FEED (re-write)
Chapter Four
Hannah
A few weeks ago, some of our ‘Looters’ brought in another group of people, and they were welcomes just like the rest of us, and they were given their jobs pretty quickly and settled into their new homes.
There was one girl, Hailey, she came alone. Our group found her stumbling along the road all by herself; parched and starved for the longest time and when they brought her to me she was near death. I didn’t leave her side for almost a whole week, I got her to open up to me and tell me about her life, how she escaped and who she lost while doing so… we bonded during that first week, but then I almost lost her.
I was going to our ‘leaders’, Arin’s father and his buddies, to tell them that Hailey was well enough to be given a job but they told me that there was nothing that she could do. She hadn’t exactly worked before the fall, she was too weak to fight and they didn’t want to waste their time finding out what she could and couldn’t do because they knew that they might lose others in the process. They were going to give her some supplies and toss her back out into the wild to fend for herself all over again, but I wasn’t having any of that so I offered to take her under my wing, teach her a few things and use her as a ‘nurse’ under by watch, besides, our group was growing almost every week and I was starting to need the help around here.
I was disposing of the used equipment from the last couple of days while Hailey finished stitching up one of our guys, Marcus.
“Hailey,” I spoke.
“That’s me,” She answered.
“Are you sure you’re going to be alright on your own today?” I asked, walking over to take a
look at her work and gave her a nod of approval.
“I’m sure,” She smiled, glancing at me and then turning her attention back to the wound “We’ve gone over the list,”
“And you remember everything you need to do?” I asked “I can always ask Erin to run the
class on her own today,”
“Unless Lilly isn’t happy with me doing her check-up today, we’re all good and you’re running that class,” She chuckled “You need me to weigh her, take a blood sample, measure the size of her bump, feel for the baby’s position and make sure she had enough of her vitamins,”
“Good girl,” I smiled proudly at her.
Lilly and her husband, Lewis, had been a part of the community longer than I had, and they both told me that I got here just in time because Lilly suspected that she might be pregnant at the worst possible time, and she was. The medical centre had everything that I needed to make sure she and the baby were healthy, and I would be the one to deliver the baby when the time came and I knew that the time was soon. Lilly was around eight and a half months pregnant.
There was a knock on the door and I turned around to see Erin poking her head into the room with a smile on her face.
“They’re filling the classroom,” She told me “You ready?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, tugging my scrub top off over my head, leaving me in my pale blue, elasticated bottoms and a pale grey, tight fitting tank top.
~~~~
Third Person
Erin and Hannah walked across the town together to the building that was used as a school.
The children didn’t have class today, but the last two groups of newcomers did.
It had been Erin’s idea, but she needed Hannah to help run the thing because there was a lot of information to give and normally there were a lot of questions to be answered. A lot of people were coming into the community with just a slight idea of what was happening out there, but everyone around the town had been working for over a year on figuring out what was happening, how things worked and a number of other things.
The women walked into the classroom and everyone turned to look at them, so they smiled and greeted everyone. Each desk was occupied by someone.
“Alright,” Erin started, clearing her throat as her and Hannah took their places at the front of the room, in front of large, overturned whiteboards “Welcome everyone, this is part one of your training on how to survive this thing and keep yourself and others alive and well.”
“Here,” Hannah started “Myself and Erin will debunk your myths, answer your questions, teach you how to spot and ‘kill’ a ‘zombie’, and much more,”
“Out there,” Erin gestured to outside “Our men will teach you how to fight, how to shoot and how to use whatever weapon you may have to your advantage, even if it might not seem like very much, they will teach you… combat,”
Hannah flipped one of the boards around and showed the information to the class. The first thing she pointed to was the ‘Zombie Knowledge Triangle’.
“These are the three things we’re going to cover first,” Hannah said, speaking loud and clear so that everyone could hear her “First, creation,” She pointed to the top of the triangle “Knowing the how and the why,”
“Second,” Erin pointed to the bottom right corner of the triangle “Destruction, knowing how to ‘kill’ a zombie.”
“And third,” Hannah continued “Type, recognizing the type of zombie.”
“Before the fall there were a number of ‘piss-take’ books for our entertainment that told us how to survive the zombie apocalypse whenever it finally happened, and a lot of us didn’t think anything of it, but a large number of people were very enthusiastic and took the whole thing seriously,” Erin said, before looking to Hannah to continue.
“The ‘Ministry of Zombies Handbook’ says that a zombie is a dead body that had been brought back to animation by a complex RNA virus which leads the body to behave in a cannibalistic way.”
The girls went on to debunk any Zombie creation myths that they had heard from people when they came to the group. They explained that it was a virus and not voodoo, man-made, aliens, radiation, an angry God or anything supernatural.
“Next, you need to know how to spot a ‘zombie’,” Erin continued, turning around another board and revealing a labelled diagram of one of the undead “The movies made it look like it was the easiest thing in the world to spot them, but it isn’t as easy as you think,”
“The ‘Scruffy Bohemian’ student, or, ‘back from the office late’ drunk may each display signs of
the zombic condition, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you should run and get your weapon. It is vital that you clearly identify your target as undead before you get copping. The following are things that you should be on the lookout for.”
Erin pointed to the top of the board, the head of the diagram.
“A vacant and distant gaze,” She started “It will only become agitated at the prospect of living
flesh. The creature will emit a low-level guttural groan, and their eyes may be milky or tinged with red,” She pointed to the hands “A pallid, deathly, colourless skin. Nails and hair may have grown, giving the figure a distinctive ‘hippie’ look and smell.”
“Clothes may be ripped,” Hannah continued, pointing out the drawn clothing on the diagram
“There may be obvious injuries such as clear bite marks or missing limbs, but equally there may be no visible signs of trauma or dried blood.”
“They have a slow, stumbling walk,” Erin spoke, pointing to the lower half of the diagram
“Zombies appear unbalanced and awkward, often tripping and falling over minor obstacles.
Newly converted zombies will display a better level of movement and dexterity.”
“The walking dead will always move towards the living with the express purpose of turning them into their next meat snack, so be warned!”
~~~~
Hannah
I stood off to the side, still at the front of the room, but watched Erin as she paced back and forth slightly and continues the lesson.
“Once a human has turned into a zombie, they will enter a three-stage process of transformation.” She told them “All will go through these stages, but factors such as climate, body mass and the amount of infected tissue will have an impact.” She paused “To be clear, these are not stages of the ‘illness’ – Hannah will review these with you later. For now, these humans have already transformed into the undead, they are fully infected with zombie virus and display symptoms of the zombic condition.”
She flipped another one of the boards around so that she could use a visual for the class. The board was split into three and photographs of the different stages were stuck into each section.
Stage 1; FRESH
“We call the fresh ‘Newbies’,” She started “These walking dead have contracted the zombie virus in the last few days. They have a pallid, grey/blue skin colour and a bloodless
complexion. Some will appear almost human in appearance; others will be missing major body parts. Importantly, their movements will be stiff and awkward, they will be unable to speak and they will have an unhealthy interest on feasting on your flesh.”
Stage 2; PUTREFIED
“We call the putrefied ‘Bloaters’,” E continued “At this stage, zombies generally start to show signs of decomposition. For example, you may see pus-filled wounds and green fungus patches appearing. However, the decomposition process is greatly decelerated by the zombic condition. In humid conditions, excess acid or gastric liquid may swell the corpse to an enormous size.”
Stage 3; DESICCATED
“Also known as ‘Stiffs’,” She offered a chuckle at the irony of the name we used for them “Most of the walking dead will move into this ‘classic’ zombie phase of development. These creatures will be barely human in appearance. Their skin will be thin and stretched; their wounds dry and cracked. By this stage, their clothes will be mostly tattered and their eyes turned a milky shade, even yellowish in some cases. Climatic conditions will determine the actual level of moisture in a classic zombie, with dry conditions leading to a skeletal creature on which the skin hangs like a rotting, almost transparent blanket. Over time, injury or rotten body parts may just fall off with the creature seemingly oblivious to any loss.”
“Once infected,” I spoke, causing everyone to turn their heads and look at me “By bite or fluid exchange, a human will transform into a zombie and move through these zombie types.”
~~~~
We were taking a break from lecturing, and taking some questions instead.
“More than any creature, the zombie is surrounded by legend, myth and misinformation,” I started “The zombie survivalist needs to be aware of these misconceptions. Since the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, panic and lies have been everywhere, rumours of their superpowers will be rife, and such tales have haunted the dreams of so many survivors.”
“So,” I chuckled “Do any of you have questions about legends, myths and misunderstandings?”
Erin asked.
“Aren’t they just like vampires?” One of the women called out.
“Vampires are fictional monsters,” Erin answered, barely missing a beat “They’re based on a
mixture of folklore and creative writing.”
“They have no connection to zombies.” I added “There is nothing sparkly or romantic about the
undead and you won’t be joining ‘Team Edward; or ‘Team Jacob’ now that the dead have risen.
You’re more likely to be driving an axe through his skull than losing yourself in his good looks.”
“Should we stay away from cemeteries?” A man called out next.
“For the seasoned zombie fighter, a cemetery should hold none of the horror it seems to for fans of ghost or vampire stories.” Erin answered “There is nothing supernatural about it and, statistically, very few zombies ‘rise from the grave’. The incubation period for the virus means that there are far more outbreaks in hospital morgues than in chapels of rest, or graveyards.”
“I thought that zombies only ate brains,” Someone else spoke up.
“The most powerful myth surrounding zombies is that they only eat brains.” I spoke “Indeed, the classic ‘Brraaaaiinnss!’ catchphrase supposedly muttered by the dead could seriously mislead survivors. Firstly, zombies will happily eat any part of a living or very recently deceased human. Secondly, zombies cannot talk.”
~~~~
Erin
It was Hannah’s turn to really take over the lesson since we were now entering the medical side of everything that people should know about. This was why I had Hannah do the lessons with me in the first place, I didn’t exactly know enough to teach about how it worked.
The fledging science of zombiology is the study of both the zombie virus itself and the associated zombic condition it causes in humans. Nobody has yet heard of a cure for the zombie virus and infection will lead to the zombic condition.
“Many factors affect the rate at which a human will move through the transformation stages to develop the full-blown zombic condition.” Hannah spoke, turning around another board with more information written all over it “The critical factors are the quantity of infected material transferred and the size and health of the infected individual.” She continued “There have been cases where a fully gown adult with only a small infected scratch lasted over twenty-four hours before becoming a zombie. In other studies, major wounds such as a zombie bite to the jugular have seen humans transforming within minutes rather than hours.”
Hannah looked over at me, waiting for me to give her the look to keep going. She knew that this part could be hard for me to listen to because of losing Kevin. I gave her a smile and a nod and she continued, moving around in front of the board, pointing to different areas while listing off all of the symptoms of the different stages of transformation.
Stage 1; INFECTION 1-4 HOURS
·Raised temperature and flu-like symptoms.
·Excessive sweating.
·Panic attacks.
·An infected individual may hide any symptoms or be unaware that they have been infected.
·As the zombic condition develops, there will be a noticeable lack of appetite.
Stage 2; FLU SYMPROMS 2-8 HOURS
·Continuation of flu-like symptoms.
·Reduced hearing or visual functions.
·A milky film over eyes (similar to cataracts in appearance).
·Skin will become paler.
·Hallucinations.
·Expelling gas.
·May still be capable of speech.
·Weakness and general lack of energy.
Stage 3; CLINICAL DEATH 4-16 HOURS
·Very slow heartbeat and pulse eventually ceases.
·Skin becomes paler, with a light blue hue in some cases.
·Respiration stops.
·All indicators point to clinical death.
·Body will cool quicker than a normal corpse, teeth may visibly discolour.
Stage 4; ZOMBIFICATION COMPLETE 4-16 HOURS
·Corpse will open eyes, but breathing and heartbeat will not return.
·Sounds include moans, groans and in some cases large discharges of trapped gas.
·Movement will be lumbering and slower than normal.
·No spoken words.
·The newly created zombie will attempt to consume human flesh at the first opportunity.
Next, she moved onto the methods of transformation.
61.4% of transformation comes from a bite from an infected human or zombie. This is by far the
most common way of transmitting the zombie virus.
0.2% will come from any unnatural intimate contact with a zombie.
0.5% Cannizomb – humans eating zombies will become infected.
6.3% by infected blood or other liquid getting into food or water supply.
11.4% by splattering when hitting a zombie, exploding brain into mouth or eyes – for example
with a bloater ‘exploding’
20.2% by fluid exchange via cuts and infected blood, for example a scratch from a zombie’s nail.
“The motto we have to remember,” I added “Is S.T.E.N.C.H,” I turned the last board over and exposed the motto to the class.
Saliva – Infected fluid – saliva and blood
Teeth – Sharp, jagged incisors
Energy – Consistent level of power
Nails – Jagged weapons, like claws
Ceaseless – Won’t stop, won’t be scared off
Hunger – Driven 100% by this hunger
~~~~
Third Person
Matt and Brian were running the combat part of the class today, so once Erin and Hannah were finished with their lesson they lead everyone out to the field around the back of the town where all of the training took place.
“Welcome!” Matt beamed at everyone “Welcome to the second half of your lesson, combat training!”
“Today we’re going to be teaching you all how to ‘kill’ a zombie!” Brian added “Weapons and more advanced unarmed combat techniques that can be used against the dead will be discussed later. For now it’s enough to know that to kill a zombie you must destroy at least
80% of its brain.”
“Nothing else will work,” Matt spoke “In zombie combat, we define ‘killing’ a zombie as meaning removing it as a threat – in other words, taking it out of the game by ensuring that it never gets up. Technically you can’t ‘kill’ what’s already dead, but destroying a high proportion of a zombie’s brain will prevent the creature rising again and seeking to feast on the flesh of the living.”
“A blow which does not connect squarely with the zombie skull will not do enough damage, so practise your accuracy any chance you get!”
Step 1; IDENTIFY THE ZOMBIE
“Recognize the creature, shout a warning if you can, then prepare for action!” Matt started, walking over to the Stiff that he had pinned against the tree “Remember, the zombie in front of you is no longer human so act with purpose. Do not endanger yourself with any warning; there may be occasions when you need to move quickly through this step.”
Step 2; HEAD BASH OR KNOCK DOWN
“If you have a weapon,” Brian started “Go for a solid club to the head. Aim for the top of the skull and use force but be accurate – a glancing blow may not do the trick. If you are unarmed, you will need to sweep the creature’s legs or kick it down. Remember, only a solid blow to the head will knock the creature down for good.”
Step 3; SECOND BLOW OR STAMP
Zombies are extremely robust creatures, so always be sure by delivering a second blow.
Never assume that your one hit has done the job. Many an experienced zombie fighter has been bitten on the lower leg by a Stiff they thought they’d dealt with. For once, the movies got it right – always use the double-tap rule.
A few people in the group of newcomers thought that if a family member or friend was turned, they would remember who they were.
The simple answer to that is, no! Once a human has transformed into a zombie, they have virtually no recollection of their former life. They are no longer the person they once were. So if
zombie grandma staggers into view, it won’t be to drop off any last-minute birthday or
Christmas presents. Do not be deceived by the physical resemblance to your loved one. It’s
time to get busy with that axe. The zombic condition completely transforms any human into a ravenous and cannibalistic creature and scientific experiments have shown that zombies will attack and feast upon the living, no matter who they are. It may not be easy driving a weapon into your neighbour’s face or bashing a friend in with a baseball bat, so if necessary get someone else to do it. But, be assured, if you don’t deal with zombie grandma, she will come drooling at the window. Finally, never attempt to bring a relative with the zombic condition into your fortified home. Where a member of your party has become infected, you should isolate them and then deal with them when they turn if you can’t do it beforehand.
ANY BLOW TO A ZOMBIE HEAD WILL RESULT IN INFECTED BRAIN SPLATTER. BE ALERT TO THE RISK OF INFECTION.
A few weeks ago, some of our ‘Looters’ brought in another group of people, and they were welcomes just like the rest of us, and they were given their jobs pretty quickly and settled into their new homes.
There was one girl, Hailey, she came alone. Our group found her stumbling along the road all by herself; parched and starved for the longest time and when they brought her to me she was near death. I didn’t leave her side for almost a whole week, I got her to open up to me and tell me about her life, how she escaped and who she lost while doing so… we bonded during that first week, but then I almost lost her.
I was going to our ‘leaders’, Arin’s father and his buddies, to tell them that Hailey was well enough to be given a job but they told me that there was nothing that she could do. She hadn’t exactly worked before the fall, she was too weak to fight and they didn’t want to waste their time finding out what she could and couldn’t do because they knew that they might lose others in the process. They were going to give her some supplies and toss her back out into the wild to fend for herself all over again, but I wasn’t having any of that so I offered to take her under my wing, teach her a few things and use her as a ‘nurse’ under by watch, besides, our group was growing almost every week and I was starting to need the help around here.
I was disposing of the used equipment from the last couple of days while Hailey finished stitching up one of our guys, Marcus.
“Hailey,” I spoke.
“That’s me,” She answered.
“Are you sure you’re going to be alright on your own today?” I asked, walking over to take a
look at her work and gave her a nod of approval.
“I’m sure,” She smiled, glancing at me and then turning her attention back to the wound “We’ve gone over the list,”
“And you remember everything you need to do?” I asked “I can always ask Erin to run the
class on her own today,”
“Unless Lilly isn’t happy with me doing her check-up today, we’re all good and you’re running that class,” She chuckled “You need me to weigh her, take a blood sample, measure the size of her bump, feel for the baby’s position and make sure she had enough of her vitamins,”
“Good girl,” I smiled proudly at her.
Lilly and her husband, Lewis, had been a part of the community longer than I had, and they both told me that I got here just in time because Lilly suspected that she might be pregnant at the worst possible time, and she was. The medical centre had everything that I needed to make sure she and the baby were healthy, and I would be the one to deliver the baby when the time came and I knew that the time was soon. Lilly was around eight and a half months pregnant.
There was a knock on the door and I turned around to see Erin poking her head into the room with a smile on her face.
“They’re filling the classroom,” She told me “You ready?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, tugging my scrub top off over my head, leaving me in my pale blue, elasticated bottoms and a pale grey, tight fitting tank top.
~~~~
Third Person
Erin and Hannah walked across the town together to the building that was used as a school.
The children didn’t have class today, but the last two groups of newcomers did.
It had been Erin’s idea, but she needed Hannah to help run the thing because there was a lot of information to give and normally there were a lot of questions to be answered. A lot of people were coming into the community with just a slight idea of what was happening out there, but everyone around the town had been working for over a year on figuring out what was happening, how things worked and a number of other things.
The women walked into the classroom and everyone turned to look at them, so they smiled and greeted everyone. Each desk was occupied by someone.
“Alright,” Erin started, clearing her throat as her and Hannah took their places at the front of the room, in front of large, overturned whiteboards “Welcome everyone, this is part one of your training on how to survive this thing and keep yourself and others alive and well.”
“Here,” Hannah started “Myself and Erin will debunk your myths, answer your questions, teach you how to spot and ‘kill’ a ‘zombie’, and much more,”
“Out there,” Erin gestured to outside “Our men will teach you how to fight, how to shoot and how to use whatever weapon you may have to your advantage, even if it might not seem like very much, they will teach you… combat,”
Hannah flipped one of the boards around and showed the information to the class. The first thing she pointed to was the ‘Zombie Knowledge Triangle’.
“These are the three things we’re going to cover first,” Hannah said, speaking loud and clear so that everyone could hear her “First, creation,” She pointed to the top of the triangle “Knowing the how and the why,”
“Second,” Erin pointed to the bottom right corner of the triangle “Destruction, knowing how to ‘kill’ a zombie.”
“And third,” Hannah continued “Type, recognizing the type of zombie.”
“Before the fall there were a number of ‘piss-take’ books for our entertainment that told us how to survive the zombie apocalypse whenever it finally happened, and a lot of us didn’t think anything of it, but a large number of people were very enthusiastic and took the whole thing seriously,” Erin said, before looking to Hannah to continue.
“The ‘Ministry of Zombies Handbook’ says that a zombie is a dead body that had been brought back to animation by a complex RNA virus which leads the body to behave in a cannibalistic way.”
The girls went on to debunk any Zombie creation myths that they had heard from people when they came to the group. They explained that it was a virus and not voodoo, man-made, aliens, radiation, an angry God or anything supernatural.
“Next, you need to know how to spot a ‘zombie’,” Erin continued, turning around another board and revealing a labelled diagram of one of the undead “The movies made it look like it was the easiest thing in the world to spot them, but it isn’t as easy as you think,”
“The ‘Scruffy Bohemian’ student, or, ‘back from the office late’ drunk may each display signs of
the zombic condition, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you should run and get your weapon. It is vital that you clearly identify your target as undead before you get copping. The following are things that you should be on the lookout for.”
Erin pointed to the top of the board, the head of the diagram.
“A vacant and distant gaze,” She started “It will only become agitated at the prospect of living
flesh. The creature will emit a low-level guttural groan, and their eyes may be milky or tinged with red,” She pointed to the hands “A pallid, deathly, colourless skin. Nails and hair may have grown, giving the figure a distinctive ‘hippie’ look and smell.”
“Clothes may be ripped,” Hannah continued, pointing out the drawn clothing on the diagram
“There may be obvious injuries such as clear bite marks or missing limbs, but equally there may be no visible signs of trauma or dried blood.”
“They have a slow, stumbling walk,” Erin spoke, pointing to the lower half of the diagram
“Zombies appear unbalanced and awkward, often tripping and falling over minor obstacles.
Newly converted zombies will display a better level of movement and dexterity.”
“The walking dead will always move towards the living with the express purpose of turning them into their next meat snack, so be warned!”
~~~~
Hannah
I stood off to the side, still at the front of the room, but watched Erin as she paced back and forth slightly and continues the lesson.
“Once a human has turned into a zombie, they will enter a three-stage process of transformation.” She told them “All will go through these stages, but factors such as climate, body mass and the amount of infected tissue will have an impact.” She paused “To be clear, these are not stages of the ‘illness’ – Hannah will review these with you later. For now, these humans have already transformed into the undead, they are fully infected with zombie virus and display symptoms of the zombic condition.”
She flipped another one of the boards around so that she could use a visual for the class. The board was split into three and photographs of the different stages were stuck into each section.
Stage 1; FRESH
“We call the fresh ‘Newbies’,” She started “These walking dead have contracted the zombie virus in the last few days. They have a pallid, grey/blue skin colour and a bloodless
complexion. Some will appear almost human in appearance; others will be missing major body parts. Importantly, their movements will be stiff and awkward, they will be unable to speak and they will have an unhealthy interest on feasting on your flesh.”
Stage 2; PUTREFIED
“We call the putrefied ‘Bloaters’,” E continued “At this stage, zombies generally start to show signs of decomposition. For example, you may see pus-filled wounds and green fungus patches appearing. However, the decomposition process is greatly decelerated by the zombic condition. In humid conditions, excess acid or gastric liquid may swell the corpse to an enormous size.”
Stage 3; DESICCATED
“Also known as ‘Stiffs’,” She offered a chuckle at the irony of the name we used for them “Most of the walking dead will move into this ‘classic’ zombie phase of development. These creatures will be barely human in appearance. Their skin will be thin and stretched; their wounds dry and cracked. By this stage, their clothes will be mostly tattered and their eyes turned a milky shade, even yellowish in some cases. Climatic conditions will determine the actual level of moisture in a classic zombie, with dry conditions leading to a skeletal creature on which the skin hangs like a rotting, almost transparent blanket. Over time, injury or rotten body parts may just fall off with the creature seemingly oblivious to any loss.”
“Once infected,” I spoke, causing everyone to turn their heads and look at me “By bite or fluid exchange, a human will transform into a zombie and move through these zombie types.”
~~~~
We were taking a break from lecturing, and taking some questions instead.
“More than any creature, the zombie is surrounded by legend, myth and misinformation,” I started “The zombie survivalist needs to be aware of these misconceptions. Since the beginning of the zombie apocalypse, panic and lies have been everywhere, rumours of their superpowers will be rife, and such tales have haunted the dreams of so many survivors.”
“So,” I chuckled “Do any of you have questions about legends, myths and misunderstandings?”
Erin asked.
“Aren’t they just like vampires?” One of the women called out.
“Vampires are fictional monsters,” Erin answered, barely missing a beat “They’re based on a
mixture of folklore and creative writing.”
“They have no connection to zombies.” I added “There is nothing sparkly or romantic about the
undead and you won’t be joining ‘Team Edward; or ‘Team Jacob’ now that the dead have risen.
You’re more likely to be driving an axe through his skull than losing yourself in his good looks.”
“Should we stay away from cemeteries?” A man called out next.
“For the seasoned zombie fighter, a cemetery should hold none of the horror it seems to for fans of ghost or vampire stories.” Erin answered “There is nothing supernatural about it and, statistically, very few zombies ‘rise from the grave’. The incubation period for the virus means that there are far more outbreaks in hospital morgues than in chapels of rest, or graveyards.”
“I thought that zombies only ate brains,” Someone else spoke up.
“The most powerful myth surrounding zombies is that they only eat brains.” I spoke “Indeed, the classic ‘Brraaaaiinnss!’ catchphrase supposedly muttered by the dead could seriously mislead survivors. Firstly, zombies will happily eat any part of a living or very recently deceased human. Secondly, zombies cannot talk.”
~~~~
Erin
It was Hannah’s turn to really take over the lesson since we were now entering the medical side of everything that people should know about. This was why I had Hannah do the lessons with me in the first place, I didn’t exactly know enough to teach about how it worked.
The fledging science of zombiology is the study of both the zombie virus itself and the associated zombic condition it causes in humans. Nobody has yet heard of a cure for the zombie virus and infection will lead to the zombic condition.
“Many factors affect the rate at which a human will move through the transformation stages to develop the full-blown zombic condition.” Hannah spoke, turning around another board with more information written all over it “The critical factors are the quantity of infected material transferred and the size and health of the infected individual.” She continued “There have been cases where a fully gown adult with only a small infected scratch lasted over twenty-four hours before becoming a zombie. In other studies, major wounds such as a zombie bite to the jugular have seen humans transforming within minutes rather than hours.”
Hannah looked over at me, waiting for me to give her the look to keep going. She knew that this part could be hard for me to listen to because of losing Kevin. I gave her a smile and a nod and she continued, moving around in front of the board, pointing to different areas while listing off all of the symptoms of the different stages of transformation.
Stage 1; INFECTION 1-4 HOURS
·Raised temperature and flu-like symptoms.
·Excessive sweating.
·Panic attacks.
·An infected individual may hide any symptoms or be unaware that they have been infected.
·As the zombic condition develops, there will be a noticeable lack of appetite.
Stage 2; FLU SYMPROMS 2-8 HOURS
·Continuation of flu-like symptoms.
·Reduced hearing or visual functions.
·A milky film over eyes (similar to cataracts in appearance).
·Skin will become paler.
·Hallucinations.
·Expelling gas.
·May still be capable of speech.
·Weakness and general lack of energy.
Stage 3; CLINICAL DEATH 4-16 HOURS
·Very slow heartbeat and pulse eventually ceases.
·Skin becomes paler, with a light blue hue in some cases.
·Respiration stops.
·All indicators point to clinical death.
·Body will cool quicker than a normal corpse, teeth may visibly discolour.
Stage 4; ZOMBIFICATION COMPLETE 4-16 HOURS
·Corpse will open eyes, but breathing and heartbeat will not return.
·Sounds include moans, groans and in some cases large discharges of trapped gas.
·Movement will be lumbering and slower than normal.
·No spoken words.
·The newly created zombie will attempt to consume human flesh at the first opportunity.
Next, she moved onto the methods of transformation.
61.4% of transformation comes from a bite from an infected human or zombie. This is by far the
most common way of transmitting the zombie virus.
0.2% will come from any unnatural intimate contact with a zombie.
0.5% Cannizomb – humans eating zombies will become infected.
6.3% by infected blood or other liquid getting into food or water supply.
11.4% by splattering when hitting a zombie, exploding brain into mouth or eyes – for example
with a bloater ‘exploding’
20.2% by fluid exchange via cuts and infected blood, for example a scratch from a zombie’s nail.
“The motto we have to remember,” I added “Is S.T.E.N.C.H,” I turned the last board over and exposed the motto to the class.
Saliva – Infected fluid – saliva and blood
Teeth – Sharp, jagged incisors
Energy – Consistent level of power
Nails – Jagged weapons, like claws
Ceaseless – Won’t stop, won’t be scared off
Hunger – Driven 100% by this hunger
~~~~
Third Person
Matt and Brian were running the combat part of the class today, so once Erin and Hannah were finished with their lesson they lead everyone out to the field around the back of the town where all of the training took place.
“Welcome!” Matt beamed at everyone “Welcome to the second half of your lesson, combat training!”
“Today we’re going to be teaching you all how to ‘kill’ a zombie!” Brian added “Weapons and more advanced unarmed combat techniques that can be used against the dead will be discussed later. For now it’s enough to know that to kill a zombie you must destroy at least
80% of its brain.”
“Nothing else will work,” Matt spoke “In zombie combat, we define ‘killing’ a zombie as meaning removing it as a threat – in other words, taking it out of the game by ensuring that it never gets up. Technically you can’t ‘kill’ what’s already dead, but destroying a high proportion of a zombie’s brain will prevent the creature rising again and seeking to feast on the flesh of the living.”
“A blow which does not connect squarely with the zombie skull will not do enough damage, so practise your accuracy any chance you get!”
Step 1; IDENTIFY THE ZOMBIE
“Recognize the creature, shout a warning if you can, then prepare for action!” Matt started, walking over to the Stiff that he had pinned against the tree “Remember, the zombie in front of you is no longer human so act with purpose. Do not endanger yourself with any warning; there may be occasions when you need to move quickly through this step.”
Step 2; HEAD BASH OR KNOCK DOWN
“If you have a weapon,” Brian started “Go for a solid club to the head. Aim for the top of the skull and use force but be accurate – a glancing blow may not do the trick. If you are unarmed, you will need to sweep the creature’s legs or kick it down. Remember, only a solid blow to the head will knock the creature down for good.”
Step 3; SECOND BLOW OR STAMP
Zombies are extremely robust creatures, so always be sure by delivering a second blow.
Never assume that your one hit has done the job. Many an experienced zombie fighter has been bitten on the lower leg by a Stiff they thought they’d dealt with. For once, the movies got it right – always use the double-tap rule.
A few people in the group of newcomers thought that if a family member or friend was turned, they would remember who they were.
The simple answer to that is, no! Once a human has transformed into a zombie, they have virtually no recollection of their former life. They are no longer the person they once were. So if
zombie grandma staggers into view, it won’t be to drop off any last-minute birthday or
Christmas presents. Do not be deceived by the physical resemblance to your loved one. It’s
time to get busy with that axe. The zombic condition completely transforms any human into a ravenous and cannibalistic creature and scientific experiments have shown that zombies will attack and feast upon the living, no matter who they are. It may not be easy driving a weapon into your neighbour’s face or bashing a friend in with a baseball bat, so if necessary get someone else to do it. But, be assured, if you don’t deal with zombie grandma, she will come drooling at the window. Finally, never attempt to bring a relative with the zombic condition into your fortified home. Where a member of your party has become infected, you should isolate them and then deal with them when they turn if you can’t do it beforehand.
ANY BLOW TO A ZOMBIE HEAD WILL RESULT IN INFECTED BRAIN SPLATTER. BE ALERT TO THE RISK OF INFECTION.
Notes
I apologize that not much happens in this chapter, but I just wanted to let you all see how things are going in the community that has been built here.The next chapter will be much more interesting, I promise! I'm not sure if I'll get anything up tomorrow because IT'LL BE MY BIRTHDAY!
Enjoy this anyway guys!
~ LMV <3
I've missed this story! I'm glad your back! <3
1/21/15