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7 Days to Die Backstory


balacaliss

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7 Days to Die Much of the following story was inspired by the game 7 Days to Die which has been in Alpha 9.1 for about a week. I wanted to give the game world a little bit of a back story as well as potential plot. I make references to items and buildings that are not found within the game. Some are suggestions to be added into the game, others are for story-telling purposes. I’ve also referenced certain items, concepts, and names of locations currently in the game. This sarcastically pokes fun at these as well as pays homage to them. I truly enjoy what The Fun Pimps are building and I look forward to many good things from them. I am not a professional writer and neither is the character telling the story. With all that said, I hope you enjoy my 7 Days to Die short story. (Sorry for the formatting, I copied this straight from Word.) Prolog These pages were written 30 years ago, shortly after the “Beginning of the End.” Hope was scarce. Resources were even scarcer. Today, although we do not have the same luxuries our ancestors had, we enjoy comfortable lives thanks to the bravery of the men and women depicted in this story. Even after 30 years, copies of this story are still shared among our citizens. Many legends have surfaced as to how these pages came to us. Some say it was delivered by a very determined zombie. Other say the man who wrote these pages hand delivered them to President Daniels himself. Still others say they were recovered in the rubble of an old hospital. Because the identity of the author was never disclosed, he may still live among us, living out his life here in New Haven. While not a jewel in literary history, having this first-hand account of mission that changed everything is an amazing treasure for us. Day 1 I found this paper in a desk today. It’s late and I should be sleeping, but if you could hear the scratching and moaning outside, you wouldn’t be able to sleep either. It has been a long day and if I don’t make it through the night, I should at least leave some sort of record of what I’ve done. Maybe another will come along one day. If so, I hope these pages will help him or her avoid the mistakes I’ve made today. I suppose I should start at the beginning… the very beginning. If nobody documents history, it will be lost forever and people need to know what happened. It was once said that if the past is ignored, then it is destined to be repeated. This is one catastrophe that, if the human race pulls through, I hope it never has to repeat. I remember seeing the first news reports. I wouldn’t call myself a conspiracy theorist, but I’ve always mentally prepared for the worst. News of an Ebola outbreak, a standoff with another nuclear world power, or even the next flu strain would send me through several “what if” scenarios in my head. I always tried to picture what it would be like if the situation got wildly out of hand. This is what saved my life. I was prepared for what was to come. It was a breakthrough of epic proportions. A “new” medical company, NewGen had found a way to prolong life indefinitely. I say new because I had never heard of it, but it was probably a subsidiary of some large mega corporation. Anyway, from what I understand, the discovery involved injecting RNA into healthy cells which caused them to become stem cells. I’m sorry… I have to remember that by the time anyone reads this, RNA and stem cells will have probably been forgotten… Anyway, these cells would rejuvenate the body and basically reverse aging. By being able to create stem cells in a living host rather than harvesting and implanting them into a person’s body was a great accomplishment. It would make stem cell treatment cheaper and more available to the general public. Due to special interest groups, probably most notably, AARP, it was rapidly pushed through government red tape and safety protocols. Human trials started after only 8 months. Unfortunately, or for me anyways very fortunately, only the super wealthy could afford the first few treatments. I was only 32 at the time, so I was in no hurry to get in line, but the thought of being young forever really excited me. Now I’m 34 and thankful I was not a privileged son. All over the world these injections were given to the top bidders and famous athletes. No longer would a Yankee pitcher be benched for a year while he was recovering from rotator cuff surgery. Healing times, in theory, would be only fractions of what they used to be. I used to pitch a little in high school but it was murder on the shoulder. If this treatment had been around when I was a kid, I’d probably be pitching in the Major Leagues myself… assuming it had worked as expected. Wow, I am really getting off topic. Haha! At least you can tell I’m not a professional writer or anything. I was actually nobody before all this. Sure I had a job, but it wasn’t like I was the best in my field or in some career that would have prepared me for what I’ve faced today. Anyway, back to the story… It was just under a year when all the trouble started. It was kept quiet at first. Elite socialites, movie stars, and of course my professional sports players all started having mental breakdowns. Many of the reports said the symptoms started like depression. They would be quiet and keep to themselves. They wouldn’t have the energy or motivation to do anything. But then out of nowhere, they would just start attacking people in a fit of rage. They even bit people. At this point, I thought, here comes the zombie apocalypse. Yeah, I called it! Not something to be proud of really… By this time, hundreds of thousands had already received these injections. The company was so confident in their product, that they offered a 200-year loan so more people could afford to get it. There were too many people to track down and quarantine. They were spread from one side of the globe to the other. And what’s worse, before symptoms began to show, they were already infecting others through bodily fluids. Yes, spouses, dentists, physical trainers, or anyone that came in contact with “the infected” (which is what we began to call them) were in fact contracting the disease as well. Before long, symptoms were appearing in millions of people. This was not made public, but the first few of the infected were showing very strange changes. Their minds were already gone, but their bodies had begun rejecting their own organs. Eventually, “death” occurred. It was later explained to me that the bodies weren’t really dead. They were dormant. The heart stopped and the brain had no activity. On a cellular level, the RNA… let’s just call it a virus because that is how it was delivered originally… was adapting the body to exist without the need for oxygen. It was also adapting it to survive prolonged periods of time without food and water. This is the price paid for immortality. And here I thought it was $2.5 million. The cellular growth was astounding. After only a week, activity in the brain began to ignite and the “dead” began to rise. Again, this was withheld from the public, but rumors travelled. There were the skeptics that denied the existence of the walking dead and the delusional that believe that these people can be cured. Meanwhile the U.S. government and many others had begun passing laws to require mandatory blood testing for the infection. Despite the scrambling for tests and more health volunteers to address the crisis, it was too late. It wasn’t long before authorization was given to evacuate cities so they could be cleansed. The U.S. elected to use fuel air bombs and the M.O.A.B. to level cities. Russia and China elected to go nuclear. We are still dealing with the fallout from that decision over here on the other side of the world. So if you are ever wondering why some parts of the ground glows at night, you have your answer. Despite cities being leveled, the infected continued to ravage the world. In a last-ditch effort to maintain order, the government issued a broadcast across all radio stations, TV channels, and mobile phones for survivors to meet at evacuation points. From there, they would be tested, and if they were not infected, they would be shuttled to a safe zone. Where in the world would be safe from a zombie infestation you may ask? Well, chances are you came from there. The massive naval fleet that once patrolled the oceans now house tens of thousands of survivors. Conditions are cramped, unsanitary, and tense. It was a quick but temporary solution. A fleet that size requires an immense infrastructure to maintain. Thank God for offshore drilling. But that was only part of the problem. Food, fresh water, and medical supplies were rationed so they could stretch out and last for a few months. While we civilians lived in squalor, the military had their own problems. They were sending out teams to clean out infected areas, gather supplies, and scout out for a more permanent home. Needless to say, they were stretched very thin. Many teams came back unsuccessful, but more concerning is that several never came back at all. The military began to ask civilians for volunteers to run dangerous missions.
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That is where I come in. Yes, I’m a volunteer. Yes, looking back, I had it great on that tin can of a boat. Damn me and my boredom. I couldn’t sit still and wait for something to happen. I needed to get involved and keep busy. Sure I could have done some necessary but mundane task on the ship. But I decided to open my big mouth and volunteer for a real mission. I was taken to a briefing room where a man who identified himself as General Daniels addressed us. Our task was fairly simple, but extremely dangerous. We were to be dropped into Navezgane, where it was believed that NewGen had a facility that was still standing. Daniels explained that they hoped that there would be detailed information about the RNA… err virus they had created. With that information, they believed they could come up with some sort of vaccine or even a biological weapon that would only affect the infected. It was a long shot, but not one they were willing to pass up. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] Even if the facility was still standing, it may not remain that way for long. The zombies had developed inhuman strength and were destroying entire buildings with their bare hands. Sure they would break bones in the process or cut themselves up pretty good, but hey, they don’t feel it. In our briefing we were told after the 7-day change, the infected can be shot multiple times, but only a shot in the head will put them down for good. Did I mention zombie apocalypse? I’ve personally seen at least 40 zombie movies. Still, knowing they could bust up concrete and brick with their bare hands is… alarming… I can’t express the terror I feel at this moment. Right now there are at least two dozen of them out there. If I move the wrong way and make a floorboard creek, they get all riled up. I would make a run for it, but I found something out today that was not in my briefing… at night, these things run as fast as any healthy human would. Since they don’t need to breathe, there is no way I could “out run” them. I’d be out of breath before the sun came up. No, my best bet is to hold up here in this attic and keep silent. So after our briefing and a little training on how to recognize and extract the data from the NewGen computers, we were handed these tiny flash drives and loaded up in a transport plane which took us to a military base about 200 miles from Navezgane. The base looked pretty secure. I honestly wished I could have stayed there to defend it and let the trained soldiers go on this suicide mission. They had 4 Cessnas lined up to air drop us into the infected zone. We were taken over to the planes and were fitted with tracking beacons and parachutes. Oh, and I love the instructions they gave me for opening the chute: “Pull and pray.” [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] The plan was that each plane would make 4 passes over the drop zone. Each time one of us would drop out and land near the facility. It was hoped that this would help spread out the zombies and give at least one of us a chance to get to the data. Yes, there were 16 of us and we were all to be on our own down there. However, all was not lost! We weren’t going down empty handed. We had some food rations, water, bandages, and enough firepower to level a building. We also had radios so we could stay in contact with each other. These supply crates would be dropped after we’ve touched down. I was first on the plane so I was the last to drop. That was fine with me. I figured the first few would probably attract most of the zombies away from the facility and then I would be the hero that slipped in and got what we came for. That was the plan in my head anyway. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan. When do they ever though, right? Volunteer #1, #2, and #3 (I never got to know their names because they were in the other 3 planes) touched down near the facility and were quickly swarmed. When we circled around to make the 2nd pass, they were already gone. Volunteer #4 from our plane, Shaun was his name, landed a little further out and had missed most of the horde. It looked like he was moving away from the facility when Melissa was ready to make her jump. Before she did, she was stopped by the flight crew. They decided to drop her a little further out from the facility where there were fewer zombies. It looked like the crews from the other planes were doing the same. Melissa’s drop looked good. She landed in a field of rubble and cleanly got away from her chute and the few zombies in the area. Next it was DeMarcus’ turn. He landed in a wooded area outside the city, but seemed like he was ok too. My turn was coming up next. I was all set to drop, but of course, with my luck, something went wrong. I heard the co-pilot say something about engine failure. The pilot said to jump now and they would try to crash land. I wasn’t going to argue or ask him to repeat himself. I jumped before he was done with the sentence. My drop was successful, obviously, but on the way down I saw the small plane crash into a lake a few miles away. When I touched down, I got clear of my chute and tried to get a sense of direction. Sure we were also given these nifty compasses, but without any idea of where I landed, it wasn’t going to do me any good. I probably should have figured out which direction town was when I was on my way down, but I didn’t think of that until I hit the dirt. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] Once I had a general direction figured out, I started walking towards the where I thought the city was. It was not long before I started hearing the sounds of the infected nearby. I realized I was defenseless. I looked around me for anything I could find to use to protect myself. I managed to collect a few sticks and stones. My pitching days have long been over, but if I had to throw rocks I would. Then I had another idea. I gathered some tall grass and weaved them into small pieces of rope. This process took a few minutes, but I was not going to get surrounded by a horde and have no way to fight my way out. With a sturdy stick, the plant fiber rope, and a good sized stone, I made a stone axe. It wasn’t sharp but blunt objects work just fine against a zombie skull. I put the extra sticks and stones in my backpack in case I needed them later and continued on. Survival was the first thing on my mind. Realistically, to mount a rescue, it would take hours to organize. There was is 1 rescue copter standing by. I suppose they assumed not many of us would make it. That helicopter wouldn’t even be dispatched until the data has been recovered. I came to the conclusion that I am on my own. It may be days before I’m rescued, it may be never. I set a goal: stay alive for 7 days. To meet this goal, I would need food, water, shelter, and weapons. Water is pretty easy. There are plenty of rivers and lakes in the area. It shouldn’t be too hard to find one. I just need to be sure to boil the water first. I don’t want to come all this way and then die due to dysentery or become one of the infected through drinking tainted water. Food will be a little more challenging. It’s not like food grows on trees or anything. I’ll have to check houses for any canned goods. If I were more woodsy, I‘d make a bow and some arrows and hunt, but I’ve never done anything like that before. While I’m checking houses, I should keep an eye out for a good place to hold up for the night. As for weapons, I’m hoping I get lucky along the way. Eventually, I’d like to make it to the plane crash and see if I can get to any of the supply crates inside. Hopefully, there is still something there that I can salvage. That was my agenda for the remainder of the day. It was already noon and I had been up since 5am. Daylight was ticking away and I was already tired. There was a lot of ground to cover and from the sounds of things, the infected were not far. While walking through the forest, I couldn’t help but notice the unusual amount of cotton and yellow flowers growing all over the place. I grabbed a few of the flowers because I believed it was goldenrod and if so, it makes a nice tea. I passed on picking cotton. What was I going to do with that? Take the time to spin it into cloth and make armor or a sleeping bag out of it? Yeah right! There was an abundance of stones lying about which I collected so I could make a campfire later. I also chopped up some small pieces of wood with my handy stone axe and threw them in my backpack. I continued walking for what seemed like forever. I looked at my watch. It was only 1:30pm. But that is when I came across my first zombie. It was alone roaming the forest. It was time to test my mettle. If I couldn’t deal with one zombie, what would I do against 5 or 50? I realized that eventually I would be cornered and would need to fight so I decided to take a few practice swings. She was wearing a red dress, like she was going to go out on the town to a fancy dinner and then go ballroom dancing. I was actually enthralled by this infected lady. I mean she looked hot in that dress. I’m sure she had to have had work done on her breasts because they were outstanding. And now I sit here realizing just how lonely it is out here. This solitary life isn’t for me. I’ve got to find the others. Maybe if I survive the night I will go looking for them tomorrow.
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Anyway, back to my encounter. She came in close and I took a swing at her head. Ok, I am not the most coordinated person, but I figure it shouldn’t be hard to actually hit a zombie in the head. Well I was wrong. Her weight shifted to her right and I ended up coming down on her left shoulder. The impact briefly interrupted her advance, but she quickly recovered. She tried to take a swing at me and I backed away. Could she infect me with a scratch? I wasn’t going to try to find out. I stepped in and swung the axe again. This time I connected and it hit her right between the eyes. She was a little dazed, but still coming. I thought to myself, “WTF? All it takes is a little bash to the head to kill a zombie in the movies.” Then I realized of course it did. They were freaking movies! A skull is pretty hard and it takes a lot to get through. I may have cracked her skull a little but her brain was probably still mostly intact. So with a deep breath, I swung with all my might and hit her in the same spot again. This time she dropped like a sack of potatoes. I began to… umm… search her. She was carrying very little on her body. Her left hand had a nice diamond ring on it. Jewelry is useless in a survival situation, but that diamond may be useful later, so I grabbed it and threw it in my pants pocket. I also tore off a small fragment of cloth from her dress. I could use it as a bandage if I get cut or perhaps use it as a rag to clean up with. At that moment in time, I felt like both a pack rat and a serial killer collecting a trophy. But I shook off the feeling and continued on. It was not long until I came across a purse. It was the same color as the infected lady’s dress so I had assumed it was hers. I knelt down and started to go through it. Looks like she had some pills, a lighter, some cigarettes, and… a gun? Thank you, under-appreciated, disgruntled, vengeful housewife! At least that’s what I told myself at the time. Looking back, sure she could have just had the gun as a precaution because of everything that was on the news. I passed on the cigarettes and grabbed the rest. At this point I was extremely confident. A gun makes you God in a zombie apocalypse. To hell with this stone axe, I thought. I did keep it though (again because I’m a pack rat apparently). I figured it may still come in handy as a tool. I examined the gun. It was a 9mm and it looked like it had a full clip. At most, I had 12 shots. This was still enough to make me feel like I had this mission in the bag. I kept going until I came to a road. It ran north and south but I was pretty certain the city was to the northeast. At that point, I weighed my options. I could stay on the road and look for houses, vehicles, and supplies, or I could stay in the wilderness and have a much lower chance of running into more zombies. I decided to stick to the road and headed north. In the distance I saw a few cars in the middle of an intersection. It looks like it was a car crash. I saw movement near it, but couldn’t quite make out what it was. It didn’t look like a zombie, so I proceeded casually. As I neared the crash, I could make out that the moving figures were dogs. I assumed they were feral but I had no idea they were going to be so vicious. The moment one saw me it came charging in at me. It barked and snarled. I decided to pull out the stone axe. I was not going to waste my bullets on a dog. I was saving those for zombies! As I did, I looked up and got a clear look at the rotting flesh falling off the dog’s body. That’s when I started to panic. Freaking zombie dogs? Somehow the virus had begun infecting other species. At that moment I didn’t have time to consider the repercussions of this change in the virus, but now that I have time to consider it, it’s really scary to think about. If the virus spreads to the food supply, deer, cows, rabbits, fish, and perhaps even plants… the human race is doomed. Oh yea, back to the dog. So the dog was rushing me full speed. I focused on my days back when I used to play baseball and concentrated on timing my swing. I chopped the axe down on the dog’s head. Blood and brains splattered all over. Gross. The commotion attracted the other two dogs. I switched to my gun. Zombies I can outrun. Dogs are another story. I took aim and pulled the trigger. No shot fired. Damn safety. So I flicked that off and tried again. The first dog dropped. The second kept charging as if nothing happened. The sound of the gunshot didn’t even make the dog flinch. It was almost right on top of my before I could line up the shot and fire again. I hit it but it didn’t die. I missed the head. That’s when I fired about 6 more times. Another dog down. I sighed heavily in relief. I didn’t bother checking the dogs. Sure there was some good hide I could skin off them, but there’s another thing I’ve never done before and didn’t know how to do. Plus turning hide into leather is a time consuming process and I was running out of time. Nightfall was only an hour or so away. I was getting hungry and thirsty too. I had already used up my rations along the way. That was the least of my troubles apparently. All that gunfire had attracted the attention of every zombie within a mile of me. I noticed a zombie coming out of the woods when I was going through the first car looking for useful supplies. It seemed like no big deal. When I moved onto the second car, I saw a few more, coming from all directions. I grabbed what I could from the car and continued up the road. Eventually, they lost sight of me and gave up pursuit. Noise attracts them. I have to remember that next time I go firing off my gun. I may even be able to use this as a diversionary tactic when I get to the facility. I never really gave it much thought, but light and smell may also attract them. I’ll have to consider this. There is a street light on outside which could be the reason they are gathered here tonight. This is a good sign though. It means that there is still power to this area. Perhaps the NewGen facility still has power. If not, I’ll need to find a portable generator and some fuel. I guess I will add that to my list of things to look for. Anyway, just before dark, I came across three houses on the road. There were some zombies wondering around. I snuck to the back of this house and made my way inside. I found myself exactly where I wanted to be, in the kitchen. I immediately started going through the cupboards looking for food and drink. I got lucky; there was plenty of canned food in the cupboards and a few bottles of water in the fridge. Some of the rooms were boarded up. I knocked the boards down so I could move from the kitchen to the living room. What I didn’t realize is that there was a festering corpse on the other side of those boards. It wasn’t just a corpse; it was a fully aware zombie that had taken notice of my chopping at those boards. I pulled down the last board and before I knew it, he was on top of me. He was a strong well-toned guy back when he was alive. He came running at full speed towards me. This shocked me as I had no idea these creatures could move like that. My handy axe dropped him after three powerful bashes to his forehead. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] He did manage to hit me pretty hard during the melee. That’s going to leave a bruise. I think I can see it forming already as I write this. His stained wife-beater and jean shorts told me he was once a classy individual. If he is the one that lived here, I’m sure I’ll find some guns in this house. I will do some searching in the morning. The sun had set and I could barely see, so I moved on to the rooms upstairs. There was a bed, but the room was not secure enough for me to comfortably sleep in it. There was a desk which is where I got the paper for writing all this down and a filing cabinet but there was nothing useful in there. Then I found a latter going up to the attic. Perfect. I looked through some dresser drawers and found some clothes, which I used to make torches for light. Then I climbed into the attic and that’s where I’ve been all night. I made a small makeshift campfire using the stones and wood I collected earlier today and warmed up my food. Then I started writing this. It’s about 3am now and quiet outside. I think I can get some sleep.
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Day 2 It wasn’t comfortable, but I fell asleep on the attic floor. I had made a makeshift sleeping bag from some sheets and blankets I found downstairs. Still, this is no way to live. Give me back my cot on that Navy destroyer I was on. Anyway, I guess I should write about what happened today. Yes, I survived another day. I’ve learned from my mistakes. Mistake number one: dogs and possibly other animals can be infected, so do not assume they are safe to be around. Mistake number two: guns or any sound will attract zombies, so keep quiet. Mistake number three: zombies run at night, so keep away from them and avoid them at all costs at night. Of course I’ve made all new mistakes today… So the day started great. I made my way downstairs and checked the rest of the house. In the basement there was a gun safe. (See, I knew it!) I stocked up on 9mm ammo and grabbed a shotgun. There were a few boxes of shells in there so I was set if I wanted to take on a two or three dozen zombies. I also grabbed another fully loaded 9mm handgun. Who has the time to reload in the heat of battle, right? Mistake number four: check the safety on your weapons. Yeah, forgot about that, so I added it here. I also grabbed a hunting knife and a skinning knife. I’ve seen a lot of deer yesterday and if I’m considering long-term survival out here, I’m going to run out of canned goods eventually. One day, I’ll have to make clothing too. I can’t rely on this flannel shirt, and leather vest, and these dirty jeans forever. I realize that I’m looking much further into the future, beyond my 7-day goal, but that’s just how I think. I ventured out the front door of the house I was staying in. There were seven zombies in the street and more lurking around nearby. The rest of them from last night seemed to have wondered off. It was tiring but my trusty stone axe dispatched them all. I did see firsthand the might of these creatures though. One of them was in the house across the street but couldn’t open the door. It punched and punched until the door shattered. Then it smashed down one of the posts of the front porch before it jumped down and started coming at me. I’m starting to think the hit I took last night was a glancing blow… a love tap in comparison to what these things are fully capable of. I went through the rest of the other houses. I found some supplies which will be most useful. In a kid’s room I found a baseball bat. Oh yeah, time for some home runs! In the garage, I found a claw hammer, a toolbelt, and some other basic tools that will help me reinforce the next place I stay in. I don’t know if it will do any good, but a little reinforcement is better than nothing I suppose. Also I found a woodcutting axe in the back yard of one of the houses, so I can collect firewood. If I have to build my own shelter, I at least have the tools to get started now. Honestly, I was a locksmith, not a carpenter, but I’ll do whatever I have to so I can survive. In the final house I found a working computer that wasn’t password protected. Not only did the house still have power, but it still had internet connection so I quickly pulled up some maps of the area. I figured the plane crash was about 4.2 miles to the Northwest. The NewGen facility was about 2.5 miles to the North / Northeast. I sketched out a rough map with several points of interest between the small cluster of houses I’ve found, the crash, and the NewGen facility. If I need to find shelter, more supplies, or double-back to lose a horde, I have some landmarks to go by. In a side note, I also checked out the flowers I found. I was right. The flowers are goldenrod, so I decided I will be making some tea tonight when I make camp. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] If the pilots had survived the crash, they were on their own. I decided that I needed to go to the NewGen facility. At the very least, I needed to see what the situation was like there and come up with a plan on getting in there without being noticed. In hindsight, I think it’s absurd how far ahead I try to plan. No matter how much I tell myself this, it doesn’t sink in: Nothing goes according to plan! I followed the road about a quarter mile north. I was heading for a junction about another ¾ of a mile up the road. From there I was going to cut east and head into the city. However as I came to the top of a hill I saw what looked like hundreds of infected moving across the road to the west. I ducked down, hoping to avoid detection. I watched as they marched together almost with purpose. I looked at my map. If the horde had been marching in a straight line, they came from an area just south of the NewGen facility. There was no doubt they were lured that way by one of my fellow volunteers. What was not certain was if the horde was still in pursuit or if they were given the slip. Sorry if I don’t seem very coherent tonight. I think the Zomproxin is kicking in. I’m not hurting anymore, but I fear I’m not going to be at my best if I need to defend this place. I will explain what happened later. So I decided to move into the woods and go east. I grabbed some more stones and goldenrod flowers. I kept my distance from the stream of undead but they were always in my sight. I took frequent breaks as my backpack was overloaded with my survival gear and I wasn’t used to the extra weight. I needed to keep my energy high in case I had to fight or run. Once the tail end of the horde had moved off to the west, I started going north again. I would eventually reach a road and from there I got my bearings again. I came out of the forest right next to a gas station. The building was pretty beat up and there were bodies all about, but there were no signs of life. I peeked in through one of the holes in the wall to see if anyone or anything was moving inside. It was then that I had almost lost my head. I had almost no time to react to the movement out of the corner of my eye. I pulled back a little and saw a crowbar fly by the opening I stuck my head through. Seconds later, a face was looking out the hole. It was DeMarcus. “Thank God you’re ok, man,” I said to him. “Yeah, sorry about that,” he said. “I thought you were one of those things.” He told me there was an opening around back that I could get in through. So I walked around the building and met him inside. “Have you been here all night?” I asked. “Yeah. Right after I landed I could see a crowd of them coming towards me. I ran and came up to a house, but those things started bashing through the walls. They weren’t ♥♥♥♥ting us when they said they got stronger when they reanimated. I went out the back but some of them saw me. All the noise they were making attracted even more. So I ran down the road and found this place. I lost those ones but I had to deal with a bunch of them here. Then I got inside and started looking around.” [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] I asked if he had seen the huge horde go by. He said he did and it looked like some of them were the ones that were following him from the house. He asked me about the supply drops and I told him of how our plane went down in the lake. I wasn’t sure about the others. I saw the hope drain from his face. I gave him one of my 9mms and a box of rounds. “Don’t use this unless you have to. I made that mistake and before I knew it, I had them coming at me from all directions.” “That was you shooting yesterday?” he asked. “I heard that from here.” I explained that I was hoping to use some sort of diversion like that to clear the zombies out of the area of the facility so I could slip in. With two of us, that plan would be much easier to execute if he was willing. However, I could see he was not eager to be bait. Eventually the conversation turned to what he had found at the gas station. He showed me he had found a safe, but couldn’t open it. After a few minutes of trying, I was able to pick the lock. It was a cheap safe with a cheap lock. It was nothing a humble locksmith couldn’t handle. Inside we found another handgun which DeMarcus kept. There were also a few old magazines, but nothing useful. This was not the time to be admiring the female form. DeMarcus took them anyways. We considered filling up a few gas cans in case we came across a car that would run, but decided the added weight wasn’t going to be worth it. I did make a Molotov cocktail with a glass jar we found on a shelf, a rag, and some of the gasoline. I don’t know why I did, but since I made it the urge to ignite and throw it was overwhelmingly tempting. We left the gas station and started heading towards the facility. When we came to the outskirts of the small city, we could see the sheer amount of damage that had been done to it by heavy bombing. Many buildings were nothing more than gravel and iron girders. Of others, all that remained were a few piles of bricks. But we could see that destruction was not total. Some buildings were still mostly intact. Although we could not see the facility, it was located in a cluster of buildings that were still standing so there was a good chance it too was fine. With no binoculars or rifles with scopes, all we could do is squint to see if there were any infected nearby. We didn’t see any, but that didn’t stop us from approaching cautiously. Just as we were entering the debris field, a familiar and welcomed noise could be heard in the distance. At the same time, the thought of this horrified me. The engine of a Cessna was roaring high overhead. While the sight of parachutes being deployed from dropped supply crates gave me hope, the sound from the plane and the orange smoke the supply crates were giving off worried me that the area could be overrun with infected again really soon. DeMarcus immediately started heading towards the supply drops. “What are you doing?” I asked.
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“We need those guns!” he said. “And what good is it going to do us to go in and get those computer files if we can’t radio back to base to send a rescue chopper?” He had a point, but we were so close to the facility. We could get in and then head to the supply drops. My suggestion fell on deaf ears. It was my decision to stick together and follow DeMarcus. We couldn’t afford to get separated. Although the drops looked close during their descent, the more we ran, the further away they seemed. It looked like they finally landed behind some destroyed buildings in the distance. DeMarcus may have been on the track team in college last year, but I am a middle-aged, slightly out of shape, fatigued man carrying way too much crap in my heavy backpack. I told him I needed to take a break and get a drink of water. While “we” were catching our breath, we heard what seemed like another Cessna approaching, but this sounded a little different. It was not the hum of an engine or the chopping of propellers… no this was a buzzing sound. I looked around but didn’t see anything right away. DeMarcus pointed at something in the sky but I didn’t see anything. The glare of the sun masked whatever it was well. I looked at DeMarcus and pulled my baseball bat out of my backpack. He nodded back and got his crowbar ready. The buzzing creature moved across the sky, in what seemed to be a random pattern. From what I could make out, it was a giant wasp or hornet. While I was surprised that the virus has infected yet another species of creature and changed it, I had forgotten to tell DeMarcus of my discovery about the dogs, so he was quite shocked at the sight. It wasn’t long before the insect saw us. It flew in straight at DeMarcus, but he fended it off with a quick swing of his crowbar. Then I moved in from the side and swatted it down with my bat. The two of us repeatedly bashed at the creature until it stopped moving. After that all I can remember is excruciating pain. My whole body was throbbing and it felt like my head was going to explode. Then there was a gunshot and I fell unconscious. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] A few hours had passed. I awoke in a bed. I had no idea where I was, but it was quiet and dark. DeMarcus was there. He put his finger over his lips to hush me. He whispered, “He’s up” to someone in the next room. Quietly, a familiar looking man walked in. It was another one of the volunteers from another plane. He said his name was Len. “Where are we?” I asked. Len answered, “We are in one of the apartment buildings on the outskirts of the city. We are actually not far from the NewGen offices. After I dropped, I wondered around the wasteland, avoiding the infected and waiting for my plane to drop the supply crates. I was able to get to one before being overrun. I zig-zagged through the city to lose them. When I saw this building, I decided I’d hide here. It had food, water, clean beds, and cover. I cleared it out and secured the entrances.” Len went on to explain that just before I passed out, I had gotten stung by another hornet that had come up from behind me. My backpack absorbed some of the blow, but it still was able to inject me with some venom. Len shot it with the sniper rifle he got from his supply crate and then helped drag me off to safety. Unfortunately, they had to leave my backpack behind. There was no time to go through and get anything out of it. This was disappointing, but I had a more important question that needed addressed. I asked if I had been infected. Len said they used a mobile test kit (another useful item that he found in his supply crate), and it came up negative but it still may be too early to tell. He said he gave me some general antibiotics just in case, but he wasn’t sure if that would help at all. My wound was dressed and they had given me some pain meds. So here I lay in bed writing my diary on paper Len found downstairs in a desk. Day 2 was a complete bust for me. I am hoping Day 3 will be a little better. I know I must get my backpack back. I can’t afford to lose my journal from yesterday. If I am infected, my story could be the only thing I leave behind. Oh, before I go to bed, I need to go over the lessons learned today. Mistake #1: Announce yourself before popping into a building to explore it. If not, you may just lose your head. Mistake #2: Stay on target. Getting sidetracked almost got me killed today. We should have gone for the NewGen facility, not the supply crates. Mistake #3: Be constantly aware of your surroundings. Even if you think you’ve won the battle, you should be alert. If I had, I would have known there was a second hornet flying around and I may not have been stung. Mistake #4: Plan for the future, but don’t ignore the present. There are things that need done today and if you don’t make it through today, your plans for tomorrow are pointless. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] Day 3 This morning I awoke sore, but able to get up and move around. There was a child’s backpack hanging off the end of the bed so I put my journal from Day 2 in there and put it on. The Zomproxin gave me dry mouth so I got some water from Len. They were already gearing up to go out when I got up. They did not expect me out of bed so soon, but were pleased that I was ready to go out with them. DeMarcus explained that Len had turned on his radio this morning and got in touch with a few other volunteers that had also survived and made it to their supply crates. They were going to meet up at a police station east of the facility to discuss their how they were going to complete the mission. Len took us up to the roof of the apartment building and showed us where we’d be going. By my request, he showed me where my backpack was left. He also pointed out where the supply creates that we were trying to get to yesterday had landed. We could definitely see that the zombie activity today had increased. They were probably drawn to our area due to the supply drops, as we suspected they would be. “DeMarcus, can I borrow your crowbar?” I asked. “Sure, but why? I can just give you your gun back.” “Because that gun isn’t going to get the job done. I’m not going with you guys today… at least not at first. I’ll try to catch up to you, but there are some things I need to do first. “ DeMarcus’ face got very serious, “This is about those damn diary pages, isn’t it? Man we could be getting outta here tonight and you’re worried about some paper?” “If I’m infected, I can’t go back, but those pages can. It’s not much, but it’s a small part of me that could live on. Even if you don’t understand, know that it’s important to me.” There were no further objections. He gave me a brotherly hug and wished me luck. I shook Len’s hand and thanked him for saving my life. “I will see both of you at the police station later. If you guys leave, leave me a sign or a note somewhere.” We walked down the stairs in a sorrowful silence. I had just grouped up with my companions and now I’m leaving them. I could see it in their faces and sense it in their silence that they believed they would never see me again. Alert, aware, and very cautious, I headed towards the supply drop first. While it was not totally impossible to avoid being seen by the zombies, I did find great pleasure in seeking out and bashing in a few skulls along the way. The supply drop was not as surrounded as I would have expected. I swung my way to the crate and pried it open. There were so many goodies; I couldn’t decide what to take. I knew the night-vision goggles were pointless. I was not going to go walking around at night when the zombies could run. I also left the submachine gun. It would have been fun to use, but not very effective. I could unload a full mag into a zombie and it would just keep coming unless I hit it in the head. I could waste a lot of rounds for nothing. So pass. At the bottom was a rocket launcher. While I wanted to take it with me, its weight would really slow me down and it wasn’t like I could just throw it in my toolbelt and pretend like I’m not carrying it around. I did take the sniper rifle and all the ammunition I could carry. I also grabbed a few food rations and some bottles of water and threw them in my backpack. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] The path to my backpack was almost devoid of infected. At the time, I hadn’t given it much thought about where they went, but I was quite pleased that the path to my backpack was almost clear. I was getting quite comfortable fighting in close quarters with these zombies. At first, I was a little fearful of getting infected, but after yesterday, that fear was gone. I still don’t know to this moment whether or not I’m going to turn. But I’m not going to let the fear of turning stop me from doing what I have to do to survive another day.
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I reached my old backpack and opened it. What was once important survival gear was now garbage in my eyes. Naturally, I grabbed my Molotov, which fortunately had not broken or spilled out when my pack was dropped. I grabbed the shotgun and shells. I also grabbed the knives and my pages from Day 1 and left the rest. My old backpack was torn from the hornet stinger, so I discarded it and loaded everything into the child’s backpack I was carrying. Then I found my baseball bat close by. Yeah, that was going with me too. At this point, I felt like Rambo. My pack was still heavy, but it was loaded with at least 50 lbs. of zombie killing gear. It was time to go to the police station. The police station had a large group of zombies around it. They did not appear to be interested in getting inside, but I was. Boldly I lit the Molotov and threw it into the street directly in front of the front door. A few of the infected caught fire. The others backed away as if they were afraid. The crowd started to disburse and move away from the area. A few took notice of me and I hit a few homeruns out of the park. I was in a fury. I was in a rage… I was acting as though I may have been infected... When that hit me, I stood there in disbelief for a moment. I snapped out of it just as a huge bloated zombie took a swing at me. I blocked its attack with my bat, but he was just too strong. The bat went flying from my hands. I reached for the hunting knife in my toolbelt. I dodged his next attack and then retorted with a knife thrust to his face. It was only a glancing blow; I could tell it did not go deep enough to penetrate the brain. I tried again and got him right in the left eye. This time the knife went deep and the big fellow toppled over. A bottle of water fell out of what looked like a fanny pack he was wearing. How long have those been out of style? Were those ever in style? I shook of the thought and grabbed the water. I put the knife away and equipped myself with DeMarcus’ crowbar. Zombie after zombie fell by my hand. Eventually, the street was cleared. Most had wandered away from the flames of the Molotov cocktail I threw. The rest were lying dead on the ground. The police station door creaked loudly as I opened it. I did announce that I was human, alive, and not a zombie as I entered. There was no response. It looked like someone had been there recently. There were empty bottles, empty cans, food wrappers, and other miscellaneous trash on the ground. It also looked like someone had gone through all the desks and cabinets of the place looking for weapons. In the briefing room, there was a chalkboard. On it was written: “General Store for Generator” and “Gas Station for Fuel.” They must have split up and went for supplies to power the computer systems at NewGen. I went upstairs to the second floor to look around. There were some secured rooms, but behind the iron bars I could see lockers and a gun safe. Again, my lockpicking… I mean locksmithing skills came into play. I opened the door and looted up everything I could carry. More guns, more ammo. Now I was carrying at least 85 lbs. of firepower. I considered my next move. In a stroke of genius, I decided to turn on my radio. Well, it would have been genius if someone else would have had their radio on. I know now why they did not, but I will get to that in a moment. With no response, I decided it was time to go a few blocks over to the NewGen site. As I left the police station I heard the roaring engine of a Cessna fly overhead. To the south I could see supply crates dropping. I wasn’t certain, but it looked like they were being dropped near the gas station where I found DeMarcus. That is also probably where at least a few of my fellow volunteers were at. My radio, still on, started blasting out a message from the Cessna pilot: “Supplies dropped. Good luck down there. We’re heading back to base. See you tomorrow.” I was not the only one that heard my radio. I could hear the screeching of a very tall and thin zombie. He had been climbing up the side of the police station which kind of reminded me of Spiderman, so I decided to call him spider zombie. He dropped down almost right next to me and started howling and clicking. In the distance I heard other zombies making similar noises. Were they communicating? The spider zombie grabbed me and tried to bite me. I shoved the crowbar in his mouth as we fell to the ground. Once again I reached to my toolbelt for my hunting knife. I stabbed it in the side of his head and he went limp. I rolled over and tossed him off me. When I got to my feet I could see that reinforcements were on the way. Spider zombie had been calling for his buddies and they didn’t look happy seeing me kill their friend. I looked around. It would not be hard to become completely surrounded. I decided flight would be better than fight this time. Despite my heavy inventory, I was able to sprint a short distance away. I was still being hunted by a large mob of infected but they were far enough away that they were no immediate threat. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] My back started throbbing again. I took a deep breath and dropped my backpack for a moment. I went through the pockets and pulled out a bottle of Zomproxin. I popped a few of the pain pills and drank some water. The horde wasn’t much closer, but they felt like they were right on top of me. I grabbed my backpack and started heading back to the outskirts of town. When I reached the forest again, I was able to maneuver around some trees to give my pursuers the slip. I figured since I was there, I would collect some wood and goldenrod. I still wanted to make some tea, damnit! I decided to retreat back to the apartment for the rest of the day. I would get an early start tomorrow and make a b-line to the facility. I was pretty sure most of the zombies were heading towards those supply drops in the south so the city should be fairly easy to navigate. The apartment door was open. I thought this was rather unusual since I’m sure Len closed it when we parted ways. I went inside and closed the door. Then I put my backpack down and pulled out my 9mm and the crowbar. Stealthily I climbed the first set of stairs. I could tell someone or something had been here. All the apartment doors had been opened and it looks like someone had been rummaging through the kitchen cupboards. I moved on to the second floor. It was the same story, but still no sign of anyone. I went up another floor. This time I could hear someone moving around. It was coming from one of the apartments on the fourth floor. Cautiously, I went around the first corner of the staircase. Once I could see that it was clear, I went up and peeked around the next corner. It was also clear. I could see someone moving around in the apartment at the top of the stairs. The curtains were shut so the room was too dark to make out details. I climbed the stairs quickly and positioned myself alongside the doorway. “I know you’re in there. I mean you no harm but you need to show yourself,” I called into the room. The rummaging had stopped, but there was no response. “Say something or I’m going to have to assume you’re a zombie and shoot you in the head!” I warned. “Even if I miss, this area will be crawling with the infected in minutes. I’d rather not have that happen.” “Wait!” said a terrified female voice. It sounded somewhat familiar. “I’m just looking for some food. I’ve been out here a few days and I’m so hungry. I didn’t think anyone was still living here.” “Melissa?” I asked. She quickly confirmed it was her. I lowered my weapon and let her know that I was also one of the volunteers that dropped into a few days ago. In fact, we jumped from the same plane. I moved into the doorway told her that we had a few cans of Sham in the apartment upstairs. We sat down in what used to be the dining area of the apartment and talked about the last 3 days. I told her about how I had met up with some others and had also been stung. She told me about how she kept on the move, scavenging what she needed to keep going. She shared stories of her nights in cramped closets, hoping she had been quiet enough to avoid attracting any nearby zombies. I did manage to brew up some tea while we talked. It was not as tasty as I had hoped, but I did feel unusually recharged and refreshed. After we shared our stories and a meal, we went through the entire apartment building, making sure none of the infected had found their way in when she left the door open. After securing the place, we went back to Len’s apartment and turned on my radio. I called for the others a few times, but gave up after getting no answer. I’m leaving the radio on through the night, just in case. Darkness is now approaching and I am finishing up my journal for the day. I’ve given up on reflecting on my mistakes. Instead, all I can think about is her. Melissa has been quiet in deep thought. I can see in her eyes that the past few days have been hard on her. She was tough, but I don’t think she has much strength left. She has to get out of here soon or I fear that she is just going to give up. It is lonely out here, and she is very pretty… [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] Day 4 We survived another day. It wasn’t easy, and not everyone survived, but Melissa and I are ok. It’s not looking like we will be able to complete the mission. For whatever reason, the zombies keep going back to that same city block were the NewGen building is located. Even if we did get rid of the zombies, we still need to find a generator to power the computers. At least we have the daily supply drops from the military base. If they could drop a generator and a few other items, we could complete this mission and be out of here. Still, the food and weapons help. They help a lot!
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I woke up today next to Melissa. She was still asleep and I did not disturb her as I started gathering my supplies for today’s mission. I don’t think she slept very well over the past few days, but the added security of having someone else there beside her, and the added protection of the apartment building is letting her get some much needed deep sleep. Today, I had planned to go back to the NewGen building and find a way in without being seen. I decided to travel light, so I put most of my weapons on the couch in the living area of the apartment. I kept with me a trusty pistol and some extra ammo. I also kept my hunting knife because it got me out of a few jams the day before. The rest was unnecessary and too bulky for me to make a stealthy approach. At dawn, I radioed out to Len, or whoever else was listening. To my surprise, I finally got a reply. Len, DeMarcus, and a few others were holed up in the gas station. They couldn’t make it back to the apartment so they spent the night there. I told them about the effects of the Molotov cocktail I threw yesterday and suggested that they make more. I also told them of my plan to infiltrate the facility to check if it has power. Len had told me that some of the others he met with (at the police station) went northwest to see if the hardware store had any generators. I can tell you right now, they did not. Let’s not pursue this any further. I really don’t want to talk about it. Before I left, I woke Melissa up and told her what I was about to do. I asked if she wanted to come along or wait here. She elected to stay in the comfort of our 5-story apartment building. As long as she stayed quiet, she didn’t have anything to worry about. I kissed her goodbye and left. The roads were mostly devoid of zombies. There were a few stragglers which I dealt with quietly and swiftly. I felt like I was getting really good at this. I felt good until I reflected on the fact that I still wasn’t sure if I had been infected. What’s worse is I may have unknowingly infected Melissa. My heart sank. But this gave me great determination. If the data could be recovered from the NewGen computers, the military scientists may be able cure us (assuming we’re infected to begin with). In my heart, I had a real mission now. With a new sense of purpose, I pushed through the streets and turned the corner of several buildings. I must have killed 30 zombies before I got to the NewGen building. The area was crawling, but it was not completely surrounded. I inched closer, ducking behind cars and mail boxes until I reached the walls of the building. For the average person, there was no easy way in. However, I utilized my knowledge of locksmithing to open an emergency exit door. I had not been seen going in. The building was dark. Not even the emergency exit signs were lit. Those night vision goggles would have come in handy here. I decided to make a torch from some torn fabric and a stick. Yes, despite leaving the apartment with nearly nothing, I managed to acquire a few things along the way. My packrat tendencies seemed to have come in handy though. I lit the torch and proceeded deeper into the building. There were several cubicles with trash thrown all about. Belongings had been left behind, including half-eaten snacks which were now moldy and smelled putrid. There were no signs that the infected had entered the building though. I found a “you are here” map in the stairwell. This combined with our briefing a few days ago gave me a good idea of where I needed to be going. The computer room, from what I remember, was located somewhere on the 7th floor. Slowly, I climbed 7 flights of stairs. Sore feet, burning legs, and a stiff back… that is what I had when I reached the 7th floor. My torch had almost burned out. I was getting thirsty. Is there anything else I could complain about at this point? Sure, but nothing relevant to the story. Anyway, when I reached the door to the 7th floor, I could see a small amount of daylight peeking through the cracks of the door. I jimmied the lock and opened the door. A flood of sunlight blinded me. I took a moment to let my eyes adjust. When they did, I was able to see several more cubicles and some window offices. The view of the city was as amazing as it was depressing. I could clearly see the craters formed from intense bombing and the husks of burnt out buildings. There were thousands of infected down there. They had formed into a few distinct hordes. I watched for a while as they would wonder. Sometimes they would add to their ranks from other hordes, sometimes lose a few members. While they have no guidance or purpose, it still seemed like they were patrolling. They walked in almost a circular pattern. I regained my focus and started to look for the computer room. It was in a secured area, surrounded by what I assumed was bulletproof glass. The security door was electronic. With no power, my only options were to pry open the door, or bust down the glass. Using my hunting knife, I pried at the lock until it busted… the hunting knife, not the lock. I tried not to dwell on the stupidity of that move, but it overwhelmed me. I liked that knife. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] After a little searching I found a piece of scrap metal which I used to make a primitive lever. A little elbow grease and a lot of determination, I managed to pry the door open. The computer room was not lit very well. The light from the window offices only lit the outer computer racks. The mainframe was located in the center of the computer room. I could barely see the massive machine. It did not help that the case was midnight black. I felt around for the port where I needed to plug into to get the data. Then I took the flash drive I had been given at the briefing out of my pocket. I plugged it in with some remote hopes that the little device would simply power the huge machine and allow me to transfer the data and get the hell out of here. Nothing happened. I couldn’t have expected more. I wasn’t a computer expert, but I was no novice either. I knew the basic principles. I knew there was no way in hell that my flash drive was going to power up the mainframe and end my little nightmare that easily. Oh, how hope can make you do and think crazy things! I left the computer room in disappointment. I walked around the 7th floor until I could see the apartment building. There looked like there were a lot of zombies over there. I went into a little panic. Thoughts of zombies busting into the apartment and finding Melissa trapped on the 5th floor raced through my mind. I grabbed enough paper and manila folders to make a quick torch and lit it. I ran down the dark stairwell and through the office cubicles to the emergency exit I had previously unlocked. I burst out of there and hit the street at full speed. I had attracted the attention of a number of zombies. I heard the chatter of some of those spider zombies. I heard the moaning and hissing of others. I didn’t turn to look. I would be able to outrun most of them by the time I reached the apartment building. The streets were mostly clear around the apartment, just like they were earlier. What I had seen from the NewGen facility was a horde passing by. They had not noticed Melissa up in the 5th floor and were not specifically attracted to our apartment building. However, I had drawn quite a crowd from the direction of the NewGen building and they were hot on my trail. I had to find a way to lose them. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] The familiar hum of a Cessna overhead gave me an idea. I ducked behind a building and waited for the plane to pass over. It made its drop and moved on. The zombies began to follow the noise of the plane. They had forgotten about me as I slipped around the corner. Once it was clear, I went into the apartment building and up to Melissa. She was fine. In fact, she had gone back to sleep and didn’t even notice the horde outside. I didn’t even mention it. She’s going to be pissed if she reads my journal though. I probably should have at least warned her of the possible danger. If it comes to that, I’ll explain that it was so she could sleep comfortably at night. She needs the rest. She looks so very run down. Once she awoke, we decided to go after the supply crates together. Those little lifelines were necessary to keep us going. Together, we found all three crates and grabbed everything we could from them. Back at the apartment, we sorted through the loot. We had plenty of weapons, food, and water. We also managed to grab a pair of night vision goggles and a zip line. What we lacked was a generator for powering the NewGen mainframe. I spent the rest of the day scavenging for scrap metal which we used to reinforce our apartment. If the zombies did come up, we’d have a few moments to gather our thoughts and figure out what we would do. Just before nightfall, we heard several footsteps coming up the stairs. Melissa and I started packing up a few supplies and grabbed our weapons. The footsteps sounded close. Then they stopped. A light “tap tap tap” could be heard on the door. Someone was knocking. I put down my weapon and opened the door. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] It was Len and his group. I hugged him and DeMarcus. There were introductions all around. I met Sophie, Brent, and Chet and I introduced them to Melissa. I prepared some tea for the group while Melissa passed out the rations we found today. I showed Len the zip line and told him my idea of how we should use it.
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The conversation turned a little dark when he told me what had happened to the group that went to the hardware store. They met Len’s group at the gas station with an alarming story. From what he was told, someone in the group had been hiding a bite from a few days before. They found out about it and executed him right there on the spot. Appalled, Len voiced his dissent. The leader of the other group gave Len a choice to deal with it or go their own way. They decided to part ways. Some went with Len; the rest went with the other guy. The other group took most of the gasoline that Len’s group had collected. The rest of the night went pretty smoothly. It felt good to have others around. I never knew how much I missed people. I’m going to have to stop writing now. DeMarcus wants to talk to me. DeMarcus has just filled me in on some other things that happened during the dispute at the gas station. Apparently, the leader of the other group, this Shaun character, threatened to kill anyone that gets in the way of his group completing the mission. He said that only 1 group was going home and it was going to be his. DeMarcus suspects that Shaun’s group may even try to attack the apartment building or intentionally lure the infected to it. It’s dark already, but if Shaun is bold, he may attempt an attack at night despite the dangers. DeMarcus turned in early and has asked me to wake him later before I go to sleep so he can keep watch. I will say nothing of this to Melissa. She’s been traumatized enough over the past few days. She needs more time to recover. She’s still not looking well. Day 5 I’m alone. I’m in an inside room, writing by torchlight. Today was rough. We suffered a tragic loss but we also had a victory. I’m not sure it balances out, but since this zombies started rising and killing, I’ve seen so many people die that beginning to feel numb when it happens. When I awoke this morning, once again I awoke beside a sleeping Melissa. She’s slept more than she’s been awake in the past 2 days. I didn’t mind her sleeping in. It probably saved her life today. I got up, got dressed, and went into the kitchen where Len, Brent, and DeMarcus were talking about how to find a generator. Sophie and Chet were in the kitchen warming up some canned rations. The sun was just starting to rise. It happened so fast but it seemed like it was all happening in slow motion. First, there was the sound of glass breaking. Then Brent’s head exploded and he dropped to the floor. The next sound was the sound of a gunshot. Then we heard more glass breaking so the rest of us dropped down and crawled to the kitchen. The wall of the 5th floor apartment exploded as a rocket hit it. Once the dust cleared, we could hear bullets wiz by us and imbed themselves in the cupboards and walls around us. Then everything stopped. I looked around the corner of the cabinet and saw that most of the dining room wall was gone. Brent’s body was covered in rubble and blood. My first instinct was to run to the bedroom where Melissa was and see if she was alright. DeMarcus pulled me down before I could make a run for it. “Are you crazy, man? They could still be watching.” DeMarcus was right of course. That didn’t change the fact that I had to know if Melissa was alright. He shook his head and let me go. Melissa was cowered beside the bed, terrified. I wrapped my arms around her and told her we had to go. She nodded and stood up. Melissa and I gathered our things and joined DeMarcus, Len, Chet and Sophie in the kitchen. They were packing up the necessities. We all knew that the explosion would be enough to attract all the hordes from around town. Shaun knew where we were as well. Our safe haven had been compromised and a war had started… [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] The six of us went across the hallway into another apartment. From the balcony, we could see a parking deck. Len nodded to me as I readied to deploy the zip line. The streets around the apartment building were already filling up with zombies. It would be only a matter of moments before they burst through the door and start trying to come up the stairs. The building shook as another rocket hit. That one probably hit the kitchen or perhaps the bedroom where Melissa had been sleeping. Either way, it was a good thing we got out of there. DeMarcus volunteered to be the first down the zip line. Len covered him with his sniper rifle, taking out a few zombies walking around on the top deck. DeMarcus coasted down the zip line and landed safely on top of the parking garage. Sophie, Melissa, and I followed. Next was Len. Chet was the last one up there. He prepared to go down the zip line but he lost his grip and fell to his death 5 stories below. Despite the horror, we held in our grief and surprise. We turned to our once safe home and saw the infected pounding away at it. Some were hitting the concrete foundation so hard that they had nothing more than stumps left for hands. They were entering through the doors, the windows, and even holes that they were punching through the walls. They were in a frenzy. Those still in the street were ripping apart the flesh of the fallen Chet. We quietly backed away and plotted our next move. It wasn’t hard to figure out that we needed to get out of the city. I pulled out my map that I had drawn. I pointed out that there were a few farm houses just outside of town that we could make it to without being spotted by the incoming hordes. There were no objections, so we snuck down to the lower levels of the parking garage and made our way out of town. The wasteland between the forest and the city was a dangerous place. We had to watch that we didn’t break our ankles by tripping on the rubble. We also had to be sure that we didn’t slide down the gravel craters or get impaled by random rebar and pipes sticking out of the ground. Fortunately there were not many of the infected between us and the forest. There was no cover to hide behind so we dealt with the ones we had to and moved on. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] If it hadn’t been for the comfortable sleep the night before, I don’t think any of us would have made it to this farm house. This whole adventure had us pushing ourselves each and every day. This push was almost too much. Physically, we were overwhelmed with all the equipment and supplies we were carrying. Emotionally, we felt like no place would ever be safe. We felt our days were numbered. We arrived at the farmhouse around 11am. We made short work of the nearby zombies and gathered their bodies. We decided the best way to deal with them was to pile them up in a pickup truck and if possible, move them later. We didn’t want them contaminating the ground and we couldn’t burn them. If we did, Shaun and his group would know right where we went. We did a quick survey of the area and of the equipment on the farm. It looked like the tractor would run if we tried to start it. We decided not to due to the noise. We found some useful tools and there were even a few pigs still around, but running loose. Inside the house, we found a few hunting rifles and some more ammunition. There were some canned goods in the cellar as well as several jars of moonshine. We did not find the keys to the truck. However, our search was not thorough. They could still be laying around here somewhere. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] Sophie’s first thought was to get smashed and forget all about the horrible morning. I suggested, very firmly, that we use the moonshine for Molotovs, sterilization, and even a makeshift fuel for lanterns and the pickup. I did point out that the distillery was still intact and we could always make more. But getting drunk was not a good idea. “Here’s a crazy idea,” I said. “What if we built a trench and put spikes in it to kill or at least slow down any zombies that may stray our way?” “Do you… have an idea… how long that would take?” said Len. “Why don’t we whittle down some tree trunks and line the outside of the house with those as well? That shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.” The sarcasm was as apparent as his frustration. We decided instead it would be best to leave the place as untouched as possible. If Shaun or any of his scouts come by, we wanted the place to look abandoned, at least from a distance. Melissa came inside while we were making plans. “Did any of you see that shed out back?” We shook our heads. “I thought Len was looking out back.” “No, I was inside. What about you Sophie?” Sophie shrugged. DeMarcus also shook his head. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] The five of us went out back and approached the shed. It had a giant iron lock on it. I smirked. This one is easy. It took me no time to pop that lock. I paused and took a deep breath. We swung the doors open. Inside, was the Holy Grail: A portable generator! To hell with the risks, we thought. We immediately tried to fire it up. I took a few tries but we eventually got it started. It was loud, so we shut it down and closed the shed. We waited for the swarms of infected to come pouring out of the forest. The zombies never came. We thanked Melissa for the find and congratulated her. It was the first time since I first met her in the briefing room that I saw her eyes light up with a bit of hope. It was sad that we had to trade our apartment and the lives of Chet and Brent for this find, but if it saves Melissa… and the rest of the human race, then it was worth it. Their deaths would not be in vain.
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The supply plane came around noon again. We turned on a radio and listened to the pilot’s broadcast: “Someone was in the NewGen building yesterday. Can you confirm that the data has been collected?” I grabbed the radio. “That was me, and no, there was no power going to the mainframe. I will get the data though. I need more time.” “Are you crazy?” Len asked. “Shaun could be picking up this signal too.” “We don’t have any choice,” I said. “Yes, he may know that someone survived, but he doesn’t know it is someone from your group. For all he knows, I’m on my own.” The radio signaled back, “Affirmative. We will commence with supply drop near your location. Good luck and see you tomorrow.” The expletives that came from our mouths for the next twenty minutes were enough to fill a swear jar the size of an office water cooler bottle. The pilots were giving away our position with the supply drops. We didn’t have a lot of choice. We needed to find those truck keys fast. We ran around franticly. Sophia and I tore through kitchen drawers while Melissa went through the bedrooms. Len and DeMarcus looked around in the buildings outside as well as inside the truck itself. Meanwhile, I was planning our next move. After we find the keys, what next? Simply drive right up to NewGen and park next to it? No, there will be incredible numbers of infected all around. We had to figure out how to get inside with the generator without being noticed. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] DeMarcus came inside. He announced he found the keys in the truck under some trash. We all went to the truck to see if it would start. The battery was weak, but it kicked over the engine and the truck rumbled to life. Len, Sophia, and Melissa stayed behind while DeMarcus and I drove up the road and dropped off the bodies we had collected earlier. Then we headed out to the supply drop and loaded up what we could before the zombies arrived. On the way back we shut the truck off about half a mile away from the farm house and pushed it the rest of the way. We hoped that by doing so we wouldn’t attract any more zombies our way. When we got back, Len was ready to load up the generator and all our equipment. He had a plan, and it was a good one… We still had plenty of daylight left, so we all got on board with the plan and were ready to do our part. DeMarcus was a track star, so his running skills would be put to the test. Len was great with his sniper rifle, so he would use that to his advantage. Sophie and Melissa were assigned to drive the truck and throw Molotov cocktails all around. Guess who gets to lug the generator up 7 flights of stairs… yup. I had already been inside once. I knew where to go. I wasn’t sure if I knew for certain how to splice the generator in so that I can fire up the mainframe, but if I couldn’t who would? My real concern at the time was is if I encounter problems booting up the machine, would I still be able to retrieve the data? Full steam ahead we drove the truck to the city. It was only a few miles so before we knew it, DeMarcus and Len were getting out to take their positions. I got out and defended the truck while the other two went ahead. Sophie and Melissa waited inside until we got the signal. There were a lot of zombies around. The noise of the truck drew them in. I did my best to hold them off, but there were too many. I fell back to the truck, which the girls started it up. DeMarcus was down the road waving his hands. That was the signal so we took off. Melissa lit the first of the Molotovs. She threw it down near the door that I had unlocked my first time here. The nearby zombies backed away in fear. The truck stopped and I jumped out. DeMarcus helped me unload the generator and get it inside. He wished me luck and went back out to distract the hordes. I could hear the truck driving around the city streets as I dragged the generator behind me. If it wasn’t enough that I had the generator, I also had half a gallon of gas I had to carry as well. Add that to my weapons, my journal, some food, water… I was very worn out by the time I reached the 2nd floor. I could hear breaking glass and the whoosh of flames. The zombies outside were not going to come near this place any time soon. I just hoped that the others were going to be ok. It was almost dark by the time I had reached the computer room. There was not a lot of light so I made another makeshift torch. The floor of the computer room had a false bottom where all the wires ran through. I pulled up a few floor panels and started looking for power cables. I followed one set of cables to the mainframe. Then I followed another set to a console on a pillar nearby. I took my time and carefully connected the generator into the power supply for these units. I topped off the generator with the gas and started it up. I don’t know if it was luck or what, but the computers began to start up. The console began to display all sorts of messages in green text. What it all meant I will never know, but once I saw the “System Ready” message, I knew I was in business. There was no way I was going to remember all the instructions I needed to transfer those files over. Fortunately, I wrote them down. With a few strokes of the keyboard, the computer began to do its thing. I looked over at the mainframe and a little light flashed on the flash drive I had plugged in. The data transfer had begun. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] Being 7 levels up and behind bulletproof glass was no guarantee of being unnoticed, so I was constantly on the alert. I went outside the computer room and looked out one of the office windows to see what the situation was like down below. The infected littered the street. They were running around not sure which direction to go. I could hear gunshots coming from one side of town and a roaring truck on the other. As long as they were distracted, the plan was succeeding. I walked back into the computer room and looked at the console. The words “transfer complete” was at the bottom of the screen. I pulled the flash drive out of the computer and shut down the generator. I went back to the stairwell and climbed up to the 10th floor. I am now camped out in some executive board room. There are no windows here. This is where I will wait till morning. Then I move to the roof. When the supply plane comes back, I’ll let them know we have the data and they will send the rescue chopper. We will see how that goes. I know nothing goes fully according to plan…
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Day 6 Well, I am not rescued, but I’m also not dead, so I get to write about another day. I woke up and Melissa was not at my side. It took a moment for me to get my bearings. I hit my head on the conference table I had been sleeping under. That was a great start to the morning. I found the door and went into the hallway where the light of dawn streamed in. I walked over to a window and peered down 10 stories to the street below. Once again the streets were filled with the infected. Why they gather here, I may never know. It didn’t matter. It was not my intention to escape to the street anyways. Still in survival mode, and because I had lots of time to kill, I searched the 10th floor for anything useful. Honestly, there was not much. In a few of the executive offices there were wall safes, so I took some time and tried to open them. I got one open, but all it had was money and documents. The other I could not open. Believe me; I spent a lot of time trying. It was only about 10am and I had finished looking around. I was tempted to turn on my radio and see how the others are doing. However, I had to save my battery for when the supply plane arrived. I was truly looking forward to getting on that copter and flying back to base. From there, it was back to home sweet home on the sea. Open fields are great, when you don’t have cannibalistic hordes trying to bash down your shelter. I’ll take a nice safe steel boat any day. Then it dawned on me that if I go back, I’ll probably be quarantined for several days or even months. They will probably want to study the effects of the hornet sting. They will want to quarantine Melissa as well. Her contact with me has been intimate and it was proven that the virus can spread that way. I felt horrible that I may have infected her. I was starting to fall in love with her. I had hoped she felt the same way. I reached into my pocked and pulled out the diamond ring I found earlier this week. I spent the next few hours camped out on the roof of the NewGen facility. I cleaned my weapons, enjoyed a MRE… or rather choked it down, and just relaxed in the sun for a bit. All the while, I mulled over the idea of giving Melissa the ring. How would she react? It was nearly noon, so I turned on my radio and awaited the arrival of the supply plane. Like clockwork, it roared overhead at noon. “Hello, down there. Has the data been recovered?” I picked up the radio and replied, “Yes, I have the files. You can send the recovery chopper.” “Affirmative, we will request the evac team be dispatched now.” The plane sped off and did not drop anything today. Shortly after the radio conversation, a flurry of rockets and gunfire erupted on the streets below. It looked like Shaun and his group were going to make a push towards the NewGen building with the hopes of getting on the chopper. The noise only got the attention of more zombies. From that rooftop, I could see tens of thousands of zombies congregating. Whatever Shaun was trying to do, it wasn’t working. Instead of pushing closer it looked like they were being driven back from the building. I listened as his men shot hundreds or thousands of rounds into the endless hordes. I tuned out the noise eventually. I tuned things out so well, I almost missed the sound of the approaching helicopter. I stood up and waved my arms signaling to it. They landed on the helipad. Two armed soldiers jumped out. I walked up to them with the flash drive. Upon seeing it, the boarded and let me join them. “I have to tell you, there are other survivors. There is a farm near here. We’ve got to get them.” The pilot nodded and we lifted off. Below the gunfire and rocket explosions continued. I was truly shocked that nothing was fired our way. Perhaps Shaun isn’t as petty and insane as DeMarcus and Len said he was. On the ride to the farm, one of the soldiers opened a mobile test kit and took a blood sample from me. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] We touched down just outside the farm. The pickup truck was there. I saw several familiar faces running from the house towards the chopper. I got out, as did the two armed soldiers from before. It was an amazing reunion. Everyone had made it safely back. I couldn’t wait to hear their stories. The soldier that administered my infection kit jumped out and asked for the others to get tested. The chopper powered down. That meant we were going to be here for a while. I did warn them that we didn’t have long until the hordes would start arriving. They liked to follow the aircraft and we didn’t make any effort to shake them. Once everyone had been tested, he gave DeMarcus, Sophie, and Len permission to board. However, he gave Melissa and me the bad news. “I’m afraid you’re both infected.” DeMarcus hung his head in defeat. Len had looked like he had just lost a loved one. I turned to Melissa and apologized. “I’m sorry. This is my fault. I knew there was a chance that I could have been infected and yet I got close to you.” She shook her head. “I haven’t been honest with you and I feel horrible about it.” She lifted her pant leg and exposed her left hamstring. It had a bandage wrapped around it. “My first day out a dog caught up to me,” she started crying. “I should have told you. It was just a scratch. I didn’t know…” I had never noticed the bandage. I figured she had left her socks on in bed because her feet were cold. In bed, I had never realized what she had been hiding. I forgave her and turned to the soldiers. “What now?” The soldier that administered the tests spoke again, “Well, to be honest, we can’t carry everyone in a single trip. Even if you were both healthy, one would have to stay behind. We will get the data back to the fleet and hopefully they can come up with a cure for you guys. But for now, you will have to stay here.” “Wait,” I requested. “What if she goes with you? You’ve got holding cells back at your base, right? She can stay there in case she starts to turn. There’s no sense in both of us staying out here to die. That horde will be on us shortly and if there is a remote chance they develop a cure, having a test subject would be critically important.” The soldiers looked at each other. “Wait here,” said the one. He spoke to the pilot for a moment. Then the pilot appeared to be on the radio. After a long pause, the soldier walked back to us. “HQ agrees. She can come with us if she wants. But she is to be under strict quarantine.” I looked at Melissa and said it was up to her, but if I had to choose for her, she would go so I knew she would be safe. I expected us to have to be quarantined, but being separated from her was not something I considered. For me, it is a lose-lose situation. If she stays, the trauma, stress, and infection may overwhelm her, but if she goes, I may never see her again. She thought about it and decided it would be best if she went back to the base. DeMarcus jumped out of the helicopter and walked over to us. “I don’t wanna go without you, bro. It’s not right.” “DeMarcus, go and take Melissa with you. I’ll be fine. Just make sure that data gets back to HQ so they can find a cure.” A hug and a fistbump later, Melissa and DeMarcus were headed onto the chopper. I shouted for Melissa to stop. “Before you go, there is something…” I knelt down on one knee and pulled the diamond ring out of my pocket. “If we get through this, will you marry me?” Crying, Melissa accepted my proposal. Our goodbye was far too short and she wanted to part with me even less, but the soldiers were in a hurry to get clear of the area before the infected hordes started arriving. She got on board of the helicopter. It powered up its massive blades and lifted into the air. Meanwhile I loaded up the pickup truck with everything I could. It wasn’t safe to stay at the farm. I had to keep moving. Once the helicopter was out of sight, I turned on the truck and started driving. I thought about how I may never hear the stories from how the others survived the night, or how they made it back to the farm without a huge following of undead. I may never see Melissa again. I may never get to truly thank DeMarcus or Len for saving him from that hornet. The worst thing that dawned on me was that I was once again alone. [COLOR="silver"][SIZE=1]- - - Updated - - -[/SIZE][/COLOR] My first goal was to go back to the gas station. The truck needed filled up. I wasn’t going to get far on a quarter tank. I decided I would head out towards the lake where the plane crashed. If anyone survived, they may need help. It’s been 6 days, but there was still a chance. If anything, there are some lake houses out there. I could fix one up and live there until… until I die or a cure is found. I began to wonder how long it would be before they would give up on me. Would they come back at all? Would they wait until a cure is found? Will they come back after they refuel and drop off the others? I suppose I should have asked them. With the roads in bad shape and abandoned cars everywhere, it was not easy to get to the gas station. But I was relieved when I saw the area was clear of zombies. I pulled up next to the pumps and got out of the truck. The gas slowly traveled from the pump to the tank of my beat up pickup. It seemed to take forever, but I was thankful that the pumps were working at all. I filled up some gas cans and loaded them up as well. I may not be returning here and who knows if I’ll find another working gas station again… Again on the road, I headed west, then northwest towards the lake. It was sparsely populated with the infected so the journey was not too bad. I ran a few over, but a few times I jumped out of the truck and took care of them with an axe I picked up from the farm. I really enjoyed it, and I took more risks knowing I was already destined to become one of them.
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The lake was calm. There were no longer any signs that a plane had ever crashed there. I drove around looking for any clues to the whereabouts of the pilots. Unfortunately, I found nothing. I gave up and drove to one of the lake houses. I backed up to the house, keeping the truck pointed toward the road in case I needed to make a speedy getaway. The house was relatively intact. It looks like the doors had been busted in and a few windows broken, but I could easily patch those up. I began surveying the inside of the house. It was a humble log cabin. It had an updated kitchen area and a fireplace. There was an upstairs loft area with a bed and a dining table. It looked bigger from outside. The place has a lot of potential. If I have to stay for the long haul, this place could be perfect. However, there is no safe place to light a torch and stay up past dark to write. That is what I’ve decided to write today’s events down before dark. I’ll block up the doors and windows when I’m done here. If there is any daylight left after that, I’ll try to visit one of the neighboring houses and see what kind of supplies I can find. If not, I’ll do that in the morning. I am feeling a little tired though, so I may just turn in early. Day 7 This will be my last journal entry. I do not have a lot of time to write, but that is ok. I lost a lot of time today when I passed out. There is a horde outside larger than anything I’ve dealt with before. I’m out of Molotov cocktails, shotgun shells, one of my guns broke beyond repair, and frankly I’m exhausted. Tonight, they are getting in here. It’s only a matter of time. Out here, it took me 7 days to die, but eventually, my time ran out. I don’t see any possibility of escape. Rescue? Ha! They gave up on me the moment they got their test subject and the virus data. Shaun and his gang are no longer a threat. The only thing I have left in life is to survive until my infection turns me into one of those creatures anyways. Have I given up? No, I will fight to the end, but I have no doubt in my mind that I will lose tonight. The day started off well. I actually slept in a bit. I attributed that to the infection. I saw what it had done to Melissa and I believed it had started to do the same to me. Still, I felt good when I woke up. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. The sound of nature all around me made me temporarily forget about the dangers outside. True to my word, I decided to search the other nearby cabins. There were scraps of food and bottled water, but not much else. I stayed around my cabin, collecting goldenrod for tea as well as cutting down some small trees for firewood. I could only carry a few small pieces at a time. I kinda wished this was a video game and I could just put hundreds of logs in my backpack. Then I could just haul it all back to my house in one trip. Unfortunately, days of video games were long gone and it took hours to chop up just a few small trees. But it kept me busy until that special time of day arrived. As noon approached, I once again turned on my radio. I could hear chatter from Shaun’s group. “I’m at the farm. It looks like they were here, but everyone is gone now. They probably all got on that chopper yesterday,” said one of his scouts. “This area crawls now. I’m outta here.” Additional reports were coming in. I listened as Shaun gave them orders to widen the search for other survivors and for supplies. The radio got silent when the supply plane neared the area. The familiar daily sound was a welcomed relief. The news it brought was not… “To any and all survivors listening,” said the pilot, “by order of the newly elected President Daniels, this mission is to be terminated. There will be no future supply drops. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we do not have the resources to mount any additional rescue operations. There will be no evac.” The pilot went on, “I also have a message from DeMarcus.” The pilot read the message over the air. Melissa is recovering. They gave her simple antibiotics and it seems to be working. It seems that the virus infects even more quickly than before but it has developed a weakness to common antibiotics. They didn’t even need the research data to figure this out. All the needed was Melissa. “We will pass by and make our final supply drop. Good luck and God bless.” The plane made one more pass over the city and dropped its cargo. Although they did not give away my position, they did give up vital information to Shaun and his group. There was someone left behind from the “other” group. If Shaun really has lost his mind, then he will probably put everything they have into trying to track me down and making me pay. I don’t think it will be a quick death like Brent’s. I had a nagging suspicion that torture was not beneath him. I had two options: Fight or flight. The first was to strike Shaun and his group first. I knew exactly where his men were going thanks to eavesdropping on their conversation earlier. I could pick them off one at a time. The other option was to head to the military base at full speed, hopefully getting there before dark. It was 200 miles away, but I had a full tank of gas and about 8 hours of daylight. Unless the roads were completely impassible, I should be able to get there with plenty of time to spare. Then I could be reunited with Melissa and the others. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this yesterday. Maybe it was because I was so tired. The infection was really draining and I wasn’t thinking straight. It’s been a long, grueling, terrifying week as it was. It wouldn’t have changed my story much. I’m still here in this hospital, surrounded by a massive horde. It probably would have been the same thing last night. Anyway, I took the latter option. I left Shaun and his group to waste their time and effort searching for me while I hit the road with every bit of food and weapons that pickup could carry. Nothing ever goes according to plan. I got twenty miles down the road when I got a flat. The lug nuts were rusted so it was a pain in the butt to get the tire off to change it. When I examined the tire, I saw that a random piece of scrap metal had punctured my tire. I had to drive more carefully if I wanted to avoid any more blow outs. I was fresh out of spare tires. The rest of the trip was very slow-going. My caution was probably my undoing. The noise of the truck attracted the infected to the road. Every mile I travelled became another mile of zombies behind me. Even though they were sparse, over time I’m sure they are what combined to form the horde that has me pinned in this building. The infection was taking its toll on me. I was getting very drowsy behind the wheel. The next thing I knew I was waking up and finding the truck stuck in a ditch. I had fallen asleep and crashed. In the rear view mirror I could see several zombies drawing near. I got out of the truck and grabbed what I could out of the back. I tried to grab as many light weapons and ammunition as I could. There was so much that got left behind. I checked my watch. It was 7:30pm. Nightfall was coming and I needed to find shelter immediately. I stuck to the road. I saw faded, twisted, half destroyed sign: “ elcom To D i er sville.” I’m not sure what the actual town used to be called, but the irony of the sign saying Diersville was almost enough to give me a sense of humor about the situation. Yes, my situation is dire. Yes, I may die here. It is a fitting place to make my last stand I suppose. About a half mile up the road the small suburban town took shape as the sun was setting behind it. There was a large structure just up the road which looked to be a hospital. My thought at this time was finding a place to stay, but I also didn’t want to be passing out again, so I needed to find some antibiotics. The hospital was my destination. Between me and my goal were dozens of hungry zombies. They all started to look the same to me. You’ve seen a few thousand zombies and you start to classify them: fatties, crawlers, climbers, etc. I tried to keep quiet but I was just so exhausted. There were so many. I had to start using my guns. It seemed like no matter how many I shot or how many Molotovs I threw, they would just keep coming. I tried to give them the slip, but I guess that pile of trash I tripped on tipped them of off that I was heading into the hospital… So here I am, writing my last words. It’s been quite a journey and I never expected that it would take me here. I reached my unlikely goal of surviving for 7 days, but this has been nothing like what I had expected. I’ve met some good people, befriended them, fallen in love and even got engaged. I’ve done things I had no idea I was capable of. I even helped give our species a fighting chance against this virus. I can’t say this mission or my life was without purpose. In a way, I’m glad I volunteered. I can hear them tearing up the building downstairs. I think I hear more upstairs too. Out the window I can see thousands of them in the moonlight. I will look a little more for antibiotics, but I don’t know how much good they will do me at this point. I will put up the fight of my life. If I survive the night, I’m going to keep moving towards the military base where Melissa and my friends are. If not, my story ends here. Wish me luck…
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