The sun was going down. Had to get back home. Quickly. My mountain bike is completely destroyed - my fault really, I knew I should’ve been paying attention to the road. I briskly walked down the wide, winding streets, glancing left and right into the seemingly endless forests that surrounded me. They’re coming. I can feel them watching me from all corners. In the bushes, hanging from the trees that towered hundreds of feet into the air, behind me.

My town used to be a bustling place. Nothing like Portland just half an hour away, but it was still impressive nonetheless. Sometimes, I find myself forgetting that. But the piles of now empty cars littering the streets brings me back to reality. Those things took the world by surprise. No warning, no alarm sirens warning people of the oncoming apocalypse. They came at night and struck everyone with a new form of ruthless efficiency. Many died, and a few somehow managed to outrun these beasts. This town was left a wasteland, leaving only animals and raiders looking for anything they can lay their hands on.

Snap

My attention jolted to the sound of a broken branch behind me. I snapped around. It was a raccoon. I shook my head, embarrassed that I jumped at a small animal. I smiled at the little guy as it scoured the grounds for insects to eat. I was about to turn around when from an alleyway to my left I heard a low guttural growling sound. It was faint, yet I could tell there was something there. I reached for my weapon, an old sawed-off shotgun. My hand squeezed the butt of the gun, waiting for something, anything to come out of the shadows. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. Minutes seemed to pass even though it was barely any time at all. The growling only got louder and louder. Then, it stopped. I waited. Nothing. My hand relaxed on the shotgun. As I begin to relax, I look back at the small guy moving around on the ground. His high-pitched squeaking and rustling were the only sound to fill my ears in the night-time silence.

The next thing I knew, the raccoon was a bloody mess on the ground. A blurry figure came dashing from the alleyway, bee-lining towards the poor animal. My body froze ice-shut, as I stared at the thing before me. Its bony figure shuttered as its bladed teeth tore through the raccoon as if it was a damp sheet of paper.

It stopped. The monster spun its head towards me; and its hollow, unblinking jet-black eyes peered right into my soul. It slowly stood up, towering feet above me. At that moment, as it stood, blocking out the newly shining moonlight, my body remembered how to move. It let out a primal roar. My legs reacted faster than my mind, immediately bolting in the other direction.

It was no use. That thing sprung at me with an inhumane speed, slashing at my leg with its claws. I fell to the ground, smacking against the concrete. It looked at me mockingly, through its eyes it was saying “I got ya know…” The monster snarled at me, lunging down towards me. It opened its mouth, inching closer and closer to my neck. But, before it could, I took out my flashlight and shoved it horizontally into its mouth. The thing chomped straight through the flashlight, tearing it to shreds. I reached for my gun. I just narrowly grabbed it as it was about the slash at me again. I fired two shots right into the thing’s chest. It flew off my body a few feet away. I crawled to one of the many cars that were still eerily neatly parked in the street, using it to help me stand up. The moment I put an ounce of pressure on my leg, a white-hot pain shot right up.

“Ah! Son of a-” I slammed my fist against the window of the car. Through the reflection though, I can see that thing staggering back up. I silently cursed to myself. With no other option, I limped as fast as I could in the other direction. I stumbled down the road, using the moonlight to help guide my way through town.

More growling. This time from all around me. Through my peripheral vision, I could see more of those monsters crawling out from dark crevices and down buildings. And they were drawing near. I knew I had no chance of outrunning those things. The pain shot up my leg again, forcing me to crouch down. Out of breath, I looked all around me for something - anything that could keep me alive for one more day.

That’s when I saw it. A gas station at the end of the block. I made sure to reload my shotgun before limping towards the store.

Just a few more feet. I could already smell the gasoline. I limped forward onto the sidewalk, grabbing one of the gas pumps. The growling was getting louder - echoing throughout the whole town. I could barely see anything through the soft moonlight, though I knew they were drawing near.

I grabbed one of the gas pumps and a bucket that lay on the ground.

“Come on…” I muttered to myself as I pressed down on the lever. Gasoline began to sloppily spew out.

I looked up. I could see the faint outline of the horde coming near. I stopped the pump as the bucket was starting to overflow with the pungent-smelling gas. Heaving the bucket, I slammed it down on the road. I knocked it to its side, shoving the bucket to the other side of the asphalt, watching the gas trail across the road, and hoping that my plan will work.

I reached inside my coat pocket. “Where was it….” I thought as I fumbled through it again. I cursed to myself. My body shivered as I continued searching within my coat and jean pockets. Then, I felt it in my back left pocket. The matches. I pulled one out and tried to start it. Nothing. I tried it again. This time, a spark. I looked to my left to see the horde now only 30 feet away.

How I didn’t see them, I still don’t know, but I knew I had to act fast. I peddled backward a few feet towards the gas station. Then, I threw the match on the gas-covered concrete. The moment the spark touched the gas, a burst of flames shot up into the air. Nearly the entire block was lit up, revealing the horde that was covering the streets. From here, I could see their towering, bony, leathery bodies; their lanky arms which reached down past their waists; their rabid teeth that could rip apart metal.

I was nearly knocked back myself, with the only thing keeping me up being one of the gas pumps. Those things, however - they stopped dead in their tracks, sliding and skidding down onto the ground. Hissing at the newly erupted flames, they backed up slowly. Those that were climbing on the walls of the buildings crawled into broken windows or up onto the roofs.

I snapped out of my trance. This fire won’t last forever. I hobbled into the gas station store. Pulling off a loose bit of plank, I used it to bar the front and back doors shut. It won’t stop them, I knew, but at least it would hold them back.