• OH NO

    This Just In
    The virus has reached full gestation
    It has launched a cycle of massive degeneration
    In victims’ physical and mental systems
    Their motor skills have lagged
    Their thought processes have devolved to the necessary
    Their speech reduced to slurring primitive groans
    All they can think of doing is feeding
    They seem to like brains.

    The day the zombies came began with a seemingly-normal morning
    Tyler Richards made his coffee and stepped out to the porch to feed his cat
    Only to find that his neighbor Mrs. Lewellyn was eating her.

    The day the zombies came consisted of an awkward afternoon
    Should I call the hospital? Elaine wondered
    My Jesse has been acting strange
    He usually loves his crayons
    And usually does not love staring listlessly at the wall.

    The day the zombies came ended with a terrifying night
    Jessica and Nate locked themselves in the bathroom
    And tried to figure out how to open the window
    Mom could get angry
    But usually not this angry
    Jessica finally broke the glass with the floor scale
    They climbed out, and Nate couldn’t help it
    Mom was sort of acting like a gorilla, he thought
    It was kinda funny

    The week after the zombies came
    Tyler Richards has struggled but is still his old self
    He has taken refuge with others in an old church
    Maybe they should hole up in a supermall
    (He has become quite sardonic in his wary lifestyle)
    He recounts all the zombie movies he’s seen:
    Dawn of the Dead was good and scary
    28 Days Later he saw with the guys in high school
    Night of the Living Dead was okay
    Shaun of the Dead was funny
    Tyler loves British humor
    Perhaps they should hole up in a pub.

    The month after the zombies came
    Things have gotten out of control
    The Death toll has rocketed
    The Infected toll even higher
    Everyone wonders why the army hasn’t gotten their crap together.
    So they build on their own

    Makeshift hospitals:
    One bit my hand!
    Cut it off, quick.
    Look at my husband’s glazed eyes
    He won’t answer me.
    I’m sorry ma’am it’s too late
    Please step out of the room for a moment.

    Vigilante gangs:
    If you join you will be issued a shotgun or rifle
    Prior marksmanship experience is preferred
    “Hunting” outings will be scheduled every morning
    Another team will go out for evening “cleanup”
    Afterwards we make repairs on the armored car
    And wounds will be dealt with accordingly.

    Refugee convoys:
    Communication with the outside world has been cut off
    But they have hope that there are still others out there
    They have hope that the world can be new again
    They have hope that the virus will wear itself out
    They commission an armored car
    And fill it with food
    Clean water
    Vaccines
    Guns and ammunition
    Some parties are not seen again
    The rest can only have hope that they have found others
    And started the world anew.

    A year after the zombies came
    The army has finally gotten their crap together
    People are still angry but mostly relieved
    Survivors are loaded into trucks and humvees
    After a health inspection checkpoint
    The government is taking no risks
    The military is just following orders
    They come in a hail of bullets and waves of fire
    The zombies don’t even react as they are mowed down.

    Tyler Richards mentally compares them to last summer’s grass
    Which he would cut
    While Snickers the cat watched from the porch

    And Mrs. Lewellyn over the fence would coo
    She is so cute
    I could just eat her up.