What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.
~ T.S. Eliot
Day 1. September 19, 2009. 7:08 A.M.
4 months.
That was the length of time Eddie Tahoe had been holed up in his apartment. With several stockpiles of food and a water supply, he figured he could live in there for years. But as the last cans of baked beans were eaten through, it was time to go shopping again.
Eddie stood up from his computer and looked around his apartment. He never cleaned much, and it was clearly showing. Living completely isolated in an apartment for months? Not really working out for him. He put on a tattered coat, some dirty clothes, and braced himself as he opened the door to the outside world for the first time in months.
The early autumn breeze brushed his face as he made his way down Holly Street. The tall buildings of Philadelphia towered in the distance, and Eddie could hear the sounds and smells of the big city. It was quite noisy, often. He sped his pace towards the general store on the corner of the street, avoiding eye contact with the other pedestrians. Cars rattled past, and a police siren wailed far away.
Eddie sneezed again. This had been happening for a steady month now, not long before both of his hamsters had died of starvation. That hadn't been your fault, Eddie thought to himself, but it didn't necessarily matter. Eddie pushed open the general store door, and walked in.
"Oho! Look who it is!" a great big booming voice announced, and Eddie winced. It was Pete, the general store owner who had been supplying him with food for over a year now. Pete gestured towards the back door, and Eddie followed.
"I got your message. Luckily, the shipment just came in earlier this morning!" Pete pointed towards several large crates piled up on a trolley.
"Don't worry, now, I got your payment." He took a moment to sneeze. "Right on time, too. I might have to close up shop. You know, the economy and all."
Eddie walked towards the stack of boxes, and began to grasp the cart.
"Whoa ho! Easy there, fella. You need some..." He sneezed again. "...help with that?" Pete asked. Eddie shook his head as he began turning the cart towards the door.
"No, actually, I'm good," Eddie began. "I can get it up on my own. Thanks for getting me my supplies, Pete." Eddie paused. "Pete?"
Eddie whirled around to face Pete. His face had a sickly gray color to it, and his eyes were bloodshot. "Holy shit, Pete, are you alright?"
Pete began to say something, hunched over, and promptly vomited on the ground. Eddie skitted back away from the sick, and reached forward to support Pete. "Oh, man, dude, you need to get to the hospital. It's not far from here, just a couple blocks over-"
Pete's head flew up to stare at Eddie. Eddie looked at him, and noticed there might be something else wrong with Pete. He had been fine just a few minutes ago. Pete was breathing heavy, labored breaths, and his eyes looked wild, darting around upon everything. Eddie took a step back. "Uh... I'm going to call an ambulance. I'll be... uh... right back."
He ran out of the room to the phone next to the cash register. Eddie dialed 911, and waited for the operator to pick up.
"You've reached the Philadelphia Emergency Center, what is your emergency?"
"Hi, um, my friend looks really sick. He just vomited on the floor and he was fine just 2 minutes ago and-"
"Sir, I need you to calm down. Now tell me, what is your location?"
"Uhhh..." Eddie thought for a moment. "I'm at the corner of Holly Street and-"
Eddie was interrupted by the sound of running footsteps. Eddie looked up from the phone cord and noticed several people were watching him make his call. The footsteps ran into the room, and Eddie was quite shocked to watch Pete do a volley over the desk, almost ignoring Eddie, and landing next to the aisle of snacks. He snarled and shoved it over, causing all the little candies to cascade from the shelves and onto the ground. Several people shrieked.
"Are you there?"
Pete screamed loudly, and several customers ran out the door. He attacked a woman standing closest to him, and she screamed as well, falling to the floor.
"Holy fuck!" Eddie yelled, and dropped the phone. Pete screamed at him as Eddie jumped over the desk, and swiped his arm towards him, cutting a deep gash into his flesh. Eddie stumbled onto the floor as Pete drew nearer, and started to crawl away.
"Sir, are you still there? What's going on?"
"Help!" Eddie yelled. He got up to his feet, and ran straight out the door back onto Holly Street.
"Dispatch, 10-43 in Sector 92B. Possible 10-29H and a 240. Over." Pause. "10-4. Out. Sir, are you there? Can someone pick up the phone?"
Eddie reached towards his scratch wound, and noticed it was bleeding. This was something out of a zombie movie. Eddie staggered back to his apartment. He had medical supplies and bandages there, he could take care of this. There was quite a commotion behind him now, and people were shouting and calling for help. Eddie unlocked his door, quickly went inside, and shut it.
NOTE: Welcome to the Fall of Humanity! This is going to be fun, trust me. For those of you already skipping to No Mercy or Dead Center, that's cool, but allow me to remind you that this fan fiction's main strength is its setting, an AU of our universe in which a deadly virus obliterates the world in a few weeks, and I think the entire experience wouldn't be complete without the setting. I got all the dates as close as I could. There is an entire new cast of survivors, although all the current survivors have their own stories as well. Make sure to favorite, follow and review! Onward, readers! To destiny!