Urban Decay

by Paxton Matthews

  "Theo? Is that you?" A woman called out to him from her backyard to Theo's right.

  Theo stopped running, "Cheryl?"

  "Yeah."

  Cheryl was a somewhat heavyset woman with dark red hair. She was standing in her yard wearing a blue bathrobe and clutching a large shiny steak knife.

  "What the hell is going on?" Theo asked his former neighbor.

  "I don't know. The television-" Before Cheryl could finish answering Theo, two of those crazies tackled her from behind, dragging her down to the ground and biting into her back. Theo jumped onto the fence to try and help, but out of the corner of his right eye, he saw more people running into the alleyway. Theo didn't know if they were friend or foe, so he hopped down off the fence and continued running down the alley towards his car. Theo didn't dare stop and look in any of the other backyards on either side of him, he didn't want to see any more of his neighbors being attacked.

  Once Theo made it out of the alley, he spotted his car. It was still parked by his former home. However, there was somebody trying to steal Theo's vehicle. A tall bald guy with a goatee and wearing a black windbreaker, he was trying to get into the car via the passenger side door.

  "Hey!" Theo shouted at the car thief and began running towards his vehicle.

  Theo stopped right in his tracks when he saw two of those crazies run out from behind his garage and attack the thief. One of the lunatics went right for the neck, biting right into the front of the guy's throat. Blood began to soak the front of the thief's windbreaker. The other crazy was biting down into the man's left arm. The thief tried in vain to shake free from the lunatics, but the crazies dragged him down to the grass. For the moment, it looked like Theo wouldn't be able to get to his car, he wasn't about to go anywhere near those things.

  Theo quickly changed course and ran up onto the front porch of his old home, he still had the old house keys on his key ring. Theo just hoped that his real estate agent hadn't changed the locks yet. Theo slid the front door key into the bottom lock and unlocked his front door.

  Theo let out a huge sigh of relief. "Remind me to give her a raise," He said under his breath. Before Theo could slide into his former home, he heard footsteps coming up the wooden front porch steps. Theo turned around and was greeted by his good friend Mike.

  "Mike? That you?" Theo asked his friend."What is going on around here?"

  Mike looked up at Theo, his eyes were that vacant beige color. The front of his white tank top was covered with blood and Mike's chest and shoulders had been riddled with what looked like bite marks. Some wounds were so deep that Theo could see bone. Mike growled at Theo and grabbed him by the shoulders, trying to bite into Theo's left cheek. Theo tried to push Mike off of him, but Mike had a firm grip. The two men wrestled around on the front porch until they both tripped and fell through the front windows of Theo's house.

  Theo landed back first on the living room floor with Mike on top of him. Mike leaned in once more to try and take a bite out of Theo's face. Theo pushed Mike away kept his right hand on Mike's chest. With his left hand, Theo felt around on the floor trying to find something, anything he could use to get Mike off of him. Theo's fingertips grazed a large shard of glass, Theo grabbed it and drove it into Mike's right ear as hard as he could. The stab didn't even faze Mike, he continued to try and bite into Theo's face.

  Theo felt around on the floor once again and he found another shard of glass. Theo jabbed Mike in the side of his neck with the shard repeatedly, stabbing at Mike wildly. Then Theo drove the shard into Mike's right ear once more. That did it, Mike fell off to the side. Theo got up and ran as fast as he could towards the kitchen.

  Theo ran to the kitchen door, seeing that it was closed. He hoped that the real estate agent didn't change those locks either. Theo turned the knob and the door opened, "Yep, she's getting a raise."

  When Theo tried to close the kitchen door, Mike reached an arm through, preventing Theo from closing it. Theo swung the kitchen door open and kicked Mike in the midsection as hard as he could, sending Mike flying backward. Theo slammed the kitchen door shut and prepared to run down the small stairwell that led to the side door and get to his car. Then Theo remembered the would-be carjacker being attacked by the crazies. They were most likely still out there. Theo turned to his left. He had two sets of stairs to pick from: One led to the upper flat, and one led down to the basement. Not wanting to be trapped in the basement by those psychopaths, Theo picked the stairs that led up and ran up the steps to the upper flat.

  As Theo was running up the first flight of stairs, he felt something grab his right ankle; Mike. Using his left foot, Theo kicked Mike in the face, sending his former friend tumbling down the steps. Mike fell up against the wall at the bottom of the stairs and shot right back up. Theo turned and ran up the second flight and into the kitchen of the upper flat, slamming the door shut. Theo could hear Mike charging up the staircase after him, so he had to think fast.

  Looking to his right, Theo saw the bathroom, he knew that there was a small hatch that would lead up into the attic. If Theo could get up there, hopefully, nothing would be able to get him. Theo bolted towards the bathroom and began trying to knock the hatch door loose. Theo hopped up and punched at the door, knocking it ajar. He hopped onto the bathroom sink and began to pull himself up into the attic.

  Mike came crashing through the kitchen door and rushed right towards Theo. Theo swung both feet forward and kicked Mike in the face, knocking him out of the bathroom and giving Theo enough time to get into the attic and slam the door. Theo laid on his back and stared up at the attic ceiling, trying to catch his breath. He could hear Mike thrashing around the upper flat, running from empty room to empty room, trying to find Theo.

  Theo sat up and looked around the attic for some kind of a weapon. The only thing that was up there with him was an old, empty, rusted toolbox and nothing else. Theo figured that Mike couldn't reach him, so he stood up and promptly cracked his head on a ceiling beam.

  Theo sat back down, clutching at his head, "Of fucking course!" Yeah, it had been that kind of day.

  "What the hell is going on?" Theo wondered as he sat there and listened to the chaos going on all around him. He could hear the sirens and screams outside with intermittent gunshots as well. Theo even thought he could hear a few helicopters flying around. Most likely news choppers.

  Was it rioting? Possible, but not likely. Some type of terrorism? Maybe. But Theo just jabbed two shards of glass into his friend's neck and ear, and it didn't seem to affect him much. Then Theo thought back to the people on Michigan Avenue, the woman from the red sedan. She was dead and so was that paramedic, and yet they somehow got up and began biting into people. Theo's never seen any rioters or terrorists do that.

  Theo pulled out his pack of cigarettes and saw that he was down to his last two. Then it hit him. "Ah shit, Mel," Theo sighed.

  Theo lit up a smoke and sat there, listening to all of the mayhem outside. Theo decided to sit there and wait for a few hours, maybe all of the madness would calm down and he could get to his car and get out of there. Where he would go, Theo had no idea. He snuffed out his cigarette and leaned his head back on the attic ceiling and closed his eyes, trying his best not to listen to what was happening outside.

  Chapter 2

  When Theo awoke, he could tell it was night time outside. He couldn't believe it, but he had actually fallen asleep for a few hours. Theo pressed an ear up against the attic hatch and tried to listen for Mike, but he couldn't hear a sound. At least any noises coming from up in the flat. Outside, that was an entirely different matter. Theo could hear the muffled popping sounds of gunshots, but those were less frequent than they had been and farther away too. It was becoming hot and stuffy up in the attic, and Theo needed some air.

  Theo removed the attic hatch and looked down into the dark bathroom. "Mike? You still up here trying to bite my face?" Theo listened for a few seconds and heard nothing. "Hey, Mike!" Theo shouted. Still, there was nothing. The
o popped his head down into the bathroom and tried to see what was going on, but it was too dark; the power had gone out. Theo had no other choice but to hop down out of the attic.

  Theo landed on the bathroom floor with a loud thud. If there was anything up there with him, they definitely would have heard Theo hitting the ground. Theo got up off the floor, and pulled out his Zippo, he needed the light. Theo made his way over to the kitchen windows to try and look down to the street below, trying to see if his car was still intact. With no street lights on, it was too difficult to see much of anything. Theo went over to the kitchen door. Even though Mike had broken it, Theo could still close and lock it. The lock clicking in place echoed all throughout the empty upper flat.

  Theo began walking throughout the rest of the upstairs, making his way over to a bedroom at the front of the flat. Theo managed to open up the window to try and get some air. Almost immediately, the smell of burning buildings hit Theo in the face.

  "Man, what in the hell is going on?"

  Needing some fresh air, Theo decided to climb out onto the roof. Theo stepped out onto the awning over his front porch then turned and climbed towards the center of the roof, coming to a stop at the chimney. Theo looked towards the downtown area and saw that the skyline was awash in flames. Several skyscrapers floors looked like they were spewing out fire from their windows. Theo could see the red bands of flame rising out of the buildings as he sat there on the roof dumbfounded.

  All around him, Theo heard people screaming; most likely people who were once his neighbors. He wanted badly to try and help them in any way that he could, but Theo couldn't tell what was happening down below. He thought he saw the vague shape of some neighbors running out to their cars and trying to escape. But Theo wasn't sure if it was his neighbors or if it was those lunatics running around.

  Feeling overwhelmed, Theo slid back down to the awning and slipped back inside his upper flat. Theo climbed back up into his attic to try and get some more rest, leaving the hatch open to get whatever cool air that he could. Before he went back to sleep, Theo finished the half a cigarette, wondering if his car would be on the side of the house when he woke up.

  In the morning, Theo was jolted awake by the sound of gunfire, at least that's what Theo thought it was.

  Seeing the sunlight poking through the holes in the roof, Theo chuckled. "Man, someone should really fix those."

  Theo looked down into the lower flat and made sure that the coast was clear before he jumped back down. The kitchen door had remained untouched throughout the night. Theo jumped down and went right over to his kitchen windows.

  What Theo saw out there made him gag. He recoiled away from the window and began to dry heave. Crowded in the intersection was a group of six crazies, Mike was among them. They were all gathered around a body, feasting on it like a pack of hyenas. Two of the lunatics were fighting over a leg that had been chewed away at the thigh. Theo stifled a few more gags and took another glance out of the window, he had to see if his car was still there.

  Theo let out a sigh of relief once he saw that the car had remained untouched, save for a few blood streaks on the passenger side window. It looked like Theo would be able to get out of there after all.

  Before he could head out though, Theo decided that it would be best to get outside with some kind of a weapon, he went from room to room in the upstairs, trying to find anything suitable, but all of the rooms were empty. Theo tried to remember back when he moved out, if there was something that he might have left behind that he could use. The problem is, there wasn't anything at all. Theo would have to try and sneak past the lunatics in the intersection. Get outside and literally crawl to his car if he had to.

  "Come on Theo, you can do this," He told himself. Theo opened the kitchen door and peered out into the back stairway, "Hello? Anyone in here trying to turn me into their dinner?" Theo didn't hear anything, so he slowly and quietly made his way down the steps, heading down to the side door. Theo followed the blood trail left behind by Mike, or maybe it was another crazy, Theo wasn't too sure. The streak of blood went all the way down the stairs, around the corner and back down into the middle flat.

  Making it down to the side door, Theo opened it as quietly as he possibly could. He didn't want to alert any of the nearby lunatics.

  "That's right, keep on eating. Don't mind me," Theo muttered as he crawled towards his car.

  Theo opened the passenger side door and slipped into his vehicle. Theo crawled over to the driver's side and peered over the dashboard, looking at the lunatics ripping at the body. Theo couldn't tell who the poor soul was that was laying there in the middle of the street in a huge pool of blood. He just shook his head at the sight and then put the key in the ignition and started his car.

  The sound of Theo's car starting alerted the crazies. Mike's head shot up from the body he was feasting upon and locked eyes with Theo.

  "Uh-oh," Theo said under his breath. Theo quickly put the car in reverse and sped down the street with the lunatics giving chase after him.

  Since he was so focused on the crazies and not on the road, Theo didn't notice the large wreckage of vehicles sitting in the intersection a block away from his old house. Theo backed right into it. The back of Theo's head smacked against the driver's seat, dazing him momentarily. The sound of the accident roused more of the crazies that were in the area, and they began to converge on his car. Theo came to when he heard Mike leaping on the hood of his sedan.

  Mike began pounding on the windshield with both fists, shattering it. Bits of broken glass were embedded in Mike's skin and the shattered glass sliced into his forearms as he reached around wildly for Theo. Blood poured out all over the dashboard of Theo's car. Theo avoided Mike's attempts at grabbing him, undid his seat belt, and darted out of his car, sprinting down the street to his left just as more of the crazies began to swarm around his vehicle.

  Theo could hear the lunatics' footsteps behind him as he dashed down the street. They were snarling and wailing. Theo took a quick glance behind him and saw that Mike was at the front of the pack, and he was gaining on Theo. Theo made a quick right turn in between two homes in the middle of the block and ran towards the backyard. The gap in between the houses caused a bottleneck, slowing the lunatics down somewhat. Theo hopped the fence and continued towards the large privacy fence at the back of the yard.

  Hopping on the fence and trying to climb over, Theo felt one of the crazies latch onto his right foot. It was Mike again.

  "Sorry Mike, not today," Theo said as Mike went to bite down into Theo's ankle. Theo slipped out of his sneaker and fell over the top of the fence, falling back first into the alley. Mike fell back into the group of lunatics.

  Theo sat up, "Oh damn. That hurt," He grumbled. He could hear the lunatics slamming into the fence, and beginning to climb up. Theo hobbled over to the backyard across the alley and hid behind the garage. Theo watched as the crazies that landed in the alley dispersed; They didn't follow Theo into the next yard.

  Theo looked inside the garage and saw that it was pretty much empty. Most people in that neighborhood chose to park their cars out in front of their homes anyhow, and Theo wasn't about to run into the street to find a suitable vehicle.

  Theo turned and examined the house, looking it up and down, the place looked deserted.

  "Knocking isn't the best idea," Theo thought as he walked over to the back steps and sat down. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit up his last smoke. "Now what?" He wondered, exhaling the cigarette smoke into the morning sky.

  He could try and get back to his car. Theo was smart enough to shut the engine off and take the keys with him when he was forced to ditch it. But Theo didn't know how many of those crazies were wandering around his vehicle. He could hear those lunatics all around him making that awful low growling sound that they made. Theo wondered how many of them were his former neighbors that had turned into those psychopaths.

  Theo sighed, "Shit." He had no idea what his next move woul
d be.

  Theo couldn't stay in that yard forever. He took one last drag of the smoke and put it out on the cement stairs and looked around, trying to figure out what he should do. Theo wondered if there was some type of military aid station around or even FEMA. Maybe he could try and get to the local police station. Theo wasn't going to try and get to a hospital, he knew that much. Hospitals were probably teeming with those crazies by now.

  "Psst," A voice called out to him.

  Theo looked around the backyards, was he hearing things?

  "Psst," There it was again, a faint whisper.

  "Um...hello?" Theo asked, confused.

  "Yeah, you spiky. Up here."

  Theo looked up and to his left, at the house in the next yard. Leaning out of one of the upstairs windows was a woman, and she didn't appear to be one of those lunatics.

  "Back door," She whispered and pointed downwards.

  Theo hopped over the wooden privacy fence without hesitation and ran up to the home. When the back door swung open, he was greeted by the barrel of a pistol being shoved in his face.

  Theo threw his hands up, "Whoa holy shit!" Theo yelled. "Don't shoot!"

  "You're not one of those corpses out there?" The mystery woman asked Theo.

  Theo took a step back, "What? Corpses?"

  "Yeah, those things out there. You're not one of them?"

  "Does it look like I'm trying to tear into you and eat your intestines?" Theo asked her. "Please, you can put the gun down. I'm not gonna hurt you. Can I come in? You know, before I wind up on the menu?"

  The woman lowered the pistol and pulled Theo into the house, slamming the door behind them. She tucked the pistol into the waistband of her pants and stuck out her right hand to Theo. "Hi, I'm Erica. Erica Kozan."