Maizen: Return of the Zombies

Chapter 1

"That's enough mining for today." JJ said, collecting the last few diamonds that he had just found. Mikey was on the far side of the cave mining some iron ore. He had heard, but he wanted to finish collecting his resources too - they were low on iron, and getting it was important.

Afterwards, they made their way back to the village. It was dusk, and there was still plenty time to work, but it was still nessacary to take a break. They didn't want to overwork themselves. Plus, everyone always says not to mine at night...

"Let's buy some bread." Mikey suggested. That was another thing they were running low on.

"Sure thing," JJ said. "Let's go to the market."

Since the village JJ and Mikey lived in wasn't very big, it was easy to get around without travelling too far. However, when they got to the stand, it was blocked off with oak blocks, and there was a sign that said "closed."

"That's strange," JJ commented. "They're usually open 24/7... something must be up."

"Don't worry about it, we can just get bread tomorrow!" Mikey said. "Let's go home."

"Okay..." JJ agreed, although, he was still curious about the closed market. As they were walking home, he started noticing that almost every single house was boarded off too, and nobody was around. It was... kinda creepy, to be honest.

"Hey Mikey," JJ felt like voicing his thoughts. "Isn't it weird how nobody's around?"

"They're all probably sleeping." Mikey responded carelessly. "It's almost nighttime, after all. Everyone knows it's dangerous to be outside at night! I bet this village will be busy as can be in the morning."

JJ didn't feel very assured, but he kept to himself from that point on. When they got home, JJ decided to turn on the news to see if anything was going on. He did this almost daily.

JJ ended up tuning into an emergency broadcast. A news reporter was interviewing what appeared to be some sort of scientist, and he looked worried.

"How did this happen?" The reporter asked.

"We think it was the injection..." The scientist said, as Mikey joined JJ on his bed to watch the broadcast as well. "We were testing out a new ingredient, something we hoped could be including in a brand we were developing. But I guess... the ingredient doesn't affect humans very well."

"What happened, exactly?" The reporter asked. The scientist fiddled with his thumbs for a minute, as if he was debating wether or not to tell the truth.

"We were testing our ingredient on a willing subject. An hour after injection, the patient started acting... strange. His skin changed color, and he started becoming unresponsive to us. One of our fellow scientists went inside of his incubator to try and communicate with him, but as soon as he caught notice of her, he became eratic-" He paused for a minute, seeming truly disturbed. "He started attacking her... w-we sent in more professionals to handle the situation, but she was already dying by the time they got inside. Next thing anyone knew, our test subject was attacking another one of our scientists. We panicked and got them out safely, and we shut down the lab for precautional reasons. We returned the next day to check on our subject, but he had escaped. The scientist that had died was gone as well. We assumed that she had turned the same way."

"So they're free now?" The reporter asked for confirmation purposes. "Is the public in danger?"

"Definetly." The scientist confirmed. "We already sent out a warning for everyone to lock their doors and fortify their houses. If there's one thing we know, it's that this... thing, whatever it is now, will attack on sight. It's fast and aggressive. And now that there's another, I have no doubts that coming in contact with either of them will result in another turning. This infection, as we call it, can spread like wildfire. We want the public to be as safe as possible."

"Have you sent any professionals out to contain these infected individuals?" The reporter asked.

"We have." The scientist confirmed. "A whole team, in fact. But we haven't heard from them since yesterday. We fear that they might have failed their mission. And considering how powerful these things are, that is very likely."

"Then that must mean that they have turned too, right?" The reporter theorized. "Even if they have gear, these infected sound like they can overpower lots of things."

"I'm afraid so." The scientist said. "This is all the time I have, however. I can't continue this interview anymore."

"That's alright, sir. Thank you for your time." The reporter said. Afterwards, it cut to somebody else. They started re-reading over the precautions the science lab had released to the public.

JJ turned off the tv. "So that's why the whole village is on lockdown!" He exclaimed. "This is bad... but, those infected won't make it here, surely?"

"I doubt it," Mikey, sounding careless once again. "That happened in a whole other village! There's no way they're coming here. We're totally safe! Plus, if they ever do come, the iron golems will defeat them!"

"I don't know Mikey," JJ voiced his uncertainty. "Those things sound pretty strong. What if they defeat the iron golems?"

"They won't, if they even come at all." Mikey kept dismissing JJ's theories. "Nothing can ever beat the iron golems. They're the strongest things in this village!"

"I guess you're right." JJ decided to end the conversation for the sake of it not being able to progress. "But, just in case, maybe I should install some extra security measures-"

"There's no need for that, I'm sure." Mikey said. "You overthink things, JJ. Everything's going to be just fine! Let's go to sleep. You might feel better in the morning."

JJ seriously debated doing that, but in the end, he agreed. He and Mikey settled down in their respectful beds, and JJ turned off the lights.

Mikey fell asleep instantly, but JJ was having a hard time doing the same. He felt unsafe, like something was going to happen. He glanced over at Mikey. He looked so peaceful and carefree, and JJ wished he could feel like that right now.

But he didn't. JJ knew he needed to do something to protect this village from this new threat. Getting out of bed, JJ grabbed some materials from a chest and headed outside. Installing at least one secuirty measure couldn't hurt...