Pestilence

Prologue

*Liam*

There are things I have seen, things I have done. Horrible things. Things I don't want to relive again. Not only for my sake but for yours too. However human history has a habit of repeating itself, so I feel inclined to share my story so you won't make the same mistakes we made. Don't think that this is a lighthearted story, or one with a happy ending. No, the end is merely the beginning for what is left of the human race. It is a chance for us to rebuild and reconnect. But if by some miracle we restore things to how they were, and you read this further down the road, know that this happened. It is not fiction, and it is not just another page in the history books. We lived, we survived so that people like you could have a future on this planet. So please, for the love of God, don't screw that up. Or I may have to come back from the grave to kick your ass.

There is no explanation for why things happened the way they did. I wish I could tell you that it only goes up from here. But I can't, and I'm sorry for that. Before all this I was just like you, young, reckless, looking for a cheap thrill out of life. So I joined the military right out of high school. It was mostly for the uniform, because lets face it. Chicks dig men in uniform. I was stupid, I'd didn't actually take time to think about what I was getting myself into, or what I would have to do to keep this country safe. But I figured, up until now all the enemies we have fought have been human. They had all the same weaknesses we had, so how could it be that hard to win a war? Let me ask you a question. Have you ever had to look another living, breathing, human being in the eye as you pull the trigger and end their life? Sure they are on the other side of the combat lines, but that doesn't make it any easier. The first time is always the worst. It was for me anyways. Knowing that I has taken the life of another soldier, someone else who was just doing their duty nearly ruined me. But as time went on and I saw my friends be taken by the other side, I started to lose all feelings of remorse. I don't know what's more scary, facing death at every corner, or being the one to deliver it.

Who am I kidding. You aren't here to read about my war stories, are you? But they are important, I can tell you that. Being in the military gave me the resources it took to keep me alive. It helped save other people too. So hey, props to my stupid high school self for joining the military, really saved my ass when I needed it most. No, I am not condoning enlisting in the military to learn survival tactics, so don't go out and join because it might help you survive a situation like this. If you join it has to be because you want to, not because someone else tells you to. It's a big commitment, so be prepared to honor it, whatever the cost. Although in truth, nothing could have fully prepared me for what the world was going to face. No one was prepared for it, and that was the problem. The world turned a blind eye to it when it was first starting. A few isolated cases here and there. They blamed it on drugs and mental illness so the public wouldn't panic. If they had acted during those crucial days, maybe this whole thing could have been avoided. One disaster that human nature had outsmarted. Guess we aren't as smart as we think we are, are we?

Within days of the first cases, people were panicking. The densest areas of population fell first. Makes sense doesn't it? More people, more panic. And the greater the panic the greater the congestion in the streets. Perfect condition for a pandemic of this magnitude to spread. At first people didn't know what was spreading the disease, all they knew was that something was turning human beings into rabid animals with hunger for only one type of meat. Human flesh. Later we would discover that if the flesh of the living was broken by the dead, they would turn. Whether it be a bite or a scratch, the results were the same. Something, a parasite, a virus, a bacteria, or even just science fiction was causing the dead the rise and turn on the living. It was like they wanted to share their ghastly fate with the rest of the world. If they had to be flesh eating monsters than so did we. Equality for all. The undead don't care about the color of your skin or your sexual orientation. All they see when they looked at live humans is something to eat, something to turn. Pleasant creatures, I know. At first they were slow, clumsy even, like a small child trying to walk wearing his parents shoes. They had to figure out their new way of life, a way to deal with the limited brain functioning. And at first it was easy for them to get a meal. With the vast majority of the human populous white eyed with terror many of us were easy picking for them. But as the stupid ones died, those of us who were smart, resourceful moved away from the cities. With a limited food supply the dead had to evolve, change in order to outsmart the smarter prey. They grew faster, stronger, and smarter making it increasingly difficult for those of us who were still alive to hang on and hope that some sort of help was on the way.

I'll be frank with you. If you are squeamish, or scare easily, this story is not for you. Hell, this life probably isn't for you either, so sorry that you got stuck with it. If you keep reading and get scared, don't say I didn't warm you, because I just did. Ignore it if you want, that's your choice. But this story is to tell you what we had to go through to stay live. That way if it happens again you won't want to go through it too, so you will do something to stop it. I don't know, maybe I'm being to harsh on humanity. Maybe there was nothing we could have done to alter the course that was laid out for us. Maybe this was some sort of biblical flood to weed out the bad souls. If that's the case than I have no idea why I'm still here. In any event, you are the future of this planet, and if you are reading this then you already know that. If the dead get the upper hand again, there is no going back. We live in a fragile world my friends, the littlest mistake could shatter the entire planet.