By Srinidhi Ranganathan in Director's Pick — Apr 15, 2024

A Zombie World

So, here I am, ready to travel through time in my own time machine.

A Zombie World

Chapter 1:

I’m an inventor.
A daring, resourceful young man who has never shied away from an interesting project.
I’m also a little bit reckless.
And that’s why I’m about to embark on a journey through time in a machine that I built.
Not the safest of ideas, but I think I’ve thought it through enough.
It’s not like it’s my first time travelling experiment.
Sure, the others were all theoretical and never worked, but that’s just details.
They say you learn by doing, right?
And I’m not about to be the guy who reads a manual, or a book, or subscribes to a YouTube channel.
So, here I am, ready to travel through time in my own time machine.
The culmination of seven years of hard work and dedication in that dank basement that was my laboratory.
I look around at the mess of tools and half-finished projects and can’t help but feel a pang of sadness in my chest.
This place may be a disaster zone, but it holds some memories.
I’m going to miss it.
But when I come back, I’ll be rich, famous, and the greatest inventor of the twenty-first century.
The thought of all those possibilities fills me with determination and I take one last look around before sitting down in my machine.
The chair is hard and uncomfortable but I don’t mind so much.
It means that I’ll have an incentive to come back quickly.
I swing my legs over one side of the chair and reach under the desk for the monitor that Dr. Lee made me build in case I ever get lost in time.
He’s a scientist at the local university and has helped me out more times than I can count.
He also has a habit of losing things.
But the monitor is there, right where it should be.
It flickers to life and shows a screen with directions on how to activate the machine.
Not that I need them.
I built this thing myself, after all.
I check the settings just one more time before hitting the big red button on the control panel beside me.
The machine starts to hum as it warms up, the noise of the time circuits whirring filling the small room and blocking out all other sound.
I can feel the energy gathering in the room around me and I take a deep breath as I prepare myself for what I’m about to do.
It’s going to take more power than I’ve ever used before and I’m not sure if my calculations are correct.
But there’s no time for doubt now.

Chapter 2:

I close my eyes and lean back in my chair as the machine starts to shake around me, shuddering as it prepares for launch.
There’s a roaring in my ears as I feel the room start to spin around me, and I clutch at the armrests of my chair as I try not to be sick.
The walls blur into streaks of colour as time starts to warp and twist around me, pulling me along for the ride through space itself.
I’m engulfed in a whirlwind of sensation as my body and mind struggle to maintain any sense of coherence in the chaos that surrounds me.
I’m bombarded by light and sound, wind whipping past my face with such force that I can barely breathe, let alone comprehend what’s happening to me.
For one brief moment, it feels like I’m falling through thin air, the world shifting and twisting as I’m thrown without regard for gravity or direction.
And then everything goes black as the world fades away into nothingness…
When I come to, I’m not sure where—or when—I am.
The first thing I notice is that the room is dark, the air filled with dust and debris that make it hard to see anything at all.
I cough and try to cover my mouth with the sleeve of my shirt as I push myself up from the floor, trying to get my bearings in the dim light.
The last thing I remember is activating the time circuits.
It’s possible that they malfunctioned in some way and now I’m stuck who-knows-where in the past or the future.
I can’t remember which one I was aiming for…
I shake my head to try to clear away the cobwebs of confusion, but it doesn’t help much.
I’ve never felt so disoriented in my entire life.
And that’s saying something after spending so much of it in the basement of an abandoned house!
But this?
This is something else entirely!
As I slowly start to piece together the fragments of memory from the past few minutes, I become aware of a strange sound coming from somewhere outside the walls of the room I’m in.
It sounds like a faint moan or howl of some sort, but it’s so far away that it’s hard to tell for sure…
Something about it makes me shiver and stand up quickly as I look around the room for some way out of there.
That’s when I notice the door on the far side of the room and rush toward it, pulling it open as fast as I can while trying not to make too much noise…
When I step out into the hallway on the other side of that door, I can barely believe what I see…
The city around me is a wasteland of destruction and decay…
Buildings lie in ruins all around me…
And there’s no sign of life anywhere…

Chapter 3:

I take a few steps forward, my eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of movement or anything that could help explain what happened here.
I don’t know what to expect, but this is not it!
I had hoped that maybe the city had just evacuated for some reason and that there might still be someone here for me to talk to.
But this?
This is something else entirely!
I’ve never seen anything like it before…
And it’s scaring the shit out of me!
I stand there for a moment, frozen in place as my mind struggles to make sense of what I’m seeing.
But the longer I stare at those twisted metal beams and shattered windows, the more it starts to sink in that whatever happened here was way more than just an accident of some sort.
It was deliberate.
And it was destructive.
It was as if the entire city was ripped apart at the seams, leaving nothing behind but a trail of destruction and decay.
And that sound I heard?
It was still there, growing louder with each passing moment.
My heart pounds in my chest as I realize what it is…
And where it’s coming from.
That thing is still out there, and somehow it knows that I’m here now too.
There’s no way I can stay here now, hidden away in the shadows like a scared little mouse.
But at the same time, the last thing I want to do is go back out there and confront whatever it is that’s making that noise.
Maybe if I just wait here long enough, it will go away on its own…
But as soon as the thought crosses my mind, the sound stops entirely.
For a moment, everything is still—deathly silent—as if the whole world is holding its breath in anticipation of what’s about to come next.
And then there’s a loud crash, followed by a moan of pain, and a figure stumbles out from behind one of the nearby buildings.
It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light, but when they finally do, I can see the figure more clearly now.
It’s human—or at least I think it is—with two arms and two legs and what looks like a head-on top too.
But it’s moving strangely—erratically—and its skin is pale and waxy-looking as if it hasn’t seen sunlight in ages.
And as it turns its head toward me and opens its mouth to speak, I can see that its eyes are empty too.
There’s nothing behind them…
Nothing at all.
And something about that look makes my blood run cold with a sudden rush of terror that I can’t even begin to explain.
Because I’ve seen that look before…
On the faces of men who have died on the battlefield…
And on the faces of victims of terrible crimes…
It’s a look of emptiness and despair…
A look that says that whatever once lived inside this body is no longer there…
Or maybe it’s just gone…
And that’s when it hits me like a ton of bricks: I have been here before!
Or at least I have heard stories about this place before…
This is a world where zombies are real—or at least they’re supposed to be…
And now here they are, standing right in front of me!
As more figures start appearing from behind other nearby buildings and objects, I realize that my worst fears are true: this world is filled with the living dead!

Chapter 4:

I take a step back in horror as the dead continue to shuffle toward me from every direction.
The last time I saw this many bodies moving in unison like this was in the midst of a battle—or a riot—and whatever the cause, it’s definitely not good news for me or anyone else who might be unlucky enough to cross their path!
And the longer I stand here and watch them coming toward me like this, the more I start to wonder how many of them there might be out there right now…
Because if this is what I’m seeing here in front of me, then what’s to say that there aren’t more of them lurking just around the corner or hiding inside some of these nearby buildings too?
I don’t know how long they’ve been out here like this—or what they’ve been doing to survive—but if the stories I’ve heard about them are true, then it’s only a matter of time before they start to get hungry and come looking for something—or someone—to eat!
I need to get out of here and fast!
But as soon as I turn to leave, my foot catches on something and I go down hard!
The pain in my ankle is excruciating, but I know I can’t stop now—not until I’m somewhere safe and secure, far away from these hungry monsters that want nothing more than to tear me limb from limb and eat me for breakfast!
Adrenaline courses through my veins as I pull myself back to my feet and start hobbling away as fast as I can, using whatever strength I still have left in my body to get as far away from them as possible before it’s too late!
But just when I think I might be able to make a clean getaway, something unexpected happens…
The zombies start following me!
For a moment, I’m too stunned to speak or even think at all, as I watch them shuffling along after me like lost little puppies, their empty eyes fixed on me as if I’m the one who has all the answers they’ve been searching for all along…
But then I realize what’s happening and my fear turns to disbelief and confusion instead, as I try to understand why they’re following me like this—or how they even knew that I was here in the first place!
It doesn’t make any sense at all, but then again, neither does any of this…
So maybe I’m just overreacting or not seeing things clearly at all.
Whatever the reason for their strange behaviour, one thing’s for sure: I need to get out of here and fast!
But just as I start to turn around again, something catches my eye in the distance—something moving off to the side.
I have no idea what it is—or who—but at this point, I’m too scared and confused to care.
All I know is that I need to keep moving and not stop until I find someplace safe and secure where I can hide out until help arrives.

Chapter 5:

The pain in my ankle is unbearable now, but I ignore it as best as I can and keep hobbling along as fast as my legs will take me, until at last…
I see them…
The undead…
Lurching out of the shadows and into view, their movements slow and erratic as they shuffle along after me like lost little puppies, their blank eyes fixed on me as if I’m the one who has all the answers they’ve been searching for…
I watch them in horror, my heart pounding in my chest as my mind struggles to make sense of what’s happening around me—and then…
Despite everything…
Part of me can’t help but be fascinated by what I’m seeing, as my eyes scan their grotesque features and take in every last detail of their decaying bodies—until at last…
One of them catches my eye in particular—a tall man with a long beard and shaggy hair—who looks almost human at first glance, until you get close enough to see his face…
Which is missing a nose!
The sight is so grotesque and unsettling that I can’t help but gasp in horror, as his head snaps up in my direction and his milky white eyes fix on me with a look of hunger and need…
And that’s when I realize that I’ve been staring at him for far too long and that I need to get out of here before it’s too late!
Gathering up what strength I have left in my body, I turn and start running again, using whatever speed I can muster to put some distance between me and the zombies before they can grab me and eat me alive.
But just when I think I might be able to make a clean getaway, I see them coming after me faster than ever now, their dead eyes fixed on me with an intensity that chills me to the bone…
And that’s when I realised that the worst part is still yet to come.
I watch in horror as the zombies start swarming toward me from every direction, their hungry mouths snapping at the air as they try to grab me and pull me down to the ground.
There are so many of them now that I can’t even count them all—and the thought of being eaten alive by such a gruesome mob is more than enough to make me want to scream!
But I don’t…
I just keep running instead, using whatever strength I still have left in my body to get as far away from them as possible before it’s too late—
And then…
Just when I think I might be able to make a clean getaway, something unexpected happens…
I trip and fall head over heels down a steep incline, my arms flailing helplessly as I try to stop myself from going over the edge.
For a moment, I’m so stunned and scared that I can’t even see straight, as I watch the zombies swarming toward me from every direction and feel myself being dragged down into the darkness by an unseen force that threatens to swallow me whole…
But then I realize that it isn’t an unseen force at all!
It’s a pair of strong arms—belonging to a tall man with short brown hair and piercing blue eyes—who just saved my life!

Chapter 6:

As I struggle to catch my breath and get my bearings, I look up at him with wide-eyed wonder and shout: “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
His eyes are wide with fear as he stares back at me, and for a moment, we both look at each other in stunned silence before he says: “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to scare you.
I’m just…I’m just trying to figure out where I am, and how I got here.”
That’s when I realize that he must have seen the time machine too—and that he probably thinks it’s some kind of alien spaceship or something!
Well, it isn’t an alien spaceship.
It’s my time machine—and if anyone’s going to use it to get out of this place alive, it’s going to be me!
Before I can say anything else, the man holds out his hand and says: “I’m John…John Smith. And you are?”
He’s smiling now as if he wants to be friends or something—but I know better than to trust strangers in this world!
Ignoring his outstretched hand, I glare at him with suspicion and say: “My name is Sarah. And as for what I’m doing here…”
I pause for a moment as I try to think of a good story to tell him, and then I finally decide to just tell him the truth: “I live in the building over there and I was looking for food when I saw you coming down off that hill.
Now is there anything else you want to know—or can I get back to my own business now?”
My answer seems to take him by surprise—as if he didn’t expect me to be so rude or something—but I don’t care what he thinks!
I just want to get back home and stay there until this whole nightmare is finally over with…
But then he says: “Wait…you live in that building over there?
I thought it was abandoned!”
“Yes, it is,” I reply with a nod.
“But not by me!”
The man’s eyes light up with curiosity as he looks at me, and then he asks: “Have you seen anyone else around here?
Like any other survivors—or maybe some people who know what’s going on in this world?”
His question takes me by surprise, and for a moment, I don’t know what to say in response—
But then I decided to just tell him the truth: “No, I haven’t…but maybe you will.
If you’re lucky.”
At first, I think my answer is a little too cryptic for him to understand, but then I see that it has the desired effect:
His eyes light up with hope as he smiles again and says: “Thank you, Sarah.
You’ve been very helpful.”
His words make me feel a little better about this situation, and as we both start walking back toward my building, I ask: “So where do you come from, John?
Do you live around here—or are you just passing through?”

The End:

“No…I’m just passing through,” John replies with a sheepish grin.
“I wanted to see the future for myself,” he continues.
“And now that I have…well…let’s just say that I’m not sure if I want to stay here much longer.”
I chuckle at his answer and then say: “That makes two of us, ready to explore this Zombie World!”

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