Dead Country (Book #1)

Chapter 3: Border News

Chicken burgers cooked on our counter top grill while I sliced up some dill pickles and placed condiments on the counter. I was tasked with the job of mixing a salad as well while my dad went into the living room to turn on the television, then went to the washroom.

Sitting down in the living room with our plates of food, we waited for some drama show to finish so we could watch the news. When the logo flashed on the screen, I brushed my hands together over my plate, then set it down on the coffee table as I prepared for more disturbing videos.

My dad did the same thing with his plate, then licked the corner of his mouth where some ketchup still clung as I pointed it out to him. We were ready for updates on the zombie situation, but it still hadn't sunk in for some people. More cell phone videos were shown of people getting attacked by single zombies, most people beating them with flimsy objects, or kicking them. One man was smart enough to face stomp one to a pulp, which the news station was obligated by law to blur. All that was visible on screen was a body and a pool of pixelated blood.

To my surprise there hadn't been any confirmed attacks of herds, or even more than one isolated zombie. It seemed the virus was spreading at a slow rate, gradually, but surely. The reporter that was live on the city streets looked completely out of sorts as she constantly looked over her shoulder, paranoid she would get attacked next. It didn't even look like a proper conversation with the anchorman as the cameraman kept talking to the woman, reassuring her that he would say something if a zombie came up behind her. He also made sure that she would do the same for him since he had heavy equipment over his shoulder.

The interview felt more genuine than anything I had ever watched before. It was cut short as people began to scream, presumably because they thought a zombie was coming their way. Back in the studio, the news anchors discussed their concerns and shared information from the CDC. Apparently no tests had been done yet, but it was mainly due to them not having access to a dead body infected by the virus. Whoever was responsible for this was unclear, but they couldn't have picked a better time to experiment.

It might have been past midsummer, but tourists were still in abundance in the city. Local residents were still out in large numbers enjoying the nice weather, and many seemed to have the intention of jogging down city streets, not heeding any warnings from the government to stay indoors unless people needed supplies.

For once I was surprised by the swiftness of the government to place a country-wide curfew. They weren't taking any chances, but as always, there were idiots who pushed their luck as they tried to find trouble – zombies.

Before the nightly news report ended, they announced the closure of the border. I wasn't surprised by it at all, but was it too late to stop the spread of the virus? No one knew where it originated from, but since there were attacks in the US and here, in Canada, there was no sense in playing the blame game. We were all in this together and we needed to devise a plan so that we could eradicate the threat before our cities turned into something from The Walking Dead, or Resident Evil.

To be completely honest, The Walking Dead was a well written show with depth. Resident Evil movies on the other hand, were ridiculously chaotic and scared the crap out of me. I don't know what it was that fascinated us so much with the undead, but as the news report ended and switched back to regular programming, I wondered why anyone would create a virus that was portrayed as being so destructive. Some sicko must have been told he could live like a king if he created it, while the rest of the world died off and turned into mindless, flesh-eating creatures that were nothing more than a shell of what they were born as.

I let out a loud sigh as I looked toward the ceiling. "I don't see this ending well."

"Does it ever?" asked my dad as Wheel of Fortune began on television. "If The Walking Dead is any indication of what's in store for us, we're in deep trouble."

"Yeah, especially if people become psychos, or cannibals. I wouldn't stand for that shit. If I had any bad feeling about someone, I would knock them out and tie them up to a tree."

He chuckled. "Not going to take any chances, eh?"

"Why the hell would I? Would you? Just because a television show, or movie isn't real, doesn't mean they aren't predicting what might actually happen. People who watch those shows and movies might just barricade themselves in: shoot first, ask questions later. If that's their mentality, I wouldn't want to leave the house, or take any chances with a complete stranger."

My dad tilted his head as he made a gesture of not wanting to argue with his hands. He knew I had a solid point. We watched The Walking Dead together, so he knew exactly what I was referring to.

"Besides, do you remember the test we both did online? It was multiple choice, but based on what you chose it told you how long you would survive."

"That's just a game though," he challenged. "Anything is possible now. You have no idea if what was portrayed on a screen will work for you in real life. No one has actually been through a zombie apocalypse before. Television shows, movies and videos don't count for shit in the real world. All the people who say they are prepared because they have a plan, or can shoot a sniper rifle in a game, they aren't prepared for any of this. You can't prepare for something that is unknown in real life. If it's science fiction, all we are doing is guessing based on something that was made up."

Standing up, my dad grabbed his plate and headed out of the living room, leaving me to think about what he had just said. It was a reminder that so many of us thought we could base our tactics on something that wasn't even real before. Now that it was, we couldn't rely on a television show character's tactics just because it worked for them. We needed to study this new threat and consider anything possible before the CDC could get a body to examine.

Electricity and running water were still available, but for how long? I could base all my hunches off The Walking Dead since it was my favourite show, but I had to forget about what I watched. If I started making assumptions based on a television show, was I really giving myself a fair chance at survival? The multiple choice game my dad and I played online said we would be long-term survivors, but we each had one answer that varied. I even did it a few times to see if there was a choice that was deemed to be a mistake, costing me my life. The game still said I would survive for a long time, but like my dad said, this was real life. If I walked outside with a sword, or gun and backpack to make a trip to the store, there was no guarantee I would return. This was just the beginning of zombies. It wasn't even classified as an epidemic yet, just an outbreak as they said on the news.

If this gets worse and there is no cure, then both my dad and I will be truly tested. No multiple choice, no second chances. We adapt, we survive, and we kill zombies. And other human beings too if they resemble anything like the sickos on television.