I woke up like a man coming up from a deep dive with no oxygen. What had woken me up. Then my answer came loud knocking on the door. 

"SID OPEN UP PLEASE FOR GOD'S SAKE PLEASE" 

I got to my feet the knocking constant and impatient. I unlocked the door. A man pushed past me knocking my back. It was Earl he sat on my sofa breathing heavy. 

"it's OK man I'm hear." I put a hand on his shoulder and he started to wail tear streamed down his face. 

"put your head between your legs and breath slow in through your nose and out of your mouth. In and out. In and out." 

he did as he was told I got him a drink of water. He sat back and drank like he hadn't drunk for a week. He threw his arms around me. I rubbed his back like you would a child that had skinned a knee. 

" your OK now buddy. "

" don't let me do anything so stupid again please promise me. Slap me if anything so stupid comes out of my mouth again."

"OK I promise that I will slap you next time you say something stupid. Now can you please tell me what happened." 

"when I left here it wasn't too bad at first. You know the odd dog and I'm going to say it now zombie."

There was a pause. He sat there going red. 

"what's up why you going red ya big poof." 

"well it seems wrong to call them zombies." 

"well if a cats a cat then a zombie is a zombie. So just say it as it is." 

"OK but zombies aren't real." 

"correction zombies weren't real. Now they are so deal with it." 

"I don't want to deal with it but OK. So I was driving on and kept seeing the odd zombie and dog. When I was about three miles away from town that's when it turned to shit. The roads are gridlocked. There are crashed cars hear a d there. Some cars abandoned some with zombies trapped in them they are the worst. In the films you never see zombie kids do you. "

" I can't say that I have maybe they don't think that they are scary enough to be in films. "

" Well let me tell you. They are they are not just scary they are disturbing. When you look into a car window and see mummy zombie daddy zombie and baby zombie all look at you like your a free mars bar. That's traumatic. So I tried to go round a different way to town. It was something else driving round. I was like an ice-cream van out side of a school. They just ran at me from all directions. I think it was the noise that made them notice me. I was fine while the roads were clear but when the traffic got snarled up. I was fucked. So like I said I was trying to get in to town using the side roads. Why I didn't turn around after the first road I don't know. Just stupid I suppose but I had to find out what was happening in the town hall. But as I tried smaller and smaller roads it seemed like more and more zombies were coming. As well as that they became more densely packed. If I had known that would happen I would have come straight back instead of trying over and over. Most people learn after one or two tries. Not me I'll tell ya nine times I tried. How stupid can one guy be. Oh while I remember my van is now fucked."

"hang on nine times and you fucked your van. What time is it."

We both checked the clock. Four forty five. 

"look at the fucking time in about ten hours on your own you got into a lot of shit. Who wakes someone up at this time man. I need a coffee break," 

I went to my pickup and unlocked it and started it look through my bags for coffee sugar and milk. I got them and went back inside. I set up two cups and sparked up and tossed my packet at Earl. He wasn't watching and they bounced off his head. 

" just what the doctor ordered." he said. 

"some how I doubt that. He never told me to light up I normaly get a bollocking for it off mine. You'll have to give me his number. Anyway get back on with your story." 

"Well on my last attempt I got completely penned in by them. I had to reverse over them. It wasn't easy there was so many of them I couldn't see out of any window so I was effectively blind. Bones cracked and crunched as the van went over them at one point body's had lifted the van off the road and my wheels were just spinning. That wasn't as bad as it sounds they kept walking at the van and the wheels would rip parts off them. The down side to the was they started to get wrapped around the wheel and slow it down. But with them rocking the van I got traction angin. Eventually I got free from them and came here. But because of the damage done to the van and blocked roads it took ages. I was starting to think that you might have gone."

"i told you that I would wait. I'm happy that you came back. Let's get some sleep." 

We went to bed and slept for another five hours. After breakfast we transferred Earl's supplies to the pickup. We set off to the first place on my list. It was an old friends house Jim crabtree. I had no intention of staying there. Jim and his dad were hunters. My intention was to see if they were in and alive first. If they were gone or dead break in and look for their rifles and shot guns. I had not told Earl about this I thought that he would object. We pulled up and the drive way was full of cars like normal Jim's dad was a mechanic. I got out I had my bike jacket on on put my helmet on for protection now. I knocked on the door after looking through the windows it was fairly quiet in the area not many houses about. The door opened when I knocked. 

"HELLO ANYONE HOME" 

"Upstairs sid come in" 

The voice sounded like Jim's mum. I went in Earl was behind me visibly shacking. We went upstairs. I did not expect the sight I saw. Jim and Philip Jim's dad were both dead. Sue Jim's mum was sick. Phillip had a large hunting knife stuck in his ear. Jim was in the corner with half his head missing. Sue had a shot gun. I turned to sue. 

"you OK love. What happened."  she lifted her head and I could see blood on her shoulder. She was crying. 

"I killed my poor boy. Both Jim and phill got sick Phil turned first and attacked me. Jim had enough strength to stab him in the head. But it was too late I had been bitten. A little later Jim turned too. I had to shoot him. I started to get sick an hour ago. I will die soon. I wasn't sick until Phil bit me. I was waiting for the nose bleed to start then kill myself. Now you are here will you stay until I change then kill me please."

" OK come down stairs and we can have a drink and get you comfortable."

"no I want to stay with them."

"ok Earl put the kettle on. We will be OK here for now." 

Earl asked how sue liked her drink and went to sort them out. 

"sue I need to ask you for your guns and ammo."

"i won't need anything it's all yours. What ever you want take it just do what I have asked." 

"thank you." 

We all sat in the bedroom with the corpses. I put blankets over them and we talked all day. It was around three o'clock when sue took her last breath. I waited for her to change. When she did it was scary. She went from dead still with her eyes closed. To instant animation. Her eyes pinged open and she sat bolt upright. I didn't hesitate I pulled the trigger of the shot gun. At that range her he'd disappeared into a red mist. I was on my own Earl had gone to sleep. I got sprayed with blood but I was covered up and none got to my skin. That is when Earl came back and saw what had been done. 

"I'm going back to bed." 

"OK see you in the morning." 

I was amazed at the speed we had both got to grips with what was happening. I was starting to think that I was a heartless bastard. I covered sues body and start to gather all the weapons I could find. There was two shot guns four hunting rifles I don't know what they I just know that they all used.. 22 rounds they all had sights I found eight hunting knives and ten full boxes of ammo. Three boxes of shotgun shells and a bow and arrows I liked that best of all. The rifles had sights as well. I had been hunting with them a few times so I knew how to use them all. I was happy with the selection of weapons I had now and went looking for supplies I found a lot of tinned food and dog food I had forgotten about the springer spaniel. Jessie, I went out to the kennel with a bowl of food. Please be normal. 

"Jessie come hear girl." 

I gave a whistle. She came running to the gate. 

", Jessie who's a good girl yes you are yes you are." 

I spoke to her in a babyish voice. Passing her food under the gate. She was fine giddy as always reached through and stroked her. My hand touched something wet and sticky. I couldn't see in the dark. I pulled my hand back and sniffed it. Shit one of her favourite tricks to hide her scent. I went back inside and washed my hands. When I had finished loading the supplies I went to bed.