Lee wakes up. The world is upside down.
He groans, squeezing his eyes shut against the throbbing pain in his head. He tries to move, but his left leg screams in agony. It is cut deep and possibly broken. The police car is completely wrecked, resting at the bottom of the steep hill.
Lee looks toward the front seat. The windshield is shattered and gone. The officer was thrown out of the car during the crash.
Lee kicks the back window with his good leg. THUMP. He kicks it again, harder. CRACK. The glass shatters outward.
He drags himself out of the crushed vehicle and onto the grass. He gasps for air, the smell of gasoline and damp earth filling his lungs. The forest is unnaturally quiet, except for the buzzing of flies and the distant caw of a crow.
"Officer?" Lee calls out. His voice is raspy.
He needs the keys to unlock his handcuffs. He drags his body across the ground, gritting his teeth through the pain.
He spots the officer lying face down a few feet away. He isn't moving. There is a large pool of blood soaking into the grass around him.
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Lee crawls closer. He sees the keys attached to the officer's belt. He reaches for them with his bound hands, his fingers brushing against the leather.
Suddenly, the officer gasps. It is a wet, choking sound, like water draining from a sink.
The officer pushes himself up on erratic, jerky arms. He turns around. His eyes are milky white, devoid of life. His skin is grey and rotting. His jaw hangs loose, snapping open and closed.
He isn't a man anymore. He is a monster.
"Holy..." Lee scrambles backward.
The creature growls—a low, guttural sound. He lunges at Lee, snapping his teeth. SNAP. SNAP.
Lee crab-walks backward on his elbows, panic rising in his chest. He pushes himself back until his back hits the metal of the wrecked car. He is trapped.
He looks to his right. The officer's shotgun is lying in the grass just out of reach.
Lee stretches his arms and grabs the shotgun with both hands. He swings it toward the officer and pulls the trigger.
CLICK.
It is empty.
He looks around frantically. He spots a single red shotgun shell lying in the dirt near his foot. The zombie is crawling closer, its dead fingers clawing at the ground. It is hungry.
Lee grabs the shell. His hands are shaking violently. He tries to load it into the chamber, but he fumbles and drops it.
"No, no!" Lee yells.
The zombie is inches away now, the smell of rot overpowering. Lee grabs the shell from the dirt again. He jams it into the gun. He pumps the slide.
CLACK-CLACK.
The zombie lunges for Lee's throat.
BOOM.
Lee pulls the trigger. The shot hits the officer squarely in the head. The zombie falls backward, limp and silent.
Lee drops the gun, his chest heaving. He is shaking from adrenaline.
He crawls back to the body, trying not to look at the ruined face. He grabs the keys from the belt with trembling fingers.
Click. The handcuffs fall off. Lee rubs his sore wrists.
He is free, but he is injured and alone.
He stands up, limping badly on his injured leg. He hears a strange noise, like a low moan carried on the wind. He looks up at the top of the hill, toward the highway.
He sees silhouettes standing against the setting sun. There are dozens of them. They are staring down at him. They start to move, stumbling down the slope. They are all dead.
And they are coming for him.
Lee just used a shotgun, but it's loud and ammo is heavy. If you had to pick ONE weapon to start the apocalypse with, what are you taking?
