were already dead", Alex clarified. He didn't even bear me a glance. He just tugged me along beside him as we followed Tiffany's lead. My rationality felt almost in shambles as I tried to process that the person back there was no longer actually alive. It still didn't go down well with me how Kurt stabbed them with almost no remorse in the slightest. A person was still a person whether they were dead or alive, so what made this turn of events change such a fact?

"We're almost there", she reassured us. Ben was walking right beside her on high alert. "Is that what Ben was talking about when he mentioned the dead coming back to life?", I asked Alex who simply nodded in response. I glanced around me, suddenly overly aware that I was the only one in our group that hadn't yet come face to face with them. "Oh god", I whispered. Now that my rationality was officially out of the window, my irrational side began to prevail. I glanced back at the lifeless corpse as I slowed my pace, a sickening feeling lurking at the pits of my stomach. 

"Would you fucking snap out of it? You'll get us all killed", Alex's harsh voice snapped me back to reality as he tugged harshly on my arm yet again. Clenching my weapon tightly in my hand, I jerked my arm away from his grip. I was unintentionally slowing the group down. "Sorry", I simply said, biting hard on my bottom lip as I sped my pace. I needed to get a hold of myself. I shoved any other thoughts out of my mind and focused solely on my breathing and any possible attacks. As we walked down the deserted streets, I couldn't help but think that just a few hours ago people of all sorts were roaming these streets, oblivious to the fact that in such a short period of time their lives would take a turn for the worst. 

"We're here", Tiffany said, her eyes focused on the main entrance of her building. It seemed as though nobody had gotten in or out throughout the whole time that this happened, which was both reassuring and unsettling as it meant we were either in for a treat or a ride through hell.
"Ladies first", Ben stated as he motioned for Tiffany to lead the way. Kurt stepped forward, placing an arm in front of Tiffany. "Which floor?", he asked. Tiffany muttered a quick "forth" before taking a step back and allowing Kurt to lead the way. If I hadn't found myself in a life-or-death situation, I would have actually been impressed by her building. The Gothic styled double doors with patterns all along the frames, towered over us in an almost intimidating manner as we walked through them. Thankfully, we had a good view of what was in the corridors, saving us from any frights given by lurking walkers. We encountered a few along the way, but Alex casually bashed their head in with the pipe. I avoided looking as it made me feel sick. We were all out of breath once we made it to her apartment. We immediately bolted the door behind us and finally exhaled once we were sure we were out of danger's reach.