Day 09: Proceed with Caution

“We need to do the humane thing and shoot her already!” Josh replied. Sumiko had been placed in one of the cages in Cell Block C awaiting the group’s determination about her.

“Wait,” Nicole yelled. “She hasn’t shown any signs of infection and the bite appears to be days if not weeks old.”

“And? Last I checked, you didn’t have a medical degree and we all know this virus affects everyone differently,” Josh continued. “We can’t take the chance she’ll infect any of us here.”

“I think we should wait,” James chimed in. “Nicole is right. The girl hasn’t shown any signs she’s sick. For all we know it could have been a dog bite or something.”

Just then, the front door opened and the group was joined by Natalie, Portia, JC and Matthew who was carrying an unconscious Aisha. “What happened to Aisha?” Jeremiah asked, rushing forward. 

“We had an accident,” Portia replied solemnly without looking up.

“Well is she ok?” he continued, watching as Matthew carried her off toward the infirmary with Natalie in tow.

“We don’t know yet, Miah. Natalie is going to look her over and we’ll know more from there. Don’t worry ok? She’s a tough girl. She’ll be fine,” JC replied, hoping to calm the young man. “What’s going on here?” he asked, noticing the tension in the air.

“We found someone in our truck,” Katrina said, as she hobbled over to a chair.

“What do you mean you found someone in the truck? Are they here? Are they hostile?” Matthew asked, hearing the tail end of the conversation.

“We don’t really know. She’s a young girl. Maybe 17. Japanese. Says she became stranded here and separated from her parents when the outbreak occurred,” Nicole said, filling the others in on what they’d learned so far. 

“She’s also been bitten,” Josh added.

“What? Where is she?” Matthew asked. “Why hasn’t she been taken care of? We can’t let her infect anyone else.” Josh threw his hands up in agreement.

“See that’s the thing,” Nicole started. “Her bit is old and she’s not sick. We didn’t want to just take her out without hearing her side of the story. We should figure out what happened first. If she really was bitten then why wasn’t she turned? How is she different than anyone else?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Josh again said. “She’s dangerous and the longer we stand here arguing about it, the greater the risk of her getting out and harming us becomes. We don’t know her or where she came from and we don’t need to know. The facts remain. She’s bitten. She dies.”

“No,” Matthew said. “Nicole is right. We need more information.”

“What? This is crazy!” Josh exclaimed.

“What if there’s a cure or something, Josh? A way to protect ourselves against whatever has infected everyone else? This girl might be the key to stopping it all or maybe shedding some light on how we can keep ourselves safe. We owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to explore that possibility.”

“Fine,” Josh sighed and shook his head. There was no winning the argument and continuing to state his opinion was futile. “You guys do what you want but when you get infected by the Trojan horse, don’t come crying to me.” He stalked off in the direction of his room, leaving the others to handle the fate of their new friend.

“Where is she?” Matthew asked.

“Cellblock C,” James replied.

“JC, can you and Theresa go and give Natalie a hand in the infirmary, please? James, Katrina, Nicole Sophia, and I will go and have a chat with…”

“Sumiko,” Theresa said. 

“Right.”

Sumiko sighed as she was once again tied down to a chair in the center of the day room. “Why don’t we start with your full name?” Matthew began.

“Fujikawa Sumiko,” Sumiko responded.

“And where did you come from? Why did you jump into our truck” he continued.

“I was here on vacation with my parents. I’d just been accepted to Oxford and as a gift, my parents brought me to America to visit the sites on my traveler’s list; places I’d always wanted to see. But something happened. While we were in New York, one of the passengers on our ferry became ill and bit someone.”

“I saw that video!” Nicole said. “Before it was taken down from YouTube!”

“We were taken back to the shore and examined by a physician before being released. Our trip was cut short and we started home with a layover here but…the infection had already spread and the airport was quickly overrun. Everything was chaos. After my parents and I became separated, I found myself alone. I didn’t know anyone here or where I could go for help. I’ve been by myself ever since. Doing whatever I could to survive.” Sumiko said.

“How long ago were you bitten?” Matthew asked, motioning toward the scar on her lower arm.

“I’d gone into a convenience store to try and find some water but, there were three of those dead things in there. I was able to bring down two of them but the third caught me by surprise and before I could hit him, he grabbed my arm and bit me. I managed to escape and get back to my hiding place and care for it,” Sumiko explained. “That was two weeks ago.”

“Are you telling us you were bitten two weeks ago and not turned?” Matthew asked in surprise. “Have you shown any signs of illness? Been sick at all or have some weird symptoms?”

“No,” she replied. “It was just a bite that’s healed over time.”

“How is that possible?” Katrina chimed in.

“I don’t know,” Sumiko said. “This one was two weeks ago, however, the first time I was bitten was on the ferry in New York…three years ago.”

<----Previous -- Continue---->

Continue Reading: "Day 09: Proceed with Caution"

Day 06: Splintered

“We have to go back!” Aisha declared as Portia checked her rearview.

“Hold on,” Portia said, performing a quick U-turn and gunning it back toward the alley.

Matthew pushed at the mob of undead, swinging and slashing with his knife, he severed fingers, ears and even a nose. The blade met true with a few skulls but he hesitated to really reach into the group for fear of being scratched or worse, bitten. Deciding it best to run for cover and wait for help to arrive, he turned up the alley and ran, gaining much needed distance between himself and the horde behind him. The sound of their ravenous moaning fell into sync with the beating of his own heart as his feet pounded the pavement. Turning down another corner of the alley he was abruptly faced by a dead-end as the pack of rancid zombies grew steadily closer behind him.

Continue Reading: "Day 06: Splintered"

Day 02: Scavenging

“Almost out,” Matthew announced as he, JC, Natalie, Aisha and Portia trudged down the murky tunnels beneath the city. In recent days, the group had discovered that the sewers were devoid of undead…well, mostly. And with them running the length of the entire town, they made for easy navigation on scavenging runs. They smelled about as foul as one would expect but, a decent shower once home cleared away the fetid stench and soiled clothing.

Looking down the dark tunnel Matthew could see a smoky silhouette of shadow in a vaguely human-like shape. He appeared stooped over some object in the distance unaware he and JC were approaching. With very little light entering into the compact space, it was difficult to make out much.

Continue Reading: "Day 02: Scavenging"

Day 31: What Now?

Group: Natalie, David, Amélia, Mike, Edward, Nicole, Josh, Matthew, Liz, Nina, Lucky, Eddie, Elise, Dominic, Mathew, Ryan, Troy, Aisha, Jeremiah, Katrina, Jake, JC
Location: BioCore Safe Zone

“They’re walking into their deaths. We need to stop them!” Elise exclaimed, but Natalie was already running forward.

“MATT!” she shouted, frantically waving her arms as she called his name, “MATT!!” It wasn’t his name that made him freeze, it was the sound of her voice. A voice he thought he’d never hear again.

Matthew glanced towards the cluster of trees. She appeared through the forest, arms outstretched and a smile on her face. Tossing Dominic his weapon, he rushed forward. They met halfway, his arms instantly enclosing her in a warm hug as she bounded into him. “I can’t believe it’s you,” he whispered against her ear before their lips met. He could feel the moisture on her cheeks as her hands slipped around his neck.

Continue Reading: "Day 31: What Now?"

Day 29: City of Bones

Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie
Location: Warehouse

“That’s where they prep the intake for treatment,” David said as he, Natalie and Elise scouted the safe zone. He had led them there shortly after the attack. Natalie was seeking revenge. Ignoring the dangers of walking into such a heavily guarded location and against David’s advice. Eddie and Amélia hung back to watch over their prisoner. She’d blamed the man for Veronica’s death, but deep down she knew the real source of the problem was the medical company that started it all. BioCore workers transported boxes into the facility out the back of unmarked trucks.

The place was cordoned off by a large electric fence and several armed guards. Working cameras were posted on every corner of the building as well as what appeared to be command dogs and even alert sirens. “Where do they go from there?” Natalie asked, formulating a plan.

“There are several research rooms within the facility, there’s no telling where each individual is taken,” David replied. “I can tell you, however, it’s never good. Some of the ‘research’ I witnessed…it makes prison look like a trip to the spa.”

Continue Reading: "Day 29: City of Bones"

Day 25: Deadly Darkness

Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie
Location: Warehouse

Eddie rushed forward, tackling one of the men to the floor. His gun flew, landing near the door and misfired another round. Amélia fell to the ground, covering her head with her hands as chaos erupted. Elise fired at the second gunman as he rushed towards the other injured shooter, hitting him in the leg. He turned to fire at her and David moved to wrestle away his gun.

Finally grabbing hold of the glock 19, David quickly aimed and fired. The bullet drilled through the man’s chest and he fell on top of David. “No!” the injured shooter screamed, watching the life drain from his brother and pool around him. “You son of a bitch!’ The man struggled to retrieve a knife from his boot. Natalie stood to help. The throb in her knee crescendoed and she tumbled to the ground.

Continue Reading: "Day 25: Deadly Darkness"

Day 21: Tight Spot

Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie
Location: Warehouse

Another series of bullets drilled the walls above them. Glass shattered and fell to the floor as more of the warehouse windows exploded. Elise, Eddie, Amélia and Veronica kept their heads down while David did all he could to keep Natalie covered. Once the bullets stopped, she pulled away and checked herself for injuries. “How’d they find us here?” she asked, satisfied she wasn’t hurt.

“It’s the only building for miles,” David said. “Process of elimination.”

“Come on out! You don’t want us coming in after you,” the same voice cried out with an even angrier tone.

Veronica moved beneath the window, preparing for combat. Eddie shook his head no. They were out gunned and in no position to shoot it out with these people. She stayed her hand, knowing that if she did fire, it would cause a reaction no one in the room was prepared for.

“This can be over right now. I can end this,” David said, getting to his feet. “I’m what they want. No one else needs to get hurt.”

“No!” Natalie exclaimed pulling him back to the floor beside her. “I’m not letting you commit suicide by walking out there. Besides, what guarantee do we have they’ll turn and leave once they have what they want?”

“She’s right,” Eddie said, repositioning himself beside the window. “The only way out of this is to fight.”

“Fight?” Amélia exclaimed. “There are four of them out there with automatic weapons. We have what? A couple of glocks and a shotgun?”

“Then what do you propose? That backdoor is sealed up, remember? We patched that nice and tight before holing up in this room. The only way out is through them,” Eddie said.

“I say we let them in,” Veronica stated, her voice cold and serious. “If they want to get us, any of us, they’ll need to be willing to enter. And when they do, we’ll be ready.” The group listened closely as she formulated a plan.

Elise and Eddie hid themselves on opposite sides of the front door. Amélia and Natalie remained where they were, listening as the men outside continued taunting them. The shouting stopped. And everyone waited with bated breath as footsteps approached the building.

David stepped into the center of the room. He was bait, for all intents and purposes, and he felt about as vulnerable as a baby deer in a lion’s den. With no weapon to protect himself, he had to trust the others would take out the gunman before they got to him.

The board fell from across the handle, landing with a resounding crash. The door had been opened. He took a deep breath. The soft padding of footsteps drew closer and he clenched his fists in anticipation. This wasn’t such a brilliant idea after all. Why did he have to open his big mouth?

A window shattered. Shit. They were encroaching from different locations. If they somehow got behind them through the back stairwell…another window, to the east. Eddie switched positons. Now he and Elise were guarding separate doors alone. David took a moment to catch his breath and calm himself. He could feel his entire body trembling.

At last, the door opened. Two men walked inside. The first to speak was instantly recognized. “There he is. The man of the hour!” The second gunman had David dead-to-rights. The first never flinched; even when he heard the weapon click behind him. “Why don’t you tell your friends to drop their weapons and move where I can see them?”

“No. Why don’t you drop yours,” Veronica said, dragging one of the others out from the back. He was bleeding from a leg wound; a large knife dangling from her left hand while she aimed her gun with the right. “STOP!” she shouted at the gunman standing beside the ringleader. He’d made a motion forward and she quickly redirected her aim. “Stay right where you are.”

“He’s my brother. He’ll bleed to death! Let me help him.”

“You really think I give a shit if he dies? You assholes are here to kill us! For all I care he can join the rest of your friends in hell and I swear to GOD if you don’t stop inching towards him I will put a fucking bullet in his head right now!” Veronica yelled watching the other man slowly move to comfort his brother. “BACK UP! MOVE!”

“Alright, I’m going, just…please.”

“Now, drop your weapons or no one is walking out of here alive.”

“I like option B.” The man’s face twitched into a wicked smile. All his rage and strength accumulated at his finger on the trigger. He looked between the two again and without giving a second thought to her words, he pulled the trigger.

Continue----> (Clicking this continues the story in order. If you would like to move to the next part of this group’s story. Click the # below.)
#6---->
---------------------------------------

The polls are now open. Vote for your chance to control the action! Remember, you can add your own choice to the plot through the comments section or the poll below. Polls close at 12 noon EST tomorrow and reopen at 8 pm EST.

Continue Reading: "Day 21: Tight Spot"

Day 17: In an Instant

Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie
Location: Warehouse

Stepping away from the door, Elise tried to catch her breath. How had this man come into contact with Natalie? Who was he? Was he the reason she was unconscious? And if so, what had he done to her? So many questions were running through her mind, but Elise did not have time to ponder them all. Pounding down the stairs behind her, she turned to find Veronica, Amélia and Eddie standing in the corridor. Veronica was the first to move, aiming her weapon at the newcomer. Right away he knew she meant business.

Continue Reading: "Day 17: In an Instant"

Day 13: Social Psychopath

Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie
Location: Warehouse

The sight of the opened fence swept away Natalie’s balance. She stumbled forward. David snatched her back and pressed her up against the wall. “Stay down or we’re dead.” With his hand covering her mouth, Natalie was hard-pressed to turn her head, but she did notice the armed men standing on the other side of the wall as well as lining the gate and outer bushes. “Ok, stay behind me but try and keep up. We have maybe three minutes to get from here to the other side of the woods before they realize we’re gone. You ready?”

Continue Reading: "Day 13: Social Psychopath"

Day 09: Strangers in the Night

Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie
Location: Warehouse

“Slowly, put your weapons on the ground and take a step back,” the voice instructed. Veronica gazed over at Elise and quietly nodded no. “NOW!”

More shadows danced along the ground. The man wasn’t alone. Veronica squinted, focusing her eyes in the distance. Two figures, struggling. A frantic howl came from the other side of the house, cut off abruptly by the smack of something striking flesh. “EDDIE!” a woman screamed; a desperate cry for help.

Ignoring the women he held at gunpoint, the man rushed headlong towards the large country home, disappearing from view just on the other side. “Come on. Let’s get the hell out of here,” Veronica said, grabbing Elise’s arm as she attempted to flee.

“Wait, they need our help!” Elise replied, snatching free of Veronica’s grasp.

Continue Reading: "Day 09: Strangers in the Night"

Day 05: Bodies in the Woods

Group 1: Veronica, Elise, Natalie, David, Amélia, Eddie
Location: Warehouse

“Keep running,” Veronica huffed as she charged forward in front of Elise. Coming from the dark, thicker area of the woods into the lighter open one, she could finally see where she was going without the use of a flashlight and quickly tucked it into her backpack.

“Wait, Roni, we need to go back. The kids. Jeremiah and Nina, they’re gone,” Elise said, leaning her body against a rock as she tried to catch her breath.

“What? SHIT!” Veronica cussed, looking around and seeing Elise was right. She had no idea at what point they’d lost the other two but looking at the blaze, now visible above the trees, there was no way they could go back. They would stand no chance of getting out alive. “We can’t go back. We have to keep moving.”

Continue Reading: "Day 05: Bodies in the Woods"

Day 01: Enemy at the Gate

The lights could be seen from the highway. At night, the place lit up like the Rockefeller Center at Christmas. For the last two weeks, he’d been watching and planning. He’d gotten to know the ins and outs of the place rather well and everyone was set in a routine. He shut the walkie-talkie off and retrieved his binoculars from his bag. Adjusting the focus, he gave a look out over the compound, watching as his unknowing prey went about their day.

In three minutes, the two he’d come to know as ‘Spirited Redhead’ and ‘Annoying Jock’ would be making their patrol. They’d pat along the outer edge of the gate, keeping their backs to one another. When they reached the rear of the mountain path they would split up, searching opposite ends of the forest. It would take less than five minutes to make the trek around the compound before they called it and headed back inside.

Continue Reading: "Day 01: Enemy at the Gate"

Day 31: Aftermath

**Warning: Picture heavy. Um...oh and it’s long. (Info dump?)**

It was the gunshots—not the nightmare—that woke her.

Veronica had slept long past it, though not without considerable effort. Her sheets were in a ball around her feet, well below the heavy comforter, and Dominic’s pillow was between her thighs. Raising her head, she inspected the room she was in, barely blinking at the sound of more gunfire.

Continue Reading: "Day 31: Aftermath"

Day 30: No Return

“Hey has anyone seen Fadil?” Liz asked, glancing around the room. Richard screamed and the sound of falling objects exploded from the back room.

“Shit,” Matthew cussed and quickly rushed to the stock room. The door wouldn’t budge. Something had fallen and was blocking it shut. “Give me a hand here,” he said. Josh and Dominic stepped forward and together, the three men forced the door open.

Continue Reading: "Day 30: No Return"

Day 29: Loose Ends

“Looks like we’re not the only ones under attacked,” Troy said, motioning towards the bodies. “This place got wrecked!”

Matthew continued up the stairs, stepping over blood and detached limbs. “Hey! Is there anybody in there? Let us in,” he shouted, banging the shutters fiercely, hoping to get the attention of someone inside.

An odd humming sound was coming from behind them and Natalie glanced back over her shoulder. At least two dozen zombies were heading their way, groaning and hissing as they gathered closer. “Oh my god, they’re coming.”

“Open the door!” Matthew shouted again with Troy and Natalie joining in. The metal began to shake and pretty soon the three of them were staring blankly at a large group of people inside the store. Moving Natalie into the door first, Matthew turned and fired off a couple rounds at the incoming group. Three zombies fell before he jumped backwards inside the store and watched the shutters fall into place. “Thank you,” he said, as JC helped him stand. “The world’s gone to shit. It’s a madhouse out there.”

Continue Reading: "Day 29: Loose Ends"

Day 28: Turn Out the Lights

“Can we run through this one more time?” Troy asked as they stood at the exit of the emergency room.

“Sure,” Matthew sighed, motioning for Natalie to hold her position. “Natalie’s going to remove the automatic timers so that the emergency doors open. You and I are going out there to clear any roamers who may be lurking out back, drive one of those ambulances closer, pile in all of the stuff we’ve collected and get the hell out of here.”

“See, this is where the plan hits a snag for me. Where exactly are we going?”

“I don’t know, Troy. Hopefully we can find a place that’s not…infested.”

“Here we go,” Troy said as Matthew gave Natalie the signal.

Continue Reading: "Day 28: Turn Out the Lights"

Day 24: Incurable

A loud crash echoed through the empty hallway and everyone turned. “What was that?” Natalie asked.

Matthew stepped in front of her, hand clutched on the butt of the guard’s gun, he moved closer towards the door. “Hello?”

“Are you serious? You don’t go shouting ‘hello’ when you’re investigating noises!” Troy groaned. “Are you expecting them to reply? They don’t talk!”

“What is it?” Avery asked as Matthew snatched open the door to the storage locker.

“A stairwell.”

“Wait, you’re not seriously thinking about going down there are you?” Avery asked, watching Matthew check the load on his weapon and step inside the door. “You have no idea what’s down there!”

“Hence the reason I’m going to see,” Matthew sighed and started forward. Troy dropped the crate to the countertop and he and Natalie followed down after him. The stairs led to an employee’s only section of the hospital where the laundry and maintenance rooms were located. At the end of the hallway was an elevator. The lights indicated it was headed to the basement.

Continue Reading: "Day 24: Incurable"

Day 20: Endless Night

“What about him?” Troy asked, motioning towards the guard.

“We need to take care of it,” Matthew replied.

“Take care of him?” Avery asked. “He was conscious and talking a second ago.”

“Yeah and Lorelei was just sitting there complaining about her face. If he’s been bitten, he will turn. It’s as simple as that. I’m not taking any chances with my life.”

“Yeah but…”

“How about this,” Matthew interrupted Avery’s rebuttal, “We put it to a vote. All in favor of seeing if the guard can be saved, raise your hands.” Natalie, Troy and Matthew’s hands remained at their sides and he nodded. “Majority rules.”

Continue Reading: "Day 20: Endless Night"

Day 16: No One Can Hear You Scream

“Did I stop speaking English at some point or is everyone conveniently ignoring the words coming out of my mouth? I’m not going in there and getting myself killed! And I’m sorry, did it fail to grab your attention that there are bloody handprints on the door with even bloodier boot prints leading towards it? You people are insane!”

“YOU’RE NOT GOING TO…” Matthew growled and angrily stepped forward. Natalie placed a calming hand on his shoulder and took lead.

“Lorelei, you have a choice. You can shimmy your narrow hips and bulimic buns through that window or I can take Matt’s knife and put an end to your constant whining. And if you think for one second that I’m bluffing,” Natalie glanced back at Matthew and smiled as he politely offered her his dagger. “Try me.”

Continue Reading: "Day 16: No One Can Hear You Scream"

Day 12: Restless Souls

“What the hell?” Avery exclaimed. “Seriously, I mean…what the hell?” No one replied. Instead they continued staring out of the windows along the hall as they made their way towards the elevators. Nothing out there indicated that the world had forever changed. Aside from the fact that it was Monday and not a single soul could be seen for miles excluding the zombies, of course. It was dark out but it was also downtown in an often bustling city. There were no lights from passing motorists, no loud music, no rampant conversations. Just stillness.

Ever since the guy popped off the stretcher, Avery’s mind raced with the possibility that everyone he knew and loved had met the same fate. His fiancée Penny, his dog Max…even his 4,000 Instagram followers. All dead. “This stuff is only supposed to happen in movies!” he tried again. “Not in real life. But those things…they’re real. They’re people—like us.”

Continue Reading: "Day 12: Restless Souls"