Chimera

The street glowed and shown as if the entire city was bathed in moonlight. The city lay still, quiet, unmoving, not even nature dared to move within the city. I stood alone, unarmed and vulnerable in the middle of the street. I could feel that I was not alone, though nothing moved, though nothing made a sound, I was aware that death was all around me. Death had consumed my city; I could see it moving, growing, hungering for me, its claws closing in on me. G's surrounded me on all sides. They stood silently watching me, their mouths silently calling to me, speaking my name with lifeless voices and fetid breath. They began to close on me, slowly suffocating me, stealing my oxygen.  Their screams for hunger were deafening, my ears rang and my feet moved faster than I had ever thought possible.

Pushing past the ghouls closest to me, I could feel their hands reaching for me, scratching, and tearing at my clothes. My lungs began to burn as I tried to put distance between me and the ghouls. As I ran I could see the entire city's inhabitants converge on me, from every door, every window, the entire world seemed to close around me. The street began to close up, houses began to move around me, I could hear the doors and windows break. Closing in on me the dead reached and grabbed for my body, their teeth closing and gnashing, grinding. My arm burned, and I turned to see a ghoul biting into my forearm, I spun around slamming my fist into its dead skull, breaking my self free, I could feel another tear, another bite, another hand grabbing me. The snarls, howling, the breaking wood consumed all I could hear.

As my eyes opened I could feel the sting of sweat, my head throbbed, and my body burned, in my brief consciousness, all I could see from the couch was the G standing in the living room. 

Mistakes...

I was sure I had lost him.  And perhaps I deserved to, after the mistakes I made... 

Much of what transpired after the zombie ambush out on the street is foggy at best.

After my initial wave of panic had passed, something inside me had clicked..something emotionless...robotic...careless...

I only remember it in flashes...
I remember basically leaping down the apartment barricade...running full speed to the nearby Rite-Aid...items being grabbed and quickly thrown to the side or stashed into my backpack as I frantically searched each aisle.  In the pharmacy, I remember just sweeping medicine bottles and tubes off the shelves into my bag, no looking, no considerations...  By the time I made it back to the apartment, Resef was unconscious.

It wasn't until I had applied a random assortment of topical creams and antibiotic gels to his wound that I noticed myself getting very lightheaded and dizzy.  As I started to clean up after the haphazard medical procedure I realized there was a trail of blood leading to a large pool of blood next to Resef.  I looked down at my leg to see a large gash resulting from carelessly sneaking into a half-way boarded-up window at the Rite-Aid.  Everything went black after that...

The next thing I remember is waking up to wails and moans coming from outside.  I quickly found Resef in the dim light of dusk.  I could see that he was breathing, but still asleep...his wound slightly green, but improved.  My body was weak from blood loss.  I staggered upwards, swaying with each step as I clumsily made my way to the deck.  Below me appeared the largest gang of Gs I've ever seen at our complex.  They had caught the scent of my blood from my trip to the Rite-Aid and were now clawing at our barricade.

I hadn't been thinking when I had made that trip...I didn't even remember if I had properly secured the barricade.  As if in answer to my terrified thoughts, a Walker swiftly pummeled his way through the barricade, slowly making his way toward me, leading the way for the other monsters...

Zombie First-Aid?!

For what seemed hours we stared at each other. Still in shock from the scene on the street- this was just too much.

No one dared touch it. When he finally did reach for it, I screeched incomprehensible words of panic at him.

I sat there, unmoving like a statue. I couldn't even blink. Bodily functions like that, breathing even, were put on pause. Thoughts of life without him raced through my mind...there was simply no way I would go on with out him. My eyes moved to my rifle...crazy thoughts flooded my mind. Thoughts I pushed to the back of my mind...we had always promised each other we would keep going, no matter what. We wouldn't take the easy way out- we had promised each other...

I suddenly became aware of a voice yelling at me-demanding action, "Do you have a better idea, then?!".

What the hell are you supposed to do when infected Zombie bone shrapnel is lodged in your boyfriend's leg?

I'd had jobs in the past that required first-aid and CPR training, but since I never had to implement the skills we had been taught, I quickly forgot them. Besides, I don't remember being taught what to do in a Zombie apocalypse scenario. Would the basics apply here? And why the hell didn't it occur to us before to stock up on first-aid supplies?!

Collateral Damage

    The group of Gs turned in unison as if they were of one mind. Time seemed to stand still as my heart raced, rose, stiffening my throat. In a flash without hesitation they arose from the ground where they were kneeling. Their mouths opened wide, exposing rotten teeth, gums of the toothless Ghouls shone jaw bones peaking through them, turning the disfigured mouths into makeshift beaks. Suddenly time came rushing back to me, the Gs already in motion were running towards us. "Run!!!" I yelled as I pushed my foot down on the pedal, surging me forward. Rika followed close behind, the trailer slowing her down and forcing more care in maneuvering than in escaping. Our rifles were slung around us, but in the initial fear were forgotten. The Gs burned with hunger and ferocity, they quickly moved between the vehicles, our only saving grace was their inability to slow them selves to properly manage the automotive maze, constantly slamming into and stumbling over cars. The Ghouls howled in rage as we continued to maintain the distance between us and them, the sound caused a shiver to run down my spine. I started to pull away from Rika with out noticing, I continued to pedal, my lungs burned, I could hear the Gs behind me, not wanting to  turn around and see them chasing me I pedaled harder.
    The Zombies closed in on Rika, she was constantly feeling the extra weight of the trailer, only pulling it because she is the better cyclist of the two of us. Tears streamed down her eyes as the sound and smell of the Ghouls grew closer. One Ghoul was close enough to touch the trailer, as it lunged and grasped at Rika, only barely missing it's target. The close call caused Rika to panic and falter in her focus, the bike swerved and crashed into a wrecked car, the vehicle that had apparently created the metal labyrinth. Falling to the ground Rika laid on the floor stunned from the sudden stop and preceding impact with the ground. The Gs grew closer still running, now only a few feet from where an astonish Rika and her bike sat stopped on the pavement.
    The rifle lay in front of her, without much thought she grabbed it, turning to face the threat that was bearing down on her. A cold detached resolve shown in her eyes. 5, A red dot appeared in the Zombies head, his momentum causing him to smash into the wreck car. 4, The crack was barley audible over their screams and made little difference in the G's neck, 3, another hole appeared in it's skull. 2, the eye disintegrate and a the back of it's head shattered outward. 1, a lower jaw shattered and the G stumbled.
     A deafening sound broke out and the Gs jaw-less head exploded. Another shot rang out and the angle of my vantage point allowed me to take multiple Gs with each shot, 2,3,5,6 Gs and my shotgun ran empty, now with they're attention turn towards me, I tried to reload, pulling one round out from my belt before they arrived. Rika was on her feet with a fully reloaded weapon each pull of the trigger finding it's target in the back of a zombies head. Sweat ran down my brow as we reunited, as we hugged the sound of other nearby Gs shouted out, alerted by the gunfire. Rushing towards our bikes we began to pedal away, a warm feeling in my leg nagged me the rest of our ride home.
     Finally able to relax in the safety of our home, I examined my leg... a piece of Zombie skull lay embedded in my leg, a piece of rotten, decaying, and infected bone. My tears were uncontrollable.

Red Sky In Morning

     The outskirts of town were the same as we'd left them, this indirect route back to the apartment costs an additional two hours to our journey. The extra time and distance strained me, I couldn't hardly stand it, we were so close and yet with each turn of the pedal it seemed that we were not getting any closer to our home. I broke down and decided to travel directly towards the apartment, only four miles away.

     The wind was blowing away from us, the breeze felt nice on my sweat soaked brow, rejuvenating us as we road, unfortunately it had another effect. The cars littered the street making travel difficult, and made planning your path through the remains nearly impossible without seeing past the car your next to. We weren't able to see them until we cycled passed.

     Dozen's of Ghouls sat bent in the street hovering over a corpse, they were gnawing on the bare bones of a long dead jogger, parts of her clothes and shoes still sat exposed. The once pink and white running shoes, now just various shades of red, and the spandex pants; Nothing more than a board, soaked and baked in blood and sun. My heart skipped a beat as the Gs began to stir, I hoped with everything that I had, that they would let us pass without notice. They did not.

Last Leg

     Awakening from our restless sleep we roused ourselves and prepare for the long journey still ahead of us. The trailer that we found would make things a lot easier to move along the road, I had nearly fallen from my bike many times on the way here, the Remington weighs so much. I had found an ammo belt for my shotgun and a sling to keep it at the ready. We looked around and tried to secure anything of value, a good knife, fire start, and believe it or not a GPS, I suppose it didn't seem too important at the time every body was hurrying around during the initial chaos.
     We had packed up and were ready to get moving, breakfast was a number of energy bars and some water from self filtered bottles (of course we took a number of them with us too). We moved out of the sporting goods store, and found the street eerily void of Gs. Moving into and through the parking lot we easily found ourselves back on the highway, shortly after starting our ride we found out where all the Gs went to.
     They were swarming around a nearby house, we could see it from the highway, they were forty deep creeping around and trying desperately to enter the house.  On the roof we saw the reasons why they so wanted in. Laying in a shambled pile was a family of four, the blood dripping from the roof and onto the Gs below gave clear indications of the mutual murder and suicide of a despairing family. Crimson Gs fought for position under the red nectar flowing onto them.
     I could barely control my emotions as we stopped to view the horror in front of us. My stomach retched, I could feel the bile filling my throat, swallowing hard I returned my fluids where they belong. Rika was not so lucky, she vomited on the road, her wet sobbing eyes, bulged and reddened as she continued to heave on the ground. I was at a loss for words, I couldn't think of a thing to say that would help her through this, I got off my bike and walked over, huddled with her and we wept together. We couldn't afford to stay long in one place especially this close to the Gs. After a short time and few words of encouragement, we were back on the road, our pace had lessened and our mood sank to a nearly unbelievable low. The next few miles seemed to take years, the time and distance passed in silence.

Pinkie and the Shotgun

Our journey back from Denver was slow moving. It seemed that every couple of miles we would have to stop and take cover. With all of the bags and supplies we had collected from Resef's apartment, we were too encumbered to escape successfully. After what seemed days, we made it back to the half way point at the Centerra shopping center near Loveland. It was a chance to relax and regroup without too much fear of Gs.

There were still a few lingering Gs stumbling around the expansive parking lot. I recognized one Walker from before. She had been a cashier at Victoria's Secret. She wore a torn black blouse exposing a lacy black bra underneath. Her name tag still barely clung to what was left of the blouse. She clunked around on black high heels, her overly expensive tights were littered with holes and tears, the biggest ones on her knees from repeatedly falling. There was something too pathetic about her to put her down. She didn't seem interested in us, anyway.

I went back to the Dick's Sporting Goods where I had found my lucky pink .22 rifle. It had been the only firearm leftover in the chaos. In fact, it had still been sitting on the shelf, totally untouched, when I found it. All of the more powerful firearms had long been looted. I managed to find more ammo for "Pinkie" and Resef's damn shotgun and also found one of those bicycle trailers I used to see parents towing their kids around in. I hadn't see it last time, but wow were we happy to find it this go around! It was perfect for towing all the heavy bags we brought back. We settled into a storage room we had outfitted with pillows from the nearby mattress store. It felt good to get some shuteye.

Arrival

  We arrived late, the darkness was oppressive and the air was stale. The recent cold and subsequent heat had caused this night to be relatively cool and non-offensive, I was exhausted. I worried that if we left our bikes out that any passersby would notice the new additions and come looking for the owners, we decided to take our bikes up stairs. Each step of the three flights were torture on my ears, the echo seemed louder than life. As we approached the top I paused, my ear to the hallway door listening quietly for any signs of what lay beyond, I heard nothing. Opening the door everything looked as it had always looked, bland and cheap. I took my keys out of my pocket and set the bikes aside. I told Rika to wait behind me and be ready if something were to come barreling out, I would step aside and make shift club would finish it. Nervous and shaking I slowly turned the key. Sweat on my brow and tears in my eyes I imagined what horrors lay beyond the door; what had become of Andrew? The click of the lock was a horrible siren that I swore all of the world could hear. I pushed the door open and peaked through the door. I saw nothing, and nothing immediately reeked of death. I quickly pushed the door open squatting to make room in Rika's line of sight. nothing came flying out at us.... I locked the door and explored the rest of the apartment to my surprise it was empty, staying completely quiet we collected our supplies, the Remington Model 11 with 200rnds of ammunition, more than enough to defend ourselves. It was my father's he left it when he died, the shotgun was his fathers and is still in as good of condition as the day it was built, 5+1 semi auto 12 Gauge.  While collecting supplies my thoughts again went to my roommate's whereabouts. It was clear that he wasn't home and hadn't been for some time, all of our food was still there and nothing had been disturbed. Securing the door we quietly made my bed and slept soundly through the night, three floors up behind a steel door and two dead bolts. After waking and gathering more toiletries we proceeded to leave. As a last thought I disassembled my fishing rod and packed up some of my extra bags, duffel bags and what not, with everything ready and packed up we headed out, I wrote a note and left it for Andrew,  reluctantly I left the door unlocked, perhaps it will serve some one in the future.

The Windy City

The weather in Colorado is so weird, especially here in Fort Collins. Yesterday it was in the 80's; today snow flurries. Oh, and the wind here kills me! It can be very strong. And once the wind picks up, it doesn't stop for days.

At times it can take my breath away as I struggle against it. It's the worst on my bike. When those wind gusts start up, I find myself unable to pedal forward. I end up frozen to the spot.

But I'm pretty stubborn. I don't like giving into the wind. As if it's my adversary- I am unwilling to show weakness in front of it. So I stand on my pedals, struggling in vain, only to give in when I finally lose my balance.

Sometimes it feels like the wind becomes even stronger in those times, as if to spite me. I hate the wind. It gets so loud that you can't hear the Gs approaching. It's not smart to be out when it's windy- I swear it carries your scent right to the unholy beasts.

But then, what can you do when you're in unfamiliar terrain on a bike expedition to Denver?

Travel Plans

We've had time to wait and decide, I've told Rika that we need a gun. I've already checked the stores around the apartment, they're empty. They've been stripped to the bone. In Denver I have a shotgun, 12 Gauge, and just over 120 rounds. This shotgun could be invaluable to our survival. If we can retrieve my shotgun then we'd be able to properly defend ourselves and search in more populated areas for supplies and other people still living in this city... Rika won't let me leave her alone when I go to Denver and get my gun, so the only option is to go together. I know that she's not comfortable with riding the bike for any distance, let alone 60 miles to Denver. I've looked at the map and found the best route out of the city, there are a lot of residential areas around us... this makes things very difficult for us to leave, but I figure that if we just bike hard and fast out of the city then we'll be fine. I just hope that my asthma won't cause me too much problems. We'll leave early next morning.

Crazy Talk

Resef has been talking about going to Denver. That's about 60 miles from here! I just don't know what he's thinking. And all for a damn shotgun! Why we can't search some pawn stores or something nearby is beyond me. He keeps talking about how it was his dad's. God. I think he's delirious. 

I have been thinking a lot about my failed venture out of the apartment. It's hard not to; my body is still sore all over. When I fell off of the road, I scraped my right shoulder and arm up pretty bad. I'm still picking the gravel out. The bike bruised my legs up as well. I guess I must have gripped onto the bike with my thighs as I fell. Resef managed to fix up my bike with some effort, but I'm too psyched out to even get on it. I've seen plenty of zombies and have run from my fair share, but this was the first time without him. He was always there to keep me calm. He always had a plan, always knew what to do. 

How are we supposed to get all the way to Denver? Our cars will not be inconspicuous at all. Mine is especially loud. I've got a nice big hole in the muffler. I swear every G in a 20 mile radius will hear it. Bikes are the better way to go. Especially when we need to get around abandoned cars and debris, but I am still nervous about riding it, especially for 60 miles. I don't think it's smart to try to ride the five or so hours in one day. If we get too fatigued, how are we supposed to take on any Gs? And there's no way I'm letting him go that far alone. Please god let me talk him out of it.

Recovery

Rika returned yesterday I couldn't be more happy I am so relieved to have her with me again. After she came back I held her tight, I felt that if i dared to let her go she would disappear forever. It was many hours before i could feel sure that she was safe, before I could convince myself she was really here. That night I slept and did not stir until morning. I rose this morning happy that she was really here. I've decided we shouldn't go anywhere today. We both need some time to recoup. The list of supplies had to be updated to include some (now obvious) much needed devices; rechargeable batteries (I'll have to figure a way to produce electricity), Walkie-Talkies, and Weapons any will do. The battery is almost dead on the laptop now... we need to improve our situation soon...

The Longest Night...

My trip to Jax didn't go how I imagined. In fact, it didn't go at all. I left just after day break. The cool air smelled of rain from the night before. For a moment it felt like the Sunday rides I used to take when life was normal. That was until I turned a corner where I encountered a small troupe of Walkers. They were stumbling around aimlessly in the middle of the street. I panicked, stopping abruptly, causing my wheels to skid on the gravel. Normally the sound would barely be noticeable, but in the quite of the early morning I might as well have set off fireworks.

I stood there for a moment, frozen. I had on foot on a pedal, ready to ride away, but I couldn't move. The Walkers were about twenty feet away from me. They turned their heads sharply in my direction, looking at me with their dead, white eyes. They started lumbering towards me, groaning. Their moan always makes my chest tighten up, it gets hard to breathe. They continued towards me, gaining in speed.

The call of a nearby bird caught my attention and brought me out of my trance. I quickly turned my bike around, nearly falling sideways in my haste. I began pedaling as fast as I could in the opposite direction. I just kept going...never looking back. Before I knew it, I was in an unfamiliar part of town. I found myself riding through an open field. The road became more elevated as I continued; the land on either side of the road sloped drastically downwards. As I rode I thought I heard the familiar groan again, causing me to lose my balance. That was the last thing I remembered, before I went tumbling down...

The next thing I remember was the sound of crickets. My body hurt all over. It was dark. I was so cold. So terrified. I felt around for my backpack. I found it nearly a foot to the right of me. I felt inside for my flashlight. I held it in my hand, hesitant to use it. What if there were zombies nearby? I remembered the sound that caused my accident. I questioned whether it had been real or not. How could I still be alive if it had been?

Afraid of the unknown, I held on tight to my flashlight, huddled in the dark. I sat there barely daring to breathe, jumping at every sound I heard until day break. It was the longest night of my life. When the sun finally rose in the sky I climbed up the slope of the hill. My bike's chain had come unhooked and my front wheel was slightly bent. It took me nearly five hours to walk my bike home, I limped the entire time. Thankfully I didn't encounter any Gs. When I finally made it home, I looked up at my balcony to see the relieved face of Resef. When I got past the barricade we embraced each other for the longest time. I let out a sob and promised never to let him go again.

Trouble

Rika hasn't returned yet, she's a day over due... I told her not to go!! Damn-it where the fuck could she be? I knew i should of gone with her!! I never should of let her go alone, why didn't i stop her? There just be some way to find a way to contact her. I need to get a hold of some radios and some batteries. If I leave now I may be able to retrace her steps to Jax.... no... no... that would never work, there is no way to track her if she ran into trouble and had to go off route, which she most certainly did... God why can't she just be back here and safe, with me? I need to know where she is.. please Rika be safe and come home soon... I have lunch ready... ...

Food

The neighboring apartments were not difficult to enter, the large windows were easy to break. The smell of stagnant air in the apartments wafted through the newly opened window, the stench of mold and decay radiated throughout the entire apartment. The strength getting exponentially worse as I approached the kitchen, I brought my shirt over my nose, and quietly crept closer to the refrigerator, the source of the putrid smell that was assaulting my senses. my eyes and ears were on alert for the movement and sounds that would betray any Gs hiding in the apartment. The smell emanating from the fridge would cover any Gs that would be lurking around any corners. As I slowly and quietly maneuver my way pass the kitchen, the smell would caused my eyes to burn and water; suddenly hearing the creak of the old floorboards as I approached the back room, my senses suddenly on alert, my heart racing and veins pounding in my forehead. I balled my gloved fists, and thanked god that I had my boots with me when things turned to shit. Breathing deep, I risked a quick peek around the corner, and peered into the bedroom. Lumbering in the center of the room was a single G, slowly rocking back and forth, shifting it's weight from one foot to another. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes tight, one last deep breath, the anger I've felt the last few weeks, boiled to the surface. I pushed against the wall and charged into the room, my right leg raised i delivered a kick to the monster's ribs spinning it around, quickly I sent another towards the Zombie's leg. Followed by the loud cracking sound of the thing's femur breaking, and the festering rotten tissue rupturing and spilling from the newly opened wound, quickly mustering strengths for another kick, I quickly landed it on the side of the thing's head, putting an end to the short engagement. I left the room without taking another second longer than necessary, I immediately walked to the kitchen and grabbed as much canned goods as I could carry. I left the apartment as soon as possible with out giving myself time to think about what had just happened, I retreated to the apartment. I've decided to wait for Rika, decided not to tell her about the gore I created in the apartment...

Planning

I've been thinking of how to remove the remaining staircase, the barricade is beginning to be problematic. It takes a lot of time to move the barricade, not to mention the exposure we face while waiting to get in. We need more weapons, and more materials if we plan on modifying the staircase, and finding some other survivors. We currently don't have any extra supplies to feed anyone else, in fact I need to find food for us. We're running low on our canned foods, we ran out of fresh food days ago; soft potatoes... The neighboring apartments have been left empty and undisturbed, I have always assumed that they would come back, it doesn't look like that's going to happen now, I suppose it was foolish to think that they would return. Now I should start looking there first, I'll try my best to avoid prying, and preserve the privacy of our neighbors; living, dead, or otherwise..

Rika's leaving soon, I told her not to leave alone but she won't listen to me and we haven't the time or the energy to waste arguing. I'm very distraught about her decision, but deep down inside I'm relieved to not have to go out on my own again. I'll have the food by the time Rika returns. God, I hope she returns safe, I can't do this alone...

Run, Rika, Run!

I'm regretting my gluttonous ways prior to the apocalypse. I mean, yeah, I slimmed down quickly when ration-mode hit our household and running for my life has done wonders for my thighs. But knowing how to run and just letting the sympathetic nervous system kick start your adrenalin is a totally different story.

I had a friend once that knew how to free-run; I should try to find him. I also need to plan a trip to Jax Sports for the proper parkour gear. I'm thinking some free-running shoes for Resef and I and some climbing gloves should do it. Oh and Resef also requested a bowie knife that he informs me resembles a "miniature pirate sword", some rope, a machete and a metal baseball bat- the essentials, you know.

Resef is on alert mode after last night. It's partly what prompted me to re-examine my physical abilities. I usually feel safe enough up here in our "apartment in the sky", as I like to call it. He's done a great job of making me as safe as I can feel, considering the life we've been living. It makes me feel like such a burden though. I need to learn more and pull my weight. It's why I refused his company on this outing. I'm so nervous. I'm pretty sure that I'll be the one tossing and turning tonight. Jax's would be a short 20 minute bike ride from our apartment if it wasn't for the fact that Old Town is completely overrun with Gs the last time I checked. Jax is slightly north of Old Town, so taking the long way around usually extends the trip to closer to 45 minutes. It's gonna be a long day...

Last night...

It was a late one...
I was up late again, I could of sworn they were outside of our door, perhaps I'm just imagining these sounds... I was looking about the walkway, trying to eye out any of the damn draggers, they nauseate me, gimping around on one broken and twisted foot. Disgusting monsters. We're living on the second floor, I've already removed one of the stairwells, leaving the other intact but barricaded,the ease of access the stairs provide is seeming less and less worth the risk, I find myself worrying more every night about those corpses crawling up those stairs to get us. I saw four of them while I was out there on the walkway, thankfully in light of a large moon the Gs were easy to spot, their skin bloated and stretched, shone brightly, nearly glowing in the open spaces of our parking lot. The four Walkers made their way out of the area rather quickly, unfortunately when I returned to bed I was unable to return to sleep, I just lay there for hours until the early morning, finally able to drift into unconsciousness after many hours of silence, no moaning or sounds of bodies dragging across the grass. I've got many things to do, we need to discuss the stair situation. it's going to be hazardous to remove the stairs, we'll attract a lot of attention, we need to find other survivors if we plan on living longer.

First Entry

It seems like forever since everything changed. One day I'm writing my resumé, preparing for the "real world", the next day reality hit hard. Very hard.
It started with wild mumblings from the Hospice community. We thought they were crazy with grief and despair...
Families preparing for the death of their loved ones...the numerous counseling sessions, the never ending paperwork, the long nights holding their loved one's hand whispering, "I love you" to pale, unresponsive faces.
Finally the moment would come...the last breath...shallow and raspy...then they were gone.
The families would hug each other. Condolences were imparted by friends.
The families prepared for the "new normal".
...yes...
They were the first to experience the "new normal".
Hours after the family thought they said their last "goodbyes", up and moving around were the recently departed; ashen-faced and slow, but seemingly alive.

These families were also the first casualties. The first of many that would come...