He had been at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park when things went horribly wrong. People started screaming, running everywhere, all to get away from those things that looked like people but smelled like death. Things that only wanted to tear you to pieces and then eat those pieces. Pens were broken both into and out of in the chaos caused by those things, doors broken, fences knocked flat, gates torn asunder.

He was scared out of his mind by the sheer horror of it all. The dead things attacking anything living, both people and animals running, flying, climbing, anything to get away. He heard the trumpet of one of the big matriarch elephants as it charged a mass of the things defending its herd. He heard the crash into the fence, saw bodies go flying for yards through the air, heard the pained trumpeting bugle as the huge herd leader went down and still tried to fight as it was being feasted on alive.

He had never seen or heard anything like that in his whole life and had done the same thing everyone else that witnessed the scene did, he had run. He ran and left all the others he had been with behind as he heard some of them torn apart, their screams of pain mingled with the moaning horrific sounds those dead-but-not-dead things made.

He had run through a broken open gate and headed off into the park-like setting the city maintained around the zoo. He watched warily as suddenly from behind him burst three of the lions from the zoo mingled in with five zebra and a single giraffe, all of them seemed beyond caring that they were running together as a strange herd. They all seemed only concerned with running as fast as they could from the terror of the moment, maybe they thought even their mixed company was safer than what they were running from. He hoped the lions would attack one of the zebra instead of him, if they suddenly got the urge. They all veered off to his left as they went past him and he just kept running himself.

The parking lot was not an option as it swarmed with undead, all of them seemed hell bent on getting to the feast in the zoo he had just run from. The screams of the dying implied there was great eating to be had inside the zoo. He headed towards the trees and ball fields of the park, away from the parking lot, main gate, and judging from the noise he could still hear, the apparent feeding frenzy in that area.

He had run blindly, not caring where he was headed to in his haste to leave. Two hours later he found himself in a suburban neighborhood he had never been in before. Passing houses whose occupants only watched from behind curtains that twitched slightly as he went by. He was exhausted, he was ravenously thirsty, and as he passed one home he heard water splashing. He altered his route to see what it was and if he could drink from it, he found a hose where someone had been watering plants. He saw nobody there now, but saw and smelled a bright wash of blood a few feet from where the hose had come to rest, still gushing water down the lawn into the street. His thirst overrode his caution, he slowly made his way to the hose to get a drink but remained extremely vigilant for any signs of the undead.

He was reveling in the taste of the cool water, it was so cold and refreshing, he took the largest swallows he could to alleviate his thirst. Out of nowhere something grabbed his foot from behind. It startled him to no end as it tried to bite through the tough leather he was wearing. It was over half eaten and could not maintain any leverage, it had crawled from under the car in the driveway to get to him. Scared, he snatched his foot away from the thing that had him. He then angrily raised his foot and repeatedly stomped its head in. He ran again when he saw more of them come from around the car heading to him and the noise he had made. These things were terrifying, and he would readily admit he was easily startled.

He ran again for what seemed to him like forever. Avoiding all other living or undead things in his path. Once a car came screeching around a corner of the road up ahead and saw him running in the middle of the road as fast as he could go. He saw the drivers eyes get as wide as dinner plates as he swerved to avoid hitting and possibly killing him. He heard the car crash into another car on the side of the street behind him but he just kept running. He never even looked back to see what happened, never mind stopping, he was that spooked by everything going on.

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He cut through a yard when the road was blocked by a car on fire. He was halfway through the backyard when he saw a garden with tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, all kinds of fresh produce growing. He slowed to a walk, nervously looking around, listening, straining to sense any of the undead, or any others, nearby. After all, he did see those lions earlier, who knew what else was out here? But he was very hungry and tired, he needed to eat and rest or there was no way he would be able to keep this up. He slowly made his way to the garden, and started to eat some tomatoes.

He awoke with a start when he heard a bang in the distance. It could have been a gunshot, it could have been a car hitting something, it could be a tree branch breaking for all he knew. All he knew was that he had fallen asleep right there in the middle of the garden. Other than the noise, nothing seemed amiss. He must have slept for hours, it had been near dusk when he stopped and was just after dawn now. He felt thirsty and hungry again so he ate some more tomatoes, both for the food and the juice in them. The whole time keeping his eyes and ears open for any indication danger might be nearby. He wished he knew where the others he was with at the zoo were, but he had always been a loner and if he was alone for now that was fine, he thought. He relieved himself on the edge of the garden and decided to move on.

Walking through backyards instead of the middle of the road seemed to put him more at ease. Plus there was more water available, stopping to drink from whatever was there. Hunger could be dealt with, but when you were thirsty you needed to get water soon, lack of water would kill you.

He made his way aimlessly, no specific plan or place to go. He didn't know what to do in this type situation, he had never come across anything like this ever.

A dog challenged him in its yard once, he stomped one foot to attempt to shoo it away quietly. It did not come near him, it was a small dog, not very aggressive but more of a loudmouth type. It would not shut up, so he left quickly and headed away before it alerted anything in the area a free lunch was wandering around. If the dog wanted to be eaten that was its problem, not his.

The suburban area was giving way to more and more of an urban type landscape. He did not like this at all, he wished he was back in the park where things seemed a lot less dangerous. He was forced back into the street by heavy duty fences with razor wire. He did not like being this exposed at all.

Lots of cars and smelly bodies were everywhere now. He was headed deeper into the city looking for a safer place to be. There was no food or water to be had, and he would be damned if he was going into any of these buildings looking for it.

He was lost, disoriented, tired, hungry, thirsty, and getting more than a little irritated with all of this. That was when he heard them. Coming up the street in front of him. A large herd of those things. He turned in a panic, only to see more of them behind him. He had nowhere to go except forward or back. Through them. He had had enough of this shit. He heard the ones from the first larger group moaning loudly when they saw him before the second smaller group.

So be it.

He turned back towards the first group, and he roared a challenge. If he was going to die he would do it on his terms.

They moaned back an awful counterpoint to his yell and they surged forward.

Mad as hell, he charged. He would show them. He would make an accounting of himself.

In a window on the third story of a typical apartment building, two sets of ears had heard first the primal roar, and then the answering moans. The curtains opened. And two sets of eyes silently watched the huge white rhino charge into the undead scattering them like bowling pins.

"Did you see THAT mommy?!?!?" Said a timid five year old voice.

"Yes I did baby."

"Is he going to beat all the monsters mommy?"

"Let's hope so."

Then they both softly started cheering for the rhino, as the fight raged on in the street below.