Peaceful. Despite all of the past days’ on goings, David had finally found something peaceful. His calves ached against the cool breeze and the sweat on his forehead was drying. Hands on his knees, he tried to slow his quick breathing, looking around to make sure the meadow was clear. Flowers in different hues of blue, pink and yellow freckled the green hillside. The particular hill he was on was steep and would temporarily thwart the ill-intended attempt of reaching him. When David finally realized he was alone, he collapsed to his back, laying supine. The sky was a deep blue, like the ocean. Stars glittered plentifully and brightly, like stains on a carpet floor. Like stains on a carpet floor.... David closed his eyes, and, for the first time in three days, fell into an almost restful sleep. Laughing. The high-pitched bubble gum giggles of a little girl who had no face, no name. But a smile nonetheless. Her spiral blonde curls were soft against his neck as she hugged him, then her small warm hand slipped into his and the faceless girl told him all about her day. She learned about letters. She was taught how to write. David stares at the girl, who is asking what was for dinner, and wonders who she is. He wonders why she was talking to him as if they knew each other. But more importantly he wonders why he loves her so much. But right at that moment, a dark, grey, dead hand slips out of an alley and snatches her away. David awoke with a strange sensation of water on his face. He lifted a finger to his cheek and felt the wetness, then brought it out to see. It was a tear. He got to his feet and took in his surroundings. To his right there was a thick forest. To his left was a lake. He knew from his long journey not to trust lakes. The monsters emerged from there as well... Well, he thought, I should build shelter. Collect food. Somehow get some water before the monsters get me. First things first, I need to make a shelter. He took his trusty axe, bloody from his past battles, and headed off to the forest. The trees loomed darkly over him, green and tall. Working nimbly, he began hacking at the branches. It took half a day’s work, but eventually he had enough branches to make a small fence. He hiked up the hill and placed the wood in a pile where he’d slept. David continued this process until the wood was spilling off the sides of the hill. He decided to start building right away, and would get more branches when he’d run out. He used the axe to dig small holes in the ground and staked the branches into them. He used skinnier, more flexible branches and weaved them through the branches in the ground. One side done, he thought. By the time he finished it was midnight. His arms burned from the lactic acid and his thighs did as well, but he felt proud of the project. In the center of the square fence, he laid down and fell asleep. Laughing. The laughing once more. Wait, something was off. In his dream-like state, David noted the slight, chilling echoes the small girl’s giggles gave off. Swirling clouds were peaceful, sparingly sprinkling a sunny sky. They moved slowly, graceful, swaying lightly to the notes of the girl’s chilling laughs. Suddenly the child’s innocent laugh was loud, loud, ear-shredding loud. High pitched, blood curdling screams were tearing at David’s ear drums. The sky turned black and began raining, no, pouring blood. Why didn’t you save me? “What?” David called out, jumping to his feet on the meadow, the blood-rain beating down. I could’ve lived. This is all your fault. “Who are you? Why do you haunt my dreams?” It’s all your fault. I could have lived. There was a pause. You betrayed me. For some distant, subconscious reason, these words cut David deeply. His heart broke right then and there, in a dream his own imagination invented, and his breath caught ragged in his throat. He willed his lungs to breathe but they denied him air. The clouds were fading, their opaque black being covered in a veil of oxygen deprivation. Choking, gasping, hyperventilating did nothing to stubborn lungs. Black. David awoke, gasping and practically drinking in air, trying to obliterate himself in it, trying to ensure it would never leave him again. Tears sprang to his eyes and he wondered why. A heavy fog had settled over the meadow, giving it a creepy atmosphere. Anything could be lurking in this, he thought, I’ll need to be careful. The more David examined his fence, the more worried he became. It looked weak and fragile, hardly strong enough to hold back a zombie. Gathering up his axe, David carefully listened for the foretelling moans of a hunting zombie. He heard none, but was cautious anyways. I need to make a plan, David thought, but how does one do such a thing? David sat on the ground and pondered. The best course of action was to set up camp. He hasn’t so far seen any undead, but if he eventually did, unless it was a horde, he could simply kill them. Staying in one place for good is dangerous, he thought, I may get attached to the beautiful blooming flowers or the clear, blue skies. This might make it harder to burn it all to the ground in case of a horde. And what IF a horde? How will I survive that on my ow- CLICK. The sound of a gun being readied ticked off behind David’s head. Eyes huge, he put his hands up, slowly stood and turned to see who his offender was. She was his age, 27, maybe a year younger. Her hair was a crazed, greasy, frizzy mess and on one cheek blood was splattered. Her eyes were bloodshot, tired and paranoid. Her hands were trembling as they roughly clenched the revolver. “What is your name?” David asked softly. Her expression was a perfect mirror of her thoughts; she looked surprised, but still she persevered. “Get back on the ground!” she shouted, cocking back her gun. Calmly, slowly, David lowered himself to the grass, never breaking his eye contact with her. He pressed himself against the warm blue flowers and yellow roses. “Why are you doing this?” he asked. She didn’t respond, merely eyed the fog around them and David realized she was checking for the monsters. He stayed silent, listening with her. Nothing was to be heard other than their quiet breathing. She paused but a moment, then fixed her attention upon David. She sized him up, but they both knew only one thing actually mattered, and this one thing basically defined David for who he was. Alive. “I am Jessica.” she finally said. “David.” he replied. She offered her hand and he took it. When he got to his feet, Jessica gestured to his fence. “Do you really expect that to hold off a devil?” David gave her a look. “I was about to fortify it-” “That doesn’t matter what you were about to do, let’s make a plan and get it done before night hits.” And with that, Jessica turned on her heels and sauntered to the forest. David sighed and turned to his sad-looking fence, pondering upon its improvement. The grass was thick yet soft and surrounded David like water up to his waist. Subconsciously, he played with the ticklish ends of the grass. The feel of the grass gave an idea to David’s mind. Using the axe’s dulled blade, he grasped the grass by the very beginning of the stalks and cut there. He tossed the grass into the fence and continued slicing and sawing. When he had a generous pile, he took two strands and twisted them together. He held the two ends together, then tied the fence up where the wood met. When David finished, Jessica had returned from the forest with arms filled with wood. “I want to build a house.” she called out, dumping the bark inside the fence. David thought for moment, looking from the wood to the forest, to the hills, to his axe then, finally, to Jessica. “How about we dig a hole?” Jessica looked puzzled. “What in the world would we do that for?” “To put all the wood in. Let’s face it, this isn’t a big fence and we need this fence to defend ourselves from those things. We are not going to finish this house in one day. A wood storage unit would be best.” David stood there silently, staring at Jessica while she thought it over. “Alright. You chop the wood. I’ll dig the hole. Take as long as you need and get more than an armful. Branches only.” * * * * * * * * * David saluted her and marched off to the woods. Jessica rolled her eyes and began to dig in the bare area of the land, where David had cut the grass. Thick stems and roots were hard to dig up, but after some finger-blistering minutes she managed. Using her hands as shovels, she began digging. It took a while; the sun was going down after about two feet. Jessica’s thirst was getting to her. The fog had long since disappeared, fading away with the day. She knew there was a lake but decided it would be best if she had company. She hiked over to the woods and was about to call for David when she heard it. Moaning. The moaning of a nightmare on the prowl. Jessica’s blood froze and she stopped dead in her tracks. It was low, silent, oblivious to itself. But over the groans there was a thunking which, to Jessica’s realization, was obliterating the moaning from the origin of the thunk-making. David. * * * * * * The tree was dead. There was practically a sea of trees and this one, dead center in a clearing, was dead. It smelled foul, like gasoline. Perfect. He began chopping. As he chopped, his mind wandered to distant places, letting his hands do the work themselves. Who was the girl? Why did she hate him so? A yearning from deep in his chest longed for her company, yet logically he knew this was ridiculous, because she was likely a figment of his imagination, a centre for his nightmares. And what of Jessica? How quickly she appeared into his life. It hasn’t been an hour and the impact she’s had on his life... Impact? What impact? Instead of hacking at the trunk, David had started at the branches. He’d worked for so long, they were all gone. Remembering Jessica’s request to stay in his spot, he began chopping at the trunk. His thoughts ambushed him once more. How long has it been? What day is it? All I can really remember is the bloodshed... Waking up in my house, blood and gore splattered on the walls and floor.... And my axe lying beside me... It’s all so fuzzy... A sound was playing off deep in the distance... David paid no attention to it. The forest was calm. The animals were missing and the setting sun played in and out of the forest leaves. David felt something wet on his hands. In his zen-like trance, he glanced down at it without meaning to. It was blood. What? David glanced back to the tree and found, to his dismay, it was bleeding from the cuts he’d inflicted. What the-?! You betrayed me. No.... To his surprise, the tree trunk began sprouting leaves. Despite himself, David reached and plucked one off. It wasn’t a leaf. It was a spiral, blonde curl. A bloodstained lock of golden hair. David backed away from the tree. A sickening feeling spread throughout him, and David tried to get away but couldn’t because his feet were caught in the spindly roots. He tripped and fell, then tried to edge away.The blood seeped from the trees’ cuts and floated a foot in front of him. It kept flowing, forming and morphing slowly into the small girl. She had a face now. She was delicate, skinny, with soft, nearly white blonde hair and gleaming green eyes. She was pale, beautiful, the spotlight of his night terrors. She offered him a hand, but David refused. She first looked confused, then angry. A fury so ugly, so frightening blackened her lovely face into a hideous scowl, and she screeched. She swiped and caught David in the arm. David cried out, instinctively swinging his axe. She cried as she hit the ground, her arm now sliced off. Tears brimmed in her eyes as David hacked at her over and over again, blood spiking out, splattering the tree and himself. Finally, she stopped crying. But he didn’t. Jessica rushed over to the sound of crying and rustling. She hoped with all of her might that David was okay, if only to have company. Swerving between tree after tree, she finally made it to the source of the commotion, a clearing centered by a beat up dead tree and a bloody David, who sat on his knees, axe just out of reach, simply sitting there over a thoroughly chopped up zombie. “David?” She called tentatively, trying not to be too loud. She slowly crept towards him, resting her hand on his shoulder. He didn’t react, didn’t even turn. He was hot beneath her fingers, a quick-beating heart slow to find it’s rest. “David?” she whispered. Without a word, he grabbed his axe, stood, took her hand, and led her away from the corpse. David couldn’t sleep. The shock was still ebbing and he was slow to realize he had hallucinated. Jessica was snoring lightly beside him and he wondered what her story was. Where she’d lived before the illness struck. If she’d been happy. If she’d been married. If she had had kids. As David stared into the seemingly endless sky, a low, almost non existent sound began to come into his range of hearing. It was moaning and David knew it knew where he was. He got to his feet, axe in hand, and headed off to kill the beast, leaving Jessica vulnerable to a hungry zombie, unconsciousness hindering the chance of self defence. But David didn’t consider this as he lopped off. Just like before... * * * * * * * * Thousands of miles away, a zombie was limping its way down a long abandoned street. Fellow undead were feasting on remains beside her, but something deep within her subconscious, something that fueled the disease rather than being killed by it, drove her to walk past the already crowded uninfected corpses. Cars with shattered windows and twisted metal doors offered no challenge as she passed them. Pollution and ash was thick in the air as fires world round gathered in the atmosphere. She lobbed her way down the broken road, a primal instinct making her carry on. Though she was a mere dead body being controlled by a virus, a dying wish kept still inside her. David. * * * * * * * * * * His blood was boiling as he crept through the sea of grass, careful not to make a sound. The creature was a foot away from him, lightly moaning as it made it’s way towards the forest. David had been traveling for half an hour, waiting for the best opportunity to kill the thing off, which he could now see as it turned away from him. He tensed his muscles, readying himself, tightening his grip on his axe. He was about to leap when a hand on his shoulder interrupted his flow. He turned, ready to strike, but the sight of Jessica immediately relaxed him. She half-smiled at him and pointed to the zombie, then gestured to her pistol. He nodded, urged her to follow through with her plan. Silently, she crept around the zombie, parallel to the forest facing the undead, then shot out at him loudly. The undead’s head immediately turned to the loud bang. It lopped off towards it, almost seeming to try to sprint. It was so intent upon its target it didn’t notice David sneaking up behind, axe ready in hand. In a quick thrust, he lopped its head off. Jessica emerged from the sea of grass, smiling. David nodded, turning and led the way home. They made their way up a hill, tracking their way back to the fence by the weak moonlight and memory. “Where did you used to live?” Jessica whispered, stealthily making her way through the tall grass. David tried to think, tried to remember, tried to recall his origins, but it was like an elusive light in a cave. He chased the memory, furrowing his brow, but he couldn’t, no matter how he tried, remember a home. “I don’t know,” the words slithered out into the open nakedly, exposed to the truth of the matter: David was missing the most important memory to hold in a epidemic-struck world. What it had looked like before disaster struck. Silence gathered at this realization, flooding the air and the grass and their feet. Their small, quiet movements did not touch this silence. It obliterated all and soon it had followed them home. They both felt as though they had become mute as they trudged over the fence and into the center. Sleep cascaded over them, relieving the two of their day’s pain. Soft, wet pitter-patters licked David’s face. He blinked his eyes open, only to meet the gaze of a horrid, pale, bloodied and gaunt face of the little girl. David did not gasp in fear, for some part of him expected this. Her lips were torn open and shadows were darker yet beneath her eyes. Her cheeks stuck out despite her youth and she stared at him with an emptiness that roused his disgust and horror. She kept staring at him as he stood and tried to figure out where he was. Whiteness. There were no walls, no hint of a closed space or background or anything to speak of. Just an empty, hungry, infinite whiteness that depicted David’s memory. The flicker that he didn’t bother to chase was all that remained of his memory, other than the girl, who was a deep psychological issue, David had no doubt. The only thing, other than the dancing light, that stabbed the eternal blankness was a mirror. A single mirror that simply hung in space. David tentatively walked up to it, fully aware that it could engulf him in his dreams forever. He needed to be careful in this dream world land. He heard a rustling behind him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that the girl had stood and followed him, now standing beside him, her eyes glazed over in a brainless sort of way. Her presence had at first unsettled him, but now her silence was almost friendly. She gazed up at him blankly, watching, not making any sort of move that she meant harm. David decided she was not a present threat and focused his attention on the mirror. It was about two feet from what David assumed was the floor, though in this strange place there wasn’t really a ‘floor’ or a ‘ceiling’ or a limit to any space of any kind. He simply knew that he was standing and also that if he thought too hard about this his head would begin to hurt. Anyways, its dimensions were typical by that of a looking glass; four feet tall by one foot wide. David became bored with the mirror itself and stared at his reflection. David had no memory (Of course) of what he had looked like previous the apocalypse, but he was familiar with his own face. This familiarity is something nothing can tamper with, no demon or zombies or sleep deprivation or little girl. But in the mirror he saw not himself, but the girl, and yet not the girl. She wasn’t vengeful or angry or sad or dying in this image, no. No. In fact, she looked quite happy. She was brushing her teeth, getting ready for the day. She combed her lovely locks of hair, then used some mouth wash. David smiled a little, glancing to the little girl at his side. She was watching, too, emotionlessly, however. David looked back to the mirror, but now the door had opened and David saw himself holding her. His heart swelled in his chest as he watched the two strangers laugh and make silly faces together. He wondered who he had been in his past. He looked once again to the lifeless girl besides him and found her looking right back. Her dead, gleaming eyes pierced his very soul and before he could even detect it or react, there was a gaping, bleeding hole in his chest and his still-beating heart in her hands. He gasped in shock and the pain caught up with reality, tears pouring down his face and his lungs collapsing in his chest. He toppled over, and was soon dead on the ground, yet still... Conscious. She walked over and stood over him. With her dead eyes she watched him. She squeezed his still heart and it exploded all over her. David watched her, frozen and feeling as though his body weighed a ton, for he couldn’t move. Repulse, horror, disgust and fear, fear like nothing he’d ever felt, clawed at him, shook him somewhere where nothing before had ever reached. Her dead, ever-pale face smiled. David woke up and this time he understood why he was crying. He still couldn’t remember who he’d been, who she was, but he understood she was relevant. He found he was in a fetal position, clutching his knees tightly to his chest. Jessica was gone, probably gone to get the wood he’d left by the corpse. He felt around, but as he suspected, his axe was gone. Sighing, he got up and headed out to make sure Jessica was still alive. He wandered to the woods and found she wasn’t there. He pondered her location, and was about to head off back to his fence, when David realized he was extremely dehydrated. His mouth was sticky and dry and he decided to see if Jessica was at the lake. About halfway through this ever-brief journey, David realized how... naked he felt. Being without his axe, rather. He felt defenseless and stumbling upon this realization he was soon overcome with fear. He crept low to the ground, creeping his way in the direction he hoped was towards the lake. He listened closely to the air around him. A sickening sense of dread filled him and he took a deep breathe to settle his restless thoughts. Quietly he assured himself he’d be fine and also noted the fact he could always simply run away. Their rotting bodies wouldn’t be able to catch up with him. All was silent except for the light snapping of the dry grass as David shifted his way through. Soon the grass dispersed and he came across the beach. He stood, seeing now the shuffling was pointless. “...Jessica?” he called out tentatively, doing his best to keep his voice down. He froze in his tracks, listening to the world around him. The lake was glimmering, transparent, clear and clean. It looked inviting in all its blue and deepness. Inviting, David knew, was dangerous, as dangerous as the threats and monsters that could toil about restlessly beneath the waters. David held his breath, waiting. Waiting for Jessica, waiting for the demons, waiting for the little girl; waiting for something, anything, to give him reason to run. But the moment passed uneventfully, and David took this as a sign that all was well and safe. Ever yet paranoid still, he kept himself near the ground, aware that something could very well still be lurking, as careful as he. He kept his breath low, doing his best to be as quiet as possible. His eyes wildly searched the lake suspiciously. “Jessica?” he called a little louder. A rustle to his left could be heard. He sucked his breath in and crouched in anticipation. Jessica burst from the embankment of grass, trying desperately to slow her quick breathing. She looked very startled, gripping his axe nervously with both hands. Her eyes met David’s, and she immediately dropped the weapon and tackled him fearfully. “Keep your voice down, moron!” She hissed. They both were frozen on the ground like that, Jessica keeping David down. Then they both heard it. “David?” Jessica’s muscles instantly clenched; David felt her stiffening at the sound of the shrill voice that pierced the silence. Who was that? Another survivor? He tried to get out from beneath Jessica to welcome what sounded like a small girl, but Jessica shot him a viciously repressive glance, forbidding him to get up. They both heard the shuffling of the tall grass as whoever it was moved the opposite direction of them. “You can’t hide from me, David. You know. You. Did. Know. Did to I. Me. David?” Her speech was broken, as if she was struggling to find the words. Her walking was patched as well, following the same shattered, brainless yet focused pattern as her words. Her mind was long gone, but her purpose held ever still. No, he thought. His heart pounded in his head, it was so loud. His breath began to catch loudly and raggedly in his throat and tears of panic and distress wet his eyes. Jessica looked at him in confusion and worry. She pressed him to the ground, whispering for him to keep quiet. That’s when he knew. His raggedy nightmare had found him. The ghost was here. How real was she. Oh God pity him, how real was she. He struggled to get Jessica off of him, knowing that meeting the girl was what everything had lead up to. She gasped silently as he got up and walked loudly towards the voice. The girl had walked towards the meadows where their small camp had been. David got to his feet but didn’t wait for his body to catch up. He sprinted towards the girl, leaving Jessica puzzled by the lake. Everything melted, the lake, the forest, the very ground beneath him; none of it mattered, it never had. The environment around him slipped into a dash of colors and meaningless blurs as he ran, no, raced towards his future. His past. His dreams, his nightmare, what was left of his memory. Tears flew off of his face, slipping noiselessly away and he was grinning. She had found him. * * * * Jessica sat, puzzled but knowing something was very wrong. She didn’t know why she hadn’t followed him. Something about his rushing seemed... It seemed like he had a personal matter to solve. Earlier she had woken up, turned to see David still asleep, if restlessly, murmuring quietly. She half-smiled, hoping he was dreaming nice things. Perhaps of who he had been? Maybe he’ll remember his normal life one day? She smiled and hoped and prayed he would. Remembering what happiness felt like would give them a goal, a future. Knowing she was far too awake to go back to sleep, she decided to get some scoping done. She scooped up David’s axe, hoping dearly that he wouldn’t mind, leaving her pistol with him. She hitched the axe up in her arms and carefully walked in the direction of the rising sun. The morning dew was thick on the grass and soon Jessica’s clothes were damp. She walked in the meadow between the forest and the thickly grassed lake area, a meadow where flowers and grass was thick and lovely shades of green and blues and pinks. This small hill was really the most gorgeous view she’d ever seen up close. It was peaceful, intoxicatingly hopeful in all it’s beauty. She neared the hill’s slope when she heard a small, girlish voice. She ducked behind a bush, careful not to make much noise. It was... So odd. It was an undead, to be sure, but it... Was talking to itself, babbling at the best. She was smiling, something Jessica had never seen. A smiling, talking undead. Her body was in excellent condition, only that she had a long gash down her back and her arm was horribly mangled. Her eyes were a dead gray, her hair flat and frizzy. She wore torn and bloodied jeans and a cheap pink jacket. She couldn’t have been more than eight or ten. Jessica teared up at the thought, that someone this young could have died this terribly. But she steeled herself, knowing it was a zombie and it must die either way. Jessica was about to jump out and chop her to bits, but froze when she heard, “David. Come. You. Da. Ad. Dat. I come. Wait.” She stopped, keeping close to the ground. Something in her just... Couldn’t do it. Handle another death. Especially killing one so young. She hated her humanity for a second, but set out to find David. To protect him. She hoped he was alright. She waited for the girl to pass, then rushed towards camp. But as she ran, she heard him shout her name. She stilled herself, listening. She heard it. The girl had heard David too. She was slowly making her way over to the lake. Dangit David. Jessica made her way through the grass, found David, and secured him. Made sure he was safe. * * * * * * * * Almost in a trance did he approach her. She stood still and watched him. He fell to his knees and met her eye level. She examined him. “I’m so sorry.” his voice broke, tears rushing down his face. She looked almost disappointed. Her humanity was rusting away, they could both feel it. Her purpose was fulfilled. David trembled at his soon coming fate. His foolish trust that would lead to his death. They both felt it coming. He grinned sadly and cried, brushing the hair from her face. “My dear, dear sweet girl... I’m so so sorry... God forgive me....” He brought her in for a hug. She tightened herself, steeling herself against the temptation to ravenously tear him limb from limb. His trust was laughable. Why was he still alive? Hugging a zombie? This wasn’t... Possible... She wasn’t her anymore... He let her go, then stood before her, both of them waiting for her self control to shatter. They met each other’s gaze, and a sad, but knowing tear slipped down her pale cheek. He sobbed more, half-wishing he had grabbed Jessica’s pistol. But also knowing that had he had it, he still wouldn’t have shot her. Nothing could make him do it now. Nothing. Nothing. The little girl began snarling. She looked up at him, suddenly not recognizing him, an animal but also not look in her eyes. She was hungry, STARVING AND THERE WAS HER PREY. She moaned and began to rush at him. * * * * * * * * * * Bang. The small, bloody girl hit the ground so hard Jessica had to blink. Her hands shook as she threw her gun to the ground and took David up in her arms. He was sobbing and sniveling loudly, fat tears wetting his cheeks. Jessica whispered comfort, but otherwise kept quiet as he wailed, mourning.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 20:42:21 +0000
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