Helmut had just found a shotgun with some ammunition so his luck was still holding out. He’d already managed to avoid being killed twice that night and that was only through sheer luck. His friend Freddie wasn’t so lucky.
They’d found each other at the docks and Freddie thought the people shambling around were other survivors. Helmut thought differently and held back. The way they walked was what tipped him off – they had no purpose or reason, they were just roaming and groaning. And their heads were strange - they hung off their necks like a piece of meat. They killed Freddie and chased after Helmut – but he was lucky as they lost their line of sight on him around a building.
When he’d lost them he rested against a wall while another one had just walked right by him. It was only two feet away but it didn’t pay him any attention. He stood still, held his breath and just watched out of the corner of his eyes as it shuffled past him. Helmut assumed the dark was what saved him that time – two times lucky.
And now he was armed. He had a double-barrel shotgun with 6 slugs. He gathered the gun and ammo up and walked towards the beach, away from the rest of the buildings. The monsters seemed to stay around buildings so he hoped the beach was clear. Helmut didn’t know much about guns but he loaded up the shotgun shells and looked for a safety catch - there didn’t seem to be any. He assumed that meant the gun was now loaded and ready to fire.
What was it his dad always said about assumptions? It makes an ass out of you and me. He should be sure it was working before he needed it to be working. But not here of course. He could hear them walking around and it seemed like a bad idea to make a big noise in the middle of town. Better to wait until he was far away from everything and test the gun then. To Helmut, that sounded like a plan.
A plan that was about to be upended as he heard the sounds of running footsteps come towards him. He unslung the shotgun and trained it towards the sound. Is he friendly? Helmut thought as he listened to the running.
He could see the outline of the runner but Helmut was pretty certain the runner couldn’t see him. With his back to a wall and the shotgun ready, he felt fairly safe as the runner approached. There was a gate near him and he assumed that’s what the runner was heading towards.
As he approached, Helmut recognized the runner. Oh shit it’s the fucking Dunce and he’s got a bunch of them on his tail. Helmut’s mind raced through his options. He could do nothing. He could help. He could kill The Dunce. Hell, they might feed on his body and that would give him an opportunity to get out. Fuck who are you man? He berated himself, three hours of this shit and you’re already turning cold blooded.
He couldn’t do that to the guy. Sure he was a simpleton but that didn’t mean he deserved to be killed in cold blood. “Hey Dunce! This way,” he called out. It took The Dunce a moment to register that someone was there.
“Helmut help me, please help,” he pleaded.
“Sure man sure. But not here, let’s lead them out to the beach,” replied Helmut.
Helmut ran and the Dunce followed, quickly catching up to him. They both ran side by side towards the beach, a large number of the infected following them.
“Around this building. Let’s see if we can lose some of them,” Helmut yelled. They circled a building and when they returned to the start it sounded like there were less of them chasing. Helmut filed that away ‘under useful shit to know’ as they continued towards the beach.
They felt the sand underfoot as they ran. “Helmut they don’t stop. I run and run but they don’t stop,” The Dunce explained.
“I know man. We’re going to have to stop and fight them soon. I have a gun, you have an axe so we should be okay.”
“I don’t want to kill no more people.”
“They’re not people man. They’re monsters, it’s okay to kill monsters.”
“It’s okay?” The Dunce queried.
“Yeah man, it’s okay. So don’t feel bad about killing them.” It was hard for Helmut to tell in the dark but The Dunce did look relieved. “But let’s run a little more. I’m sure this gun will be loud and I don’t want to draw more of them here.”
They continued to run along the beach when ahead they saw a torch waving towards them. Helmut and The Dunce ran faster towards the torch as the distance between them and the infected increased. As they got closer to the torch waver, Helmut heard a voice.
“This way over here,” The Butcher called out. The Butcher was up the roof of a small shack, he pointed to the ladder on the side. “Climb up. They won’t reach us up here.”
Helmut and the Dunce climbed up the ladder and once they were on top of the shack, The Butcher pulled the ladder up, laying it flat behind them.
The infected ran to the shack and then ran around it. They slowed down and roamed around looking for the two missing men. On the roof their former prey watched them below, The Butcher holding his fingers to his lips to indicate they should keep quiet.
“They’re not leaving,” Helmut whispered.
The men watched and Helmut was right. The infected moved away for a moment but then came back to the shack, back to the last place they saw the men.
“It’s like they know,” The Butcher pondered.
“What are they?” Helmut asked.
“Bad news, that’s what they are,” The Butcher answered.
“Monsters,” Rory offered.
“Yes that too,” The Butcher replied, “you know how to use that?” indicating Helmut's shotgun, “you want me to take that? I’m a pretty good shot.”
“I’d just as soon hold on to it for now if you know what I mean,” Helmut answered.
“Of course. Just offering to help.”
They went back to watching the infected. Sensing movement to his side, Helmut turned to see The Butcher licking his lips before he swung the sharp metal shard and jammed it into Helmut’s neck. Helmut’s hands dropped the gun as he futilely raised them to try to stop the torrent of blood that poured from the gash in his neck.
“You should have just given me the gun,” The Butcher chastised, as he grabbed the shotgun and fished around Helmut’s pockets for the shells.
Beside him Helmut watched the Dunce’s confused face as the scene unfolded, too fast for his slow-witted brain to comprehend. Helmut tried to say kill him but it just came out as a bloody gurgle.
Loaded up, the Butcher pushed Helmut off the shack to the waiting infected below. They swarmed onto Helmut and began to tear at his body. While they were distracted, The Butcher lowered the ladder on to the other side and started to climb down.
“You better run dummy because it won’t be long before they finish with him,” he said as he climbed down the ladder.
The Dunce turned his head from the running Butcher to Helmut and back again. He does this too many times for it to be comical and Helmut could almost see the thought process running around the Dunce’s head.
“Run!” Helmut gurgled out and mercifully, that was clear enough for the Dunce to understand. He climbed down the ladder and ran after The Butcher as Helmut's vision was filed with an infected standing over him. Its eyes were a murky white and the blood dripped off its chin onto Helmut's face. It opened its mouth to show blood-stained teeth before chomping down onto Helmut's cheek, tearing the flesh from his face.