deathbecomes_u

Chapter 11: Genesis

2006-10-12T23:51:32Z

You asked for it. Adam, you might want to pay attention the next chapter. Cameron, I originally planned this part for Damon, but your enthusiasm required I give you a larger role. Next chapter is when all hell breaks loose, just so you know.

Cameron had feasted for hours on the girl in the hotel room. It was the most wonderful meal he had ever had. It was the last 2 hours of his existence that he wouldn't be hungry.
After 2 hours had passed with him finally feeling satisfied and unafraid for the first time in weeks, his stomach began to hurt. It got worse as time wore on, he developed a fever, had the chills so bad he shook himself to the floor.
When it finally came, he knew what it was, and was terrified beyond belief. He had tried so hard to escape it.
Alone, curled up on the floor with a blanket wrapped around him, in a hotel filled with the undead, a room with a half-eaten corpse laying in it, Cameron died.

--------------
Dear journal,
It appears, that we picked up a stray. Some chick named Barbara stumbled onto the porch at about 1am last night. She's not infected, just had one too many close calls I guess. Anyways, Joe seems rather fond of her, so I guess she's here to stay til this whoole undead thing blows over.
Tomorrow we're going out to get supplies. Most of the cops and military are setting up over east, apparently a huge mob of the undead is coming this was from the ruins of Chicago, and they're going to try to stop it before it makes its way into the city. With the authorities distracted, we're gonna get what we need and get back to the house. The teams are as follows; Spencer & I will pick up Tracy from her place. Matt, Joe & Barbara are gonna get food, water and whatever else. We're gonna drop the supplies off at the house, and then all of us, together, will proceed to get to Home Depot or something and get stuff to board up the house with. Sounds like a good plan right? What could possibly go wrong - every authority figure in the Twin Cities will be battling those undead freaks, we'll have the perfect opportunity to get everything we need to last this thing out by tomorrow night.
----------------

Alone in a hotel filled with the undead, in some godforsaken suburb, Cameron woke up. He was so relieved that he was alive that he almost cried from happiness, and he would have too, if he was capable of crying. That's when he realised something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He didn't quite have the motor control like he used to, and he had trouble speaking. Horrified at what had become of him, he stumbled out into the hallway.
The other creatures out there didn't seem to pay him much mind once they saw that he wasn't living. Unlike them however, he didn't lurch and sway as he walked, he could move normally if he tried.
Cameron stumbled out of the hotel into daylight. The first light he had seen in over a week.
It burned his eyes.
The street before him was absolute chaos; cars burnt out, or overturned. Paper and cloth littered the pavement. Fires raged unchecked in a couple of buildings. A few bodies lay in the street. He passed one place barricaded on 2 sides by piling cars up together where it was obvious a few police officers had made their last stand. Only one of them remained, his body to ruined to reanimate. Infected roamed the once prosperous suburb unchecked. Windows were broken in all of the nice houses he passed, the glass lying on the ground relfecting to Cameron each bit of the hell Edina had become.

Chapter 10: Dark Wonders

2006-10-03T01:48:43Z

Dearly beloved,
We are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.
Electric word life, it means forever and that's a mighty long time.
But I'm here to tell you, there's something else!
The afterworld.

A world of never ending happiness.
You can always see the sun, day or night.

So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills,
You know the one - "Dr Everything'll Be Alright"
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left,
Ask him how much of your mind, baby.

'Cuz in this life
Things are much harder than in the afterworld.
In this life - You're on your own.
- Prince, "Let's Go Crazy"
----------------

"Cameron's a hungry."
Cameron was starving. He had been days without food. One thought kept turning over in his mind.
He couldn't though. What kind of monster would do such a horrid thing to themself?
He couldn't leave, he looked throught he peephole constantly, there were 3 of those things trapped in the hall that he could see.
When he had filled the bathtub with water, they had started scratching on the door, wanting to get in. They were attracted to noise, there was no way he could get out.
One though kept passing through his mind "Cameron's a hungry."
He kept looking at that corpse laying in his room, it was starting to call to him.
Was cannibalism really such a bad thing? She had tried to eat him, why not return the favor?
He wanted to survive. He just has to hold out til someone comes to rescue him. Eventually they would. Right?
So what if he was a monster? Who would tell?
Not him, that's for damn sure.
That dead girl really looks like the only food solution he has...
And besides,
"Cameron's a hungry."

Chapter 9: Sunset On Armageddon

2006-10-01T03:37:27Z

THE DEAD WALK!

- Raccoon City Gazette, Sept 23rd
-----------------

* Emergency Rescue and Evacuation Stations will be set up immediatly in areas with confirmed reports of the infected. These stations will be manned by local law enforcement personnel, and emergency medical workers. Some will also have the support of military personnel.
* Bring 3 sets of clothing per person.
* Animals will not be allowed with the exception of aid animals.
* Bottled water will be available free of charge.
* You are also entitled to pick up pre-cooked foods at local grocery stores. Menus and options will be chosen or approved by your local FEMA representative. Please let us know about any dietary restrictions.
* KNOW THE SYMPTOMS OF CHOLERA! Diarrhea. Abdominal cramps. Nausea and Vomiting. Dehydration.
*REPORT ANY INFECTED INDIVIDUAL IMMEDIATLY TO RESCUE PERSONNEL - Any bitten by an infected individual has the severe risk of being infected themselves. Such people need to be immediatly quarantined. Infected individuals will have a high fever, will be pale, vomiting, will report feeling very cold, will show a hard time breathing. Again, any individual showing these symptoms needs to be quarantined immediatly. This is for the safety of everyone. If an infected person dies, they will almost always come back, be alert and pay attention to your surroundings.
- Leaflets distributed across the Twin Cities, Sept 23rd
---------------------

"Reverend, what do you make of all this?"
"Many of my more evangelical brethren have taken this to be a portent of the Rapture. They speak of Revelations and quote it. Personally, I have always take Revelations to be nothing more than a metaphor, a disguised critique of the Roman Empire. There is nothing in that chapter of the Bible that mentions flesh-eating re-animated dead. In fact, the flesh eating in the bible is the metaphorical flesh eating that takes place during the Last Supper.
When we see such dark wonders, we question our faith. We see rotted bodies shambling around, and wonder where is the Lord? This is humankind's greatest test -- we must strive to be worthy."
"Senator, do you have anything to say about this?
"Our government is doing its best to control everything that's going on. With Philidelphia and Chicago reduced to ruins, Washington DC under a complete quarantine, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City and Dallas becoming battlezones against the walking dead, it can be no wonder people are scared. I'll admit too, that I am scared. But I have hope for this country, America always pulls itself together in times of crisis, and we'll prevail this time as well."
"Doctor, can you give us any insight to what is causing the dead to walk?"
"When someone is bitten by an infected... corpse, they risk becoming infected as well. A non-lethal bite can kill between 3 hours and 2 weeks. Within 20 minutes after death, they will rise again, and attack those who are still living. At this time, the Center for Disease Control has been unable to tell if it is a bacteria, or a virus, and is still investigating the matter. This... epidemic, it's similar to AIDS, redesigned by a pissed off Stephen King..."
- CNN Discussion Panel, Sept 24th
-------------

Dear Journal,
Matt and I made our way through downtown on foot. All the way to Pez's house. The city is packed with refugees. Thousands of them. The filled the streets, there was no room for traffic. People sold food and anything else. I bought a handgun. Nice looking thing too. Wooden handle. We bought candy from some kid selling M&M's. After wading through the massive horde of people we finally made it to the house. Pez, and his roommate Joe, who's actually gone on a few missions with us, had been cataloging everything in the house that could be used as a weapon. When we got there, Pez himself was hard at work building a new and improved potato gun with an increased range. Couldn't hurt. They didn't know about Chicago! Morons. Their other roommate, some asian kid with a red bandanna on all the time, took off when martial law was declared. We talked about everything and decided that in the next couple of days, we're gonna have to go get supplies to board up the house, just in case the infected get in the Cities. What will there be to vandalise in a world with its major cities burned to the ground?
09-23-06

Chapter 8: Dark Genesis

2006-09-27T16:26:12Z

Cameron was hungry. He'd been stuck in this hotel for days. He tried to flee the city before everything went to hell. Now he was stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to eat while everything went to hell. There wasn't any food in this freaking hotel room. None. And he couldn't leave because those... things were in the hallway and the room was windowless.
When he woke up 4 days ago, a woman had been screaming to get in. He let her in the room as one of those things took a chunk out of her shoulder. He comforted her while she bled to death on the couch. He wasn't prepared for that,it shook him.
Badly.
What shook him even worse was when she got back up, and came straight at him. He had hit her in the head with the bible off the nightstand, she fell, and hit her head hard on the bedframe. She didn't get back up a second time.
Now he was trapped in this room with a body that had died, twice, with nothing to eat. Luckily for him, the water was still running, unluckily, that just meant a longer time for suffering before he died of starvation.
How long can you live without food anyways? A week? Two? It didn't matter, he was hungry, alone, and scared.
He was getting hungrier with each passing hour...
-----------

Normally, Como Ave would be teeming with people. It's a Friday night. This night however, is a little different.
There are only two figures, and they are alone in the street. One is carrying something, moving quickly.
The other, shambles and moves incredibly slow compared to it's opponent.
The quick moving figure drops a cigarette to the ground before swinging.
It burns as it falls to the asphalt, emitting a miniature shower of sparks on impact.
The metal whistles through the air before it strikes home. The aluminum baseball bat is dented, and the paint has worn off alongmost of it. It has clearly been seeing some very heavy use.
27 confirmed kills in fact.
Wait - 28 now.
'Just swing for the head'.
Seemed like good enough advice.
All those refugees that had fled to the nearest major city from Chicago... How many of them were infected? It didn't matter. The battle of the Twin Cities had begun. The population has tripled from the amounts of people fleeing the coasts. Military emplacements line the bridges, boats patrol the water. Streets are blocked off and barricaded. Stores were rationing out food. America had drawn the battle line here.
The figure wiped the blood from baseball bat and lit another cigarette. It pulls a small notepad from their pants, on it is written "Katie's Kill Count". She quickly makes another tally mark, puts the notebook away, and walks on into the darkness.
-----------

Dear Journal,
Matt and I are ready to go. Between us we have 2 paintball guns, 1 bolt action rifle - a gift from Matt's dad, a katana, knee pads, elbow pads, helmets, 2 leather jackets, a good kitchen knife, and a couple pocket of knives. We're gonna wait til 9am, and watch the presidents conference and see what's said before we head out. Why go so soon? The more we can learn about what's goin on, the better off will be. Knowledge is power, or so they say.
------------

"Is it airborne?"
"From what we can tell, it can only be spread by being bitten."
"How can you keep it from spreading?"
"The military has been hard at work, containing and keeping quarantine throughout the country."
"What would you reccomend people at home do?"
"My advice to evey American out there is to just sit tight and wait this thing out. Let the military handle it. Where things have gotten out of hand, there will be radio and television broadcasts of emergency rescue stations. Those stations will be fully equipped for all medical emergencies, they will have food, and water, and will be manned by either military units, national guard, or local law enforcement officials. If you do encounter one of the infected, try to leave the area. They are slow moving and will be unable to follow you. If you are forced to confront one, massive head injury seems to be the best way of eliminating the threat. At this time, we have no cure or vaccine, but we are working on both."
"What will your administration do to curb the current crisis?"
"Today I'm sending to congress a package of initiatives containing sweeping emergency measures."
"What about the reports of India and Pakistan launching nuclear weapons at each other?"
"At this time, I can confirm a limited exchange of nuclear weaponry between the two states. The United States at this time, has taken no sides in this conflict, and it is my sincere hope they would immediatly halt all military action towards each other..."

Chapter 7: The Circle Opens

2006-09-23T23:09:21Z

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
CREATURES CRAWL IN SEARCH OF BLOOD
TO TERRORIZE Y'ALLS NEIGHBORHOOD
And whosoever will be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must must stand and face the hounds of Hell
And ROT INSIDE A CORPSES SHELL
The FOULEST STENCH IS IN THE AIR
The Funk Of Forty Thousand Years
And Grizzy Ghouls From Every Tomb
Are Closing In To Seal Your Doom
And Though You Fight To Stay Alive
Your Body Starts To Shiver
For No Mere Mortal Can Resist
The Evil Of The Thriller..
- Micheal Jackson, Thriller

As war drums beat in Babylon
And scorch the blood red sky
Militants bomb the foreign guns
Both sides truly die
- Prince, Cinnamon Girl

In the News: Yahoo! News: World News
+ Former Cheney aide Libby convicted in CIA leak trial
+ India and Pakistan declare war over spreading of the infected
+ Most of US under strict quarantine
+ No communication from Australia for 2 days
+ Pakistan threatens India with nuclear weapons
+ World still in awe after destruction of Chicago

Chapter 6: Consumed In Darkness

2006-09-17T16:24:56Z

Dear journal,

I can't believe what I saw today. I dodged curfew and met up with Matt. We were planning out next hit, when Pez calls us and tells us to turn to Channel 19 News. It was horrific, I never thought I would see what I saw when we turned the tv on.

We watched Chicago die.

Apparently rumors of infected spread through the city, and during the rioting and looting, fires started. Big fires. The local flashing lights and the National Guard couldn't stop the flames, though they tried for a good couple of hours as we watched in silence. We kept seeing landmarks burn out of control as people ran through the streets. It was about noon, but as far as you could tell from the news, it was midnight - the sky was entirely blocked out from smoke.

It was like a nuclear explosion. There was a sheer wall of flame, a mile high, five miles wide, traveling 90 to 100 miles an hour, hotter than a crematorium, turning sand into glass.

We watched a battle erupt between some gang and local cops, both sides shooting with everything they could get their hands on. IT finally ended when a car crashed into the area where the police were taking cover. One of the gangbangers ran over there and threw a bloodied badge at the camera. Minutes later, the area was enveloped in flame, trapping the luckless reporter.

After hours of hospital workers, the Red Cross, volunteers, fire fighters and National Guard being overwhelmed with injured, and having to fall back rapidly to avoid being incinerated themselves, they decided to try to evacuate the remaining parts of the city. That's when disaster really struck.

As they tried to get some sort of evac convoy heading out of the city - SUV's, Volkswagon buses, Oldsmobiles, mixed in with troop carriers, humvees and squad cars. Then the fire started to catch up with them, and people panicked. We watched as one of the news crews (CNN?) was trampled along with hundreds of others in the convoy. Cars crashed, and were smashed to shit under the amount of people running over them trying to escape. Gunshots rang out. Explosions sounded. You could hear people screaming against the black noise of the flames consuming everything. I guess alot of the National Guard deserted, along with most of the cops who were originally trying to maintain order - they took off and left those people to die in flame.

They say on tv that casualty estimates are running at a minimum of 2 million people. The air here in the Twin Cities smells like smoke.

The worst part of it is, that there were no confirmed reports of infected people in the city at the time. None. The authorites had worked pretty hard to keep that shit from spreading from New York, Philly and LA.

Matt and I are heading to Pez's. There we have all the supplies we could ever need in case disaster strikes here.

I still can't believe it. One of America's greatest cities, reduced to ash from pure panic.
9-17-06

End of Prologue: Seventeen Days in September

Chapter 5: Under New Management

2006-09-15T16:35:07Z

Authors Note: Sorry I haven't updated this sooner. Things have been rather hectic. Enjoy

Philidelphia Population: 551,984
Sept 14th, 2006, 6:56am
------------

:For a moment, all we hear is the helicopter, then the city of Philidelphia comes into view, large portions are covered in smoke and flames. Dawn is just rising over the war-torn city:
Reporter Francine: "Who was first contact?"
Sergeant Johnson: "405th out of Diego Garcia. But don't expect a big welcome, most of em were wiped out right after they hit the ground."
Radio: "Immediate: Grid Halo 23 is hot. Reccomend Mission Abort."
Sergeant Johnson: "Roger Recon."
Pilot: "It's your call sarge."
Sergeant Johnson: "Were goin in. Get tactical marines."
Marine: "I got a bad feeling about this..."
Sergeant Johnson: "Boy, you always got a bad feelin' about SOMETHIN'."
Francince: "Those things own this city, the marines will need to deal with them before we can evacuate all the survivors."
:Background Radio: "We've got contacts...lots of them...but they're not rioters...they're just tearing through us...what the!...ooooohhh...nooooo!!"
:Helicopter noise again:
Sergeant Johnson:"Pile out! Go go go! "I'll evac the wounded. Keep me posted Perez."
:The marines and the attached news crew move out of the helicopter:
Corporal Perez: "Of course sergeant. Mam, Corporal Perez, A Company. CP's this way."
:Background voices can be heard as the news crew follows Corporal Perez through what appears to be a heavily, if not hastily constructed fortified field hospital:
"Must be seeing things"
:Automatic gunfire can be heard in the background:
"Cmon Cmon Cmon"
:Large explosion can be heard in the distance:
"Stay with me marine"
"This one's getting back up!!!"
"Sarge? Mendoza? Bisenti? Oh, God... the things took them... They're gone! Get it? Gone!"
:Gunshots can be heard very close to the camera:
"No tags..."
"I'm calling it, 700 hours."
Perez: "Lieutenant got bit as soon as we got in."
Francine: "Who's in charge now."
Perez: "Sergeant Banks, mam. This way. Friendlies movin' in, cover fire."
:The camera catches a glimpse of 6 or 7 heavily wounded soldiers moving towards the news crew and Perez. Perez opens fire. The wounded soldiers are unaffected as gunfire hits them. 3 of them attack Perez and drag him to the ground, screaming. The news crew obviously panics, and tries to run, the camera is dropped:
>Unexpected Halt X (WND/INCAP/KIA/#'s)
>End Record View (#'s)
:The view returns to an obviously distraught news anchor at a desk with the CNN logo on it.:
News anchor: "We... seem to have lost contact with our correspondents attached to the 501st Marine Company leading the spearhead to rescue survivors from Philidelphia..."

Transcript from CNN News Coverage of the Military Invasion of Philidelphia
Sept 14th, 2006
-------------

Philidelphia Population : Philidelphia Population: 542,897
Sept 14th, 2006, 9:16am
-------------

The Capt. had been the one to take control. Of course she had. It was what she did, damnit. She survived, fought back and took control of every bad situation she was ever in. That's how she had come to be on top in her world, even though she had run into some of the City of Brotherly Love's baddest, she was still #1, The Capt. She had gotten more than 70 people organized and prepared to fight back. Armed with more than a few pistols, one or two rifles, baseball bats, hammers, whatever, she had led them through the rolling sea of those... things. The looting they did had been controlled, they took radios, walkie talkies, food, water, weapons, medicince, everything useful with them. They had taken control of the PSFS, and made camp on the roof awaiting evacuation. They had barricaded the entrances to the roof and now the Capt could see her home city fallen to ruin around them. From her vantage point, everything was going alright, they had enough food and water to last the remaining 43 people who had made it to the rooftop over 2 weeks.

They got reports over the radio that the military was supposed to be invading and taking back the city, but so far all the attention had been to the west of them. From the sounds of it in the distance, the military was having a fucking field day blowing shit up. That was probably for the best, the last time she had seen any sign of the police was when her people had looted a turned over squad car. And that was almost 36 hours ago. But The Capt. and her people could take care of themselves, she was a natural born survivor. She'd been through stuff she considered worse than the impending apocalypse.

In fact, her only real problem was that she couldn't get that fucking bite wound on her leg to quit bleeding.

Chapter 4: Second Sunrise

2006-09-10T19:02:01Z

Philidelphia Population: 1,407,823
Sept 12th, 2006, 12:21am
------------

..."Reaction of law enforcement officials is one of complete bewilderment at this hour. Police and sheriff's deputies and emergency ambulances are literally deluded with calls for help. The scene can be best described as mayhem. The mayors of Pittsburg, Philadelphia, and Miami, along with the governments of several eastern and midwestern states indicated that the National Guard has been mobilized, and martial law has been declared. The main advice news reporters have been able to get from official sources is to tell private citizens to stay inside their homes behind locked doors.

Keep listening to radio and TV for special instructions as this crisis develops further. Thousands of office and factory workers are being urged to stay at their places of employment, not to make any attempt to get to their homes. However, in spite of this urging and warning, streets and highways are packed with frantic people trying to reach their families or, apparently, to flee just anywhere. We repeat, the safest course of action at this time is simply to stay where you are.

Ladies and gentlemen, we've just received word that the President has called a meeting of his Cabinet to deal with the sudden epidemic of chaos, bloodshed and tragedy that has seized the eastern third of this nation and parts of California. The meeting is scheduled to convene within the hour. Members of the Presidential Cabinet will be joined by officials of the FBI and military advisors. White House spokesmen are saying there will be an official announcement immediately following that meeting. This is the latest dispatch just received in our news room. The latest word also - this is from nation press services in Washington, D.C. - tells us that the emergency Presidential conference which we just mentioned will include high-ranking scientists from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta and the Stovington Plague Center in Vermont.

Military personel and law enforcement agencies have been working hard in an attempt to gain some kind of control of this situation, but most of their efforts have been marginally futile up to this particular time...

Radio Broadcast, Sept 12th, 2006 10:49am EST
-----------

Philidelphia Population: 1,298,312
Sept 12th, 2006, 11:16am
-----------

Dear journal,
I never though I'd see the day when half the US was under martial law. The news shows crazy shit going on on both coasts. All flights out of California have been canceled. The news said starting tomorrow all highways and interstates would be closed, along with the airports and all forms of public transportation. Apparently at sundown a curfew is in effect. We'll see about that. Last I checked, Minneapolis was still fine - the traffic outside my window is still raging like always, and I can see Nicollet Mall is still packed with suits and ties going to lunch.
9-11-06
-----------

Philidelpia Population: 1,081,774
Sept 12th, 2006, 5:45pm

Chapter 3: Silent Cartographer

2006-09-08T17:26:19Z

Philidelphia Population: 1,517,990
Sept. 10th, 2006, 1:02am EST
---------------

Dear journal,
Alex got called up by the Guard today. Seems they want every commissioned officer to be on duty by tomorrow night. WTF? Apparently the government thinks the terrorists are gonna strike here like they did in Australia. In any case, I have crazy amounts of homework to do before class. Fucking Constitutional Law class...
09-10-06
----------------

"It's a bunch of overblown nonsense, a bunch of drug nuts running wild conspiring with some pathetic wannabe terrorists." - US Secretary of Defense
-----------------

Philidelphia Population: 1,517,549
Sept. 10th, 2006, 5:42am EST
-----------------

Wallace Jenkins arrived at the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center at 7:13am PST on the morning of Sept. 9th, 2006. At 7:56 he bit the nurse attending him, Mia Mordred, the accompanying doctor Anders Penya, and 3 security guards before being restrained. Mia proceeded to bite 6 of her fellow staff members before being restrained at 12:31pm PST. Anders Peyna left the USC Medical Center at 11:30am, crashed his car into a grocery store at 12:07pm, and proceeded to attack 8 people before being shot 17 times by members of the LAPD, the final shot, hitting him directly through the eye, finally killed him for the second time that day. Matt Hutchinson was almost killled instantly from a bite to the jugular while trying to get out of the store. Much to the surprise of the paramedics arriving on the scene, he stood back up at 12:26, and proceeded to bite two of the paramedics rushing to see if he was ok. And so on and so forth...
------------------

Philidelphia Population: 1,516,003
Sept. 10th, 2006, 1:09pm
------------------

Announcement from Pennsylvania Public Radio: Civil defense officials in Philidelphia have told newsmen that murder victims show evidence of having been partially devoured by their murderers. Consistent reports from witnesses to the effect that people who acted as if they were in a kind of trance were killing and eating their victims prompted authorities to examine the bodies of some of the victims. Medical authorities in Philidelphia have concluded that in all cases, the killers are eating the flesh of the people they kill. And so this incredible story becomes more ghastly with each report. It's difficult to imagine such a thing actually happening, but these are the reports we have been receiving and passing on to you, reports which have been verified as completely as is possible in this confused situation. These reports, incredible as they may seem, are not the results of mass hysteria...
-------------------

Philidelphia Population: 1,513,849
Sept. 10th, 2006, 5:28pm
-------------------

MSNBC News Broadcast "Reports that it was spread by rage-infected monkeys have now been dismissed as the events which decimated Australia continue to repeat themselves across the world. The Chinese military is preparing itself for massive operations throughout the country..."
-------------------

Philidelphia Population: 1,511,919
Sept 10th, 2006, 8:09pm
-------------------

"REPENT! THE END IS EXTREMELY FUCKING NIGH" - Graffiti on Cathedral-Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, Philidelphia
-------------------

Philidelphia Population: 1,507,849
Sept 10th, 2006, 11:48pm

Chapter 2: Guilty Spark

2006-09-05T21:08:18Z

Wallace wasn't the most thrilled person in the world. He had escaped the chaos that once was Sydney - he himself had witnessed that damn opera house burn, let them put that on their postcards. On the tv they said it was the result of some terrorist thing. Wallace Jenkins wasn't really interested in how it happened, he just wanted the hell out. And he had gotten out, on the last non-stop flight to Los Angeles.

Only to have one of those psychopaths go nuts on the plane and start attacking everyone in sight. Before they had managed to strap the lady down, she had fought like a woman possessed, biting and scratching the hell out of everyone who came near.

Finally he and 2 other folks had tackled that insane harlot, and pinned her to the floor. And what did he get from it? A couple of real good scratches, and a chunk bit out of his damn bicep. So much for helping out, eh? The crazy harlot had swallowed it too, bit of shirt and all. She was still tied up back there, bound and gagged, and trying to squirm around and get free. Ahh well, they were now only 6 hours out of LA, he could go to the hospital there...

----------------------
CNN News, Sept 8th
...spread throughout the Pacific, with reports coming in from New Zealand to India that refugees from Australia were vicously attacking anyone who came near them, often with their bare hands and teeth. The Health Minister of New Zealand has issued a statement calling for the immediate quarantine...

...fires rage out of control through the capital, most of the surrounding countryside is in ruins. Before me you can see the Sydney Opera House, aflame with no attempt to put the fire out. Those affected by the apparent terrorist attack are wandering aimlessly, many of them grievously injured but seemingly undeterred. Many soldiers can be seen mixed in with the them, apparently kevlar doesn't stop whatever was used on them. Scattered bands of survivors are seeking shelter wherever they can get it, ruthlessly pursued by their former neighbors and coworkers...
---------------------

Teen found half-eaten at JFK International Airport, authorities baffled.
- New York Times, Sept 8th

---------------------
The grand opening of the new studio for the conservative group PTL based in downtown Minneapolis has been pushed back 3 weeks, citing extreme vandalism as the cause. Windows were blown out, graffiti sprayed over most of the walls as well as furniture that had been moved in, along with wiring had been ripped out of the walls.

Considering there were 3 security guards on duty at the time, it seems almost impossible that such an amount of damage was able to occur. Security devices such as cameras and motion detectors were disabled beforehand, leaving police stunned and without leads.

Star Tribune, Sept 7th, 2006

Chapter 1: Come, Reap

2006-09-03T20:24:18Z

Civil Unrest Spreads To Sydney.

Refugees in the thousands are being evacuated from Sydney by UN Forces. Wealthier citizens and tourists having been fleeing to all corners of the globe as the Kingsford Smith International Airport continues all flights out of the capital. All forms of public transportation inside the capital have been temporarily shutdown as civil unrest and rioting grips the suburbs...

CNN Headline News, Sept 6th.

Dear Journal,
I always wanted to say that, it's cliche, but who cares, I'm the only one who's going to be reading this. I'm typing on my all new "35IL Inside". Had to search all over hell to find it. Keeping a journal on here sounds like a good idea, even if I get a new computer in the future, I can just transfer the files. I know it's not a mac, but whatever. Alex helped me pick it out. The battery life is 36 hours - I knew laptop technology was good, but that's pimp. Putting it on my desk makes my little studio feel more complete somehow. Pez, Matt, Alex and I have some work to do tonite, and we have all the neccesary supplies - 2 fully automatic paintball guns, 23 cans of spraypaint (red and black), 4 rolls of duct tape, 19 plastic containers, and 4 lbs of dry ice, plus our own personal equipment - I love my new JT Axiom FX-10 helmet, it is truly BA. I think this is going to be the coolest and hardest mission yet, but as always, we'll get the job done then come back for some Halo.
09-07-06

Prologue: Seventeen Days In September

2006-09-01T16:06:18Z

In the News: Yahoo! News: World News
+ Bolton: No doubt as to Iran's intentions (AP)
+ Attacks kill at least 51 people in Iraq (AP)
+ Hurricane John stays offshore in Mexico (AP)
+ Australian city turns to mass cannibalism (AP)
+ U.N. OKs Sudan peacekeepers resolution (AP)
+ Israeli police storm British embassy (AP)

September 2nd, 2006

"Sydney, Australia - Australian defence forces are massing outside Adelaide, Australia's 5th largest city, as widespread rioting, and looting grips the city of over 1 million people.

Reports that the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the largest hospital in Adelaide, has been filled beyond capacity with those sick and injured. One man, refusing to identify himself said he observed "a woman biting a child who stepped in front of her..."
- Yahoo News, September 1st, 2006

Times are strange,
Fuck em I don't care,
Let's pop the cheap champagne, we're going down in flames.

So kiss me goodbye,
Honey I'm gonna make it out alive,
Kiss me goodbye,
I can see the venom in their eyes.
- Cobra Starship