World War Zed

Message from me (TheOrangutan): although this story is written in a similar style to Max Brooks’ superb work, World War Z, all of the chapters, characters and scenarios that follow are original, copyright, and my own work.

All constructive critique / comment is welcomed, and I hope you enjoy it. Cheers,  Gav

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World War Zed

It has been ten years since Victory in Britain (VB) day was declared. Although other parts of the world have taken longer to celebrate their own victories against the Zombie hoards, there are still some parts of the world that are yet to convince the reformed UN that they have fully eradicated the menace of the Infected. Some areas probably never will; some cannot as there is no-one left to declare that they have won.

One day perhaps we will declare it for them. Until that day, the Zombie infested White Zones remain and we must continue re-building that which was lost during the ten years of hell that almost brought about the extinction of the human race.

As part of my work for the United Nations I am lucky enough to be one of the few in this post‑war world that enjoy the benefits of travel. Because of this, I have met many different people from all walks of life and in many different countries.

The one thing they have in common is that they survived.

Millions did not.

This small work presents the collected tales of their survival; their experiences and I hope gives a measure of just how strong the human race can be in the face of adversity and an implacable foe.

World War Zed: The Survivors’ Stories.

New World Hospital, Zurich, Switzerland

Interview with: Dr Allain Schwann

Dr Schwann welcomes me with the practiced ease of a man used to talking to people, whether they be patients, relatives or the press. We meet in a newly furnished office on the 10th floor of the hospital; a tribute in glass and steel to the resilience of the Swiss people. We conduct the interview over a mug of coffee and some small, exquisitely formed chocolates that are rapidly coming back into fashion as sugar production re-establishes itself. Allain explains in his own words the series of events that started his own personal war…

“We were a private hospital before the war started, and by God our patients paid through the nose for our services. But, we were the best.

“I was one of the first to see an Infected person outside China, where we know now that it all started. He was a Hong Kong businessman who had decided to get out as quickly as he could after he was bitten. The Chinese at first took great pains to hush up the spread of the infection which meant that a wealthy few managed to make their escape. It takes several days for the symptoms to show themselves unless you physically die before the full transformation takes effect, but I think he knew what was happening. Sadly, we had no idea back then.

“He came to us in the early stages of the Infection. We followed strict hospital protocol and, not knowing what it was at the time, quarantined him under constant supervision.

“I was on duty when all the alarms went off. He’d gone into cardiac arrest. The monotone death knell of the heart monitor always quickens your blood but this time was different. He reanimated as we walked in through the door. Thankfully, the nurses had strapped him down earlier as he’d been having occasional seizures but he was thrashing around like a wounded animal; teeth snapping at anyone who came within reach.

“We thought initially that the ECG had unplugged but once we’d tightened the straps and secured him, we noticed he was still plugged in to the monitors. Flatlined: he was dead, but not dead. Nothing affected him at all: none of the standard sedatives no matter how high the dose even touched him, even chloroform failed. All he did was lie there, gnashing his teeth and trying to get free. We couldn’t get any blood sample out of him to do any tests on him as it had jellified as he reanimated. We took skin samples, but all they showed was the early signs of necrosis, indicative of a recent death. But they didn’t degrade. He didn’t degrade.

“Then we started hearing vague mumbles through the World Health Organisation about a new epidemic. We were expecting something like Swine Flu or the normal knee-jerk reaction to some minor strain of the common cold but suddenly it was everywhere. World travel enabled those Infected, but still alive, to cover the globe almost instantly and suddenly, we were getting reports from all over world. By the following week the hospital was overrun.