Officer of the Dead

Chapter One

Your heart is beating fast as you rush through the forest with a small group of people you had met while escaping the dead. You use the trees and the cover of darkness as shelter from the horde of zombies you see in the cemetery up ahead. Pausing to catch your breath, you make out two figures trying to fight the horde off single-handedly, you watch as they take down zombie after zombie, but you know they are easily outnumbered. The rest of the group pause, joining you in watching the figures fight for their lives. You sense the unspoken thoughts of the group, considering whether to step in and help, but no one speaks. You whisper as not to draw any attention to your group from the lingering zombies.

"Are we going to help them?" you ask, wondering if the group's moral compass has already begun to falter. "We can't leave them, There's enough of us," you whisper again, hoping the group would agree. Having only met the group earlier that evening you weren't sure how they would react to a situation like this. Hell, you barely knew their names. You were lucky to stumble upon the group whilst running from the dead - they helped take down the zombies that were chasing you. Thankful for their rescue, you stayed with them for safety, knowing you have a better chance at survival if you stick with a group.

A man, slightly taller than yourself with an intimidating bulky frame steps closer to you. You try to study his face, but with the cover of darkness and his baseball cap, all you can make out is some stubble along his jaw. "It's too risky" the man whispers back, his voice gritty and rough; the type of voice you would expect someone to have after a lifetime of chain smoking and heavy drinking. "We need to prioritize ourselves" he continues, joining you in looking towards the two figures. As far as you can tell this man has assigned himself the role of the group's leader.

You look at him with a defeated expression, knowing that what he says makes sense but being uncomfortable knowing you are leaving the two figures to die. You gulp, trying to bury the overwhelming feeling of guilt away, this doesn't sit right with you. You watch as he starts to move away from you, motioning the group to continue moving forward. You turn to take one last glance at the two figures who are slowly losing the battle as the zombies close in on them. As you take your last glance, you notice the moonlight hit one of the two figures, revealing a shine of what looks like a sheriff's badge resting along the top of their left-hand breast pocket.

"They're cops!" you exclaim, slightly louder than you expected. "They'll have resources; guns, ammo," you say quickly and with urgency, now with an increased desire to help them, knowing they could be useful in trying to survive this apocalypse. The man in the baseball cap comes back towards you, taking a longer strained look at the two officers before looking towards you and nodding with a sigh.

Acknowledging the nod, you break from the shelter of the forest and begin attacking the lingering zombies. Your weapon is a simple baseball bat, quiet but solid enough to get the job done. Gun shots from the others in the group catch the horde's attention, causing them to break away from the officers and begin heading in the direction of your group. The two officers, sensing the rescue, begin slaughtering the zombies still nearing in on them as your group attacks the zombies breaking away. With a team effort each zombie in sight takes a hit to the head and collapses to the ground.

Looking around to check that the horde of zombies has been eliminated, you walk towards the two men.

"Are you guys okay? you ask. The taller, younger man of the two answers first.

"Yeah, that was close," he answers, still slightly breathless from his near-death experience. He runs a large hand through the black hair that sits in a mess on top of his head before straightening his glasses. Sweat glistens on his brow, and his uniform and forearms are smothered in blood that does not appear to be his own. You nod at him and look towards the other officer, who is much older than the first. The moonlight reflects off his sweat soaked head, highlighting stray grey hairs. His younger friend notices that he has not answered your question, and looks towards him.