The Railroad

Chapter 1

The wind blew rapidly across a humid Tallahassee, showing no signs of the cold fall George had been hoping for all summer. Though it was Florida, so he hadn't had much hope blooming.

The young brunet was walking down the gloomy streets of a deserted town, feet dragging along the sidewalk with as little energy as he felt. He dreaded doing this: going to visit his best friend in the hospital, but he knew how happy it made him so he went anyway.

As he rounded the corner and the sight of the tall hospital came into view, his breath caught in his throat just as it always did. He had no reason to be nervous, his friend would never hurt him, but the caution was there, just as it had always been since the outbreak.

Stop being a pussy, George, the brunet thought, mustering up any courage he had left. Wilbur loves you. Regardless of what he may or may not be now he would never do anything to hurt you. No matter what he may be now. He wouldn't remain it for much longer, George was going to make sure of it.

The hospital was cold and empty, no visitors due to the fact that no families could bear the sight of what their loved ones had become. It was the same thing Wilbur had turned into; the reason why his parents pretended like he didn't exist anymore. Wilbur had caught the virus that had plagued all of America, the same one that caused everyone to panic and entire livelihoods to collapse.

The scientific name given to this virus was the Genitistic Zedofrisen disease, but it had been dubbed "The Zombie Virus" by pretty much every civilian still around to witness its effects. It took over people's minds, causing them to have a sudden, overwhelming craving for an odd digestible item. George didn't want to get into the gross details relating to exactly why this was the case, but it basically messed up settings in the amygdala, causing whoever had the disease to only want to eat human brains. It could be so powerful, so uncontrollable, that "zombies" who had caught the disease were often unable to stifle their urges, causing them to attack humans.

When the outbreak first happened, back in the summer of 2020, the symptoms were mild, with the victims having no side effects other than no appetite for regular food. It grew more prominent as people began discovering why nothing settled their hunger and cravings, and that's when the panic first started.

No one knew what was going on or what to do about it, citizens began turning on eachother: neighbor against neighbor, zombie versus human.

The first human attack was on a young girl by the name of Adeleigh Hucking, who was eaten alive by her un-outed zombie school teacher. After the incident, the woman was overwhelmed with guilt but still clung to her story that it hadn't been her, she was just overcome by the urge. George had recently found a hidden quote, unreleased to the public, where the woman stated, "It was like I was... I don't know, possessed, and the only thing I could focus on was how hungry I was. And how good she smelled."

People were angry, to say the least. They immediately began calling for the woman's head, as well as anyone else that had contracted the virus. All hell broke loose, and it wasn't long until they were in the middle of another civil war. It was zombies and zombie sympathizers against... pretty much the rest of the world.

Neither side won. Instead, after a war that lasted eight years, all that was left was destruction and broken citizens with nowhere to go. The richest of the rich were able to purchase a place inside one of the many walled cities built during the war, some of these including Denver, Raleigh, Austin, Des Moines, Carson City, Albany, and finally, Tallahassee, where George was now. But the others, they were either shoved into the much more crowded walled cities, or they were still outside. The majority of zombies went into hiding, away from humans. It had been a total of twelve years, who knew what had become of them in that time.

The disease was highly contagious, transmitted orally through things like kissing and bites. It was a complex virus, with many factors contributing to its overall makeup that caused people with it to behave in such a way that they did. That being said, it was incredibly difficult to cure. George knew this because he had spent the past four years studying it in pursuit of the vaccine that would save hundreds of millions of people. He was close, but he was still missing a component... perhaps a certain dosage was off or the measurements were too balanced-

George was getting ahead of himself, he was here to see Wilbur. Wilbur, George's best friend since the third grade. He had been turned two and a half years prior when there was a breach in the wall and a zombie had managed to slip through. It bit seven original people, and it spiderwebbed from there until they had thirty-four cases. These people were isolated from the rest-those in charge having refused to allow their friends and family to be thrown out of the wall-and had to be observed from the outside through a glass screen.

They were well fed and treated with respect, but they were still a means of studying: a way for scientists and doctors to further observe people with the virus's behavior. George knew Wilbur didn't mind being a lab rat, he wanted to do whatever it took to be back to his old self again.

To George, the worst part of visiting was seeing as he gradually lost hope. That spark of humor and light that always shone in his irises was gone. He was a shell of his former self, having to eat brains and be away from his family that wanted nothing to do with him was causing his spirit to wither away. It hurt to see his best friend this way, no longer caring if he lived or died. But the brunet knew that he needed to be strong for him; he had to help Wilbur through it.

The sound of the elevator dinging broke George away from his thoughts. The little red light next to the number flashed and the steel doors opened, offering a chilly invitation for George to get inside. He did so hesitantly, pressing the button next to the number five, Wilbur's floor.

The old machinery pulled him up achingly slowly, soft creaks being the only indicator that it was moving at all. Finally, the doors opened, revealing an unadorned hallway. Though it was simple, beige walls and cream tile, it still felt menacing to George. He felt unwelcome on this floor.

The brunet went along the familiar path that he had taken so many times before: three rights, a left, straight, and right again. It put him at the same, huge metal door with the number 1116 on the front in big, bold letters.

George took one deep breath, and opened the door.

~Word count: 1,199~

A/N: hello there, it's been a while. welcome to my newest story: a zombie apocalypse au. if you think it's cliche... hush ok i was bored. also, this story isn't technically done, but i promised a friend i would begin uploading it (you know who you are). it's pretty much done, but if it's more messy you know why lol. also, the first couple chapters are pretty short and a little boring, but i promise it gets better i promise. anyways, enjoy!!