Something about the still silence is unnatural - a fact noticed even by your resting brain. You stir, roll over in the sheets, and stare foggily around your familiar bedroom. According to the clock, it's six forty-seven a.m. Somehow, you've overslept - a rarity in your house. Many mornings you've hit snooze on your alarm only to be wakened by your frustrated mother, who didn't seem to think alarm clocks should have snooze buttons.

Maybe she had mercy on me today, you think. Still, it wasn't like her.

Early morning sunbeams seep in through the windows, but instead of brightening the place, they just create an eerie glow. Coupled with the silence, your bedroom has just become the perfect scene for one of your favorite horror flicks. Shaking off the creeps, you shove your blanket away. Your skin instantly prickles from the sudden gush of cool air...or maybe it's the hollow atmosphere. Something doesn't seem right. You try to shake the feeling.

You stumble to the bathroom while you rub the sleep from your eyes. After relieving yourself, you wander into the kitchen for something to drink - all the while wondering why you haven't heard a single peep. It's almost as though everyone took vacation and forgot you at home.

"Hello?" you call out, once you've drank your fill of your favorite morning beverage.

When no-one replies, you find it odd. Usually you'd walk in and see your mother cooking breakfast, your father at the table reading the paper and complaining about gas prices. But today, the kitchen is deserted. No-one had been here last night either, you recall. A quick check tells you no-one had slept in their beds. You're all alone.

However strange your discovery is, you decide not to panic. There are dozens of reasons for your family to not be home. After all, they hadn't signed a sacred contract stating they were bound to the house as long as you were in it. You chuckle at the absurd thought.

They'll turn up sometime or another, you think, shrugging the nagging feeling of dread away.

The unbelievable quiet is just throwing off your inner comfort, so you switch on the television for some background noise.

The news comes on, blaring. The disheveled news reporter's voice is so urgent that she captures your attention right away.

"...no less than thirteen- no, fourteen deaths outside this very station," she says. Her voice, usually strong and assertive, is shaking.

You can see the fear and confusion on the broadcaster's face. It's very unsettling. Now, you start to worry.

She continues. "Contamination is spreading quickly. I repeat: A sudden outbreak of a virus resembling a type of advanced strain of rabies has swept the nation and is attacking the human population. This virus is one-hundred percent fatal. Remember: the dead may seem to return after death, but be assured, it is merely the virus at work, afflicting brain activity. The dead appear to be rising and violently attacking the living. Seek safety in numbers and stay indoors-"

Funny, you think, I'm alone, so how can I both seek safety in numbers and stay inside? It's probably just a movie, anyway. You shake your head at the absurdity of it all. Zombies? Sure...

When you change channels, the news story is on every channel. It's switched from the broadcaster to clips of raving, ravaging zombies in a downtown area. They're chasing people down and consuming them, as fast and dangerous as quicksand. The moment they get them in their grasps-

You turn from the television. They're probably just showing clips from Dead, Dead, Dead or some other new zombie movie you haven't seen.

Frustrated, you pick up your phone and find nineteen missed calls. They're from your mom, your dad, there's even a few from your sister. You've got a new voicemail. With an unsteady hand, you click to check it. It's your mothers voice you hear on the line.

"Honey," she says, "something weird is going on, but I want you to know we're okay. We're at the mall. Listen: I love you. Stay inside. There are a lot of bad things happening, bad people are... they're... they're dead, honey. Oh God, they're all dead. Stay inside!"

For a moment, you stare at the wall without really seeing it. All you can hear is her words on a loop in your mind.

They're all dead.

Her words chill you to the bone. You've never heard her so afraid. Then you take a deep breath. No sense in getting too worked up before you've talked to her. You close your voicemail and try to call someone, tell them the joke isn't funny, ask them how they swung this fake news report, but no-one in your family is answering. Your friends don't even answer. On Facebook - the next place where you figure you'll be able to contact someone - the updates read:

Holy crap! Dude just took a bite out of the bus driver!

Help! I'm stuck in this apartment building. They're everywhere.

At the hospital waiting because some crazy lady just bit me! It just keeps bleeding. It's so packed in here, ugh!

Zombie attack!

And:

I just saw my neighbor eating someone's brains.

Your stomach churns. The phone slips through your fingers and clatters to the floor. The edges of your vision gets a little fuzzy and, for a second, everything goes out of focus.

A noise outside brings you to your senses. Outside, as you look through the window, a car has crashed into a hydrant. Water is spewing as high as a nearby tree. Inside the car, a man is struggling with someone and blood is smeared on the car's window. People are laying in their yards, bright red and shredded. Some bloody and torn people are running toward the muffled screams inside the car.

Thinking fast, you realize now isn't the time to faint. If you hope to make it through this, now is the time for action.

You check the kitchen. There's enough food for at least a week - even if your family comes back. You can barricade yourself in and try to wait it out. Of course, you may end up being alone for a long time and, even though your mother told you to stay inside, you know there's safety in numbers.

Double-thinking yourself, you rationalize that you can also go somewhere you know people will be. The mall is where your family is and it's the most likely place to gather supplies. You can go to the garage, take your dad's new Jeep, and drive there.

Which will you choose?

Barricade myself in. - GO TO CHAPTER 2

Head for the mall. - SKIP TO CHAPTER 3