The shot hits it in the arm. It explodes violently, spraying a mix of stale and live blood on the pavement. It roars at me as it turns.

As it stumbles towards me it roars again. I almost hear words in the horrible gargle emanating from its undead throat, and I stop for a second. Images of warm summers long past flicker before my eyes, as I look into his eyes. Tommy. Beloved brother. So much pain, so much fun, so much I never told him.

But no. This isn’t Tommy. It’s not even a man. It’s hardly even beast. I have to kill it. I must. There is no other way.

I try to blink away the tears, as I aim once more and fire. With one last feat of strength, it jumps at me, and as its body explodes, its teeth puncture my shoulder.

...

I love my wife and I love my kids and I want to hold onto those memories and for that I need a brain.

And the only live brains here are in the cabin behind me. I turn and stumble towards it, silently cursing myself, before the feeding frenzy finally takes me away.