The Day Dawns Red

Finally made my way back up to my room, which could be described more accurately now as a fortress. I've seen things today...

I headed down to my first class, and saw another one of the oddly lifeless yet animated people walking across my path. He made no indication he saw me, and kept shambling on his way. From observation, I had noticed that the people suffering from these odd symptoms shared a single common attribute: they developed a single band of red around their heads. This individual was no exception. I thought nothing of it until I attempted to go eat lunch at Franklin.

A man, fairly tall, was crouched by a bush outside the building. As I approached, his head gave a sudden jerk, and I knew this reeking, dirty being had noticed my presence. I found his lack of personal hygiene wasn't the only thing wrong with him, a stream of blood was dripping from his mouth and I can only guess some poor creature lay in the bush by him. In addition, he shared the red mark on his head that others with the lifeless attitude showed. He slowly, ungainly, and surely stood, blocking my way into the dining commons. He approached, one food slightly dragging behind the other. I backed up, not wanting to tangle with some psychotic college miscreant. Despite his injured leg, he seemed to be gaining speed. Just as I was about to turn and run, I hear the sound of a snap of a NERF gun from behind the man. My attacker collapsed, as my savior reloaded his gun and motioned for me to come with him to the building.

"I take it you know what you just encountered" he said, shaking my hand.
I, shaking from the encounter, just shook my head.
"That there was a zombie. Bona-fide. Here, take this," he handed me a six-shooter, fully loaded. "and these," handing me two socks. "These are your weapons. They'll stun the bastards for 10 minutes, long enough for you to get to safety. Best of luck to you. Don't be squeamish." And he went off, presumably to help out some other unwitting civilian.

Now armed, I ate a hearty meal and set off to my next class. For, if we stop our routine and show fear, we let the zombies win! After class, I made my way to work at the library. On the way, I caught sight of another rank gentleman attempting to use a phone. He too wore the red mark of the zombie. I made my way past him, at which point he saw me. I ran up the stairs onto the plaza of the library, where I stopped and made a stand. Curiously, he seemed to calculate, tried to find an opening. Before he could strike, I threw one of my sock grenades and knocked him out.

I made it up the hill again without incident, but the way down for dinner was a different story. Passing the Dickinson dorm, I went head-to-head with another zombie, narrowly shooting him and getting away while I could. Just as we reached the door to Worcester DC, we caught sight of another zombie charging down the hill to where we stood. Only through the quick thinking of my roommate, Tim, who threw me bodily through the door, were we saved. I saw many a zombie skulk outside the windows, but inside I greeted my fellow humans (we had started identifying ourselves with red armbands). All seemed well for that short hour.

And now, I hear the sounds of humans roaming the night, bravely attempting to eradicate the threat, of zombies converging and devouring those poor souls, and whatever was left, rising again to join the ranks of those who were once its enemies. A chilling thought occurs to me: This time, 24 hours ago, there were 7 of these abominations. Now, there are no less than 58. The infection is spreading. As time goes on, I can only imagine that hope will grow dimmer. However, more are becoming aware of the threat, and are taking action against them. I am one of them. Let us hope that we can prevail over the scourge, for we are all that stands between the zombies and the world.

Nut up or shut up,

Chris Chan