A Zombie Story: Pushing Through the Madness

At a quick pace, I jogged through the barricades, taking note of where I was. Nearing the cafeteria, I came across a dying man. He was torn up pretty bad, and covered in blood. My conscience told me to stop, but my brain told me to keep moving. Jiminy Cricket won this time. I took a knee next to the wounded man, and tried to comfort him. Clutched in his right hand was a rosary dripping with blood. Taking out the pen light on my chest rig, I shined the light on his face. The man looked up at me and smiled. He needed no words to tell me what he wanted me to do. I unholstered my side arm and put the barrel of the gun to his head. I’m no priest, and I’m definitely not a saint; I don’t even know if I believe in God anymore, but regardless of what I believed, I recited his last rites. It was the least I could do for this poor soul. I had no oil to anoint him with, but I was sure that God would understand this time.

“And thus do I commend thee into the arms of our Lord of Earth, our Lord Jesus Christ, preserver of all mercy and reality, and the father creator…”

As I finished, I sent him on his way to be with his god. His soul would at least be at peace, and away from this hell that we were all trapped in. I’ve never been a spiritual man, and I don’t know if I believe in it anymore, especially when I’ve see the demons that man has created, but to people like that man, there has to be something greater for them to believe in, and to have faith in.  I don’t even know what I believe in anymore. Pushing those thoughts out of my head, I continued on finding myself in a grand room. A statue of the goddess Athena stood in the center of the room. The floor lights at her feet made her stand out majestically. In her right hand she held a white owl, and in her left was a golden battle ax with mystical etchings in its design. I had never seen such craftsmanship this remarkable. Flanked on both sides of Athena was the great titans Echidna and Typhon. I never knew that paying attention in Greek mythology class would pay off.

Making my way to the other side of the room, I noticed a trail of blood on the floor. Following it, I found myself in another room. On the walls hung portraits of men neatly lined up on both walls. Above me were great chandeliers dimly lit. The soft glow of the chandeliers gave the room an eerie look, which made me more alert. As I continued to follow the blood trail a thick irony odor struck my nose. The smell was pungent and deterring. If death had a smell, then what I smelled would definitely be it. The lights of the chandeliers began to fade a little, but just enough for me to see what was in front of me.The blood trail ended abruptly and I took a step forward. The sound of my boots hitting a puddle alerted me to the floor again; I was standing in a pool of blood.

Grabbing the pen light off my chest rig again, I shined the light ahead of me. Bodies were littered everywhere. This wasn’t the work of those monsters, but by men. It was a massacre. Impact points from bullets scattered across the room. The sound of bullet casings clanking reverberated off the walls as I walked through the room. The faces on the bodies were that of terror. Whoever did this didn’t want anyone to leave.

From behind me came a noise that sent a chill up my spine, and stopped me dead in my tracks. Before I could turn around, something large tackled me into the ground. Rolling away, I got up on my feet quickly and unslung my rifle. Attached to the guard rail was a surefire flashlight, and I turned it on and immediately scanned the room.b My light stopped on three snarling infected behemoths.

“God damn it!” I exclaimed as I turned and began running. The light from the chandeliers had all faded away, and in front of me was black, the color of doom. Behind me, furious roars echoed and shook me body, but I didn’t stop running. Up ahead I saw a faint light and decided that my best bet would be to go towards the light.