Online gaming just didn't have its usual relaxing appeal today, in fact it was only making Lucas feel more anxious. Whether it was mostly due to the distraction provided by over excited people within the game world or the recent call Lucas had recieved, he did not know. There was just nothing much he could do to enjoy himself and felt restless with how other people were behaving in the game. On top of that, every few minutes there was another unwelcome intrusion or minor reminder of the outside world. Uncomfortable thoughts kept inexorably returning to the otherworldly phenomenon taking place right outside the front door and within the world at large.
By the time the second can of soda was empty, Lucas drew himself away from the computer and got up to pace about his room with a mild agitation. There was more than enough light to see. The single overhead bulb for the room cast shadows radially outwards from the center of the room. A colorful glow came from the idling game set on the computer screen. With no light coming in from the nearby window, this was the typical level of lighting Lucas had grown accustomed to during many late nights of study or gaming.
While the black windows were sealed with only the tiniest of drafts felt around the edges, Lucas could already tell it was going to be a fairly cold night. He normally didn't grow cold very easily, but noticing that it was cooling down he licked his sticky fingers clean again and wiped them off on his pants. Moving to the nearby closet to retrieve a hoodie he kept within, Lucas slipped it on. Pacing around the room while listening to the music from the computer, he slowly grew aware of a mix of shouting and other noise coming from somewhere in the building.
Beyond hearing the cacophony while checking to ensure the deadbolt to his room was slid shut, Lucas made no effort to investigate. Whatever was happening, it was none of his concern. Whatever argument had broken out among the residents of the dormitory was their business. However, it did serve to make his mind up for the time being. If people were going to be shouting like that in the building- combined with the general unhelpful nature of the online community right now- there was little chance that Lucas would find much to enjoy in this activity tonight.
He was almost finished with his bag of chips anyway. Giving goodbyes to a few people still online, he logged out. There were some single player games available, but with the frequent interruptions the mood for gaming had been undermined and had long since passed. There were too many annoying little details about the situation that made no sense and many people he talked to had a lot of the same questions he did.
Every question had to have an answer. But despite all reason, all sense, there were far too many things about the zombies which defied any sort of sensible explanation. How their muscles could function without blood. The way they identified their targets inerrantly at a distance and did not attack each other. And how they converted their victims so rapidly, far faster than Lucas thought a disease could operate.
Despite all those confounding mysteries having occurred to Lucas, someone had asked him a disturbing question that he hadn't considered before. A question which, moreso than all the others he had speculated over so far, unsettled his nerves to a much greater degree.
Why did the zombies suddenly appear in so many different places all over the planet nearly simultaneously?
