Left 3 Dead

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/L3DLogo.jpg

Left 3 Dead was an illustrated zombie outbreak CYOA by FAHtastic that started in October 2009.

'''Prologue: “That place is fucked, man. Bloodbath city.”''' ''April 27th 2010. Bordate City, Colorado. ''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Prologue.jpg

Police received the first report at 1:34pm. A lone man had charged at a woman in the street and had begun to ferociously maul her with his hands and teeth. Three men had rushed over to help, and were also attacked. The assailant was eventually subdued by a blast to the torso from a shotgun wielded by a local store owner. The person who called in the attack, the store owner, a man named Sanjeev Ahmed, reported that the man was acting ‘feral’ and had ‘crazy eyes’. The caller cut off abruptly shortly after. At 1:44pm, when the first ambulance arrived, there were two corpses, male, lying in the street and a shotgun lying spent by the roadside. There were no signs of at least two of the three men, the woman who had been attacked or the store owner. By 1:47pm, when the first police car arrived, six more calls had been received of similar attacks in the surrounding area. One caller described the attacker as a man of Indian descent, wearing an apron and as having eyes that were ‘mad’. By 4:15am the following day, the entire city had been lost.

Prologue One: “I always imagined the zombie apocalypse would be simpler than this”

''April 27th, 2:56pm. Bordate University, Willamette Lecture Theatre.''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/RPrologue1.jpg

‘Ugh, my neck hurts’ Ryoko moaned, rubbing her it with one hand as she swung a backpack over her shoulder with the other. ‘Here’s an idea: don’t sleep in class!’ Sarah offered, frowning at her friend as she collected herself, wiping the drool from her face as she stood up. ‘Madness!’ She replied, throwing her hands in the air in mock emotion. The two headed from the classroom discussing the contents of the lecture they had just sat through. Understandably, Ryoko’s contribution to the conversation was minimal, but she spoke enthusiastically about the first seven minutes, and a few minutes in the middle, where she had decided to pay attention seriously from then on, but, having missed 37 of the first 44, the following three had held little meaning and she soon drifted off again. ‘I’m heading back to the dorm, you comin’?’ Sarah pointed over her shoulder with her thumb in the direction she was heading, a needless gesture as Ryoko lived there too, but, Sarah had felt it necessary. ‘Nah, I’ve got that Microbiology paper for Friday. Meetin’ Ryan in the library. Gonna help me with it.’ Ryoko said, returning an equally unnecessary gesture over her shoulder, not exactly pointing towards the library, but near enough. ‘Uh-huh. “Help” you with it.’ Sarah hadn’t really stopped frowning since earlier, but despite this, she frowned again. A sort of super frown. ‘Eh?’ Ryoko knew that Sarah was being euphemistic, but she wasn’t entirely certain of her exact meaning. ‘Nothing. See you at home’ Sarah had already begun walking away before she finished talking, waving lazily over her shoulder. Ryoko frowned now. It was a relationship based upon mutual displeasure, apparently. She shrugged and headed towards where her thumb had pointed moments earlier.

''April 27th, 3:35pm. Bordate University Library. ''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/RPrologue2.jpg

Ryoko had now gone from a frown to a full-blown angry face. Ryan had not shown up and he wasn’t answering his mobile phone. Fortunately, the library had been a little quieter than normal, so Ryoko could at least sit in the café while she waited. Upon finishing her coffee, with no Ryan in sight, she decided to head home. She imagined that Sarah would later scold her for not just working on it on her own, but she had decided not to as a matter of principle. If Ryan wasn’t going to help her, then she wasn’t going to do it at all. That’d show him. Whilst she was heading home, having now downgraded her face from angry to a more approachable grumpy, something caught her eye in the student car park: Ryan’s car. Now she didn’t know what to think. Maybe they had just missed each other, or perhaps he had been waiting outside or in another part of the library. She decided to double-check and make sure it was actually his, although she couldn’t imagine that two people at the university would own a puke-beige 1991 Buick LeSabre sedan. She approached the car from the back on the passenger side. It was definitely Ryan’s car, she recognised the plates. Despite this confirmation, she wasn’t much better off. She still had very little idea what had happened to Ryan. She leant over and looked inside. The car looked normal, enough, although Ryoko noticed that Ryan’s bag was lying on the passenger seat. Then, a little later, she noticed that the driver’s side was open slightly and the window was dirty. It was difficult to make out, but it looked like a darkish red-brown smudge. She headed round to the other side. As the driver’s side door came into sight she noticed the entire door was covered in paint or at least that’s what she thought it was. Her first thought was that, maybe Ryan had been the subject of some kind of prank, but before she could inspect it any closer, she felt something under her foot. Ryan’s car keys. She recognised the keychain. As she picked them up, she caught movement, a fast movement, in front of her. Then a scream.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/RPrologue3.jpg

She flicked her head up as the scene before her unfolded. A female student was being wrestled to the ground by male one, and not in a cute, friendly way, whatever that was. Before Ryoko could speak up, the man bite into the girl’s arm and pulled the skin and flesh away from her. Ryoko’s throat closed up and she couldn’t make a sound, though she tried. The girl kept screaming for a while, however, but after a while, she fell silent too. Realisation set in and Ryoko managed a single feeble squeak. Now, all eyes were on her or, at the very least, the eyes of the man in front of her were, if you could call it that. Now that Ryoko got a clear look at his face, she wasn’t sure that it was a man. Not anymore. And by that, that doesn’t mean it was, like, a transvestite or something. Just that…well, it wasn’t human anymore. It suddenly set off towards Ryoko, stumbling over the girl as it ran. Ryoko was quick to react. She turned around and felt for the door to the car. She got her fingers between the gap, looking back towards the thing approaching her as she yanked it open and hopped it. She managed to get the door shut a few seconds before it reached her. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/RPrologue4.jpg

Ryoko watched it bang against the glass trying to get in. In had chunks of whomever it was that it had just mauled in its mouth and they fell down its front as it gnashed its teeth at her. Her thoughts were all over the place. What happened? Who was it banging on the door? Why was all of this happening? Where’s Ryan? Her mind suddenly cleared when she realised her hand was wet. Blood. She panicked. Had she cut herself somewhere when she was stumbling into the car. She felt about herself, but there was no pain, no wound. She stopped and tried to calm down, but this effort was thwarted by the thing outside the car window. It had been slamming its fist into the window for about a minute now and had managed to crack it. Ryoko knew she needed to move. Fortunately, she had held onto the car keys tightly. She moved them to the ignition, but her nerves were working against her as her hand jutted about, trying as hard as it could to avoid the keyhole. She eventually got it in and turned it. The engine sputtered to life and she took off, spinning the wheels behind her. She flicked her eyes towards the driver side mirror. The man was still behind her and, as she turned the corner and he disappeared out of view, she could swear that she saw a woman running too. Her heart was still beating out of its chest, but as she pulled out onto the main road, she started to calm down. She wasn’t in any immediate danger. As her mind calmed, however, her mind began to imagine. The blood on her hand, she realised, was probably from the door and that, was probably from Ryan. She began to cry. She didn’t like Ryan that much really, but it was that one last thing that tipped her over the edge. ‘Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god’ she blubbered, trying to get the tears out of her eyes with her sleeve. A police car zoomed past with its sirens going, which surprised Ryoko and caused her to swerve out a little. She looked around her and the same scene that she had just witnessed on campus was happening everywhere else. There were people running all over the place and those that weren’t were lying on the floor or being attacked. Ryoko frantically tried to make sense of everything and then it hit her: the radio! She fumbled for the controls and switched it on. The preset station was playing music, so she began spinning the tuner. The next station she found was a national one. ‘-ports of riots in the city of Bordate, Colorado. We don’t have anything official yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as we do. In other news..’. ‘Useless’ she thought to herself. Well, her thoughts were quite so coherent, but the meaning was there. She gave the tuner another spin. A local station this time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/RPrologue5.jpg

‘-ith me, McBones! Covering, apparently, every slot today as neither of the Daves have turned up for the drive-time show, so, you’re stuck with me! We’ve been receiving erratic reports for a little over an hour now of violence from all over the city.’ Ryoko leant over and wiped the blood from her hand on the passenger seat as the DJ spoke, before putting her seatbelt on. ‘We’ve got nothing official yet, but looking out of my window, I can see smoke coming from east side and people running through the streets. My advice, stay at home and keep your eyes on the TV or Radio. Again, we have nothing official yet, but…’ The radio went quiet for a few seconds. Ryoko turned to look at it, as it started again ‘Ok, hang on, I’ve just been informed that…’ and then it hit her: another car! Clearly looking at the radio while you’re driving erratically with tear-blurred vision is not the best way to avoid an accident. The car slammed into the rear of the car and Ryoko spun out. She tried, in vain, to right the car, but it slammed into the concrete barriers set up along side of the road. The speed at which she was driving forced the barriers back, but some combination of forces upon the car caused it to flip and roll down the embankment on the other side, before lying still.

''April 28th, 4:59pm. Ryan’s car, off Winchester Street.''

Ryoko’s consciousness slipped back. At first there was nothing. Then a dim ringing in her ears and finally a dull pain. She reached up to her head and looked at her hand. There was no blood, but it throbbed. Her head, that is, not her hand. Her hand was fine. Her arm was in worse shape. Where the window had been cracked, the glass had shattered and cut her arm. The blood had long dried though, but it really needed some treatment. The images from the day before began to return and Ryoko suddenly panicked, looking around her furiously. Nothing. She was safe, for now. Maybe it had all blown over. Maybe she had just been dreaming or something. She checked her watch. 5:01pm. ‘About an hour’ she thought to herself, as opposed to anyone else, confirming how long she had been out. She tried to decide whether staying where she was or leaving to look around was a good idea or not. On one hand, she really didn’t want to go outside, but on the other she needed to patch her arm. And she really needed the toilet. She sighed as she decided that she really didn’t want to “use” a car and unbuckled her belt. The driver side door was bent inwards, so she climbed over and left through the passenger door. Climbing the embankment she had rolled down, the quiet washed over her. At six in the evening, most people would be heading home and the street ahead of her would be bustling. But now, there was nothing. As the road came into sight, it appeared that there was no-one on the street. A few cars parked up and some in the road, but no people. No-one moving, at least. She walked across the width of the street gingerly, looking up and down it several times. She headed towards a drugstore on the other side. As she reached the pavement on the other side, she froze briefly as she noticed numerous red and black stains all over the ground. She looked around again to confirm that she was alone before pressing on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Rprologue6.jpg

The door was open, and she stepped inside. It was empty, but the shelves looked like they had been frantically stripped cleaned. Maybe it was a riot she had seen earlier and this place had been looted? ‘H-hello?’ She cried out, sheepishly. Nothing. ‘Hello? He-hello?’. After a few moments of silence, she walked in further. First things first. She headed towards the back of the shop and behind the counter. Checking around in the staff area, she finally found it: the staff toilets.

''April 28th, 5:15pm. Vidal’s Drugs, Winchester Street.''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Rprologue7.jpg

Ryoko washed her face. It had been feeling greasy and dirty since she had woken up. As she looked in the mirror, she saw the dry, bloodied graze on her forehead. It wasn’t too bad, just swollen. She washed it again, gritting her teeth slightly. She walked back onto the shop floor and looked around. Grabbing a few things from the shelves, she went into the staff room and sat down. Using the items she had procured from the store, she began to clean and dress the wound on her arm. It wasn’t too bad, but it was worth taking care of. As she was doing this, she suddenly felt some movement in her pocket. Her phone! Of course! She hurriedly took it from her pocket and checked it. Three messages. They were all from her mother.

‘where ru? ru ok? news said there were riots let me no’ ‘ryoko please call if ur ok. i cant get ur dad the news says the city has been closed’ ‘still cant get ur dad. tv says that the city is on fire please call ru ok’

Ryoko was about to call and reassure her mother that was she fine and not on fire when she noticed the times that the messages had been sent. She checked her watch to confirm and it agreed. She hadn’t been out for a couple of hours, she had been out for a whole day! This news really wasn’t that huge, but it was still something of a shock. She shook it off and began to call. Nothing. She tried again to no avail. She looked and realised the phone had zero bars of signal. Frowning, she waved it about in the air trying to magically catch some telephone waves or something, but no luck. She realised the store must have a landline, so she quickly looked around and located one of the staff room wall. Picking it up, there was no dial tone. She flicked the receiver and pressed some buttons a few times, but nothing. Super frown.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Rprologue8.jpg

After patching herself up, she helped herself to some vending machine food and drink. Fully refreshed she decided to head back outside. Sadly, the store lacked the facilities to wash her hair and, after sitting in a car for a day, it was a little nasty, so she grabbed a scrunchie on the way out and did her hair into a ponytail. Surprisingly, no one had looted the scrunchies. It was getting late now and the sun was low in the sky.

''April 28th, 6:15pm. Emmerdale Street, off Winchester Street.''

Ryoko hadn’t seen a single person as she walked down Winchester, but when she turned onto Emmerdale, she saw loads of them. Loads of dead ones, at least. The street was zig-zagged with police cars and vans and numerous corpses of police officers and civilians littered the road. Ryoko edged closer to the scene. There wasn’t any movement that she could see, but it was clear what had happened. The police had been fighting the people. Had the riots really gotten so bad that they needed to use guns? The thing that most stuck out is that all of the weapons seemed to be on the police’s side of the street. Did the other people win and run off with their weapons or…did they not have any to begin with? Ryoko scratched her head and the winced. Her wound was still quite sore and she nodded as if in agreement with herself. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on here, but she knew that arming herself was probably a good idea. She looked around. There were several shotguns, but given her size and strength, she decided against it. Instead, she reached down and picked up two pistols. Police issue Glock 17s, although Ryoko didn’t know that. As she was about to stand, she felt something against the back of her head. It was cold and hard. ‘Say something!’ a voice behind her demanded. She swallowed. She didn’t dare turn her head and suddenly she couldn’t think of anything to say. Panicking a little, after a second she decided. ‘…Please?’ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Rprologue9.jpg

'''Prologue Two: “It doesn't sound like civil disobedience. It's too quiet.”'''

''April 27th, 3:58am. Made in Heaven Gentleman’s Club. ''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue1.jpg

Sep watched his breath swirl about in the air as he sighed. It had been a quiet night, again. In some ways, the quiet ones were a good thing, but when there’s one after another, they tend to drag on. It didn’t help that it was ass-cold. Sep shivered and shook his head. Only a little longer. A lone car lumbered by and Sep watched it stagger past and turn off into another street. He sighed again and decided to try passing the time. ‘…Now!’ He turned to look at the door. Nothing. He narrowed his eyes slightly and waited for a few more seconds. ‘Nnnnow!’ The door remained still. Sep scowled slightly and then tried to act nonchalantly. He kicked his heels and looked about in the air at nothing. He couldn’t whistle, but if he could, he would have done so to further display his incuriousness. Suddenly he swung his whole body round and, with both fingers pointing, shouted at the door. ‘NOW!’ A few seconds passed and his face sunk a little. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and, as he was returning to his original stance, the door swung open. A group of men stumbled out laughing and waving at the two girls who had seen them out, completely drowning out Sep’s verbal displeasure. After they had made their way down the street, tripping into each other and singing, one of the girls turned to Sep. ‘That’s the last of ‘em, Boss!’ She chirped. Sep still had a sour look on his face, caused by his sheer inability to magically predict the future. ‘Um…Boss?’ Sep snapped out of his mini internal tantrum long enough to notice the girl talking to him.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue2.jpg

‘Oh, yeah, cool, thanks.’ Sep stuttered, making his way indoors. The two of them walked inside, behind the other girl who had headed in earlier, making small talk about the night’s business as they headed towards the bar. Sep placed himself down on a stool and tapped two of his fingers against the counter. ‘Fill me up, Semi’.’ ‘C’mon, man. You only just finished your shift.’ SemiFinal vs Belarus protested despite pouring him out a drink anyway. ‘An’ not a moment too soon.’ Sep reached out for his glass, grinning and gulped it down in a single swig. ‘Ahhh. Man, why can’t this place close earlier?’ ‘We don’t open till nine, Boss. If we closed any earlier, there wouldn’t be any point, yeah?’ One of the other dancers answered as she sidled up beside Sep. The other girls had gone to change, but this one, Cheryl, was already dressed. Clearly her show had finished earlier than other girls. ‘I wish you’d stop callin’ me “Boss”. It pisses Ant’ off to no end an’ I don’t need the aggro.’ The Boss was a nickname the girls had given Sep to annoy their actual boss, who was too stingy to hire more than one bouncer. As Antoine was barely ever around, normally managing one of his other ‘establishments’ across the city, the girls had depended on Sep to look after them. And it did piss of Antoine to no end. ‘Ah, you know you love it’ Cheryl joked, slapping Sep on the back. Semi’ chuckled to himself as he filled Sep’s glass for a third time. Just as Sep was about to growl at the two of them, their attentions were drawn towards the hallway as the sound of the door slammed shut. Cheryl turned to Sep.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue3.jpg

‘Didn’t you lock the door?’ ‘I thought Hayley did…Fuck’s sake’ Sep tried to look down the hallway without getting off his stool. This was a useless effort, as the angle made it impossible. ‘Hey! We’re closed!’ He shouted at whoever it was. The three of them waited for a few seconds in muted anticipation. After they hadn’t heard any noise, Sep tried again ‘That you, Ant’?’ Still no noise. One of the other girls had joined them by this point, but Semi’ had made the appropriate gestures to keep her quiet. ‘Maybe it’s just the wind?’ Cheryl offered. ‘It’s a heavy door.’ Semi’ replied. Just then, a man stumbled into the main room and into their line of sight. His head was slumped and he had entered with a clumsy gait. Sep clicked his tongue again. ‘Oi. We’re closed.’ This information prompted no reaction from the man. He just stumbled about uneasily, gingerly lifting his head towards the small group. Sep glared back at the man with immense displeasure. ‘C’mon, man..’ Sep hopped to his feet and walked towards the man. ‘Hey, we’re closed here! You listenin’?’ As Sep reached the man, he lifted a hand towards his shoulder and shook him. The man flopped back and forth under Sep’s influence. Suddenly, the man’s head shot up and he snapped his arm towards the burly bouncer’s, opening his mouth wide and bearing his teeth. ‘…Uh…wha-?’ The man managed before his strength left him and his arm fell back down to his side. ‘I said we’re closed.’ Sep repeated. The man seemed to acknowledge him this time. ‘Ohhh…okay..’ He replied, before stumbling back towards the door. Sep walked him out, locking the door behind him. ‘Pisshead.’~

''April 27th, 4:46pm. Sep’s Apartment.''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue4.jpg

Sep rubbed his head and groaned. He normally liked to sleep in until about sevenish, so he could get up just in time for his shift, but today he had been woken up earlier than he might’ve liked. Someone was banging on his door. And not just banging, really going for it. ‘The fuck?’ Sep blinked a few times, trying in vain to wash away the fogginess caused by last night’s drinking. The banging wasn’t stopping, both in his head and at the door. Sep snarled and jumped out of bed, angrily making his way towards the front door. ‘Ohhh, someone really wants their face caved in today, huh?’ He growled, yanking the door open. ‘WHAT!?’ Before Sep could think, he was set upon by a dainty figure, which jumped into him with its full force catching him by surprise. Had Sep not been quite as burly or had the person been a little stronger, he would have fallen on his ass. ‘Woah, woah! What the fuck i-.’ Sep began, but stopped when he realised who it was and his anger dissolved almost immediately. It was Cass, the neighbour lady, tears streaming down her face with her son standing just behind her. ‘Uh…’ Sep stuttered. A coherent fellow. ‘Thank God you’re here’ She whimpered, looking up from Sep’s chest. ‘They’re crazy! They’re killing people!’ ‘Wha-?’ Again, a coherent fellow. ‘ Haven’t you seen the TV? Hell, it’s in the street! They’re outside!’ She was becoming more erratic now. Sep was a little hesitant to admit that he was in a booze coma all afternoon. He liked Cass and he didn’t want her to think badly of him. He tried his hardest to come up with an excuse. ‘I, uh…had my window closed and…well, I work late.’ Sep was scratching his cheek as he talked, telling of his guilt. It wasn’t a lie, really, but it felt like one. ‘Wait, outside?’

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue5.jpg

Sep pulled away from the woman and headed to the window, tugging it open. As the window opened, the noise from outside suddenly became apparent. Sep was impressed at how sound-proof his apartment was, apparently. He leaned his head out and scanned the immediate surroundings. Immediately in the street below him, he could see a car crashed into a street light. Further up, he could see people running, with the occasional car speeding past. In the air, were billows of smoke and gunfire. Well, the sound of gunfire. ‘Huh…it’s certainly kickin’ off…’ Sep pulled his head back into the room. Cass had shut his front door and locked it. ‘Haven’t you been..’ She paused to sniff ‘Haven’t you been watching the TV?’ She tried. Sep waved his hand around the room. ‘You see a TV? Ain’t got a radio either. What’s happenin’?’ Sep asked, sitting down on his couch. Cass joined him, holding her son close to her, who, compared to her mother, seemed relatively calm. Her anxiety seemed to die down as she sat with the two of them, feeling safe. ‘I-I dunno. They say it’s riots or something. We were driving home from the school and everyone was going crazy. There were..’ She stopped, as she remembered the scene. Gathering herself again, she continued ‘They were ripping people apart with their bare hands. It..’ She fell into silence again. This time she didn’t continue. Sep hadn’t really grasped the severity of the issue, but he knew that she was greatly upset by whatever it was she had seen. He needed to go about this tactically. ‘So…uh, I’m gonna…take a shower..?’ He suggested. She looked up angrily. ‘What!? But…there’s…’ She wanted to tell him off, but she couldn’t quite find the words to do so. She eventually went with ‘I saw someone DIE!’ Sep sat silent for a little while, considering this. ‘Yeah, but…I’m smelling kinda funky, so…’ He shrugged. ‘Look, just, don’t open the door or something.’ Cass was beginning to think that Sep wasn’t quite the assurance she had expected. Sep got up and headed to the bathroom. ‘W-wait…do you have a gun?’ Sep scoffed. He was an angry, alcoholic American; he had three. ‘Could I…Could I have one? I…just don’t feel…safe.’ Sep shrugged. ‘Yeah, there’s one in the kitchen, in the drawer below the knives an’ stuff. Help yourself.’

April 27th, 5:19pm. Still Sep’s Apartment.

Sep did the last few buttons up on his shirt as he walked out of his bedroom. He looked around. The front door was open and Cass and her son were gone. Checking the kitchen, the drawer was open and his gun was missing too. He walked out into the corridor and saw that her front door was open. He poked his head in and called out. ‘Cass?’ He didn’t hear a reply. He figured that she couldn’t wait for him to get out of the shower and had taken off. He shrugged. ‘Guess I’ll go back to bed then.’

April 27th, 8:02pm. Made in Heaven Gentleman’s Club.

Sep let the door fall shut behind him as he walked into the darkened building, flicking the lights on. Sep was normally the first one in and the last one out at night, but normally there was at least someone outside waiting for him to open up. The girls liked to get there early so they could sort out the rota for the day and change into their costumes. Sep thought about what Cass had told him earlier, and headed to the staffroom. He flicked on the TV and cycled through the channels. They all said similar things, most claiming it was riots. A few made mention to the fact that the city had been closed off. None of them seemed to know exactly what was going on, not even the local station, so he flicked it off.

April 27th, 9:15pm. Made in Heaven Gentleman’s Club.

‘C’mon, c’mon’ Sep tapped his foot impatiently. He had been there an hour and no one had shown up. No dancers, no Semi’. Not even Antoine. He had started ringing the girls up. On his eighth call now and he still hadn’t received an answer. One girl, Fran, had picked up, but there was no noise and when he dialed again it came up as engaged. ‘Fuck’s sake’. Sep took another sip from his glass of bourbon before slamming the phone down. He flicked through the list of numbers again. ‘Ant’…Ant’…Ah, here it is.’ He picked the phone up and began dialing again. He started to take another sip when it answered’ ‘What?’ Ant’ answered. ‘Yo, it’s Sep here.’ ‘The fuck do you want?’ Ant’ snapped. Sep frowned. He had never liked Ant’ and he knew Ant’ didn’t like him, but he tried to remain cordial. He liked his job and he was good at it, so he didn’t want to give Ant’ an excuse to fire him. ‘Look, I’m down at the club and no-one’s ‘ere. No girls, no Semi’, nothin’.’ Ant’ took a little while to reply. Sep thought that he’d be fuming. After a few seconds of silence, Sep continued ‘Uh, I tried callin’ everyone up, but I’m not gettin’ anythin’. Antoine broke his silence. ‘Alright, look, just…just go home. And make sure you lock the door, I don’t want anyone breaking in.’ ‘Breakin’ in? You talkin’ about those riots?’ ‘Ha! Riots, yeah, whatever.’ Ant’ laughed and hung up. Sep looked at the phone, eyebrows raised. ‘Guess I’ve got a day off.’ He lazily punched the air, finished off his drink and started locking up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue6.jpg

April 28th, 5:25pm. Sep’s Apartment. Again.

‘Because of the obvious threat to untold numbers of citizens due to the crisis that is even now developing, this radio station will remain on the air day and night. At this hour, we repeat, these are the facts as we know them. There is an epidemic of mass murder being committed by a virtual army of unidentified assassins. The murders are taking place with no apparent pattern nor reason for the slayings. It seems to be a sudden general explosion of mass homicide. We have some descriptions of the assassins. Eyewitnesses say they are ordinary-looking people. Some say they appear to be in a kind of trance. Others describe them as being misshapen monsters. At this point, there's no really authentic way for us to say who or what to look for and guard yourself against. Reaction of law enforcement officials is one of complete bewilderment at this hour. Police and sheriff's deputies and emergency ambulances are literally deluded with calls for help. The scene can be best described as mayhem. The main advice news reporters have been able to get from official sources is to tell private citizens to stay inside their homes behind locked doors. Do not venture outside for any reason until the nature of this crisis has been determined, and until we can advise what course of action to take. Keep listening to radio and TV for special instructions as this crisis develops further.’

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue7.jpg

Sep was finally beginning to see the significance of the events unfolding around him. It would be nice to say that it was the repeated warnings on the radio, the huge gunfight that had taken place a few blocks over, several hours ago or even the women he had heard screaming in the street, but who he hadn’t made it to the window quickly enough to see, but in actuality it was that the off license round the corner had been burnt down and Sep didn’t have anything left to drink. Fortunately, the paper shop next door was still standing and he had picked up some cigarettes. He hadn’t smoked in several years, but he thought today was as good a day as any to start again. And they were free! With the day off and having sobered up, he had grown a little bored and ventured into Cass’s apartment. He had initially gone in, in search of booze, but, finding none, had instead decided to pinch her radio. He had been listening to DJ McBones ranting on for a while now. He still wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he was nervous enough by now that he had gotten one of his other handguns out. He was little pissed that Cass had taken his nice one. As he was listening to the radio, his attention was suddenly caught by the sound of glass breaking. ‘The front door?’ Sep jumped to his feet and headed into the corridor. Apparently this had alerted whoever it was downstairs to his presence as he heard the sound of feet running up the stairwell. As far as Sep knew, he was the only person in the building, a fact which had creeped him out when he had initially discovered it. ‘I’ve got a gun!’ He shouted, hoping that this threat would deter the rioter or whatever they were. It did not. The person feverishly charged up the stairs and into view. Its clothes were torn and part of its mouth was missing. Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t a normal person. ‘Seriously, man. Fuck off! I will shoot your ass!’ Sep’s inspired threats did nothing to deter the intruder as it raced towards him. Sep hesitated as the gap closed between the two until there were only a few metres left. Then he saw its eyes. There was nothing behind them. No rage, no hatred, no emotion at all. The thing’s body language disagreed with his eyes however, so Sep shot it. Several times. The momentum caused its lifeless body to slam into Sep, leaving a large stain on his clothes. ‘Aw, for…Damnit!’ Sep pushed the body off of him. In the commotion, Sep hadn’t noticed the sounds of more people charging up the stairs. Sep lifted his gun again, but he soon discovered that he didn’t have enough bullets compared to how many ‘people’ there were in front of him. He turned and slammed his apartment door shut behind him. Seconds later, he heard the sounds of them thudding into the door. He looked around frantically trying to find something to barricade the door. Unfortunately, despite the decent job done on sound-proofing the windows, the quality of the door was crap and began to fall apart behind their force. ‘Shiiiiit!’ Sep exclaimed, eloquently commenting on his current situation. He turned and bolted towards the window. As he got through, the door came down and they spilled into the room. Sep slammed the window shut and ascended the fire escape. The window hadn’t stopped the mob for long and they were soon clambering over each other to try and get him. Reaching the roof, the realisation that descending the fire escape may have been the more sensible option set in. ‘Shit, shit shit! FUCK!’ As the first creature poured over the edge of the roof, Sep turned and shot it in the face. Fighting them still didn’t seem to be a very sensible option. Looking about again, he noticed the neighbouring building. He shook his head. As far as he was concerned it wasn’t an option. By the time the fifth one reached the roof however, he had changed his mind. How hard could it be? He had seen one of those parkour guys on TV once and they didn’t seem to have much trouble. As he leapt over the alley, he would shortly find out just how hard.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue8.jpg

Sep had actually managed to land quite deftly, apart from the fact that he had done so on his face. The adrenaline had cancelled out the pain and he was soon back on his feet. He turned to watch his pursuers run off the edge of his apartment building like lemmings. As the last of them disappeared into the alley below, Sep walked to the edge to look down. Most of them lay still, twisted and torn from the fall, but the last couple, who had landed on those before them, were up and off. They didn’t seem to be heading in any particular direction and, fortunately, not towards the building Sep was standing on. Sep sat down to gather his thoughts. He had heard reports of madness in the streets for hours now, but a little bit of him had been denying it. Now he had seen it first-hand and he was convinced. And he had killed two of them! He needed a battle plan. Clearly going back to his apartment wasn’t an option. ‘The club…’ He nodded to himself and got back on his feet. The door on the roof was locked, so he climbed down the fire escape, still an option he wished that he had taken earlier, now feeling the hurt from the fall. Still, he had taken care of them all at once, which worked out quite nicely. He yanked the collar of his coat and set off towards the club.

''April 28th, 6:16pm. Emmerdale Street.''

Sep had, fortunately, not run into any of the crazies on his half-hour stint across the neighbourhood. As he made his way down Emmerdale Street, he noticed the presence of several large blue vans at the end he was heading for. As he walked alongside them the fact that they were police vans became obvious. Then something else became obvious: he wasn’t alone. A lone figure, a girl, was kneeling over the corpse of a police officer. From what Sep could see, the officer had been viciously torn apart and several large parts of him were missing. He had heard on the radio that there were reports of cannibalism. At that time, he still wasn’t a believer, but now, he wasn’t taking any chances.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Sprologue9.jpg

He reached for his gun and approached the figure slowly. As he got right up behind her, he stuck it against her head. ‘Say something.’ He demanded. There was no immediate reply. After a few seconds, Sep swallowed and began to pull the trigger, when the silence was broken by the girl. ‘…Please?’

'''Prologue Three: “There is no "I" in team, but there is an "I" in pie. And there's an "I" in meat pie. Anagram of meat is team.”'''

''April 27th, 2:15pm. Henry West High School, Room B8.''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue1.jpg

Fah turned to look at the distressed woman standing in the doorway to his class. It was Melanie, or Miss Goddard as her students knew her. She was visibly upset and had apparently run to his class. She straightened herself up a little before she spoke. ‘Um, Mr Fah, could I see you outside for a minute?’ She tried to sound calm, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. Fah nodded and motioned to his students that he would be back shortly and to work quietly until he got back. At least, that was the feeling he had as he waved his hand about at them. They weren’t paying attention. Fah closed the door behind him so that Melanie could speak without worry. ‘Um, there’s something on the TV…It’s…well...maybe you should just come and see.’ Fah followed the woman down the hall towards the teacher’s lounge. As he approached the room, he could hear some muffled conversation, which was odd as even though occasionally a few teachers had lessons off together, never as many as there were now. They entered the room together and four other teachers were gathered around the TV. It was the local TV station. The news reporter on screen was giving vague reports of unexplained riots in the city, but she didn’t seem to know an awful lot about what was going on. Melanie turned to Fah, assuming he had now been sufficiently ‘caught up’. ‘What do we do?’ She asked. The other teachers turned to look at Fah too. Fah took a few moments to think. ‘Principal?’ He asked, looking around at the other teachers. ‘We can’t get hold of him. James neither.’ Dale, one of the teachers, answered. James was the vice-principal. Fah thought a little longer, before he decided on the best course of action. ‘Ok.’

''April 27th, 4:46pm. Henry West High School, Teacher’s Lounge.''

‘Damnit’ Miles cursed, slamming the phone down. ‘That was the last one.’ Miles and some of the other teachers who had stayed at the school had been phoning various students’ parents trying to get them to pick them up. The high school was connected to the junior high next door. Many of the older students had gone home on their own as had many members of staff. Most of the parents had come too, but there was a small group of about 40 younger students whose parents hadn’t. There were also eleven teachers who remained, including Fah, Miles, Melanie and Dale. Miles turned to Fah who had also been trying numbers. ‘It’s getting late. Even if we hadn’t called them, they should have been here by now.’ Fah turned to look at the TV. The local station hadn’t stopped broadcasting about the riots since earlier, but the reports were still vague. Some people were reporting feral behaviour and that the rioters weren’t even using weapons. The only thing that could be for certain was that it was spreading and it would soon reach the school. ‘Close the gates’ Fah announced, after consideration. ‘All of them? But…no one’ll be able to get in.’ Miles protested. ‘I think that’s the point, Miles.’ Claire answered back, one of the other teachers in the room. ‘We can’t just send the students home on their own and frankly, I feel a lot safer here than I would out there.’ She had a point. The school had high walls surrounding the entire campus and only two entrances, which could be easily sealed by large steel gates. The school had initially complained when the board of directors had introduced these measures after numerous break-ins, calling them ‘prison-like’. Now, they were pretty thankful for them. ‘So…what, we just stay here for the whole night?’ One of the other teachers asked. ‘You wanna go out there in that?’ Claire pointed towards the TV. No one answered but they all looked uneasy. No one did. Claire turned to Fah who nodded at her. ‘So, let’s go close the gates.’

''April 27th, 7:03pm. Henry West High School, Roof.''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue2.jpg

‘I think they’re heading towards here…’ Melanie said, looking towards the horizon. Well, more accurately she was looking at the helicopter on the horizon heading towards them than the horizon itself. Fah had instructed her to keep a lookout on the roof about an hour ago, after a strange man had been spotted at the front gate. No one recognised him as a parent of any of the children and, after a few minutes of fumbling about at the gate, had run off. They all decided it would probably be a good idea to keep someone as a lookout just to make sure nothing snuck past them. The rest of the teachers were divided between keeping an eye on the students, keeping an eye on the TV and cooking dinner. ‘I think it’s a…Chinook? I dunno…Looks like it’s military, whatever it is.’ Dale commented. ‘No.’ Fah replied. ‘It’s not’. Dale and Melanie turned to him. ‘How can you tell from this far away?’ Dale asked. Fah scratched the back of his head as he geared up to explain it to them. ‘You know Jason Creed?’ He eventually asked the two of them. ‘I…don’t think so?’ Dale replied. ‘He’s in seventh grade, isn’t he?’ Melanie asked, which explained why Dale hadn’t heard of him, being a teacher in the high school, but it didn’t explain why Fah knew him, also being a high school teacher. Fah nodded. ‘The Parasol Corporation’s CEO is his father.’ The two teachers were surprised to hear this. They looked at each other to check that the other was as surprised as they were. They were, so they looked back to Fah. The Parasol Corporation was a large electronics and pharmaceutical company that had nationwide renown. Its HQ was located in the City. And the fact that its CEO’s son was a student at their high school was something that should have been big news. Fah could tell that the two of them were thinking this and continued. ‘It’s been kept secret.’ Fah occasionally had the amazing ability to answer a question accurately and succinctly without actually offering any information whatsoever. ‘I called them to collect him.’ He motioned with his head towards the helicopter. It was a lot for the two of them to take in, but Dale eventually spoke up. ‘So…uh, should we go get him?’ ‘No. Not yet.’

''April 27th, 7:16pm. Henry West High School, Football Field.''

‘Look, I’m sorry buddy, but I got my orders, yeah? I’m only supposed to collect the boss’s kid and that’s it.’ The soldier explained again. The helicopter had landed a few minutes ago and three soldiers had dropped out of it. They weren’t military, as Fah had said, but were instead mercenaries hired by Parasol, at least judging by the logos on their uniforms. And the side of the helicopter. Since they had landed, Fah had been talking to them, whilst Dale and Melanie and the other teachers who had gathered stood back in silence. ‘He’s going somewhere safe, right?’ Fah asked, knowing the answer. He figured they were either taking him to some heavily guarded base or elsewhere. ‘Yeah, more or less. We’re taking him out of the city.’ ‘Good. I’ve got 42 students. You should have room.’ ‘And like I keep saying, I’ve only got orders to get the one kid. No one else, yeah?’ The soldier readjusted the assault rifle hung over his shoulder. Fah wasn’t sure if this was just him trying to get comfortable or whether he was trying to be intimidating. Fah didn’t budge. ‘I wasn’t asking’. Fah stared the man through. ‘Look…We’ve got a job to do, and we’re gonna do it, yeah?’ Fah started to get a little irked by this man’s mannerisms. ‘Ditto.’ Fah still wasn’t backing down. The two men glared at the other before one of the other soldiers broke the silence by sighing. He walked up to the first soldier and patted his back.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue3.jpg

‘Calm down, calm down. We’ll take ‘em. We’ve got more than enough room.’ The first soldier looked displeased, but shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the aircraft. Apparently he didn’t care so long as he wasn’t to blame. Fah nodded at the new soldier. ‘Good.’

''April 27th, 7:32pm. Henry West High School, Football Field.''

‘That the last of them?’ The last of the three soldiers asked as the last student piled into the craft. Fah nodded. Everyone had been accounted for and all who were left on the ground were teachers and the second, level-headed soldier. The third disappeared into the helicopter as the last student settled down and strapped in. After a few minutes he popped back out. ‘We’ve got room for two more.’ The second soldier turned to Fah upon hearing this. Fah nodded and turned to look at the near dozen people standing behind him. After a few seconds of consideration, he made his decision. ‘Jean, Ellie, get on.’ Fah had picked two teachers who had only started at the school recently, one of whom had done her training here. As Fah said their names, the two looked relieved and quickly made their way towards to aircraft, which had started its rotors by now. They thanked him and climbed aboard. Dale and Claire didn’t seem to have a problem with Fah’s decision, but the other teachers were all a little upset that they hadn’t been chosen, though none dared to speak up. They hated to admit it, but Fah had made the obvious choice out of the lot of them. The second soldier jumped on and the helicopter began to take off. ‘Look, we’ll tell them you’re out here and try to get them to send another chopper out.’ Fah looked up at the man. He could tell he wasn’t being sincere. Even if he did tell them, he knew the chances that they would actually send another team to pick them up out were slim. They had no reason to, after all. They weren’t the military; they had no obligation to the public. Still, this seemed to please the other teachers, so Fah made no mention. ‘Sure.’ Fah replied. The soldier sighed. He could tell that Fah wasn’t convinced. He reached for his harness and began to unbuckle it, tossing it down with a satchel to Fah when he had finished. Fah caught it and inspected it briefly. It had a Uzi Pistol attached to it and the satchel had several clips of ammo. ‘Something tells me you’ll need it more than me.’

''April 28th, 3:11am. Henry West High School, North Corridor.''

Melanie’s heart had jumped into her throat. She had trouble sleeping and had needed the bathroom. As she walked down the hallway, she froze with fear as she saw the lone figure of a man standing in the darkness ahead of her, staring silently out of the window, unmoving. She literally didn’t dare move an inch for a few minutes, until her eyes had adapted to the dark. ‘F..Fah?’ she squeeked. The figure turned to look at her and raised a hand. ‘Yo.’ He replied. Melanie calmed down and walked towards him. He had turned his attention back to the outside again, so she turned to look at what he was looking at. She squinted in the darkness, but then jumped as she saw movement beyond the school’s gates. Then more. And more. They were sporadic, but there were lots of them. ‘What…what is…’ She didn’t finish her question, just trailing off into silence staring out at them. ‘People.’ Fah replied, knowing what she was talking about. She looked at him in disbelief and then back out the window. She had seen several of them whilst it was still light, by the gates and, from the roof, in the streets, but only a few at a time. None of the teachers had dared approach them because of the news reports. It was also what kept them in the school. The two of them stood in silence watching the streets swarm with people, although they had all begun to doubt whether they were really people anymore. Melanie eventually turned back to Fah and asked him.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue4.jpg

‘Why…why did you pick Jean and Ellie?’ It was something that had been bothering her. The two of them had been close friends for years and she had felt a little hurt than he hadn’t picked her over two relative strangers. ‘They were the youngest.’ Fah replied, curtly. It had been the reason why the others hadn’t spoken up. The obvious choice and one that had hurt Melanie’s feelings. She knew this was probably the reason, but was still upset about it. Fah didn’t offer any further explanation. He knew his choice was the correct one and he knew she knew. She asked him something else that had been bothering her. ‘Are…are we gonna be alright?’ She knew he couldn’t possibly know, but she wanted to hear his answer. Fah answered without hesitation. ‘Yes.’ He didn’t know this and she knew he didn’t know this, but hearing him say it so unfalteringly seemed to remove all of her anxiety. He truly believed that they were going to be fine. Melanie smiled to herself and continued on to the bathroom.

''April 28th, 8:17am. Henry West High School, Teacher’s Lounge.''

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue5.jpg

‘You want to go out there!?” Miles was understandably surprised, but Fah couldn’t understand his anger. He hadn’t asked him to come with him nor would he want him to, considering he was the type to make outbursts like that. Fah just nodded, since it was true that he wanted to go out there. ‘W-wha...are you trying to get yourself killed!?’ Fah shook his head. He was not. ‘Look, it’s not like we’re asking you to come with.’ Dale chimed in. Fah nodded again. It was true, he had not. ‘Fah doesn’t think help is coming and those…people or whatever they are don’t seem as active during the day, so now’s our best chance to get out and try and figure out what’s going on. I happen to agree with him.’ Fah nodded again. All true. ‘So why are you going out, of all people?’ Claire, a PE teacher, asked. Dale, a science teacher, was not in the best of shape compared to Claire, a PE teacher, who, as a PE teacher, was in quite good shape. ‘Because I’ve got a car and Fah can’t drive.’ Another nod. Dale also said this knowing that Claire didn’t have one and that the other members of the faculty that did, wouldn’t want to come. ‘Then at least let me come with you.’ She demanded. Fah motioned her over with his hand. He continued to do so even after she walked over and until she had leant in close to hear him out. ‘No.’ He stated, tersely. Claire remained leant in for a few seconds waiting for some more follow-up. Fah just stared at her. Upon realising that no explanation was coming, she demanded one. ‘What!? Why the hell not?’ She demanded. Dale decided to explain Fah’s reasoning. ‘Look around you, if the three of us go, how long do you think the rest of them are going to last?’ Dale motioned towards Miles who was still unbunching his panties. Fah still wasn’t entirely sure what he was so upset about. Maybe he just enjoyed the security of having Dale and him here. ‘We need you to stay here and hold down the fort. God knows how long they’d last without someone with a level-head ‘round here.’ ‘But…’ Claire couldn’t deny their reasoning. She didn’t have a car or an Uzi and between the two of them, Dale and Fah had both. She resigned herself ‘Fine.’ She hung her head a little, pouting. Dale nodded victoriously and made his way towards the door. Fah walked up beside Claire and patted her on the back. ‘Don’t worry.’ He reassured her under her breath, although she hadn’t looked like she needed reassuring. She looked up at him, but he had already followed after Dale. As he reached the door he passed Melanie who looked like she was about to say something to him. He looked at her expectantly, but she remained quite. He nodded at her and turned to face the rest of the room with Dale who had begun speaking. ‘Keep someone on the roof during the day. There's some paint in the janitor’s closet, use that to make a message on the roof and on the sides of the building. When it gets dark, keep to one room, keep the curtains closed and don’t use too many lights. You don’t want to draw attention to yourself unless necessary. There should be enough food for the seven of you to last for a few days, if you spread it out a bit. Hopefully we’ll be back before then.’ The room seemed mostly happy with this arrangement and Dale would have acted a little smugger had it not been for the fact that Fah had suggested most of those things. The two men exited the school building and looked out at the sky, orange from the still rising sun. They had about eleven hours until the sun would start going down. In that time, they would either need to return or find shelter for the night.

April 28th, 10:15pm. Tallahassee Drive, Dale’s Car.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue6.jpg

‘This is messed up, man.’ Dale was beginning to get a little panicky. It was true that there weren’t many during the day, but there were still some and they had run full pelt after the car. ‘Those…’ Dale couldn’t find the words. ‘…They were sprinting after us. I mean, full-on sprinting.’ Dale kept checking the mirror. He had been driving quite quickly for a while now, but he was still worried about them being followed. The fact was, the car made a lot of noise. If they drove slowly, they made less noise, but they would be caught; faster and they’d attract them and having already drawn their attention it was difficult to just stop and get out. ‘What do we do? We haven’t seen anyone – not anyone normal at least.’ The two of them had not been driving non-stop since they left. Originally they had visited a few prime locations nearby, such as the police station and the hospital, but when they were all overrun with feral rioters, they had decided to drive a bit further a field to see how wide-spread this whole thing was. Having driven for an hour, however, they were no closer to finding a safe-haven. They hadn’t even been able to get an hour away from the school, as they had to keep turning back because of debris blocking the road. Plus Fah had insisted they slow down occasionally so he could get a better look at the surrounding area for one reason or another. After having several people attack the car, Dale was now picking up speed. Fah wanted him to slow down, but he knew that he was unlikely to and for good reason. ‘Calm down.’ Fah decided that as long as he was calm, driving fast probably wouldn’t be an issue. Dale apparently had different ideas. ‘Calm down!? Ca…Didn’t you see those guys back there? They were tearing each other apart!’ Whilst describing these events to Fah, who had been in the car with him and had therefore witnessed them himself, his attention was diverted momentarily. A lone figure had stumbled into the way of the car, drawn by its sound. ‘The road!’ Fah pointed ahead trying to alert his driver to the danger ahead of them, but it was too late, the car ploughed into the man rolling him onto the bonnet and into the windshield, smashing it. As the lifeless body flopped off the back off the car, lifeless onto the tarmac, the car began to swerve out of control. A combination of blood and the smashed window had completely obscured Dale’s view of the road and this, added to his panic-stricken, caused the car to careen into a the side of a parked car. Or it might have, had Dale been on his own. Instead, after a brief moment of non-control, Dale was able to steer the car away from obstacles, because Fah had shot the windscreen out with his Uzi and grabbed the wheel. ‘STOP!’ Fah commanded. Although he could control the car a little, he couldn’t access the pedals. Dale took a few seconds, but he eventually slammed the breaks and the two men lurched forward as the car’s speed decreased suddenly. Fah sighed. He had avoided the worse case scenario for now. Had they crashed, they would have lost their transport and the injuries would have hindered their mission. Unfortunately, it seems Fah was not able to prevent the former. The sheer force with which they had hit the man earlier had smashed the bonnet of the car in too much and steam had started to pour out of it. Dale turned the key. The car stuttered a few times, but wouldn’t start. ‘Tsk…now what?’ He asked, turning to Fah who was visibly annoyed. ‘Get out. They’ll be coming soon.’ Fah turned to open his open his door and climbed out. Dale followed suit. They hadn’t crashed somewhere useful, particularly. There were several apartments in the surrounding area, a greengrocer that had had its window smashed in and several small stores of various, tedious natures. Fah pointed at one. ‘That one!’ He called out to Dale and the two men set off towards the building. Fortunately it was unlocked and they slipped in, locking the door behind them. Dale looked about the building that Fah had chosen, having not paid attention earlier. The building was mostly filled with comic books, but there were also glass cabinets containing action figures, replica weapons and various paraphernalia. ‘A comic book store?’ He seemed to be both confirming that this was indeed a comic book store and questioning Fah’s reasoning for choosing it. ‘This stuff is expensive.’ Fah nodded his head towards the room and its contents generally and then towards the window at the front. ‘Reinforced glass.’ This seemed to please Dale and he relaxed. The building was fairly orderly, so it obviously hadn’t been ransacked. Dale began walking about the store, whilst Fah was busy looking out of the window. Fortunately the glass was also darkened to stop the comics in the window from getting damaged by the sun, so he had a better view of outside than the outside had of him. He had his first chance to see them close up. Three of them had run into the street from somewhere or another. They had heard the gunshots and the car and had followed the noise, but upon arriving they seemed confused and angry. Or perhaps they were always like that. The three looked around the street frantically and then set off in different directions, one after another. Fah followed the ones he could as they ran down the street and out of sight. They didn’t seem to be running in any particular direction, just…running. Fah turned his head suddenly. He had heard a noise. At first he thought it was Dale, but as he then heard Dale screaming, he decided it probably was not. Well, not just Dale anyway. And he highly doubted that Dale had screamed at an issue of Batman that he had been trying to get his hands on. ‘Dale!’ He called out to him as he ran towards the back of the shop. He could hear the man grunting and screaming as he crashed into things. As Fah reached the back, he saw Dale wrestling on the floor with an overweight man with long hair. Fah ran over and booted the large man in the face with his full force sending him backward.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue7.jpg

The man didn’t even seem to flinch, immediately collecting himself and charging towards Fah now, who had his Uzi pointed towards him. Fah saw his eyes for a split second. They had no colour, no emotion. The man’s face was scrunched up in anger, but his eyes were lifeless. Whatever it was, it wasn’t human anymore. Fah quickly snapped back and quickly squeezed the trigger, sending three bullets into its chest, neck and face. It slumped down, its life expunged in a big, fat, dead heap. ‘The fucker bit me! He fucking bit me!’ Dale cried. Fah turned to look at his friend, who was holding the side of his neck. There was blood, but it didn’t seem that bad. If that thing had bitten an artery though, he knew there would be nothing he could do for him. ‘I doesn’t look too bad.’ Fah knelt beside his friend. ‘Really?’ Dale relaxed a little. ‘Man…what the hell was up with that guy?’ Fah turned to look behind him at bullet-ridden corpse. ‘There was…something wrong with his eyes.’ Fah replied. ‘He wasn’t normal.’ Fah turned back towards his friend, who still seemed to be struggling. ‘You ok? ‘I feel…kinda tired…’ Dale was beginning to slur and loll his head about as he tried to look up. ‘Hey…it doesn’t hur…’ Dale trailed off and his head slumped. Fah reached out and shook his shoulder. ‘Dale?’ He didn’t respond. He was still breathing, but it was abnormal. ‘Dale!’ He tried again, firmer this time. Dale’s head shot up. Fah felt a brief pang of relief which was quickly replaced by a large pang of ‘what the fuck!?’ Dale snapped out and sunk his teeth into Fah’s outstretched arm. ‘Gagh!’ Fah yelled and instinctively brought his other clenched hand about into the face of his friend, freeing him. He stumbled backwards and onto his feet, confused and hurt. He didn’t have much time to consider the circumstances he had found himself in, unfortunately. Dale quickly recovered and charged into him, his full weight sending Fah backwards into a glass cabinet and his Uzi flying across the room. Fah gripped his friend by the neck as the two fell to the floor again. Dale was gnashing his teeth, biting into the air as Fah held him away from himself. He was about to call out, but then he saw them. He had the same eyes as the man before: empty. He knew whatever it was on top of him now, it wasn’t his friend anymore. With his free hand, he reached out and fumbled for something to defend himself. He eventually found something solid and round and brought it up sharply towards the thing’s head. It stopped its gnashing and fell silent. Fah had managed to grab one of the replica swords that had been in the cabinet and it was now lodged halfway into the head of his former colleague. He pushed its lifeless body to one side with a grunt and lay on the floor to gather his thoughts. What had happened to the man lying next to him to turn him into…whatever that was? As he calmed down, he went back over the events that had unfolded. Fah concluded that Dale must have caught whatever it was off of the one that had attacked him. The realisation began to set in: the bite. He sat up and inspected his own arm, quickly rolling up his sleeve. The bite had pierced the skin and there was a decent-sized amount of blood coming from it. ‘Damnit…’ He sat in silence for a few seconds. There was a good chance that he was infected with whatever had taken the two men lying about him. He checked the sleeve of his shirt. The bite hadn’t torn the sleeve, so maybe he had just been wounded with no infection. And he wasn’t bitten in as vital an area like Dale, so perhaps he would take longer to turn. Fah nodded to himself. He still had a job to do and it wasn’t time to give up. He picked himself up and, finding a first aid kit and sink, cleaned and dressed the wound on his arm. He sat down at the desk and planned his next course of action. Suddenly, as if like a wave, the silence washed over him. He was alone for the first time since this had all happened. Properly alone. He looked down to the lifeless body of the man whose life he had just taken. Six and a half years he had known that man and now he wouldn’t know him a day longer. Fah wasn’t sure whether it was the infection or just the mental and physical fatigue finally taking its toll, but the energy left him and he slumped back in the chair as his consciousness slipped from him.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue8.jpg

''April 28th, 5:59pm. Foree’s Comics, off Tallahassee Drive.''

Fah’s eyes creaked open and his head slowly lurched upwards towards that which had awakened him. From where he was sitting he could see someone pressed against the window, clumsily slapping its hand against the it. He groaned and stretched his back. He had not slept in a particularly comfortable position. He looked about as the events of the morning flooded back. Looking towards his bandaged arm, he came to the conclusion that he wasn’t infected or, at the very least, it hadn’t taken him yet. Checking his watch, he realised he’d been out for most of the day and it was going to get dark soon. He looked about and considered his chances if he stayed here for the night. He shook his head. The creature that was banging on the window had attracted another one. When it got dark, he was worried that they’d draw more and, despite being reinforced, Fah didn’t know whether the frame would be able to withstand the weight. He needed to move. He took his bloodied shirt off. The entire left sleeve was drenched and had hardened and gone brown during his nap. He probably could have kept wearing it, but it was icky. He considered briefly what to do with his tie. He liked his tie, so discarding it wasn’t an option. Deciding against putting it in his pocket and because he considered wearing it with his T-shirt to be silly, he wrapped it round his head. There were no mirrors, but he had no doubt in his mind that he looked exactly like Rambo. He collected his Uzi and headed for the door. As he reached for the handle, he paused and turned to look back at Dale, lying face down on the floor. He walked over and pilfered his wallet, slipping it into his own pocket. He freed the katana, still wedged in his head, and threw his discarded shirt over him, concealing his face. It was the best he could do, given the circumstances. He was about to toss the sword to one side, but decided that it had saved him once. A melee weapon would be useful to accompany his ranged and, picking up its sheath, headed out of the building. Looking up and down the alley, Fah realised he had no idea where Dale had driven them to. He needed to get his bearings otherwise he risked not being able to find suitable shelter before it got dark. Across the alley, from the comic book store, was a tall apartment building with a fire escape on the back. Fah decided it would be a good vantage point and quickly ascended up the back of the building. As he reached the top, he soon realised where he was. He was too far from the school to head back, but he considered a few places nearby that could shelter him. As he was beginning to decide where to head, he noticed something on the horizon. He hadn’t seen it from the school, but it was quite clear now. Checking each side of the building, he confirmed that it stretched across the entire horizon, circling him entirely.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/FAH_Frenchie/Fprologue9.jpg

‘A…wall?’ Fah asked himself. It certainly looked like one. He considered the implications. Had the city been sealed off? And if so, how severe was the situation that it required them to set up a wall? And so quickly? How long had it been there? Or perhaps…maybe it had always been there. Fah was considering the implications of this newest discovery when he heard the sounds of gunshots coming from the street below. He walked to the edge of the building and looked up street running perpendicular to him. There were two people, a man and a woman, running from a small group of what Fah identified as being infected. He turned and jogged towards the back of the building, hopping back onto the fire escape, hoping that he’d be able to reach the two of them before they either disappeared out of sight or were overrun.

'''The three were joined by an unescapable destiny. This is just the beginning of their worst nightmare…'''