their insides were literally being shredded. Those people might be the lucky ones though, as they would remain dead. The ones that had milder symptoms or just managed to live long enough would succumb suddenly as the syndrome attacked the brain. Then the body would rise again.

The news anchor shared one popular hypothesis with his audience. This hypothesis stated that the brain never actually went fully ‘dark’ once the person died. After a brief period of time synopses would start firing up again. That would be when the dead would rise up again, without recognition, without emotion, and without any apparent intelligence or communication skill. But with a terrible aggression towards the living.

There appeared to be only one way to stop them, and that was to ‘apply sufficient trauma to the brain’, as the anchor stated it.

The anchor also shared the latest, and possibly last, CDC bulletin.

The first portion of the bulletin stated that the CDC had confirmed that the syndrome was not found to be contagious and could not be transferred to a living individual.

Well isn’t that against Romero’s rules...

The CDC bulletin continued to describe the undead.

The ‘afflicted’ will attack any living people around them, without regard to who that is.

Really? Afflicted? Even now, they won’t use the word ‘zombie’! Shelley shook her head in disbelief.

The CDC bulletin went on to describe the observed animalistic behaviour of the afflicted, including attempting to bite and tear into their victim’s throat. The afflicted did not display cannibalistic behaviour and would stop their attack once their victim was dead or unmoving. They seemed to display some kind of short-range telepathy, as they rarely attacked each other, and they seemed to move in coordinated fashion without any kind of signal.

Their movement appeared woodenly and somewhat reminiscent of large primates. This was followed by a warning that while most afflicted moved relatively slowly, some specimen were capable of moving a lot faster. It was advised not to try to outrun them.

“That Romero was full of shit, man.”

There. Somebody said it. Shelley almost laughed at the jibe.

The bulletin stressed that any survivors needed to lock themselves into a safe location somewhere. It also stated very specifically that survivors should not draw attention to themselves. The undead were attracted to noises and movement and seemed to be specifically attuned to sound.

People looked at each other at that point – and looked outside. Several of the school’s lights were on.

“Oh shit.” Ethan Collins said. The young man had moved to the front of the room and was looking out the window. “I can see movement on the outside of the fence!” Several people gasped while others leapt up from their chairs in alarm.

John quickly walked over to the window, waving for quiet as he walked.

“Hit the lights and turn that tv off.” Somebody complied and the group was plunged into semi-darkness.

He had a long look out the window before he spoke up again.

“Folks. Please calm down.” He said as he turned back to the room.

“The movement is on the far side of the fence, several hundred feet away. I think all we need to do is keep quiet, stay out of sight, and maybe shut off some lights. I don’t know if those things are attracted to light, but the streetlights are all off, which kind of lights us up like a beacon...”

“John is right. Let’s keep our cool.” Craig added. “We are safe in here. Let’s shut the lights off like John suggests. We should also get the rest of the rooms sorted out, so we all have a place to sleep tonight.” A few people nodded and the group started filing out into the hallway.

The lights were turned off in short order. Thankfully, there was still enough light to see by.

Shelley spent the next thirty minutes helping out, until everybody was set in rooms for the night. Ern and Nancy took a room, and Keith and Bill shared another room, leaving three rooms. Shelley turned to Claire as they were moving cots and bedding into the next room.

“Roomies?” Claire asked. Shelley had been thinking the same thing. She smiled and nodded.

Emily and Maria took the next room. Shelley was glad that Maria wasn’t going to be alone tonight.

Track suit girl took the last room.

She’s... Distant. Shelley watched her retreat towards her room.

Shelley pondered the young woman. She was maybe in her early twenties, possibly a College student. The only thing Shelley was sure of was that she was an athlete. Her track suit gave her away as one, and Shelley recalled that the girl seemed tireless while some folks were starting to struggle with the cots and bedding near the end.

Shelley walked after the girl and stood in the doorway as the younger woman set up her cot.

“Hey. Are you going to be ok on your own? Would you rather come stay with us?”

Track suit girl jerked up at the sound of Shelley’s voice as if stunned. Shelley immediately regretted interrupting her.

“S–Sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you...”

Track suit girl stood up and faced Shelley. She didn’t look angry. More like she was embarrassed. Shelley had a good look at her face. She had dirty blonde hair pulled into a short ponytail. She had high cheekbones and brown eyes. Her nose was slightly bent, like it had been broken in the past – but that somehow accentuated her face and made her prettier.

“Nah.” She said with a shrug. “I’m kind of better on my own. ... Thanks though!” She quickly added with a small smile.

Shelley smiled back and nodded. “Ok.” She gestured with her hand “We’re right next door. If – if you need us.”

Track suit girl nodded, and Shelley turned and walked back to her own room.

Shelley recalled that several people had tried to engage her in small talk, and she had shot them all down. She wasn’t sure what to make of track suit girl.

Maybe she’s just shell-shocked like the rest of us. She thought as she walked up to her own room.

Or

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