Lyrics One-Shots

How Far We've Come - Matchbox 20

”I think it turned 10 o’clock, but I don’t really know,

And I can’t remember caring for an hour or so.

Started crying and I couldn’t stop myself,

Started running but there’s nowhere to run to.

I sat down on the street, took a look at myself.

Said, ‘Where’re you going, man?

You know the world is headed for hell.’

Say your goodbyes if you got someone you can say goodbye to…”

~~~*~~~

AFTER I rounded another corner, I stopped to breathe and rest. I should be safe now. I should have been able to outrun the zombies by now. Zombies can’t run, after all.

I looked up at the sky and judged that it was around 10 o’clock in the morning. Or maybe 11… or 12? Oh well, neither date nor time matters, anyway.

I sat down on the sidewalk and stared at the puddle between my feet. My own reflection stared back, but I no longer recognized the face. I was so battered and bruised everywhere, my hair resembled a bird’s nest, and I had a lot of cuts that were bleeding. Even my eyes, which used to be such a bright green, seemed duller.

I’ve come quite far, considering how long I’ve stayed alive. And yet, it’s still almost exactly the same as in the beginning. Except that now, I have less supplies, more zombies to avoid, and no friend to watch my back anymore.

A small drop of water fell into the puddle I was staring at. Then it was followed, by another, and another, and another. At the same time, my eyes were getting blurred and my cheeks started getting wet. Only then did I realize I was crying.

 I tried to wipe the tears off immediately, willing myself to stop crying, but they just kept flowing. In the end, I just let them be. Soon enough, I was already sobbing uncontrollably. I guess I was able to ignore the pain and sorrow for only so long. Now that even Dexter was gone too… well, that was the last straw.

I don’t really know how long I cried, but I guess other that being lonely, I was also tired. So tired that I ended up crying myself to sleep.

When I woke up, the sun was already setting. Which meant I slept for 5… 6 hours?!

I immediately jolted awake and grabbed my pack. I stood and finally noticed all the dead zombies around me (well technically… they’re double dead). I looked around excitedly, thinking that maybe a fellow human came across me. But instead, I saw another zombie, leaning on a pole with his back to me. I held my breath as I reached into my pack to get a gun, but then I noticed the bracelet on his left wrist. It was the other half of the one I was wearing. Does that mean… this zombie… he’s Dexter?

Suddenly, he looked my way, raised a pistol he was holding in his right hand, and shot. I let out a tiny shriek as I instinctively covered my head. I heard a grunt behind me, and when I looked around, a zombie crumpled into a bloodless heap on the ground.

My eyes widened and I quickly looked at Dexter the zombie again. His hair had mostly fallen out, his skin had this sickly green tint, his eyes were swollen but sunken, and he was… rotting. But there was no mistaking it. The zombie really was Dexter.

He smiled at me, revealing his wooden-like yellow teeth, but somehow, the smile seemed genuine. “Hayley is… awake…” he stammered in a raspy voice. My jaw fell open, but I wasn’t able to speak. What could I say in this situation?

Then, he held his pistol up and pointed it at his own head. Finally, I found my voice and screamed. “DON’T!!!”

But Dexter the zombie only shook his head. Then he stared at me with glassy eyes.

“Goodbye.”