I am exhausted. My body and fingers are numb. But I had enough strength to sit up and look around. I was in an small compact room full of medical equipment. The whole room was in total disorder and there were small splatters of blood on the counter to my right. I stretched and groaned a bit. No pain, just tiredness. I tried to stand up, but I could feel my chest being crushed by exhaustion and blood rushing to my head. I groaned as I stood. Reaching up to my head, I scratched my... long hair? I was surprised. I had long flowing hair, but as I remembered I had a shaved head. I walked forward to the door infront of me, then something tugged my arm back. Looking at my arm, I saw needle in my arm that is attached to an empty bag of I.V. that is hanging on the stretcher I was resting on. My skin was pale white. I was shivering in the cold.
Next thing, I found out that I was naked and wearing a patient's apron. I looked around for clothes, but saw none. Just a really tore up police uniform I was wearing... yesterday? I couldn't remember what happened to me. I looked down saw a GLOCK41 semi-auto pistol on the floor. My police issued gun. I picked it up and found that the holster for it has disappeared. Its 13 round magazine is still full. I couldn't walk out naked, but I knew I needed help. I took another step toward the door. "Gah..." I yelped at the pain in my arm. I forgot to remove the needle. I pulled it out and a small amount of blood squirted from my vein. I took a cloth from my shredded uniform and wrapped it around my arm. Next, I slowly opened the door. The sunlight blinded my tired eyes so badly that I had to shut it. The sun ray burned me. My vision started to return as the white light I been seeing faded slowly. Only to find out that I was alone...
The streets were littered with trash. Cars were abandoned. A couple of trucks were in a wreck and one of them was burnt up. A few crows cawed and flew over in the sky. The sky is painted orange-red by the sunset. I felt a small gust of wind and saw a piece of paper caught by the breeze. Then as I looked to the concrete floor, I saw several corpses on the floor rotting. A crow was on a female corpse plucking its eye out. I gasped and stared at her stomach. It was gone and blood covered her. She had no eyes for it was eaten and her chest was bitten away. Her teeth mangled and rotted black. She stared back at me with an empty face, and the thought of it nearly made me hurl. But I still need to continue on. I looked behind me and found out I was in an ambulance vehicle all this time. I walked forward with no proper clothing and a pistol in my right hand. No one to find. No one to seem to call for. No one that is alive.
For a few hours I walked bare footed. I kept seeing a corpse here and there. All were eaten up by something or caused by some other death. I felt insecure. I had my pistol cocked and ready to fire at anything dangerous. I keep wondering what had happened. Los Angeles was usually a busy city. Not as busy as New York, but still was. Now it's a ghost town littered with trash, wrecked vehicles, and countless numbers of corpses. I yearned to call for someone and yell out "Help!", but something stayed my voice from calling out. I sense something lurking from the shadows.
It is getting darker and the sun is half gone. The temperature is also getting colder each minute. My heart raced and I did not feel safe anymore. I could feel someone or something watching me. Each step I took my strength returned, but my anxiety rose with it. As I weaved through the mass of cars and gave a reasonable distance away from the bodies, I looked around for a clothing store. Maybe I can shoplift without getting into trouble? I looked around. Mostly restaurants and fancy clothing. Especially women's clothing stores. They're everywhere. I needed regular clothes that I can actually work with easily. A pair of jeans or slacks would do nice.
I scanned my eyes from left to right. I went in each store and restaurant I pass by to find a light source or something to eat. I was hungry for anything good I can find, and desperate for a flash light or a box of matches. But all I found were decaying food and bits of crumbs here and there. And I only found dead batteries, which were useless. All the stores were almost empty or just half empty of items. I still wonder what had happened here. Was there an attack?
As I kept walking, I continued and prayed to find a place that I can scavenge and actually find something worth my while. Suddenly I stopped. Infront of me, there was a man just walking around in circles. Almost instantly, I picked up my pace and jogged to the stranger. I had so many questions in mind that needed to be answered. I need to ask him what is going on. Then I slowed my pace. Something isn't right. The man was just walking around in a circle for a while already. I stopped and gasped as I got a clear look at him. His brown eyes were faded by decay. The man's mouth was wide open. He opened and closed his mouth, making clicking sounds with his teeth. His arms hung low and legs were unstable, but still walking. His skin was deteriorating all over the body. That decaying, bony face looked to me and started walking slowly toward me. He shuffled step by step in a slow manner. The person growled a me and make it's clicking sounds with it's teeth. The creature walked closer to me and I aimed my pistol at him.
"Stop! Who are you? What's your name?" I demanded.
The man just growled as an answer and kept walking.
This isn't good... "Stop right there! I said stop! I'm the Police! Stop!" He didn't respond, but kept his pace.
So I did as what I'm trained to do. I fired the pistol into his heart. The man got knocked back a little and made a gurgling noise as his head drooped to the side. He simply looked back at me and continued his pace!
What is going on?! Why didn't he fall and die?
Next I shot him at his shoulder and his arm was decapitated! I yelled in dismay, feeling fear in my heart. I kept on shooting him, but none made him stop what he was doing. I shot him in the waist, the leg, and the pelvis. He just got knocked back and continued on every shot. So I emptied my whole magazine in that thing. The man fell to the floor. He slowly pulled himself up and kept his approach.
What is this creature?! Where am I? Am I in hell?
I fell back discouraged. He lifted his remanding arm to me and let out an unearthly yell. A gurgling lazy yell. I stared at him in shock. It started to descend upon me. His teeth and mouth opened wide ready to bite me!
I jumped to the sound of gunfire. The creature's head was blown by a pistol next to the temple of his head. He fell and stopped gurgling. I looked to where that pistol came from. A large, burly, and tough faced man who looks like in his 60's.
"Eat that, Hell Pig!" he roared at the dead creature, in a thick Russian accent.
He turned and looked at me and smiled. His face looked comical, but yet intimidating and tough with yellow teeth showing. He was growing facial hair and had a few scars on his face.
"Hello comrade!" he said.
I could hear his strong, burly, thick Russian accent in his voice. His voice fitted with his looks very well. He was a really buff Russian, but has a start of a pot-belly going on his stomach. He carried a SPAS-12 shotgun on his back and held a Makarov pistol that killed the man. He also carried a large bowie knife strapped to his left leg and an iron pipe tied with rope was slung over his back. He wore a heavy green jacket and combat pants. Also, he wore a knitted glove, with cut-off fingers, on his left hand. Beneath his unzipped jacket he wore a heavy, but durable SN-42 Soviet green armor. A couple of fragmentation grenades hung on the straps of his armor. And last, he carried a stuffed bag-pack.
"Are you so stupid, you couldn't kill zombie in head? HA HA HA!" He laughed.
I was at a loss for words. All I could say was, "Umm... thanks, I think."
He then took a glass bottle filled with clear water from his side-belt and gave it to me.
"Take sip! You look thirsty, da?" he said.
I took the bottle slowly and pulled the brown cork from its head. A blast of a strong odor from the liquor punched me across the face. I looked at the bottle, then to the Russian, giving him a questionable expression.
"Come on! It's good!" he insisted.
I gave him an awkward look. I was thirsty though. My mouth was extremely dry. So I took a swig of the substance. I flinched, coughed, and spat at the vile taste. "Blagh!!! What is that?" I asked.
He laughed. "Ah hahaha! Heh heh! It's good, da? It's good ol' vodka, my comrade! Now, don't drink too much of it though! It's mine! I don't let people drink it! But you are the exception..." He then paused a while then suddenly yelled at me, making me jump. "I felt sympathy for you!!!" he then laughed and took back his bottle and drank it like water.
I looked at him. "It's horrible."
Then he gave me a disappointed look. "What? You've never tasted vodka before? Maybe you didn't find its err... acquired taste! Oh well, maybe someday you'll drink with me hey? Ah heh hahaha!" He then reached his hand to me. I grabbed his hand and pulled me up.
"What is your name, Sir?" I asked.
"Boris!" he exclaimed. "Boris Andrei! I'm a Sargent in Russia! I'm Spesnaz. It's good to meet you comrade!" he shook my hand furiously.
"My name's Sargent Ridley James. Los Angeles Police, S.W.A.T. It's good to meet you too." I smiled.
"Hey hey now. Don't smile at me when your naked. The only thing you wearin' is an apron!"
I looked at myself. Almost embarrassed that I was naked the whole time. The only thing covering me was this old rag.
"Come now! We go to good men store for you, da? Haha." Boris said.
"I thought you'd never ask." I smirked.
So I followed him and I felt safer than before. I was glad that he saved me. The sun had set, but the orange glow of it still filled the sky. Boris randomly shot at the store's window with his shotgun. The window shattered and three people came out growling and moaning. I was startled that one was running. Boris shot the runner in the head and repeated the same to the other two.
"Wait! weren’t they alive?" I said.
He loaded shells in to the shotgun and pumped it. "Ha ha... you make funny joke." Boris looked at me as if I had a bad sense of humor.
"Then you murdered them?"
He looked weirdly at me and knew I was serious. "Well, it not murder if they are already dead." He said. "Oh yea... that reminds me..." He turned to the corpses and yelled with rage. "You’re dead now! But you were dead before!" he kicked the dead body. "Suka!" He then turned to me. "Those people is long dead probably. They all turned into zombies when they die. That's why you don't kill them like normal person. Shoot in head and it good!"
I was confused, "Then... if they are dead... how are they still walking or running?"
"Don't ask me. I'm no scientist or doctor."
I nodded and looked at the corpses with their blown up heads.
"Come come, droog! There is lots of clothing here! And no cross dressing! I hate those people..." And he shivered. "They creep me out."
I was confused. What did he call me? "Umm... what's a 'droog'?"
Boris turned to me and laughed. "Hahaha! It means friend! You need to know some Russian when you’re with me! And you need to learn how to drink VODKA!!!"
I paused for a second. "You're drunk aren't you?"
He laughed so loudly that my ears wanted to explode. "You are fucking funny! I like you, Ridley! And not in a gay-way! HAHAHA!!!"
I smiled at his humor and followed him into the store. Boris had his shotgun at the ready to make sure we won't get attacked. As I went in, I gave him my empty pistol and went through the cloths quickly. I got black trousers and a white T-shirt. And I opened a package of boxers and quickly slipped one on. Next I saw a black leather belt and grabbed it. I put on my trousers and yanked off the apron.
"Ne dvigatʹsya!!!" Boris yelled.
I just looked at him. I didn't know what he said, but I knew I shouldn't move. "Boris?... What's going on?" I asked.
He pointed his shotgun at my stomach and poked it. "Your wound. What kind wound it is?"
I looked at my stomach that was wrapped in a bandage with dried blood. I unwrapped the bandage and saw a scar. It was a small circular scar, which looks like I was punctured by something. I tried to think what happened to me, but I couldn't remember. Then a white light flash before my eyes and I heard a gunshot! But it wasn't from Boris's gun. It was from my memory that flashed through my mind. I remembered... "I was dealing with a criminal and he shot me." I answered.
He lowered his gun down. "Tak chto vy ne zarazheny etoyyu?" he asked in Russian.
I have no idea what he said. "English please, Boris."
"Oh, right. I said 'So you’re not infected by di- de- des- deisssease?'" He stuttered. "D... des.. diseos..."
"Disease?" I corrected.
"Yes! There you go!... That... Da."
"What Disease?"
"You don't know?" he said with a grave face.
I shook my head. He walked over to the cash register and said something in Russian, "Nezhit' Vi'rus." Then in English. "The most deadly disease in the world." He handed me a newspaper. The Nezhit' is what the headlines said.
"What is this?" I asked.
"Put on clothes, I meet you outside to talk about this. We shouldn't stay at one place too long since I used loud gun. It's not safe." He walked to the front of the store. When I heard 'Not Safe', I quickly tried to find any necessary clothing...
.
I walked out of the store ready and primed. Some hiking boots, black trousers, white T-shirt, and some black leather bike gloves. I walked to Boris standing just outside surveying the area. I look like a stupid bike-rider with long hair. "Hey Boris." I said.
He looked at me and smiled showing his yellow teeth and blowing me with his vodka breath. "Such smooth wear for an American who dresses so quick! Ty vyglyadishʹ kak ledi ugodnika!"
"What was that last part?"
Boris rolled his eyes and sighed, "I said, 'You look like lady pleaser.'"
"Oh, thanks. Let's go to a barber shop before we go anywhere else. This long hair looks stupid."
He just looked up at my long hair and laughed. "Alright, Ridley! Let's just shave you, hey? HAHA!"
"So what happened to the world? What is this virus, or err... disease? What is going on?"
Boris looked around and looked to me. "Come. I will tell you as we walk to hair shop. And then we head to gun shop. We need to find you weapons."