"The night shift" by Lee Stormy 

Tom, a 21-year old security-guard, was driving to one of his jobs in the evening when he heard a strange news-report on the radio. It made him curse because it interrupted one of his favourite songs. “Cannibal arrested, kept biting officers, rabies, killings..." All of this made no lasting impression on him, he just wanted AC/DC's highway to hell back on. He drove on to the site he was assigned to guard that night, he walked in his office where his colleague was busy listening to the radio, "hi there mate, what's new?" Tom's co-worker signalled him to be quiet.
"New reports, more attacks, dead, shoot to kill issued!"  "Wow that sounds crazy, in what third world country has the shit hit the fan this time?" "No, mate, this is in France!" "You're shitting me, what is wrong with those people, is it some kind of virus or drug?" "I don't know, hell, they don't know, all they know is that there are some crazy assholes going around killing people and eating them." "Maybe some sort of cult?" Tom guessed. "I don't know, but what I do know is that it's time for me to go home and spend some quality time with my wife if you know what I mean?" his colleague joked. "Alright, go home, you sick bastard!" Tom said while telephoning his presence through to dispatch, "Bye-bye".

Tom took his flashlight and started his shift at the new construction site, it was a big site with no lighting or heating except for his converted office-container. 5 hours into his shift when he patrolled the perimeter he heard a noise behind some rubble, he shined his flashlight to the place the noise came from and saw a black cat flee away. Happy it wasn't a thief out for the copper he continued his patrol. Fifteen minutes later he arrived at his container and took his break, still six hours and forty-five minutes to go. All of a sudden he was startled by a loud bang, he jumped up and went outside to see a man who knocked over a thrash bin  " hey, you..." Tom yelled, "What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here!" With that said the man looked up and moaned at Tom. "He must be really wasted and he looks like he got into a fight" he thought "You want me to call an ambulance, buddy?" Another more aggressive moan echoed through the air as the man shambled towards the guard. "Woow, chill out and get back or I will have to use force!" Tom threatened. Tom's threat reached deaf ears while the "drunken" man came closer and closer. When the person came into full light Tom saw there was something seriously wrong with the man, his left eye was ripped out of it's socket and the skin of his right arm was ripped of. “Holy hell, dude, what happened?" The guy attacked Tom but stumbled over his own feet and fell right in front of him. Tom planted his boot in its back and held the crazed man in place. He called the police, an automatic tape: "all services are down, please try again later." He called dispatch: "hello dispatching, guard 14575 here" "Yes, what's up, Tom?" "I've got a crazy, drugged out wounded guy over here, he looks, well... dead, I tried calling the pigs but they aren't answering, probably getting donuts, what do you advise?" “Wow, what the fuck, I don't get that everyday, please stay on hold" "yeah okay, hurry" " Tom?" "yeah?" "Kill it" "What?!" "Yeah, dude, kill it, I talked with the cops, don't let it bite you!" " What the fuck is going on here, man?!" "They're zombies man...I'm serious kill it, like in the movies, you know, the head th..." Tom looked at the phone as the line went dead then glanced over to the zombie, it sure looked like one. He released his foot and took a few steps back and watched it crawl right back at him, teeth snapping. "Fuck, fuck, fuck..." he took a brick and smashed it right against the creature's skull... "Right, I just killed a man,” but it was self defence Tom thought. He took his things and bolted for his car before seeing something that really shocked him and putting things in place. He looked up to the nude-calendar decorating the wall of his office, it said 21st December 2012. "Sweet mother of god" Tom said out loud.

When he got to his car he dialled the number of his girlfriend, "Hello, baby, are you okay?" "I'm fine, Sara, what about you?" "I'm fine, why are you calling this late, did something happen at work?" " yes, I'll explain later, I'm coming back home, I'll be there in twenty minutes, wait, make that 10, don't open the door for anybody except for me, you hear me?! Stay away from the windows and put out every light, hide until I get there!" "Tommy, you're scaring me, what is..." "Just do as I say, Sara!" Tom raced of to his wife as fast his recently bought second hand car  could take him, eleven minutes later he arrived at his two-story house, there was no sign of life but the front door was open, he feared the unthinkable and ran up the house only to get struck in the face with something hard.

Dazed he fell to the ground next to a, once again, dead zombie. The blurry vision from the strike revealed his girlfriend standing over him with a frying-pan looking terrified at her husband with a bleeding cut above his eye. "Oh my god, honey!” I'm so sorry, what the hell is happening?" "The end, my love, the end" Tom mumbled before passing out. Sara Disinfected the cut above Tom's eye and than bolted the doors shut. When Tom came back to consciousness his head felt like there was a wooden spike driven through. "What the fuck happened?" "I mistook you as one of them" "Goddamn Sara, I'm not that ugly, are there any of them outside?" "Euhmm... Have you looked outside?" Tom stood up and walked, half dizzy, to the window, he looked in horror as he peeked through. Houses are burning, people running and screaming for their lives, zombies eating the ones that couldn't get away fast enough, mostly old people and fat ones. Tom saw his neighbour desperately fighting of 3 zombies, alas for him it was a fight he couldn't win with his bare hands. The first one got a hold of him and soon the 2 others followed, Tom stopped watching after that. "poor bastard" he thought. He asked Sara how long he was out. "Three hours" He admired her for being so calm, any other gal would be terrified, but not Sara, she was a girl who never shows any emotions even if she was petrified. "We need to get to safety. Have you listened to the news?" "Yes, there is a loop on the radio, here listen."

"Attention all residents, Please remain indoors, whatever it is, it is spread by saliva and blood, with other words by bites, do not attempt to reason with the infected, they have lost any recognition to you, they will attack everything on sight. The infected are fast and vicious and the infection takes in effect within minutes after contact, it is always fatal, but... they won't stay dead, they'll walk once again attacking the living except the dead are slow and mindless. I repeat do not attempt to go outside, please stay inside and wait it out"

 Tom listened silently till the loop started again, than he walked to his bedroom and took his machete he bought once for fun in an old military stock sale, he never thought he would ever use it. He than took his dad's dagger and baseball bat "What are you doing?" Sara asked. "Going out"!  "What"!  "Yeah, we need to stock up on food and water." "But the reporter said." " I know what he said but if we don't have food we're going to starve" " Okay but I'm coming with, you can't just leave me here" " I figured as much, put on my leather vest, get your most sturdy shoes out and tie your hair in a knot so you can't get grabbed that easily." When she was ready Tom gave her the bat and the dagger, Sara put the dagger between her belt and than she stared at Tom while he unbolted the door. "Ready?" "Ready as I'll ever be." They ran for the car but just as Tom reached the car a man jumped out of the bushes and took Sara by surprise and she dropped the bat as he grabbed her throat.

"Gimme da keys or I'll slit her throat!" "Now listen carefully" Tom said. "If you hurt one hair on her head, I will kill you and leave you for those monsters." "Seems to me you are not in the position to threaten me, asshole now gimme da keys!" At that time Sara had took the dagger and positioned it between his legs, she trusted the blade right into the man's groin. He screamed in anguish and dropped the blade. Tom reacted immediately and slashed the machete in the guy's collarbone, this time the man's scream was answered by another more aggressive scream. That was when Tom first encountered the infected, this one was a young woman in her early twenties, the wounded guy tried to get away but Tom slashed at the guy's knee. Incapacitated the guy whimpered as the woman launched herself to her prey while Tom and Sara got into the car and drove of to the supermarket. "We can't go back there!" Tom sighed.

When they drove on the parking-lot of the supermarket they feared everything useful would be gone as hundreds of people apparently had the same plan as them. They locked the car behind them and entered the supermarket. To Tom's relief most of them went for the liquor and perishables, "dumb fucks, haven't they seen a basic zombie-movie?" he stocked in on water, tinned goods, some chocolate for Sara and a bit of oranges, he loved those and this might be the last chance to get some. He looked out when he suddenly heard the distinct screams of the infected closing in on the store, he told Sara to stay close when the panic broke out. He passed the do-it-yourself isle and took hold of a pair of hand-axes, a crowbar and a multi-tool. They left the store without paying as the cash-registers were empty. Gunfire sounded as Tom loaded in his groceries, he was thankful he bought the “new” car, his last car had a much smaller trunk. He zig-zagged through parked cars and people fighting of the infected, "shouldn't we help?" Sara asked. Just than blood spattered on Tom's windshield as a guy's stomach was ripped open when he drove by. "You want to end up like him?" "I'm sorry, darling, we can't take any risks, I love you to much to loose you!" They drove of the parking-lot hitting an infected teen who tried to jump on the car, "Fuck!" Even now he didn't want a single scratch on his car. He backed up over the teenager as a form of revenge and then raced of to whatever unknown destination the future had in store for the two lovers.