"Good." Evan spoke into his cell phone. He peered out of the glass door into the park blocks, breathing slowly in and out to acclimate himself for the exertion he was about to engage in. He would have examined the surrounding area from the rooftop again, but with daylight gone it would be much more limited how useful that would be. "So when I come by, you or whoever else just pass it to me through the bars and don't open the gate. That's how we keep this as safe as possible."
Jennifer hesitated on the other end of the line, her voice uneasy and nervous. "You really sure you want to do the hero thing?"
"I just can't wait around and do nothing when someone needs help." Evan thought to mention the zombies were too clumsy to actually catch him, but considered it better not to mention that he had chosen to fight one. It wasn't like he could only expect to encounter one zombie at a time.
"I understand, sweetie. That's what I love about you. But it still makes me scared having you out there like this. Especially in the dark." There was a brief pause, during which the sound of murmuring came through the line as she spoke to someone else close to her. It made the silence in Blackwood's lobby all the more noticeable. The only sound Evan heard coming from nearby was the faint babble likely produced by the television within the common room and Leon's quiet breathing. Jennifer's voice came again. "Okay. Zach said it's clear at the gate and around the building. We're ready for you."
"Don't worry. I'll see you in a minute. And when I get back here safe I'll give you a call. See you in a bit." Closing and replacing his cell phone within his jeans pocket, Evan took a moment to breathe a deep cleansing breath of air and calm his mind. He had already committed himself to this action. There would be no turning back now. He stepped aside and nodded to Leon, indicating he was ready to proceed.
"I'll be waiting for you here." Leon examined outside for possible movement before unlocking the front doors and moved aside. "Call me if there's a change of plans."
Evan silently assented to the statement with a nod and opened the door ever so slightly to take a careful look around the blind edges of the building.
Although he didn't feel comfortable with venturing into the night, the sooner and faster this was finished, the better. From moving the corpse under the bench just minutes before, it was evident there wasn't another zombie immediately nearby only a short time ago. There was no guarantee that situation would last for long, so he ought to take advantage of the opportunity as soon as possible.
Evan rushed through the broad glass doors and dashed to the left, not waiting to ensure that Leon locked up afterwards. With the initial step, the biting chill of the air immediately stung the exposed skin on his face and hands as he charged down the modest slope. Accompanying that sensation was an uncomfortable stinging that would later turn to numbness if he spent too long outside.
When Evan had originally left for Blackwood, it had been a bit warmer than it was now and he hadn't anticipated venturing outside again. The light tan jacket wasn't very warm, but he was glad to have brought it. Although Evan had very warm blood, the temperature had taken a relatively big dip during the hours after he had arrived here.
The pedestrian walkways flitting throughout the university grounds were mostly adequately lit. The entire length of the corridor of greenery was dotted with lamps that automatically lit once dusk approached. Just like the lights of the city streets surrounding the university. He had chosen his short route to stay in the well lit areas. Still, Evan tried to remain focused and vigilant, keeping an eye on the nearby irregular shadows and the distant shapes for signs of movement.
Uncharacteristic, desolate silence echoed within the city environment, the only sounds the blowing of the wind through dead tree branches and his own slow, deep breathing and heavy footfalls with each motion. Occasional lights or moving shapes in the tightly sealed chambers of living spaces reminded Evan that he was not truly alone but with the harsh shift in environment and aura of isolation, he may as well be in another world.
Slowing his run carefully at intervals to peer cautiously around the buildings or scattered trees, Evan continued downhill. Passing by an administrative building that had been converted from an old two story house, he remained on the cement walkway where there was more space and the area was more adequately lit.
The next block contained a tall apartment building, set in the shape of a thick cross with its edges at the corners of the square. An empty plaza filled the spaces around it, normally offering various fast food or meeting places for students studying. But now stood empty, its metal benches and brick facade only populated with sparse litter.
A narrow, empty road ringed the tall apartment building's plaza, and Evan ran down the slope along the narrow path. The pavement continued on for another block further than Evan was heading, where it met up with the normally busy city street defining the outer edge of the university grounds.
As he advanced to the second block, Evan snapped his head around when he heard the isolated sound of a car backfiring. Or possibly, a gunshot. He reassured himself that it sounded too distant to concern himself with immediately and moved on. Turning left, he jogged between the apartment building he had just passed at his side and a low school building on his right. The barren centerline of the road provided an easy, clear path.
Ahead, the road ran parallel to the green space. A broad, pedestrian walkway cut between the two squat school buildings on the other side of the street. Sitting beside the structure on the right stood the gated opening of the U-shaped dormitory of Mansfield. A dozen or so parking spaces lined the far edge of the service road although only one car was currently parked there.
Jennifer and Zach stood next to each other in dark coats, obscured behind the metal bars of the locked gate. Jennifer was a hauntingly beautiful girl with creamy smooth skin, dark hair, eyes and an ample chest notable even through her heavy coat. Zach had short, dull blond hair and a stout build, with heavily toned well defined muscles and broad shoulders. They stood beside one another quietly watching the street without getting too close to the gate.
As Evan arrived, Jennifer quietly moved forwards, reaching through the opening and holding out the bottle of medicine in the palm of her right hand. She had a sad, almost moping look on her face, but smiled a little as Evan made reassuring but brief eye contact with her.
Snatching the bottle and turning back to make the return journey, Evan only took a dozen steps before the light wavered around him. The city lights quickly winked out and vanished, leaving him in utter darkness.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Shaky Evidence
Voraciously perusing everything he could about the zombie plague, Lucas discovered another peculiar fact hiding within the specific details of this ongoing epidemic. The apparently spontaneous outbreak had only been around for just a little bit longer than a day by now. Yet according to the varying anecdotal records people were providing, it was already becoming apparent that the disease exhibited by a bite victim could progress at wildly different rates.
Of course, Lucas already knew that at least partly. He had discovered fairly clear video evidence depicting victims who were bitten multiple times which had seemed to die or lose consciousness within a minute or so of the repeated, aggressive attacks. Then mere seconds afterwards, those who had been attacked became mobile and transformed into- apparently- a fully symptomatic carrier of the infection themselves.
Although that seemed like it was far more rapid than should even be possible, it still at least made a sort of sense if the infectious agent was delivered by something present in the mouth. More of the attacks simply meant more of whatever thing causing the disease was getting into the person's body. Fewer attacks were an indicator that the person would last longer before falling to the epidemic. Whether the bite of a newly created zombie was infectious immediately or how soon they became so was still a tiny lingering question that might complicate or invalidate the evidence for this theory, but that would be something to ponder over when there weren't so many other larger and far stranger things to occupy his mind.
In theory Lucas knew it should be extremely unlikely that anything could travel from a bite wound on the arms, legs, neck and body and be produced by some means within the mouth only a couple minutes later. But whatever was responsible for this, it could apparently change the workings of the brain in that time frame and was also somehow altering the way the body's muscles worked. These undead things were already seeming to break natural laws based on what little he knew about biology. For the sake of simplicity and safety, he figured it would suffice for now to just tentatively assume the plague functioned that way until proven otherwise.
Besides, there probably was some video footage somewhere which could demonstrate that the new zombies were infectious. If Lucas had nothing more interesting to do, he could try to find evidence for that later. That is, if nobody else had done so first and reported it in the media by then. In the meantime, that was a distraction.
There were many very clear warnings on every site Lucas visited that the disease had an extremely high mortality rate. And an observed incubation period so quick it verged on the unbelievable, yet the evidence was very clear. From what Lucas could discern, it seemed as if it was very uncommon for people to escape with just one or two bite injuries inflicted by an infected. That was to be expected. The attacks he witnessed on video were performed with a mindless, unrelenting fanaticism.
The bites were aggressive enough to puncture and tear at skin and sometimes muscle. Enough of that sort of damage would definitely seriously injure someone. But it didn't seem like it could cause direct incapacitation as suddenly as it seemed to do so in the videos. There were isolated reports of people somehow escaping with a couple dozen bites succumbing to zombification moments later despite medical examinations indicating they should have remained in good health. That could only indicate that they were succumbing to whatever mysterious thing was transmitted via the bite itself and not the actual wounds the attack created. So it was clear that enough of the agent would impact someone far too quickly to intervene.
People who got away from an attack with only one or a couple bite injuries did seem to be fine for a time, but would eventually come down with a fever. Then the fever would tend to grow worse fairly rapidly, producing fatigue and disorientation , delusions or unconsciousness before reanimation as another undead carrier of the plague. The entire process could last for only a few hours in total for some unlucky people with a single small bite.
Yet despite that, there were a few sparse claims that some of those attacked within the first few hours were still alive. According to the sources, they were said not to be doing too well and had been flickering between periods of cogency and hallucination. Knowing the stark efficiency with which the sickness killed, how quick it could be, Lucas doubted such claims when he saw them.
But Lucas found videos providing evidence with a timestamp which seemed to support such a case. Someone which had been bitten twice, only a few hours after this crisis began was still alive as of only a half hour ago. It wasn't indicative of a recovery, but surviving for several times longer than people with more minor injuries had managed to seemed to indicate that there was a way to at least resist the impact of the disease.
Lucas sighed. Without being certain that all bites were equally infectious, it was impossible to know whether this really was as good a sign as it seemed. It looked like if he really wanted to think about this, he'd have to look for that video after all. He really did think it was true, but he didn't want to leap to the kinds of unsupported conclusions that other people were doing right now.
While not quite giving up, he rose from his chair and decided to take a bit of a break from his reading.
Of course, Lucas already knew that at least partly. He had discovered fairly clear video evidence depicting victims who were bitten multiple times which had seemed to die or lose consciousness within a minute or so of the repeated, aggressive attacks. Then mere seconds afterwards, those who had been attacked became mobile and transformed into- apparently- a fully symptomatic carrier of the infection themselves.
Although that seemed like it was far more rapid than should even be possible, it still at least made a sort of sense if the infectious agent was delivered by something present in the mouth. More of the attacks simply meant more of whatever thing causing the disease was getting into the person's body. Fewer attacks were an indicator that the person would last longer before falling to the epidemic. Whether the bite of a newly created zombie was infectious immediately or how soon they became so was still a tiny lingering question that might complicate or invalidate the evidence for this theory, but that would be something to ponder over when there weren't so many other larger and far stranger things to occupy his mind.
In theory Lucas knew it should be extremely unlikely that anything could travel from a bite wound on the arms, legs, neck and body and be produced by some means within the mouth only a couple minutes later. But whatever was responsible for this, it could apparently change the workings of the brain in that time frame and was also somehow altering the way the body's muscles worked. These undead things were already seeming to break natural laws based on what little he knew about biology. For the sake of simplicity and safety, he figured it would suffice for now to just tentatively assume the plague functioned that way until proven otherwise.
Besides, there probably was some video footage somewhere which could demonstrate that the new zombies were infectious. If Lucas had nothing more interesting to do, he could try to find evidence for that later. That is, if nobody else had done so first and reported it in the media by then. In the meantime, that was a distraction.
There were many very clear warnings on every site Lucas visited that the disease had an extremely high mortality rate. And an observed incubation period so quick it verged on the unbelievable, yet the evidence was very clear. From what Lucas could discern, it seemed as if it was very uncommon for people to escape with just one or two bite injuries inflicted by an infected. That was to be expected. The attacks he witnessed on video were performed with a mindless, unrelenting fanaticism.
The bites were aggressive enough to puncture and tear at skin and sometimes muscle. Enough of that sort of damage would definitely seriously injure someone. But it didn't seem like it could cause direct incapacitation as suddenly as it seemed to do so in the videos. There were isolated reports of people somehow escaping with a couple dozen bites succumbing to zombification moments later despite medical examinations indicating they should have remained in good health. That could only indicate that they were succumbing to whatever mysterious thing was transmitted via the bite itself and not the actual wounds the attack created. So it was clear that enough of the agent would impact someone far too quickly to intervene.
People who got away from an attack with only one or a couple bite injuries did seem to be fine for a time, but would eventually come down with a fever. Then the fever would tend to grow worse fairly rapidly, producing fatigue and disorientation , delusions or unconsciousness before reanimation as another undead carrier of the plague. The entire process could last for only a few hours in total for some unlucky people with a single small bite.
Yet despite that, there were a few sparse claims that some of those attacked within the first few hours were still alive. According to the sources, they were said not to be doing too well and had been flickering between periods of cogency and hallucination. Knowing the stark efficiency with which the sickness killed, how quick it could be, Lucas doubted such claims when he saw them.
But Lucas found videos providing evidence with a timestamp which seemed to support such a case. Someone which had been bitten twice, only a few hours after this crisis began was still alive as of only a half hour ago. It wasn't indicative of a recovery, but surviving for several times longer than people with more minor injuries had managed to seemed to indicate that there was a way to at least resist the impact of the disease.
Lucas sighed. Without being certain that all bites were equally infectious, it was impossible to know whether this really was as good a sign as it seemed. It looked like if he really wanted to think about this, he'd have to look for that video after all. He really did think it was true, but he didn't want to leap to the kinds of unsupported conclusions that other people were doing right now.
While not quite giving up, he rose from his chair and decided to take a bit of a break from his reading.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
The Plan
As Evan waited for George and Leon to wash off their hands ahead of him, he idly listened to the chatter within the large, mostly empty chamber. Some of the other people lingering within the common room were still watching the news broadcast. Most of the remaining people were discussing quietly what had just taken place in the front lobby. Chloe sat in the back corner away from everyone else, quietly typing studiously on her laptop. George finished washing quickly and silently departed to his room to get some rest.
Without much else to draw his attention, Evan listened to the announcements coming from the television. There apparently had been local efforts to systematically evacuate the surrounding warning zones to clear out the suburbs of infected and prevent the disease from spreading further outside Portland. Other than that, they were mostly providing the same warnings, details and advice they had been giving out since almost the beginning. Among them, the usual cajoling to quarantine the bitten in their own isolated, secure areas and not to go outside or try to kill the zombies personally.
It didn't sound like Evan had missed much news in the last several hours he had been busy trying to get things in order around this place. He also hadn't seen Lucas around in a while, but he knew Lucas wouldn't venture outside on his own. Not that he could, considering people had been keeping the ground floor doors locked. Evan figured that Lucas was probably just locked in his room, busy catching up with reading about everything that had been happening in the last day.
With that thought, Evan sighed. He felt that with the distraction of Simon's stunt and then taking the corpse outside, he had already wasted enough precious time. As Leon moved aside from the sink and tore a paper towel off a roll sitting on the countertop, Evan stepped up beside him and turned his head to speak in a discreet voice. "So, I actually came down here to talk with you."
Leon replied in a conspiratorial tone as other people within the room ignored them. "Oh! Is it about Robert? Is he still okay?"
"He's just trying to get some rest. But I was wondering if there's anything more we could do to help him." Evan ran the warm water over his hands and bare forearms, feeling quite good after the piercing cold wind outside had assaulted his exposed flesh.
"More like what?"
"Like if there's medicine that might help. Antibiotics or something else like that, maybe?" Evan lathered up thoroughly with the soap as he spoke.
"If this disease is caused by a virus, antibiotics won't help at all. But I don't think it's known whether it's a virus or a bacteria causing this." Leon shrugged before tossing the scrap of wet material into the nearby wastebasket. "But since we don't know for sure it would fail, it would be worth trying at the very least. Although that doesn't really matter because I don't have any antibiotics to give him. If I did have some around here, I would have done so already."
"I was wondering if that might be the case." Evan paused to rinse off his hands and arms. "Over in the Mansfield building, we searched through all the rooms shortly after we found out we were probably going to be stranded for a while. To see what resources we would have in case of trouble."
"That could take us a while to do." Leon casually noted as he scratched at his nose idly. "If that's what you're suggesting."
"I wasn't suggesting we do that right now, but I do think it's something we should eventually get around to doing. After we finish cleaning up what's left by the front doors." Evan quickly ripped out a paper towel and dried his hands. "But I ask because when we did inventory over there, one of the things we found was a small stash of antibiotics. I was wondering if that or anything else might help Robert."
"It could." Leon fell silent for a few seconds until Evan threw the paper towel away. "You're not thinking of having someone bring it over here, are you?"
"No. I was going to go get it myself." Evan retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and lifted it up. "Before I went out there, I just wanted to ask if there was anything else that you can think of which might help. I can call ahead and have them ready with anything else we might have. Picking it up and coming back shouldn't take more than a few minutes, but I'd rather not do this more than once if we can avoid it."
Without much else to draw his attention, Evan listened to the announcements coming from the television. There apparently had been local efforts to systematically evacuate the surrounding warning zones to clear out the suburbs of infected and prevent the disease from spreading further outside Portland. Other than that, they were mostly providing the same warnings, details and advice they had been giving out since almost the beginning. Among them, the usual cajoling to quarantine the bitten in their own isolated, secure areas and not to go outside or try to kill the zombies personally.
It didn't sound like Evan had missed much news in the last several hours he had been busy trying to get things in order around this place. He also hadn't seen Lucas around in a while, but he knew Lucas wouldn't venture outside on his own. Not that he could, considering people had been keeping the ground floor doors locked. Evan figured that Lucas was probably just locked in his room, busy catching up with reading about everything that had been happening in the last day.
With that thought, Evan sighed. He felt that with the distraction of Simon's stunt and then taking the corpse outside, he had already wasted enough precious time. As Leon moved aside from the sink and tore a paper towel off a roll sitting on the countertop, Evan stepped up beside him and turned his head to speak in a discreet voice. "So, I actually came down here to talk with you."
Leon replied in a conspiratorial tone as other people within the room ignored them. "Oh! Is it about Robert? Is he still okay?"
"He's just trying to get some rest. But I was wondering if there's anything more we could do to help him." Evan ran the warm water over his hands and bare forearms, feeling quite good after the piercing cold wind outside had assaulted his exposed flesh.
"More like what?"
"Like if there's medicine that might help. Antibiotics or something else like that, maybe?" Evan lathered up thoroughly with the soap as he spoke.
"If this disease is caused by a virus, antibiotics won't help at all. But I don't think it's known whether it's a virus or a bacteria causing this." Leon shrugged before tossing the scrap of wet material into the nearby wastebasket. "But since we don't know for sure it would fail, it would be worth trying at the very least. Although that doesn't really matter because I don't have any antibiotics to give him. If I did have some around here, I would have done so already."
"I was wondering if that might be the case." Evan paused to rinse off his hands and arms. "Over in the Mansfield building, we searched through all the rooms shortly after we found out we were probably going to be stranded for a while. To see what resources we would have in case of trouble."
"That could take us a while to do." Leon casually noted as he scratched at his nose idly. "If that's what you're suggesting."
"I wasn't suggesting we do that right now, but I do think it's something we should eventually get around to doing. After we finish cleaning up what's left by the front doors." Evan quickly ripped out a paper towel and dried his hands. "But I ask because when we did inventory over there, one of the things we found was a small stash of antibiotics. I was wondering if that or anything else might help Robert."
"It could." Leon fell silent for a few seconds until Evan threw the paper towel away. "You're not thinking of having someone bring it over here, are you?"
"No. I was going to go get it myself." Evan retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and lifted it up. "Before I went out there, I just wanted to ask if there was anything else that you can think of which might help. I can call ahead and have them ready with anything else we might have. Picking it up and coming back shouldn't take more than a few minutes, but I'd rather not do this more than once if we can avoid it."
Saturday, November 15, 2014
Bad Answers
Alone in his room, Lucas paced slowly around the small space available in his dorm. The pathway he took mostly consisted of a semi clean walking space between the dresser at the side of the room and the laptop at the desk beside the window. The few papers or discarded plastic bottles were kicked out of the way or disregarded as Lucas traversed the area.
The laptop's screen displayed the latest news headlines that had been loaded before he had risen to walk back and forth pointlessly. If this were a normal day, Lucas would have gone outside by now to either pick up food or meet with friends. Since finals were over, Evan, Ryan and the others would have probably been hanging out somewhere and they would have probably gamed together on their computers.
Although Lucas wasn't usually prone to pacing, the events today had been producing a nearly continual anxiety within him. Thinking about his own actions, Lucas knew it had nothing to do with the fact that there were real zombies out there; one even so close as to be right outside the building. It had more to do with what he had been doing: reexamining his conclusions and his idle thoughts in an endless cycle of repetition with no satisfactory answers to his most basic questions.
Although Lucas had devised a few curious conclusions about the zombies, what he had carefully considered only raised more questions than it settled. And even so, his most concrete observations barely rose above the status of tentative speculation. Everything he had concluded in deduction so far seemed perfectly reasonable, but that just made the situation more galling.
These things simply should not be. They defied natural explanation, and every tidbit of information only made their existence appear more impossible. Although much of what he had been considering was lingering in a state of wild speculation, every deduction so far seemed perfectly reasonable. That was part of what made it so problematic and uncomfortable to him. Extraordinary conclusions demanded extra scrutiny and Lucas didn't feel he could justify those conclusions on his own tenuous reasoning and the few brief videos he could examine.
Lucas craved evidence of a more definitive sort. And news sites hadn't provided anything suitable yet. Reliable sources of information just expounded basic facts- which while potentially useful for survival- didn't satisfy any deeper curiosity. Less reliable sources provided questionable assertions and vague evidence.
The only thing Lucas felt he knew for certain was that these infected were not functioning as normal life could. Their bodies got energy from somewhere other than what should be biologically possible. At least, as far as he knew about the subject. And he was only fully convinced of that because he had seen for himself the massive blood loss, and the continued function for long after what should have theoretically incapacitated its victim. While interesting by itself, that was one of those details that just raised more questions. Nobody that he could find had any explanation for it.
Despite Lucas not finding any good evidence to satiate his biggest curiosities, he still held out hope that somewhere, someone else would eventually come up with something. Or at least come to the same shaky conclusions about things that he had. Despite his best efforts to search, a myriad of theories were prepared and offered without any good evidence in support. The Internet was awash with information, but most of it was useless to him or contradicted one another. Often, it appeared people attempting to provide evidence had no first hand observations of the undead.
Lucas considered for a moment that if he could record the zombie and create a video of sufficient length, he could at least provide evidence to other people about the singular aspect he had witnessed for himself. Then people would be able to see for themselves that these things were not living in the traditional sense. But somehow, Lucas doubted that Simon would allow it. Besides, everyone except the mainstream news seemed to already recognize these things as zombies anyway.
However, the one thing many other people did seem to notice was the sudden appearance aspect. Of course, Lucas had noticed the trend earlier when he first checked online, but he had initially dismissed such things as simple ignorant paranoia. Nobody yet had a theory for the outbreak which made any sense. People latched onto those explanations of divine retribution or alien invasion or the like no matter how much sense they made. Those who did not were expounding upon stranger glorified guesses. Although nothing he had read so far was very convincing or even fully rational, an awful lot of people seemed absolutely certain despite those significant flaws.
Of course there had to be an answer for this, Lucas thought to himself. Every meaningful question that could be asked has an answer. Unfortunately, even if one could ask a meaningful question, it didn't mean that one could expect to discover that answer. But desiring an explanation very deeply didn't make accepting a bad answer okay. And right now, there was an overabundance of awful answers and far too many people seemed to be uncritically accepting them.
The laptop's screen displayed the latest news headlines that had been loaded before he had risen to walk back and forth pointlessly. If this were a normal day, Lucas would have gone outside by now to either pick up food or meet with friends. Since finals were over, Evan, Ryan and the others would have probably been hanging out somewhere and they would have probably gamed together on their computers.
Although Lucas wasn't usually prone to pacing, the events today had been producing a nearly continual anxiety within him. Thinking about his own actions, Lucas knew it had nothing to do with the fact that there were real zombies out there; one even so close as to be right outside the building. It had more to do with what he had been doing: reexamining his conclusions and his idle thoughts in an endless cycle of repetition with no satisfactory answers to his most basic questions.
Although Lucas had devised a few curious conclusions about the zombies, what he had carefully considered only raised more questions than it settled. And even so, his most concrete observations barely rose above the status of tentative speculation. Everything he had concluded in deduction so far seemed perfectly reasonable, but that just made the situation more galling.
These things simply should not be. They defied natural explanation, and every tidbit of information only made their existence appear more impossible. Although much of what he had been considering was lingering in a state of wild speculation, every deduction so far seemed perfectly reasonable. That was part of what made it so problematic and uncomfortable to him. Extraordinary conclusions demanded extra scrutiny and Lucas didn't feel he could justify those conclusions on his own tenuous reasoning and the few brief videos he could examine.
Lucas craved evidence of a more definitive sort. And news sites hadn't provided anything suitable yet. Reliable sources of information just expounded basic facts- which while potentially useful for survival- didn't satisfy any deeper curiosity. Less reliable sources provided questionable assertions and vague evidence.
The only thing Lucas felt he knew for certain was that these infected were not functioning as normal life could. Their bodies got energy from somewhere other than what should be biologically possible. At least, as far as he knew about the subject. And he was only fully convinced of that because he had seen for himself the massive blood loss, and the continued function for long after what should have theoretically incapacitated its victim. While interesting by itself, that was one of those details that just raised more questions. Nobody that he could find had any explanation for it.
Despite Lucas not finding any good evidence to satiate his biggest curiosities, he still held out hope that somewhere, someone else would eventually come up with something. Or at least come to the same shaky conclusions about things that he had. Despite his best efforts to search, a myriad of theories were prepared and offered without any good evidence in support. The Internet was awash with information, but most of it was useless to him or contradicted one another. Often, it appeared people attempting to provide evidence had no first hand observations of the undead.
Lucas considered for a moment that if he could record the zombie and create a video of sufficient length, he could at least provide evidence to other people about the singular aspect he had witnessed for himself. Then people would be able to see for themselves that these things were not living in the traditional sense. But somehow, Lucas doubted that Simon would allow it. Besides, everyone except the mainstream news seemed to already recognize these things as zombies anyway.
However, the one thing many other people did seem to notice was the sudden appearance aspect. Of course, Lucas had noticed the trend earlier when he first checked online, but he had initially dismissed such things as simple ignorant paranoia. Nobody yet had a theory for the outbreak which made any sense. People latched onto those explanations of divine retribution or alien invasion or the like no matter how much sense they made. Those who did not were expounding upon stranger glorified guesses. Although nothing he had read so far was very convincing or even fully rational, an awful lot of people seemed absolutely certain despite those significant flaws.
Of course there had to be an answer for this, Lucas thought to himself. Every meaningful question that could be asked has an answer. Unfortunately, even if one could ask a meaningful question, it didn't mean that one could expect to discover that answer. But desiring an explanation very deeply didn't make accepting a bad answer okay. And right now, there was an overabundance of awful answers and far too many people seemed to be uncritically accepting them.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Disposal
"I think that's about the best we can do for now." Evan said, the unpleasant stink still lingering within the lit lobby and seeping into the nearby hallways. The corpse had been wrapped up tightly in the tablecloth and with it, the bits of bone and stray lumps of soft, dull pink matter as well. What they could wipe up using nearby stray sheets of paper and thick gloves, anyway.
"There's some more cleaning stuff in the other room for the RAs to use in case they're needed." Leon pointed to the nearby closed door in the back of the lobby from where he had produced the heavy rubber gloves they were both wearing. "It's around where the first aid kit was stored."
"Yeah, I saw it in there earlier." Evan carefully swept his field of vision over the floor, visually inspecting to see if there were any more broken stray teeth or bits of bone to collect. Apart from the blood and a few lumps of stray grey pink sludge, the floor seemed to be about as clean as they could manage to get at the moment.
"So, were you thinking of just leaving the body in the corner for now?" Leon asked, looking at the brown tablecloth wrapped figure. He stood passively near to where the skull had been cracked open. "Or do you think we should move it somewhere before we start cleaning up in here?"
"Actually, I was thinking we should put this outside as soon as possible." Evan spoke as he approached the glass door and broad windows facing the park blocks. "While we still have the chance to do it."
"Do you really want to risk going outside when we know there's zombies in the area?" Leon's voiced concerns came as Evan carefully peered through the glass windows. "It's only going to be a problem until we leave. And once we clean up the blood and puke it's going to be a lot better in here." It sounded to Evan like Leon wasn't fully convinced of what he was saying, but he clearly wanted to be.
"I can't move him out there without help from someone, so if you don't want to take that risk, it's probably going to stay in here with us whether or not that's a good idea." Evan was meticulously focused on not touching the glass windows or the doors with his gloves, and exercised caution not to step in the pool of vomit beside the door. He leaned from side to side, checking for any movement within the shadows outside. What the widely placed street lamps in the open space made clear was an empty park space and an uncomfortable array of shadows. "But I think right now is going to be our best chance of doing this with minimal risk."
"Well, let's do it, then." Leon exhaled sharply, as if he already regret the commitment. He tentatively began to remove his gloves as he stepped around the body, approaching the door. "I guess I'll get the door."
"Actually, if we had a third person to get the door for us things would go a lot faster. And be safer for everyone, not just us." Moving to the side of the lobby Evan looked down the hallway leading to the common room. Peering in that direction, he couldn't see anyone down that way. "George? Are you still there? We could use your help with something over here."
George came out from around the corner close to door at the end of the hall and reluctantly approached despite looking ill. Without much cajoling, he was quickly recruited into their operation. He was given Leon's keys and assigned to handle the front door for them. While keeping an eye out for anything that might suddenly charge at them from the darkness.
Quickly working out their plan ahead, Evan lifted the lifeless figure's legs while Leon gripped the shoulders. Together, they trod into the icy air outside as George held the door wide. Walking together in silence a few dozen feet away from the front door, they set the mass down beside one of the long wooden benches. They then both stripped off the gore covered gloves and dropped them beside the body. Hurrying back wordlessly, they darted inside and George locked up after them again.
The task complete for now, George impulsively examined the lock several times over before offering the keys in return. He was the first to speak again. "It's been a long day. I think I'm going to go lay down in my room for a while if that's okay with everyone."
"Thank you George." Evan replied. "You've been a big help."
"Just to be careful, we should all wash up again before doing anything else." Leon helpfully suggested. "According to the news, they say you can only get the zombie infection from a bite. But either way, that was still a dead body. It could just as easily give us a regular disease if we're not careful."
"There's some more cleaning stuff in the other room for the RAs to use in case they're needed." Leon pointed to the nearby closed door in the back of the lobby from where he had produced the heavy rubber gloves they were both wearing. "It's around where the first aid kit was stored."
"Yeah, I saw it in there earlier." Evan carefully swept his field of vision over the floor, visually inspecting to see if there were any more broken stray teeth or bits of bone to collect. Apart from the blood and a few lumps of stray grey pink sludge, the floor seemed to be about as clean as they could manage to get at the moment.
"So, were you thinking of just leaving the body in the corner for now?" Leon asked, looking at the brown tablecloth wrapped figure. He stood passively near to where the skull had been cracked open. "Or do you think we should move it somewhere before we start cleaning up in here?"
"Actually, I was thinking we should put this outside as soon as possible." Evan spoke as he approached the glass door and broad windows facing the park blocks. "While we still have the chance to do it."
"Do you really want to risk going outside when we know there's zombies in the area?" Leon's voiced concerns came as Evan carefully peered through the glass windows. "It's only going to be a problem until we leave. And once we clean up the blood and puke it's going to be a lot better in here." It sounded to Evan like Leon wasn't fully convinced of what he was saying, but he clearly wanted to be.
"I can't move him out there without help from someone, so if you don't want to take that risk, it's probably going to stay in here with us whether or not that's a good idea." Evan was meticulously focused on not touching the glass windows or the doors with his gloves, and exercised caution not to step in the pool of vomit beside the door. He leaned from side to side, checking for any movement within the shadows outside. What the widely placed street lamps in the open space made clear was an empty park space and an uncomfortable array of shadows. "But I think right now is going to be our best chance of doing this with minimal risk."
"Well, let's do it, then." Leon exhaled sharply, as if he already regret the commitment. He tentatively began to remove his gloves as he stepped around the body, approaching the door. "I guess I'll get the door."
"Actually, if we had a third person to get the door for us things would go a lot faster. And be safer for everyone, not just us." Moving to the side of the lobby Evan looked down the hallway leading to the common room. Peering in that direction, he couldn't see anyone down that way. "George? Are you still there? We could use your help with something over here."
George came out from around the corner close to door at the end of the hall and reluctantly approached despite looking ill. Without much cajoling, he was quickly recruited into their operation. He was given Leon's keys and assigned to handle the front door for them. While keeping an eye out for anything that might suddenly charge at them from the darkness.
Quickly working out their plan ahead, Evan lifted the lifeless figure's legs while Leon gripped the shoulders. Together, they trod into the icy air outside as George held the door wide. Walking together in silence a few dozen feet away from the front door, they set the mass down beside one of the long wooden benches. They then both stripped off the gore covered gloves and dropped them beside the body. Hurrying back wordlessly, they darted inside and George locked up after them again.
The task complete for now, George impulsively examined the lock several times over before offering the keys in return. He was the first to speak again. "It's been a long day. I think I'm going to go lay down in my room for a while if that's okay with everyone."
"Thank you George." Evan replied. "You've been a big help."
"Just to be careful, we should all wash up again before doing anything else." Leon helpfully suggested. "According to the news, they say you can only get the zombie infection from a bite. But either way, that was still a dead body. It could just as easily give us a regular disease if we're not careful."
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Question Without An Answer
The soft glow coming from the laptop screen held steady as a momentary flickering of the overhead bulb spread darkness elsewhere in the room like an eyeblink. Lucas broke his focus, leaning away from the desk in his chair. Peering out the nearby window beside the desk at the low, adjacent building he exhaled a slow breath of air. Adjusting the chair so he could idly look out, Lucas stared out into the dark, empty world.
Scant light from the lamps in the park blocks made the bare branches of nearby trees visible as they shifted within the icy breeze. A very faint, sustained whistling noise was barely audible as an occasional heavier gust brushed over the window. From the buildings of the city that could be seen, there were lights on. Things elsewhere in Portland were chaotic and strange, but in the immediate environment, the scenery was mostly eerily serene.
Thinking about the ongoing situation, Lucas speculated over what it could mean. Past that initial moment where the zombies had first appeared, there was no evidence that whatever had taken place to create them had happened again. There wasn't any evidence to indicate it couldn't happen again either. While both assertions had little support, it seemed more reasonable to consider at the moment that the instigating event- whatever it might be- had been confined to a particular moment in time.
There was simply no reason to assume otherwise yet. If the creation of these zombies were caused by something ongoing, then that would eventually lead to evidence that should become clear over time. Specifically more single, uncaused cases in areas without any nearby cases. In addition, if he assumed they were being consistently created by an ongoing phenomenon, there wouldn't be any evidence possible to show that assumption was incorrect.
Why it only seemed to have happened once so far was still a mystery, and an important one. Despite his efforts, there was nothing immediately obvious about the first zombies in either their identities or their locations in the world. As far as locations went, the places impacted or unimpacted so far appeared to be completely random. And if the first people infected had anything in common, it wasn't something Lucas could tell from what he had read so far.
But it wasn't worth worrying about what he had no reasonable way of knowing. Without an explanation for the overall cause, there were still plenty of things so far to know about the evident plague.
It wasn't like not knowing everything about the situation made what they did know worthless. What was important, head injuries being the only effective means of killing the undead, staying safe inside and keeping those with bites isolated were repeatedly propogated by every news source. Guessing and speculation about deeper causes was mostly secondary to those primary concerns. For now, at least.
Once the immediate matter of the zombie outbreak had been managed, there would be time to answer those questions. Until then, they only had to deal with the immediate facts. And despite not making a whole lot of sense, the facts didn't have to make total sense in order to be useful.
Regardless, Lucas just couldn't drop the thoughts completely from his mind. It was as if in a peculiar instant, the usual laws of reality had been suspended and something uniquely strange had intruded itself upon the normal universe. Something that broke the usual expectations for the natural order. An infectious disease that could take hold upon its victim in seconds. Infected that did not need blood to operate. The potential that these things were able to sense the moment someone had died and move on. These traits had a surreal quality to them he couldn't quite ignore.
And lastly, more than any other mystery so far, the source of that instigating event, either intelligent or an unguided accident. As much as he didn't like leaving such a thing unanswered, there was little choice but to do so.
Scant light from the lamps in the park blocks made the bare branches of nearby trees visible as they shifted within the icy breeze. A very faint, sustained whistling noise was barely audible as an occasional heavier gust brushed over the window. From the buildings of the city that could be seen, there were lights on. Things elsewhere in Portland were chaotic and strange, but in the immediate environment, the scenery was mostly eerily serene.
Thinking about the ongoing situation, Lucas speculated over what it could mean. Past that initial moment where the zombies had first appeared, there was no evidence that whatever had taken place to create them had happened again. There wasn't any evidence to indicate it couldn't happen again either. While both assertions had little support, it seemed more reasonable to consider at the moment that the instigating event- whatever it might be- had been confined to a particular moment in time.
There was simply no reason to assume otherwise yet. If the creation of these zombies were caused by something ongoing, then that would eventually lead to evidence that should become clear over time. Specifically more single, uncaused cases in areas without any nearby cases. In addition, if he assumed they were being consistently created by an ongoing phenomenon, there wouldn't be any evidence possible to show that assumption was incorrect.
Why it only seemed to have happened once so far was still a mystery, and an important one. Despite his efforts, there was nothing immediately obvious about the first zombies in either their identities or their locations in the world. As far as locations went, the places impacted or unimpacted so far appeared to be completely random. And if the first people infected had anything in common, it wasn't something Lucas could tell from what he had read so far.
But it wasn't worth worrying about what he had no reasonable way of knowing. Without an explanation for the overall cause, there were still plenty of things so far to know about the evident plague.
It wasn't like not knowing everything about the situation made what they did know worthless. What was important, head injuries being the only effective means of killing the undead, staying safe inside and keeping those with bites isolated were repeatedly propogated by every news source. Guessing and speculation about deeper causes was mostly secondary to those primary concerns. For now, at least.
Once the immediate matter of the zombie outbreak had been managed, there would be time to answer those questions. Until then, they only had to deal with the immediate facts. And despite not making a whole lot of sense, the facts didn't have to make total sense in order to be useful.
Regardless, Lucas just couldn't drop the thoughts completely from his mind. It was as if in a peculiar instant, the usual laws of reality had been suspended and something uniquely strange had intruded itself upon the normal universe. Something that broke the usual expectations for the natural order. An infectious disease that could take hold upon its victim in seconds. Infected that did not need blood to operate. The potential that these things were able to sense the moment someone had died and move on. These traits had a surreal quality to them he couldn't quite ignore.
And lastly, more than any other mystery so far, the source of that instigating event, either intelligent or an unguided accident. As much as he didn't like leaving such a thing unanswered, there was little choice but to do so.
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
Remains
Although he had come down here to speak with Leon, Evan didn't want to leave the scene in this unseemly state for others to stumble upon. Peering around the lobby for a suitable cover once George and Simon departed, nothing suitable for that immediate purpose caught his attention. The front lobby bore no spare sheets to drape over the unmoving corpse and its associated remains. But he did recall there were curtains and tablecloths in the common room that would probably be suitable for covering the body.
Already there were some people talking within the hallways, asking each other what had taken place. A girl Evan didn't recognize tentatively appeared at the top of the stairs, slowly looking around what she could see of the lobby as she called out hesitantly. An uneasy tone was in the small voice as she locked frightened eyes on the vacant glass doors. No doubt also noticing the vomit and small trail of blood upon the floor. Then she shifted her attention to regard Evan with suspicion. "I heard something a minute ago. Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. But you probably don't want to come down here." Evan replied as he hastily moved out of view from the stairs. He skirted the edge of the inert zombie's remains as he made his way towards the nearby light switch and flicked it off. "Things are a little unpleasant down here right now."
"What happened? Did it get inside?" Came the same frightened voice, the person to which it belonged now out of sight but stepping down to get a slightly better vantage point.
"Nothing. Just ah-" Evan hesitated to speak, reluctant to really say much about what had just happened. While the confrontation was resolved without any bites, the idea someone purposefully let a zombie inside was a little unnerving. It was more than that, it was stupid to even take such a risk when others were in the building. "It was an accident, but it's been taken care of. And he didn't bite anyone."
"Oh." Came the response. The figure paused upon the stairs, then retreated back the way she had come, speaking to someone else.
The battered figure was now a lumpy shadow in the scant lighting provided by the nearby corridors, upstairs and the eerie lighting in the park blocks outside. Carefully hurrying around the body and the blood, Evan felt an uneven step he later realized was due to stepping upon a stray tooth.
Running to go to the common room, Evan stopped before the door and saw George in the hallway leading to the left. He was sitting partway down the hall and leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. The same exit Evan had used when he ventured outside. George still looked rather shaken and breathed heavily, the thick stench of blood and vomit within the lobby had not reached here yet.
Inside the glass doorway to the common room, the black girl who was out there just moments before saw Evan and began to approach to let him inside. She had been speaking to a couple others, Erin and Jorge, probably about what she had just seen. With his initial shock faded, Evan now recalled her name was Chloe. She along with the others she was speaking to she had helped with the building census.
Evan called to George as he waited for the door. "Hey, George. Are you going to be okay?"
George nodded his head as if he were uncertain and spoke without opening his eyes. "I watched a video like that once. Someone got their head cut right off. Shit, that was much worse."
"Well, try not to think about it. I've got this." Evan entered the common room with a nod to the girl that let him inside and ran to the nearest table.
Hastily removing the tablecloth, he ignored the voices of the few people in the room speaking to each other and the low sound of the television still playing the news broadcast at the far end of the large room.
Although Evan was too busy to count how many people were here, he recognized Leon's voice from close by as he was about to rush off with the bundled, thick fabric. "Need any help?"
"That would be good." Evan sighed. "But aren't you afraid?"
"If you're sure it's really dead, then I don't see the harm." Leon spoke plainly, his slightly older age showing in his gruff voice. He scratched idly at his bald head. "Besides, I've probably seen worse before. I was a combat medic."
Evan paused a moment, skeptical, but glad for the assistance. Together, they returned to the lobby and the two of them set to work doing what they could to cover and remove the remains, then clean up what was possible.
Already there were some people talking within the hallways, asking each other what had taken place. A girl Evan didn't recognize tentatively appeared at the top of the stairs, slowly looking around what she could see of the lobby as she called out hesitantly. An uneasy tone was in the small voice as she locked frightened eyes on the vacant glass doors. No doubt also noticing the vomit and small trail of blood upon the floor. Then she shifted her attention to regard Evan with suspicion. "I heard something a minute ago. Is everything okay?"
"Yes, everything is fine. But you probably don't want to come down here." Evan replied as he hastily moved out of view from the stairs. He skirted the edge of the inert zombie's remains as he made his way towards the nearby light switch and flicked it off. "Things are a little unpleasant down here right now."
"What happened? Did it get inside?" Came the same frightened voice, the person to which it belonged now out of sight but stepping down to get a slightly better vantage point.
"Nothing. Just ah-" Evan hesitated to speak, reluctant to really say much about what had just happened. While the confrontation was resolved without any bites, the idea someone purposefully let a zombie inside was a little unnerving. It was more than that, it was stupid to even take such a risk when others were in the building. "It was an accident, but it's been taken care of. And he didn't bite anyone."
"Oh." Came the response. The figure paused upon the stairs, then retreated back the way she had come, speaking to someone else.
The battered figure was now a lumpy shadow in the scant lighting provided by the nearby corridors, upstairs and the eerie lighting in the park blocks outside. Carefully hurrying around the body and the blood, Evan felt an uneven step he later realized was due to stepping upon a stray tooth.
Running to go to the common room, Evan stopped before the door and saw George in the hallway leading to the left. He was sitting partway down the hall and leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. The same exit Evan had used when he ventured outside. George still looked rather shaken and breathed heavily, the thick stench of blood and vomit within the lobby had not reached here yet.
Inside the glass doorway to the common room, the black girl who was out there just moments before saw Evan and began to approach to let him inside. She had been speaking to a couple others, Erin and Jorge, probably about what she had just seen. With his initial shock faded, Evan now recalled her name was Chloe. She along with the others she was speaking to she had helped with the building census.
Evan called to George as he waited for the door. "Hey, George. Are you going to be okay?"
George nodded his head as if he were uncertain and spoke without opening his eyes. "I watched a video like that once. Someone got their head cut right off. Shit, that was much worse."
"Well, try not to think about it. I've got this." Evan entered the common room with a nod to the girl that let him inside and ran to the nearest table.
Hastily removing the tablecloth, he ignored the voices of the few people in the room speaking to each other and the low sound of the television still playing the news broadcast at the far end of the large room.
Although Evan was too busy to count how many people were here, he recognized Leon's voice from close by as he was about to rush off with the bundled, thick fabric. "Need any help?"
"That would be good." Evan sighed. "But aren't you afraid?"
"If you're sure it's really dead, then I don't see the harm." Leon spoke plainly, his slightly older age showing in his gruff voice. He scratched idly at his bald head. "Besides, I've probably seen worse before. I was a combat medic."
Evan paused a moment, skeptical, but glad for the assistance. Together, they returned to the lobby and the two of them set to work doing what they could to cover and remove the remains, then clean up what was possible.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Uncomfortable Conclusion
The unsettling question, the one with bigger implications than all others Lucas had thought to consider so far, had few possible answers. But before such answers would be entirely appropriate to consider, establishing the details of a basic timeline mattered. With rising trepidation as each new tidbit gathered seemed to support the uncomfortable notion, Lucas could feel each sensible alternative becoming less and less likely.
Careful study of multiple news sources verified what had up until now only been an unexamined and implicit assumption. As far as Lucas could verify, the absolutely earliest report of what the media dubbed infected was in San Francisco, California at 4:54 PM local time the previous day. According to the local media, a zombie attack in Portland was first reported at 4:57 PM.
Within a short window of time of only a few minutes, a total of twenty four places in eight different countries had isolated reports of the characteristic spreading attacks which were undoubtedly confirmed. While not every initial account had been in only big population centers, twenty one were in large cities where there were lots of potential eyewitnesses to see the first attacks by the infected. The final early sighting was- according to the reporting- within a small town in northern Montana.
While attacks in those first places continued to spread out and the infected swarms grew over the next several hours within many of those initial places, in others they were completely beaten back and quickly eliminated as individuals fought against the attacks. Many terrified people hid indoors, which kept the number of new infected to a minimum. Those early attempts to flee or fight had mixed success, but reports indicated that bravado often added to the tides of undead. There was no obvious pattern to who survived the ongoing regional outbreaks, but the initial panic had clearly led to confusion which did not help matters.
But beside the ongoing initial confrontation, the major characteristic of later verified cases came from smaller towns, within rural areas and suburban neightborhoods. Not everywhere in the world, but in more places than where those first attacks had been reported, new confirmations trickled in. Some small communities had mysteriously been cut off from outside communication and when someone checked up on the area, they were discovered to be plagued with the diseased. As if the whole town had been caught unprepared for what was being actively reported on in the media and displayed all over the Internet. Perhaps their calls for help were unnoticed in the panic.
Many more places were completely untouched by the zombies than seemed to have them, but those attempting to flee blighted zones for a safe area unintentionally brought the spreading disease with them. Some traffic jams were credited to car crashes caused by attacks from infected passengers riding in cars. Lucas curiously noticed that Portland was supposedly cut off due to a couple such wreckages. Perhaps that was what made the coming military response delayed until tomorrow.
In either case, it did not look like it was a good idea to flee. Given what he had read, it made sense for the CDC and the government to ask everyone to stay inside for now.
And finally, there was another wave of new reports, coming from only a few places so far and only beginning a few hours or so ago. A few places were starting to report infected moving in huge swarms. These weren't from the already known ongoing outbreaks, but totally new and uncomfirmed sources. Supposedly, one zombie had caused a large outbreak somewhere that had simply not been reported until the mob had reached that size. There were only a few of those. That implied that in some areas of the world, the phenomenon had been overlooked for some time before it was noticed.
Lucas gathered these notes as he had made them on his computer. It was not a trivial task to accomplish this, although several other people had done similar things. Since there was a great deal of misinformation caused by understandable terror, it also wasn't likely he had a complete record. But Lucas had enough for his own purposes.
Given the basic timeline Lucas now had, whatever caused these zombies, there was reason to think it had begun in individual, isolated pockets. Then as attacks spread the infection from person to person and the hordes of undead grew, it began to be reported in more places because some zombies had been initially overlooked. Otherwise, the appearance was sudden. With nothing like it known prior.
That only led to two possible conclusions Lucas could envision and both made his skin crawl. Something had created those initial zombies at a precise moment in time. That meant this was potentially deliberately caused by something intelligent. Or it had to be something natural that was so vast, so far beyond the scale of an ordinary person, as to be indistinguishable from a planned planetary event.
And so far, this appeared to be far too random and chaotic to indicate there was any kind of planning involved.
Careful study of multiple news sources verified what had up until now only been an unexamined and implicit assumption. As far as Lucas could verify, the absolutely earliest report of what the media dubbed infected was in San Francisco, California at 4:54 PM local time the previous day. According to the local media, a zombie attack in Portland was first reported at 4:57 PM.
Within a short window of time of only a few minutes, a total of twenty four places in eight different countries had isolated reports of the characteristic spreading attacks which were undoubtedly confirmed. While not every initial account had been in only big population centers, twenty one were in large cities where there were lots of potential eyewitnesses to see the first attacks by the infected. The final early sighting was- according to the reporting- within a small town in northern Montana.
While attacks in those first places continued to spread out and the infected swarms grew over the next several hours within many of those initial places, in others they were completely beaten back and quickly eliminated as individuals fought against the attacks. Many terrified people hid indoors, which kept the number of new infected to a minimum. Those early attempts to flee or fight had mixed success, but reports indicated that bravado often added to the tides of undead. There was no obvious pattern to who survived the ongoing regional outbreaks, but the initial panic had clearly led to confusion which did not help matters.
But beside the ongoing initial confrontation, the major characteristic of later verified cases came from smaller towns, within rural areas and suburban neightborhoods. Not everywhere in the world, but in more places than where those first attacks had been reported, new confirmations trickled in. Some small communities had mysteriously been cut off from outside communication and when someone checked up on the area, they were discovered to be plagued with the diseased. As if the whole town had been caught unprepared for what was being actively reported on in the media and displayed all over the Internet. Perhaps their calls for help were unnoticed in the panic.
Many more places were completely untouched by the zombies than seemed to have them, but those attempting to flee blighted zones for a safe area unintentionally brought the spreading disease with them. Some traffic jams were credited to car crashes caused by attacks from infected passengers riding in cars. Lucas curiously noticed that Portland was supposedly cut off due to a couple such wreckages. Perhaps that was what made the coming military response delayed until tomorrow.
In either case, it did not look like it was a good idea to flee. Given what he had read, it made sense for the CDC and the government to ask everyone to stay inside for now.
And finally, there was another wave of new reports, coming from only a few places so far and only beginning a few hours or so ago. A few places were starting to report infected moving in huge swarms. These weren't from the already known ongoing outbreaks, but totally new and uncomfirmed sources. Supposedly, one zombie had caused a large outbreak somewhere that had simply not been reported until the mob had reached that size. There were only a few of those. That implied that in some areas of the world, the phenomenon had been overlooked for some time before it was noticed.
Lucas gathered these notes as he had made them on his computer. It was not a trivial task to accomplish this, although several other people had done similar things. Since there was a great deal of misinformation caused by understandable terror, it also wasn't likely he had a complete record. But Lucas had enough for his own purposes.
Given the basic timeline Lucas now had, whatever caused these zombies, there was reason to think it had begun in individual, isolated pockets. Then as attacks spread the infection from person to person and the hordes of undead grew, it began to be reported in more places because some zombies had been initially overlooked. Otherwise, the appearance was sudden. With nothing like it known prior.
That only led to two possible conclusions Lucas could envision and both made his skin crawl. Something had created those initial zombies at a precise moment in time. That meant this was potentially deliberately caused by something intelligent. Or it had to be something natural that was so vast, so far beyond the scale of an ordinary person, as to be indistinguishable from a planned planetary event.
And so far, this appeared to be far too random and chaotic to indicate there was any kind of planning involved.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
Shock
A rich, iron smell wafted heavily through the chamber after the final wet crack brought the fight to a close. The battered corpse lay motionless upon the ground, its skull cracked open with its contents oozing; arms laying spread forwards as its final grasping attempts were ended with violent finality. A growing but small puddle of dark, cold blood spread upon the hard linoleum floor. The mass of brain matter had been splattered upon the floor around the broken skull in a disgusting faded pink heap. Fragments of bone and teeth had been scattered over the floor, and with it, small dark stains.
Evan felt a woozy sensation in the pit of his stomach as he forced his attention away from the carnage. Still frozen beside the front door, George cringed, his head turned towards the glass, producing a retching sound, then vomiting onto the red streaks leading away from the entrance. Evan swallowed back an acidic taste, trying not to follow suit. It was the most horrible thing he had ever seen; he hadn't even imagined he could see something that would have this kind of effect on him.
Standing before his slain target, Simon breathed heavily as the effort of the confrontation had obviously taken longer than he had expected. The large man casually tossed the bloodied length of pipe into the back left corner of the room only a few feet away. It landed with a resounding metallic clatter and rolled around on the floor. Simon looked rattled by what he had done; a few spatters of dark blood were sprinkled on his heavy blue sweater and pants. He repeated his earlier statement as he returned his attention to Evan. "That is how you handle them. Do you get it now?"
Evan did not reply. He tried not to look at the result of the violence, yet he couldn't close his eyes without seeing it again.
Simon looked down at his handiwork and took a step back to lean against the nearby wall, still breathing heavily. After a few seconds frozen in place, Simon wiped his hands off on his sweater. There was the heavy, rapid sound of running footfalls and shouting as people elsewhere in the building reacted to the commotion now that it was done.
Standing along the right edge of the lobby, Evan could hear someone approaching from the nearby hallway leading to the common room. They were speaking, but in the shock of the moment, Evan did not recognize the words. George was still retching, leaning against the glass doorway and turned away from the scene.
From where Evan stood, he could see a small cluster of nervous people he didn't recognize peering at him from the stairs. Luckily for them, Simon and the slain zombie were close to the back left corner of the lobby and the stairs began at the back right corner. The angle they had occluded their view of the situation. Evan regained his senses enough to wave them away before they came down and spoke few words indicating that they wouldn't want to see what had happened. From the way they looked at him before retreating, they must have believed him.
Evan turned his head slightly, not sure when it had happened, but noticed an athletic black girl had emerged from the passage leading to the common room. She had short hair are wore dark blue clothing. A look of shocked horror was upon her face for a moment before she turned back down the entryway and disappeared. Across the lobby another person was peeking out of a doorway down the far hall and reacted to the situation by ducking back inside. He was also lucky enough not to be in a position to see what was left.
Despite the heavy scent a constant reminder with each breath, Evan managed to beat back his own disgust and regain his senses. Every witness had been rattled and George had finally emptied his stomach. A newer acidic scent mingled in the air as George moved along the edge of the wall, unwilling to look at the remains.
"Hey. Both of you." Simon spoke after the brief respite to catch his breath. He looked between Evan and George as he spoke. "Do you get it now? Look at me!"
George shook his head, not looking at the larger man as he moved along the wall. "I- I feel faint." He dropped the keys to the front door as if to prove the point.
Simon spoke again, terse and confrontational. "Well, George if you want to survive you're going to have to toughen up or you will die. Do you want to die?"
"Leave him alone." Evan exhaled slowly to settle his stomach. "You didn't have to do that. The military is coming tomorrow. They would have killed it, and you know it."
"Wrong!" Simon shook his head. "The only thing I know for certain is that when you can take out a threat, you do it immediately. You don't wait, you don't give it a chance to become a bigger problem."
"It was outside." Evan stated. "You didn't need to bring it in here to do that."
"Like you care, asshole. The only reason this happened in the first place is because you didn't kill it outside when you had the chance." Simon retorted with an angry scowl. "I only finished what you were too much of a coward to do."
Evan had nothing else to say, but at least Simon wasn't picking on George anymore. With the opportunity presented by the distraction, George had retreated into the hallway nearby and away from the lobby.
After a brief period of silence Simon announced he needed to clean himself off and change his clothing. He retrieved the keys to the front doors and went upstairs with a final glare at Evan, leaving the gruesome mess behind.
Evan felt a woozy sensation in the pit of his stomach as he forced his attention away from the carnage. Still frozen beside the front door, George cringed, his head turned towards the glass, producing a retching sound, then vomiting onto the red streaks leading away from the entrance. Evan swallowed back an acidic taste, trying not to follow suit. It was the most horrible thing he had ever seen; he hadn't even imagined he could see something that would have this kind of effect on him.
Standing before his slain target, Simon breathed heavily as the effort of the confrontation had obviously taken longer than he had expected. The large man casually tossed the bloodied length of pipe into the back left corner of the room only a few feet away. It landed with a resounding metallic clatter and rolled around on the floor. Simon looked rattled by what he had done; a few spatters of dark blood were sprinkled on his heavy blue sweater and pants. He repeated his earlier statement as he returned his attention to Evan. "That is how you handle them. Do you get it now?"
Evan did not reply. He tried not to look at the result of the violence, yet he couldn't close his eyes without seeing it again.
Simon looked down at his handiwork and took a step back to lean against the nearby wall, still breathing heavily. After a few seconds frozen in place, Simon wiped his hands off on his sweater. There was the heavy, rapid sound of running footfalls and shouting as people elsewhere in the building reacted to the commotion now that it was done.
Standing along the right edge of the lobby, Evan could hear someone approaching from the nearby hallway leading to the common room. They were speaking, but in the shock of the moment, Evan did not recognize the words. George was still retching, leaning against the glass doorway and turned away from the scene.
From where Evan stood, he could see a small cluster of nervous people he didn't recognize peering at him from the stairs. Luckily for them, Simon and the slain zombie were close to the back left corner of the lobby and the stairs began at the back right corner. The angle they had occluded their view of the situation. Evan regained his senses enough to wave them away before they came down and spoke few words indicating that they wouldn't want to see what had happened. From the way they looked at him before retreating, they must have believed him.
Evan turned his head slightly, not sure when it had happened, but noticed an athletic black girl had emerged from the passage leading to the common room. She had short hair are wore dark blue clothing. A look of shocked horror was upon her face for a moment before she turned back down the entryway and disappeared. Across the lobby another person was peeking out of a doorway down the far hall and reacted to the situation by ducking back inside. He was also lucky enough not to be in a position to see what was left.
Despite the heavy scent a constant reminder with each breath, Evan managed to beat back his own disgust and regain his senses. Every witness had been rattled and George had finally emptied his stomach. A newer acidic scent mingled in the air as George moved along the edge of the wall, unwilling to look at the remains.
"Hey. Both of you." Simon spoke after the brief respite to catch his breath. He looked between Evan and George as he spoke. "Do you get it now? Look at me!"
George shook his head, not looking at the larger man as he moved along the wall. "I- I feel faint." He dropped the keys to the front door as if to prove the point.
Simon spoke again, terse and confrontational. "Well, George if you want to survive you're going to have to toughen up or you will die. Do you want to die?"
"Leave him alone." Evan exhaled slowly to settle his stomach. "You didn't have to do that. The military is coming tomorrow. They would have killed it, and you know it."
"Wrong!" Simon shook his head. "The only thing I know for certain is that when you can take out a threat, you do it immediately. You don't wait, you don't give it a chance to become a bigger problem."
"It was outside." Evan stated. "You didn't need to bring it in here to do that."
"Like you care, asshole. The only reason this happened in the first place is because you didn't kill it outside when you had the chance." Simon retorted with an angry scowl. "I only finished what you were too much of a coward to do."
Evan had nothing else to say, but at least Simon wasn't picking on George anymore. With the opportunity presented by the distraction, George had retreated into the hallway nearby and away from the lobby.
After a brief period of silence Simon announced he needed to clean himself off and change his clothing. He retrieved the keys to the front doors and went upstairs with a final glare at Evan, leaving the gruesome mess behind.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Distractions
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?
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?
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