Zombie Metropolis Part 1

The lights had been shut off hours ago. The only illumination was the flickering of the television; reception going in and out. It was the only way we had of keeping touch with the rest of the world. We could only make out some of what the reporters were saying, but it made us feel just a tad bit better considering the circumstances.

"This is Larry Achmidier reporting. No matter what transpires in the coming days, our world is forever changed. For years we have been fascinated with the idea of zombies, whether in our books, our movies, or our video games. Zombies have long held a special place in our world. To this point, they have existed merely in fiction. Those days have all been swept away."

"Man, enough of this melodramatic reporting," Jackson snapped. "You'd swear this was just another damn disaster clean up story!"

He had a point. This was no mere news story. No, this was something different; catastrophically different. C'mon, real life zombies! Zombies! There are a few of us sticking together during this troubling time. We live in a small town in the central United States. The zombies originated overseas somewhere; they don't really know where exactly. The strange thing is that this is unfolding hauntingly similar to how so many of our, at the time fictional, movies centered around zombies did. The disease is spreading rapidly as feared. The rumors are that many of the major cities are in chaos, but who knows for sure. These are just rumors. Based on the fading TV signals and the order to stay home, I'm thinking the rumors have at least a grain of truth.

"I still can't believe this is actually happening. It's only been three days since the news broke and already we seem headed for some post-apocalyptic nightmare," replied Greg.

"Did you really expect much different?" scowled Jackson.

Cowering a bit, Greg replied, "Well, I guess I hadn't really thought about it."

The television faded out one more, and for a while; black. We were told that the zombies were attracted to light; they have at least maintained the capacity to realize lights on reflected some degree of life inside. So we sat in the inescapable darkness, mesmerized by the television snow, hoping with each passing moment the signal would return. Despite our objections to the manner of reporting, it was a comfort, however small, to at least see reporting going on; I guess it gave us all a small sense of normalcy. You take small victories in times like these. You really do. You have to.

The night continued on in darkness for what seemed like an eternity until finally the television caught signal once again. In reality, it had only been a few hours.

" -- -- .at least in Europe. As far as we are concerned here in the U.S, most of the problem seems contained in the East. Though we can't be sure, and just one of the contaminated can start an unstoppable chain reaction. The leaders of Europe, well the ones who have escaped, have convened in Dublin. Most of mainland Europe is overrun, spreading rapidly to the East into Asia. We'll keep you updated as we get information. This is James Artlak, CNN, reporting.

The signal stayed on and they went back to the studio talking endlessly about the severity of the situation. Jackson, who's long had a quick tongue, spoke up as usual;

"That reporter was in Chicago. It looked alright there. Hell, maybe they are making this a bigger deal than it is! Election year; they'll pull anything for votes."

See, Jackson is one of those people that won't take anything at face value. According to him, there is always some deep, sinister truth hidden. Short answer: Jackson would be sitting at Area 51, on December 20^th, 2012, with a sign saying the end is near and demanding to meet Elvis. He's a classic conspiracy nut. Though, in situations such as these, you can't pick your allies. You're just happy to have allies.

Almost immediately, we began hearing noises outside. Slowly and cautiously we peered out the window. There were people getting in their cars burning rubber to get out of town; heading west no doubt, for they surely saw the same report we did that all the trouble was out East. While it meant that we would be slightly more alone, we decided to stay. The report was hardly positive that the contaminated were contained in the East. If more concrete evidence comes through, we may leave. For now though, we'll attempt to wait it out -- -- .