U.G.L.Y (12 page)

I
squinted
as
the
figure
slowly
lumbered
out
of
the
trees.
He was limping
and
seemed
confused and clumsy,
like
he
didn
’
t
have
control
of
his
limbs
completely.

     I
realized
almost
too
late
that
we
were
standing
in
plain
site
under
the
outside
lamp
of
the
bar.
The figure
hadn't
seen
us
yet.
I
hit
the
man
next
to
me
with
my
left
arm
.

“
RUN!
” I whispered as loudly as I dared.

I
slipped
into
the
parking
lot
and
stepped
into
the
shadows
of
a
large
SUV.

“
Screech!
”
a
loud
short
scream
penetrated
the
dark.
The figure was infected, and had
spotted
the
people
in
the
parking
lot.
The scream was
a
loud
and
terrifying
scream
that summoned other infected out of the woods
.

The
tree
line
erupted
with
movement
as
a dozen silhouetted figures
came
sprinting
out
of
the
woods.
Some
were
the
search
and
rescue
people
judging by their uniforms. I
could
clearly
make
out
the
white
smocks
of
the
four
missing bodies from
the
bus
crash.
B
ut
there
were
others,
in
regular
clothes.

I
assumed
this
group
had
been
collecting
victim's
as
they
made
there
way
across
the
five
or
so
miles
between
the
crash
and
town.
The
terrain
was
steep
and
there
were
several
valleys
in
between
that
contained
homes.
These
people
were
now
pouring
out
of
the
woods,
covered
with
blood,
screaming
a
hideous
scream
and
heading
towards
the
bar.

I
watched
from
the
shadows
as
the
others
in
the
parking
lot
were
overtaken.
They attacked in a bloody frenzy, like sharks feeding. I watched, unable to divert my eyes.

The man that was standing next to me on the porch of the bar was the first to be attacked. The infected man in the rescue uniform hit him at full sprint, bearing its teeth, and it bit down hard on the mans jaw. As they fell to the ground it pulled back and tore a large piece of bone free from his face. He screamed so loud I shivered. I watched as he convulsed then stopped moving.

Seconds later the man began to move and his eyes opened wide and let out a long ear splitting screech. He was infected within seconds of being bitten and jumped to his feet, joining the other infected as they rushed through the open door of the bar.

I
was
frozen where I had been hiding.
I couldn't decide what to do. If I ran they would surely see me and follow. If I stayed they would find me hiding. I ran.

10
.

-Desperation-

     I
ran
as
fast
as
I
could,
I
didn't
know
which
direction
I
was
going
at
first.
My
only
impulse
was
to
run
away,
away
from
the
screams. Death
was
behind
me
and
I knew
it
was
faster
than
I
was.
After
a several hundred yards
I
realized
I was not running in any direction with a destination in mind.
I
was
simply running for my life. I calmed a bit and
adjusted
so
I
could
run
to
my house
.

I
knew
I
only
had
minutes
once
I
arrived
because
I
lived
only
a
few
blocks
away
from town
and
at
the
rate
the infected
were
attacking
new
victims
they
would
surely
be
on
my
front
door
step
in
no
time.

    
When
I
arrived
at
my
house
I
was
completely
out
of
breath,
dizzy,
and
panicked.
I
struggled
for
control
as
I
fumbled
for
my
keys.
I
stopped
and
tried
to
slow
my
breathing
down.

I
n
the
distance
I
could
hear
screams,
n
ot
just
the
screams
of
the
infected
that
came
out
of
the
woods,
but
the
screams
of
the
people
in the bar that were being attacked
.
I
looked
back
towards
town
and
could
see
a
faint
red
glow
beginning
to
engulf
the
sky
over
town.

     I
slammed
open
the
front
door
,
ran
to my
bedroom, and began
grabbing
whatever
I
could
get to
quickly.
I stuffed
some
clean
clothes
that
still
sat
in
a
pile
on
my
bed
and
some
emergency
food
stores
I
had
set
aside
in
the
event
of
an
earth
quake into an old Navy sea bag.
The stores weren’t
much,
just
enough
for
a
couple
days.

I
started
out
of
the
room
when
I
remembered
I
had
some
weapons
tucked away in a closet
.
Quickly
I
slid
open
a
drawer
containing
a
few
large
military
style
knives.
I
collected
knives
and
had
plenty
of
different
variations
to
pick
from.
I
ran
to
the
closet
and
opened
it
hard
enough
to
knock
the
sliding
door
off
its
tracks.
In
the
closet
I
had
two
guns,
one
was
an
old
hunting
riffle
I
had
inherited
from
my father
.
The
.30-6
hadn
’
t
been
fired
in
some
time
but
I
still
had
some
shells
from
the
one
time
I
had
taken
it
out
to
target
shoot.

The
second
gun
was
an
old
western
style
.22
that
my
dad
used
to
hunt
quail
with
a long
time
ago.
I
had
not
used
it
for
anything
except
killing
snakes
and
I
had
no
ammunition
with
the
exception
of
some
snake
shot
rounds
that
were
little
more
than
BB's.
Maybe I could
get
close
enough
to shoot one in the head, it might
kill
a
person
if they were hit in the right spot
.