THE CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS ARE THE WORKS OF AN ORIGINAL FICTION.
Rated M for Mature
Appropriate for readers 18 and over. May contain extreme violence, sexual themes, nudity, or profanity.
Immortality: Tales of the Undead- The Walking Undead
Ricky and Carlos had been best friends since their kindergarten days. They always liked to play video games, or throw a ball at each other. But now, they have to face something terrible; a living nightmare that they must endure for the rest of their lives.
After their recent graduation from high school, an unknown virus broke out and killed tons of people in the Unites States. But the virus had other properties. It turned a few people into mindless creatures, craving for human blood. At the time, both Ricky and Carlos were scared about it, and that they decided to run away from the terrible nightmare. Along the way, they had met several survivors whom they shared their hospitality. However, that wasn’t the case. The survivors didn’t have enough food, so they captured Ricky and Carlos. These were horrible times that the people had no other choice, but to eat human flesh.
But Ricky and Carlos managed to escape at one time, by using their wits and then killed a few survivors here and there. They couldn’t believe that these hungry people were eating one of their own. It became a disgusting thing, which Carlos almost threw up, while he and Ricky were locked inside the barn for a few days.
The two best friends ventured out on their own, trying to find ways to survive, and hoped not to eat other people if ever been found, because of their intense hunger. Ricky didn’t like that disgusting fact, after he and Carlos had a run-in with those survivors back there. But still, they hoped that they wouldn’t find any of them. It was just Ricky and Carlos, alone.
Along the road, the duo found a car. They tried to start the engine, but it didn’t work. The sun became too hot for them, and they both have been sweating like hell. Ricky wondered if he and his best friend were going to survive this nightmare. Sometimes, Carlos wished this were all a dream and that one day, he could come back to his original life. He missed his family in Mexico. Ever since the outbreak started, Carlos heard the news that most of his people had died. The virus not only spread throughout Mexico and the US, but also other parts of the world.
Ricky kicked the car so hard that he wanted to make it work. He tried it again. Carlos checked the car’s petrol engine. He gave a negative expression that it still wouldn’t work. The engine had been burned out, as if someone led a fire on it.
“$h!t,” Ricky said. “That's just great!”
They felt their feet were about to burn into a crisp. Ricky took a water bottle out of his school bag and drank it. Then he gave it to Carlos.
“Damn this f**king heat!” Ricky said angrily. “We really need a ride. Any ideas?”
Carlos didn’t say anything. He still had thoughts about his family, and how much he was worried that they could either be dead, or been turned into vampires.
“This sucks,” Carlos said. “I hate this.”
“Don’t we all? If there's anyone else beside us, that is...”
Ricky had been a tough kid back in his normal life. He once had a girl of his own, and yet he didn’t show any true feelings toward her. He used to play fights with other boys at school. On the other hand, Carlos was quiet and would rather stay out of trouble.
“Hey Carlos,” Ricky said, looking out for signs of another abandoned vehicle. “Remember you used to kiss my girl?”
“Yeah,” Carlos answered. He remembered the night that Ricky’s girl came to him. That was Carlos’ first kiss.
“Yeah,” Ricky said. “I had to beat you up for it. But then, I realized I was never much in love with her, anyways.”
“Yeah,” Carlos said. “That too.”
“You’re so damn quiet,” Ricky said. “You know that?”
Carlos ignored his friend’s words, and instead opened the trunk to see if there was anything else he could find something to eat. These days, people tend to survive and they would do anything to get what they want, even if it meant murder and cannibalism.
“We have to get out of here,” Carlos said, staring at the sunset. “It’s going to get dark soon.”
“I know,” Ricky said. “Those damn things are gonna come out at night, and try to drink our f**king blood!”
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Ricky and Carlos continued walking down the road, watching both sides to see if any human survivor or vampire coming after them. They may be afraid of them, but they got weapons like pistols, knifes, and anything to defend themselves. Carlos carried the special stuff like wooden stakes, garlic spray and a UV torchlight, in order to kill the vampires. He also carried a cross, which was tied around his neck. A devout Catholic. At first, he never believed in these creatures, but they were a reality. Like most vampire myths, they shared the same strengths and weaknesses, except they weren't fast enough to prey upon human beings. And they only come out at night, waiting to feed off the living, one by one. Carlos thought it was the scariest thing of all, even while hiding behind closed doors. This situation felt the same when he watched that horror movie called Stake Land.
The full moon appeared in the night sky. It was still dark, and that the best buddies haven’t found a place yet. They had to cover themselves with full of $h!t, so that the vampires couldn’t detect them. They hated the idea, but they didn’t have any other choice.
A light caught their attention. It seemed to have come from an abandoned house, twelve blocks away from where they were standing. They couldn’t make sure whether the survivor(s) pointed them to come inside, or to draw them in. Ricky had a bad feeling about this.
“I don’t like this $h!t,” Ricky said, drawing out his pistol, which was equipped with silver bullets. Carlos only stared at the flashing light. He had a feeling that someone wanted to help them and survive the night. He and Ricky took many risks before. But then again, it wouldn’t make a difference if they do it now, and willingly.
“I say we go there,” Carlos said.
“Are you f**king nuts? We don’t know if these things are tricking us, or those cannibalistic $h!theads are gonna to eat us off.”
Carlos had never met an intelligent vampire before. But there was a chance that these things may become aware of their previous human life. They could even act like one, in order to lure the survivors. For now, they were mindless creatures hunting down humans for blood.
“Let’s go,” Carlos said without hesitation. Ricky wanted to stop him, but knew he wouldn’t listen to him. He sighed.
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They reached the silver fence and climbed over it. It took a while for them to cross over, since the fence was too high. Whoever was living in this house, knew a lot how to fend off these creatures for the time being. After all, not a lot of people believed in vampires, or even knew how to fight one.
Ricky and Carlos finally reached the house. Carlos knocked the door twice, waiting and hoping that this wasn't a deliberate trap, set out for them. The door opened slowly. Ricky was surprised to see his ex-girlfriend.
“What the f**k? Samantha, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Shh...” Samantha said in a whisper. “Keep it down. Those things can hear us.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot,” Ricky sounded stupid. Carlos didn't say a word, and yes, he was completely surprised too, when he learned that Samantha was actually living here.
She led them inside the house. It was quite big, similar to the one that she used to live in.
“Hey Carlos,” Samantha said. "It’s been quite a while.”
“Yeah...” Carlos said slowly, and tried not to look at his best friend, as if feeling guilty. “Quite.”
Samantha looked beautiful. Her eyes were like the striking sensation of a beautiful model, and that made Carlos fell in love with her.
“Why don’t I cook some dinner?” Samantha said with a smile. She was happy to see her friends, back and alive. “You guys must be hungry.”
“Sure,” Ricky said. “While you’re at it, you need to explain what you’re doing here. Whose house is this?”
“Does it matter?” Samantha shook her head. “Anyways, I’ll go to the kitchen and cook something up.”
“If you need any help...” Carlos said nervously. “I can...”
“No worries, Carlos,” Samantha interrupted him. “I’ll be alright. Get some hot shower. You both look like $h!t.”
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After having a shower and a change of spared clothes, Ricky and Carlos took their seats in the kitchen table. They were eating cooked meat and some boiled vegetables. Samantha was now handing them some mash potatoes. It felt like thanksgiving, except without their families.
When Samantha joined them, Carlos looked at her. She smiled at him as she ate. Ricky glanced at the pair. He remembered that time when he saw Samantha kissing Carlos after the prom. He didn’t mind Carlos dating her. Things had changed for most people nowadays, and that Ricky never had a problem with it, even after having a fight with Carlos.
After a moment of silence, Samantha shared her story. One of her friends got bitten by a vampire, and that she had to drive away at night. It wasn’t easy for her. For her, being alone and dealing with the vampires who were scary enough to bite off her throat. She then came to this abandoned house for food and shelter. She wondered if the residents of this house had left, or had been turned. But she had to spend several days and nights alone, waiting for human survivors.
Carlos couldn’t imagine how hard it was for Samantha to live alone in this house. He couldn’t even imagine surviving without Ricky.
After finishing off their dinner, Samantha showed the boys to their rooms. They didn’t feel like sleeping at this time of night, because of the possibility that the vampires might arrive at their doorstep. But Samantha assured them that the fence will keep them off.
Samantha said good night to them. Carlos wanted to talk with her privately. But he guessed that it had to wait. After all, he was dead tired. Samantha closed the door and went towards her own room.
“You’re not gonna f**k her?” Ricky asked. Carlos suddenly looked at him and said, “Are you serious?”
“No, I’m joking,” Ricky said in his sarcasm tone. “This is your one chance before anything happens to...”
“Shut up!” Carlos said. “Let’s get some sleep. I’m tired.” Ricky hadn’t seen his friend getting angry before, and that was a surprising thing. He seemed to ignore it and then slept.
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A few hours later, a scream broke out. Both Ricky and Carlos woke up from their beds and ran toward Samantha’s room. A hungry vampire, was about to bite her throat.
“What the hell?” Ricky said surprisingly. “How was it able to pass the fence?” Carlos ignored the question, took out his cross necklace, and pointed towards the hungry creature. But it didn’t move an inch.
“Get away from her!” Carlos cried out. He still held the cross. But it didn't seem to work on the vampire. The crosses were meant to ward off evil such as vampires.
Ricky took out a pistol from his pocket. He shouted at the vampire to get away from his ex-girlfriend. The vampire took her and smashed against the window. The duo approached it and saw them fell to the ground. Ricky fired several shots at the vampire’s back. It unleashed a terrible scream. Carlos immediately went downstairs, opened the door and went out. The vampire almost nearly got up. But Carlos shot a silver bullet through its head. The vampire was finally dead.
Carlos looked at Samantha for a while. She was still alive, but her legs were slightly bruised during the fall. He carried her and went back inside the house. Then he laid her on the couch. Ricky came toward them.
“Samantha! Are you okay?” Samantha slightly nodded at her ex-boyfriend. She had no idea that a vampire would cross over the highest fence. How was that even possible? Most vampires weren't able to jump high enough to even reach a top building, let alone fly.
“I think...” Samantha said slowly, trying to ignore the pain from her bruised leg. “I think they're adapting.”
Ricky and Carlos looked at each other, considering the possibility. But Carlos said, “We’re not safe here. We have to get away from this house.”
“Not now!” Ricky said in his loud tone. “Those things will come after us at any moment.”
“I know,” Carlos said. “But we need to survive this night, or else we won’t live to see the next day.”
“He’s right,” Samantha said. “That dead vampire will attract more attention to its kind. In the meantime, we have to think of something else to prevent those things from coming after us."
“How?” Ricky said. “You said they're adapting right? That vampire just flew over the f**king fence!"
Carlos thought for the moment of how to get out of this tough situation. He and Ricky had survived countless times, even without depending on the other survivors to help them. They could survive this night too.
“I have an idea,” Carlos said. “We can spray ourselves with garlic. That way, they can't come near us.”
“Are you f**king serious?” Ricky said, sounding disgusted.
“Have any better idea? Besides, we could kill some of them while the rest might back off. Yes, I know it's dangerous, but we need to take that risk.” Samantha wanted to agree with her ex-boyfriend, but felt that this might be the only way to survive the night.
“Yeah, sure,” Ricky said, almost scratching his head. “Let’s get this over with.” They sprayed themselves with garlic. It was quite sick for them to handle the smell, since there was no other option. They waited.
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A few minutes later, a group of four vampires flew over the fence and found them. One of them broke down the door. They rushed toward the living room, where the three friends waited for them. The vampires stopped because they could smell the garlic on their living bodies.
Carlos immediately raised his gun and shot one of the vampires. Ricky did the same. Shooting these undead creatures with silver bullets may slow them down, but shooting their foreheads will eventually finish them off.
When they walked outside the house, more vampires flew over the fence. It was a desperate struggle to fight them off, and knowing that they might ran out of silver bullets, there was no hope.
“$h!t!” Ricky said. “If this keeps up, we’re gonna die.” Carlos knew it as well.
Then when a vampire approached behind Ricky, Carlos shouted at him. Ricky turned around and saw the vampire took a bite out of his arm. Ricky screamed, stuck his pistol through the vampire’s mouth, and blasted its brains out. Carlos listened to Ricky’s cry, but couldn’t concentrate while trying to shoot down the vampires. Samantha screamed behind them.
Ricky cried out again. Before Carlos could even think of a good plan, a bunch of more vampires arrived at the house. The three friends were surrounded and trapped. The garlic seemed to be wearing off and not only that, they almost ran out of silver bullets. The only thing they could use now were the wooden stakes. But that wasn’t enough to kill more vampires, approaching toward them.
Ricky and Carlos knew that this night might be their last. As for Samantha, she screamed again.
Next Story- Alone in the Dark.
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