The sound of clinking bottles and the soft hum of a podcast filled Kelly’s apartment. She was lounging on her couch, cracking open another beer from her latest supply run, feeling good about how life had turned out. No work, no meetings, just pure relaxation. 
*BANG!*
Kelly sat up, the bottle halfway to her lips. The sound was unmistakable—a loud bang followed by the sharp cry of a scream. It echoed up from the street below her apartment.
“What the—” she muttered, moving toward the window.
Peering out, her heart sank. It was the couple—the same one she had helped just the other day. They were down in the street, screaming and struggling as a group of zombies closed in on them. The man was waving his arms frantically, trying to fend them off, while the woman screamed in terror.
“Oh no…” Kelly whispered, her eyes wide. “This can’t be happening.”
She didn’t even hesitate. Throwing on her shoes and grabbing the nearest weapon—her trusty pipe wrench—she bolted for the door. Her heart pounded in her chest as she flew down the stairs, skipping steps, adrenaline fueling every movement.
“Please let me make it in time,” she muttered under her breath, racing toward the exit.
As soon as she burst through the building’s doors, she could see the chaos unfolding in front of her. The couple was trapped, backed into a corner by at least a dozen zombies. The man’s efforts to fight them off were failing, and the woman’s screams only seemed to attract more attention.
“HEY!” Kelly shouted, trying to distract the zombies. “Over here, you brain-dead freaks!”
A few of the zombies turned their heads toward her, their vacant eyes locking on to her as fresh prey. But before she could do anything, the man stumbled, falling to the ground as the horde closed in on him.
“NO!” Kelly yelled, sprinting toward them, swinging her pipe wrench wildly as she tried to push through the crowd. But it was too late. The zombies had already begun tearing into him. Blood splattered onto the pavement, and the woman’s screams turned into desperate sobs.
Kelly’s breath caught in her throat. She had seen zombies before, fought a few here and there, but witnessing this—seeing real people torn apart in front of her—it was different. It was horrifying.
“I… I was too late,” she whispered, her hands trembling around the handle of the pipe wrench.
The woman looked up at Kelly, her eyes filled with terror, tears streaming down her face. “Please… help me…”
Kelly lunged forward, trying to grab the woman’s hand, but the zombies were already too close. They grabbed the woman, dragging her down into the mass of gnashing teeth and rotting flesh.
Kelly stumbled back, the woman’s screams filling her ears. She could feel panic rising in her chest. Her grip on the pipe wrench tightened as she swung it, taking down one zombie, then another, but there were too many.
“I can’t… I can’t save her,” she realized, her heart pounding as she fought to keep herself alive.
Suddenly, one of the zombies let out a low, guttural moan, and the rest of the horde seemed to notice Kelly all at once. They turned toward her, their lifeless eyes filled with hunger.
“Oh crap,” she muttered, backing away slowly. “This is bad.”
The zombies advanced, their slow, shuffling movements deceptively menacing as they began to surround her. Kelly’s mind raced. She had no idea how to get out of this. There were too many of them.
“I’ve got to run,” she said to herself, her voice barely audible over the groans of the undead. Without another thought, Kelly turned and sprinted in the opposite direction, her heart pounding in her chest as she ran for her life.
She darted through the alleyways, weaving between buildings and overturned cars, trying to put as much distance as possible between her and the horde. But the streets were a maze, and in her panic, she didn’t realize how far she had gone.
Her breathing was ragged as she finally slowed down, her legs burning from the effort. She stopped, leaning against a wall to catch her breath. She glanced around, realizing that she had no idea where she was.
“Oh, come on,” she groaned, running a hand through her hair. “I’ve lived here for years, how am I lost?”
The streets were eerily quiet now. No zombies in sight, but that didn’t mean they weren’t nearby. She listened carefully, trying to hear any signs of danger, but all she could hear was the sound of her own labored breathing.
“Okay, Kelly, think,” she muttered to herself, trying to stay calm. “You’re lost in your own city, in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. No big deal, right?”
She looked down at the pipe wrench in her hand, gripping it tightly. It had served her well so far, but she knew it wouldn’t be enough if she ran into another large group.
“I’ve got to find my way back,” she said, glancing around again, hoping to spot a familiar landmark. But everything looked different—war-torn and abandoned, like a ghost town.
Suddenly, the sound of shuffling footsteps reached her ears. Her heart skipped a beat as she spun around, searching for the source. There, down the street, a few zombies were slowly making their way toward her.
“Great,” she muttered, gripping the wrench tightly. “Just what I needed.”
She took a deep breath, trying to focus. She couldn’t panic again. She had to stay in control. “Alright, I’ve got this. Just a few zombies, no big deal.”
As the zombies drew closer, Kelly squared her shoulders and prepared herself for the fight. She could take them down, one by one, if she stayed calm. But just as she raised the pipe wrench, ready to strike, more zombies appeared from the other side of the street.
Her heart sank. There were too many.
“Oh, come on!” she yelled, backing away as the zombies closed in from both sides. “This isn’t fair!”
She had to move—fast. Spinning on her heel, Kelly ran down a narrow alleyway, her footsteps echoing off the brick walls as she sprinted away from the approaching horde.
But no matter how fast she ran, it felt like the city was swallowing her up. Every corner she turned, every street she tried to follow, led her deeper into the unknown. She was lost, and the zombies were everywhere.
“Think, Kelly, think!” she muttered, frantically searching for a way out. She glanced around, hoping to spot something, anything, that could help her escape. But all she saw were more buildings, more alleyways, and more dead ends.
The sound of groaning filled the air again, louder this time. The zombies were closing in.
Kelly’s breath came in ragged gasps as she pushed herself to keep running. She couldn’t afford to stop, not now. But her legs were growing tired, and her energy was fading fast.
Finally, she stumbled into an abandoned courtyard, gasping for breath as she looked around. It was empty, at least for now. She leaned against a wall, trying to steady her racing heart.
“I can’t… I can’t keep this up,” she whispered, her body trembling from exhaustion. “I’m… I’m gonna die out here.”
She closed her eyes, feeling the weight of her situation crashing down on her. For the first time since the apocalypse had begun, Kelly felt real fear. Not the thrill of danger, not the excitement of chaos—but true, gut-wrenching fear.
She was alone, lost, and surrounded by death.
And for the first time, she didn’t know what to do.
The distant moans of zombies filled the air once again, reminding her that time was running out.
Kelly gripped the pipe wrench tightly, her knuckles white as she steeled herself for whatever came next.
“I’m not going down without a fight,” she muttered through gritted teeth, readying herself for one last stand.
But deep down, she knew… the odds were against her.