My Uncle Rick and I are very close. We hang out all the time. Sometimes I get to spend weekends at his house. It's always so much fun as he'd let me stay up late into the night. "So, did you have a good time Ash?" "It was great! Thanks again for the Pearl Jam CDs." "Let me know what you think. It's about time you started listening to some cool bands for a change." My uncle lived about 45 minutes from me. As we got closer I began to notice how quiet and still everything was.

LUCILLE'S GAS BAR

"I'm going to pull over and get some gas. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Grab a can of pop in the backseat if you want." I relaxed in the car as my uncle filled his gas tank and then went inside to pay. Boy was it ever quiet. Where was everybody? There were no cars on the road, no kids playing or dogs barking. I started to roll down the car window when I heard a loud banging noise on the windshield. "Did you forget your wallet Uncle Rick?" Only it wasn't my uncle knocking on the windshield.

LUCILLE'S GAS BAR

It was a zombie!!!! He kept pounding away on the car window as it started to shake. "Uncle Rick!" "Start the car!" he yelled as he ran over to confront the zombie. He threw a pop can towards the front door of the gas station which distracted the zombie. We drove off as fast as possible. I was so scared as I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. "What's going on Uncle Rick?" "I don't know. I'm going to put on the radio and see if I can find out."

Uncle Rick turned on the car radio but all he got was static. "This is so strange. There wasn't anybody at the gas station when I went inside to pay. Do you have you phone with you?" "Yeah." "Call your parents and see if they know what's going on?" "Okay" I said nervously. It rang a few times before the answering machine kicked in. "Beep! You've reached the Romero Family. We can't come to phone right now so leave a message. Beep!"

"Mom? Dad? Are you okay? Pick up! Pick up!" I shouted into the phone. There was no response. "Zombies aren't real are they Uncle Rick?" "Of course not. That guy hitting the car was probably just playing a prank on us." His explanation didn't sound all that convincing. "Don't worry. I'm sure everything is just fine. There must've been a major storm in the area. We're almost home and everything will be okay........." "Uncle Rick! Look out!" SCREECH!!!

A zombie was standing in the middle of the road and so my Uncle Rick swerved to avoid hitting him only to smash into a tree instead. "You alright Ash?" "Yeah. I'm fine." I could hear growling noises getting closer and closer as the car was soon surrounded by zombies. "Make a run for it Ash. I'll catch up to you later." "No! I can't leave you here alone." "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. Go!" My Uncle Rick never yelled at me before so I obliged and started to run.

I ran as fast as my legs could take me into the woods where I would be safe. Well, where I thought I would be safe. I was out of breath from running so fast that I had to catch my breath. My legs and chest hurt and my mouth was so dry. I could barely catch my breath. I wanted to collapse on the ground but I sensed I wasn't alone. I turned around and saw a zombie standing right behind me. I tried to yell but nothing came out and then I fainted.

I held up a cross trying to scare the zombie away. "Kid I'm a zombie, not a vampire." "You can talk?" "Yeah, but don't let the other zombies know. Just lie there and play dead. Brains! Grrrrr! Must have brains!"

"Okay, they're gone. For years we enjoyed the peace and quiet of the afterworld. We didn't bother anyone and wanted nothing to do with the world of the living. That was until a group of punks vandalized the local cemetary, waking us from our slumber. And as you can see, there's nothing worse than a cranky zombie."

      R.I.P.

 R.I.P.

     R.I.P.