Into The Dead

A disgusting squelch rustled as I thrust my kitchen knife into the head of one of them.

The body whose head was stabbed fell to the floor with a dull thud. However, such noise merely attracted more of them.

Seems like I can't rest yet. I thought of that as I ran through the hallway where only the moans of those flesh-eating monstrosities echo.

Was it scary? Obviously. But I couldn't stop. I couldn't die yet.

Before I noticed it, only one of them remained. One of them who's feasting on someone else's flesh as if it's a five-star meal.

Having heard the sounds of the rest, it stopped its feast and slowly turned its head towards me. An action that made a slight shock run through my body.

As it ran towards me, I steeled myself and held the knife with one hand, planning to dodge his grab while stabbing his head from the side.

When my plan worked, it-

No, he fell on the ground as if he was still alive a moment ago. An eerie silence followed after.

When I observed his face, and his body, he can be without a doubt called a human. But I didn't hesitate, moreover, I didn't feel anything when he fell lifelessly to the ground.

Because I know that…

They're not humans anymore.

◇◇◇

Turning back the clock for a bit, it all started on a wonderful morning.

"Whu- Wha!?"

I woke up in a pleasant morning. It was a loud gunshot that brought me back from the dream world.

There were a lot of different noises outside, from the people shouting atop their lungs, the rotors of the helicopters flying around, and finally, the reverberating gunshots all over the streets.

Sweeping away my window's curtains, the sunlight immediately assaulted my eyes and the moment I opened them, it felt like my eye sockets would almost pop out.

"W- what the hell is going on!?"

Several buildings near my apartment are smoking, and the helicopters that I heard earlier are either flying while blasting with their machine guns or they're hovering over the rooftops of buildings. 

If someone were to look at it like I'm doing, it would look like a war is happening. But my gut tells me that it's something way worse than that. 

Unfortunately, my fears were founded when my gaze dropped below the streets. A mother and daughter duo were panting while seemingly running for their lives. 

The mother looks pretty young while the daughter looks like a pre-schooler. I wondered what was happening while following them with my gaze until they reached an intersection.

"No!"

I shouted with my eyes in horror. A man covered in blood pounced on the mother and devoured her face. He fell on top of her, dragging her daughter along as they were holding hands.

"...run...!"

"Mom!"

The mother let go of her daughter's hands and meekly told her to run away, tears drooping along her cheeks.

The daughter froze on the spot when she saw all the blood and began to cry herself. However, the mother's lifeless eyes could no longer watch her daughter. I tried to let out another shout but no sound managed to escape my lips.

When the mother stopped moving, the bloody man stopped eating her and turned to the little girl. But more than that, the mother also stood up. But she had the same eyes as that man. With those injuries, it's common sense that one wouldn't stand casually like that.

The two then began to move towards the little girl but I immediately closed the curtains so I wasn't able to see what happened afterwards.

"Blurgh! Haah!"

I puked. My head was spinning, I couldn't hear anything for the moment and my whole body felt numb. Imagining what happened to the little girl only made my condition worse.

My body sloppily fell back to my bed. I had a hard time collecting my thoughts. A mother and daughter were murdered I was reserved in the front seat to witness it.

No, they weren't just killed. They were eaten.

Eaten?

A thought came to me but the sound of someone banging my door interrupted it.

Slowly approaching the door, I looked through the hole while speaking lightly.

"Wh- who is it...?"

However, when I looked through the peephole, my senses were stimulated all at once as I saw another one of them.

"Arrghh!"

A man with his mouth open, his teeth and gums seem to be rotting as the reek assaulted my nose. He creepily moaned an all-familiar sound.

I fell back onto my butt in fear, quickly covering my mouth with my shaking hand. But my limp body made it hard for me to stand properly.

Fortunately, my survival instincts that were honed in my childhood kicked in and I somehow found the strength to check all my locks. I also dragged the small table shelf from the bathroom and used it to block my door.

The guy who was banging on my door didn't stop but I ignored him and made my way to the living room. Turning on the TV, the news channel immediately appeared even though I rarely use such a channel.

The words spoken by the reporter affirmed my fears.

"This is being broadcast on an emergency channel. Right now, a strange phenomenon that is believed to be the result of an epidemic has made the cities fall into complete chaos.

"However, authorities urge citizens to calmly assess the situation and avoid panic. We advise everyone to stay in their houses until further instructions are-"

"Please run! They're already at the stairs! This place won't last much long."

The reporter, however, was interrupted by one of the personnel in their studio, the sound of gunshots echoed in the background. Seeing that, the reporter on the TV breathed and once again, faced in front.

"For anyone who is currently watching this. Please stay in your homes and be ready to protect yourselves. No, let me reiterate. Good luck, and please... don't die."

The reporter was cut off and the channel suddenly into a static display. I then turned it off to avoid making more noise.

"I see, it all made sense now."

I sat down heavily and held my forehead that is soaking with sweat. A dry and pathetic laugh escaped my mouth. Everything fell into place.

Those things... From the one who went after the mother and daughter. And then, the one who is currently banging on my door...

It's a template scenario, one you could see often in movies.

"Zombies..."

That's the best way you can describe them. Those zombies are the former humans who turned into flesh-eating monsters.

Help won't come. That's what I believed. I don't have much reason to reinforce that belief but with everything that I've witnessed, that's very likely.

It's also something that happens all the time in zombie movies. Common sense might not be enough to look at this situation.

"Hah... Hahahaha!"

A fiction becoming reality? It's a funny thought. But it's real. Everything was.

The blood, the deaths, everything was real.

With such thoughts, my eyes naturally moved to my kitchen countertop. A knife stand was present there.