The Beginning of the Zombie Apocalypse – Part 2

I finally pull myself together and step outside the apartment, and behind me Nicole locks the door twice with shaking hands, then a second later I hear the peephole slide open because she is still watching me, making sure I do not disappear like the others, and I stand there in the stairwell listening to the slow, rhythmic dripping of water from the ceiling, drip after drip echoing through the empty floor while a growing puddle spreads across the tiles, and for a moment I remember how something like this once mattered, but now it feels completely irrelevant, because everything outside these walls is already collapsing. 

My plan is simple, check the nearest apartments first, though I already know some of the neighbors are gone, I saw what was left of them on the pavement after they jumped, and what came after them was worse, dozens of the dead tearing into their bodies like animals, leaving nothing behind, which in a twisted way means they were lucky, because they will not come back. I move toward the first door and it is locked, just like I expected, and when I catch movement in the corner of my eye I spin around gripping the baseball bat so tight my hands hurt, but there is nothing there, only shadows and that damn dripping sound messing with my head, making me question what I see and hear.

Then I hear a heavy noise from below, something hitting the floor, and I freeze as thoughts start racing through my mind, maybe someone is barricading themselves, maybe someone is fighting, or maybe something else is already moving through the building, so I step closer to the stairs and look down, but I see nothing, only darkness, and then I smell it, that same rotting stench, stronger now, spreading through the air like a warning. I move slowly down the corridor and then I see it, a figure at the far end, swaying slightly, murmuring under its breath, and when it turns toward me I recognize what it is immediately, one of them, one of the infected, and something inside me tells me to run, but it does not react fully, not yet, it just starts moving in my direction, dragging its feet, slow and empty, and I realize that if it sensed me properly it would already be faster. I back away and return to my apartment, Nicole lets me in after our signal, and even though the trip brought no supplies it gave me information, both nearby apartments are locked, which leads me to a different idea, the balcony, dangerous but quieter than the stairwell, so I climb over into the neighbor’s apartment, feeling something break inside me because just days ago I greeted them like normal people and now I am stepping into their home while their bodies lie somewhere outside.

Inside it is silent and empty, I move from room to room expecting something to jump out at any second even though logic tells me the doors are locked, and still I cannot shake the feeling, but there is nothing, only abandoned space and leftover food, a few cans, some meat in the freezer, so I take everything I can carry and throw the backpack onto my balcony before climbing back myself, while outside the dead wander below without even noticing me.

Nicole immediately starts cooking on a small gas stove, trying to hold on to something normal, but I can see she is breaking down, and I have nothing to tell her because I am barely holding it together myself, especially when night comes, because that is when they change, when they move faster, think faster, and become something worse than during the day. Earlier I watched a group of people try to cross the courtyard, ten of them, armed with bats and sticks, and for a moment it looked like they had a chance, they were crushing skulls, pushing forward, and I even considered helping them, signaling from the window, trying to guide them toward safety, and they saw me, they started moving toward the building, but then one of them fired a gun, just a few shots, and that sound brought everything, the dead came from every direction, faster than before, and within minutes all of them were gone, torn apart in front of my eyes, and that was the moment I understood something I did not want to accept, even the strongest do not survive for long.

The next day I go out again because I have no choice, food is already running low, and the building feels different now, quieter but heavier, like something is waiting, and when I reach the next floor I see them again, two at first, then more appearing behind them, and when one of them notices me it lets out a broken sound and they all start moving in my direction, slow but unstoppable, and I step back before raising the bat and swinging with everything I have, hitting the first one straight in the head, then another, and another, until they fall one by one, until the staircase is covered in blood and fragments that I try not to look at too closely.

I keep hitting until I am sure they will not get up again, and when it is over I stand there shaking, staring at what I have done, feeling something collapse inside me as I taste salt and metal in my mouth, and then I cannot hold it anymore and I vomit right there on the stairs before somehow making my way back to the apartment, barely aware of anything around me. Nicole opens the door and freezes when she sees me covered in blood, and I do not even remember how I got inside, only that I am standing there trying to breathe while she stares at me like she does not recognize me anymore, and later I wash everything off, change clothes, and try to explain what happened, but she does not understand, she still believes they can be saved, and I realize that she has not accepted what this is yet, while I have only just begun to. 

The truth settles in slowly but it does not leave any space for doubt, if we want to survive I will have to take control of this place, clear it, secure it, turn it into something we can defend, but even thinking about it feels impossible, because I do not know how many of them are still out there, how many are hiding behind doors or moving through the floors below, and I am exhausted, completely drained, unable to think clearly or even eat without feeling sick. I sit there for hours saying nothing, thinking about what comes next, about how quickly everything changed, about how there is no help coming, and eventually one thought breaks through all the others, simple and heavy, we are still alive, and as long as that is true I have to keep going, even if it means facing them again, even if it means becoming something I do not recognize anymore, and with that thought somewhere between fear and silence my body finally gives up and I fall asleep.