"Once bitten, you aren't twice shy, you're just Undead-in-waiting," Saul Patterson said grimly. The tall, dark-skinned and silver-haired African American rifleman gave Tariq Osman a sad look. Tariq nodded sadly. Saul's crisp voice was almost drowned by the raging waterfalls. Everyone looked sadly at Tariq. Like the rest of them, Tariq knew what had to be done. The Zombie apocalypse has done away with all the sentimental types. What's left are the most ruthless and adaptable men and women on the Planet Earth. Saul raised his rifle, ready to end Tariq's existence.
"Let me go out on my own terms," Tariq Osman said, and Saul shook his head. The older man had heard many desperate pleas from men and women who got bitten by a Zombie. It always ended the same way. It always sounded the same. Desperate, Tariq flung himself over the waterfall. Saul and the others fired into the water. When a bitten person isn't disposed of, he or she turns into a Zombie. That's how the Zombie apocalypse began on this version of the Planet Earth. Tariq swam away from the cliff, letting the current carry him where it would. The others looked for Tariq but couldn't find him.
"You shouldn't have hesitated," Ramona Vasquez said sharply. The short, dark-haired and bronze-skinned young Mexican woman shot Saul a disapproving look. Saul held Ramona's gaze. She'd been born into the Zombie apocalypse so disposing of the infected was part of life for her. Saul, a man in his fifties, remembered a time when dead people stayed dead and didn't walk around, hungry for human flesh. In those days, when a person killed another person, it was called murder. The penalty for murder was life in prison or the electric chair. In those days, human life had value...
"I am the lead in this outing," Saul said reproachfully. Ramona bit back a reply and merely nodded. The rest of the group fanned out. It would be dark soon. The expedition started with twelve and now would end with eleven. The group headed back to The City. Once upon a time, this area was called Alaska. The locals were a tough bunch. Alaska was very different from the rest of the United States and even back before the Zombies rose, life was harsh out here. When America, Canada, Mexico and the rest of the world fell, Alaska survived.
Saul, Ramona and the others arrived at The City shortly before dark. The enclave, an expanded town surrounded by a massive forty-foot wall, was all that was left of Humanity as far as anyone knew. Thirty six thousand people call it home. The City's residents grow their own food, manufacture their own clothes and tools, and live within their means. The residents have their own law enforcement, the Keepers, and they are led by the Supreme Council. Beyond the Wall, there was nothing but chaos...
"Home sweet home," Saul said to no one in particular. Ramona looked grim, as did Bernardo, the tall, dark-haired Italian fellow standing next to her. The expedition was inspected by the Wall Guards. One by one, the men and women of the expedition were given the Test. They were stripped naked under a special tent which was kept warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The Scanners were pressed against their skulls and their blood was drawn. Necro-antibodies could be found in a person's blood mere minutes after exposure to the Zombie virus from a bite or scratch. The Test did not lie...
After the Test was concluded and everyone was cleared, the expedition members were ushered into the City. The people of the City went about their daily business. Artisans, craftsmen, traders, metal workers, farmers and the like. Saul looked at them and nodded. These people, hailing from different parts of the world, were all that was left of humanity. If the world built a wall and sealed itself off from the Zombies in the early days, humanity wouldn't be facing extinction. The people of the former Alaska had done well. The City needed to be protected at all costs.
"My report to the Supreme Council will note that you let Tariq go," Ramona said sharply as Saul stood on the street. Shaking his head, Saul headed to the Council building, located at the center of town. He announced himself to the guards and was allowed in. With Ramona in tow, Saul proceeded to Council chambers and approached Jefferson Kean, leader of the Supreme Council. The tall, silver-haired and green-eyed statesman greeted Saul warmly. The two men had been friends since before the Zombie apocalypse.
"Saul, welcome back, old friend," said Kean. Saul and Kean shook hands and Saul then sat down as the other Council members watched. Saul provided them with a detailed account of the expedition. The team had been sent outside to explore the effects of the Zombie apocalypse on mother nature. The wayfarers premature return ought to signal that things went awry. Saul looked at Ramona before delivering the bad news to Kean.
