this is a story another dude from another forum i belong to made. I MAKE NO CLAIMS TO WRITING THIS
They were all dead. All of them. What used to be, what could have been, none of that matters anymore. David thought all of this as he gazed below at the abyss. The abyss of a city that once held thousands, millions. New York.
He pulled out a pack of smokes and shook the box. The hollow sound of his last cigarette reverberated in the emptiness around him. He pulled the crumpled stick out and stuck it into his mouth, lighting it with the chromed zippo he always carried with him. In the distance, a low groan came and echoed against the buildings. Damn, lost track of time again. He thought. They’ll be here soon. I’d best get going. His legs dangled off the edge of the building he was sitting on. David took a deep drag and looked down into at the streets once again. They were empty, but that would change in a few minutes. I should know better He thought to himself. These things’ll kill me one day. Looking wantonly at his last cigarette, and then casting a shrug, he tossed it behind him onto the gravel rooftop of the building. David planted his feet onto the roof top, patted off the cigarette ash that stuck to his suede jacket and jeans, and then walked to the stairs that led back into what used to be the New York Downtown Hospital.
…
Chapter 1: Noon
“We are receiving information that—“ *click* “---thousands upon thousands---” *click* “---open riots in the streets---“ *click* “---panic and confusion, police barricades are overru---“ *click* “---dead have come to life and are eating the living.”
David Kessel stared at the TV blankly. He was never one to watch TV but recently it became his obsession. It didn’t matter which channel he turned to. They were all covering the same thing.
“Did you hear me? I said the dead are eating the living and all you’re talking about is some bullshit about police brutality!”
“Dead people can’t move! These people are HUMAN BEINGS! They have rights guaranteed by the constituti-“
“Those rights don’t apply anymore! They’re dead! They can’t use free speech if they’re DEAD! The world isn’t the same!”
The talking heads on the news bickered amongst themselves but David paid no attention. They were merely murmurs in the distance as he sat on his rat eaten couch, cigarette in hand. His apartment in downtown Manhattan had fallen to shambles, dirty clothes and empty food containers everywhere. But he wouldn’t care for it. There were more dire events at hand.
Suddenly, a loud series of thuds resonated from his door. The spell of the television was broken and suddenly, David realized the cigarette had burned all the way to his fingers. He hadn’t noticed.
“Open up! It’s the police! We have an evacuation order!”
The knocking continued and David got up and walked towards the door. He looked through the keyhole but he saw nothing but darkness. The hallways lights must be off He thought to himself. He undid his locks and turned the door knob.
What happened next was a blur. The door swung back and connected with his face, knocking him to the ground. Two men, dressed in baggy jeans, t shirts and bandannas stormed into his room. David tried to get to his feet to protest, but the smaller of the two shoved a nickel plated Bersa .380 pistol into his face. David went wide eyed and shut himself up.
“Hah hah! They fall for it every time. What do we do with him now?”
“Kill him, then grab as much as you can and load it in the car.”
David’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. The man in front of him gave an exasperated look, then cocked his gun.
“Vaya con dios, mothafu-“
In the blink of an eye, David grabbed the gun and then pulled the man’s arm downward, trying desperately to pull the man’s finger out of the trigger guard. The other man quickly realized what was happening and walked forward, revolver in hand.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
With all of his strength, David pulled the man’s hand away from the gun.
*BANG*
The .380 barked unexpectedly and David opened his eyes. The man on top of him went limp, shot through the heart. The other man’s jaw dropped.”
“You little shi-“
David pulled the gun from underneath the man’s body and fired blindly at the other man.
*BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG*
The other man slumped against the wall, and then down to the ground. A red streak covered the moldy wall behind him.
David pushed the body off of him and took in all the sights around him. For the first time, he heard something besides for the TV that had kept him company the last week. He turned around and saw the punk had fired his gun as well, but the bullet missed and struck the window instead. The sound of sirens and gunfire filled the air. David walked to the window and looked outside.
The streets had become a warzone. From his apartment he could see bodies lining the streets and people, some police, some not, shooting at other people. Some of them were shooting back. Some of them were unarmed and just getting shot. Except the unarmed people who were getting shot at were not falling down.
David looked down at the empty pistol in his hand. He then looked at the two bodies in his room. Oh my God. The shock finally registered that he had killed not two men, but two boys. Two teenage boys. He shook his head quickly. It had to be done. It was me or them. He walked to the bodies and searched them, finding 2 spare .380 magazines and the .38 Smith and Wesson revolver with 18 rounds of ammunition. He tossed his bloodsoaked shirt to the ground, picked up a clean white shirt and his suede jacket, and walked to the door. He walked out and locked the door behind him.
The world isn’t the same.

