Dead But Not Gone

"Safe" Haven

The next morning, I woke up to loud, ear curdling screams coming from outside. I shot up and ran to my window to see what was going on. I pulled back the curtains and saw a woman getting her face chewed off by a man.

"What the fuck?!" I said to myself in confusion and disgust.

Just then, Luis burst inside the house covered in blood. His hands were visibly shaking and he quickly shut the door behind him. I ran up to Luis and immediately started bombarding him with questions.

"Luis what the fuck's happening? Why are you covered in blood? Where's Branden and Peter?"

"Derek, now's not the time for questions. We gotta get out of here."

"What? Why?" I completely ignored him saying not to ask questions.

"Do you not see what the fuck is happening outside? People are eating each other for God's sake! We just gotta get out of here."

I turned away from Luis and let out an exasperated sigh. I couldn't believe what was happening. Last night I was partying and banging some guy's girlfriend and now people are eating each other.

What a world.

Luis called Branden and Peter telling them to get ready because we were leaving.

We ran outside and looked at the chaotic background that was happening in our normally friendly streets. Cars sped down the road, people were running for dear life, and corpses littered the now blood covered streets. We tried our best to ignore it and hopped into his car, an old Chevy Chrysler, then headed to Branden's apartment.

Luis parked his car in front of the complex and we stepped out of the car. I walked up to the front door, knocked, and a saddened Branden opened the door. Peter rushed out, book bag in hand.

"Derek what's going on?" Branden asked.

"Well to put it bluntly, people are eating each other and we gotta get out of the city." I looked at Peter then said "You got the things we need?"

Peter unzipped his bag and goodies ranging from water to porn magazines spilled out. "You already know."

We all got into Luis's car, loaded the bags into the trunk, and turned on the radio to hear what's happening on the highways. All stations were talking about what was happening.

103.2, "Everybody stay inside your homes! We believe this is a small outbreak that can be contained in the next few days."

83.5, 'Warning to all civilians in New Jersey, if you aren't already aware, a small virus has turned people into feral, flesh eating beings. They have seem to regressed to primitive actions. Once bitten, victims may feel dizzy, sick, and then they will most likely become feral too-"

103.5, "If you're on the road, there are military created safe havens located in Woodbridge, Newark, and New York City as of now-"

I turned off the radio and looked at the time. It was 3:23, and Peter suggested we go to the one in Newark since it was closer to us. It would be a 30 minute drive.

Some time passed and we arrived at the safe haven after some major traffic. It was heavily crowded with vehicles and distraught people looking for refuge. We got out of the car and looked past the growing crowd. There were blockades set up and the soldiers had guns drawn on the civilians.

"This doesn't feel like a safe haven," Peter grumbled, "People are crying for help and they aren't doing anything about it."

I pushed past the swarm of people and slowly walked towards the blockades. They aimed their guns at me without hesitation. My heart started racing.

"Stay there!" One guard shouted to me.

"If you take another step forward, we will open fire!" Another added.

I put my hands up and stated, "My brother Danny is in the military. He's a marine and his service tag is PL421O. I want to know if he's stationed here!"

The guards were taken aback and lowered their weapons. The crowd behind me cheered.

"Holy shit! You're Danny Garcia's brother? Fuck man we're sorry. Let him-"

"Behind you!" Branden interjected and warned the guard named Ramirez.

He quickly turned around and saw a man limping towards him, face half eaten, eyes bloodshot. Ramirez riddle him with bullets but it didn't kill him. It seemed to make it more aggressive. The other guards opened fire but nothing stopped it.

The thing got closer and grabbed Ramirez, sinking its teeth into his throat. In a panic, the guards opened fire on both Ramirez and the creature, killing only Ramirez in the process. A guard who's name tag read "Johnson" pulled it off Ramirez's now lifeless body and was struggling with it.  Another soldier named "Orlando" unsheathed his combat knife and stabbed it in the head. The creature stopped moving and fell to the floor with a loud thud. The once quiet crowd was panicking because a man's wife had fell to the floor. I focused on the guards, and remembered what the radio said. "If bitten, the victim may become feral too. They'll 'reanimate'."

"Get away from Ramirez! Quick!" I shouted.

It was too late. Ramirez attacked Johnson, biting into his nose. Orlando once again killed it, and Johnson was choking on his own blood. His nose was ripped off. Behind us, screams arose from the crowd. The wife had reanimated and bit her husband in the arm. Luis quickly rushed to her and threw her to the side, stomping in her head.

Orlando was visibly traumatized. He killed two of his buddies. He pulled out his pistol, and put the barrel to his chin.

"No, wait!" Peter was too late to stop it.

Orlando pulled the trigger and pieces of brain and bits of skull matted the concrete floor. Blood sprayed backwards like a hose. He fell to the ground harshly and awkwardly. The once large crowd was now only a couple of people.

"Go to the car with Branden. If me and Derek aren't back in 5 minutes, get out of here." Luis commanded Peter.

Peter wanted to object but Luis pushed him away. Luis made his way towards me and we raided the tents, grabbing necessities. As we ran past the frantically screaming people making our way back to the car, one of those things tripped Luis. He fell face first into the cement. When he lifted up his head, his face was a bloody mess. I went to help him up but he pushed me away too.

"Luis what the fuck? Get up!" I shouted as I went to pick him up again.

"Leave! I'm fucking bit!"

The dead got closer as I stood there, refusing to believe what I heard.

"No..." They got closer.

"Go! Fucking go!" And closer.

"You said we're in this together! Maybe you'll live!" I tried reasoning.

Before Luis can get another word out, a dead grabbed him from behind and sunk its teeth into his skull. Luis screamed for dear life as the dead started tearing him apart. Their bloody hands dug into his stomach and started eating his entrails.

I turned away, tears in my eyes and ran back to the car.

But it wasn't there.

The dead focused on Luis and his screams slowly faded away. I looked west, and headed there.

I was alone.