Nolan got on his knees and looked out through the now foggy window. It was a cloudy day, but he could still see enough to make out the figure of a middle aged man running for his life.
'I have to help him!'
Nolan walked over to the kitchen to grab his axe. He then looked over on the counter. His hair and was still there. Nolan picked it up and tied his hair up once more.
Almost tripping over the dead undead, he walked back to the window. By now he could make out the man and two smaller, stockier zombies. Trying not to focus on the details, he walked over to front door. Nolan placed his hand on the doorknob.
He tried opening the door. It was a heavy door. Probably the heaviest door Nolan had ever opened. Maybe that was why he couldn't open it. The handle stayed unturned.
"Come on, damn it!"
He exclaimed his frustration onto the doorknob. The truth was, Nolan really couldn't open the door. He was afraid. He was afraid to see another death like Judith's.
Wallowing in his fear from the safe interior of the house, he heard one zombie catch up to the man. Next a bloodcurdling scream echoed, that could be heard from a mile away. But this scream didn't come from the undead, it was fear.
Next there was silence. It lasted only for a moment, but time was dilated inside the young man's fragile mind. Nolan shivered. He almost broke the vow he had made moments ago.
'No… Why did it have to happen like this! Why didn't I do anything again!
Then came the heavy breathing from not one, but two creatures. A third one was approaching. Nolan still had a chance. His last chance.
'He's still alive, damn it!'
Finally mustering his resolve, Nolan tried opening the door once again. It was still incredibly hefty, but he wanted to see the other side.
A door isn't meant to block something; that's what a wall is for.
Struggling with all his might, the front door of the house finally swung open. Nolan looked at the scene in front of him.
The middle aged man was lying on the ground. He had slightly slicked black curly hair cover by a Greg hat with a crisp lumberjack beard. His hair was noticeably grayed. The man wore a torn red flannel and grey sweatpants.
'Gotta be a lumberjack.'
The man's appearance was blurred from the fact a zombie was already atop of him, only being blocked by his long santoku kitchen knife. The other zombie was still far away, being stalled by something in a nearby house. Nolan looked over to the side of the man and his sweat became colder.
One hand had been seemingly pulled from his body already, laying in a pile of blood. Nolan clenched his teeth. This was what his waiting had payed off. Then he slammed the door behind him and started running towards the man.
'Damn it!
The zombie noticed him running, and instantly changed his target towards Nolan. He shuddered and yelled in frustration as the creature leaped towards Nolan.
"Greedy little shit!"
Nolan moved his axe up again, but this time the zombie was much smaller, so he could shove it off with enough force. He noticed the man getting back on his feet, so he signaled at him to go for an attack.
This zombie was very small and hard to corner, so Nolan was not in a situation where he could attempt to explode the brains like he did with the mutant teihiihan. After another lunge at him, he pushed the axe handle into the beasts mouth. He yelled at the man who now was up with his knife ready.
"Now!"
The man came from behind, stabbing the little demon in the head, causing the man a visible pain from the toughness of its flesh and skin. Removing the knife, blood splattered across Nolan's clothes, as he rolled the zombie to the floor.
[*Infected Teihiihan* Felled]
[Enemy Rank: F]
'I didn't kill it, though?'
Nolan immediately jumped up and stepped back from the man. He was still bleeding out, but had a fierce look in his eyes. Nolan had never killed a man, but he recognized that look in the middle aged man's eyes. He could see how untrusting he was.
After a few moments the man began to stumble and fell to the ground, fainting on the spot. Lowering his guard, Nolan stepped over to check on the man's condition. Blood was still spurting from his wound, and although his trustworthiness could be questioned, Nolan was not going to let another person die.
First, he took the knife from the man and kicked it away, and then frisked him for any other weapons. Then he pulled out his first aid kit from his backpack, and began to wrap a small tourniquet around the man's arm. Next he began to dress the room, before stopping again.
'What is it now!'
While performing the makeshift surgery, the familiar hopping sound returned. Nolan turned to see the second zombie had left whatever house it had took a detour to and came back to come after him. Stopping the procedure, Nolan stood up, with his axe ready. Just before the zombie reached him, a gunshot rang.
Nolan looked down the street, seeing only a silhouette. He layed down for a few seconds before realizing the mysterious person was not going to shoot him. Upon discovering this, he continued his operation on the man as the woman drew closer.
By the time he finished dressing the wound and applying a bandage the mysterious gunslinger had caught up to him. Nolan turned to face them.
Standing there was a fairly tall dark skinned woman holding some sort of marksman rifle. She wore a leather jacket and jeans, paired with a fashionable Bantu knots hairstyle. From a glance, Nolan speculated she was in her early 20s. He picked up his axe with caution.
They stared blankly at each other, unsure who was going to make the next move. Nolan knew if she could hit a zombie from a couple hundred of meters away that she could definitely shoot him too. After a minute of silence, the woman's eyes followed to the man and then she lowered her gun. Nolan kept his axe raised, put didn't point it at the woman. Finally, the woman broke the silence.
"Do you know this man?"
"No, do you?"
"Yes, but by face only."
During their conversation, Nolan focused his sensitive hearing on her heartbeat. He wasn't a lie detector, but Nolan thought he could pick up any signs that she was a threat if he felt and fluctuations. So far there were no abnormalities, just a high heart rate. Nolan spoke again.
"Why are you out here?"
"I saw the man running from the two zombies. I've killed one of those before, and I wasn't in any danger behind me, so I shot one."
Nolan paused for a moment. He had always had been told he was overly cautious, but he wanted to ensure this woman was no threat to his life. It had only been a little over 3 and a half days since the apocalypse, but there was no telling what people were willing to do in such a situations. Next he asked the question that had been bugging him the most.
"Are… Are these zombies?"
The lady lowered her head. An even darker mist appeared in her black eyes. She spoke firmly.
"Yes."
Nolan nodded, not addressing the look she was giving him. So far she seemed trustworthy, or at the very least, honest. He then asked his last and most important question.
"Have you killed anyone?"
Nolan was acting tough, but he was still very vulnerable from Judith's death. He hoped the lady would answer positively to his question. He wasn't sure how he would react if she said yes.
The woman's breath became erratic as her heart beat increased. Nolan became anxious.
'Fuck!'
The woman stared him down, biting her teeth. Nolan raised his axe, but stopped. Her breathing had gotten faster but it wasn't a worried breath. It was painful, and Nolan could tell she was terrified. He lowered his axe.
"Were they…infected?"
The woman paused before answering.
"Yes."
Nolan did not respond back, but he lowered his axe and attached it to his belt. Suddenly, in the distance Nolan heard a zombie thumping again.
"More are coming, we need to get inside, quickly!"
"What? How can you tell?"
"It doesn't matter. You believe me, don't you? You lowered your gun when you saw that I treated this man's hand."
"Fair enough."
Slinging the man over his shoulder, Nolan walked towards the house opposite of Judith's. Upon reaching the porch, the woman got in front of him.
"Let me."
She placed her hand on the door and it unlocked.
'So she's a changeling too, huh?'
They rushed inside, closing the door. Nolan moved towards the hall of the house and found a spare bedroom to lie the man down. Meanwhile, he heard zombies running down the street, at least 5 of them. After a few moments he heard them catch up to the two dead zombies, and then… started to eat them? Ignoring the disgusting chewing sounds, Nolan leaned against the wall. The lady walked in beside him, and both stayed still, before hearing the zombies get up and leave. Thankfully, Nolan still had not heard the zombie screech he heard on the first day.
Nolan drew a sigh of relief and sat down. He looked at the woman who was sitting in the chair next to the middle aged man. This time the woman initiated the conversation.
"You're a changeling?"
"How could you tell?"
"You picked up on those zombies minutes before they came here. A normal person couldn't detect that."
"Fair enough. And that makes to of us, considering you opened that door."
"Yep."
The woman was now rocking on the chair, almost seeming relaxed.
"It's one of my traits actually. It lets me open "unprotected locks."
Nolan looked at her with envy.
'Man, that would be useful!'
Then he looked down again.
"I'm sorry for raising my weapon at you. I've always been told I'm way too cautious and I don't know if you would have tried to kill me for whatever reason."
The lady looked at him and forced a small smile. She stood up and walked towards him.
"It's actually totally fine. You were right two times. I knew you wouldn't attack me after I saw you bandage that man."
A look of sorrow washed her face.
"I did kill two people. They were infected, but not like those two we saw. They were human. I wasn't sure at first, but after my father became violent I had too…"
Nolan looked af her.
"I'm sorry."
She looked at him with remorse, then spoke again.
"Thank you. That was three days ago, but I couldn't let them stay like that. Life just keeps moving I guess."
Nolan thought to himself.
'Wow, shes way stronger than me.'
Acknowledging her story he spoke again.
"I'm Nolan."
The woman lingered and then responded.
"My name's Aniyah."
Both waited there for a few moments.
By this point, Nolan no longer wanted to be in this cursed city. He had given up his dream of adventure and was ready to leave. That fueled his next question to break the silence.
"Have you tried to leave?"
Aniyah looked at him, letting out a slight chuckle.
"Haven't you heard, we're trapped."
"What do you mean?"
"You realized how we lost all cellular service? It went out ten minutes after the disaster began. The disaster began saying something about choosing seeds, and then when it happened, some sort of portal opened up in Times Square. It was all over social media before the blackout. I also had some messages from friends trying to leave the city, but they all came in contact with some sort of barrier."
Aniyah looked at Nolan like he was crazy.
"Did you sleep through that whole ordeal?"
Nolan gulped.
"Yes."
Aniyah scoffed. Nolan had indeed slept through the beginning of the disaster. He thought to himself.
'Well I guess my dream is still alive.'
Nolan laughed a little.