Another day… just like the one before it and the one after. My tasks around the settlement are done, everyone is out doing a run of some kind, and I'm sitting here on top of the water tower we rigged to use as a rain water collector, looking out into the sky. Wondering if there was ever anything else to this life, as the groans and grunts of the undead below echo through the city. A sound all too familiar for anyone that's alive these days… alive, that's a funny word. That's the thing about days like these, when I'm all alone with nothing to occupy my mind, it tends to wander into many thoughts. These thoughts serve no purpose to anyone, not even myself and yet their grip is unrelenting and unforgiving.
As I drop my gaze from the sky above, a strange scene begins to take shape far out in the streets below.
Something interesting to look at for once. In the middle of the small city our rooftop settlement was in, a woman walked amongst the hordes of the undead below without any trouble. Surrounding her in a small circle were a group of them, moving distinctly from the majority. Their walk was purposeful and at a pace that suggested they were needing to arrive somewhere soon. Instead of the heavy, hunched over walks they usually do, these zombies walked as if escorting the woman in the middle. Henchmen guarding their all so important leader with their very bodies like undead meat shields.
From up here, she looked to be an average built woman, her skin was an olive color much like my own. Her hair was dark and curly, cut rather short. The portion of hair on top of her head, shielding her eyes and forehead was a bright blonde, almost as if it was washed of its original color. On the back of her head, a long tuft of fiery orange hair blew in the breeze. She dawned a dark leather jacket, with stone washed—capris jeans and sporty white sneakers. In her hands she clutched a bright yellow stick with a ball attachment at one end.
As she slowly approached with her ensemble, I pulled my leather shoulder harness on and dropped from the water tower without a second thought. Paced over and stood on the edge of the building rooftop I was on, giving her a wave. She did not respond to this gesture in the slightest. Puzzled, I moved to the east side of the building, dropping below to the fire escape. Climbing it down quickly till I reached the bottom, just before the rung with the ladder on it. I looked out in her direction once more, waving to her once again. This time with a piece of yellow cloth I had in my back pocket…still nothing.
Dad always said, human life is precious in this world. So do whatever you can to help someone that may be in need.
I like to tell myself that's why I dropped down and began doing all of this to grab her attention. But that wasn't really the case.
Suddenly, the very undead that litter the streets below grow silent. The very air grows tense as the hairs on my neck stand and my heart races, a feeling of ecstasy, a spark. My breaths become shallow as she slowly picks her head up, the hair blocking her eyes and head slightly part to the sides. Revealing a grey mask with a blueish hue that covered only the top half of her face. A zombie skin mask. Typical attire these days if you want the highest chances of survival in this hopeless world. The mask had small slits for eyes cut into it and the orange tuft of hair was part of the mask.
I opened my mouth to speak, but my very voice seemed to dissipate from my throat.
"You!" She says with a soft but stern voice. "My savior! At last I have found you!"
I looked around to see if I could find the person she was talking to. Till I remembered I was the only one here at the moment.
"Y-you talking to me!?" I asked from the fire escape about 30 feet away from her.
She nods slowly, turning her head vaguely in my direction.
"Are you okay!?" I asked, "Do you need any help!?" But something about her and that feeling in the air, told me that she may not need help. And still, I went along with it.
"Will you invite me up?" The woman asked with a soft smile.
"Uh…sure! If you would just find your way under this fire escape, I'll let the ladder down for you!"
She moves forward slowly, putting the end of the stick she was holding down with the ball attachment rolling on the ground. Making zig zag like patterns as she walks. The zombies that were guarding her break formation and blend in with the rest. In unison, all of them begin to make way for her as she walks towards the alleyway where the fire escape was.
I don't really need to tell you how odd this was. This is the first I've ever seen anything like this happen in my 22 years of life. Zombies moving out of your way and escorting you?? I couldn't help but think I was dreaming or that maybe she learned a trick using those zombie masks that no one knows about yet. I'm uh, not sure I'd want to learn the trick though. I hate wearing those things but what's happening before my eyes is interesting nonetheless and should be documented.
I brought her a chair to sit on from a nearby cards table as the zombies below began their usual rambles once again.
"I figured you would want to take a load off. You have probably been walking for a bit." I said to her with a friendly tone.
"Ah, I appreciate the hospitality."
She reaches her hand out and gently feels for the chair. Then I realized something.
"Are you-are you blind?" I asked as I gently pushed the chair towards her hand.
The woman sits slowly on the wooden chair. Still clutching the yellow stick. Now that she was closer, I got a better look at her features. Her facial features were soft but mature, she might have been in her early to mid 40s. Her build was thin but muscular and under her jacket, she wore a yellow tank top.
She sighs before explaining "Yes, it is the punishment for my sin."
"Oh, and what sin was that?" I asked.
She scoffs, "Abandoning everything I had, for that—" she picked up both of her hands and shook them in a magical gesture "spark."
I was left speechless for a moment. Despite being able to understand what she meant.
"Wh-what gave YOU that spark? As you say."
"It doesn't matter now, just know it wasn't worth it. My son, my lover… I left it all." She grips the stick harder. "But I've found forgiveness and now, my savior." She said while looking up at me, her hair parting yet again. Although covered in shadow behind the mask, I could see her eyes were cloudy. She really was blind.
I scoff "I don't know what you mean by that lady, I was just trying to help a fellow survivor."
"You are going to do more than that…" she said softly.
After a short moment, she pounds the stick on the ground, the air grows tense once again and silence befalls every corner of the streets below. A bead of sweat drips down my forehead, my heart pumps with such intensity it feels like it's going to burst through my chest…and all I could do was produce a grin. I knew what was coming. I looked forward to it.
She slowly stands and turns her back to me. In one fell swoop she removes her Jacket. The removal revealed a body riddled with scars, momentous of her sins as she would probably put it. Signs of hard fought battles and many near misses with the embrace of death.
"I finally found the only light I could see in the dark for a long time…so I knew, even if HE didn't tell me outright. That light was my salvation…no,my wish." She said before disassembling her stick into 2 pieces. Turning herself and facing my direction, placing one leg behind the other, she raises one arm in front of her with a curled position, the other is placed behind her.
Suddenly she pivots and spins into the air, launching a part of her stick at me with full force.
The stick flies through the air and smashes into my diaphragm, bouncing off me and landing on the ground beside me.
The impact pushes me back a bit before I regain my composure. My heart is now pumping like a generator that is about to overheat. The adrenaline courses through my veins as my senses heightened.
Fight!
I kick the part of the stick she threw at me into the air and grab it. Taking a defensive stance with it in hand.
The air picks up as we stand from across each other, a lone cloud wanders in front of the sun.
At this very moment, our intentions are palpable.
The sun peeks from behind the cloud and casts a ray of light upon the city. Suddenly she charges at me with full speed.
She leaps into the air and comes down with both of her batons.
I raise my baton, blocking her attack, the full weight of her body pressed behind it. I drive her back with the strength of my legs as I push them off the ground, sending her back a few feet in the air.
She lands and goes for another dash but I do the same, interrupting her flow by ramming my shoulder into her sternum and striking her with the baton. A clean strike to her face.
With the momentum of my strike, she spins and delivers a hardy backhanded blow with the butt of her baton, to my jaw. A good counter on her part.
I recoil and make some space between us by stepping back and dropping my center of gravity, guarding myself with both arms in case of a follow up. Suddenly she's in the air again, this time coming down with an axe kick. Clever!
I barely had time but I managed to roll underneath her. Avoiding the kick from above. Quickly I launched a sweeping kick from my crouched position, knocking her onto the ground as she landed.
We both got back on our feet as quickly as possible, again she dashed at me with full speed. She does not ease up! I swipe at her with the baton but she seemingly vanishes from my line of vision in the blink of an eye.
Quickly, I spin and launch a back fist as a prediction of her next attack. I read wrong and she strikes from below, thrusting her baton into a point under my shoulder and arm. The pain is sharp and tingly before feeling completely numb. My right arm is now useless as I wince in pain and step back.
Again the woman dashed at me, her plan as of now was to continue overwhelming me with her speed and aggression as I'm temporarily crippled. It was clear I needed to stop this plan somehow.
Left, right, left, a flurry of attacks with her batons at a blistering speed. Some I dodge, others I parry and some I must simply take as my arm is not functioning as it's supposed to.
She's controlling my space and movements with these nonstop attacks, soon my back will be to the wall and I will have very little options.
As I'm being pushed back by her relentless attacks, I decide to go off the defense. Stepping forward and unleashing a small punch to the diaphragm using her momentum against her. This disrupts her and breaks her structure, causing her to stumble backwards. Now I take the offense and strike her a few times with my baton before ending the combo in a round house kick.
The woman is sent rolling away by my rebuttal. She winces in pain and spits up a bit of blood while on the ground. Sitting up, she wipes the blood from her lips.
"What, are you not going to finish it?" She asked. She was right, this was a prime opportunity for me to attack with all this advantage. But I simply couldn't. Not like this.
I stood across from her for a short moment. My right arm began to tingle as all the feeling in it returned. The silence filled the air as she dropped her head in disappointment.
"Maybe," she says while jamming both of her batons into the ground and forcing herself up on her feet. "I miss understood… or maybe, maybe I'm going about it the wrong way."
The woman puts her arms out in an embracing fashion, the sun bathes her bruised and bloodied skin. A small grin begins to form on her face, she slowly drops her arms and crosses them over her body. Bending her knees and hunching over slightly. She does a big inhale and then lets out a haunting scream.
The scream seemed to vibrate reality itself, causing me to suddenly freeze in place for a moment. The sound traveled through the buildings and walls, even the vegetable plants on the far side of the building roof seemed to stiffen up in fear.
It seemed to go on for longer than it actually did.
"Now," she said with that same grin on her face "you will have no choice."
Suddenly, the undead that riddled the streets below roar in unison. The building underneath me seemed to shake ever so slightly. The sounds of glass breaking and metal being pounded echoed below.
"Wh-what was that?!" I asked, completely puzzled.
She charges again with the same ferocity as before, I follow suit. The woman then stops completely in her tracks and flips to the side, throwing a baton at me as. I try to stop myself but I slide ahead due to the momentum, the baton strikes me in the shoulder. I spin a bit out of control as I try to get my footing again. But she continues launching the batons at me with expert-like precision, making them bounce off me and back into her hands.
As I kept getting pelted by the cold steel of her batons, I retreated behind some nearby wooden crates.
Suddenly a crawling zombie grabs my ankles and yanks on them, I quickly kick my foot into the air and twist. Loosening its grip entirely. The zombie goes for me again but I kick its head and ram my baton through its mouth and twist its head. Killing it instantly.
I didn't have much time to think of what just happened as I heard the woman quickly approaching, I dove out from the side of the crates and threw my baton at her shins. Turns out it wasn't her, It was another zombie that had somehow made its way onto the roof. The zombie falls to the ground and smashes its head. I quickly look around to find her but get thrusted in my gut by her stick, quickly getting the wind knocked out of me. She has now taken her two pieces and made them into one.
Unlike me, she had no problem attacking me while I was down. She slams her stick onto the ground repeatedly as I crawl on my back, avoiding her attacks. My head nearly hit a wall, I gripped the stick with both my hands as it came down on me. Then launched her over my body with my legs. She slams into the wall and falls to my side, still holding the stick with a vice-like grip.
We both stand while holding the stick, we push it against one another, with a smirk she twists her side of the stick and it dissembles as I pull. I stumbled backwards off the sudden change in force, dropping my half of the stick, she followed up with a dash. Preparing to thrust with the baton. Using the momentum of my stumble I flip backwards. My boots kick her hands upwards, interrupting her attempt at an attack and disarming her in the process.
Unarmed, she puts her guard up and shuffles into my space. I quickly throw 2 jabs and a hook, she dodges them easily and drops her center. Launching herself at me head first, it rams into my sternum. I stumble backwards once again into the nearby door that leads to the staircase for our homes.
She follows the attack with a clinch hold, and begins to pulverize me with her knees. Using my size to my advantage, I over power her and break the clinch, pushing her off me. I follow it up by launching myself off the door with one foot, and landing a clean punch to her face.
She falls to the ground, this time I noticed more zombies on the roof top with us. Although they stood idly by while we fought, suddenly they attacked me. I kick and push them away easily before opening and hiding behind the door.
For a moment, I managed to catch my breath. The zombies pounded on the door behind me as I held it shut.
Below, I could hear someone panting as they ran up the staircase in a hurry. As they reached the top, the person called out to me and the pounding on the door suddenly stopped.
"Emanuel! What fuck is happening!?"
It was our neighbor, Oscar with a bow in hand. He was a short man with a buzz cut and a yellow cap. On him was my sword, a "ninjato" is what my dad called it. He must've grabbed it from our place. On him was also his backpack that has a quiver of arrows buckled to it.
He hands me my sword and explains "Shit kid, I was just getting back from a run when I heard a crazy scream from the top of this place! I knew you were the only one here so I ran into your home but you weren't there! I grabbed your sword and ran straight up here thinking the worst!"
While in a panicked state he quickly eyeballs me up and down.
"Manny, are you okay!? Did they get you at all?!" He asked while patting me and looking at my fresh bruises.
I gently moved his hand away and reassured him that I was fine.
He shook his head in denial "Nah kid, you ain't fine. I know that look… was there someone up here with you?!"
I clenched my jaw and wiped some blood from my mouth.
He scoffs and looks at the door behind me.
"Stop playing around, kid. This isn't a game!"
Suddenly, a loud crash is heard down the stairwell. Oscar looks down the well and then back at me with an intense stare.
"You aren't helping anyone like this Manny …Finish it now before this whole place is brought down! Your dad will be here at any moment!"
The man runs down the stairs with his bow drawn, ready to fend off any undead intruders.
I pull the nylon strap over my shoulder and fasten it. Now the sword was strapped to my back with a snug fit.
Slowly, I turn the knob on the door while drawing my sword, opening it carefully before suddenly kicking it and diving through. Rolling quickly to my feet with my sword drawn.
The woman was nowhere to be seen. On the ground I see a shadow being casted from the water tower. Looking over reveals the woman sitting at the top, looking out into the sky above, her stick completely assembled once again. It was lying across her lap. There was a small group of zombies surrounding the tower below. Standing guard, much like the ones that she walked alongside when arriving here.
I approached the tower slowly, unable to get any words out. At this point, I could not communicate with her in that manner anymore. Words just seemed meaningless. I understood what she wanted without the words. Even if it was against my wishes, I had to do what I had to do.
Her undead guards stood aside, leaving a small opening where the ladder to climb the tower was. I approached slowly with the sword still drawn, skeptical of the zombie's intentions.
I approached the ladder, and climbed while still holding the sword in one hand. The woman continued looking out into the sky with her cloudy eyes, still wearing that zombie skin mask.
Reaching the top, she looks back in my direction and slowly stands. Removing her zombie skin mask by unclipping it at the back, she holds it in her hands for a moment. Then clenches her fist and tosses it to the ground in a dissatisfied rage.
After regaining her composure, she parts her hair. Revealing a nasty looking scar around her eyes that lead up to the top of her scalp. It looked to be some kind of chemical burning.
Suddenly, someone calls my name out from below. The zombies growl and begin to move below us as they normally do when spotting someone.
Quickly looking over revealed it to be my dad. But I couldn't say anything back as the blind woman took this opportunity to strike.
I ducked under her strike with her yellow stick and spun, countering with a swift slice to her neck. As my back was turned to her, I could hear the blood spewing out from her neck, with a faint breath, she said "thank you". Her body collapsed onto the metallic surface of the tower. The blood spilled into the water tower, contaminating it.
My father screamed "NO!!" from below as he fought the zombies off with his big hunting knife
His face filled with anger and disappointment… even sadness. A roller coaster of emotions in such a short moment while mine was one of… well it doesn't matter now.
The spark… my blissful spark. Gone just as soon as it came. Just another day.
The reality around me began to warp and suddenly became black, the metallic surface of the tower hummed under my feet. My father became nothing but muffled screams of anger and desperation as a soft-scratchy voice called from behind me. I turned around, a shadowy smoke rose from the zombie skin mask as I got closer to it, the soft voice promising to mend that gaping hole once and for all.
I grabbed the mask from the humming surface, a soft-maniacal laugh rings from behind its hollowed eyes. The image of a large figure flashes before my eyes. I put the mask over my face—
A creature lurks above a murky surface, its tall and gangly appearance is all I could make out as the shadows move around my peripheral vision. Something in my cold, floating body told me I could not breathe.
The figure lures its large bony hand through the murky surface above. Holding it there in an inviting manner, I reached out and it clasped its four fingered hand. Pulling me out from the murky void and away from the moving shadows.
The soft-scratchy voice whispered in my ears "This will be the place… good luck. "