Zombies! Rising from the Dead (5 page)

villages
and livestock were blanketed in a thick layer of meteor ash. The comet had all but
disintegrated on impact, sending fine dust and particulates into the atmosphere. Relief efforts
were underway and aid was spilling in from many countries including the United States. It was
truly
a
epic natural disaster, but in recent years with
h
urricane's, tornado's and earthquakes on
the rise it just didn't seem to affect that much. The one startling fact that separated this event
from
the others is that it was an event caused by outside forces, which gave no warning or
indication of impending danger. With all the satellites and telescopes scattered across the globe
it was amazing that absolutely no one saw this coming, or at least at this early point it didn't
seem that anyone did. It was a stark reminder of just how weak, fragile and helpless we as a
race truly are; even in this age of technological marvels and military might.

Amanda called it a night, leaving Rick and I to rehash all the events of the day. After a
few hours we both grew tired and Rick left for home. It had been a good day and fun was had
by all. I cleaned up for a bit longer, throwing away cups, paper plates and doing the few dishes
that were left behind. Not long after I turned in myself and feel asleep.

The next morning the ringing of my phone abruptly woke me, it was Rick.
“Dude turn on the TV you have to check this out, they are going crazy over there”

I turned on the news wondering what had taken place in the overnight hours. I didn't
have to wonder long as news reports were all abuzz on the airwaves; while and images of fires,
looting and riots filled the screen in the background.

“Man this looks crazy”
I told him
,
as I stared into the screen.

“Yeah, it started sometime last night. People just going
f
ucking crazy, there's not
enough police
to control their fucking asses;
g
etting killed for the shoes on your fucking feet.”

Rick compared it to the chaos in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina; people looting
the
stores, lack of law enforcement;
sidewalks lined with dead bodies and human
excrement.
A complete
and total
breakdown of government and society.

We went on to discuss these events and what a horrible situation it was. During the
course of the conversation I happened to bring up that I needed to into Panatauk and he was
welcome to join me, Rick said that he tag along for the ride.

I ate breakfast, giving myself enough time to wake up and then took a quick shower,
washing away the rest of the chlorine and smoke from the previous day. It was going to be
another hot day so I dressed lightly in a t-shirt and shorts. Just before leaving I called Rick
and told him to be ready as I was on the way.

I pulled up in his driveway minutes later, right around ten. He was already
waiting at the end of the road and seemed eager to get going, as he climbed into the truck.

“Hey man, what’s
goin
' on?”
I said.

“
Aww
, nothing much.
Hey, turn on the radio”
he said in a very excitedly.

I agreed,
“What's going on?”

“Just listen...”
he replied,
“
It’s
getting worse”

I fumbled with the tuner until I found a station that came in clearly. As we drove I could
hear the broadcasts.
“Looting and riots continue to escalate. Law enforcement has had little to
no effect in controlling the mass chaos. Reports of violence are coming in from many regions
and the panic seems to be spreading. Trade and commerce are also severely affected. Reports
of wide spread attacks by angry mobs and looters have been coming in for ours; with some

victims
being brutally beaten, sexually assaulted or even bitten by their attackers.”

“Wow,”
I told Rick,
“things are really getting bad.”

“Yeah I know, I wonder if it will end up affecting
us?
I mean with oil and stuff like that.
The oil sheiks are always looking for an excuse to jack up gas prices.”
Rick always seemed to
fall back to some type of conspiracy theory, but in truth there was always some truth to be
found in his crazy ideas.

“I
dunno
,
probably so, they always seem to use any excuse they can find, I wouldn't
be surprised if they did!
”,
I told him lightheartedly

We set out to Panatauk, our largest city (at least within a reasonable drive). There were
several bills to pay and things to do including some light grocery shopping. Living in the
country as I did, I usually only managed to get to town once or twice a month but it was
absolutely necessary as going to Mark's, as things were generally twice as much as they were at
the stores in Panatauk. It could get very costly if you shopped in Barkley more than a few times
a month so
it was well worth making one big haul every month to get everything I needed, that
way I could limit my trips to Mark's Grocery and save a pocketful of cash in the process.

As we set out we continued to chat and listen to the radio. It was during these next forty-five minutes that we began to understand something more was going on than had initially been
relayed, and our situation quickly began to change.

As we drove our attention was drawn ever more to the radio as news and alerts started to
filter in, continued reports of violence, riots and attacks filled our ears. Widespread panic and
hysteria had settled in even in areas that were seemingly unaffected and far removed from
where the initial disaster had taken place. There were disturbances in regions like Europe,
China, Italy, and Japan;
which made absolutely no sense.

Then we began to hear warnings issued
directly
to American cit
i
zens.
“With the growing reports of violence in many regions;
some only hundreds of miles
north and south of American borders we cannot rule out the possibility that terrorist
organizations are taking advantage of the mass confusion caused by this disaster. Authorities

cannot
rule out the use of biological weapons or otherwise...reports are wide and scattered.
Citizens are strongly urged to exercise extreme caution. Caution is also advised to American
citizens
t
raveling abroad. As soon as we have more information it will be brought to you.
Please stay tuned to your local news affiliate for further details.”

I looked at Rick.
“Dude, not good . . . not good! What the fuck?”

“I don't know, it doesn't make any sense, I think we just better get to town and get our shit done.
It’s going to be busy as hell and I don't want to get caught in the middle of all those
people freaking out.”
Rick replied.

We had just entered the city limits when we got another report on the radio, the music abruptly interrupted by a local news anchor.

“Ladies and gentlemen we are now going live to the Center for Disease Control.”
A
few seconds later I could hear the sound of heels and assorted clatter as spokeswoman made
her way to the podium and began to speak.
“At approximately 8:49am the day before yesterday, a meteor entered our atmosphere,
impacting on the island of Santorini located in the Aegean
Sea,
the earlier reports of splash
down in the South Pacific were inaccurate. The meteor was composed of a material that is
currently unfamiliar to science at this time. Current data indicates that the meteor was highly
radioactive and
exhibi
...exhibited...
un
....unusual.... properties.”
She began to stutter.

Rick and I looked at each other in confusion, but knew this was going to be bad but we
never ever expected to hear what we
h
eard in the next several minutes. It was something out of
nightmares.

“The radioactive
elements of this meteor have
displayed
s
evera
l unique properties. Currently it appears that
the
..um
.
that
...the...umm....one...of....
the..
the
...primary properties of the material
has the ...umm, unique property”.
She stammered yet again and paused as she caught herself
repeating the same phrases. There was yet more commotion in the background followed by a
brief moment of silence,
and then
she continued again.
“The most alarming and concerning effect
of this radioactive material....”
She took another deep breath, paused and started again.
“
P
reliminary data as well as
eye witness reports indicate that the radioactive properties suggest many unique
attributes”,
she
continued to get stuck on this one particular phrase as if she couldn't bring
he
rself to say what
was coming next.