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Description
I pushed to door until I felt the latch click under my fingers. I was trapping myself in sure, but it prevented any wandering souls to fill the empty void of lonleyness with their decaying company. The air was stale and stuff, it seemed to poison my lungs as the spores of mold and rot clung to the inside of my throat. I felt the drop in tempature, something I never really paid much attention to in the 'skyscarper.' Heat rose and the mass of body heat kept us warm. With dusk approaching, with the icy cold trailing behind I needed heat. My first instinct went to candles, then the fireplace. The scent of smoke would attract any zombies nearby but if I barricaded the entries I should be safe. Should.
Hollstiering my shotgun I paused to take in the room. A love seat and sofa where in the main room, the kitchen was to the left, a tv was perched on a desk in the corner of the main room, and a hall lead lead down to the bowels of the house. I made my way into the kitchen preparing myself for a onslaught of revolting smells. But before prying open the fridge, I dumped my fresh supply that I had hoarded onto the counter.
I shielded my mouth and nose with the bend of my elbow and thrust open the door. The smells dripped out like a plauge, I pushed aside jars of jam, pickles, soupy butter, and tubber ware of half decomposed meats aside in search of something salvageable. At first glance I noticed no water bottles. Odd. There was a can of peaches on the second self. I plucked it out and turned it over to check its date. Apr 12th, 2014. April 12th? I knew the year was 2014, the outbreaks date was forever ethhed into the back of my eyelids, all those papers with headlines reading "The dead rise! Man was bitten then kills family! Epidemic Spreads. Cures are ineffectual." I rember quite vividly the morbid interjection, no cure. Such dooming words. Like saying no heaven. No reason to fight it. No cure.
I crouched down so I could steal a peak inside the cuboards next to the fridge. Like the winner of a lottery my face lit up instantly. Inside was a row of five gallon water jugs, at attention shoulder to shoulder, like the kind that are sitting on their heads in an office.
I set the peaches aside if I deicded to test my luck later. I began to look for common items in the cabnets and drawers. I torn fine china from their shelves and felt the satisfactory crack as it imploded against the tile. Sending its framents skirting across the floor. This pitiful act reminded myself I needed a desprate anger relif. All the sane survivors took it out on the undead. "ha. Sane survivors." I laughed aloud to myself as I made it sound like some sort of trend. I shook my head, my hair tousling to and fro, clumped from the collection of sweat as I snorted to myself. As I pulled open one drawn its contents slid into view, a box of Marlboro Light cigarettes, A scheek black pocket lighter, and candles of all shapes and sizes. A few round stout ones and two lean  outstretched necks, with frazzeled wicks standing like outstretched fingers at their tips.
After pocketing the ciggerttes I began to scatter the asorted candles around the house, two in the livinf room, one in the kitchen and 4 in the small room I found that down down the hall lay an unmistakably bathroom. A golden hook claw footed bathtub sat to the right in a nook in the wall, a sink with a waist tall mirror above was to the left and a rack of towels. A half boarded window cast down a pool of dusting light to the small foot rug beneath my shoes. It had been ages since I was actually clean. So I began to sort the jugs. I set one aside for drinking and the other 5 were to be used to fill the tub so I could simmer down and peel off my itching skin.
I locked the door, a ineffectale habit, and began to dump the tepid water into the tun, hearing the muffled pangs as each fat drop slapped the bottom. Soon enough after 4 and a half were done the water was tip toeing just around the lip of the rim.
I let out a spell of breathe and shed my shirt off over my head. I found myself staring at the pale image in the mirror. That world seemed so serine, halcyon. A alien to the scenes of abomination that where beyond the pane of glassThe person in the refelction was gaunt, their ribs where pushed up against taut skin, a shadow lined the muscles on the torso and stomach, a puckered pink line traced their neck from the claws of an undead. Heavy bags of black dripped under his eyes with lids half shut, his hair was scraggly and messy, hands where stained and a sliver of a red and black arch was pinned under his chipped nails. .  He was me, and I was Red. Zach was too human for this world, but Zach was bred for this war, to feel the cold chill of fear nip at his skin. Feel the gnawing chews of parinoa on the hollowed insdie of his skull. Red was a lone wolf. I was a wanderer now.
My jeans pooled into a heap around my ankles, I quickly stripped down until I was nude, then I gripped the sides of the tub and lowered myself in. I felt the water evelop me in its heavy embrace. It seeped in my empty crevaces, filling my spirt with warmth. I swung over this side and parted the pocket of my jeans, hooking out the pack of smokes and the lighter in the curve of one angled finger.

I lay back in the slope of the porclian, the lead in my eye lids weighed them down to a close, and I felt my stress unravel. The rhythmic pound of a clock ticking somewhere clamed my senses. Each breathe I took filled the quiet, each drag of smoke rolled in my lungs, spreading its settling toxin through my blood lime morphine. My mind began to crawl of out the cracks in my skull and visted the past. People walked before me, their scenes each telling a different tale. Jane, back when we got along, then it bled to the times of her and David sitting hand in hand, the empty space between them was missing, instead It was inside my heart. Stretch, his hollow eyes mirroring my fufillment in the world, Rich how his prense mocked me like an empty chair. Natalie and Smith, both so hopeful yet rudefully disappointed. Tom, the veins under his skin tearing at his flesh to be set free, the endless void of spite in his dead eyes. Sam, his wandering soul forever turns in the sand, Shelby a mother whos heroism was set to shame by blind onlookers. Ash, the greedy spell of lust to every degree in his fox face. Red the lost boy who never could be satifyed, the one who nearly took his life. Until god himself decided he didn't wish to stand face to face with him. Who was I to change lives, when I couldn't even hold my own in the shoes of a stranger. Zach was gone. A forigener to such unorthodox times. No one could hear his screams for others to stop and listen. I had screamed until I choked on my own blood. I would keep on until they heard me.

Creeeeeaaaaaaak. The keen noise of wood bending under pressure made me jolt. Sending tiny sunamias across the surface of the water. "probably nothing." I spoke only to comfort myself, my voice serving as a subistute for the lonlieness.
As I nestled back into the darkness of my mind another voice carved away at the peace. God damnit Red, you really need to rember that there are undead outside. Your fine. Just relax. I chided  myself for being so skittish and bubbling with jitters.
"Gurahhhhhhh." I sailed out of my skin and onto the towel on the bathroom floor. This one was clear as day. They where inside.
Hunkered down low like a feral animal I was frozen on all fours, nude and pertifed. My wepons where outside. My wepons where outside! The nails pulling at the splinters the other side of the door was a blood chilling reminder of how delicate the time I had was. What was I going to do. Spear them with a toothbrush? Spray them with athlestes foot remedy. "think red. think!"
The result of distressed thinking was crude, brutal and effective. I stood at the door, the rectangular lid of the toilets septic tank held like a baseball bat between my slippery palms. I waited jockeying my courage up, bouncing on the balls of my feet as composed myself for the encounter. From the sounds of ti only one or two had entered the house from somewhere. I had to find it and block it. Cut off the head of the source.
I gingerly place my ear against the door, feeling each riverting vibration of hands on wood. Then everything fell still. I waited, the air turning cold in my lungs.
BANG The distinct blast of a gunshot sent me hurdling backwards. What the hell was going on.
As smaller burts of shots and shouting arose I threw caution to the wind and jerked open the door. A never could have imagined what the scene painted before me would be.
Jane David Stretch Smith Natalie Anna Ash and jennifer where scattered through my vison. Undead where smeared across the walls. "red?" Stretch puffed with a furrow of disbelief. I watched as his eyes drifted down to mine to below my waist. The others where staring as well. My cheeks where livid with a  heat that seared with an intestiy hotter than the sun. I lurched to cover my modesty with the lid. I heard Ash and Jennifer scoff as my idiocy and Jane face pinkened.
I wrenched the door closed behind me, lacing my belt through the rings and stringing along every swear I knew of. I didn't exactly know if I had anything to be embossed of, I wanst much for measuring with a ruler like the other boys did back in elemtary.
My breif brush with embrasment flushed away my fear leaving my mind frittzing with overload past capacity. First I get kicked out, then im trapped by zombies, THEN I get saved by the people that kicked me out and im naked. Awsome day. Awsome.
"Does anyone mind telling me what the hell your doing here?" I shouted beyond the confines fo the barely spacious bathroom as I tugged my shirt over my head.
"well once we kicked you out we deicded maybe we should leave after all. Your friends stretch and Ritch had perfect timing and came bustling in seconds before we where about to leave. Turns out the where just a few rooms down from where we had orgiannyl checked. Who knew." Smith smoothed his jacket as I emerged from the bathroom. My cheeks where still raw with bashful emrassment but I manged to look him dead in the eye. "why did you come here." I could pickup the crack of hurt of air, emitted from Smith, Natalie and Jane. Good.  I wanted them to writhe. "we knew you wouldn't last long on your own. We deicded to forgive and forget. We came to pick you up." Smith's face opened up into a toothy grin, stepping forward as if he wanted me to be glad they forgave me. The beast of anger tightened its coil.
"what if I don't want to forgive and forget. I was doing just fine on my own!" I planted a firm foot forward, claiming my stake. "yeah with the undead knocking on your door using a toilet lid to defend yourself. Just fine." Jane cynically remarked, folding his arms to his chest. "I don't want to hear it from you!" I snarled with such ferocity I took myself by surprise. Jane was chipping away at nerves that had been worn down long ago. "hey! calm down." Davids forgien voice intercepted my rage.
This was how it was supposed to be! You left people you met new ones. You carried on. They where upsetting the balance. Taking back their word. It was unacceptable. "no you calm down david! Ever since you came in things got worse." I was beyond sense now, but I found truth in my lies. I might have been born into the clan at a later time but ever since david but into my personal life, gold turned to shit. My life was worthless. "what? Ever since you came Zach, everythings fucked up! Its all your fault!" History was in the making. David was ashen with gall, for the first time in my life I heard him scream. Really go at it. I would have him growling like a dog when I was done.
"Im not Zach anymore." the light thought spilled out past drawn lips. "then who are you." David impaled me on a pointed finger. I felt his question press the ever present fear. To face who I really was. Out of sight out of mind.  He was demanding I look at myself and judge. I knew he wanted some hot headed answer, some long planned speech but I felt the anger drain. The eye of the storm. "im red." I spoke it as if I was intrducing to a stranger. They all looked taken aback, apparently my charade had lead them to belive I was going to sock him in the jaw. But I just lost the cause. It was a mystery to me even, why I felt cold.
But to was all to clear. This was a fight I couldn't win. My self preservation theory was in full throttle. I backed out. Intriguing. Even when I was coherently afraid my body told me what was best for me. And I had no choice but to obey its straining demands.
Then I felt a question pick at my like a crows beak. "where are Duncan and Josie?" No asnwer came. I should have noticed the tear streaked faces the moment they walked in. I struck every body with my icy glares.
"they died you ass fuck." I turned to Jennifer, the second youngest out of them all. No wonder she looked so broken. So tame. "died trying to save you. Precious little Red." Her voice soured with bile as a hich pitched sardonic tone filled its place. "how is this my fault. I cant belive this." My body began to shudder with laughter as I spun on my heels, back facing them, as I pressed the tips of my finers into the slops of my face. I clamped my hand over my lips to keep me from murdering them with my words.

Description
I pushed to door until I felt the latch click under my fingers. I was trapping myself in sure, but it prevented any wandering souls to fill the empty void of lonleyness with their decaying company. The air was stale and stuff, it seemed to poison my lungs as the spores of mold and rot clung to the inside of my throat. I felt the drop in tempature, something I never really paid much attention to in the 'skyscarper.' Heat rose and the mass of body heat kept us warm. With dusk approaching, with the icy cold trailing behind I needed heat. My first instinct went to candles, then the fireplace. The scent of smoke would attract any zombies nearby but if I barricaded the entries I should be safe. Should.
Hollstiering my shotgun I paused to take in the room. A love seat and sofa where in the main room, the kitchen was to the left, a tv was perched on a desk in the corner of the main room, and a hall lead lead down to the bowels of the house. I made my way into the kitchen preparing myself for a onslaught of revolting smells. But before prying open the fridge, I dumped my fresh supply that I had hoarded onto the counter.
I shielded my mouth and nose with the bend of my elbow and thrust open the door. The smells dripped out like a plauge, I pushed aside jars of jam, pickles, soupy butter, and tubber ware of half decomposed meats aside in search of something salvageable. At first glance I noticed no water bottles. Odd. There was a can of peaches on the second self. I plucked it out and turned it over to check its date. Apr 12th, 2014. April 12th? I knew the year was 2014, the outbreaks date was forever ethhed into the back of my eyelids, all those papers with headlines reading "The dead rise! Man was bitten then kills family! Epidemic Spreads. Cures are ineffectual." I rember quite vividly the morbid interjection, no cure. Such dooming words. Like saying no heaven. No reason to fight it. No cure.
I crouched down so I could steal a peak inside the cuboards next to the fridge. Like the winner of a lottery my face lit up instantly. Inside was a row of five gallon water jugs, at attention shoulder to shoulder, like the kind that are sitting on their heads in an office.
I set the peaches aside if I deicded to test my luck later. I began to look for common items in the cabnets and drawers. I torn fine china from their shelves and felt the satisfactory crack as it imploded against the tile. Sending its framents skirting across the floor. This pitiful act reminded myself I needed a desprate anger relif. All the sane survivors took it out on the undead. "ha. Sane survivors." I laughed aloud to myself as I made it sound like some sort of trend. I shook my head, my hair tousling to and fro, clumped from the collection of sweat as I snorted to myself. As I pulled open one drawn its contents slid into view, a box of Marlboro Light cigarettes, A scheek black pocket lighter, and candles of all shapes and sizes. A few round stout ones and two lean  outstretched necks, with frazzeled wicks standing like outstretched fingers at their tips.
After pocketing the ciggerttes I began to scatter the asorted candles around the house, two in the livinf room, one in the kitchen and 4 in the small room I found that down down the hall lay an unmistakably bathroom. A golden hook claw footed bathtub sat to the right in a nook in the wall, a sink with a waist tall mirror above was to the left and a rack of towels. A half boarded window cast down a pool of dusting light to the small foot rug beneath my shoes. It had been ages since I was actually clean. So I began to sort the jugs. I set one aside for drinking and the other 5 were to be used to fill the tub so I could simmer down and peel off my itching skin.
I locked the door, a ineffectale habit, and began to dump the tepid water into the tun, hearing the muffled pangs as each fat drop slapped the bottom. Soon enough after 4 and a half were done the water was tip toeing just around the lip of the rim.
I let out a spell of breathe and shed my shirt off over my head. I found myself staring at the pale image in the mirror. That world seemed so serine, halcyon. A alien to the scenes of abomination that where beyond the pane of glassThe person in the refelction was gaunt, their ribs where pushed up against taut skin, a shadow lined the muscles on the torso and stomach, a puckered pink line traced their neck from the claws of an undead. Heavy bags of black dripped under his eyes with lids half shut, his hair was scraggly and messy, hands where stained and a sliver of a red and black arch was pinned under his chipped nails. .  He was me, and I was Red. Zach was too human for this world, but Zach was bred for this war, to feel the cold chill of fear nip at his skin. Feel the gnawing chews of parinoa on the hollowed insdie of his skull. Red was a lone wolf. I was a wanderer now.
My jeans pooled into a heap around my ankles, I quickly stripped down until I was nude, then I gripped the sides of the tub and lowered myself in. I felt the water evelop me in its heavy embrace. It seeped in my empty crevaces, filling my spirt with warmth. I swung over this side and parted the pocket of my jeans, hooking out the pack of smokes and the lighter in the curve of one angled finger.

I lay back in the slope of the porclian, the lead in my eye lids weighed them down to a close, and I felt my stress unravel. The rhythmic pound of a clock ticking somewhere clamed my senses. Each breathe I took filled the quiet, each drag of smoke rolled in my lungs, spreading its settling toxin through my blood lime morphine. My mind began to crawl of out the cracks in my skull and visted the past. People walked before me, their scenes each telling a different tale. Jane, back when we got along, then it bled to the times of her and David sitting hand in hand, the empty space between them was missing, instead It was inside my heart. Stretch, his hollow eyes mirroring my fufillment in the world, Rich how his prense mocked me like an empty chair. Natalie and Smith, both so hopeful yet rudefully disappointed. Tom, the veins under his skin tearing at his flesh to be set free, the endless void of spite in his dead eyes. Sam, his wandering soul forever turns in the sand, Shelby a mother whos heroism was set to shame by blind onlookers. Ash, the greedy spell of lust to every degree in his fox face. Red the lost boy who never could be satifyed, the one who nearly took his life. Until god himself decided he didn't wish to stand face to face with him. Who was I to change lives, when I couldn't even hold my own in the shoes of a stranger. Zach was gone. A forigener to such unorthodox times. No one could hear his screams for others to stop and listen. I had screamed until I choked on my own blood. I would keep on until they heard me.

Creeeeeaaaaaaak. The keen noise of wood bending under pressure made me jolt. Sending tiny sunamias across the surface of the water. "probably nothing." I spoke only to comfort myself, my voice serving as a subistute for the lonlieness.
As I nestled back into the darkness of my mind another voice carved away at the peace. God damnit Red, you really need to rember that there are undead outside. Your fine. Just relax. I chided  myself for being so skittish and bubbling with jitters.
"Gurahhhhhhh." I sailed out of my skin and onto the towel on the bathroom floor. This one was clear as day. They where inside.
Hunkered down low like a feral animal I was frozen on all fours, nude and pertifed. My wepons where outside. My wepons where outside! The nails pulling at the splinters the other side of the door was a blood chilling reminder of how delicate the time I had was. What was I going to do. Spear them with a toothbrush? Spray them with athlestes foot remedy. "think red. think!"
The result of distressed thinking was crude, brutal and effective. I stood at the door, the rectangular lid of the toilets septic tank held like a baseball bat between my slippery palms. I waited jockeying my courage up, bouncing on the balls of my feet as composed myself for the encounter. From the sounds of ti only one or two had entered the house from somewhere. I had to find it and block it. Cut off the head of the source.
I gingerly place my ear against the door, feeling each riverting vibration of hands on wood. Then everything fell still. I waited, the air turning cold in my lungs.
BANG The distinct blast of a gunshot sent me hurdling backwards. What the hell was going on.
As smaller burts of shots and shouting arose I threw caution to the wind and jerked open the door. A never could have imagined what the scene painted before me would be.
Jane David Stretch Smith Natalie Anna Ash and jennifer where scattered through my vison. Undead where smeared across the walls. "red?" Stretch puffed with a furrow of disbelief. I watched as his eyes drifted down to mine to below my waist. The others where staring as well. My cheeks where livid with a  heat that seared with an intestiy hotter than the sun. I lurched to cover my modesty with the lid. I heard Ash and Jennifer scoff as my idiocy and Jane face pinkened.
I wrenched the door closed behind me, lacing my belt through the rings and stringing along every swear I knew of. I didn't exactly know if I had anything to be embossed of, I wanst much for measuring with a ruler like the other boys did back in elemtary.
My breif brush with embrasment flushed away my fear leaving my mind frittzing with overload past capacity. First I get kicked out, then im trapped by zombies, THEN I get saved by the people that kicked me out and im naked. Awsome day. Awsome.
"Does anyone mind telling me what the hell your doing here?" I shouted beyond the confines fo the barely spacious bathroom as I tugged my shirt over my head.
"well once we kicked you out we deicded maybe we should leave after all. Your friends stretch and Ritch had perfect timing and came bustling in seconds before we where about to leave. Turns out the where just a few rooms down from where we had orgiannyl checked. Who knew." Smith smoothed his jacket as I emerged from the bathroom. My cheeks where still raw with bashful emrassment but I manged to look him dead in the eye. "why did you come here." I could pickup the crack of hurt of air, emitted from Smith, Natalie and Jane. Good.  I wanted them to writhe. "we knew you wouldn't last long on your own. We deicded to forgive and forget. We came to pick you up." Smith's face opened up into a toothy grin, stepping forward as if he wanted me to be glad they forgave me. The beast of anger tightened its coil.
"what if I don't want to forgive and forget. I was doing just fine on my own!" I planted a firm foot forward, claiming my stake. "yeah with the undead knocking on your door using a toilet lid to defend yourself. Just fine." Jane cynically remarked, folding his arms to his chest. "I don't want to hear it from you!" I snarled with such ferocity I took myself by surprise. Jane was chipping away at nerves that had been worn down long ago. "hey! calm down." Davids forgien voice intercepted my rage.
This was how it was supposed to be! You left people you met new ones. You carried on. They where upsetting the balance. Taking back their word. It was unacceptable. "no you calm down david! Ever since you came in things got worse." I was beyond sense now, but I found truth in my lies. I might have been born into the clan at a later time but ever since david but into my personal life, gold turned to shit. My life was worthless. "what? Ever since you came Zach, everythings fucked up! Its all your fault!" History was in the making. David was ashen with gall, for the first time in my life I heard him scream. Really go at it. I would have him growling like a dog when I was done.
"Im not Zach anymore." the light thought spilled out past drawn lips. "then who are you." David impaled me on a pointed finger. I felt his question press the ever present fear. To face who I really was. Out of sight out of mind.  He was demanding I look at myself and judge. I knew he wanted some hot headed answer, some long planned speech but I felt the anger drain. The eye of the storm. "im red." I spoke it as if I was intrducing to a stranger. They all looked taken aback, apparently my charade had lead them to belive I was going to sock him in the jaw. But I just lost the cause. It was a mystery to me even, why I felt cold.
But to was all to clear. This was a fight I couldn't win. My self preservation theory was in full throttle. I backed out. Intriguing. Even when I was coherently afraid my body told me what was best for me. And I had no choice but to obey its straining demands.
Then I felt a question pick at my like a crows beak. "where are Duncan and Josie?" No asnwer came. I should have noticed the tear streaked faces the moment they walked in. I struck every body with my icy glares.
"they died you ass fuck." I turned to Jennifer, the second youngest out of them all. No wonder she looked so broken. So tame. "died trying to save you. Precious little Red." Her voice soured with bile as a hich pitched sardonic tone filled its place. "how is this my fault. I cant belive this." My body began to shudder with laughter as I spun on my heels, back facing them, as I pressed the tips of my finers into the slops of my face. I clamped my hand over my lips to keep me from murdering them with my words.