Welcome to Paradise // Billie Joe Armstrong // #Wattys2017

Macy's Day Parade

I'm standing with my back placed against the wall, looking in dread at the creature in front of me. the man that I had once known as the jolly, foolish drummer of Green Day, on occasion dressed up in a pink tutu, is now nothing more than a decomposing carcass, it's rotten smell making me sick to my stomach.

I've often wondered whether the dead might still have a tiny spark of empathy or a certain recognition towards the living, but as I look at the brain-dead man in front of me, it becomes pretty clear they don't. Tre's eyes are dull, not so much focused on me, but on the flesh he's lingering to bite his teeth into. His physical embodiment, that vaguely still shows some of his tattoos, is the only thing remaining, but the soul that once lay within his body is fully gone.

Tre Cool is no longer with us.

I look at Billie, who is standing next to me. His left hand is tightly clenched into a fist and by the look on his face, it seems as if he's trying to hold back his tears. Regret and despair are sparkling brightly in his eyes as he looks at the remains of Tre in front of him.

"Tre?" Billie speaks quietly, but powerful. He makes a move to walk towards him, but I stop him by tightly holding onto his arm. "It's not Tre anymore, okay? We have to go now before more walkers will appear" I warn. "But..." Billie tries to argue, but gives in with a sigh, giving one last apologetic look at Tre, before looking at me again.

"It's okay" I smile sympathetically. Billie protectively wraps an arm around me, but as he does, we hear the growling of walkers coming towards the ally we're still standing in. We both look in Tre's direction, only to find over a dozen of the brain-dead creatures surrounding him, faltering our way.

I quickly run behind the dumpster as I yell for Billie to follow. "Quickly, help me push it forward into the hurdle!" I order, leaning against it. We both give in all the strength we have and slowly but surely, the blue, rusty container starts moving. We're about to thrust it into the hurdle as Billie changes it's direction, causing only a part of the walkers to get run down. "Watch out for Tre!" Billie yells.

"Billie, that creature over there is not Tre anymore. We have to kill it before it kills us!" I shout back, redirecting the dumpster towards Tre. I make a move to push it forward one more time, but Billie stops me by taking control again and banging the thing back against the wall. "I'm sorry Aileen, I can't hurt him again, we're just gonna have to run" he says as he grabs my hand and takes me with him. Reluctantly, I follow.

We speed past Tre and the two remaining walkers towards the end of the street, that marks the beginning of a dark forest I'm not exactly looking forward to entering. The world around me sounds numb, as if I'm finding myself in a bubble, and the only thing I hear is the loud thumping of my feet against the pavement as I run, still holding tightly onto Billie's hand.

Ultimately, the concrete pavement makes place for the steady soil of the forest and buildings turn into trees. I look behind me and notice more walkers are chasing us. "We have to fight them" I whimper, stopping my running to catch my breath.

Billie stops too and we both rest our backs against a tree, heavily breathing in the silence of the forest. "Th-they'll catch up on us eventually, we have to kill them" I moan. "Including Tre" I add, putting a brick-load of emphasis on the first word and catching Billie's attention. However, the pitying look in his eyes tells me he has other plans.

I start to walk again, looking for a sharp branch to protect myself with. In the distance, I can hear the hurdle of walkers coming closer. "Be careful, okay?" Billie whispers as he places his hand on my shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. I turn my head around to face him and nod. "You too" I say, smiling softly. "Oh, and Billie..." I then add. "Put Tre out of his misery, okay? It's best for everyone, I promise", to which he closes his eyes and gives me a little nod. "I'll try my best".