2 Encounter

Crickets chirped. Birds tweeted. The gentle breeze shook the grass, making it sway and make a soft "whooshing" noise. Water from the little stream trickled and followed it's set path. It was peaceful. Laying in the bright green grass, was a mangled, smoking car. Noise rattled around the innards of the vehicle. The door creaked open, and Max flopped out with a grunt. A loud, painful squelching noise made him clench his teeth. It was his poor leg. Broken and bleeding badly. The beautiful grass was stained with red now.

"M-My leg…" Max groaned, looking at his surroundings.

Behind and above him was the road, built atop the hill he was at the bottom of. The guardrail was smashed through and tire marks slid down the hill until reaching the remains of his car.

"Hello? Anyone? I-I need help!" Max called out.

No response.

His leg throbbed with unbearable pain, blood gushing from the wound. With the last of his strength, he climbed back into the crumpled car and found a cloth, which he wrapped around his mangled leg. The bleeding was stopped for now, but he had to get to a hospital. He scrambled for his phone. Destroyed, no luck. With his leg in its condition, Max wasn't going anywhere, so he got comfortable and tried to sleep. He was woken by the sound of gunfire ringing in the air, followed by a chorus of screams. There was nothing he could do, but listen until it stopped, and sleep. The next morning came in no time. For a second, Max was so relaxed he almost forgot he was sleeping in a destroyed car.

"I can't wait here any longer...I need to get to a hospital…" He told himself and sat upright with difficulty.

The pain in his leg wasn't as agonizing as it was yesterday, but it was sure as hell still there. However, it had ceased enough that he could actually stand.

"Hello?! Anyone?!" Max called out once more.

Still no response. He sighed and slowly limped away to find help. He tripped and fell flat on top of the trickling stream. His leg seared with pain.

"Come on….get up...you can do this…" He told himself and pushed with vigor until he stood upright once more.

There was one noise he didn't want to hear, but it swirled through the air with the wind and tickled his eardrums. Moaning. The creatures were back. He whipped around in horror where he heard the foreboding noise originate. From within the trees, they hobbled out, their arms hanging down and their heads slanted backward. Some had fateful wounds while others had minor ones. Ripped clothing and rotting skin. Cold sweat trickled down Max's forehead as he watched them approach. More moaning from another direction directed his attention. He swiveled to where he heard it, to see even more coming his way.

"Craaap…." He groaned and quickly stumbled away.

He didn't know where he was going, he just had to get out of there. The beasts weren't as sluggish as Max thought they were. They were catching up fast. The smell of his fresh flesh and the noise he made riled them up, growling as they hurried after him. One caught him by surprise as it came from the side and tackled him.

"Gah! Get, the FUCK, OFF!!!!"

The two fought on the ground, the damn thing straining to wrap it's horrendous claws around him and have a snack, but Max wasn't giving up yet. He kept his hands firmly around it's wrists, restraining its reach. The others were catching up, he had to act fast. Taking a risk of being eaten, he took one hand off and reached for the closest thing. A sharp rock laid alongside him.

"Gah!!!"

Max drove the blade-like rock into the monster's mouth so hard, it tore right through and exited out the back of its throat. Blood splattered all over him, but that didn't stop the creature. It gurgled with blood in its mouth and kept reaching for him. Max shifted his arm and thrust it upward, skewering the monster's brain and going right through the top of the head. Blood exploded everywhere, and it went limp. It was finally dead. Max panted heavily, pushed the dead creature off of him and feverishly clambered to his feet. He was blood-soaked and exhausted, his vision blurring from the excruciating pain in his leg. He squinted and tried to focus, the moaning and growling growing around him. His vision cleared, and a fence came into view. This was it, he reached up and climbed over, just as the creatures caught up. He toppled to the ground on the other side, the monster's growling and banging against the barrier between them and Max. Barely able to move or see, he looked at his surroundings. It looked like a backyard, consisting of a table and some chairs, as well as a big tree on one side of the fence surrounding the place. The house looked empty, the lights were off and no movement was seen inside. But there had to be someone. Knocking on the glass backdoor did nothing. No one answered. Strangely, it was unlocked, and Max hesitated to enter. He needed the help, but what he was doing was against the law. After some pondering, he gave in and entered.

"Hellooooo? Anyone here…? I'm sorry I'm entering like this but I'm injured and need -" Was all Max got out.

He froze, and his jaw dropped. The place was trashed. Blood, everywhere. Chairs and tables toppled, cupboards open.

"What happened here…?"

"Don't move."

Max froze once more. He gasped as he heard a gun click.

"You're trespassing, buddy." The voice behind him growled.

"I-I'm so sorry. My leg is - "

"Hands up. Slowly."

Max complied.

"Turn around."

He complied once more.

Silence.

The man was in the shadows, so Max couldn't make out who he was. The only part unshadowed was his arm, which was holding the gun. The figure raised it completely and pulled the trigger.

"NO!!" Max screamed.

The bullet zoomed past and hit something behind him. One of the creatures stood still with a bullet hole in its head, it twitched and plummeted face first to the floor.

"Max…?" The figure exclaimed.

"You...know me?"

The figure stepped into the light. He was a man, about in his early 20's, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Scott…?" Max gasped.

"Dude! You're alive!!" Scott cheered and ran over to Max with a smile, giving him a bear hug.

"Holy crap! I can't believe we met up!" Max chuckled and returned the hug.

"These past couple days have been insane...I don't know what's going on…" Scott sighed and rubbed his neck.

"I know, this whole, 'virus' came out of nowhere, and now this…"

"No one knows what these monsters are. All people know is that they're people who died. Then they come back as one of those…"

"So...how's the situation being dealt with?"

"I don't really know, I heard the government is trying to kill them all, and apparently there's a safe zone in Marietta."

Max rubbed his forehead and exhaled softly.

"Should we head there?" He asked.

"Honestly yes. It's our best bet at actually surviving until this blows over. They got food, water and protection."

"How far is Atlanta from Marietta?"

"About 17 miles…If we drive we'll be in there in about 20 minutes, but no cars are working last I checked. Walking would take about 8 hours...but with your leg…"

Max looked down and sighed.

"We'll need a car. It's our best bet."

Scott nodded.

"There are a couple of abandoned ones outside, I doubt they work though."

"We'll just have to try. Come on."

Max hobbled to the door, but Scott stopped him.

"Hold on! We at least gotta fix your leg up a bit until we get to someone who handles that kinda stuff.."

Max sat down while Scott attempted to create a makeshift splint. It wasn't the prettiest, but it would get the job done. Max slipped it on and stood up. He could stand up straighter and didn't limp as much when he walked.

"Wow! This is a lot better than before! Thanks…" Max smiled and patted Scott on the back.

"No problem, I couldn't leave you in that state. Here." Scott tossed him A baseball bat, "For protection. Just in case." He winked.

Max rolled his eyes and the two friends officially entered the new world.