Z Day: Survival of the Fittest

by Newton, Reece

  As I walked down the endless road I saw fields to the side of the road but nothing more for miles until I came to a town in the middle of nowhere that was completely deserted, it wasn’t like our modern day towns it looked more like the wild west. There were homes burnt down, cars in the middle of the roads and shops that had been looted but there wasn’t any sign of zombies or humans it was pretty creepy.

  I went into one of the little corner shops, there wasn’t anything left inside not even a drink, even the cash register had been emptied I don’t see why money was just a piece of paper now it had no impact on any survivors lives and certainly not on any zombies. After searching the shop for supplies I carried on walking down the road. I didn’t bother checking the rest of the shops I could see through the windows that there was nothing left. As I was looking through the windows I got tapped on the shoulder, there was a tall black haired man in a leather jacket, he held a pistol to my head and told me to come with him.

  We walked for ten or so minutes then we came to a large warehouse on the outskirts of the town it was surrounded by metal gates, the bloke pressed the button on the main gate and it buzzed. A few seconds later the gates began to open and we went inside, we came to the door of the warehouse, the man with the gun to the back of my head was surprisingly nice, all the way here he asked me general questions and we had a chat. it wasn’t the most normal time to have a chat but it was good to talk to someone even if he did have a gun to my head. When we eventually got inside the warehouse it was virtually empty, there was a group of about five people in the middle of the warehouse all loading assault rifles and one with a sniper they were all hillbilly types like the people at the corn field. The man with the gun to the back of my head introduced me to the group as there latest member he then shook my hand and gave me the my gun back the other members of the group said alright then they continued loading their weapons, the man who took me there gave me an extra pistol and said his name was Reg. I told him I was Dexter and asked why everyone was loading their weapons, he explained to me that the group were planning to take over the sheriff’s department because they were running low on supplies.

  Reg told the other guys to move out, we all went outside and the men started loading boxes into the van. Dexter put his arm over my shoulder and told me what was going to happen, he said the sheriff’s department were helping survivors and they’d taken all the supplies in town to feed everyone so Reg and the group had planned to go and kill them all and take supplies.

  I wanted to go with them, hell I needed to survive and thought my chances would be better with them than against them. After the truck was loaded up I couldn’t go through with it, I told Reg and he said if I didn’t do it I wasn’t part of the group so while the rest of them got in the truck Reg tied me to the outside gate of the warehouse he said I had to stay here for three days as punishment for being disloyal to the group.

  The group left to kill the survivors at the sheriff’s department, the sun was beaming down on me while I was tied to that metal gate, I thought I might pass out from the heat, I hadn’t had any food or drink in hours and I felt like I was going to die. I heard nothing but gunshots in the distance for half an hour, when they stopped there was silence for a few minutes until I heard a truck coming down the road. It wasn’t the same truck as Reg and the gang took with them so I assumed they were dead, as the truck approached I could see it was a tow truck and inside was Tommy the man whose mother I had murdered. He turned the truck so the back of it was facing me then he got out and attached the hook from the truck to the gate, he punched me round the face and said Reg has said I can get revenge for what you did to our mumma. My old brother Reg has told me to burn you back at the house and save your legs for him.

  He got back in the truck and ripped the fence down with me still attached, he started to drive away I’m glad I wasn’t facing the other way or else the road would have ripped my face off. I was dragged along behind the truck for about two minutes the metal gate was sparking and every second of it was scaring me half to death, then we turned a corner and went past the sheriff’s department. Reg’s gang had been shot down, I watched as Reg was shot down by what looked like the sheriff after he’d shot Reg he tried to shoot the hook on the truck to get me off but he missed. Tommy sped up and now the sheriff’s department was in the distance but suddenly I heard a gunshot the sheriff had taken one of Reg’s men’s snipers and shot the hook off the gate. I came to a stop but tommy kept on going, seconds later the sheriff came over to me and untied me, he took me into the sheriff's department.

  The building was full of people either laying on the floor in sleeping bags or just lying on the ice cold floor with no way of keeping warm. There were families laying together and people lying alone mourning the loss of their loved ones. The sheriff lead me past them and took me to the back room where he stayed. He gave me a can of soda and a tin of sweetcorn, I sat on the sofa ate and drank like it was the last bit of food I'd ever get. It took me about an hour to finish them I savoured the taste of them, after eating the sheriff let me sleep on the sofa while he slept on the floor next to me.

  I woke up late the next morning it was the first proper night’s sleep I’d had since this whole thing had started. Once I’d properly woken up the sheriff sat down next to me and asked me where Tommy had gone I told him all about how the helicopter had crashed and we had stumbled upon their house. I felt sick to the stomach reliving the events of cannibalism I’d witnessed only a few hours earlier, I missed out the part where I had killed Tommy’s mom in the story I told him but I didn’t fancy being locked up. I told him where Tommy lived, he took me to his police car and we both got in, he had a shot gun and he gave me a pistol I fastened my seat belt, I wasn’t going be killed in a car crash not after surviving for this long!

  I told the sheriff what direction Tommy was in then he started the car and sped off down the never ending road I had walked down the day before. We finally came to the barn in which Chris had been eaten alive and the sheriff parked the car beside it, he told me to stay in the car but I wanted to kill Tommy. I gave him a chance when I had tied him up before even though he ate the guy who saved my life but this time there was no way on earth I was going to let him live not after dragging me behind a tow truck while I was tied to a metal gate I didn’t really feel in the forgiving mood.

  I undid my seatbelt and I took the safety off the pistol back, I stayed behind the sheriff while we searched the barn. We discovered the body of Tommy’s mom half eaten. Tommy had eaten his own mother, it was sick. After searching the barn we found Tommy he had turned into a zombie, it wasn’t much of a change for him he’d already started eating human flesh the only really difference was that he was now a pale green colour and his eyes were completely white with a tiny black dot in the middle.

  The sheriff pulled the shotgun back and went to shoot but before he could I shot Tommy in the head he fell to the ground and he was dead, even though he was dead he still had that smile that made me feel sick, that creepy smile that I’d only seen on him and his mother. After shooting him we got back in the car and the sheriff thanked me for what I had done, I’d never been thanked for killing someone, it felt good. On the way back I told the sheriff about the safe island and I told him that me and the scientist were trying manufacture a cure. I told him that I needed to get back to Clacton and find a way of getting back on the island. He said he would go with me, there was nothing left for him here now, he had saved most of the people in his town and there was no one left to save. He said he’d give up being sheriff to end this fucking war against them rabid fucks, he didn’t bother going back to the other survivors to tell them he knew they could take care of themselves now Reg and his family were dead.

  We drove for about six hours, it had started to get dark and we were on a motorway surrounded by deserted cars and every so often I saw the odd zombie but it had been pretty peaceful being on the road. It gave me some time to sit down and relax for a while after the six hours of dr
iving the sheriff stopped the car and got out he took his shotgun with him and the bottle of water he had wedged down the side of the chair. As he slammed the car door shut I was confused about what was going on, I was worried he was going to shoot himself or something. He called me out of the car and told me the car had run out of petrol and it was going to be dark out soon. We needed to find somewhere to stay for the night we didn’t really fancy walking into a horde of zombies and being eaten alive. We walked down the motorway for about another hour hoping to find a campervan or somewhere we’d be safe and secure from zombies for the night. A few miles down the road from where we had ditched the police car we managed to find a furniture delivery van, we opened it up. Inside were two or three armchairs and a sofa, we barricaded the shutter of the van even though we knew zombies wouldn't be able to lift the shutters. They were too stupid they'd try walking into it but as my parents used to say it’s better to be safe than sorry so after barricading up we laid on the floor of the van and tried to recoup some energy and get some sleep.

  I only got slept for about an hour but that was still more than sheriff had, I don't think I’d ever actually seen him sleep, he was like a machine. I woke up the next morning feeling like crap, it felt as though this battle was never ending. After composing myself I opened the shutters, before I had time to realize what was happening I felt a tug on my leg as I was bitten by one of those zombie bastards, he ripped a chunk out of my leg. I kicked him hard in the head as I shook him off and closed the shutters again.

  The sheriff laid me down on the sofa, I told him he had to find James Treadmore, he was my only hope now. If there was a cure by now, he’d know about it. I took the gun from Dexter’s pocket while he was having a fit, I knew it wouldn't be long now, it was inevitable, he'd turn into one of those zombie pricks.

  Journal entry:

  Oh yeah and by the way I'm the sheriff in case you didn't know, I'm the man who saved my town from the zombie invasion by keeping as many people as I could in the Sheriff’s department and then I saved Dexter from being eaten by Tommy the man-eater! I ain't great at filling in all the details of the story but I'm sure Dexter’s already told you and if he hasn't he can if I manage to find James Treadmore, if not then I guess I'll have to carry on his journal until I die or find the cure. I just hope one day this all ends, this world Just doesn't make any sense anymore.

  Whilst Dexter was fitting I took my shot-gun and opened the shutter door on the van, I was wary of the zombies outside, I didn't want the same fate as Dexter. I opened the shutter fully and stood back next to Dexter who was still fitting and now foaming at the mouth. The zombie outside was a really fat naked man, I don't know why he was naked and truly I couldn't have cared less the only thing I was thinking about was why Dexter had now stopped fitting. I didn't even think about the zombies climbing into the van, I took a breath to think then put a bullet in the fat man's head and went to walk out of the back of the van. Dexter grabbed at my leg I fell hard on the floor of the van and hit my head on the shotgun I looked back and Dexter was a zombie. He was just about to bite my leg, I kicked him off of me but he just kept grabbing at my leg. I kicked him in the head twice and managed to get my leg free (it's not as easy as you'd think getting your leg free from a zombie).

  I rolled out of the back of the van and grabbed my shotgun, I pushed Dexter back with the shotgun then closed the van shutter. I went to the front of the van and got in, both the doors were wide open and the keys were still in the ignition but the van was out of fuel. I searched the cars in front to try and find some fuel, I’d searched a few with no luck until I came across a can of fuel in back seat of a car, the car was locked and most likely alarmed. I had already fired the shotgun that was bound to bring zombies here soon but I didn't want to sound the alarm, I knew it would attract zombies from miles away but I had no choice now. I shot the car window and sure enough the alarm went off, I picked up the fuel can and was ready to run back to the van but there was something wrong, the fuel can was empty and I could already hear the moans of zombies. I held the shotgun tightly (even though my hands were kind of shaking now) and I dived in a bush at the side of the motorway, I stayed as still as I could hiding in the bushes for a few minutes then I had to look up and see how many of them there were. When I looked up there was twenty or more zombies all thrashing at the car that sounded the alarm and I could see more coming. I didn't have a plan now I didn't know what to do I think, this was the only time in my life I'd ever been that stuck for knowing what I should do even when the apocalypse first happened I knew what to do but now I couldn't think of any way I could survive. I ducked down in that bush for two or three hours, my head was pounding and I was feeling pretty dehydrated. It must have been the hottest day of the year and I was positive that had sunstroke, I had just been sitting there shaking with the sweat dripping from my head I'd never had sunstroke before and it was the worst time possible time to get it. It had been 3 hours, I had been sitting in the middle of the bush, I kept looking over to see if they had started disperse, the alarm had stopped ages ago but the zombies were still there, just walking around dormant and waiting for their food. While sitting in the bushes it hit me that I was completely alone and that I should have stayed at the Sheriff’s department where I belonged with the people who appreciated me. To them I was a hero but now, now I was nothing but a dead man I couldn’t just sit there any longer, I felt like I was going to pass out and if I did and one of them saw me I would be eaten alive.

  I stood up and clutched the shotgun in my shaking hands praying that somehow I could find a way out of this alive. I climbed back over the bush and stood on the road next to the van Dexter was locked inside of. I fired at the zombies, I knew it would attract more zombies but I had to try something, I fired at the zombies killing six or seven of them and they started to charge towards me. I didn't know what I could do now, I had no bullets left and no weapons of any sort.

  I started running back the way myself and Dexter had come. I managed to get some distance between myself and the zombies, they seemed to have slowed down. I hid under a car and hoped for myself and Dexter’s sake that they wouldn't find me. I was still trembling whilst laying under that car but it gave me shade so it wasn't all that bad. After ten or so minutes the remaining zombies walked past the car. /I still had no fuel, I decided to walk up the nearest exit and try to find some, I just had to try and remember where the van was!

  I walked for miles that day in search of some fuel, in the end I managed to find some just sitting by the side of the road next to a half-eaten leg, It was just lying on the ground a gift from the God’s maybe? As I walked back I noticed many strange an inanimate objects just scattered around the streets, there was a wig, a clock, a Halloween mask and a sword it was the sharpest thing I'd ever seen, it had a black handle and the blade was covered in blood, I wiped the blood off with my shirt and engraved on the blade were the words “Live fast die young” it didn't have a holster but I was fine carrying it, this was a the weapon to have in the apocalypse. When fighting zombies you don't want sound and you don't want to waste time reloading this was the perfect weapon, I didn't really know how to use it but how hard could it be? All you have to do is stab the fucking zombie in the head.

  I walked back to the van, I was anxious to use my new weapon and I was in luck because standing beside the van was a docile zombie, it hadn't seen me yet. I dropped the can of fuel and took the sword with both hands, I stabbed the zombie through its head and pulled the blade back out in one swift motion. It fell to the ground, my sword was stained with its blood. I filled the van with fuel and started the engine, it wasn’t the smoothest running van I’d ever driven but it did the job.

  I continued driving along the motorway swerving around the abandoned cars as I did so. I drove for hours through the dark and just as I was about to come off the motorway at Clacton I saw a horde of zombies ahead. I stopped the van and tried to think of another route but there wasn't another way into Clacton. I wound up the win
dows and started the van up again, I went full speed into the zombie hordes, ran a few of them over but the rest were trying to break the van door. The noise of them screeching and moaning was making me tremble, I didn't really feel like being eaten (well not today anyway). I kept my foot on the throttle, I was slowly getting through the horde, it took a while and I was scared shitless but I managed to get past them.

  They'd made quite a few dents to the van I'm just glad it wasn’t my sheriff’s car, I’d had it for years but there wasn't a scratch on it, I waxed it daily before the apocalypse and to this day it didn't have a scratch on it (unless one of the zombies had scratched it on the motorway) but it didn't matter anymore my only concern was finding James and getting the cure.

  When I got in to Clacton I passed empty shops and homes, there were zombies trying to find their next meal. I continued on to St Osyth beach like Dexter had told me, I searched for a way to get to the island that James was on. I walked along the beach and looked for a boat, I hadn't been to the beach since I was a child, as I reminisced I noticed the odd zombie ahead in the distance, I had my sword on me and could take them down easily. I liked the power the sword gave me, I was ready for anything now. After walking the length of the shore I sat down for a while and watched the sea as it lulled gently back and forth, it was tranquil for a while until I heard the all too familiar sound of gunshots in the air, I began to run in the direction of the shots, when I got to the shops I could see Army trucks and soldiers holding heavy duty machine guns. I followed behind the soldiers until we got closer to Clacton, we came to a gated mental institution , the army trucks disappeared inside the gates whilst the soldiers remained outside. I watched the people get out the truck and unload crates of what looked like medical supplies, a cure maybe? They took it inside, I couldn’t waste this opportunity I approached one of the soldiers standing outside the gates and asked him if they had a cure, he told me that one of their scientists had recently developed a cure and to go into the hospital for a safe and secure temporary place to stay. I told him I’d be right back then I jogged back to the van hid the sword down the side of the van seat and drove to the asylum.