And So It Begins...

Foreword:

Not that keeping this journal is going to return things to the way they were before, it is more for my trying to come to grips with what has happened. I woke up this morning on Valentine's Day 2013 expecting it was just going to be another day, take my wife out for dinner like I usually do and then go home to spend quality time together and go to sleep just like any other day. Today was so far from what I expected; I decided I need to keep a journal to make sense of it all.

Day 1 - February 14th, 2013:

I woke up like I usually do at 4:45 am this morning to head to my job with the government. Something today seems odd since my wife is not sleeping next to me, so I go out onto our balcony and look out, I see these people walking in such a strange fashion almost like shuffling and staggering. Some of them appear to have blood on their lips and faces; could there have been some accident with the above ground subway system? To find out, I turn on the news and find the emergency broadcast system issuing their warnings that say stay indoors and avoid contact with others who act strangely. I'm beginning to think zombie attack but then think, "no, that's impossible, there's no way." Still, my curiosity is getting the best of me so I then turn my attention to Facebook and voila, it's buzzing with status updates about people attacking and biting each other. The messages read like, "OMG, I've never seen anything like this, WTH is going on?!?", "Yep, the apocalypse is here! We're screwed!!!" and "If you get this txt, please send help, I'm at..." I text my wife and immediate family to let them know I'm ok and they texted me back, however my wife didn’t which is really strange.

I recall the EBS mentioning something about this infection being transmitted by body fluids like blood or saliva which means it can be transmitted by bites. It dawns on me that maybe my wife went down to one of the common areas in our building to be with our neighbors and may have been attacked. But before I go running out the front door of our apartment, I take a good look through the peephole. What I see shakes me to my very core. It's my wife standing there staring at the door speaking random words that make no sense, her eyes are bloodshot, she's coughing deeply, and she appears to be foaming at the mouth but upon a visual examination I don't see any apparent bite marks however they could be hidden. I'm starting to think that this could be some type of human rabies, but the scary thing is the speed at which it transmits and symptoms present. Normally, rabies takes at least 10 days but this is presenting within hours. Perhaps it is a genetically engineered version of a cross between rabies and flu? If so, that could mean it’s able to be spread through the air.

Before I decide to even think about proceeding into the hallway, I prepare myself by grabbing my entire assortment of paintball gear which is complete with full body armor and complete face shield. I figure if my gear can stop a paintball it certainly can keep the biters from getting me. I grab all my paintballs, air cartridges and my semi-automatic paintball gun in hand. I then grab several aerosol cans of hairspray and a lighter for makeshift blowtorches. I also pack my large throwing knife, bottled water and non-perishable food. I figure since the entire building where I live is compromised, I am going to either have to find better equipment or bail out and hit the road. I break out into the hallway trying to determine if my wife is violent yet, so far she is just acting spaced out, so I leave her alone for now though I'm pretty sure that may not last. I figure if the infected don't approach me, I leave them be. I'm thinking that if I attack one, that may cause more to come to the scene of the commotion. Let sleeping dogs lie, I say.

I proceed down the stairs since I don't want to get caught up in the elevators as I may need room to fight the infected. Not to mention if the power goes out, I don't want to be trapped. I suddenly hear, "bzzzzzzz boom!" The primary power goes out and the emergency lights kick on thanks to the primary generator. At least we have power until the diesel runs out. I carefully creep down the stairs and surprisingly didn't run into any infected. Maybe they lose their cognitive functions and can't remember how to open a door. I'm now at ground level and I put my ear to the door to determine if there is any activity close to the building's main fire door and hear nothing. So I slowly crack the door open just to take a peek. I don't see anyone close by so I proceed across the street to the police station. I figure at least if there is no one there at least I can get my hands on some real weapons. However, what I'm really looking for is a bow and arrows due to the fact when you go for the kill shot, it's completely silent and they never see it coming. I open the door to the County Sherriff's building, do some searching and calling out, it's completely vacant. So I proceed to find some weapons, anything at this point will do. I find two police issue handguns and a shotgun. I grab a sufficient stock of ammunition, load the guns and leave the police station.

I return to our apartment building to grab my car from the secured parking facility which is located in the building's foundation, so I have to be careful because I don't know who or what I may encounter down there. I proceed down the stairs to the parking level and at least this has a window I can see through. I slowly peek through the window and see no one. Perhaps trouble with doors might be a method to isolate those who are infected. I go to the scanner to swipe my card to get my car but find the unit is currently unpowered so I proceed to get my bicycle. At least on bike I have a better chance of not getting attacked then to be totally on foot.

I leave the building and start heading to the mall since I figure that if I get to one of the sporting goods stores, I can get more supplies and the weapons I need. This is also my first chance to see the current state of my town. The scene is much like what I've seen on the AMC series, "The Walking Dead" with abandoned cars, random buildings on fire and so on. I bike down Burke Avenue to York Avenue and turn left to the center of town. Being on a bike is actually better because all the abandoned cars make the route impassable by car. Maybe not having the car is for the best, for now anyway.

I get to the mall and make a beeline for the sporting goods at our super Wal-Mart. I take a look from around the corner with my pocket mirror to see if there are any infected and I only see a few of them. I slowly open the door to the store and toss in a lit flare to draw their attention away from me. My plan worked because they were immediately drawn to it. I slowly proceed through the aisles to the back of the store. Everyone raided all the guns but all the compound bows and arrows were left behind. I grab one bow and as many arrows as I can fit into my large backpack and duffel bag. I also grab the last remaining bottled water, candy and flares because I figure I'm going to need them later and proceed to the front of the store. The walkers are still staring at the red glow from the flare I tossed which is good news so I leave the store and exit the mall.

I then decide since the Sherriff's station is vacant, I may as well just go back there. I'm thinking that if there are any uninfected people, they will be thinking the same thing I am, go to the police station for shelter. Plus I know that the station has provisions like propane and the backup generator for power plus I found fifty barrels of diesel fuel from my initial investigation. I then proceed to lock all the doors around the station so I can grab a shower, get a bite to eat and try to come to grips with all that has happened and then turn in for the night. Perhaps tomorrow, maybe I will find survivors like me. I simply refuse to believe I am the last person on this planet.