Episode 6 – "johns slow decent"
John's mind is still twisted on the thing he saw—the thing he's started calling a goul. He flips open his journal, careful, reverent almost, and begins a new entry:
This is a goul. Some undead walker thing… but more human than it lets on. It still breathes. Walks like it's alive. Or maybe it's half-dead…
He sketches it meticulously. Each line sharp, almost trembling. Closing the journal, he feels the weight of the world—or what's left of it—press down. He leaves the gas station, boots crunching on broken asphalt, and walks for what feels like hours.
Then: a scream. Piercing, raw, like the air itself is being torn apart.
"Still hope," he mutters to himself, voice rough, "there's still hope for humanity."
He breaks into a run, shooting loose shamblers blocking his path. Adrenaline hammers in his veins, every heartbeat echoing in his ears. Up ahead, a grotesque sight: an obese zombie, grotesquely bloated and fast for its size, attacking a group of survivors. His eyes catch a mother clutching her child, eyes wide with terror. An African American man and an Asian woman are desperately fighting the thing off.
John doesn't hesitate. He fires his weapon. The shots find their mark, but the monster doesn't go down.
It charges. Massive, stumbling, relentless.
"OVER HERE, YOU DUMBASS!" a man yells. Perfect timing. The zombie's attention snaps toward the shout.
John leaps onto the beast's back. Knives in hand, he drives them into the creature again and again. His grin is wild, unhinged, almost like he's enjoying the hunt more than he should. The beast screams, thrashes, and he slides down its back, cutting a gash that exposes its decayed, torn flesh.
Finally, John falls off. He rises, breathing heavy, heart racing. The survivors stare, stunned.
"Thanks for helping," he says casually, wiping blood from his knife, like he just finished an errand.
The group exchanges glances. Is he okay? they wonder. But John doesn't wait for an answer. He turns, walks away, leaving chaos—and awe—in his wake.