Finally... Power

I took a deep breath, steadying myself as I peered out at the zombies milling around outside. It was surreal, like watching a movie scene come to life. But this was real, and the stakes were higher than anything I'd ever experienced. I took stock of my gear one last time: my gun, the crowbar, my makeshift "sword." With the carpeting strapped to my arms and legs, I felt like some kind of patchwork knight.

I moved as quietly as I could, crouching low as I crept between parked cars and bushes. The night air was heavy with the smell of decay and something else, something metallic and sharp that stung the back of my throat. Every step felt like it was echoing in the silence, but the zombies didn't seem to notice. Their movements were sluggish, their senses dull—nothing like the supercharged creatures I'd seen in other stories. In fact, rather than being strengthened, they seemed as weak as they looked; decayed, in both strength and senses. In a strange way, that almost made it worse. There was something deeply unsettling about their slow, shuffling gait, the vacant look in their eyes, as if they were trapped in some half-conscious state between life and death.

After a short time, I reached the front of the convenience store, crouching as I snuck into the dead-end alleyway beside it. There, I found a side door. A few zombies lingered near the front, swaying as if caught in an invisible current, so I'd have to be as quiet as possible as I broke in. I tightened my grip on the crowbar, inching forward until I could lodge the crowbar into the pull-handle sufficiently. Then, I pried until it snapped off, my whole body already prepared to catch it before it could hit the ground with a clang. Fortunately, there wasn't enough noise to rouse any nearby zombies.

I made it into the store, the fluorescent back lights kept on even when it was closed flickering as if they were unsure about staying on. The aisles stretched out before me, lined with everything I could need: canned food, bottled water, batteries, even a whole rack of lighters. I grabbed a cart and filled it with anything I could get my hands on, moving quickly but methodically. My heart was racing, the adrenaline coursing through me as I grabbed packets of jerky, boxes of energy bars—anything with a long shelf life and lots of calories. I found some first aid supplies, like gauze and some topical antibiotics near the back and tossed that in too, along with some bottles of painkillers and whatever over-the-counter meds I could grab.

On top of that, I grabbed a few cartons of cigarettes from behind the cash register, stuffing them into my pockets. The little pleasures still mattered, even in the apocalypse.

I was almost done when I heard it— a shrill, piercing sound that echoed through the streets outside, followed by a beeping from my phone. My heart skipped, and I felt the cold grip of fear tighten around my chest. I reached for my phone, and sure enough, the screen was lighting up with notifications. National emergency alerts, evacuation orders, warnings to seek shelter or flee the cities. This was bad news for me. Even with their poor senses, all this noise would surely aggravate the zombies.

Through the store's front window, I could see the zombies starting to gather around the store. Shit... why the hell are you gathering here?! Then, I realized. The computer store next door with the televisions in its windows must have lit up with the evacuation warning. Zombies were drawn to the light, stumbling toward the screens like moths to a flame, their dull eyes reflecting the eerie glow. My hands shook as I gripped the cart, adrenaline pumping through my veins.

The zombies were closing in, surrounding the entrance to the store. I had no choice but to push forward, using the cart as a makeshift battering ram as I barreled through the glass front doors. Making noise didn't matter anymore- it looked like the side alleyway was blocked off worse than the front. The zombies turned, their dead eyes locking onto me as I broke into a sprint, my boots pounding against the pavement.

I was off the sidewalk and halfway through the street when I realized just how many had started gathering. thirty, forty... I couldn't count the horde that had all started to focus on me. They closed in around me, a circle of rotting flesh and lifeless eyes, trapping me in their grasp.

My heart pounded, and I fumbled for my makeshift "sword," pulling it from the sheath at my waist. I stabbed one in the head, feeling the blade sink into its skull with a sickening crunch. I swung at another, but there were too many. I could feel them closing in, their cold, lifeless hands reaching for me, the stench of decay filling my nose.

Should I draw my gun? Would that even get me out of here? I considered it as I placed my hand on my hip and tried to wrestle it out from under my thick carpet outfit. I panicked as the zombies drew closer, my gun refusing to exit from its holster. Fuck... fuck! The apocalypse just started! I can't die yet!

"Fuck! Please!"

I yelled out. I didn't know what I was calling to, but I was desperate. The zombies were nearly reaching me, and I couldn't even come close to fending off such a large encirclement. I was just about to give into my fate, until—everything stopped. Time itself seemed to halt, freezing the zombies in mid-lunge. I stood there, breathing hard, the sound of my own heartbeat echoing in my ears as I looked around, trying to make sense of what had happened. It was as if the world had hit pause, and I was the only one still moving.

I didn't waste a second. Grabbing the cart, I pushed my way through the frozen horde, slipping between their motionless bodies and breaking into a sprint as I reached the other side. Time resumed just as I cleared the street, the zombies resuming their shambling pursuit as I raced back toward the office.

I slammed through the door, throwing it shut behind me and piling chairs and desks against it. My chest heaved as I caught my breath, leaning against the barricade and staring at the zombies in the street who looked just as confused as me. I had no idea what had just happened, but I knew one thing: something inside me had changed the moment that everything froze. I could feel it, something new inside me, like a well of energy deep within, a reservoir I hadn't known existed. It felt like water, cool and heavy, sloshing around in my skull. I tried to reach for it, to tap into whatever power had just saved me, but as soon as I did, the remaining energy instantly drained completely, leaving me with a sharp migraine and an even more weakened body. Fuck...

I stumbled to the break room, sinking into a chair and closing my eyes. The power was gone, but I could still feel the faint echo of it, a tingling sensation at the edge of my mind. I knew I'd tapped into something—something real, something I'd spent my whole life searching for. And for the first time, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

I grinned as I felt the power slowly dripping back in, drop by drop. It seemed that I'd gained a new power. I'd only used it once, but I felt like I knew what it was. And if I was right, I could dominate this apocalyptic world.

I could stop time.