I'm not a monster

The pile of boards kept me safely hidden from the strays. I don’t know why, but they lost track of me and got away.

My shoulder ached horribly. Not surprisingly, I fell in a basement... Or was it a semi-basement?

«What difference? I need to get out».

Trying to make as little noise as possible so those things wouldn’t hear me again, I got out from under the rubble.

«What a luck», — i thought as I saw the stairs in front of me leading upward.

It would be worth getting a gun, because behind the door to the living floor (though what living floor? People haven’t lived here for a long time) they could be hiding... But who?

«What do you mean who? The dead men!»

I was arguing with myself. Apparently the fall hadn’t cleared my head yet.

«Well, well, one, two... Why am I counting steps?»

I went upstairs and listened. It was quiet behind the door, though that didn’t mean no one was there. The wanderers could stay still for a long time, waiting for... someone.

I opened the door and looked into a crack.

«No one seems to be there».

I sneaked over there, looked around. Indeed, there were no zombies.

I had to get to my friends as quickly as possible. Their cars were not far away.

After walking down the narrow corridor, I came out into the hall. That’s where I’d run from the strays, and that’s where I’d fallen through the rotten boards. A large hole gaped in the cluttered room, giving it an even creepier look.

«Alright, at least i’m still in one piece».

Again, there was no one nearby, and that seemed strange. Usually the wanderers don’t leave their prey behind, but follow them on their heels until they’re finally lost (these zombies were too slow).

I cautiously peeked out into the street.

«And it’s empty too. Empty from the word „desert“...»

My friends had to be around somewhere. I knew it, and I could feel it.

A wave of fatigue came over me, the likes of which I’d never felt before.

«There it is».

I was often told that the constant lack of sleep and nervous tension would soon cause me to break down. Overwork is inevitable. But I didn’t think it would happen like this, suddenly and at the most inopportune moment.

I had to go on extra shifts and night duties.

Getting involved in dangerous forays out of town. It was all for my sister. For Misty. The little girl (though she claimed otherwise). She was sick, and the medicine she was given for free didn’t helped. Misty kept saying that she could handle herself, that at nineteen she could fend for herself.

«Bullshit».

I shook my head like a horse, and my saliva flew sideways.

«She can’t. I can, but she can’t...»

There was an uncomfortable rumble in my head. And a sharp pain pierced my shoulder, making my eyes blacken.

I sank to my knees, squinting and wrinkling. I threw my arms back and found the sore spot. As I could tell, there was a laceration with something sticking out of it. I grabbed it with stubborn fingers and pulled it toward me.

And again a wild pain shot through my head, making me groan and growl with anger and push. But when it was done, he saw a small metal rod in his hand that looked like a human tooth.

«Strange nail».

It slipped out of my swollen hands, and I got up and headed for my friends.

«Where are you? Where are you guys...»

Thinking was hard and talking was unbearable. My tongue felt like a big fat fish that tasted like it was going to the toilet. But somehow I got used to the disgusting taste right away. My skin turned pale and gray.

«It’s strange, but it happens. I fell in the basement. And there was no sunlight, so I lost my tan.»

I wandered forward, feeling how hungry I had become. That sucking feeling inside my stomach was keeping me awake.

«I can’t wait, I can’t wait... to get to my friends... they’ll help... they’re... delicious...»

Suddenly, shots rang out nearby.

When I looked up, I saw a military vehicle.

«Pzhid», — the title came to mind.

Several people were shooting from there, but I couldn’t see who it was, my eyes were teary. A few strays were coming at them, stretching their half-rotten arms.

«I want too...»

But just as I took one lazy step, which felt like the leap of a world champion, there was the crunch of glass beneath my foot. As I lowered my head again, I saw him... myself.

The wanderer was reflected in the shards. A gray face with swollen black veins, lifeless eyes, and dripping saliva.

«No... No... It’s not me».

I knew I was human, and now I was supposed to be back on the team, but...

«Eat... I want to eat...»

That thought stuck with me all the way to the car.

«They will help...they will save...and I will help...eat...»

— Hey, Rick!

A shout was heard in the jeep, but to whom it was addressed remains a mystery.

— You can’t save him! Only let him go!

«I’ll make it... to them... and then... eat... but he must... be faster... because I... am not a monster...»

A single shot rang out, and another zombie’s head was blown to pieces.

«Misty», — i thought to myself before I finally faded into oblivion.