Chapter 1: Dawn of the End

Alex Doe ran.

He knew the zombies had already swept over his neighborhood, and his parents were undoubtedly dead....or zombies by now. His pace didn't falter, and his lungs smoothly inhaled and exhaled as he ran up a large hill like a mountain goat. The backpack on his back bounced against his body, but it was a comforting weight. After spending the night at a friend's house to work on a building project, it was a blessing to have a few basic necessities. A few nutrition bars, hygiene materials, a change of clothes, and even some rope that he had brought in order to rapel from the roof (it had been leaking, and Alex offered his handy-man services for a price much cheaper than what the professionals had demanded).

Alex ran long and far; his hometown now far behind him. It was only in the middle of an empty field where he finally stopped to catch his breath, "Really?" He asked aloud to the golden fields, "The friggin' zombie apocalypse? Who knew?....who knew...." The young man stood there for a few minutes; panic threatening to swamp him entirely. His limbs shook, his breath came in ragged gasps, and his heart was unnaturally loud in his ears.

Breathe, breathe, breathe....alright, come on....time for a plan....a plan....

"Find a radio," Alex said out loud again, "Find a TV to figure out what's going on, where the hot spots are, and where safety is located."

This time he set out at a walk; using his long legs to stretch over the ground instead of sheer speed. It was a calming motion anyways, and it prevented him from bolting away in a sheer terror at the apocalypse.

"You should be fired from this store immediately!" The woman half-screamed at Jen, "It's good-for-nothings like you who are dragging this country down!"

The regulars who knew about Jen, who until now had been standing by nervously, bristled at the insult. Jen kept her face passive throughout the entire rant, and when the customer finally came to the end, she finally replied, "Ma'am, I cannot help the fact that you are not in our system. Technology fails sometimes, and I'm sorry that this has happened to you. However, I do not appreciate you insulting me; especially since I spent two tours fighting in the Marines for this country. Furthermore, it's people like YOU who are dragging this country down: because you feel entitled to everything, and one of my co-workers last week said you pulled this same stunt to get the discount on your groceries."

Her expression remained neutral, but it was the flat tone that was the stinging insult. The woman looked ready to explode, and it was a quick save by an older man that cut her off, "Miss, you said you've served our country?"

Jen saw that he wore Vietnam cap. A fellow veteran, "Yes, Sir. And if I may, it's an honor to serve you."

The man smiled, "Thank you for your service, Ma'am. It's people like you who are holding this country up, and if I may, you deserve much better than this."

Jen nodded in thanks, and even though the women looked slightly ashamed of herself, she plowed on, "I want to see your manager!"

"Very well, he's coming over right now anyways."

It only took a quick glance to realize that Michael wasn't himself. In fact, he was decaying, and making cliched zombie moaning noises. Michael lunged for the complaining woman. Even though Jen felt like feeding her to the zombies, her training kicked in like a boot to the ass.

Jen grabbed the item closest to her, and launched it with perfect aim. Let it be known that frozen burritos can do a lot of damage. Like, a lot. The burrito took off Michael's head, and the body collapsed. However, it was still feebly moving. More moaning shrieks split over the store, and Jen saw at least two dozen more zombies (really? she had already accepted that they were zombies?) charging the front doors.

The female soldier vaulted over the counter, grabbed a nearby mop, and stuck it between the door handles, "Everybody, make your way to the back of the store!" She bellow out, "Grab knives from Row 5 for defense!" The Vietnam vet was one of the people who actually listened. Even further, he began to corral them to the back of the store.

"Leave out the back!"

Jen grabbed a knife herself and booked it back to where the customers were heading. Along the way, she effortlessly decapitated four more zombies attempting to attack the fleeing group. Once outside, the crowd scattered, and Jen was left alone.

Without thinking, she took off at a run to her apartment.

War was coming, and Gemstone needed to be ready.

Reilly woke up in a daze that one fateful day in late May. The sun was rising and he slowly sat up in bed. It was time for another busy morning of milking the cows, collecting eggs, and taking the tractor out to do the last of his corn planting. At first it seemed like a normal day, but he quickly realized there was something wrong. At first, he couldn't put his finger on it, but as he walked outside and was pulling on his boots, he realized what was the problem. The silence. Chilling and piercing around him. The birds made no sounds and he couldn't hear his neighbor John Freedman's tractor going, which was definitely strange because he always woke up a half hour earlier than Reilly. As he walked around the side of the house, he saw that his barn doors were flung wide open. A deep sense of unease filled Reilly's body as he jogged towards the barn not knowing what he would find. As he rounded the corner, he nearly vomited when he saw the gory scene laid before him. All of his cattle laid mutilated and bloody on the ground, tore apart and half eaten. As he reeled back, he noticed that there were dusty footprints, and not only that but bootprints, tracked on the ground into the barn but not exiting. Reilly slowly crept into the barn trying not to make a sound. What kind of madman would do this, he thought as he carefully stepped towards one of the shadows. Suddenly, something jumped out and knocked him halfway across the barn. Reilly backpedaled and turned to face his attacker. It was John Freedman, but not the John Freedman that Reilly would casually wave to every morning while inspecting the fields. This John Freedman was covered in blood. His skin was pale and covered in strange black growths. His hair had almost completely fallen out and his bloodshot eyes stared forward covered with a milky sheen. This....creature jogged towards John but stepped into a hole between two floorboards. It's lower leg snapped and sent the creature falling to the ground. However, it didn't even seem to feel it as it stood back up and hopped on one leg after Reilly again. He was backed into a corner and couldn't get around this disgusting abomination. Right before the creature had Reilly, he ripped the wood axe off the wall and swung it blindly. It took the thing's head clean off and it finally crumpled to the ground. Reilly sunk to the ground, breathing heavily, and as he looked at what used to be a normal farmer like himself, he wondered what hell he had woken up into.