PROLOGUE
August 14 2021
My name is Dylan Branscombe, and I’m writing this journal for any who survive this... epidemic. I have no clue how bad it is right now, but the death toll is in the thousands already and the first infection was just yesterday-or so the government says. I may be overreacting, but I’m gonna get the guys together and survive this thing, at any cost.
DAY 1
August 19 2021
I checked over our supplies once more, confirming we have everything we need to last at least a month. Rations and water for seven, flashlights, batteries, a radio, and seven backpacks, packed with supplies for each of us. In case we need to run.
Alright, everything’s accounted for. I walked out of the guest room we were using for storage and down to the main floor.
The other six members of my group were busy modifying and barricading the house, except Kristin who was watching the news. She owned this house, along with her husband and my best friend, Brandon.
I still remember when they first started dating, back in February of ’12. We walked all the way to her house, at 11PM, in the middle of Canadian winter, so he could ask her out. Needless to say they’ve been together ever since.
Brandon, along with Steezy and Luke, two more members of our group, were busy boarding up windows with two by fours. Riley and Andy, the remaining two members of our group were working on barricading the doors.
We’ve all been working on this all day. Brandon’s house was pretty big, and out in the country, on a farm. That’s why were here now. Brandon worked as a high-end carpenter before… this, and grew quite a bit of pot on the side, partly for the government and partly for him. He also designed the house himself.
I walked into the living room and flopped down on the leather couch beside Kristin.
“What’s new?” I asked her.
“Well, Asia’s gone almost completely dark, no more planes are getting out, they say that’s where it started, or somewhere off the eastern coast.” She replied.
“Jesus… do they know how far its spread?”
“They’re saying its spreading faster than anyone thought, its all across Africa and Europe, and it may be Australia- and South America.” She replies quietly.
Kristin’s really shaken up about this whole thing, I feel bad for her. But I don’t blame her; the end of the world is pretty scary to think about. And what a way to go, wiped out by this disease.
The ‘professionals’ are calling it Solanum, and its effects are frightening, to say the least. Solanum is 100 percent communicable and 100 percent fatal. In the first few hours after infection, it imitates the flu. Then it gets worse, higher fever, vomiting, diarrhoea. Around the twelve hour mark your pulse begins to slow, and you start getting numb, followed by muscle spasms and lower-body paralysis. After that you fall into a coma and die. No pulse, brain activity… nothing. Dead. But an hour or so later, the body comes back to life, but there not alive, and certainly not human. The walking dead, straight out of Hollywood, some fucked up nightmare apocalypse kind of deal.
They don’t know much about these zombies yet, but they’re saying to stay away from them, as they’re extremely hostile and cannibalistic. And that’s how it spreads; bites, scratches, if they pierce your skin, your infected.
“This is the beginning of the end,” I said softly.
“Looks like it,” she replies just as soft. I got up, gave her a little smile and got back to work.
I helped the guy’s board up windows for an hour, and by then all the windows were secured. We all sat around Brandon’s kitchen table.
“Okay, we’ve done a great job today, tomorrow we’ll destroy the staircase and the-. “ I said, before Kristin interrupted me.
“Whoa slow down, why does the staircase have to go?”
“Just the first floor stairs, in case they get in, all we have to do is climb a ladder up and we’re somewhat safe.”
“Somewhat?” Luke exclaimed.
“Well I mean if two hundred zombies got in they’d end up climbing all over each other and getting to the second floor.”
“Oh,” he said.
“We’d be long gone before that, right?” Kristin asked eyes wide.
“Course,” I replied, “that’s what the backpacks are for.”
Steezy leaned back against the wall. “When do you think it’s gonna hit here?” Everyone’s eyes turned to me.
“Ask Kristin she was watching the news.”
“Well there saying three to four days, depending on how fast the U.S falls,” she responded.
“I thought we had more time!” Andy exclaimed.
“Apparently not,” she said, “the news is saying it’s spreading like wildfire.” Brandon put his arm around her.
“Don’t worry, Dylan’s been planning this for a long time, if anyone’s gonna make it through this, it’s us,” he said.
I looked at the six people gathered around me, looking at me for input. “He’s right, as long as we stick together, we will survive this.” If only I was as hopeful as I sounded.
Alright, everything’s accounted for. I walked out of the guest room we were using for storage and down to the main floor.
The other six members of my group were busy modifying and barricading the house, except Kristin who was watching the news. She owned this house, along with her husband and my best friend, Brandon.
I still remember when they first started dating, back in February of ’12. We walked all the way to her house, at 11PM, in the middle of Canadian winter, so he could ask her out. Needless to say they’ve been together ever since.
Brandon, along with Steezy and Luke, two more members of our group, were busy boarding up windows with two by fours. Riley and Andy, the remaining two members of our group were working on barricading the doors.
We’ve all been working on this all day. Brandon’s house was pretty big, and out in the country, on a farm. That’s why were here now. Brandon worked as a high-end carpenter before… this, and grew quite a bit of pot on the side, partly for the government and partly for him. He also designed the house himself.
I walked into the living room and flopped down on the leather couch beside Kristin.
“What’s new?” I asked her.
“Well, Asia’s gone almost completely dark, no more planes are getting out, they say that’s where it started, or somewhere off the eastern coast.” She replied.
“Jesus… do they know how far its spread?”
“They’re saying its spreading faster than anyone thought, its all across Africa and Europe, and it may be Australia- and South America.” She replies quietly.
Kristin’s really shaken up about this whole thing, I feel bad for her. But I don’t blame her; the end of the world is pretty scary to think about. And what a way to go, wiped out by this disease.
The ‘professionals’ are calling it Solanum, and its effects are frightening, to say the least. Solanum is 100 percent communicable and 100 percent fatal. In the first few hours after infection, it imitates the flu. Then it gets worse, higher fever, vomiting, diarrhoea. Around the twelve hour mark your pulse begins to slow, and you start getting numb, followed by muscle spasms and lower-body paralysis. After that you fall into a coma and die. No pulse, brain activity… nothing. Dead. But an hour or so later, the body comes back to life, but there not alive, and certainly not human. The walking dead, straight out of Hollywood, some fucked up nightmare apocalypse kind of deal.
They don’t know much about these zombies yet, but they’re saying to stay away from them, as they’re extremely hostile and cannibalistic. And that’s how it spreads; bites, scratches, if they pierce your skin, your infected.
“This is the beginning of the end,” I said softly.
“Looks like it,” she replies just as soft. I got up, gave her a little smile and got back to work.
I helped the guy’s board up windows for an hour, and by then all the windows were secured. We all sat around Brandon’s kitchen table.
“Okay, we’ve done a great job today, tomorrow we’ll destroy the staircase and the-. “ I said, before Kristin interrupted me.
“Whoa slow down, why does the staircase have to go?”
“Just the first floor stairs, in case they get in, all we have to do is climb a ladder up and we’re somewhat safe.”
“Somewhat?” Luke exclaimed.
“Well I mean if two hundred zombies got in they’d end up climbing all over each other and getting to the second floor.”
“Oh,” he said.
“We’d be long gone before that, right?” Kristin asked eyes wide.
“Course,” I replied, “that’s what the backpacks are for.”
Steezy leaned back against the wall. “When do you think it’s gonna hit here?” Everyone’s eyes turned to me.
“Ask Kristin she was watching the news.”
“Well there saying three to four days, depending on how fast the U.S falls,” she responded.
“I thought we had more time!” Andy exclaimed.
“Apparently not,” she said, “the news is saying it’s spreading like wildfire.” Brandon put his arm around her.
“Don’t worry, Dylan’s been planning this for a long time, if anyone’s gonna make it through this, it’s us,” he said.
I looked at the six people gathered around me, looking at me for input. “He’s right, as long as we stick together, we will survive this.” If only I was as hopeful as I sounded.