Everyone gathered within the center of the room. It was coming. We could all feel it in our bones. What would end up being our certain death was just outside those thick, cold doors. You could hear the moaning of the abominations as they slid their dead fingers across the metal, mindlessly wanting only to devour the survivors inside. We prepared ourselves for the inevitable. All was silent, minus the terror that lurked beyond the cellar doors...

It was perhaps five minutes before the noise grew exponentially. Metal screeched as it was torn away from it’s hinges. The creature’s sighs became repulsively louder. Old Man Jenkins checked his pistol. A mother readied her axe. I inspected my chainsaw. As the monstrosities pushed through hatch, we fortified our front lines. It was impossible to have been more prepared for an attack of this magnitude. We charged towards the heinous mutations. Townspeople crushed forward while swearing and sputtering words against the undead. Words can never speak as loud as action, however.

Abnormalities began shuffling further and further into the storm cellar. We were losing to their numbers. Adrenaline kicked in as I hoisted my chainsaw above my head and raced towards the bloody scene. Gore splattered the walls, limp limbs were strewn across the cement, blood fell upon you as if it were a rain drop, and the noise....the noise was unbearable. Loud pops of ammunition sailed through deformed bodies while teeth grazed with bone. Shrieks filled the stale air with desperation and helplessness. The guttural murmur of flesh gurgled in their throats. I made my way to the hideous things, ready to take action. I focused all of my concentration on dividing zombies into immobile carcasses. That seemed to have been everyone else’s intention too. That is, everyone who was still alive. It was impossible to have known how many we had already lost. I started losing faith as Heidi, a school teacher, was ambushed by at least three of the creatures. A persistent walking dead with severed legs crawled and used its fangs to lacerate her calve muscle. Heidi screamed out of sheer pain as she collapsed to the hard ground. I had to turn away from the devouring of a neighbor.

Monstrosities closed in on me right as I turned around. Of course. Luckily, I managed to divert most of their attacks. Not so luckily, one grabbed me. Instantly, I could feel the sharp pull of skin. My skin. Blood dripped from my shoulder down to my fingertips where gravity led it to the concrete. Unidentifiable screams came from my throat as I ripped the abomination from my boiling body. A good hack from my chainsaw did the zombie in. My right arm went numb from pain. Salt water burned my eyes while a heavy stream of it leaked down my cheeks. Left with one useless arm, and my non-dominate hand, I allowed my bloodied weapon to clatter to the floor. It was fruitless at this point and survival was inconceivable. They weren’t going to take me without a fight, however.