Boom
"Hey Shawn, did I just see a helicopter crash in the woods?" Chet asked, sitting in the back of the pickup truck. "Stop the truck! We've gotta check it out. There might be survivors."
"Chet, we're late. My dad told me to come home ASAP—something urgent. Someone else will help them."
"I agree with Chet," Donna chimed in. "If everyone waits for someone else to help, no one will. Come on, Shawn. Just pull over. We'll take a quick look and call an ambulance if needed."
Shawn sighed. "Alright, alright. Just for a minute." He pulled the truck to the side of the road. The three of them hopped out and made their way toward the column of smoke rising from the forest, joining others who had also stopped.
"Judging by that explosion, I doubt anyone survived," Shawn muttered.
"Stay positive. Someone could've made it," Donna replied.
"If they did, they're probably in agony, wishing they hadn't," Chet added, earning a glare from Donna.
"Come on," Shawn called from ahead. "Hurry up!"
They reached the crash site minutes later. Trees around the area were ablaze, charred by the wreckage. The helicopter had been reduced to twisted metal, pieces scattered across the clearing.
As people looked for survivors, a man pointed toward the flames. "Hey… what the hell is that?"
From behind a flaming section of the wreckage, a charred figure limped forward. One arm dangled uselessly at its side, and it dragged a melted foot behind it.
"It's walking through fire!" someone shouted.
A woman screamed as she caught sight of the grotesque figure. "Oh my God—is that thing alive?!"
Chet took a step back, his voice shaky. "What the hell is that...?"
"Over here!" Donna called out. "There's someone—he's unconscious!"
Shawn and Chet rushed over and found a naked man lying facedown in the grass. He appeared uninjured.
"Give me your shirt," Shawn said to Chet. "We need to cover him."
Chet hesitated but pulled it off.
"He doesn't have any burns... that's impossible," Donna said, baffled.
"There's no way he was in that chopper when it went down," Shawn added. "Maybe he was nearby when it crashed. Still… naked?"
"What do we do? We can't leave him here," Chet said.
"More of them are coming!" someone shouted from deeper in the woods. "Run!"
Panic erupted. People scattered. "Help me with him!" Shawn shouted.
He and Chet hoisted the unconscious man between them and carried him back toward the truck. They laid him in the back, and Chet climbed in to stay with him while Shawn and Donna got in front. Shawn peeled out onto the road.
"What the hell were those things?" Donna asked, clutching her cross pendant. "People don't just walk while on fire. That wasn't natural."
"Haven't you been watching the news? People have been going berserk lately—attacking others. It's some kind of sickness," Shawn explained. "They said to avoid anyone acting violently."
Donna nodded. "Yeah… I heard."
"Hey—he's awake," Chet called from the back. "Says he doesn't remember anything."
"Tell him we're taking him to the hospital. We'll drop Donna off on the way," Shawn said.
An hour passed. The sun dipped low as they pulled up to Donna's place. She asked if they could wait while she grabbed food for the stranger. Shawn nodded.
In the meantime, he and Chet tried to talk to the man.
"Hey—do you remember your name? Anything at all? Why you were out there… naked?"
"…Wolfe," the man said weakly.
Chet leaned in to Shawn. "Wolfe? Seriously? Sounds like the crash scrambled his brain."
Suddenly, Donna's scream rang out from inside her house.
Shawn and Chet bolted toward the sound, the front door swinging open easily. In the kitchen, they found Donna on the floor, a knife in her stomach.
"Donna!" Shawn cried. "Who did this? What happened?!"
"The man… he stabbed me… ran out the back door," Donna whimpered. "Am I… am I gonna die?"
"No! No, stay with me. Chet, call 911! Hurry!"
But even before they could move, Donna went still. Shawn stared down at her in disbelief. Then came a crash from outside.
The boys rushed out, thinking it might be the attacker. Instead, they saw chaos.
People screamed in the streets. Some were being attacked—bitten. One man was being torn apart by another, covered in blood.
A growl came from behind Chet. As he turned, a figure lunged.
Wolfe appeared just in time, slamming a wrench into the attacker's skull. The body dropped.
"Oh God—you killed him!" Chet gasped.
"He was already dead. I saw his neck—torn open," Wolfe said calmly.
"We need to get out of here—now," Shawn said. "Help me move the cars!"
The three began clearing the way to the truck. Just then, they heard footsteps.
"Hey!" a man called out. He was bloodstained and holding the hand of a young girl in a cap.
"Oh no—don't eat us!" Chet shouted, panicking.
"We're not gonna hurt you," the man said.
"Whew. Thought for a second you two were gonna take a bite out of us," Shawn said, relieved.
"Do you know what's going on?" the man asked.
"No idea. You've seen them too, huh?"
"Yeah… you could say that," the man said.
"I'm Shawn Greene," Shawn offered.
"Lee. This is Clementine," the man replied.
Chet squatted down to her level. "I'm Chet. And that's Wolfe."
Clementine hid behind Lee, shy and scared.
"This isn't safe," Chet said. "We need to get out of here before it's too late."
"Your friend's right," Lee agreed.
Shawn considered. "Alright. You help us clear the road, and we'll give you and your daughter a ride. We're heading to my family's farm—it's safer there."
"I'm not her father, by the way," Lee added. "Just… a neighbour. Her parents are out of town."
"We shouldn't stick around," Shawn said, glancing at the girl. "You good, Clementine?"
She looked around nervously but said nothing.
Suddenly, Chet pointed. "Guys—they're coming!"
Lee joined in to help move cars. As they climbed into the truck, Donna's front door opened behind them.
Shawn froze. Donna—dead just minutes ago—was stumbling toward them, growling.
"That's not your friend anymore. Go!" Lee yelled.
Shawn hit the gas.
As they drove off, they passed a group of walkers feasting on a screaming woman.
"Those your neighbors too?" Chet asked, horrified.
Lee said nothing.