Broken Bat (The Prequel)
Topic: The Last Days
Chaos rules Gotham.

The Batman is caught off-guard by the appearance of walking rotting corpses. The citizens of Gotham city became victims one by one to the living dead while the Batman tries to stem the violence and gore that is happening in his city. The Batman throws everything he has to try to save the people of Gotham but the living dead is unstoppable. Worse, their victims soon rises up and join their ranks which makes it very hard for the Batman and Gotham's police force to keep up. Realizing he is outnumbered the Batman retreats to the Batcave to try to find a solution to this problem. On the way there, he talked with Commissioner Gordon where Jim informed him that half of the city's police force have been taken down by the living dead. The Batman then called Robin and instructed the Boy Wonder to take extreme caution in dealing with these creatures. He also alerted the Justice League and is surprised to hear from J'onn that this event is worldwide.

Donning his civilian identity, Bruce Wayne contacted his top research scientist, Dr. Ellen Bowle and get her to work in finding out the cause of this problem. Bruce learned that Wayne Laboratories was attacked by the living dead early on which gave him the impression that his own research facilities might be conducting experiments without his knowledge. At the same time he has been suspicious of some of Dr. Bowle's activities for quite some time. After giving instructions, Bruce transforms into the Dark Knight and heads off to Wayne Laboratories.

He found Wayne Laboratories littered with dead bodies but no living dead in sight. The Batman enter through a secret passage and went down the level where Dr. Bowle's and the rest of the scientists are having a discussion. The Batman listens for information of treachery, but it seems his scientists are also at a lost. After a few minutes, Bruce is convinced that his scientists did not cause this event. While working his way up he received a horrific message from Tim. Hordes of the living dead have just attacked Gotham's police station and annihilated the whole police force including Commissioner Jim Gordon. The Batman instructed Tim to stay away from the creatures and wait for him to come.

Bruce now realizes the situation has stretched beyond his control. He activates his communicator and sent a distress call to his superpowered allies. But for some reason, his call was not answered. Curious and fearing for the worst, he returned to the Batcave and retrieved a shiny circular device. The device is a standard justice league teleporter which Bruce now uses to teleport himself to the Justice League watch tower. However upon arriving, the Batman realizes nobody is there. He moved to the controls to activate the monitor and is shocked to learn the fate of his comrades. Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Plastic Man, Supergirl, Superboy, Flash... all eaten by the living dead.

As impossible as it may seem, the living dead were able to defeat the world's most powerful metahumans. How they did it defies explanation. But where is Superman? Where is Captain Marvel? He hasten to activate the Justice League locator to determine the location of the two supermen.

The device locates Superman's position in his Fortress of Solitude. Captain Marvel is nowhere. Bruce wonders why Superman is in the north pole when the whole world is in chaos. It doesn't add up, Bruce thinks. Something may have happened to Superman or he would've been fighting alongside his team mates. Suddenly his emergency communicator lights up. Someone is calling him.

It's Tim, Robin.

Bruce picks up the communicator where Robin informed him that the living dead has massacred 90% of Gotham's population, and those victims have already risen up to join the living dead. This happened in only 10 hours. Bruce uses the JLA communications array to call Dr. Bowle to update him of her progress. Ellen, informed him that they've dissected one of the corpse and discovered substantial information about the living dead. But the signal between them is deteriorating that Bruce tells her to continue her research and that he will join her shortly.

Teleporting to the Batcave, Tim called again. This time there's panic in his voice and the moans of the living dead are heard from the background. Before Bruce can respond, communication has been severed. The Batman struggles to establish the link but nothing happened. The communicator must have been dropped and damaged. He hopes that Tim managed to escape his predicament.

Dr. Bowle is surprised when the Batman appeared in their laboratory telling her to update him of the information she has discovered. Before she can react, the Batman removed his mask and revealed to the people in the room that the Batman is no other than their boss, Bruce Wayne. Bruce told them it's no use hiding behind the mask anymore and they need to work together if the world is to have a chance. Dr. Bowle showed Bruce what they discovered. A unknown virus has inhabited the bodies of these people which mutates their DNA. The mutation kills the person but is later revived when the mutation is complete. The reanimated person becomes a living dead which slows decomposition, loses its own personality and is driven only by a primal instinct to feed. Dr. Bowle goes on by saying the living dead is also quite capable of killing metahumans. She found properties in its saliva which could neutralize the shielding properties of a metahuman. A skin sample from superpowered metahumans such as the Martian Manhunter became vulnerable when applied with infected saliva. Bruce told her the fate of the justice league and that only him, Robin and Nightwing are the only members who are still active, though he is not so sure about Nightwing's whereabouts. Dr. Bowle showed her another revelation. The virus has Kryptonian properties.

Just then a menacing laugh was heard on the next room where the rest of the scientists were working on the specimens, then followed by gunshots. Bruce donned the mask then kicked the door open and found the Joker holding a smoking gun.

The scientists are dead.

The Joker aimed the gun at the Batman and tells him how marvelous it is that the world is ending just the same as the Batman. Then the Joker shot at the Batman. The Batman whirls in the air avoiding the bullets that the Joker has just dispatched. Upon landing the Batman threw a batarang, disabling the Joker's hand and dropping his gun. Batman followed with a tremendous combination of punches and kicks which ends with the Joker falling on one of the specimens that are tied up in the examination table. Before the Joker could get up, the corpse opened up its eyes and bit a large chunk of flesh from the Joker's arm. Blood spurted out as the Joker struggles to move away from the corpse all the while cursing it. When he turned his attention to the Batman, he found Bruce holding a large batarang aimed at his throat. The Joker laughs and tells him, he doesn't have the balls to do it. If he has, he would've done it long ago. The Batman responded that this time it is different. You are infected, the Batman tells him then he hurls his batarang. In a second, the Joker's body is slumped to the ground, decapitated.

Bruce turned towards the other room and is surprised when he saw Dr. Bowle on the floor, bleeding. The doctor was hit by a stray bullet that went through her chest. She is dying. However, Ellen clutched Bruce's cape and tells him a bit of a good news. The scientists has discovered something from the walking corpses. The living dead is attracted by the smell of living people but the living dead do not attack each other because they emit a pheromone that only they can detect. That pheromone has been contained by Dr. Ellen in the lab. If it can be replicated, it could be used as a deterrent or a weapon. She urged Bruce to continue the research, then she closed her eyes and died.

Bruce slumped to the floor. So much has happened in the last 12 hours. These walking corpses has taken everything the Batman has worked for all these years and for a moment, the Batman felt helpless and very alone. But Bruce knows he cannot allow these emotions to drag him down. There is a lot of work to do. So the Batman set down on it.

6 months have passed.

Gotham City is a dead city. Decaying corpses walked the shabby streets. Dried blood from earlier victims painted the sidewalks. From the corner of a dark street, a child around 9 years old have strayed away from his hiding place. The child is thin and malnourished due to lack of food and water. His eyes are fixed on the old grocery store at the other end of the street. He has been there before, got most of the things he needed, but hunger pains made him come back and see if there is any food left to scrounge up. The corpses are walking very slowly today and are paced a bit farther apart. He thinks he can make it to the other end before they could give chase. So he bent his knee, gathered his remaining energy... then off he goes!

He streaked past the corpses and zigzagged beween four corpses who starts to give chase. He would've make it if he hadn't slipped and fell down hard on his face. By this time, scores of living dead have surrounded him and there is no way out. No hope for him unless...

A black metallic thing boomerangs in the air and decapitates three corpses. Then a shadowy figure with a large cape descended from above and began beating the hell out of these corpses. The Batman has finally returned to the streets. The corpses should be seeing a big batty lunch, but they don't seem to be interested in Bruce. Instead, most of them are going away from him.

It worked! Bruce thought. He has improved the pheromone that Dr. Bowle extracted from the specimens and injected it to his body. The good doctor was right. The pheromone could be used as a deterrent or a weapon. Unfortunately, he has used the last of Wayne Lab's resources for this one. No way he can make another.

He got the kid back to his hiding place. It's an underground basement where 20 people have called it home. Bruce thinks, there might be others like them in other parts of the city. So it became a mission now for the Batman to find survivors of the undead plague and help them as much as he can. The pheromone that he injected in his body will stay with him as long as he lives and that is a big advantage in fighting the living dead.

In Gotham city, there are a million walking corpses. But there is also a Batman to protect those who survived, no matter how great the odds.

Capital Punishment - by Francis Allan M. Barangan
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: The Last Days
"Shut up, you bitch!"

The foul words emanates from the mouth of a sadistic man who's pointing a knife towards the throat of a young woman. The woman, aged 19 or 20 is seated on a chair with her hands tied behind her back tries unsuccessfully to hold back her cries while the man proceeded in ripping off her clothes. The man, whose age is around 34 to 36, smacked his lips when he saw the woman's exposed glory. His left hand, shaking in delight touches the woman's breast, caressing it at first, then grabbing it hard which made the woman squeal in pain.

Irritated, he grabbed the woman's face, and pulled it towards him. "You better learn to cooperate you bitch or you'll end up rotting under my floor."

`Please..." the woman pleads. "Please don't hurt me..."

"Oh I'll hurt you babe." the man said, his eyes already red in lust. "I'll hurt you so much you better wish you were dead!"

"What... What did I do to you? Why are you doing this to me?"

Without warning, the man's fist slammed the woman's face that she fell back face first on the floor. The blow resulted in the woman coughing out blood. The man grabbed her hair and pulled her bleeding face close to his legs while he struggled to unzip his pants. When he got it done, he took out his meat and wiggled it close to the woman's face. Breathing heavily and obviously delirious in lust, the man squeezed her mouth open.

"Suck this piece of meat you bitch!" the man commanded. The woman still in pain could barely open her mouth, which irritated the man even more. He slapped her face again then he repeated his command to the woman.

"I said suck it bitch!"

The woman opened her mouth in obedience. Blood mixed with saliva filled the woman's mouth as she struggled in fear to obey the man's demand. Instead of getting turned off by this, the man is filled with overwhelming lust as the woman lips touches the head of his meat.

"Ohhh! You don't know how it is bitch. You don't know..." the man said while gyrating his hips. "Bitches like you. Beautiful bitches like you brings only pain and suffering to a man's loving heart. You think you're so perfect, that you do not care what men feel, what I feel!" Then he grabbed the woman's hair and twists it so she is facing upward to him. "You don't know the pain I've suffered! Loving someone, only to end up being fooled! Fooled by women like you!"

The man relaxes his grip for a moment, and then tears flow from his eyes. "They all laughed at me, all of them. I thought I would be happy. Sharing and living a life with someone I love, start a family, see my children grow, grow old and be content. Be content..."

"But bitches like you don't know what love is. So I take matters into my own hand. If I can't have her, nobody can! I own her and nobody is taking her away from me!" Hatred filled his heart once more and he gripped the woman's face pushing his meat deep down her throat.

"You won't do what she'd done to me! Not to me or anybody! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" then he pushed his meat deeper in her mouth. The woman struggled and gasped for air, but he holds her in a vise.

"Didn't I tell you I'd hurt you? Didn't I?" he screamed while she struggled. Blood flows out of her mouth, in a matter of seconds it was over. Her body goes limp and life is swept away from her.

Breathing heavily, he relaxes his grip. Then he pulled out his meat from the woman's mouth. He sat beside her while he catches his breath.

"You won't do what she'd done to me."

The man stood up and picked up his pants and left the room for the kitchen. In the kitchen he grabbed a can of beer, turned on the radio and sat on the chair with his legs up on the table. The station is broadcasting traditional music, which relaxes him as he drinks his beer. Another gulp of beer and he felt his eyes getting heavier. Feeling sleepy already, he drank the last drop, stretched his arms before finally closing his eyes. Unfortunately for him, he is already asleep when the station that he's listening to interrupted the usual program to bring up disturbing news.

Hours have already passed when he woke up. He realizes it's already dark outside. Then he remembered the body of his latest victim, which he left lying in his room. Partly blaming himself for not taking care of the body sooner, he grabbed an empty sack from the kitchen and proceeded to his room to take care of the body. However when he opened the room, the body is no longer there!

Thinking the woman is still alive; he cursed himself for being so stupid. He stormed down the stairs opened a hidden cabinet downstairs where he retrieved a Colt .45. Thinking this will finish the job once and for all; he grabbed a flashlight and went out the house to look for the woman.

The place is already very dark outside. He flicked his flashlight and pointed the light on the trees to see if she is hiding there. The house is built within a forest, which makes it easy for him to do his crimes here. No people to worry catching him here, he has killed over 12 women for the past six months, hiding their bodies under the floor of his house. All women have been listed as missing but with no witnesses to the crime, the police have no clue where to start.

He moved through the trees and bushes hoping to catch up with her. After a few kilometers from the house, he heard sounds, which made his hair stand up on its end. The sound appeared to be moans not of animals, but of people, and not just two or three but groups of people scattered all around the forest.

For the first time he felt afraid of the forest. Even though he holds a gun in his right hand, he felt vulnerable being the only living person in a dark forest, coupled with unearthly moans that seem getting nearer. He slowly backed away and resolved to go back to the safety of his home. If she is out there, she's very weak, so she might not survive the night after all.

However when he turned around, the form of a decaying man greets him with open arms that he suddenly backed off in fear. The thing gurgled as if to say something to him then lurched slowly towards his direction. He pointed the gun to the thing to stop it from coming nearer.

"Back away fucker! Back away!" he screamed. But before he could squeeze the trigger, another one, a woman this time grabbed him from behind and took a bite out of his shoulder. He screamed in pain and struggled to get the woman off him. He elbowed the woman on the chest sending her head over heels to the ground. Then he pointed the gun at her but before he could squeeze the trigger, the man who he forgets is still lurching forward, grabbed his arm and took a big bite.

"Ahhhh!! Fuck!!" he screamed, then uses his elbow to knock the man down. He fired the gun one, two and three at the body to make sure it is dead. However it didn't twitch and die in pain as he thought it would. It faces him with blank white eyes while chewing a piece of his flesh. Realizing this is no ordinary adversary; he struggled to return back to the house. But pain from his wounds are slowing him down, at the same time he is losing a lot of blood. The people he encountered took a lot of meat from his shoulder and left arm that he's starting to feel nauseous from loss of blood. But he strove on. Determined to reach the safety of his home.

An arm shot up from the bushes, which tripped him that he fell down face first on the ground. Then he felt a striking pain on his right calf. Another decaying creature has its teeth sunk in his calf and is tearing his flesh apart. He screamed while trying to grab the gun, which fell on his side when he tripped. Grabbing the gun, he focused on pointing the gun on the head. He fired, and the creature fell flat on its back.

"What are you?!" he shouted in pain then he struggled to lift himself from the ground. The sounds of moans are closer than before. He grabbed his flashlight, which fell by his side and flicked it open. To his horror, he saw groups of zombies lurching slowly towards his direction. The sight is enough to get his adrenaline pumping that he limped his way as fast as he could, passing through rocks and small waterways. He encountered some of these monsters along the way, which he was able to neutralize by firing on their heads.

At long last, he was able to see the lights coming from the house. He gasped the sound of delight upon seeing the end of his goal. Upon entering the front door, he shut it locked. Then he limped towards the kitchen and locked the backdoor. Sure that the place is locked up, he permits himself a smile as he proceeded to his room to clean his wounds. But before he can do that, a figure lurches towards him in the shadows. He flicked the flashlight on its direction and saw the young woman who he raped and killed a moment ago standing there with her arms outstretched. He screamed in fear upon the sight of the woman, and then he pulled out his gun and fired at her.

"Fucking bitch! Die! Die!" but maybe because he has lost a lot of blood, his aim falters and he failed to shoot the head. But he kept on firing the gun, hitting the woman on the chest, stomach and arms, until he has exhausted all his bullets without touching her head. The woman hissed and slowly lurched towards him. She no longer displays fear like she did before he killed her. All that's left now is the hunger towards the man who violated her.

The man who used to inflict fear on his victims is now experiencing the other way around. He tried to plead with her. Telling her he's sorry that what he has done to her was a mistake. But the woman no longer cares anymore. She is now beyond reason. Only one thing would satisfy her now, and that is his flesh. The man whimpered as he limped back. The zombie's hands are only a few feet a way. He can feel the cold fingers trying to touch him. The breath of death, trying to choke him.

But suddenly the floor rattled and started to break away! The zombie, which is only a few feet away, stopped for a moment and gazed at the wood that is breaking down from below. The man mumbled in fear "Oh no... God help me..."

He knows what it is.

Molded hands shot up from the wooden floor. Out came the man's earlier victims, heavily decayed but not enough to keep them trapped below. They refused to lie still while the others have risen up, and this night, this special night, they would take revenge on the man who took away their lives. What a delight it is to see him shivering in fear for what will happen next. Thirteen walking corpses surrounded him. The house is now a courtroom, this is judgment day, and they are the jurors.

They've made their decision. Capital punishment. Tonight, for the first time in six months, they will feast.

- THE END -

Me, myself and this axe! - by Francis Allan Barangan
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: The Last Days
First there was me, Ricky. I grew up in the countryside where I lived in a modest home with my family. I was the only child, though I yearned for a brother, I never had one since my daddy died in a car accident when I was seven. From then on it was only my mom and I where we moved to the city and where she struggled to pay the rent as a waitress in a local restaurant. Most of the time, my mother will also work in the night just to make ends meet. So everyday I walked home to an empty apartment. I never had friends in school. Bigger boys bullied me everyday and there wasn't a day I went home without a fat lip. I need someone to talk to. To express my grief, my fear and most of all...

My anger!

This is where Reggie manifested in full fury. Ever since I was a child, I have an imaginary friend, whom I called Reggie. I call out to him when I'm afraid, though I never really saw him, I felt his presence beside me and I felt secured. Reggie was like an older brother to me, the brother that I would've wanted, the brother that would protect me from those who would hurt me. One day a bully punched me in the nose, laughing while blood flowed from my nose like a flood. Reggie manifested himself. I felt my adrenaline pumping up, my fists hardened up like steel, and my eyes flamed with anger! Reggie Rage took control of my body where he dealt this bully with a blow to the groin. The bully went down in pain, and then Reggie kicked him in the head and body, head and body again until the bully passed out in extreme pain. Reggie and I have beaten him and there were more to follow.

However that incident did not escape the attention of the principal who happened to be passing by. I was put in detention for the whole day and the matter was spoken to my mom. But that is not the last, Reggie began beating other bullies in school and it was not long before I became the most feared student in school. But my mother, fearing something was wrong with me took me to a psychiatrist where they made me take some tests to determine if I was really losing it. Unfortunately, they discovered I have a split personality. From then on they worked on curing me. Everyday, I would have to listen to soft music and I have to endure their trainings and tests. Somehow, the procedure worked! I became convinced that I am in control of myself, that there is no other personality that exists in my body but that of Ricky. Reggie sunk to oblivion after that. I have never felt him through my entire adolescent age and I thought I never would again.

That is until the dead came back from the grave.

I am now a medical student doing attending work in a local hospital. The first news about a dead body seen walking the highway threw us all in fits. For a medical student, nothing is more hilarious than reporting a dead man walking. We ignored the news and went on to study. We had a big test the next day and it wouldn't do good to let the mind wander away to a ridiculous concept of walking dead people.

We didn't realize how wrong we were.

I was assisting a doctor to deliver a baby when I heard screams outside. The doctor who was about to deliver the baby was stunned when a group of five decaying zombies barged in the delivery room unannounced. The zombies didn't take the time for pleasantries as they rushed with arms outstretched to the doctor who did not have the time to scream. The flesh from his neck was ripped apart. The nurses tried to run but the zombies grabbed them before they could get away. They sunk their teeth in their necks. Blood spurted out from the wound and the zombies drank it like wine.

Two zombies turned their attention to the young woman in labor. The woman turned her eyes towards me begging for my help. Before I could move, the zombies bit her in the neck and the abdomen. She screamed in pain as the zombie who bit her below, ripped open the abdomen and began digging in. The zombies reached inside her and pulled out her unborn child who did not even have the time to cry as the zombie who grabbed hold of him sunk his teeth in his little body. The little child must have smelled delicious to these beasts as they struggled and fought for the biggest part. I stood there frozen while it's happening. I was so much in shock that my mind stopped thinking. My body just stood there while the zombies feast like there's no tomorrow, ripping away the flesh from the little cherubim, they broke his bones and munched with delight while the others fed on the doctors and nurses. My mind was fixed on the woman's expression. The face of fear, not just for herself, but also for her unborn child. I remember how she tried to protect her child by covering her abdomen with her hands while the zombies were eating her. I remember how she looked at me, her eyes pleading for me to help her. But all I could do is stand there. So much was happening so fast, the dead shouldn't be walking, and the dead shouldn't be eating the living. So many questions. Too many.

In a snap I started to move my way out the room. The zombies are still busy feeding that they don't took notice of me leaving. In the hallway I saw there were more of these creatures, walking erratically and feeding from victim to victim. However, it didn't take long for one to notice me. The creature hissed and salivates with hunger. With hands outstretched, it walked slowly towards me.

Cornered on a wall and no way out, I called out to Reggie in fear.

Then it happened. Fear turned to rage. Reggie's rage! Boiling up inside me. I felt myself heating up. My hands groped to find something I could use as a weapon. Then I struck gold! To my left is a glass window with red letters that read: BREAK OPEN IN CASE OF EMERGENCY. I smashed the glass and reached for the axe inside. I gripped this mighty weapon, held it over my head and looked at the face of the beast with rage.

Then I swung!

I struck the head, splitting it in half. The zombie dropped to the ground dead. Gripping my axe, I inhaled the foul air and felt the power this axe represents. The power to send the dead back to the grave. With Reggie in control once again and my newfound power in my hands, I swung at every zombie I faced, cracking their head or splitting their bodies in half. I laughed when they moaned like suckers and I finished them off with one or two swings. I swung here and there and body parts flew in every direction.

When I got done killing every zombie on this floor, I yearned to kill some more. The rage has not left me. Perhaps the years of confinement built Reggie's rage to astronomical level, I hollered with all my might as I rushed to the next floor, killing any zombie I find. When I've finished with that floor, I moved to the next floor, and the next. Until I'd ran through every floor and every door in the hospital. My voice, Reggie's voice echoed through the corridors.

I found myself returning to the same floor where the young woman died. The hospital is silent now. Only the dead bodies of victims and decapitated zombies occupied the hospital now. There was no one left alive but me. Covered in zombie slime I slowly moved inside where the remains of the young woman were still lying on top of the delivery bed. The once white bed cover was now red in blood. Her chest was cracked open where these monsters ate her heart and lungs. Suddenly I felt Reggie sinking away and I was back to being just me. I dropped the axe and felt very weak. Then I dropped to the floor and cried.

For an odd number of hours I sat there in shock. Then I felt movement coming from the bed. I moved my head and saw the corpse of the young woman slowly sitting up. Her form is horrifying. Her chest was ripped open and the bones are peeking through. Her abdomen looked like it'd been ripped by a shredding machine. But still she moves. She looked hungrily in my direction. But when she tried to stand up, she fell flat on the floor. Her spinal cord broken in two, she tried to crawl towards me. However, the blood, which was still pouring out of her body, made the floor slippery so she crawled unsuccessfully.

Her appearance and condition made me want to throw up. I picked up my axe and went out the door. I walked through corridors of dead bodies that I knew would eventually rise up in a few minutes. I walked out of the hospital only to find out there are more walking corpses there than there was inside. Again the fear started to take hold of me. As I felt the cold fear filling me, I called to the person who is more than capable of protecting me, the only person who never fails to come to my need.

Reggie, my faithful older brother.

I felt the fear sinking away. Already the zombies had noticed me, at the same time, the victims inside the hospital are starting to wake up. But it's too late for them. The fear was already turning to rage. Reggie's rage!

As I gripped my mighty axe, I held it high above my head. My body, strong in Reggie's control, I fixed my eyes on the nearest zombie.

Then I swung!

- THE END -

Broken Bat - by Francis Allan Barangan
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: The Last Days
He has been walking the hi-way.

An old man heeding a call that he has answered effectively in the past.

A man once known through his deductive ability and fighting skills that made him known throughout the world as an avenging crusader, defender of the weak and a symbol of justice.

He walks wearing his uniform. Once famous and known throughout the world is now dirty, ragged and almost unrecognizable. He carries a boomerang, black and big as a man's arm to ward of the undead that may come up behind him. In his prime he was able to throw his boomerang at pinpoint accuracy, but now he's barely able to lift it. He wears a belt, once full of gadgets, now empty and dangling round his waist, rusted and wasted. He walks the lonely hi-way to a place he believes still exists. And if by chance he met with one of the undead, he never turns back but charges on without fear or regret.

Ever ready to face the inevitable. Ever ready to heed a call. Ever the B---

A scream breaks out in the distance. The scream of a woman! His mind focuses, his blood boils. Dragging his heavy feet, he huffs to the location of the scream. There in the distance, a young woman, wounded, is crawling in the dust. Behind her, a group of the undead walked towards her salivating and full hunger. The woman desperately cries for help when she sees him. He hurried on, but his body is too slow and too weak. Age has definitely slowed him down, but that is no reason not to answer a call of help. Attempting to divert the attention of the zombies, he shouted fierce words while dragging himself. The undead barely noticed or ignored him. Now that they are almost on top of the young woman, the undead braced for a feeding frenzy.

His hands search for something he could use. He grabbed hold of a small object tucked in his back. It's a capsule he once uses to disable his enemies. He took it and threw the capsule at the undead. The capsule hit the ground and breaks empty. One of the undead noticed him but quickly turned away when one of them grabbed hold of the young woman's feet. The young woman screams in terror and pain as the undead holding one of her foot tooka bite at one of the fingers. He hollered, still trying to divert attention as he lumbers nearer to the person he wishes to rescue, every step seems like an eternity, so near and yet so far. He looked at the woman struggling and reminds him of one his partners, mauled and left for dead by one his enemies, she was confined to a wheelchair until later when three zombies broke into her house in the first year of the dead rising. She was found dead and no longer fit for reanimation because of the extensive loss of body parts. The young woman screams again, as one of the undead took a bite here and there. Her flesh are slowly ripped apart, her arms and legs are chewed, large amounts of blood shoots out like a fountain with every mouthful. He hasten his move but every step seems to slow him down a bit. He can feel his heart racing, his breathing become more irregular. He coughs extensively, further slowing him down. He looked at the woman being eaten alive, he looked at her eyes pleading for a rescue. He could see the pain she's experiencing and he seems to feel it too. The ghouls are now gnawing at her stomach and pulling muscle parts and skin. Red blood bubbles up the open wound and flow profusely to the ground. One of the ghouls reached inside her stomach and began pulling something while the others pulled at her now barely visible ribcage. Her eyes shot that look of extreme pain and began moving upwards.

Tears ran down her cheeks as the undead succeeded in breaking open her chest. She breathes her last and her eyes fixed on him. He shouted like a mad man and raised his boomerang high and slash at the nearest ghoul. It hits the arm with a small cut but doesn't damage it as he intended. He realizes the boomerang is no longer sharp enough to inflict terrible wounds. He slowly raised it up again and slashes on the next one. Again no effect. The undead continue eating the young woman's entrails and completely ignored him. He shouts at them again, then raised the boomerang again for another slash.

But the weight of the weapon is now too much for his old arms, he dropped to the ground with a BANG and sprained his arm in the process. His face is turned away from the gore, but he can hear the undead eating, the splashing sounds they they do to her body, and the ripping sound of flesh being torn from her bones. He closed his eyes and try to find the strength within him. He thinks of his comrades who also suffered the same fate. He gained strength from the memory and slowly, he straighten himself up. No way he's going down now he thinks to himself. After some time he was able to sit up. Trying to catch his breath and clearing his mind, he notices that the undead are now gone. Satisfied with the kill, the zombies moved on to their wanderings, walking aimlessly until the feel of hunger sparks again.

He's left alone with what's left of the young woman. Her body stripped most of its flesh, only the head has more skin than her body. Her eyes still fixed on his direction. Once it was so much alive, now it is pale and dead. He cried realizing how he failed her. He shouts and curses at the sky, then at everywhere he sees. He curses the undead and the only person who could have prevented this. He shouts his name long and loud. But no one answered him. Nothing but whistle of the wind.

Then he noticed her eyes moved. The mouth opened up and closed as if to say something, and that may have been if she still has her throat. Her remaining muscles clenches to move what's left of her arms. Her open chest vibrates as if to feel her missing heart and lungs. Noticing his boomerang lying near him, his body shivers at what he must do. Yet he must do it, like he has done a hundred times since the first revival of the dead.

He grabbed the boomerang with his other hand and slash at the head of the reanimated girl. Again and again he slashed until her brains oozes out of her skull. Sure that the girl is already dead, he lumbers again to the highway. Tired, wasted, he walks again hoping to reach the place in his mind still exists. He comforts himself by thinking of having defeated his enemy, a corpse who just reanimated and cries about the woman he failed to save. But there are other people who needs him, and he won't fail them. Again his mind wanders in the past. He thinks of himself jumping from every rooftop, looking out for his city. He thinks of his partners. His friends. He thinks of his cave and the butler who raised him. For a moment he seems to see a signal in the sky.

The man walked on.

- THE END -