28 years later
X-X-X
I do not know who will read this account. As far as I know, the few of us are the last living, breathing humans on this dying planet. Yet I write my account of our fall, lest the conclusion of humanity's stay on earth go unnoticed by whoever may still observe. There is not long left now. I hear their moans on the wind: they are hunting us. They will catch up eventually.
The first three years after zero hour were called the Outbreak. On march 3, 2034, a ghoulish figure in ancient, decayed clothing shambled out of the surf on a beach in Florida. The details are hazy, but it obviously bit several people before being killed by the police. It wasn't long before the entire town was infected.
From there, civilization fell fast. Within the first year, the entire north American continent was overrun. By the end of the second year, all but a few quarentined island nations - such as Greenland, Madagascar and Japan - had fallen to the undead.
By the end of the third year the excitement was over. The dust had cleared; the fires had gone out and the ashes had cooled. Those who couldn't make the grade had either fallen to the undead or died by other means. The remains of humanity hunkered down in their mountaintop fortresses and high-rise strongholds and began to eke out a new way of life within the ruins of the old.
The new era was, in its own time, called the Legacy. Those of us who remain now call it the Interim.
Humanity existed either in small fortress towns or as nomadic tribes. Some fortresses fell - to incompetence, starvation, cabin fever, or some other flaw - but some new ones were established. This period of relative peace lasted twenty-two years.
However, all things end in time.
Eventually, there were no settlers left. No new fortresses were announced over the ramshackle radio network. Instead, there were reports of more and more fortresses caving in under the pressure of starvation and swarms of undead, some of which seemed to actually be getting smarter - or stealthier, which amounts to the same thing.
Eventually the radio network went down, permanently, when the last remaining fortress lost its broadcast antenna in an attack. Shortly afterwards, the fortress was attacked again and fell when the undead finally smashed the ancient doors. Those of us that remained scattered. As far as I know they are all dead.
This period is simply called the End.
So here I am, three years into the End, writing this record. I'll say it again: as far as I know, there is no-one left to read it. I keep this account for its own sake.
Oops - James is calling. I guess we need to move again.
X-X-X
Linda's dead.
When we struck camp we found her tent empty. After a quick look in the surrounding forest we found almost all of her corpse. It seems she had wanted some night air. James had been on watch and hadn't heard anything - she must have not even had time to scream. It seems the rest of us were quiet enough to be uninteresting to the undead.
However, they never let a trail go cold. They're slow when they hunt by smell, but they WILL find us. We hope to make it up the mountain by nightfall.
Why did she have to die? No matter. If I let myself dwell on it I'll wind up dead too.
X-X-X
We couldn't make it up the mountain. There were some cliffs that we couldn't see, and we had to camp at the base during the night.
They attacked us around midnight. Almost fifty of them in total came streaming out of the woods in groups of varying sizes. We had been sleeping with chambered rounds and safeties off, in preparation for this very event.
It wasn't enough. James and Remiel were killed.
James was dragged under by six of them as he tried to keep them away from the food. His pistol ran out and when he swung the machete one grabbed his arm. By the time they were done with him there wasn't enough left to bury.
Remiel... didn't die as easily. He escaped their hold, minus one usable arm which was a mass of blood and mangled flesh. He handed me his SPAS12 and attacked them with his knives. He managed to kill five before getting bitten on the neck.
I had to complete the death rite. There were brains everywhere... I almost threw up at one point.
We made our men proper pyres. The rest we piled up and soaked in gasoline. The stench of the burning bodies was revolting.
X-X-X
We made it up the mountain without any more... losses.
There was a small town of sorts which we couldn't see through binoculars. We've taken refuge in a three-story building in the center. We barricaded the doors and smashed the staircases. We should be safe.
X-X-X
Emily's dead. She wasn't killed by the undead, either.
I had no idea she felt like this! I was the closest to her, but she didn't tell me anything like this.
We heard the gunshot at around five in the morning. I had been on watch and woke the others quickly. She... she had placed the gun right under her ear. The bullet tore out the brain stem. She must have died almost instantly.
I hope she didn't feel any pain.
I hope nothing heard the shot. That would be bad... we don't have time to pack up now. It's almost dark, and there's only the four of us now - me, Elizabeth, Adam and Kinji.
X-X-X
They came just before dawn.
There was no way we could escape. In minutes the entire building was surrounded by scores of the dead, and more kept arriving. There must be over a hundred by now.
I hope the barricades hold.
I wish I could say I'm not afraid, but I am. I can feel the fear twisting my intestines with a cold steel gauntlet. I can barely still my hand enough to write.
X-X-X
I guess it's over now. You may be able to tell that from the blood, which smears as I try to write.
The window boards didn't last long. The broken staircase stopped them for a while, but soon they were packed so tight that they could literally climb over each other.
Kinji took the assault rifle and started shooting. He killed more than ten at my count, but he tarried too long, and they grabbed his foot as he tried to escape. They pulled him down and tore his leg off before ripping open his torso.
Elizabeth and Adam fell at the foot of the roof entrance. She got pulled under and he went back to try and save her. The last I saw of him was his face being ripped off by a zombie's teeth.
I barricaded the roof door. I only have a few minutes - I already see their fingers around the cracks.
My leg's pretty messed up, and my hand isn't much better. I definitely can't walk, even if I could stop the bleeding. Those dead things sure bite hard.
My M60 is loaded and the safety's off. I have a grenade still in my back pocket. I'm taking a few more home with me - I won't let myself die as Emily did. I can't stand the thought of simply opting out.
The barricade's breaking. I see their faces now. It's time.
Let it be known that I, Nathaniel Azerus Graves, have witnessed the end of those who called themselves 'human';
And the rest belong to the rats and the crows.