>BEEP!
>BEEP!
>BEEP!
>The first thing to break the silence of dawn is the sound of your alarm going off.
>After a couple misses, you whack the button and the alarm stops dead.
>You feel yourself fumble with the dials, having remembered them well enough to know the stations.
>But you stop a few seconds later, your tired brain waking up just long enough to remember.
>Oh yeah. The radio stations aren't around anymore.
>With a tired groan, you sit up in your bed and stretch your arms.
>Sunlight barely breaks through the cracks of your makeshift curtains, but it's enough to light up the rest of the garage.
>Yes, garage.
>It was hard to remember that factoid the first couple nights, but you've quickly gotten used to it—more so now that you'd decorated it.
>You still had a lot of work to do... but you'll get to it.
>Speaking of getting to it...
>As you step out of bed and wake yourself up, you walk over to the bathroom and do your daily constitutionals.
>Especially while you still can!
>After you brush your teeth, you get dressed, grab a single earbud, set up your music player, and put on your favorite song.
>Time to get to work.
>( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9j91-18Kb4 )
>You step outside as the 7AM sun strikes you, and you hop into your new truck.
>With a turn of the key, it roars to life.
>You slam down on the pedal, and drive off into the town of Saranac, New York.
>The streets are empty, cars are still parked in their driveways...
>And bodies line the front lawns.
>You were used to it by now.
>But there was no time to gander—you had another street to clean and a shower to build!
>You park your car and grab your trusty machete from the dashboard, then put on the respirator hanging around your neck.
>And as you step out of your truck, you see six of -them- wandering down the road.
>They see you and start limping their way over, opening their jaws and rearing their teeth like wolves.
>You meet them halfway.
>SLASH!
>SWING!
>HACK!
>Before you know it, their bodies fall to the ground with sickening thuds—heads not included.
>You wipe the blood off your blade and move forward.
>You check every house on the street, looking for anyone.
>You find a few of them hiding in bathrooms or basements, and make quick work of them.
>After taking whatever you need for your home projects, you move onto the next home.
>It takes you an hour or so to clear the street, or at least clear them enough to not worry about them later.
>The respirator keeps out most of the smell, but sometimes it gets through and you fight the urge to vomit every time.
>By nine o'clock, the street is clear of any threat.
>You enter one of the homes and hop in their upstairs shower, clothes and all.
>After ten or so minutes, you're back on the road.
>Hacking, slashing, collecting, and driving.
>By noon, you've lost count of how many streets you cleared.
>But the smell next week was going to be atrocious!

>A little after noon, you take a break and have a quick lunch—cooking up the remaining burgers in old Miss Delilah's kitchen.
>And as you chow down on the two-star gourmet you made for yourself, you find yourself staring at Miss Delilah through the window.
>Her body lays on the front lawn—where it's been for the past week ever since you killed her.
>Or at least, whatever wore her skin.
>...
>You take your last bite and look at your watch.
>12:37PM.
>The plate's empty.
>Back to work...
♫You load sixteen tons♫
♫What do you get♫
♫Another day older♫
♫And deeper in debt♫
>You start dragging bodies out from the houses you'd just cleared.
>It's still hard to tell if they were already dead before you killed them, but they definitely smelled like it.
>It takes you maybe an hour or more to get them all out onto the front lawns—the ones in their basements didn't do you any favors.
>To be honest, that was on you. You should've let them follow you first.
>Either way, you get it all done before 3PM.
>After getting back in your truck, you pull out your phone and open Google Maps. The connection is shoddy and you only get a connection a couple times a day, but you're thankful it still works at all.
>With cleanup done for the day, you head over to the nearest warehouse and grab an assortment of tools and materials.
>Your little garage was missing one thing that every other place had: a shower.
>Of course, you could always just move into a house for that sake, but all that space was problematic.
>Plus, the garage you were staying in had the perfect cover, how could you NOT take it?
>By 5PM, you headed back to said garage, with your truck bed full of everything you needed to get a head start on your little project.
>As you approached your little hobble, you passed by the clothed metal gates that could stop anything short of a semi.
>Your cozy little home sat in the back left corner, surrounded by thick, sturdy wooden fencing with concrete pillars in between.
>Like I said, perfect cover.
>Technically, you had time to get the basics in place for the morning.
>But with the sun going down, you didn't want to take any chances drawing -anything- here this late.
>You parked the truck next to the garage, threw a tarp over the truck bed, locked the gate, and went inside to enjoy a nice dinner.
>And maybe a movie that isn't about zombies this time...

:::::

>It's sometime after 8PM.
>You hear the pitter-patter of rain just outside, and the smell of wet asphalt manages to permeate even in here.
>You sit down at your little dinner table, digging into some reheated lasagna, and watch a cheesy 90s comedy.
>It's an Adam Sandler classic, so of course it's cheesy, but that's why you love it.
>You laugh at the various jokes throughout the film and moan as every bite of meat and pasta melt in your mouth—and for a moment, things start to feel normal.
>That is, until you hear the sound of jets flying overhead, and you return to reality.

>Suddenly, your phone blares another Emergency Alert after it connects to the Internet for just a moment.
>Of course, it's the same thing as always:
[CONTAGIOUS DISEASE WARNING]
[STAY INDOORS]
[DO NOT MAKE CONTACT]
>The TVs haven't stopped playing it since it all happened, either.
>With a sigh, you shut off your phone and finish your dinner before remembering your place in the film and shutting off the TV.
>You throw out the paper container and dress up in your pajamas, then proceed over to the calendar by the front door and mark down today's date:
May 10, 2033
>You may have had the phone to keep track, but it was smart to count the days on your own, especially if...
>A sigh escapes you.
>You don't want to think about that.
>It's contained, right? It didn't matter who was in charge, they wouldn't be dumb enough to let it get out.
>...
>Right...?
>...
>You think about it later that night while laying in bed.
>It's been almost a month now since it started.
>It started off as random attacks on the local news—a domestic dispute in one home, a gruesome killing in another.
>The police would show up and get scratched or bit trying to haul them away, and the next day they would be showing the same thing.
>Coroners in Redford were the first ones to raise the alarm.
>And soon after, all hell broke loose.
>It all happened so fast, you didn't even have time to mourn the smoldering ruins of your home.
>It's why you were living in this garage, to begin with.
>The military came and fenced everybody in between here and Redford—and even then, it didn't mean much because they reported the same thing in Plattsburgh.
>As far as the news tells you, the entire northeast part of New York State is cut off from the rest of the world.
>And the world just lets it happen.
>Hell, the world didn't even take it seriously until a TikTok kid got himself killed by a pack of them thinking it was a hoax.
>But beyond the cordon, they aren't doing anything to help you or anybody else who might still be alive.
>If they did, you'd be with your parents right now.
>So you lay here, alone, waiting.
>Hoping.
>You fall asleep—praying for a miracle.

__________

>BEEP!
>BEEP!
>BEEP!
>You shut off your alarm and sit up in bed. With a yawn, you remove the covers and stand to stretch your limbs.
>You walk over to the calendar and mark off the date:
>May 11th.
>After using the bathroom and brushing your teeth, you get dressed and head outside to the truck to inspect everything under the tarp.
>Nothing was missing, and the gate was still locked from last night.
>It wasn't like the Infected themselves would want any of it... but you had to imagine you weren't completely alone in here.
>It takes you maybe 20 minutes to put everything away in the storage closet as neat as you can. It's cramped as hell afterward, but that should change once you get your projects going.
>You think about the layout of the shower and what exactly will go into making it function, as you drive down the empty streets.
>Today, you don't do any cleaning up, so the Infected you do see simply limp towards you, but you're already gone before they get more than 20 steps in.
>Instead, you hit the nearest mini-mart and begin to pick it clean. You didn't realize just how low on food you really were, but everything happened so quickly that there was still plenty to go around.
>Probably would be a smart idea to stockpile in case the quarantine really does last longer than you hope.
>Besides, you've got a bit of a sweet tooth this morning.
>It isn't long before your truck bed is full of boxes of food, and the store is stripped clean of anything edible.
>While you chow down on some packaged brownies and doughnut cakes, you try to tune into the radio again. Like usual, it's mostly static.
>Whatever they're doing is keeping any kind of signal from getting in, so you had to imagine it was the same for anything getting out.
>"......BZZT......"quarantine zone remains in-"......BZZT......"President is calling for-"......BZZT......"
>And whatever you DID get were snippets, nowhere near enough to paint a complete picture.
>The only relief it gave you was that there was still news being reported, and that the quarantine was still in place.
>You could only hope your parents weren't too worried about you. They were far away from any real danger, living in LA, but they probably thought you were dead by now.
>Wouldn't be the first time...
>After you finish your meal, you take a drive through town with the roof of the truck open and letting the spring air blow down your back.
>The Infected are in short numbers today, more than usual. You wonder if the jets from last night caused them to migrate a bit.
>But the few stragglers that ARE still here—they seem more active, more alert, like something actually managed to spook them.
>Even the birds above you are flying weird.
>Something's got them riled up.
>And it's definitely NOT you.
"Oh, SHIT—"
>You slam down hard on the brakes, just in time to avoid hitting a deer as it comes out from the tree-line to your left.
>It wasn't the only one.

>DOZENS emerged from the trees, all flocking in the same direction, but practically falling over each other in the process.
>It was unlike anything you'd ever seen.
>They were running from something.
>Were you really going to find out what?
>If it threatened your safety... it was best to know ahead of time.
>You drive forward until you find the nearest dirt path into the woods. From there, you slowly push on.
>The skies slowly become enveloped by the tall trees that surround you, and the bright and colorful landscape is quickly replaced by dark, green moss and overgrowth.
>Eventually, you shut off the car and looked out to the horizon of shrubbery.
>What caught your attention immediately was the lack of wildlife.
>There was not a single animal you could see.
>Even the birds had stopped squealing above.
>An uncomfortable silence surrounded you, and you listened for anything that didn't fit in.
>You listened.
>And listened.
>And lis—
>"HEEEEELLLLLLP!!!"
>The sudden shrill sent a chill down your spine, and for a moment your heart stopped.
>You peered into the dark forest, in the direction of where the scream came from.
>"SOMEONE!!! SOMEPONY!!!"
>You raised an eyebrow.
>Did you hear that right?
>Your confusion was short-lived, however, when something off in the distance caught your eye:
>A young-looking, slender woman, running down a hill.
>In tow behind her, three Infected.
>You knew they were infected from screams alone.
>But the woman... was she naked?
>And why does the hair look familiar?
>"HELP ME!!!"
>Time to ask later.
>You turned the key and started the truck.
>In a single move, you twist the truck in the direction of the group and stomped down on the pedal.
>In a matter of seconds, the gap between you and the Infected is gone.
>You honk the horn once to get their attention.
>The woman disappears behind a tree, while the three Infected now direct their attention to—
>WHAM!
>WHAM!
>WHAM!
>You strike all three of them, denting the hood of your car and sending their bodies flinging 50 feet away.
>One lands on their neck, and the other tumble for several moments before coming to a stop.
>None of them get up.
>You stop your truck in place, gripping the wheel shakily. The dirt you kicked up begins to settle and you look out the windows, trying to find the woman.
>It doesn't take long for her to slowly emerge from behind the tree, trying to make sense of what happened.
>You get a good look at her. 
>She was completely naked, not a single scrap of clothing to be found, but you tried not to look too much.
>Her hair was long and frazzled with loose strands that fell over her face.
>And the color...
>Why did it look so familiar?
>The only other person with that hair was...
>Then her eyes fell on you.
>Those eyes...
>It was quiet for a moment.
>Then she spoke.
>"... Anon...?"
>Her voice...
>You stared at her.
"... Twilight?"
>Well... you wanted a miracle...