Chapter 1: Still Standing

Chapter 1: Still Standing

Dean's eyes fluttered open to the sound of distant groans and the faint scent of decay. Confusion swirled in his mind as he tried to piece together the events leading up to this moment. His head throbbed with a dull ache, and his limbs felt heavy, as if weighted down by the gravity of the situation.

Slowly, he pushed himself up onto his elbows, his gaze scanning the desolate rooftop that stretched out before him. Broken concrete and scattered debris painted a bleak picture of the world beyond. But what had brought him here? The last thing he remembered was laying in the ground outside a mall with no hope of tomorrow.

Dean was 35 years old because of a motorcycle accident. Both of his legs were gone.

It's been 5 years since he became homeless. He lost all his money because of the surgery and has no relatives. He grew up as an orphan. Originally, he was doing fine with his salary as a sales agent. He could even buy a house which was fully paid off and a car that he loved as a kid, but because of the accident, he lost his job and the house, even the car.

because he wanted to feel young again, he bought a motorcycle which ultimately caused all this misfortune.

As he struggled to stand, flashes of memory flooded his mind. He remembered that when he was about to go to sleep; he found a bracelet a matte black beads and on the center of it was a clear glass bead that seems to hold the universe.

Because he hasn't eaten in a while, he thought of selling the bead and just put it in his hands and cover it with a dirty rag that he has and next thing he knows; he is now on a rooftop.

but one thing that he is certainly the smell of this awful stench is a dead corpse having been in the streets he doesn't know how many of his fellow homeless people die in their sleep and their body would just sit there for days even weeks especially in the winter.

but this smell is so Faul there must be at least hundreds of corpse to produce this smell. 

With a heavy heart, he rose to his feet, his muscles protesting the sudden movement. He stumbled forward, his senses on high alert as he scanned the horizon for any sign of life. But the city below lay silent, save for the occasional shuffle of the undead prowling the streets.

he didn't even notice that he could stand the legs that were not supposed to be there is there.

Fear gnawed at Dean's insides as he realized the gravity of his situation. Alone and surrounded by danger, he was faced with a choice: succumb to despair or fight for survival. With grim determination, he chose the latter, steeling himself for the challenges that lay ahead.

Then he realized that he was standing. He was stunned and couldn't believe it. A smile creep into his mouth. It was so wide that he felt his face tearing apart.

he could believe it and fall down he reach out his hands, tore his already rag like pants and keep touching his legs.

All the heaviness of the situations seems to fade as he directs all his focus to his legs, laughing crazily.

It felt like a dream and a nightmare combined, but he couldn't care less. His eyes were watery. He didn't know when was the last time he felt this way so he just kept on laughing.

then he finally calms down and notices that there is now a tattoo on his wrist.

He felt confused because he knew that he didn't have any tattoos. It's not that he didn't like them, it's because he hasn't found what he wanted to tattoo when he was still well off.

he knew that he couldn't have gotten them when he was homeless because he barely have any food to eat and must of the days he goes into the back of the restaurant dumpster to get his meal.

Now he wonders if he is still in his body. But even if he is not, he is just glad to be able to have legs again.

he saw the puddle of water on the ground just to check and make sure.

He walks but due to how long he hadn't walk his legs were still wobbling, so he took his time. Little by little, he reaches the puddle of water and sure enough; he is still in his original body.

the shrunken eyes and cheeks, the pale complication and the unshaven hair and beard.

He looks like he is about to die, but feels better than normal. He doesn't know if it has anything to do with him being able to walk again and the adrenalin hasn't worn off after seeing the destroyed city and the walking dead. 

but his excessive fascination with himself led him to disregard all those thoughts in his mind.

even if it is a dream, he wants to stay a little longer and feel the sensation of walking again.

So he walked around the rooftop and after he got used to walking, he ran around while he was doing this. He always had a crazy smile on his face.

if anybody sees this scene, they would think this guy is nuts and they would be right who would run around on the rooftop while dead corpses surround the bottom of the building.

a pale man, shrunken eyes and checks running around with no care in the world, while a crazy smile is on his face.

any normal person would think that he is crazy.

after a while, he finally run out of stamina and snap out of his happiness and reality sets in.

he breathing heavily and walked slowly to the edge to see the first sight he had seen.

But this time there is no heaviness on his shoulder, no grim thoughts of the past. All there is to his face is a smile, a wide smile 

He doesn't care if there is an army of undead and he doesn't care if they are here to eat him. All he cares about is he is standing.

he took a deep breath, and with a chuckle he murmured to himself

"I would rather die on my feet than live on my knees."