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The groans of the undead kept getting louder, with the dragged footsteps slowly bringing the rotting corpses closer to his location. Edd covered his face, terrified and repulsed, bile slowly rising up his throat due to the stench of the decay. Frantic scratches upon his door were heard, and he shot upright looking frantically for a way out. However, his thoughts turned to the unbearable pain he was soon to discover, considering that the cadavers didn’t merely bite to infect like the movies.
Panic gripped his core as he closed his eyes, tears flooding down his cheeks. He dug his fingers into the carpet below, trying to ground himself. The scratches were getting louder, as if the bodies were digging their nails deeper into the wood grain. Soon the scratching turned into pawing, most likely their fingernails peeled off due to the repeated action.
He was stalling, he had to get out. He had fled into his room, both for protection and comfort once he heard the calls of the dead. Shakingly he forced his bodyweight upon his dresser in front of his door. Effectively blocking both his way into the hallway, and the zombies (if you could call them that) into his room. A window was by his bed, yet he hadn’t dared to check outside after pulling the curtains shut. Afraid to be seen he opened a tiny sliver and saw the white snow upon the ground, with just a few silhouettes drifting to and fro.
‘What to do? Come on, think Edd, you’ve played video games and watched movies, what do the main characters always do?’ his mind raced, trying to devise a plan behind his eyelids. He huffed and knocked his head against the side of his wall, nothing coming up. “There’s nothing I can do, I’ve blocked my way to get out the front door, and who knows what’s waiting out in the living room for me.” He moved his way over to his drawing desk, supplies thrown aside in a frenzy from his earlier panic. Gently sliding his touch across everything that brought him joy, a cold something brought his attention.
A melancholy smile slid across his face as a picture frame held a photo of his little friend group; Matt holding a wobbly smile, his arm flung loosely around Edd’s shoulders, Tom forcefully pushing against Tords onslaught of pokes, Edd’s eyes crinkled in joy. The picture was taken at the grand opening of the new amusement park, Funland, right after they had rode the ‘Stomach Inverter’. In record of its name, Matt nearly threw up as Tom screamed like a little girl. Edd could recall how much his stomach hurt from laughing when Tord kept teasing their eyeless friend.
Flopping down upon his mattress, photo pressed onto his chest, Edd closed his eyes. Soon the clawing was distant to him as he tried to relive his most favourite moments. A protruding memory stuck out at him, pestering him to review over it. As much as he didn’t want to fret over anything else but the impending doom soon to fall upon him, Edd pursed his lips and brought the idea up.
“What would you guys do if there was a zombie apocalypse, or some kind infection that raged upon the land, killing any and everything in its wake?” Tord brought up one evening while watching Edd play Silent Hill in the living room.
“Dude, what is wrong with you?” his eyebrows knitting together in frustration, Tom softly kicked Tord’s back. Huffing, Tord made no effort to get off the floor or move away from the couch.
“It's just a hypothetical, I wanted to see what we would all do.”
“Hmm, I think I would make a spaceship and head to Hawaii so I could enjoy myself and be on an island far away.” crunched Matt, his words muffled from the cereal he was shovelling into his mouth.
“You dumbass, you don’t make a spaceship to go across the world.”
“Well why not, it's fast and if it can get me in space then it can get me to the beach.”
Tom groaned in annoyance, running his hand down his face grumbling just loud enough to be heard from Edd sitting beside him, “I live with idiots.”
Sensing his growing frustration, Edd picked up the conversation. “Calm down Tom, I mean Matt does have a point.”
“See I was right, a spaceship could get you to Hawaii-”
“No, what I was going to say was that going to an island wouldn’t be such a bad idea. If you really think about it, you could get supplies and get far enough, you could escape the possibility of being infected.”
Tord shifted, his own way of nodding as he was too busy being a lazy slob to get up and sit in a chair. “I mean, it's not a bad idea, but what if your supplies run out, or something happens where animals can get infected?”
“If that happens then I guess we will have to turn into vegetarians.”
The group all made a noise of disgust before laughing at the shared response. Focusing on the game again, Edd jumped at a Wormhead appearing in his view before pausing it in frustration. He took a few moments to catch his breath then turned his attention down to his controller. “Guys.”
The three boys hummed in response, their ears and attention onto Edd at his inquiry.
“What if there was something that came up where we had to run and hide? Like, a zombie apocalypse that happened out of nowhere without us knowing until the situation finds us.”
“I thought we just answered that question.” Tom answered, his nonexistent eyes focused on his chipped nail polish.
“No, not like that. A real situation, where we only had the resources we have now.”
Tord raised his head off the floor, his chin being propped up by his fist. “Maybe you should take a break from the game, Edd. You look worried.
“Don’t worry nothing like that would ever happen, plus I’ve got enough guns to defend us all. But, in that situation, I would like to think that we could get into the car and escape to some country-side, stopping at places and stores to get as much food as we can. Maybe stop at that amusement park just to steal some of the prizes they refused to give us.”
Nodding furiously, Matt straightened up with fire in his eyes, “ I still don’t understand why they didn’t give me anything, I won fair and square.”
“Probably because you made a whole bunch of kids cry.” Tom chuckled a bit at the incident.
“It’s not my fault that I’m better at ring toss than they are.”
Edd smiled a fond smile at the memory, he had to spend all of his money to pay for all the kids to get a small prize so their parents would stop from getting them kicked out. Towards the end of the day, the other three boys got Edd a Coca-Cola stuffie he was eyeing in a claw machine as an apology.
“Okay, so we would go to Funland during a zombie apocalypse.”
All of the boys agreed on the sentiment, before heading into another conversation about the idea of Godzilla rampaging upon the United Kingdom.
Waking up from his dream-like stance, Edd sat up rubbing sleep from his eyes. The scratching upon his door was strangely absent, as if it never happened. The only evidence was the dresser still blocking the door from invading forces. Taking a deep breath Edd sprung forth his plan into motion.
Trying to make as minimum noise as he could, Edd moved the dresser just far enough for him to squeeze through the door frame. Checking before he left his room, he grabbed a backpack and shoved some items in it, including the photo. He would have to look for Ringo along the way, as it seemed she wasn’t in his room.
Taking a deep breath to steel himself he checked the hallway before sprinting to Tord’s room. Shutting the door behind him quietly he locked both the knob and the two hatches above it. It never occurred to Edd why Tord wanted to ensure he had enough privacy to warrant two extra locks. Yet, he fully understood the reason as he traversed to the far corner of the room.
Opening the closet, the small space was full of guns and other weapons that are proven to be useful in the heat of war. Edd didn’t know half about guns, other than how to aim and shoot, and he didn’t care to know anything else. Grabbing everything he saw, he threw all different kinds of shells into his bag, not caring what kind they were used for. Making sure the guns were loaded but set onto safety mode, he placed handguns into his front pocket of the backpack. Flinging four long guns, two across each shoulder, he stood up.
The added weight took a little to get used to, but he forced stability onto the balls of his feet. Listening through the door he deciphered some noise coming from the kitchen, he would have to pass getting any water or food. Opening the door, he crept his way to the garage and over to the car. He pulled at the handle of the driver's door, but it didn’t open.
His heart sank as his hands flew to his hoodie pocket, then to his pants pockets. No car keys to be found, meaning they were likely still on the coat hanger by the front door. Placing a hand over his mouth he began to gasp for air, his once dry eyes now becoming filled with tears and regret. Biting his tongue he forced himself back into sane judgement, and placed his belongings onto the stone floor beside the car. Pulling a handgun out of his backpack he flipped the safety off, and stepped inside the hallway once more.
Slowly walking, he passed the kitchen and made his way into the living room. No zombies were in sight, yet he did not reveal his back at all, keeping his butt on the wall no matter what. Whispering gently, he called out for Ringo, hoping to hear some kind of response from the cat. Scooting closer towards the front door he saw the coat hanger in view. Reaching for the keys, he grabbed onto the chain securing them.
A scream ripped through his being, something unworldly. He shoved the keys into his hoodie before flipping his head around, his gun brought up to his chest. A rattle reverberated through the house, like the sound of someone gurling their own mucus in their lungs. Edds heart raced as terror took hold of him, as a beast of flesh took up nearly all of the space in the living room. A substance leaked through its numerous pores, soaking into the carpet with the scent of decay and faeces. In the middle of the flesh was Ringo, fused into the body, her eyes stuck in a glassy haze, mouth open in terror. Edd screamed in horror, not caring to give away his location. He was already spotted, what more did it matter, that thing could survive through all the bullet holes the handgun would make.
Screeches filled the houses, followed by running footsteps. He wasn’t being followed anymore, he was being hunted. That alone made every fibre in Edd’s being switch into overmode as he raced back into the garage, flung all his supplies in the back of the car and hit the garage button. Not waiting for the door to be open all the way he frantically switched the gear into reverse and drove through the lawn, hitting his mailbox. Switching the gear once more he floored the gas and took off to the highway, never once looking back.
With no other cars in sight he parked off the side of the highway and began to cry hysterically, he was safe now. Everything was ripped from him, his house, his cat, his friends, and his joy. It was useless now, nothing could stop him from settling a bullet in his skull to save him from the pain of being ripped wide open and feasted upon. No one could comfort him with soft licks on his hand, or share jokes anymore.
Yet, he still had some hope left. “They are still out there.” he whispered looking up at the unforgiving blue sky. There was still some life left in the country and if he could find Matt, Tom, and Tord, maybe he would survive. Pressing the heels of his hands into his closed eyes, he forced himself to think of that morning.