The situation at the Kaczmarek house a few hours back was nightmarish. The corpses occupied the lot and the apartment building one by one. They suddenly burst into the house through the front door, cutting off Miko?aj from the rest of the family. The man ran into the kitchen, trying to close the door behind him, but was unable to through the flurry of walking corpses. He hit once and a second time, and had to let go because it did nothing for him. He moved away from the door, with little chance of survival. He knew that his end was approaching, but he fought back, looking for ways. He walked quickly to the table, at the same time the corpses opened the door wide, entering the room. Miko?aj had little choice but to simply open the window and jump. He did so, although he hesitated for a moment, but the hands gripping his legs motivated him. The kitchen was about two meters high because of the building's relatively high foundation. Being on the edge, making the jump, he saw the enormity of the bodies on the property. He was horrified by the sight; he had to be quick or he would end up as zombie food.

  He landed, falling awkwardly on his left knee. It was not a serious injury, but it effectively limited his ability to move. He was up on his feet before the undead outside became aware of his presence. He dodged the group, pushing their dead hands away from him. He reached the car, which he wanted to open by tugging on the handle but realized that the vehicle had automatically locked itself when he returned. Panicking, he fumbled with his hands in his pockets, not feeling for the key in them. He looked around on the ground and there, just below the window lay the keys. The way back to them was too risky, the zombies moved on him in a cloud. He was forced to run in the opposite direction. With difficulty, he reached the fence, limping. He grabbed on with one hand, intending to climb up, but suddenly felt a strong spurt in his leg and fell to the ground. He growled in pain, getting up immediately. Slightly frazzled from his knee injury, he bumped into a corpse that grabbed him by the head. It opened its maw, wanting to bite his face off, but the man countered the attack by hitting the undead with his elbow right in the jaw. He feared he might hook his teeth exposing himself to infection, but nothing of the sort happened. Under the impact, the corpse let go of Miko?aj, who was momentarily on his way to the place of escape. He took the corpse-damaged fence as his target, the way to it was the most exposed of all so he ran there as fast as he could. He felt the corpse's paws on his back, trying to grab what, but Miko?aj, despite his injury, was faster after all. And he was not at all going to slow down even at the cost of immense pain. Wanting to look behind him, he tripped over a stone. He stopped for a fraction of a moment, watching the house and the roof for any of his loved ones. When he couldn't see anyone from his position he freaked out, thinking it was too late for them. Suddenly, however, he heard a woman's scream on the other side of the house, from the street. He recognized it and it triggered a feeling of anger in him. His heart was telling him to move to help, however, he was aware of the situation and it was simply not possible. He decided to grit his teeth with rage and escape through the hole in the fence. By going out into the open fields he was much safer and also the distance between him and the corpses increased, albeit slightly. Burning inside him, the feeling of helplessness was catching up with him much more than ever. Of course, it was clear to him that there was little he could do at the moment and nothing had happened through his fault, but he partly blamed himself for bringing the horde into the village. He knew that if he didn't do something now to protect his family he would let everyone down, but first he had to find them and that required time, which was becoming scarcer by the moment....

  "There is no reason to fear the dead. [...] Rather, one should be afraid of the living."

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  Exhausted and hungry, he passed another of the now-empty houses, located alone in the midst of the fields surrounding them on all sides. More precisely, he was in two single-family houses. They were completely empty, combed from top to bottom. It was not a quick move out but a literal razing of the building by some looters, at least that's what it seemed to Miko?aj after what he saw inside. To everyone's disadvantage, not just the man's, the forced escape from the safe haven folded in time with their long food shortage and while they had gotten supplies for at least a couple or a dozen days that day, they had to be chased out of their own home. Miko?aj, of course, had no intention of giving up his vehicle stocked with food, but at that point he had to let go because of the danger. He vowed to himself that he would return home when the situation calmed down and he found loved ones.

  He wandered in front of the next house. He was not alone because on his tail was a group of stiffs who had been following him for several dozen minutes. Wandering around and in his own thoughts, he lost count. He looked behind him, calculating the distance, and determined that he would have time to check one more building. He entered through the main entrance, closing the door carefully behind him so that no dead people would get inside, and immediately, the first thing that caught his eye was a mass of rotten food. The unpleasant smell was already dragging all the way from outside, but then it mixed with many other smells and was not as noticeable. Miko?aj came closer, wanting to take a closer look. It is always the case that the story of the end of the tenants' lives can be recognized by the state of decomposition of the bodies, the scattered furniture, the general erosion of the building. Here it was no different. While rotten food suggested that the house had been unused for a long time, barricaded windows and mangled tables meant that the survivors had been trying to survive for some time. Kaczmarek knocked several times on a table standing near the door in an attempt to lure out potential zombies. No one appeared, and there was no sound. He calmed down, knowing that the only danger was outside, a few dozen meters away.

  Suddenly he noticed out of the corner of his eye a framed photo on the shelf. He walked over, taking it in his hand and looking at it. It was a family photo, depicting an elderly woman with what was probably her son and several-year-old granddaughter. Miko?aj grimaced, looking back once more and seeing the nightmarish sight of the ruined house. He was afraid to search more rooms because he didn't want to see something he would regret later. He was biting down on his thoughts, but decided that he had to check this house because there was nothing else in the area. He thoroughly searched the living room connected to the kitchen. In one of the cabinets by the stove, he found the world's most ordinary knife. It was not the sharpest tool he could dream of, but it was suitable for damaging the brains of corpses.

  Armed with any weapon, he felt ready to search the rest of the premises. He headed deeper into the building, stepping carefully. Garbage lying on the floor made a quiet rustling sound under Miko?aj's feet. He finally reached a corridor where there were no windows and, due to the lack of electricity, it was very dark inside. In front of him was a choice of two doors, one of which was ajar. So he walked closer to the ajar one to look inside. He leaned out and saw complete darkness. He thought there was nothing there until suddenly a dead man emerged from behind the door, lashing out at the man. He would have nearly bitten him had it not been for the reflexes of Miko?aj, who with a swift movement drove his knife from below into the dead man's jaw, stopping him. The zombie, however, pressed forward, opening his mouth wider. Miko?aj was stronger than him, easily keeping him away from his face, catching him additionally by his shirt. He thought for a moment if there was a better way of elimination, but in the end he simply snatched the knife, cutting his jaw completely with a side-to-side motion and once he had his hand free he sank the blade into the dead man's head.

  He sighed protractedly, calming his heart rate and hissing in pain through his injured and several fingerless hand. It was no challenge for him, but it worked enough on his heart.

  "Damn." he snarled. "Why didn't he leave when I made noise in the living room?"

  He took a look at the corpse, checking to see if it had ears. And despite his suspicions, the ears were in place nor were they damaged in any way. He had a slight vague idea, considering that during the horde's attack on the village, they had discovered that the virus was beginning to evolve. This one was apparently waiting for an unsuspecting Miko?aj to attack him by surprise. He didn't think too long about it, lest he go crazy. He gathered himself and walked to the second door. It was closed so he felt safer because if he heard any sound he wouldn't even have to open it. He leaned toward the door, putting his ear to it and listened. He heard nothing, complete silence. However, he trusted caution and knocked just to be sure, having in the back of his mind the fact that the previous corpse also surely heard the noise and intentionally remained hidden. Hitting the door several times with his fist also had no effect, so Miko?aj, losing patience, jerked the handle and violently opened the door while simultaneously jumping back. The door opened and to the man's eyes appeared a corpse with a completely massacred head, sitting on a rocking chair. On the floor next to him lay a single-shot rifle, with which the person had most likely committed suicide. Miko?aj entered the room to pick up the weapon. The rifle was unloaded, but it was better than nothing. He looked once again at the corpse, in his mind he was immediately reminded of the family from the photo and judging by the physique it was an elderly woman. However, one thing did not agree with him, one missing part. He saw the body of the elderly woman, he also saw a corpse confusingly resembling her son, but nowhere did he find the little girl. He was momentarily flooded with sadness when he thought about it, Miko?aj had always been an empathetic person, Emil had also inherited this from him. At first he wanted to find her, whatever she might be, but he realized that after so long it didn't make the slightest sense.

  He searched the room some more, hoping to find something useful. The entire room was cluttered with all sorts of trinkets. A collection of artificial birds, more specifically vultures, caught the man's attention. One of them had prey in its mouth, which it was devouring. Miko?aj was disgusted by this sight and moved on, checking the rest of the hiding places. Under a pile of garbage on the floor, he found a box of cartridges. There weren't many as only six, but it must have been enough for him. He looked out the window opening the curtains. The sun was still towering in the sky so he still had plenty of time that day. Once again he lost track of time and was reminded of the slight chase by banging on the front door. Then it occurred to him that he had spent far too much time here than he should have. He opened the window and jumped through it, wanting to avoid a fight with a group of zombies since his chances were zero. He slipped out the back of the house unnoticed, heading further northeast. With basically no destination, he walked ahead, wondering where his family would go?

  He walked and walked, dozens more minutes passed. His condition was quite good, but even that was beginning to overwhelm him.

  "I will not let anything happen to you. Perhaps I should have immediately rushed to your aid when I heard the scream. Unfortunately, it matters least now." He took more steps, noticing a fenced-in area far on the horizon. He stood on a small hill, observing the gas compressor station occupied by corpses. "...Where are you?"

  He grasped a rifle in his hand, removing it from his back. He also pulled a cartridge for the weapon from his pocket and loaded it into the chamber. Armed to the teeth with a rifle and a knife, he felt much bolder. He looked around the area, having a pretty good view from this spot.

  "Nearby are two villages...." He glanced to the right as well as to the left because there were villages on both sides. "You must have gone there, huh?"

  He stopped his gaze at the village further to the east, since it was the main road that the rest of the family could escape to. He thought it was a good place to look, but before he went any further, he looked at the gas compressor station again. At first he thought they were the buildings lost at the very beginning of the epidemic, however, there were several trucks and cars inside. In addition, zombies dressed in civilian clothes rather than worker's attire were walking around the area. Several attempts to build fortifications could also be seen, but apparently they didn't make it.

  Miko?aj was faced with the choice of whether to head straight for Grzybow or try his luck at the abandoned stamping plant. Time was of the essence for him, but without any supplies they would also have little chance of survival. He lifted his head upward checking how much of the day remained. About two hours; that's how much he calculated given the position of the sun in the sky and the time of year.

  "That's enough." He muttered, putting the rifle on his back again and heading confidently towards the fence, already counting how many corpses were inside.

  Being already under the stamping plant, he could not find any passage to the other side. He walked along the fence, hoping to find something that would allow him to force his way inside. After a few minutes, he caught the attention of a corpse wandering evenly with him. The undead pushed against the fence, keeping a close eye on Miko?aj, who walked on unmoved every now and then glancing at the corpse. Finally he stopped turning his head toward it. He approached the fence, staring into the dead eyes of the undead on the other side. He raised his hand and began to direct his palm closer to the zombie. When the hand was too close he took it and the corpse's teeth nearly bit off the man's remaining fingers on his hand.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  "Are you really dead? All of you...?"

  He sighed, contemplating killing him, but finally let go and just went on. After some time, he found a hole in the fence with several dead bodies right next to the passage. This hole could have been the reason for the collapse of this base, but Miko?aj, analyzing it carefully, concluded that it would be a good substitute shelter for him and the rest of the group, provided, of course, that he found them. He stopped thinking long-term and had to focus. He took a knife in his hand and crouched down. In front of the fence stood two dead men. Miko?aj, despite his conviction about his strength, preferred to be cautious and picked up a stone lying on the ground with his left hand. He took a swing and threw the stone behind the corpses, luring their attention. The zombies looked over, slowly gliding in that direction. This gave Miko?aj a moment to quickly sneak through the hole in the fence. On the other side, the only threat to him was a single dead man standing with his back. He snuck up on him undetected and then quickly eliminated him by stabbing him in the back of the head. He laid the corpse on the ground slowly so as not to cause any noise and looked around. There were still a bunch of dead people scurrying around, but the area was so vast that it would be hard to spot Miko?aj through the corpses. Kaczmarek headed straight for one of the buildings, avoiding their sight. Once inside, he was immediately surprised to see a corpse lying on the floor. The dead man's head was damaged, which is why Miko?aj was sure he wouldn't get up. It was only a few steps further that he realized how dark it was inside, without any lights. However, something could be seen and this allowed Kaczmarek to comb through a few rooms. He didn't find much useful stuff, more just junk. He went on, passing more bodies. He checked them all carefully for brain damage, but in this darkness imagination was doing its job and the man nevertheless glanced behind his back from time to time.

  Unexpectedly, he heard a door slam shut. He turned around in a panic, wondering who or what it was. He first thought that someone from his group might have found the place, but then he looked at the surrounding dead bodies on all sides, emphatically indicating murder on the part of another person, and recoiled from any contact with that person. He hid behind the pipes, listening for footsteps. They were louder with each footstep and their rhythmicity ruled out a living corpse. With his eyes he was already looking out for a potentially alternative escape route, and there was one. In the darkness, he saw a door that led into the corridor from another direction. Miko?aj, preferring not to take any chances, immediately went through the door, quietly closing it to avoid unnecessary noise. The darkness surrounding him did not drip with terror until he heard a grunt near his ear. He turned, reflexively striking the enemy in the head, which was a zombie with its jaw blown off. The sight froze the blood in Miko?aj's bones. A pap of meat, hanging from the face of the dead. The man panicked, but not enough to prevent him from defending himself. He grabbed him by his blood-soaked and human flesh-clothed sweatshirt and then pushed him toward the wall. Attached to the wall were pipes that broke when he hit them and the sound of metal falling to the floor reverberated throughout the building.

  "Fuck..." he cursed, angrily, trampling the corpse's head to get him down.

  The footsteps fell silent along with a metallic bang. Miko?aj felt cold sweat running down his body. He had to run, he could feel it in his bones. He quickened his step, heading straight for the emergency exit when he suddenly felt a razor at his throat and a second later a person emerging from around the corner. Judging by his physique, the man was dressed in a dark, bloody cry and his face was obscured by a vulture mask. The stranger held a long knife with a confident hand, as if ready to slit Miko?aj's larynx at any moment.

  "Chill out." He stammered, standing motionless. "I did not want to disturb you."

  The enemy remained silent, not letting Miko?aj out of his sight. Kaczmarek, on the other hand, felt the knife increasingly stuck in his throat.

  "Do you live here? I will leave here." He continued, increasingly fearful for his life. "Listen, I don't know what happened here, but I'll leave here and you won't see me again. Okay?"

  "Are you from them?" he muttered. His voice, although muffled by the material of the mask, was clearly audible. He sounded calm.

  "From them? What do you mean?"

  "Those who did it. "

  "Were they your friends?" He pointed his finger carefully at one corpse. "Damn, I'm sorry. I didn't do it. I came just now."

  "You give me everything you have with you and then we'll think about what to do with you."

  "I don't have much." He didn't lie, because the only thing he had was a gun.

  "I see a rifle on your back. - the man looked at him closely, but didn't see the knife. "Take it off."

  Miko?aj raised his hands slowly upwards, so that the stranger had him in his sights. He grabbed the rifle, pulling it off his back, and slowly handed it to the man. He hesitated for a moment. The rifle could keep his family safe in the long run, even though he didn't have much ammunition. He also had absolutely no confidence that the masked man would let him go, and he knew full well that strangers could no longer be trusted in these times. He wanted to believe in the goodness of people, but this time instinct won out over reason. Something awoke in him as soon as he felt the pressure of the knife on his throat weaken. When the man least expected it, Miko?aj hit him with all his might with the butt of his head, pushing the knife away from his body afterwards. The opponent fell to the floor, holding his mask with his hand, which almost fell off his face. Miko?aj tried on the shot, but was unable to pull the trigger, unable to kill the man. After noticing how the stranger was rising, Miko?aj began to run for the exit. Unexpectedly, the opponent brought out a gun hidden in his pants from under his coat and fired at Miko?aj. The bullet hit his left shoulder, Kaczmarek screamed in pain, running as fast as he could from the sight of the Vulture. Reaching the door, he opened it by hitting it with his shoulder. Outside, he saw all the dead bodies inside the fence heading straight for that one building. The man was terrified, he was convinced that he had little chance of survival but he ran. He kept running until he reached the hole he had used earlier to get inside. Luckily he was able to get there without a fight with the zombies.

  "No, no, no...!" he repeated to himself while running for his life.

  He turned his head for only a fraction of a second, but spotted it. The vulture stood completely unmoved by the herd of corpses. He fired once more at Miko?aj, aiming for a moment, but this time he missed.

  Miko?aj ran as much as he had energy, wanting to survive. The moment it became clear that his enemy had firearms the matter became more complicated. Kaczmarek has one too, of course, but that meant someone had to die that day if they didn't get along peacefully. He set off immediately south to Grzybow. On the way to his destination, he tore a piece of his shirt sleeve and used it as a makeshift bandage to stop the bleeding from his arm. He regretted not having Judyta or Tarhos with him, who would have taken care of the gunshot wound immediately. The material of the shirt was not very good, but it had to suffice for now. Panic-stricken, he turned from time to time, peering to see if the enemy was behind him. So far, he saw no one. A gas compressor station and some movement inside the fence were still visible in the distance. Nothing, however, stood out or headed in his direction. He felt safe losing his chase.

  He finally found the village. He had rarely if ever been there and even if he had, it was in passing. He was completely unfamiliar with the area and didn't know what he could find there. He stood for a long moment, watching, observing. He looked out and listened for corpses. Silence. He liked it. He liked the peace he hadn't felt in a long time. However, despite this relative calm, it seemed to him that someone was constantly watching him. He went on. He wandered down the street, picking out his next target. He mainly needed a bandage, but food and drink would also come in handy. Several meters away, he saw a zombie lying under a police car. The car, on the other hand, had earlier hit a tree, as indicated by the damage to the front of the vehicle. Miko?aj approached. Maybe there is something inside. - he thought. The zombie from under the radio car could not move, its legs were crushed by the wheel and were all broken. Miko?aj looked sadly at the corpse, pulling out a knife. He knelt down, looking at the helpless body of the teenage boy. He resembled a young Emil, and this fact broke Kaczmarek down even more. He was suddenly snapped out of his musings by a shock. A dead policeman was sitting in a police car, banging on the window after spotting Miko?aj. The man punched the boy then got up and opened the vehicle door. The zombie was strapped to the seat making it impossible for him to get out. He just waved his hand mindlessly, trying to catch the living. It was hard to see anything when the view was obstructed by the undead, but certainly what caught Miko?aj's attention was the water bottle lying on the upholstery. He had to work hard to hit the corpse in the head after several attempts he succeeded. He unbuckled his belt and dragged the corpse outside, getting in after a while himself. He corrected the barely salvaged mirror to see what was behind him and leaned back against the dirty, bloody seat. He was no longer bothered by the smell of corpses and blood, after so long he had gotten used to it. He took a deep breath, pawing gently at his left shoulder. It hurt, he could barely move it anymore, in fact. After a short while, he bent down to get some water. The bottle was half-full, but this was apparently not enough for Miko?aj as he absorbed the whole thing in one gulp. He threw the bottle out the door and closed his eyes resting for a moment. A few moments later he wanted to leave, but the police radio caught his interest. He grabbed the walkie-talkie and pressed the button that looked right to him to turn on the radio.

  "Hello? Can anyone hear me?" He heard nothing in reply, so he tried again. "If anyone is on the other side... We're alive. And we need help."

  A minute passed after these words, still only silence could be heard. Miko?aj only snorted with laughter when suddenly a male voice spoke up.

  "Hello?" Despite the interference, it was possible to understand the man on the other side. "We can hear you."

  Kaczmarek was shocked, he didn't quite believe it could work.

  "Will you help us?"

  "Who do you mean by 'us'?"

  "My family."

  And silence again. There was no answer, Miko?aj became nervous and saddened.

  "Please. If you have a safe place, please help us."

  "I would have to ask the command. Where are you?"

  "In Mazovia, the area near Ciechanow. There are several villages here, we lived in one, but-"

  Out of the corner of his eye, in the mirror he saw the masked stranger again. Before he could finish speaking he jumped out of the police car, facing the enemy. Vulture bluntly drew his pistol.

  "Wait, wait, please!"

  The masked man fired twice at Miko?aj. One bullet hit his pelvis, the other hit his thigh. Kaczmarek screamed, falling to the ground. He was terrified. He had already grabbed the butt of his rifle wanting to defend himself, but the Vulture stood on his hand, blocking his access to the weapon.

  "Say 'goodbye.' " He pointed the gun at his head. He almost squeezed the trigger when suddenly a corpse rushed at him from behind, more specifically a sprinter who came running here momentarily after hearing the shots. Other zombies in the area also slowly gathered recently radioed.

  Miko?aj seized the opportunity and took the rifle off his back, barely standing up. When the Vulture dealt with the sprinter, he turned around wanting to shoot Nikolai quickly but before he could squeeze the trigger there was a powerful bang of gunfire. Miko?aj shot faster, the bullet pierced the side of the Vulture, who squirmed in pain, unable to utter even a squeak. He applied pressure to his bleeding side with his hand, looking at the fleeing Miko?aj. Kaczmarek left his rifle on the ground. He didn't have the strength to carry his own body let alone a gun. He fought for his life, passing dead bodies. He thought he had the Vulture out of the way, but the stranger started shooting. The first bullets hit the zombies however, one muscled Miko?aj's cheek and after a while the second one made Kaczmarek start lunging with blood. He stopped and fell to his knees panicking. He felt heat in his chest. He looked down, lifting his shirt. A bullet had pierced his lung through and through. He didn't know what to do. The vulture retreated because of his own wound as well as being surrounded by the undead. Miko?aj couldn't breathe, choking on his own blood. He was convinced it was over, but got up on his feet and ran on. He ran semi-conscious across the street deep into the village, wanting to get to the other side. He hoped to meet anyone on the road who would help him, though it was illusory.

  Night was approaching. Darkness flooded the surroundings and the only source of light was the moon. Miko?aj lost the chase after running for a while. From then on he walked slowly, staggering. He felt as if he was about to lose consciousness at any moment, losing a great deal of blood. He reached the vicinity of some local store, the area was empty. A few steps away was a tree and this was the end of Miko?aj's journey. He sat under the tree exhausted, with no chance of any rescue. He was afraid of death. He wanted to avoid it at all costs and then sat terrified, anticipating the inevitable. He was in no condition to face it. He was pale and looked like a corpse.

  "I never thought... That being weak could be so painful." He stared blankly into the space in front of him and his eyes were flooded with tears. "Forgive me... That it ended like this."

  He closed his eyes and his head fell inertly downward. Miko?aj died with his last breath.