Prologue
The wall. The wall was where I spent all my time. Watching, waiting. The wall that surrounded this god-forsaken place. War, fighting, and death, what kind of world did we live in? Some said that we were at fault here, some said it could have been prevented. I doubted it. I shook my head, my eyes had grown red, I hadn't slept in three days. I stayed awake here, forever watching, forever waiting. I never left the wall, not after what they did to me. The wall was where I stayed, and I would never leave. It was my duty to watch the wall. They would point, they would laugh, and they would criticize, but I would never come down from here. It wasn't my fault. Paranoia slowly slipped over all, just some sooner than others. But it was what we were all destined for, spending all night looking out upon the vast wasteland. I usually fell into a restless sleep for an hour or two every night, but not tonight. Three nights ago, they had started. The sounds, the screams. They had always been audible, but they were closer now, closer than before. The clock struck 7:28 PM. It was June 3rd, my birthday. I had spent it up here. Up here on top of the wall. This colony was a machine. A place built only to kill every last one of those creatures. Infected with the KV virus, a woman who once thought she had cured cancer had unleashed it upon the world. I bet she feels really stupid right about now. If she's alive. My alarm beeped, 7:33, the time of sunset. I smiled, "Happy birthday." I said quietly to myself. Fifteen. " You're fifteen John."
Only I didn't feel fifteen. Fifteen year olds worry about girls, and dances, grades and schools. Not about being eaten by creatures of the night. Dark seekers some called them, but I didn't like to. Giving them a name made them seem so much more real. My mother, father, and three brothers were all lost to the KV virus, but they were still my mother, father and brothers. Even if they didn't recognize me, I recognized them. And I refused to think of them as nothing but a stupid creature of the night, a "dark seeker."
As time passed, the light was lost, and I was surrounded by darkness. I wasn't the only guard up here now. They couldn't come out during the day, why did I insist on coming up during the day? I shook my head. It's 'cause of them, I thought, those creatures. Except for my family, I thought to myself. Maybe it wasn't fair, maybe they were either all good, or all evil. It sure wasn't that way with humans though. Especially not when they're forced into a survivor's colony for three years, with nobody but each other to talk to. When you're life is limited to fifty-four people, you tend to get a little bit tired. The screams were quiet again tonight. So I allowed myself to relax a little bit. I sat back, and found myself in a comfortable position. Without realizing it, I slipped off into sleep.
If only I'd seen the glowing eyes in the bushes.