Walking with the Dead

Chapter 1

As promised, and as a small token of appreciation, I've uploaded two chapters. Enjoy reading.

© copyright. dedicated to the girl up there for making all this possible with the right inspiration. :)

The last five years had been a drag. The last family I stayed in directed me to this direction before they were probably eaten by a Hulk, a huge creature of mutated Zombie as big as a house named after a famous comic character. They were a great family and their daughter lured me most of the time in bed though I refused a whole lot, not wanting commitment too much.

After a month of stay from their small abode, I’ve decided to just… walk away and search for a real safe home. Of course I did my best to persuade them to come with me but they stood their ground and said that they can protect themselves. I walked away from their house the next day and the following week, I met a traveling survivor like me and told me the sad tale of what might have happened to the previous family that took me. He said the devastation is just so great that he doubted anyone may still be alive with that kind of wrecked house. I silently prayed for their souls. Even though Tammy (their daughter) and I never slept together, they still deserved a good life.

Now, I’m standing in front of the titanium walls probably honed through crashed airplanes or broken Rolex. The walls are so huge that I think it reaches the heavens in this angle I’m standing from. Around the wall, I have seen tiny black boxes I assume as cameras and different automatic rifles just incase of a zombie attack.

The cameras focused on me and I kept my focus on the camera. I’ve spent five years looking for a military facility that would keep me alive and well trained. I flexed my arms and waved at the camera. I must look like an idiot then.

“Name. Age. Place of Birth.” A woman voice programmed by the computer spoke loudly from the speakers just beside the gate.

“Keenan Lowes. I am now named Xerxes. 27 years of age. Place of birth is unknown although I grew up in LA,” I rolled my eyes. This is hopeless. What if some zombie came attacking me? I have my trusty shot gun but I barely have bullets for five.

“Confirmation complete,” the voice sounded again. “Virus scan initiating.” There was a loud buzzing sound and red lights scanning me from head to toe. I felt a bead of sweat roll down my brown hair. I gulped and clutched the metallic foil tighter in my hip where the blondie bit me five years ago. I hope this works.

The light turned green and I sighed in relief. The metallic doors opened with a loud sound that hurt my ears but I’m too excited to notice. I stared ahead as the doors revealed the long sanctuary built just for humans… like me.

I entered the facility almost immediately and looked around me. I saw shops and a plaza ahead. People looked too laid back here. Too laid back. They seem not to care if some zombies suddenly breeched the walls. The answer came sooner than I thought. I zombie came gurgling towards the entrance constantly dropping over some rock, his flesh sliding down his face. I grimaced as I was to take my shot gun and position it to shoot when series of gun shots erupted and the zombie fell back, three bullets burst his head and brains come flying around.

I felt sick.

The people cheered and blessed the massive wall in front of them before returning to their activities of daily living. Huh. Well, that was easy. It was never that easy from outside the wall.

  I put the shotgun back in my old backpack and continued moving. The stores looked well stocked and happy merchants rant on and off about their product. To me, the setting is like the market places in old India. The stalls are supported a tarp just outside their houses. Busy buyers bumped into me occasionally, wearing shirts and pants. They don’t even seem to carry any weapons. That counts as weird because I would never go without mine.