Written for the 'Love At First Bite' contest by the WattpadZombie profile

Trigger Warnings: Gore and brief mentions of attempted suicide

Note: This story has unfortunately not been edited as I wrote it at last minute, so it's far from my best work as of now.

I squeeze my eye through the scope of my VKS and transfix the reticle on the middle of the Undead's forehead. Its rotting hands claw desperately on the chain link fence that surrounds our property, and I can see through the zoom-in that there are maggots wriggling about in its missing eye socket.

Deep inhale… and exhale. The gun kicks back against my shoulder a little as I press the trigger. The bullet flies straight through the Undead’s head, leaving a one-inch gaping hole behind. Black blood pours out in torrents. I watch in satisfaction as its head snaps back from the force and the body falls to the ground.

I lift the mug of steaming hot coffee from the balcony railing and take a sip, the hot liquid pleasantly scorching my throat as the caffeine continues to do its work. The sounds of chickens clucking and goats maa-ing reach my ears. I think about how lucky we are to have managed to scavenge alive animals and finally settle down after two years of roaming the Zombified lands.

I hear light coughing from behind me, and I turn around to see my wife Natalie sitting up in bed. She coughs into her hand a few more times before she catches me looking at her.

“You okay?” I ask as I set the sniper rifle down on the balcony floor and approach her.

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she mumbles as she stands up. She sniffles before rolling her head around, the cracking sound reverberating through the bleak room.

“Are you sure, babe?” I stop before her and reach my hand towards her face. She angrily swats it away.

“I said I'm fine,” she snaps. Her annoyed face immediately softens after. “I-I'm sorry… I just… want to be alone, okay?”

“It's fine,” I stiffly say. She nods and plants a kiss on my cheek before exiting the room.

Natalie hasn't been feeling well since yesterday, and I know that it was the reason why she's acting grumpy. Despite that, I can't help but feel hurt when she rejects my attempts at helping her or offering to comfort her.

I suddenly hear the front door slam close, and panic immediately takes over as my instincts are activated. She doesn't walk outside unless it's completely necessary, and because of her theory that she could be—

My thoughts don't conclude as I rush downstairs, the old wooden steps dangerously creaking under my thundering footsteps. I fling open the door and run outside to find Natalie standing in the driveway with a gun in her hand.

“No!” I yell just as she lifts it to her head. I throw myself at her like a quarterback while grabbing her gun hand. We crash to the ground with me on her back as I try to wrestle the weapon away from her.

“Give me the fucking gun, Nat!” I shout as she continues to grip it with an iron strength.

“Let me go, Jess!” She screams at me as she struggles under my weight. She locks her legs around mine and rolls over as I retain my hold on her wrist.

“Release… the… fucking…. gun!” I growl as I slam her wrist against the ground twice. The gun finally falls from her hand, and I swiftly lock my arms around hers to prevent her from reaching for it.

“I… need… to end it!” She says as she wriggles in my embrace.

“Stop it, Nat! Calm the fuck down! Please!” I implore her as I press my face against her cool skin.

I feel her relax as the sound of her crying reaches my ears. Tears cascade down her cheeks as the salty taste kisses my lips while I gently shush her. Her body trembles against mine as we lay there, with me flat on the ground and her back pressing against my front.

“I'm turning into one of them, Jess. I know it,” she cries as a cough escapes her midway.

“We don't know that, baby. It could be anything,” I whisper hoarsely.

“You know that's a lie. Nothing else but the Z virus exists these days. I'm dead, Jess.”

“Don't you fucking say that,” I croak out. She again struggles in my grasp. I turn her over to the side and flip her around so her back would be pressed against the ground while I place my bodyweight on top of her. I pin both her arms down as I lock my legs against her thighs.

“Wake up, Jess. For once, live in reality and accept it!”

“I don't want to!” I shout through my own tears as the weight of the pain makes them fall heavily down my face. “I don't want to accept that I'm going to lose you, okay?”

“Well, I'm sick of it! I'm sick and tired of you being a fucking optimist! Just for once, Jess, quit living on some false hope!”

“This false hope is the only thing that keeps me wanting to live in this fucked up world!” I lick my lips and taste the salt from my tears. I choke on my sobs as I resume. “The hope that maybe, just maybe, one day… this world will heal. Maybe life can go back to normal. Otherwise, you and I both know that this sort of life that we're in right now won't last long. Every. Single. Fucking. Day. We have to survive, and fucking pray that a horde of a hundred zombies won't eat us alive in our sleep. You think I want to live this type of life if I didn't hang on some glimmer of fucking hope?”

“Just accept it, Jess. Please. You know the truth,” she whispers as her electrifying blue eyes stare into my soul.

I know she's right. I know that she's 99.9% infected. But I don't want to give in to the truth, because the truth hurts. And I'm not ready to accept it. I've had enough pain and suffering my entire life, even before the apocalypse, and the only thing that keeps me going is avoiding the bitter truth.

I look at her as the sun finally rises over the tall mountains which surround us. Its rays magnify the blazing beauty of her hair as her dirt-smudged face is accentuated by the warm glow. I love her, she's my world, and I'm not ready to let her go.

She suddenly coughs, drops of blood splattering against my face, but I barely flinch as they land on my skin. The coolness of her arms turns cold in my hands as her eyes become stricken with bloodshot veins.

She's already turning into an Undead. That's how the Z virus works. It's barely noticeable symptoms hang around for a day or so, but once you start coughing, especially if blood appears, it quickly takes over your entire system. Most victims die within fifteen minutes, but there were cases where they stayed alive for up to an hour. Never more.

And in this case, it's the former.

“Baby…” she gasps out, “please… do this…”

Transparent cracks of black veins appear on her ghastly face as her breathing becomes hollow and labored. I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I can. What if… there actually is a cure out there? What if this thing could be reversed?

But Natalie was right. I hold on to false hope, and even though it helps me overcome difficulties in my life, it also proves damaging at times. Underneath that hope, I know that no one will ever find a cure, and if I truly love my wife, I will throw my own selfish feelings away and spare her the pain and torture of becoming a maggot-infested Zombie.

“Okay,” I choke out as I release my hold on her right arm and reach behind my back. My fingers curl around the hilt of my hunting knife as I take it out of its sheath.

Burning hot tears torrent down my face as I sturdy my hold on the weapon.

“Jess…” Nat croaks out. “Promise me… you won't… try to… hurt yourself…”

“I promise,” I whisper. She nods weakly before her body suddenly jerks and her eyes roll back in her sockets. My heart stops when I finally have to accept the fact that she's gone, and that I… I'm all alone in this dead world. Her movements stiffen against me as I watch her with bated breath, my body paralyzed as her eyes close.

My brain is screaming at me to bring the blade through her brain, but my body remains frozen on the spot. And just as abruptly as she died, her eyes fly open. Except they no longer contain the essence of the woman I loved and knew. The woman who would laugh at my jokes in that cute, adorable way that makes my heart melt at the sound. The woman who would comfort me through the toughest times.

The woman who made me feel like life is worth living.

No, the thing before me holds the vacant, lifeless look of a hungry, mindless zombie. And my hand moves at its own accord as it brings the knife down. The blade cleanly goes through her skull, black blood spilling out as it flows in thin rivers down her face. Her body twitches before ceasing to move.

This is it. She's gone… and there's no turning back. My breathing becomes louder and anger and rage fill my core. I throw my head back and scream as I let out my pain, frustrations, and agony. My body convulses with tears as scream after scream travels through the air before I hear it.

The familiar sounds of snarling reaches my ears, and through my blurry vision I spot a small horde of zombies approaching the gate. Our commotion must have attracted them.

And for once, I'm grateful that they're here.

I wipe the tears from my face and sniffle before getting up. I take the gun from the ground and check the bullet. I had a whole round, but it's only if things go wrong because I needed some rotting corpses to take my frustrations out on. And what other way to do that than by killing them with a melee weapon.

“You fuckers!” I yell out as I reach the gate and open them. The Undead’s pace quicken towards me as I swing the blade between my fingers.

I grin at their hurry, and with a blood-curdling scream, I rush them with my knife.

It's fucking Zombie killing time. And these bastards will pay for what they took away from me.