The Dead and the Restless (Completed with undergoing editing)

Chapter Two (Edited)

Even though my group had previously cleared out all the fallen bodies and hospital beds, we couldn't wash away the blood. Dried splatters coated the walls along with gunshot holes, the shells left to decorate the floor. Whether they had hit their intended target, it was too hard to tell. All the damage and bodies made sense; the hospital was a large building with many rooms and was the go-to place when the virus hit. Before major outbreaks like this everyone went to the hospital and once people started turning into flesh-eating freaks, people didn't know how to react. That's probably were most of the first fatalities resulted from when shit first hit the fan. Whoever thought they were sick would go see a doctor. Then, the snapper's infected the doctors tending to them before the doctors even knew better. Once they were infected, they infected others after they turned. It was a cycle of utter chaos that erupted throughout the globe.

At this point, I was just a girl trying to make it in a dead filled aftermath of a world that self-destructed.

The bodies, blood, and bullets were only one of the new everyday things one experienced in this world, but at least they were something you could adapt to. A snapper's stench was something that hit hard every time you first came in contact with it. Some smells were worse than others, luckily this one didn't burn my nostrils too bad. I wouldn't have to tie the bandana I kept wrapped around the loophole of my jeans until later.

As I continued down the hall, the smell became more intense, but I only had to kill three more snappers. I began to lose myself in the darkness, the small path of light harsh on my eyes. It wasn't until I was coming up to the last turn that I noticed barely flickering lights on the ceiling. For a second, I thought they were sunlight. That is, until I realized that there weren't any windows and in all the times I'd come before, that light didn't exist. This was odd. There's no way I would've missed even the slightest of light in here. Plus, the generators had to have been exhausted months ago.

I shook my head, dismissing the possibilities of why the lights would be on. There weren't any more survivors. Not around here at least and especially in this hospital. We'd been here before. We didn't see anyone and the rest of the building was probably overwhelmed with snappers.

A frustrated sigh escaped my lips. I probably just missed the lights before. Either way, I wouldn't find the answer because I was looking for a different solution. I'd just keep my guard up even more than it already-

As I turned a corner something collided with my instantly, the impact cutting off my thought and causing my machete to fly out of my grasp and my flashlight to fall from my teeth. With the whizzing sound of a throat gurgling from the creature that fell on top of me, I realized instantly that what was on top of me was a snapper. The lower half of its face was gone, leaving what was left of her tongue hanging out with loose skin around it to graze my cheek. My fingers wrapped around her brown hair that was full of knots trying to keep her from biting me. Through the darkness all I could make out were the red, soulless, puffy bloodshot eyes that bore into mine.

Her hands clasped my shoulder, digging into my worn jean jacket as I tried to hold her off. Her skin was so flaky and moldy that I nearly ripped her hair from her scalp. It took everything to stop from gagging as I pushed away thoughts of panic. The weight of her body pressed upon mine with more than I had thought, but I managed to shove her off for a few seconds. It was all I needed.

I scrambled away from her, feeling up the ground for the handle of my machete. Fingers clasped around my ankle as I kicked away, becoming more frantic by the second and cursing myself for letting my focus go.

Instead of the machete, I found my bag. My fingers practically tore it open as I made for the hunting knife, grasping the handle as I moved to make contact with her forehead. The blade slid through with ease, coagulated blood curdling from the entry wound as I pulled it out. Taking a breath, I crawled over toward where the flashlight barely shone and scanned the floor for my machete. Once I was again collected, I stood up and glanced over at the lump on the ground.