I was driving and got stuck. The herd of dead men and woman out numbering me at least 100 to 1 as I hyperventilated in the stuffy armored truck. I could feel them hitting me from all sides, pushing and clawing for my flesh. It was too much and the revolver in my passenger seat sung to me to end myself before they could. I looked away. I wanted to fight; I wanted bravery to be as easy to grab as the gun but all I felt was hope slipping from my palms. Then, as I thought of a plan, I was flipped.

The car fell on its side and I kept my seatbelt on as the gravity shifted in my favor. With the car tilted, half the herd was crushed under the weight of the car and the other half could no longer reach my windows. This was it. I got myself together and held the drivers side door tight while I released the strap keeping me in place. It was easy from there to climb out the sunroof and stand on top of the wood plated metal, and what I saw was my death. I was now out numbered at least 200 to 1.

I thought to go back and grab the gun. It seemed obvious now that the one bullet left was a prophecy. This was it. This was where my grave would be.

I wanted to scream but I held it in and looked back at the start of the tunnel. There was no sound, no lights, but I felt the rumble of the ground, the rumble of a army. I waited to see who it was and ducked low as 2 vehicles sped up and rammed through the herd. I recognized the vehicles, they wore the flag of our camp. With the herd now sparse, I decided to follow them with the intent on catching a ride.

I chased them far, all the way to the other end of the tunnel but as I stepped out into the light I quickly realized that they were not here to save me. At the end of the tunnel there was no one but me. The cars were gone and the only beings left on this side of the world ate blood for breakfast. So I ran back. Back to where I came, where I knew the shortcuts and hiding spots, where I knew where the dead walked and where they strayed, past the truck I was upside down in a second ago, past the pipe leak in the ceiling, past the walking dead with skin peeling off the bone. I ran fast, until I reached the other side lined with soulles moving bodies. I thought it’d be fine but somehow they noticed me.

I took refuge on a stack of cars and searched my pockets for distractions. They couldnt see well and were easily distracted, if I could throw a rock, a pencil or something, I could be safe.

“That wont work.”

I looked over to one of the dead, one that looked like me. His brown skin plump and colorful with life, but his eyes were no different than the others. A ghostly white haunted his pupils as he stood before me with his hands in his pocket and blood on his shirt. This was new. I had no words. We had never seen someone dead be so, alive. I stared at his face, confusion in my features as he continued.

“I mean it will work on them, but not me. Why dont you come down love? Im hungry.”

“When did you turn?”

He squinted at me but answered regardless.

“10 years ago. I was 30. Why?”

“Do you still have bodily functions? Do you pee? Can you hear your heart or feel cold?”

“Yea, its different though. My heart beat is fainter and I pee blood. Any other questions breakfast?”

“I am not your breakfast.”

“Youre much too talkative to be dinner. If you think im finna play 21 questions with you all day then you on one.”

“Were you always like this?”

“Handsome? Yes.”

I stared at him with not a single ounce of amusement in my face. Eventually he sighed and confirmed my suspicions.

“No I wasnt ok. At first It was just vague consciousness, then I could control myself after 5 years. 2 year ago I could talk-“

“Oh my god. Your body is going back to normal, insanely fast too. This doesnt make any sense, this kind of evolution shouldnt happen for another few thousand years. But youre speaking after 7yrs of eating flesh. Another 5 to 20 years and i suspect that you could digest normal food again.”

I saw the flash of hope in his eyes, then it was gone.

“You are also aging incrediably slow, you should be 40 by now but you look as if youre still 30. This isnt possible, cells cant, jesus what the fuck.”

“You dont need to keep contemplating my existence. It doesnt matter how this is happening or what will happen later. There is nothing but this.”

“You dont know that.”

“Do you know otherwise?”

I couldnt honestly say yes so I said nothing. He looked dissapointed but pushed it down to ask me something else.

“Are you a doctor?” He asked, “Or scientist of some kind?”

“Clinical Microbiologist. Well I was, before. I loved it.”

He watched me with interest and a mild serenity. I think he missed the time before all this as much as I did. But he was not as open as me, it took a few minutes for him to share who he was when he was still human.

“I was a actor. For the theatre.” He looked over the abondoned city. “We all got something to miss from before.”

I nodded then asked how many of him there were. He said he didnt know the total number, but he had met 3 since being able to speak. I said it was amazing, that many existing at the same time meant that he was not a anomoly, something was going on.

“Let me live and I will make you human again.”

“You cant promise that.”

“No, but in 20 years if you are still hungry for people, I will gladely offer myself up as a failure.” As he thought about it I kept talking. “I will take you to the camp and you will wear contacts and hopefully noone will notice. As I study you, you will not eat anyone within the walls, and you have to put on plays for the citizens.” His chest rose with excitment, “Those are my conditiones, while you follow them, I will do everything I can to cure you.”

We watched each other for a long time, he wasnt sure if trusting me was smart and I could’ve said the same about him.

“Do you think you can do it?”

The question was sincere, I answered with matching genuinity.

“Yes.”