Phase 43

Prologue

Dear whichever sicko predicted the world was going to end with the zombie apocalypse,

You deserve a high five.

In the face.

With a brick.

Ok, sorry for that tad bit of violence. But you, whoever you are, were absolutely, horribly, annoyingly, and disturbingly right. Anyways, here's why I'm actually writing a letter. Gods, how do I even put this?

If you are alive right now, and this is years later, then maybe you've read about the Phase 43 Virus that wiped out a quarter of the human population. Maybe you wrote a crappy C+ grade report on it, dismissing it as another Black Plague - something that you thought would never happen again. But before dismissing this as another piece of dirty paper from the apocalypse, let me tell you my story.

My name is Elliot Peterson, and I am a survivor of what the world calls the first zombie apocalypse.

Now, let's get one thing straight - this was no walking dead story with the rednecks coming into to save the world with their machine guns, mullets, jeans, and bandanas. No - this was more of a psychological epidemic. This was worse than some zombies groaning about brains. Imagine your best friend suddenly having a seizure, then whipping around and pointing a gun to your head, unafraid of pulling the trigger. That's how the Phase 43 virus worked. It turned the nicest people into monsters.

As much as I hate to throw myself a pity party, I know I won't be able to live my life without writing this down.

Whoever you are, wherever you are, or even whenever you are reading this, just sit down for a few minutes and hear me out.

I am barely an adult, and I have probably seen more death than a crypt keeper and the Grim Reaper combined. I watched my friends go psycho and stab each other with rusty knives. I saw the corpses of the people I called my second family defiled and destroyed on a church floor. I watched as people ripped each other's throats out and chewed on each other's limbs. I watched two boys, not even old than ten, go through hell and back and come out alive. Don't even talk to me about pain, or suffering.

But just please let me warn you.

If the government wants to help you guys in the future, you better let it. If they have good intentions, don't shut them down. When people are sickened with sadness or high on rage, don't let them make decisions. Don't forget about Phase 43. Remember it like the Holocaust, or the American Civil War. Write it into your history textbooks, hell, even make documentaries or movies about it. Just don't forget it - because if you do it will happen again. Yes, the idea of a zombie apocalypse is crazy, but trust me - it can come true pretty freaking fast.

A Survivor of Phase 43

Elliot Peterson