CRASH!

Tim had smashed the glass door behind him, trying to escape the hoards of mindless zombies surrounding him. He had broken the glass with his bare elbow, and it was bleeding badly. A shard of glass had managed to run through his skin, at the back of his arm, leaving blood dripping to the floor. The long piece of broken glass attached to his elbow looked like some sort of a maturing bone slowly coming out of its hiding. Tim had no time to worry about pain, as the sight of torpid, disgusting, rotting people, or whatever they were called slowly approached him, all getting ready to suck the life out of him.

With all his might, he pulled the shard of glass off his elbow and used it as a sword. He waved it towards the zombies, hoping that they would back off. He hoped, but it didn't work. He threw the sharp glass towards one of the zombies.

**SHUCK**

The glass made a sticky sound as it went straight towards the zombie's head. It stayed there like some sort of a decoration. But still, the zombie walked, or jerk sluggishly forward, as though nothing had happened to it. Obviously, the decaying zombies had no idea what pain was, and they didn't care. The glass didn't have any effect on them, they just seemed to advance even closer to him.

They're so many�

Tim backed off a little towards the inside of the store, through the broken glass door. But something beneath had made itself pierce through Tim's shoes, and into his feet.

"Aaagghhh!"

But even the loudest of his screams had no power to even ward off the slightest pain. Tim fell to the ground, helpless. He stared into those disgusting creatures that slowly advanced towards him, and that was all that he could do for now.

My God�

TWO DAYS AGO�

Charlie popped a morsel of hot burritos into his wide open mouth, his tongue almost protruding through his lips. Afterwards, he took a sip of the soda that lay rumpled on the couch beside him. The flickering light emitted from the television made his face looked like it was radiating with a light blue color. He was watching his favorite TV sitcom, "Someday, We'll be United."

"Mmmm, this shit taste delicious, man," Charlie yelled to his dart-throwing companion. The way he had said it almost made Tim's focus on the bull's eye wander, and he felt his mouth drool instead. Tim had lost his concentration and darted himself towards the couch, spilling soda on Charlie's pants.

"Dammit, Tim!" Charlie looked arrogantly at his wet pants. "Now I look like somebody's piss!"

"Shut the fuck up, dude," Tim's hands had already made it to the burritos. "Gimme that!"

He snatched two huge pieces of the spicy Mexican food and popped it into his mouth. The soft crunch in his mouth had satisfied his drooling.

"Ohhh�YEAH!" Tim led a sigh of satisfaction.

"Keep it down, Tim," Charlie said. "The neighbors have *naughty* minds, if you know what I mean�"

"Yeah, yeah. What's on the tube?" Tim shifted his eyes towards the bright screen.

"It's that Someday shit, man. It's like the greatest show on the whole fuckin planet. It's the reason why I still live, dude." Charlie said, with his hands gesturing, demonstrating how *beautiful* the show was. "Watch� and enjoy!"

"Yeah, right�"

Tim sluggishly got out off the couch and picked up his darts.

"You know, you should do something a lot more entertaining, like playing darts, or something�"

"Shut the FUCK up, Tim. I'm trying to--" The show was cut off for an important message. "What the FUCK�?"

"What?" Tim yelled back and stared at the TV.

"They cut off my show, that's what!"

"Just listen to what they have to say, Charlie. The show would continue, you know�"

"Fuck You!"

"Please stand by for an important message�" The voice from the TV sounded serious, too serious. But were they supposed to be?

The news-music slowly faded away and it was replaced by a nice-looking woman, wearing an elegant looking dress, showing a lot of cleavage. It caught both the guys' attention.

"Woah! Fine looking chick�" Charlie's voice trailed off as his eyes were staring emptily at the beautiful anchorwoman. "If all news bitches looked like her, I'd be a lot aware of the world---"

"Shhh�" Tim hushed Charlie. His eyes seemed very serious. "It's about the U.U.U.C."

"Say what?!"

"Look behind the barcode," Tim said, his eyes still glued to the TV.

Charlie picked up the soda can, whose contents had been spilled earlier. He flipped the can upside down and it revealed a bar code, with four bolded letters-U.U.U.C. Below it was a fine print, too little to be read. Charlie picked up a magnifying glass on the nearby desk and pulled it towards the print.

What terms?

"What terms?!" Charlie's inner voice suddenly broke out.

"That's what I'm trying to find out� now listen to the news."

Charlie gazed at the TV, amazed that he was watching the news.

"The Union of Universal Unity Corporation, or U.U.U.C., has acquired three more major state companies. The telephone company is now owned by the corporation, and so is the water company, and the electric company. People have asked why they have acquired the said companies, and this is what they have to say�"

The beautiful anchorwoman disappeared and in her place was a grouchy-looking, white-haired man. It was the spokesperson of the U.U.U.C.

"The Union of Universal Unity Corporation have but one reason to all your doubts, and that is Unity. Through this corporation's efforts, we will all be one. There will be no one more wealthier than anyone else, and all are equal. Through our efforts, who knows, maybe someday, nobody would buy water, or need them�"

The man gave off a smile, but something in it was phony. It was that sort of smile that tried to get the people to his side, but only, there was something sinister in it. And all of a sudden, the television went out, and so did the lights.

"What the--" Charlie demanded.

"Just as I thought. These U.U.U.C. fuckers have direct control of everything in this state. These assholes know that we're all fools, buying their stuff. We're all fuckin ignorant! A few weeks ago, they bought the huge production companies, and now, THIS!" Tim threw the dart away. "And what next� our LIVES?!!"

"Oh fuck that, Tim. It's only a blackout, I know that, and YOU know that�" Charlie tried to comfort Tim with his giddy procrastination. "It'll come back�"

"Yeah, that's just about it, they bought these things to gain control of our very lives� if I'm not mistaken, within 24 fuckin hours, we'll all be slaves!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Tim? What slaves, what--"

"Look at that fuckin soda can, for crying out loud! The terms are not written on them, but it plainly says that there are terms! GODDAMN FUCKIN TERMS! They don't tell us that because we're all fools! They can do WHATEVER they want with US!"

Tim went straight towards the door and got out. He slammed the door shut.

2 AND A HALF HOURS AGO�

*RING*

The doorbell rang and Tim woke up. He looked at the watch beside him, it was 7:30 in the morning.

"What the fuck? Who could that be at this hour?"

He stood up from his bed and put on his already smelly pants which he wore for three days now. He walked towards the door to see who it was. Without even peeping through the peep hole, he unlocked the door and twisted the door knob.

The sight on the other side of the door was disgusting enough to make his own intestines twist at their own will. It was a half-rotting man, and he looked at Tim with eyes that were slowly bulging out of their sockets.. The smell was so foul, like a decayed pepperoni pizza, but the creature also looked like one. The skin was torn, revealing his cheekbones. There wasn't anymore red blood that was dripping out of the wounds, but it was only covered with a dark, festerry ooze that seemed like burnt plastic.

On his wrist, Tim could notice a brand new watch that had the U.U.U.C. inscribed on the watch's face. Around the watch's wristband were the words:

Tim could take no more of the horror that was barely a feet away from his own face. He screamed so hard, hoping that someone would hear. But all there is was the sticky sound of saliva spurting out of the creature's decayed mouth.

Without hesitation, Tim ran towards the back door, to the fire exit. He made it down towards the alley, and he headed for the store in between the alleys. He knew he could find help there, as the store sold guns. Illegally. But at least the guns weren't branded by that insane corporation.

He reached the store, but it was too late. He saw a huge sign on the glass display that made his heart sank in sorrow.

What was he going to do? Surely, he definitely had no idea himself. Tim was paralyzed by fear. With the littlest of hope stripped from him, he just sat there. But sounds of jerky footsteps had already penetrated his ears. He turned around just to be more hopeless�

He was surrounded by disgusting, rotting, flesh-eating zombies. Flesh-eating. He wasn't so sure about that part.

NOW�

The shard of glass that had punctured his ankle was still there, buried inside. He was so helpless. He was going to be eaten alive by flesh-eating zombies just because he wasn't one of them. But if he WAS one of them, what difference would it make? The rotting creatures were already dead, or they were alive, but they did not know it. Fools. They're all fools. They were fools when they were alive and they have been like this because they were fools.

But Tim had realized something. The terms. The whole fucking TERMS! Yes. This WERE the terms. And this ARE the terms. At least for them.

And the terms did not apply to him, since he did not yield to it before. For one reason, he was happy. He wanted to laugh, laugh because he was still himself. Just laugh to the goddamn situation, laugh maybe for the very last time.

Then one of the creatures suddenly advanced towards him. And he felt something wet when the rotten zombie had touched him. He looked at it and there it was. The pants were still stained with the soda. And attached to the creature's face was the soda can, with the barcode he had once instructed somebody to look at before.

It was Charlie. Poor, neglected Charlie. But it was his fault. He was a fool. And judging from his position now, he still is.

Tim looked into Charlie's eyes for the last time. Eyes? Sorry, I meant eye. His other eye was somewhere else.

And Tim laughed, and laughed and laughed. He knew that it was for the last time. But there was something in it too�

He would die at his own accord, and at any way he wished it, not within the terms of the Corporation, not because he was ignorant, and certainly not because he was a fool. In this case, he wished to die happy, to die laughing. And he did. He was free, and is free.

With his rotting skin against Tim's own, Charlie sank his teeth into Tim's fresh neck, savoring the freshness of his blood. Or was it in Charlie's occupation that made him eat Tim�

Or was is still because of the Terms?

The End

Copyright 2001 by Dominic Sanchez.

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