Dead Zombie (3rd Draft)

Prologue

"We have orders to fall back to DC and protect the capital. We'll make our last stand there"

It was hard to hear the Sergeant over the loud screaming engine of the Humvee but they all understood nonetheless. They were falling back from Alexandria, the front lines were demolished by the unending horde of starving undead. Specialist Greyson sat in the vehicle bouncing his leg up and down from the stress. He had known people out there that were left behind. Friends. Brothers in arms. This wasn't just survival, this was warfare. It was not known to the general public but the lockdowns had nothing to do with the recent virus outbreak. That was just a sham. A year of fear and stress caused by the enemies of the U.S. The truth was hidden in the fall of the embassy in Moscow. There were videos of slow moving flesh eating monsters tearing through the embassy. It was a test for the real thing. A month later almost all east coast cities were hit with drops. Out of the planes came more of the monsters. They spread faster than we could react. Evacuation orders were sent to all high population cities and the military force was ordered to support in the east. The west was left entirely defenseless and fell in weeks.

The vehicle stopped and the men and women unloaded and awaited orders. Their post was the trenches. It was only a matter of time before the dead walking caught up. They may have had hours. Hours to sit and wait. Greyson had been in this position many times as they made their way closer and closer to the capital week by week. The process was firefights, followed by retreat and more firefights. The dead had no guns, no tactics, no commanders. They also didn't have any fear, pain, or hesitation. There was no emotion. So in the end the dead won every time.

"Here they come," SPC Richardson said, pointing off into the distance. Geyson looked in the direction he was pointing and he saw a cluster of bodies. Not a few moments later did the entire horizon line fill with dead bodies walking towards them shoulder to shoulder. Some had bullet wounds in chests and shoulders. Others were missing jaws and arms. Greyson had even once seen one with its head barely hanging on to the rest of its body by a few connected muscles and yet it too continued onward. These things hardly ever stopped. The cloud of bodies brought with them an inescapable sense of dread. And had the time passed, and the bullets flew and the men fell Greyson inched further and further back until the army of the dead arrived at the wall of concrete barriers. He saw Richardson disappear into the crowd of rotting flesh and never come out. He didn't know how much longer they could hold out.