This is the first part of my friend Ross's zombie story. The original posted on Deviant Art.
http://stinkyfranki.deviantart.com/art/Left-2-Die-Part-1-106922642All I could hear was the tapping of my feet as I ran. The road was slick from the rain. It had been pouring down only a few hours before. The sun had gone down around the time that it stopped. Every few steps I would land in a puddle, splashing water in all directions. It was dark. There was no sound, no crickets, no wind, and no life. The world was dead. And all I could listen to was the noise that my feet made.
My breathing was becoming heavier. I had to stop soon or I would collapse, but I couldn't stop. If I did, something could happen. My gun bounced up and down as I sprinted down the street. The bag I carried shifted. I adjusted quickly as I moved. I kept a close watch on each of the streets I passed. I had to stay aware. No matter how tired I became I couldn't fall asleep. I had to keep moving. Where to? I didn't know. I just had to keep going.
I pulled my gun from my back. I slipped out the rifle's clip and checked the bullets. I only had a few more shots left. If I didn't find a weapon's outlet soon I'd be done for. A drug store also wasn't a bad idea. If I found some anti-drowsiness pills I would last longer. I had to stop sometime. It would be better if I took a break in a gun shop rather than out in the open.
Quickly I stopped running. I ripped my pack off of my back and got out two items, a map and flashlight. I put my hands around the light to cover it up form the sides. I then opened up the map. I scanned over the area of Denver. There had to be a store somewhere... I spotted one! I glanced at my surroundings quickly to make sure I was alone then back at the map. The drug and ammunition stores were almost side by side. Silently I shut of the flashlight and folded up the map. Putting them both away again I headed east to my destination.
After another solid hour of running I made it to the heart of Denver. As much as I hated heading to the heart of things, it was the only shop close enough. The place was a mess. All of the shops' windows were broken. Car littered the streets. I might have checked the cars, but it would have attracted things I did not want to attract. Even though no one was around I didn't want to test that fact. I was grateful for my loneliness. Up to this point I had been very lucky to not find many people. Though that fact also scared me. Where was everyone? With a population the size of Denver I should have been swarmed a long time ago. Were they hiding and waiting to strike? At this point I was hoping that my enemy wasn't smart enough to formulate such a plan. At any rate getting into the shop and getting out of town would be the best course of action.
I climbed in through the door's broken glass. My shoes crackled as I walked across the broken glass. Cautiously I checked every inch of the shop. I looked in every nook and cranny. Hell, I even checked the ceiling! There was nothing in the drug store. All I found has some knocked over shelves and drugs scattered across the floor. In my explorations I also found a phone, but I was saddened to find that the line was dead. I tried looking through the bottles stroon across the floor. The only bottle I found that actually still had pills in it was pain medicine. I grabbed it anyways. Even if I didn't want to stop any pain I could use it to commit suicide by overdosing. I just hoped that it didn't come to that.
I then went back out of the shop. Making sure there was no one around I crossed the street to my next stop. The gun shop was about the same. If I had any luck left there would at least still be some rifle ammo left over. I was pretty sure that the place would have been cleaned out by locals already. Once again I made my way inside. I sulked my way to the back of the store. As I went along I looked around with my flashlight. As I had suspected the place was bare. There was only a box of shells on the counter next to a computer. I walked around the back of the counter. My mouth almost fell open as I found that it was not only shells, but a shotgun too. My luck had definitely increased.
As I was loading up the gun I noticed something to my left. The monitor’s power light was blinking. There was no way in hell a computer could still be running! It had been at least eight or nine months since the last power generators had shut down. But as I thought about it the light blinked on. So instead of reasoning with logic I pushed it. The monitor immediately clicked on. My eyes widened as I saw what was on the screen. "Evacuation in 56:42"
It couldn't be true. Everyone else was dead. There was no one left. I had accepted that there wasn't going to be any rescue. Each minute I stared at the clock it decreased by one. This could not be happening. Not only had there been a new gun on the counter but now that was some mysterious computer claiming to be an evacuation! There was absolutely no way I was going to be fooled by some stupid computer. I decided to ignore the message and search on. As soon as I had cleaned the store out I was leaving. And that was final!
I found a door leading to a basement behind the counter. I quickly forgot out the computer and searched some more. As fast as possible I went through each item in the basement. I could be attacked at any moment and in the basement I'd be pinned down. But as I went deeper into the basement I heard a sound. It was a sound I hadn't heard in quite some time. I moved closer to it. It didn't sound like anything harmful. It was more of an electric noise. Almost as though there was something running. Maybe it was a generator. If it was it would explain that whole computer incident upstairs. As I moved closer it became more apparent that it was a generator. It sounded very old, but at least it was working.
As I rounded the last corner my flashlight met with it. An old dusty one sitting up against a wall. As I observed the machine I noticed a panel on the wall. It seemed to have many switches on it. Above the panel was a large sign stating "DO NOT TOUCH". I realized that it would be foolish to disobey the sign, but I just wanted to turn on the basement lights. If I shut the door to the basement the light wouldn't attract anyone. Then I could peruse the downstairs with ease. It would make my job go so much faster.
I put my bag and rifle down next to the generator. I then made a dash for the door with my shotgun and flashlight. As soon as I got to the door I checked outside the shop for any people. After that I looked in the shop for roof access. If I was attacked that would be the best spot to go for. I found a ladder leading to a trap door for the roof. I made sure to remember the spot and then headed back down. Once next to the panel again I started to read of the labels above the switches. There were eight switches. Six had labels that clearly stated areas of the building that didn't deal with the basement. The other two switches labels were scratched. Damn! One had to turn on the basement lights. I sat thinking for a moment on the consequences.
"No, the upstairs light switch isn't listed either! Do I really want to risk being spotted for connivance?" I asked myself as I stood there thinking. If I turned on the wrong switch it would all be over. But then again, there was a small chance that the upstairs lights were broken by whoever put the generator and computer there. It did seem plausible that they would do that for stupid people like me. Though if they did, why not just simply right the labels back in. It was all too confusing and there were too many things that could go wrong. I couldn't do it. I had to be smart and not get caught.
I lifted my pack and through it on my back. I also slung my rifle over my back and headed back to the basement door. As I walked away I felt a resistance, as though my pack had caught on something. I turned around just in time to see the switch click into its downward position. I whipped out my flashlight and shined it one the switch. One of my bags straps had caught on the switch when I was throwing it on. I looked at which switch it had caught on.
"****!" I yelled. As my light hit the label it plainly read. "Rooftop Lights"
With amazing speed I flipped the breaker back off. Hoping that no harm was done I dashed for the upstairs. I got outside the shop just in time to see a large mass of people in the distance. From the looks of it they were moving pretty slow. I kept my cool and pulled out a grenade from my pack. I was just about to pull the pin when I realized something. Grenades produce light, which would only bring more of them. I would have to hold off on the explosions. I ran back into the shop and up the ladder. I pushed on the trap door, but it wouldn't budge. What the hell?! Why hadn't I tried the door before I made it was escape route?
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