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It’s April 13th. By now it’s starting to get bad. I’ve burned through my first whole box of 9mm ammo. I didn’t think it would go so fast. I see them every time I go out now. Most of my neighbors have left. I’m not sure what happened to the majority of my family either. I expected some sort of contact from my mother or brother at least, but the house was abandoned when I came home this morning. I quit my job 2 weeks ago. I figured money was getting close to worthless, and I’d saved up enough to last for the next few months anyways. Last week the government declared martial law, but I haven’t seen any military at all. All I see are looters, riots, and the undead. Being used to working nights, I trek out after dark and gather whatever I find that’s valuable for survival. I search the abandoned homes mostly, since the K-Mart down the street was all but completely raped the first day of the martial law. Honestly, that declaration did nothing but tell the American people that it was now okay to descend into chaos. I’ve found a lot of dead people since then. I was upset since it seemed most of them weren’t even infected. Up until now I’ve even killed 3 men, and I mean real men. Not zombies, living, breathing, in the flesh humans. The undead plague isn’t the only disease afflicting mankind. Psychosis. I guess there are some who can’t deal with it. Am I really dealing with it that well either though? I didn’t try to stop myself on those 3 occurrences either. I felt threatened, and I shot them all dead. They had weapons and came at me, so legally (not that the law mattered anymore) I was in the right, but I knew that they were simply panicking and trying to survive. I might have been able to calm them down, but I didn’t. I’ve burned through a full 50 round box of 9mm ammo now. I’m conservative about my use. I haven’t missed, and I have yet to require more than one round to stop a target (including the humans). So I’ve killed 50 beings now. I feel no remorse over 47 of them. But I need to survive none the less. I’m well stocked on non-perishables, and even then my perishable food will last another week. If it wasn’t for martial law, I’m sure stores would still be open. The nation, well at least this city, was doing a good job of staying running through this crisis. So I have fresh food, but I’m worried about how long water and utilities will last. It’s only a matter of time before they run out. I have 40 gallons of drinking water as back up, and it’s all sterilized too, but I’m not fond of losing a renewable resource. In a few days I’ll have to consider looking for a better place to hold up for the long term. I hate to admit it, but it’s very evident now…. We no longer have the ability to save our society. The best we can hope for is for individuals to adapt to survival and begin to build new societies then we can fight back. Once the surviving population can live like this, we can turn the tide. So the only question is…. How do I survive until then?

Leaning back in my old green La-Z-Boy recliner, I ponder a hundred different questions. To be honest I haven’t really put much effort into planning out my fortification until now. I barely even barricaded my own house. Simply put, I’m more afraid of the lack of supplies that of the undead. That being said though, I’m not comfortable here anymore. I want to be able to sleep and have someone watch over me. It’s nice to know that you won’t be eaten in your sleep you know? So I guess I should prepare to move out soon. Today will be the first day I start planning my excursion. I figure I’ll load up all my canned food and water into boxes for quick transport and start scouting for a place to go. I hop out of my chair and move towards the window that spans the entire living room all at the front of the house. Though it could be seen as a horrible weak point in defense, the chain link fence I erected in the front yard seems to keep the zombies at bay. It seems still, that only a few corpses a day wander into my cul-de-sac. In the setting sun, orange and purple over the mountains in the horizon, silhouettes shuffling across the pavement basked in the bronze hue cast over the city moan softly. I gaze out through the pane unfettered by the bright light splashing over my unadjusted eyes. I pity these creatures, I truly do. Taking a seat by the glass, I begin to load my spare magazines for tonight’s venture. Keeping a watchful eye on my newest neighbors, I meticulously arrange all the gear I can comfortably carry. Since I need to be wary of any potential living places, I travel lightly. I decide on taking only a utility vest with a flashlight, my holstered Beretta, 4 spare clips, a combat knife, 2 bottles of water, 2 energy bars, and a first aid kit. Tonight I’ll try to keep scavenging to a minimum and cover as much ground as possible. As I walk out the front door and start the 350cc Ninja that I’d managed to snag from an apartment down the road, the 3 shamblers turn their attention towards me and press up against the chain link fence. As the engine warms up, I coax them around to the side of the house and pop a shot neatly into each of their foreheads. I take a deep breath as I open the gate and back the bike out of the driveway, exhaling as I turn and look into the sunset once again. Tonight will be a busy night….

The sun is down now, and navigating the roads is problematic. There are many abandoned vehicles and the undead skirt in between making it hard to avoid confrontation. I travel south bound along the interstate 17 past Cactus Road. The traffic lightens a bit, and it’s easier to dodge obstacles. As I come up on Peoria, I notice Metro Center Mall off to the West side and turn down the access road towards the shopping center. I pull into the parking lot slowly…. It’s packed…. Cars are all over, but no life…. No unlife either…. Scattered sparsely there are a few corpses however; some seemed to be zombies terminated by gunfire, others the unfortunate victims of the times. I circle the lot once noting that all the entrances seem secured. I pull up close to the entrance to the food court and park my bike on the sidewalk in front of the doors. There’s a small theater ticket booth off to the side with all the windows shattered out. Dried blood stains the counters and floor, making it obvious that someone met an ill fate here earlier. As I approach the glass doors to the main entrance, I quickly notice that they’ve been barricaded from the inside with the food court’s tables and chairs amongst other random furniture. I peer between the gaps and scout using my flashlight, but there is nothing in site. It’s dark, and there is no power on anywhere. It seems safe to say that there are few undead inside since there are none in sight, but it’s hard to tell whether any living people are still inside. Being only 10:00 P.M. I decide to venture inside, carefully slipping between what furniture I can and dismounting any blocks I can’t. A few minutes later I’m slowly creeping through the dark corridor past the eateries. At the first junction which opens into the full length of the south side of the mall, I carefully peek around the corners to make sure the coast is clear. Both floors of the mall as far as the flash light assisted eye can see are completely barren. Walking along the upper floor, every store seems locked up, with the shutters pulled down and devoid of motion inside. Approaching the far corner towards Babbage’s Software, I come to a stop just shy of the windows. This is the only store with makeshift barricades up against the glass, blocking much of the visibility inside. Whoever did this was thorough. Much of the blockade was comprised of large arcade cabinets that must have been pushed all the way from the video arcade in the food court at the other end of the mall.

Positioning myself at the base of the shutter I call forth through a small gap in the fortification to anyone who might be inside, “Hello? Is anyone in here?” Waiting a few moments for an answer I turn and take in my surroundings again to prevent myself from being caught unawares. Yet I hear no reply.

“Is there anyone around who needs help?” I shout out louder this time. From the few encounters with other people since the outbreak reached epidemic proportions, I learned that someone will quite quickly change their willingness to interact with others when hearing of an opportunity to receive assistance.

This time I receive the answer I dread the most. “Shush! They’ll hear you!” whispered out from somewhere beyond sight. Immediately I spun and planted my back to the shutter, drawing my weapon. This is the worst situation and I walked right into it. I try hard to distinguish and sound or movement. After a few minutes that seem like hours, it starts. That quiet slow shuffling noise coming from the far end of the mall.

“Oh ********….” I mumble under my breath. This is it, I’m ********. I turn shoving the light against the grate and demanding to the other person, “s**t, you have to let me in!” I try to spot the person but still there is nowhere I can see through.

“No way! Are you crazy? I’m not going to let those monsters have easy access to me!” They hiss quietly. At this point slight groans can be heard from both corridors. The shuffling has grown and it’s obvious the number of hungry infected has increased with it. The cat was out of the bag and now they were closing in.

“Listen up you, I swear to god if you don’t let me in I’m going to kick and shoot the s**t out of your little hideout until I either knock the s**t down and get inside or I die trying and the bastards finish the job I started and eat your ******** s**t a** alive!” I growl into the darkness in front of me. I c**k my pistol just for effect, ejecting a chambered round onto the tile with pinging sound. I quickly pocket the round, not wanting to waste it, but the technique proved convincing enough it seemed.

“Fine, just hold on and keep quiet.” In another muffled whisper the person mutters. I glance back towards my assailants to notice them creep into sight under the soft moonlight rays barely piercing the clouds pouring through the skylights in the hall. I look back as I hear the sounds of wood scraping across tile. My vision darts back and forth between the horde and my unknown savior. More and more I here the sounds of sliding furniture, but the zombies gain faster.

“********, ********, ********…. They’re gonna get me…. Hurry up!” I plead unable to do anything other than wait for my fate.

“I’m going as fast as I can!” The person once again whispers, obviously oblivious to the fact that their lowered voice is doing no good.

Noticing that my time is short and that the barricade won’t be clear in time, I close my eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Hey…. Don’t you dare give up on me…. I’m running out of time here, so I’m going to go buy a little more….” I calmly state, more to relieve myself than anything. My rescuer says something too quietly to hear as I stand and run head on into the first wave.

As I plant my boot squarely against the chest of the first zombie I come up against and immediately and completely regret it. The first thing I feel is my foot sink slightly into it’s core and crush it’s ribs, not an amazing experience to feel, let me tell you that. Regardless, the zombie went flying backwards, toppling over several others behind it. I caught my balance as I landed by grasping the handrail next to me and spun just in time to catch another in the side of the head with my shin. It bowled over tripping up three more from that side; one of which landing neatly onto a follow up back kick sending over the banister to the floor below. I back up a few feet only to land right in the embrace of yet another attacker who quickly attempts to lock his arms around me. Instantly an “oh s**t” wave of panic flows over me as I drop my weight forward and yank the arm over my shoulder as hard as I can. A terrible snap sounds out in the hall as the body soars over me into a larger walking dead, crushing him against a wall. I land hard on one knee and cry out in pain as I attempt to hobble back to my feet, but are forced down by more weight on my back. Running out of options, I take my knife and drive it back as hard as I can piercing the temple of my current threat, slamming him hard against the sandstone tile with a mushy thud. Back on my feet, dagger in hand, I lean back against the glass of the electronic store. A few precious moments bought, I pant, breathing deeply the sweet stale air with a tinge of death and decay. Then the sound of the shutter door sliding ajar slightly and the same near silent voice beckons out to me.

“Hurry!” I they call out, hands disappearing back into a jumbled mess of wood. The path now clear only a foot gap at most I drop to my stomach and crawl like a mad man. Inching my way in backwards, I pull the shutter closed and flip the lock. As I back out of the clutter and flop flat on my back, I hear the sounds of the barricade being put back in place. I take the time to catch my breath and rest my eyes in the beautiful sanctuary of the game store I’d finally managed to reach. Before I could completely recoup, I heard the sweet voice of an angel purr in my ear, “Now you can answer some of my questions.” As I felt the cold barrel of a firearm jammed under my chin.