one of Satan’s minions sent to eat my soul. I threw the door open, not daring to take my eyes from it, when the wood panel at the bottom split open and erupted outwards.
There was my dog, Cat, coming through the door at me. Part of his face was gone, peeled away by a sharp piece of the wooden door. Blood and black ichor seeped from his jaws, now upraised in a feral snarl. His teeth were bloodstained and bared, and his eyes were alight with a hellish light. Whatever Cat was now, he sure was no longer my beloved dog. Further and further through the door he pushed, more and more flesh being stripped away by the wood, and I decided not to wait around. I turned and bolted out of the door, heading back towards the tracks. I heard Cat let out one more howl, louder and longer than any I had ever heard before, and became even more scared when I heard it answered by two others after, mere seconds apart from each other.
I made it to the tracks easily, and decided it would be in my best interest to keep myself armed. I did not want to draw attention to myself, so I left the pistol in my belt. I instead pulled the cane apart, holding the blade in my right hand, the metal shaft in my left. I swore under my breath, realizing my handicap with the missing eye. If anything came up on that side, I would be pretty much fucked unless I heard them first.
Crossing over Avenue G, I decided to stay on the tracks, figuring that I would be hidden better than if I took the main road. My in-laws lived almost exactly a mile away, and either route would get me there just as quick. I had gone about two hundred yards after crossing the road, the natural walls that rose on either side of the tracks now almost fifteen feet high, when I realized the folly of my decision.
I was running hard at that point, excitement and adrenaline kept my feet pumping. I wasn’t paying the best attention though. Finally looking up, I slid to a stop in the gravel beside the tracks themselves. There, about twenty feet ahead of me, was a group of them things. They were coming towards me, slowly, and must have been being drawn by the music. They were spread out pretty good, but the small herd had enough members to give me pause. I had already been spotted though, and my options were few:
Run back the way I came, back towards my home and the demon version of my loved pet.
Try and scale the ravine wall, thick with brush and near impassable.
Fight my way through the herd.
I chose the second. Mama didn’t give birth to a fool.
I dove into the brush on the right side, instantly feeling my hands start to get cut and bleed from the large thorns on the bushes I was trying to use for leverage. I could hear the zombies getting closer, and I wasn’t making good time up the hill. Finally making it to a clearer spot under a small tree, I turned back to look, leaning up against the high side of its trunk. The dead-heads were there below me, trying to follow. Thirty or so of them bastards were down there, grouped together and trying to climb over one another to get to me. Lucky for me, they didn’t seem too bright, and the thick brush impeded them from coming after me.
I spent a few moments to catch my breath, and than finished my climb.
Coming out of the bushes at the top, I was relieved to see that there was nothing in sight but the street and apparently empty houses. I took a deep breath and continued on my way.
A little while later, I had made it to Lakeview Avenue. There was my aunt’s house, dark and empty, on the corner, and from here I could see my in-laws house down the street. I smiled, relief washing over me. I had just started down the street when, in the distance, I heard a howl that I recognized easily. Cat must have made it through the outside door, and between my leg and my now bleeding hands, I was sure that he could track me easily. I broke into a run, trying to cover the distance as quick as I could.
As I came into the yard, I immediately noticed that there
There was my dog, Cat, coming through the door at me. Part of his face was gone, peeled away by a sharp piece of the wooden door. Blood and black ichor seeped from his jaws, now upraised in a feral snarl. His teeth were bloodstained and bared, and his eyes were alight with a hellish light. Whatever Cat was now, he sure was no longer my beloved dog. Further and further through the door he pushed, more and more flesh being stripped away by the wood, and I decided not to wait around. I turned and bolted out of the door, heading back towards the tracks. I heard Cat let out one more howl, louder and longer than any I had ever heard before, and became even more scared when I heard it answered by two others after, mere seconds apart from each other.
I made it to the tracks easily, and decided it would be in my best interest to keep myself armed. I did not want to draw attention to myself, so I left the pistol in my belt. I instead pulled the cane apart, holding the blade in my right hand, the metal shaft in my left. I swore under my breath, realizing my handicap with the missing eye. If anything came up on that side, I would be pretty much fucked unless I heard them first.
Crossing over Avenue G, I decided to stay on the tracks, figuring that I would be hidden better than if I took the main road. My in-laws lived almost exactly a mile away, and either route would get me there just as quick. I had gone about two hundred yards after crossing the road, the natural walls that rose on either side of the tracks now almost fifteen feet high, when I realized the folly of my decision.
I was running hard at that point, excitement and adrenaline kept my feet pumping. I wasn’t paying the best attention though. Finally looking up, I slid to a stop in the gravel beside the tracks themselves. There, about twenty feet ahead of me, was a group of them things. They were coming towards me, slowly, and must have been being drawn by the music. They were spread out pretty good, but the small herd had enough members to give me pause. I had already been spotted though, and my options were few:
Run back the way I came, back towards my home and the demon version of my loved pet.
Try and scale the ravine wall, thick with brush and near impassable.
Fight my way through the herd.
I chose the second. Mama didn’t give birth to a fool.
I dove into the brush on the right side, instantly feeling my hands start to get cut and bleed from the large thorns on the bushes I was trying to use for leverage. I could hear the zombies getting closer, and I wasn’t making good time up the hill. Finally making it to a clearer spot under a small tree, I turned back to look, leaning up against the high side of its trunk. The dead-heads were there below me, trying to follow. Thirty or so of them bastards were down there, grouped together and trying to climb over one another to get to me. Lucky for me, they didn’t seem too bright, and the thick brush impeded them from coming after me.
I spent a few moments to catch my breath, and than finished my climb.
Coming out of the bushes at the top, I was relieved to see that there was nothing in sight but the street and apparently empty houses. I took a deep breath and continued on my way.
A little while later, I had made it to Lakeview Avenue. There was my aunt’s house, dark and empty, on the corner, and from here I could see my in-laws house down the street. I smiled, relief washing over me. I had just started down the street when, in the distance, I heard a howl that I recognized easily. Cat must have made it through the outside door, and between my leg and my now bleeding hands, I was sure that he could track me easily. I broke into a run, trying to cover the distance as quick as I could.
As I came into the yard, I immediately noticed that there
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