Dead Eyes: A Tale From The Zombie Plague

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Authors: James Dwyer
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like some sort of machine.
    “Yes, but what about the woman in the department store? The one you let die?”
    The thought was my own, the words my grandfather’s. Whispered in my ear once more, as if he was right there beside me. An invisible presence haunting my every move. There was a sense of glee to his words, as if he had set this all up as some sort of trap. To make me realise that he was right all along. If I had kept on walking, left the woman behind, she would have been neither alive nor dead. Schrodinger’s cat, only this time in a zombie apocalypse with a human being. Going back was a mistake. Now I would have to face the consequences of my actions. My cowardice.
    The thoughts made me feel miserable.
    My body started to regain feeling, the cold ache replaced by the soothing warmth from the fire. I opened my backpack and took out a blanket from inside. Tiredness had suddenly come over me, even if I had been sleeping outside in the street. I wrapped myself up in the warm blanket and lay down on the sofa, trying to sleep away my problems. Falling asleep, I could hear my grandfather’s voice again.
    “Look after yourself and yourself alone. No one else cares about your ongoing existence as much as you do. If it’s a choice between us and them, it is always them. Always.”
     
    ✖
     
    When I woke from my slumber, my eyes opened to darkness indistinguishable from sleep. I tried to remain calm, telling myself that this was not the present, just a glimpse into the future. I had not turned blind yet. I wasn’t ready.
    Even so, waking up an d opening my eyes to find no difference from when they were closed filled me with a nervousness that would not shift. I had to make it to Camp Churchill today. Find someone to help me, either physically or mentally.
    How I wish I had Libby with me now.
    I could hear the fireplace burning in the room, feel the warmth from the flames on outstretched palms, smell the gas igniting in the hearth. I focused my sleeping gaze on the fire, hoping the flare of the flames would help break through the cloud.
    At first nothing happened, save for me feeling the heat more acutely on my face. Gradually, the darkness began to shift, changing from an impenetrable void into a cloud, a swirling cloud of black ash. Cracks of light began to run through the blackness, seams of vision breaking through. The light intensified, forcing the cloud away, dissipating the dark with flashes of fire.
    It took a while for the cloud to fade completely, the darkness lingering for as long as it could. Not willing to give up without a fight. I stood up from the sofa and walked to the curtains, keen to open them and bask in daylight. Pulling them apart, I was greeted by a crowd of zombies staring directly at my naked body.
    I ducked down quickly but it was too late, the zombies were coming towards the window, long deep moans revealing what stage they were in. I was naked except for the blanket, my clothes resting on the fireguard. How could I have been so stupid? Pulling the curtains open so brazenly. I was becoming far too emotional recently and it was clouding my judgement much more severely than the coming blindness.
    I reached up and closed the curtains, trying to camouflage my movements as best as I could. Keeping low, I crawled across the floor to my clothes, picking them up and testing their condition. They were mostly dry, save a few damp patches here and there. I quickly dressed and packed away the rest of my things into my bag.
    The heat from the fire had not spread through the rest of the house. The back dining room was cold, a taster of things to come when I ventured outside. I could see the garden was clear through the French windows, the alleyway beyond invisible behind the brick walls surrounding the garden. With the front of the house crawling with zombies, the back way was my only option.
    I opened the window doors and stepped outside into the cold. The grass squelched underneath my feet, waterlogged

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