This was my old flashfic entry for the 2023 Aim to Engage Event that was one of the winners. I moved it here from my other short story book that is now unpublished, because why should I keep this separate lol.

Prompt #8

Aim to Engage 2023

I woke up with a jolt, my pillow soaked in sweat. I looked around and saw that Layla, my girlfriend, wasn't in bed. I noticed the light under the bathroom door and the sound of quiet moaning coming from within.

Layla has been acting strange these last few days. Her random bouts of anger always ended up with destruction, such as flinging a glass cup at the wall so that it shattered into a million pieces on impact. Each time, she has apologized profusely and claimed she has no idea what's going on or why she's been acting the way she has.

At first, I assumed that perhaps it's because she's on her period but that thought was quickly dismissed. For one, we've been dating for nearly three years and never once has she physically directed her mood swings at objects. And two, I would have noticed her bleeding from her vagina when I'm eating her out until her stomach caved in like a sinkhole and her moans echoed throughout the house.

Rolling my neck to relieve some of the sleep-tension, I yawned and walked towards the bathroom. I gently knocked on the door.

"Layla? Babydoll? Are you okay?" I asked. I received no answer except the ongoing low hum of the moans.

Trepidation began to invade my mind, various versions of what's going on skimming through my head.

"Layla? Please answer me!" I pleaded, louder this time. I knocked harder on the door and strained to hear anything else other than the droning moans.

I tried the door knob but it was locked and the only way to unlock it was from the inside. It rattled in my hand as I continued to vigorously twist it while knocking at the door.

"Layla! This isn't funny anymore!" I shouted this time, but the responding sounds didn't change at all.

I began to slam my shoulder into the door, the stinging pain coursing through my upper body on impact, but I ignored it as I didn't let it stop me.

With one final attempt, I rammed into the door and it flung open, hitting the wall with such force that the toiletries on the shelves clattered to the floor.

And the sight that greeted me was like one of my worst nightmares from hell.

Drops of blood were splattered on the floor and a bloody handprint was imprinted on the bathroom mirror. The shower curtains were torn from the shower rod and lay scattered on the ground, more blood staining the beige cotton material.

And standing in the midst of all the mess was Layla, her back turned and her head drooped downwards. Her formerly gorgeous red hair was messy and half of it was noticeably pulled out, leaving behind bald patches of scalp. That's when I noticed the strands of red hair strewn all around her. This time, the low moans sent chills up my spine as my heart pounded against my ribs, the echoing sound reaching my ears as I tried to not panic.

"L-Layla?" I softly stammered, taking one small step closer to her, "It's me. Bailey. Your girlfriend."

My heart almost stilled as Layle slowly lifted her head and turned towards me. And that's when I saw it. The lifeless glazed gray eyes. The unmistakable red crack that split through her right cheek. The cracked blue lips.

My beloved girlfriend has become one of them.

Before I could react, Layla lunged at me with lightning speed, grabbing my shoulders as her weight and force sent me flying backwards into the bedroom. We both crashed on the floor as she snapped her teeth an inch away from my neck, her low moans replaced with furious growling of hunger as I struggled out of her iron grip on my body.

My gun. Where's my gun? I thought, and saw my Smith & Wesson 9mm on the dresser. With a sudden rush of adrenaline, I kicked the creature that was no longer Layla off me. The force dazed it for a split second, which I used to scramble to my feet and rush to the dresser to snatch the gun.

As soon as I turned the safety off, the monster rushed at me and slammed me into the wall, the back of my head hitting the concrete. My vision blurred for a few seconds as the searing pain tore through my mind, but I fought through it as I held back the monster with my arm tucked under its chin so it couldn't bite me.

And there I was, about to make the worst decision of my life. Tears streamed down my face in torrents as I looked into the face I loved. Layla's beautiful oceanic blue eyes, her radiant smile, her adorable laugh that stole my heart all those years ago were gone forever. The only thing that was staring back at me was a growling monster with zero life in it.

They couldn't find a cure for this so-called virus. And I knew they never would. You can't bring back a mindless zombie.

I loved Layla. She was my heart, my soul, my existence. She was the very air that I needed to sustain me. And I would not let her suffer like this. If I truly cared about her, the best thing I could do was give her peace.

I choked on my tears as I took one last look at the monster before me, the sound of its teeth resounding through my dulling mind.

"I love you, Layla." I whispered as I pointed the barrel of my gun to her head.

I closed my eyes as I pulled the trigger, the sound echoing through the house and my nightmare as the growls stopped and silence overtook my mind.

Word Count: 969 words