My Role in the Great Collapse.

1.

The first time I saw one couldn’t have been more of a cliched experience. It was a dark and stormy night, no really it was, with thunder, lightning and periods of intense sheets of rain. I remember thinking that this night was going to be the night I see my first Zombie and sure enough it was. I was glad I didn’t have to be the hero, the Police were still working and they were determined to eradicate the “problem” all by themselves. We were just to “stay inside and dial 911 in such a circumstance” not sure what we're supposed to do after the phones stop working though. Anyways we did just that.
We were staying inside and watching the News when it staggered past the front of our house and stopped under the streetlight. Peeking through the curtains there was a brilliant flash of lightning right when the Ghoul looked my way making it all seem so unreal. I remember thinking he/it could see me though I knew there wasn’t any real chance of that. We’d blocked off all light and boarded the windows over a week ago. Still..the way it stared at my house really creeped me out.
He just stood there. It just stood there. When it was a he it must have been in his fifties. Balding, pot belly wearing pajama pants and nothing else. A huge hole in his chest where his left nipple would have been. No blood though. It’s been raining quite a bit these past few days so I figured the weather must have cleaned this guy up.
Staring back at him I didn’t even notice the Police car pull up to the front of my house. Lights flashing and still I didn’t see them. I did see the Officers walking towards pajama pants though, guns drawn and pointed at his balding head, gleaming under the streetlight. They said something to him but I had no chance of hearing. Pajama pants started for them immediately. He was quite a bit quicker than he was a few minutes ago but I suspect he wasn’t properly motivated then. When he’s got two man size happy meals in his sights he’s got reason to put a little fire in his walk. A few quick steps then the back of his head sort of flapped open. I thought of a pressure relief valve. Like he had a hinge on the top of his head and every once in a while it opens up to release a fine pink mist. Then down he went face first at the Officers feet.
For a moment we just looked at him. The three of us, I knew they were talking about something and whatever it was seemed pretty funny. I remember feeling left out. They didn’t know I was there. They seemed to only care for the corpse in pajamas. Not a single one of us noticed them until they took down the cop closest to the police car. Three more dead guys. Thinking back now I’m sure the lights must have attracted them. I wasn’t able to hear his jokes but his screams I could hear. The rain started again. Heavy rainfall, from nothing to cats and dogs in the time it took the cop to scream once. His partner had some reflexes though. Pop pop pop. All three stopped their attack and became the kind of dead we all know and love. The good old days.
He picked up his partner and helped him to the car. He opened the passenger door then seemed to think better of it and carried him to the back instead. Once his partner was secured in the back of the car he took a good look around then got behind the wheel, spoke into the radio and drove off.
I stood there, looking at the four corpses under the streetlight in front of my house and wondered what sort of world these new predators brought with them? and when is it going to stop raining?