The Longest Night...

My trip to Jax didn't go how I imagined. In fact, it didn't go at all. I left just after day break. The cool air smelled of rain from the night before. For a moment it felt like the Sunday rides I used to take when life was normal. That was until I turned a corner where I encountered a small troupe of Walkers. They were stumbling around aimlessly in the middle of the street. I panicked, stopping abruptly, causing my wheels to skid on the gravel. Normally the sound would barely be noticeable, but in the quite of the early morning I might as well have set off fireworks.

I stood there for a moment, frozen. I had on foot on a pedal, ready to ride away, but I couldn't move. The Walkers were about twenty feet away from me. They turned their heads sharply in my direction, looking at me with their dead, white eyes. They started lumbering towards me, groaning. Their moan always makes my chest tighten up, it gets hard to breathe. They continued towards me, gaining in speed.

The call of a nearby bird caught my attention and brought me out of my trance. I quickly turned my bike around, nearly falling sideways in my haste. I began pedaling as fast as I could in the opposite direction. I just kept going...never looking back. Before I knew it, I was in an unfamiliar part of town. I found myself riding through an open field. The road became more elevated as I continued; the land on either side of the road sloped drastically downwards. As I rode I thought I heard the familiar groan again, causing me to lose my balance. That was the last thing I remembered, before I went tumbling down...

The next thing I remember was the sound of crickets. My body hurt all over. It was dark. I was so cold. So terrified. I felt around for my backpack. I found it nearly a foot to the right of me. I felt inside for my flashlight. I held it in my hand, hesitant to use it. What if there were zombies nearby? I remembered the sound that caused my accident. I questioned whether it had been real or not. How could I still be alive if it had been?

Afraid of the unknown, I held on tight to my flashlight, huddled in the dark. I sat there barely daring to breathe, jumping at every sound I heard until day break. It was the longest night of my life. When the sun finally rose in the sky I climbed up the slope of the hill. My bike's chain had come unhooked and my front wheel was slightly bent. It took me nearly five hours to walk my bike home, I limped the entire time. Thankfully I didn't encounter any Gs. When I finally made it home, I looked up at my balcony to see the relieved face of Resef. When I got past the barricade we embraced each other for the longest time. I let out a sob and promised never to let him go again.