Dead Eyes: A Tale From The Zombie Plague Read Online Free Page A

abusing, and no group of survivors to look after me. No Libby. I considered the limited options I had. Make my way to one of the huge refugee camps that are rumoured to exist close to the south coast. Libby and me had seen survivors making pilgrimage in that direction, towards the promise of sanctuary. I never trusted the idea. After all, we had been abandoned completely by the government. Who was running these camps and why should I put my life in their hands? And if a zombie outbreak started there, wouldn’t it spread faster than anywhere else? Maybe they would have a medical team, a doctor who could help prevent my blindness. Gene therapy or something similar, anything to postpone or prevent the coming darkness. Darkness. Maybe I was being overdramatic, but it filled me with a sense of poetic doom. That this was going to happen to me, like my father and his father and seemingly everyone else on the paternal side of my family. No matter how poetic, going blind alone was not a possibility.
    There was a second option. That eighth bullet. The idea made me shudder once again. Deep down, I knew I couldn’t do it. That the fear would freeze my finger on the trigger, my arm going stiff and rigid when the time came to place the barrel against my temple. Did this count as cowardice? I hoped not.
    Whatever happened, I couldn’t become a zombie. I had to be better than that. To not let the infection that had torn my world apart claim me as its final victim. Well, the final victim in my own personal story. I had to be better. I would not feel the hunger.
    I distracted my mind by looking at the forest around me. The peace truly was amazing. If only I had more time. I looked up through the branches above me, hoping to judge the position of the sun. Something unusual was happening amongst the branches. A strange sort of dust cloud seemed to be floating amongst the trees. It looked like large clumps of pollen, or the seeds from a dandelion dancing on the breeze. Beautiful in its own way.
    The edge of the forest appeared ahead of me. I quickened my pace, not willing to waste any more time. I emerged from the woods into the soft amber light of sunset. Time was running out. Soon as the sun dipped beyond the horizon, I would be blind.
    I looked around and spotted a small road up ahead. As I approached, I noticed a road sign up ahead. “Franks Industrial Estate - next right.”
    I could hardly believe my luck. I had run in exactly the right direction. What were the chances of that? I didn’t like to think of what would have happened if I had not had the Daisy chasing me. Would I have been moving quick enough to get where I was now?
    The road wound away from the forest, entering into greenbelt territory around the industrial estate. I could see the big square buildings up ahead, a combination of DIY stores and sofa warehouses. The supermarket was on the far side; I could see its big red sign ahead. “Supa-Sava”. Beyond that, I could see a small town, lingering amongst the hills. Holding an invisible menace. Populated areas were a no go. If you wanted to avoid zombies, you avoid villages, towns and cities. Especially cities.
    Getting closer to the estate, I started to wonder if there would be any survivors there. It seemed like the ideal place. Lots of supplies nearby, big sturdy buildings that were easy to fortify. Seemed like a rational place to set up camp. Then I remembered that this was not a rational situation. No one was thinking things through when the dead started walking. It was run or panic. In many ways it was the most irrational that survived. I mean, was it rational of me to just pack my things and go, not trying to seek help or find any familiar faces to stay with? Definitely not. And yet, here I was. Still alive.
    I reached the edge of the estate and entered “stealth mode”. I wasn’t going to let my guard drop now, even if it was just survivors and not zombies waiting for me. You can’t trust anyone, especially if you