AfterMath

                       Brian Leland had been cold and hungry for longer than he could remember. He had not had anything to eat in four days. He pulled his tattered clothes tighter around him; trying to fight off the cold. He had been hiding inside this dumpster for almost three hours now. He watched the zombies as they roamed around the street in front of him. He was waiting for them to spread out a little more before he tried to run into the store across the street. Finally he saw the break he had been looking for. Most of the zombies had wandered away from the entrance to the store. The dumpster was cold to his touch. Jumping out of the dumpster he bolted across the street headed for the front door of the small mom and pop type grocery store. The sole of his right shoe flopped wildly as he ran. He had long since worn out the duct tape he had wrapped around the shoe when it first came apart. He crossed the street and made into the store safely. Or so he though as he opened the door a bell hung above the door made a jingling sound. The zombies heard the sound and they all headed toward him and the store. He slammed the door shut behind him cursing the bell as he pushed the door shut. He looked around for something to keep the door close. He found a newspaper machine; he dragged it over and used it to block the door. When he pushed the newspaper machine up against the door jamb; he broke the glass on the newspaper machine door. The man took a several steps backward and watched as the number of zombies started to pile up outside the door. He was not sure if the newspaper vending machine would keep the door closed or not. The door slowly started to inch open as the newspaper vending machine slid back across the concrete floor it made a loud “screeching” sound like someone dragging their fingernails down a black board. Several fingers of a zombies hand slide through the small opening between the door and the door jamb. The man lunged forward quickly slamming the door shut again in the process he noticed that the zombie’s fingers had been severed and now lay on the dusty floor. He leaned with his back to the door; frantically looking around for something else to help keep the door shut. The man spotted a display for beer, running over to the display he grabbed several cases of beer. He ran back to the door and shoving the door shut again he sat the beer down against the door. After several more trips to the beer display he had placed enough weight behind the door to keep the zombies out.

He bent over and picked up one of the newspapers that had fallen to the floor the headline read. WILL MANKIND SURVIVE THE ZOMBIES?

                        The story came from a well placed source with-in the government. The source wished to remain anonymous. He informed them that a genetically altered gene was responsible for the plight that befallen mankind. The source informed the news media that a gene had been created in a state of the art laboratory in the small west Texas town of Big Spring. “Damn Texans always thinking they are better then everyone else” he though. He tucked the paper under his left arm and searched the store for some food. He found the canned food isle and struck it rich. The isle was full of canned food items. He walked over to another isle and found a can opener and some silverware. He returned to the canned food isle sat down on the floor. He opened a can of beef stew and took the grease that had accumulated on top of the stew and threw it to the ground. He started to eat the stew was cold, but at this moment his hunger was so great that he did not care. As he ate he read the rest of the story.