October 25th, 2036

Chinese scientist Xi Ming has a breakthrough in modern medicine. He creates a new type of medicine that effectively kills the human body, leaving the brain alive and making surgeries more effective. He calls this new medicine, the Omega serum.

February 9th, 2037

Thanks to the Omega serum 70% of surgeries, once thought impossible, have become simple procedures. Many patients once again become hopeful. Survival rates on all surgeries have rocketed to a 99.9% survival rate. The FDA has begun to look into the serum. Fear spreads that the serum will cost hundred of thousands for new patients.

March 26th, 2037

North Korea, seeing the impending implications of the new serum, kidnaps Dr. Xi Ming forcing him to mutate the Omega serum. Effectively turning it into a weapon of mass destruction. He does so against his will before being executed. The North Koreans load the virus into six highly technical missiles. Each missile is aimed at the American capital and each of their closest allies, as North Korea demands loyalty from their enemies.

April 6th 2037

The United States government, conjoined with other world leaders, agree that they will not bow down to terrorist activities. North Korea does not respond kindly to their rejection, firing off each of their warheads.

April 7th, 2037

At 9:04 A.M. Eastern Time, the first missile falls in Washington D.C. President Kevin Quinn calls for immediate action as the newly mutated Omega Virus begins to spread out of the missile, causing thousands of casualties within the first hour. The first of the American retaliation Missiles land in the capital of Pyongyang, North Korea. By 3:15 P.M. Eastern Time, North Korea is wiped off the map.

April 8th2037

The Omega Virus, as it has become to be known in both the news and public conversation, has spread throughout the world, quickly wiping out 90% of the world’s population. Spreading of the virus is done through the air. The virus spreads quickly through the lungs, causing the victims to die horribly. Animals are not immune to the Virus, causing them to drop dead, their meat becoming instantly rotted from the inside. Survivors have dubbed the fateful day as Armageddon. The survivors begin to band together to stay alive. Plants become the only form of life, immune to the horrible effects. Food and water have become scarce. Many supplies have been ravaged, as the less than seven million survivors begin to panic.

April 15th, 2037

The Omega virus begins to mutate further, causing the neural receptors in the brain to start functioning again. Basic motor skills return, but movement is slow. The brain has limited abilities. The host body can walk and smell but not much more. Survivors call them zombies, as they seek out sanctuary from the undead monstrosities.

CHAPTER 1 JUNE 13th,2037

I am one of the survivors. My name is Damian. I have managed to stay alive even through the heartache of watching my friends and family die a slow and painful death, as the virus spreads through their bodies. The sounds of their screams, their lungs slowly deteriorating as the air is forcibly expelled out of them. But that wasn’t enough, I watched as each one of them, my mother, sister, wife… each one gradually reanimating. Images of them clawing at me, trying to bite into my flesh, they haunt my dreams. And the scar on my left arm won’t let me forget.

But I also can’t forget that I am one of the lucky ones, no matter who I had to kill, or what I had to do, whatever memory I have to endure, I made it out alive. I was found by the people I consider my new family, the ones who have helped protect me, have had my back, and have suffered the same kinds of emotional pain that I have. I can still remember the day I was found alone in the streets.

The first one to find me huddled alone in the streets was Connor. Connor is a male in his early 30s, with dark tan skin. He also had the tougher attitude of the bunch. The one to enforce the rules and keep us in line, even if he kept mostly to himself. We look at him as our Del facto leader, his strength and guidance have kept our morale as high as possible. The next person I met was Kennedy. Connor sent me to see her when he brought me back to their safe house. Kennedy was a few years younger than the rest of us. Her skin is a light tan, and she has medium length auburn hair that caught my attention right away. It reminded me of my mothers. She had been studying medicine before the Omega Virus destroyed the world. She looked me over, checking my vitals, and motor functions. It seems this group had a very strict set of rules to keep them alive, seems to be working so far. Once I met Kennedy’s approval, I was introduced to the last member of their team, Penelope. Penelope is shy, she can barely look me in the eyes when we first meet, instead I just get a halfhearted wave and all I can do is smile as she blushes. She looks young, not as young as Kennedy but young. The only mark of age on her body is a scratch mark on her left cheek. The red mark is clearly visible on her pale white skin, she covers it with her hand when she catches me looking at it.

“We found her a few weeks ago,” Connor explains to me as Penelope walks off to the other room. “She was surrounded by a group of three monsters. Her screams caught our attention, unfortunately we got there after her brother had been ripped apart. She doesn’t say much about it, but at night, if its quiet you can hear her sobbing.”

I can’t help but think of how intense his voice was. I’ve seen these things attack and yet somehow when he describes it, it always just sounds so much worse.

“That’s terrible,” I manage to squeak out, I can’t remember my throat ever being dry and hurting to talk.

“How long have you been on the road?” Connor asks, again sternly.

“About two days,” I reply, not knowing for sure. The last couple of months had been nothing but a blur, “maybe three.”

“Well, you are a very lucky man,” Connor lets out a hearty laugh, “most are unable to survive one night on their own.”

“I have a will to live,” I offered him a half smile.

My words are meaningless. In all honesty I had almost wished I had died with my family. Those feelings haven’t changed much. I still remember the fear in each of their eyes. But I couldn’t blame them, in fact I think it is one of the reasons we were able to trust each other as fast as we did, we were all scared.

They taught me about the type of Zombie that roamed the streets. They weren’t the same kinds of creatures that I remember reading about, or watching movies of. They were crafty. Bullets didn’t work, it merely stunned them. It didn’t stop us from carrying handguns though, sometimes it wasn’t about the kill it was just about managing a way out. Fire does work effectively, it’s just hard to control. The flames do deter Zombies slightly, keeping them back a safe distance. But the most effective way they had found to kill a Zombie was to decapitate it. Removing the head completely is the only way to stop the undead beast in its tracks. Connor, Kennedy, and Penelope each carry Machetes but I remained unarmed. Instead I have been using whatever is around sharp enough to severe their heads. That was until we searched through a local flea market in search of any kind of provisions. Connor found a long range C.B. radio, but the inside was wrecked, wires sliced throughout, making it all but useless. He put the radio inside his backpack with the intentions of fixing it. His biggest goal was to find as many friendly survivors as possible, hoping to keep our numbers strong. But something special caught my eye. The sunlight that day was strong, and I remember the gleam that bounced off an item in a box, sending the light beam at me. My curiosity got the better of me and I went to check it out. I reached down into the box, a red braided handle felt well in my hand as I pulled out the katana. The blade reflected the sunlight back onto the others, who stared at me as I examined the sword. I looked deeper in the box and found the matching red scabbard and sheathed the blade.

“Wow,” Kennedy gasped.

“That thing is serious,” Connor chuckled. It was the first time I ever saw him really smile.

“Good,” I replied walking over to the rest of the group, “Maybe it will help me do some serious damage.”

A noise was heard right after I spoke, almost as if I had tempted fate. Connor drew his machete from his back as he directed the girls to watch behind him. Kennedy and Penelope had their handguns drawn in case it wasn’t Zombies, but marauders. I pulled the blade out of the scabbard and looked back at Connor for instructions. He pointed to his eyes and then into the direction the noise came from. I sighed as I slowly made my way toward the noise. I used the blade of the katana to move a few boxes around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I turned back toward the others shrugging my shoulders.

“Maybe it was just the wind,” Penelope said, her voice almost a whisper.

“We’re never that lucky,” Connor reminded.

I look again, seeing nothing but a pile of junk laying on the floor. I shrug at the group again before putting the blade back in the scabbard. I heard a hissing noise come from behind the table. I turned back just as a gray and white cat jumped out from the junk pile. The cat dug its claws deep into my chest. I fought hard to pull the hissing cat off of my body. Its eyes were green and glazed over when I looked down at the undead cat. I could feel clumps of fur rip out from the cat’s body, as I pulled as hard as I could. I look down again and see the cat wriggling on its back, gray and white fur wrapped in my hands with bits of flesh stuck to the ends of each of the clumps. I kick the cat as hard as I can in Connor’s direction, the cat jumps back onto its feet, showing the missing pieces of skin on its back. Connor swings his machete down strongly removing the cats head from its body. My chest still burning from the scratch marks. I dropped down hard as Kennedy came over and soothed the burning and wiped up the blood dripping from each of the marks.