Once Bitten

It Finally Happens...

I wake up on land. The mud clumps my hair. I'm freezing. And I really don't want to move.

So, here's what my mind is giving me. My dad is dead. Yes. The doctor was never dead. In fact, he was that jerk Mr. B. But how? I guess... it is possible. I close my eyes again, and recap the last time I had seen Dr. Evera.

He was a lot skinnier. And nicer. Mr. B was using a fake voice before- I could easily recognize Evera's normally kind voice right before I fell. I remember... We were going to find food.

"Doctor! I found soup!" I held up an old, dented can. The doctor had smiled kindly, and nodded.

"Wonderful job, Ash. Your mother would be so proud." He had said. Dr. Evera dug through the rubble of an old store with a fourteen year old me. He suddenly froze, and I copied his movements. A huge hoard of zombies. I didn't have to think twice. We had reviewed this before. If we ever saw a hoard of zombies, we would both run the opposite way.

The doctor didn't run. He didn't follow me. I remember looking back. He had just started running. And he ran the opposite way. Into the hoard. And then I kept running, and told myself repeatedly- He's gone. You have to survive alone. You can do this.

I open my eyes again as I hear zombies near. I sit up as fast as I can. Oww... I grit my teeth against the pain and force myself to stand. I turn, and widen my eyes. Behind me now is a huge lake. In front of me is more zombies than I've ever seen. I still have my knife. My machete is long gone. As well as my backpack.

Clenching my fist around my knife, I take a deep breath, and go into the storm head on. They grab at me. They snarl. But I'm so mad I can't concentrate. It's annoying now. I gasp as one grabs my arm, and I take it's wrist, twisting the appendage until it snaps off. With a grunt, I stab into it's head, killing it.

I press on. Silently. I'm so covered with dirt and mud, it must be cutting off my scent from them. Only a few grab me now, and I shake them off easily. I finally reach the trees, and lean against one. The hoard moves on, and I can finally rest..

And then I feel it. The teeth sinking into my ankle. It hurts. Bad. I can barely contain my scream. My head snaps down, and my eyes shoot open. A zombie. Without legs, its intestines spilling out. And it's teeth into my ankle. How could I not have heard it?! How could I not have seen it?! Or even smell it?! I kick it off, and then widen my eyes.

Oh gods....

Even with the grey skin. The dull eyes. The blood, and lack of a lower body. I can remember this face. It's Jake.

"I'm sorry..." I whisper, and raise my foot, then slam it down. His head splatters. I slide down the side of the tree, and watch the bite. I'm going to die in twenty-four hours. There's nothing I can do.

Actually... I think twenty-four hours is long enough to track down that monster of a man Evera and kill him. Yea. It'll make my dad happy. And I'll be able to become a monster in peace. I can see where I fell from here. And not too far off from that is a light beacon. A safe place. Even now, I can see silouhettes moving around.

Evera is there. I know it. He has to be. I nod to myself, and stand, looking around. There's a hill, which I have to climb in order to get to the beacon. It'll suck since I have a bite, but hey. I don't have to worry about the zombies. They won't pay any attention to me. My skin will become grey. My eyes will go dull, and slowly blind. But my hearing will excel, and while my skin will start to fall off in chunks if I get even a tiny wound, I'm determined to get to Evera. I don't care about death. What do I have to live for?

I think of my plan as I walk, and see a zombie that must have been a survivor, because he has a gun. A small pistol. I swiftly take it, only earning a growl from him. There's two bullets left. And my plan is suddenly formed.

I'll attract the zombies to Evera. And then I'll shoot myself in the head before I become a monster.

And suddenly, I'm walking up a hill with a gun, a knife, a zombie bite, and a huge grin.