Prologue: Now

I can hear them.

The noise cut through the darkness and the fog in my head.

I hurt. Pain everywhere. The hell happened…? Where…?

I tried to move but it was too hard. Fine. Stay here then. Sleep.

With difficulty I forced my eyes open, and blinked to focus. Hurt, so much hurt everywhere and I couldn’t move. An enormous weight pinned me down and something, something had buried itself into my chest trapping me in place. Panic like ice water in my blood.

What the hell happened? Where am I?

The noise at the door once again caught my attention. Them. They were out there, trying to get in. And I was stuck here, on display, pinned to a fucking board just waiting for them.

Scratching, pounding on the door in an attempt to get to me.

I struggled uselessly. Whatever had me trapped was too heavy, or I was too weak to even come close to moving it. Struggling only hurt. I fell still and, trying to ignore the noise of them, looked at my prison.

It was dark, but I could see fine in the dark. The room was full old furniture, junk from another time. This building had been falling apart, condemned long before the trouble. Before everything went to hell. I remembered the floor giving way under my feet, and the ceiling. The fucking ceiling caved in. burying me in a pile of rubble like a coffin so I was stuck here, immobile and useless. I could see the sky, a few stars overhead, pinpricks of light in the utter despair of darkness.

The sky. I could see the sky.

Panic washed over me again, a title wave washing rational thought out my mind in a torrent of fear. I struggled harder, beating at the wreckage that was crushing me to the floor. I tried to yell for help (screaming, I’m screaming) but all that came out was a gurgling cry, blood in my lungs bubbling over my lips. I started coughing. Oh that hurt.  

I heard moaning and was no longer sure if it was coming from beyond the door, or from me.

I had been set up. I don’t know how I knew this, but it was with utter certainty. Certain I had been led here, pushed here, into this condemned building. A condemned and empty building. Groaning, pounding, they want in.

They….they…..what the hell were they doing here?

Ok, that was why I knew. Why else would this place be full of them?

I knew it. This, this gives me a reason. A reason to…a…what….

I faded away. Jolted awake seconds, minutes, hours gone by.

No, sky’s the same. Mostly. Shit. I’m so fucked.

Out here alone. Why the hell did I come out here alone? No one knew where I was. My radio was…somewhere. Hell, I could have been laying on it for all I knew. Or it was still where it should be, strapped to my hips. Even if it was it wouldn’t do me any good. I couldn’t see or feel it, and I sure as hell couldn’t move to reach it.

Soon they would break down the door. Soon they would flood in, and rip and tear me apart. Strip the flesh from my bones.

I would be eaten alive.

Unless I got lucky, and that door held out just long enough for the sun to rise. Dawn would come, and the sun would be up. A few hours more and it would be above me, shining its rays of death through my brand new skylight. I would be a dead man.

I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. Tired, so tired.

I would almost be happy to be laying here if not for this thing stuck in my chest. Hurts to move. Stuck me here…what is it? Some kind of bar. What is it called? I can’t remember. Can’t think. So heavy I can’t move.

This. This is how it ends.

The end. My end. Ok, sure, no problem. Just lay here and wait for it. Eaten or burned? Yeah. Both of those suck. Maybe I’ll just bleed out and sleep to death. Sleep sounds nice.

End. Remember the beginning? Go back. Back to when it started. No, it didn’t start there.

But this.

This is where I came in.

My eyes closed as my last effort to stay awake faded into whispers. Leaving me in darkness.

And I can still hear them. Always.