Patient 0

Chapter .1: The Pandemic

      To understand everything properly,
I need to explain to you how everything went from completely normal to becoming absolute shit in just the blink of an eye....

             Everything started in Los Angeles, California and the date was February 18th 2023.

    So you see...

       I worked for the early morning team at Walmart as a grocery stocker and my shifts were scheduled from 6:00AM until 2:00PM every day. Like any other, It was nearly the end of my shift and I was more than ready to go home. Handling massive carts and pallets full of freight from the ass crack of dawn and into the mere afternoon had me more than ready to leave as the stress and exhaustion had taken its toll.

The very minute my shift ended, I clocked myself out and quickly proceeded to my car before my legs could give out. As I drove away and headed towards home, I decided to tune into the news station in means of clearing my head away from the very "eventful" day in which I have endured..

At first, everything on the broadcast seemed normal until something not so normal, in fact no where near normal caught my attention. It was announced that the CDC just released a story about a new pandemic that is very, VERY serious....
Now I've heard this before,

"Dangerous virus not to be taken lightly"

With that being said, I sort of just brushed it off as everyone was losing their "minds" over COVID-19 and, yet, that passed. But then the reporter stated something that not only caught my undivided attention, but also, sent a nerve- wracking chill down my spine.....

"A pandemic that has the ability to resuscitate A portion of the deceased brain," stated the radio.

It honestly seemed unreal and a little hard to believe, as the anxiety started to set in and worsen by the second.... until what I thought sounded pretty severe, I shit you not, the next thing said by the reporter had me questioning if this was some kind of joke or just a figment of my imagination....

"The virus has found a way to attach itself to living organisms such as plants, trees, and much more..." Stated the radio.

By this point, my anxiety was through the roof and while at the same time I wasn't sure if I could even believe this, I questioned if it was actually February and not April 1st. Whether this is some kind of joke from the radio station or not, I knew the first thing I had to do was get home so I could tell my wife about everything I just heard on the news. In hopes of not getting pulled over, I floored the accelerator so I could get home as quickly as possible.

I peel into the driveway of my house, hop out of the car and bolt through the front door. I immediately spot my wife, Darcy, sprawled across our teal- blue sectionional, holding her gaze to the television. With a bewildered expression plastered on her face and jaw ajar, it was evident she was watching the live international broadcast. The terror that displayed on her face was indescribable, as she begins to share the  sheer panic I had been feeling. The mere chance of it all just being some worldwide prank or the both of us, now, losing our complete sanity, all seemed like the better option....

But unfortunately and undoubtedly, our world was turning to shit...

I took a seat next to her on the couch and immediately shot my eyes to our television screen, in which was still displaying the broadcast. We continued watching as they revealed CCTV footage not only from hospitals, but from FUCKING MORGUE'S!

        Clear as day, people pronounced dead without a pulse, getting up and walking around....

       My wife turns her attention back at me, "What are we going to do?!" She chokes in fear.

       In this very moment, I try to contain my own mental perturbation and soothe my panic-stricken wife, in hopes to properly rationalize the severe depth of doom that has been bestowed upon our world.

I raise from my slump without a single idea or certainty and prominently gain my stance.

          "I'm sure this will all be taken care of, they are not just going to let some virus take over"

If only in that moment I would've aknowledged how wrong I was and how much affliction that not only I, but the entire world were about to suffer; a virus meant to break human kind.

         As my wife and I continue watching the news broadcast and more of the details being shared, we learn that although they are trying many different ways to take control ahead of time, this virus is moving very, very fast. ..

       I look back again at my poor, devastated wife with the bravest face I've ever had to put on.

"At this point, all we can do is pray."

(Photo originally found of google and edited by Darby)