David was crouched, holding a hand up. A signal for Marcus to stay put and stay quiet. He slowly took off his pack, unzipping it slowly to minimize noise. He kept his gaze fixed on the figure in the distance as he carefully lifted his hatchet from his bag.

It was just sitting there, hunched over on the pavement. David had witnessed people fall prey to this sort of thing in the past and he wasn’t about to endanger himself or his ally by leaving it be. He gripped the hatchet with both hands, leaving the unzipped bag on the ground with Marcus. As David creeped toward the walker, with each painstaking step his knuckles grew whiter. 

It had a distinct smell. David knew that stench, an oder that only emitted from the body of a walking corpse. He had become so familiar with that smell, he was acquainted with it. It always made his heart race, even with all the times he had encountered it. That scent had taken so much from him. 

It was only a few feet away now. David seemed to be walking for an eternity, his pace was only slowing as he snuck toward the undead creep. He could hear nothing but the creature’s breathing. It was erratic, distressed. The hefty heaves only intensified David’s senses and focus. 

He was upon it now, just a few more steps until he’d drive his hatchet into its skull. David lifted his weapon, prepared to bring it down onto the top of the walker’s head. It hadn’t moved much besides the occasional twitch or shift. It was hunched over on that pavement for the duration of David's approach. David took what seemed like his last step. Before making contact with the ground, his foot landed on a twig. It seemed to all happen in slow motion. The snap, the snap that caused David’s heart to cease beating. The snap that made the creature’s breathing stop. The snap that caused it to whip its head around and stare into the eyes of its terrified assaulter. 

It was not a lurker, it was a man.