Chapter 1: And in the Beginning There was Mark
Wildomar, CA
Markus jolted up into a sitting position in his queen size bed as he tried to focus on the noise that woke him from his deep sleep. Beads of sweat ran down the back of his neck and he wiped it away in disgust trying to decide if it was from a nightmare or the early morning heat that was already gathering in his room. Glancing at his alarm clock next to his bed, Mark sighed in exasperation as he relaxed his body back down into his soft sheets. 6:30 am was an annoying time to be woken up and he still didn’t know what had cause him to bolt awake. Closing his eyes Mark prepared himself to dozing back into his peaceful slumber when he heard again what had awakened him the first time. Throwing off the covers, Mark rushed to his window and threw back the curtains. Gasping in shock Mark slowly backed away from the window until he bumped into his bed. A third time Mark heard the noise, a blood curdling scream but this time it slowly faded never to be heard again. Mark returned to the window to confirm he wasn’t still dreaming. Though it was early morning, the sun clearly lit up his street and there in the middle of it was his neighbor Mrs. Daniels. That alone wasn’t what had shocked Markus as Mrs. Daniel was a 40-year-old lady who always got up early for her morning walks, it was the fact that she was being torn to shreds by three strange figures. As he continued to watch two more creatures started towards his now dead neighbor. They looked human but the way they shambled towards their target seem odd to Markus. Rubbing the last of sleep from his eyes in disbelief Mark focused solely on the five humanoid looking creatures. They were human but they moved as if they were giant babies learning how to walk, tripping over themselves. ‘But humans don’t eat each other’ Mark thought in confusion. One of the figures started to rise and slowly turned towards Mark’s direction as if sensing his presence. Slamming the curtains shut before eye contacted could be made, Mark crumpled in fear and disbelieve of what he saw. Clutching his hands to his mouth and stomach Mark forced himself not to throw up last night’s dinner as his mind replayed over and over of what he just saw. Shaking his head to gather himself, Mark pushed himself up and quietly moved through his house checking to make sure doors were locked and blinds shut. With this done and sense of security slowly to return to him he ran to his living room to turn on the tv. “The news has to have something about this” he mumbled to himself. Grabbing the remote and clicking the power button the tv flickered to life only to show static. Channel after channel flew by as Markus continued to search in vain for some source of information that would help explain what’s going on. Nothing but static was the answer he received and with defeat Mark threw the remote into a pillow on the couch. Stepping forward to hit the power button the tv flared to life with an image as if it knew he was going to shut it off. Standby was all it said on the screen but 3 seconds later a person seated behind a desk appeared. Desperate for knowledge Mark turned the volume up and sat back to listen. Emergency Broadcast flashed across the top and bottom of the screen but Mark ignored the warnings and focused on what the women on the screen was say. “This is an emergency broadcast. I repeat this is an emergency broadcast. We bring you breaking news of the current outbreak happening all over the United States. Reports of thousands of lives lost already have been confirmed. Much is still unknown about this outbreak though the government are advising citizens to stay inside as they stride to contain this outbreak. It’s not clear but some scientists are saying there is a connection between this tragic event and the Zirus flu outbreak that occurred and was supposedly contained three weeks ago. Local major cities such as San Diego and Los Angles has been hit the hardest. Again, the government is advising all personal to stay inside to avoid contamination. We will bring you further news as we receive it.” The women continued to talk but to Mark didn’t hear the last part. As soon as the newscaster has said San Diego Mark’s eyes widen and his stomach started to feel sick again. As he rose slowly only one word escaped his mouth and it was barely above a whisper when he said it. “Rachel.”
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