Chapter 1: Outbreak

It had only been three days since the virus had spread in the North-East part of America. Those in the South and West played it off as a joke and insisted that they would not have to worry since the military would take the 'zombies' out before they made their way over to the rest of America.

Luke Wynn, a tall and well-built man with medium-length gray hair and pale red eyes, was a college student at Chico University in California and was adamant about the threat that the virus posed. Many other students laughed at him and waved his warnings off, but some listened. On the second day after the virus was released, the military sent guards to Chico University and had them put up a perimeter fence around the entire campus.

Now, with armed guards nervously pacing around the fence, some students began to believe they were in danger. Some pleaded with the guards to let them go home, but they refused, telling them they would only serve to fatten the zombies.

Many students began to panic, which only served to create chaos within the campus, but one man put an end to everything. He was like a natural-born leader, calming everyone down and assuring them that he would find a way to get them all home.

His father was an influential figure in the political realm, and the man said he would use his influence to get the guards to open the gates. By then, it was already dark, and the man had informed everyone that he would try in the morning.

Luke was one of the only ones that weren't impressed with the man's speeches and charm. He and his small group began to plot. So long as that man was here, it would be hard for them to gain control of the students. To survive, they would need everyone on campus's cooperation.

So, Luke and his group began to set up their plan in the library. No one was there, and most people were partying away in their dorms to relieve stress. Luke and his group stayed well past midnight trying to set up their plan.

Luke noticed one of his friends, a smaller man with short black hair and a hairless face, sitting alone as he sketched in his notebook. Luke walked over and sat down next to him.

"What's wrong, Carson? I trust your instincts more than my own." Carson's face was pale, and his hands were shaking. He just stared at the notebook in front of him as he drew a shadowed figure with chains wrapped around its arms and legs.

Luke pat Carson on the shoulder and told him everything would work out fine before moving toward the emergency exit to get some fresh air. Upon seeing him move toward the door, Carson jumped up and shouted for Luke to get away, but it was already too late.

Luke opened the door and saw a shadowy figure hunched down on the ground a few feet in front of the door. As it moved and growled, the sounds of chains clinking against one another filled the air. Suddenly, the figure stopped moving and whipped its head around. The light inside the library allowed Luke to see the figure's glowing red eyes, its jaw unhinged and slightly decayed.

Luke slammed the door shut, his brow sweating furiously as inhuman screeches echoed outside. Everyone's eyes went wide as they crouched behind the long reception desk. Carson rocked back and forth in his chair as he chewed on the end of his pencil, his face streaked with sweat and tears.

Luke cursed as he ran over, grabbed one of the nearby bookcases, and shoved it against the large window next to the exit. His friends, seeing his actions, quickly sprang up and helped him barricade the doors and windows. Minutes felt like hours as they sat in the library. The screeches became more distant, but they soon mingled with the screams of their peers.

Cries for help echoed around the campus, but there were no gunshots. Luke had figured that all the guards were killed, but that would mean that the zombies had some intelligence. Luke paced back and forth through the library as he brooded over the possibilities.

Then, Luke had a stupid idea come to mind. None of the zombies had attempted to get into the library, meaning they must go after bigger groups first. If the zombie he encountered outside was eating the body of a guard, then the guard's guns must still be on his body...

Luke explained his idea to the group, and while they were hesitant about it, Luke told them that they needed to take risks or else they would never get anywhere. After some coaxing, Luke convinced his friends to help him unbarricade the emergency exit.

Luke stood at the door and shook his arms to relieve himself of his nervousness. Luke put his ear to the door and listened for any commotion. After a minute of waiting, Luke finally pushed the door open. The cold winter air entered the library, and the screams of his peers became clearer now that he was outside.

Luke could hear someone shouting commands in the distance, but Luke was focused on the shadowy pile on the ground in front of him. The light inside the library was just enough to illuminate his path. Luke crouched down next to the body of the guard and slowly rolled him over.

The guard's throat was ripped to shreds, and bits of his shoulders and biceps were bitten away. Thankfully, the guard had yet to turn, and Luke grabbed his rifle, pistol, vest, and communications device without any trouble.

Luke turned and hurried back inside the library with his spoils. His friends breathed sighs of relief upon seeing Luke return safely, but the momentary peace was soon disturbed as Carson's shaky voice grabbed their attention.

"G-G-Guys...? There's something behind me, isn't there..." Luke's eyes widened as he spun to look at Carson as a zombie opened its mouth and clamped down on the back of Carson's neck. Luke cursed as the windows shattered and the doors burst open. Zombies began to fill the library at an alarming rate, and Luke's first instinct was to scale the bookcases and climb onto the rafters.

It happened so fast that Luke forgot to give someone the pistol he retrieved from the guard. Luke opened fire with the rifle but soon realized it wasn't worth wasting bullets. There were too many, and he didn't have enough ammo to kill them all.

Luke was forced to hear his friend's screams and cries as they were devoured alive. Luke gritted his teeth and tried to block the sounds out, but it was useless. As the hours passed, Luke noticed that the zombies that ate the most had slowed down to a mere shamble. A few of the zombies would croak like frogs, their throats expanding as they did so, but now they uttered not a single sound as they lazed about.

There were all kinds of zombies that Luke noticed. There were Croakers, zombies with shackles around their arms and legs, Sprinters, which were identifiable by the variety of running shoes they wore, Screechers, and ones that showed more intelligence than they should.

Luke observed each zombie closely and came up with names according to how they acted and what they did. The intelligent zombies could express a limited amount of emotions and manipulate their faces like an average human, which was evident when one smirked up at Luke as he sat on the rafters.

Sprinters could run horrifyingly fast; Screechers would scream to gather a horde of zombies; Croakers would croak like frogs for whatever reason, and the Shackled were regular zombies, as far as Luke could tell. He had no idea why they wore chains that bound their arms and legs, but they seemed to have no issue maneuvering around.

By morning, Luke's eyes were heavy, but he knew he couldn't afford to sleep. Luke noticed that the zombies suddenly stopped moving and groaning, turning entirely still like a statue as soon as the sunlight hit them. It was weird, and Luke didn't trust it.

Luke crawled along the rafters until he reached the small vent he had been eyeing for hours. The zombies did not react to his movement, further confusing Luke as he opened the vent and crawled inside. The vent led him around the building and eventually out in front of the main entrance.

Luke glanced around as his feet touched the ground. Bodies were scattered everywhere, and the grass was soaked with dried blood. There were a few zombies outside, but they were standing completely still. Luke noticed a few survivors peaking their heads out from dorm windows, their eyes wide with horror, but Luke could tell that not many survived.

He heard shouting in the distance, so he shouldered his rifle, checked his spare magazines, and began his trek across campus. No matter how close he got to the zombies, they never moved. Luke even picked up a knife someone had dropped and stabbed a zombie in the back of the head. It fell to the ground and died.

Eventually, Luke made it to the source of the commotion, finding the same man that had tried to reassure everyone the day before. He was barking orders, and most survivors looked discontent and dissatisfied.

"I want all of the food to be brought to my dorm! I shall distribute it equally amongst everyone, so do not fear! We will take some of the leftover wood and barbed wire the military had left and barricade the entire building! We have more than enough time before night falls!" The man glanced over and spotted Luke, outfitted with a bulletproof vest and a rifle.

The man waved off the two men next to him, each wielding a pistol, before making his way over toward Luke. The man extended his hand as his lips curled up into a smile.

"Luke Wynn, correct? My name is Adam Greer. It's a pleasure to meet you." Adam's short, wavy blond hair and vibrant gray eyes gave him a striking presence, and his confidence was almost nauseating.

"How many survived," Luke responded as he clenched his fists. "Out of fifteen-thousand students, how many died because of your ineptitude?" Luke's snarl caused Adam to take a step back as he extended his hands.

"H-Hey now, I didn't tell the zombies to walk their happy asses all the way over from New York! Don't blame their deaths on me-" Luke grabbed the front of Adam's shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"You were the one leading them! I heard you shouting directions last night, so don't tell me it's not your fault!" The remaining students gathered around Luke and Adam, some even nodding their heads in agreement with Luke.

"I bet you sat back and cowered as your peers were eaten in front of you! You are not fit to be a leader, and you know it!" Some students raised their voices in agreement, while others shrunk back and looked away, knowing what would happen next.

Adam's face turned red with anger as he broke free of Luke's grip and reached behind his waist. Luke was faster, however, and put a bullet square in Adam's chest before he could draw his gun. Two more shots sounded off as Adam's armed lackeys fell to the ground. Luke bent down as Adam grinned, a small stream of blood flowing out from the corner of his mouth.

"This ain't over, Luke. You'll regret crossing me. You should've joined me...and become...my advisor..." Luke snorted as he stood and faced the crowd looking toward him with conflicted expressions.

"First off," Luke said as he holstered his pistol, "the zombies will not move no matter what when it is daytime. I have proved this by stabbing one in the head while it stood motionless. Secondly, I have concluded that the zombies will become slower and more docile after eating their fill. We can use this to our advantage if we use the bodies of the deceased." A voice rose to challenge Luke's statement.

"We can't just use the bodies of the dead," one girl shouted, her eyes rimmed with tears. Luke gave her a passionless glance as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Of course, we can. We must do everything to survive, even desecrating the dead." The girl began to sob quietly, but no more objections came forth.

"I want to hear your opinions. I will not blindly charge you into a situation when you have doubts or concerns. It would be best if you believed in me and yourselves. Now, take a moment to collect yourselves. We need to kill all of the zombies here while there is still daylight."

Luke watched as the crowd parted, leaving only four that refused to leave. Luke moved his hand to his pistol, but one of them raised his hands in the air.

"We ain't here to fight. We have something we think you should know, Boss." Luke cocked his brow at the man, curious as to why he wore such a resolute and determined face. The man had long, straight brown hair styled into a neat bun at the back of his head. His squinted blue eyes bellied a sense of calm despite the chaos they had seen.

"Let us go somewhere more...private, then," Luke said as he motioned for the four to follow him. "And make sure to grab their pistols." After they had the pistols from the bodies of Adam and his lackeys, Luke led them toward a secluded part of campus.

Luke ushered the four into a storage shed with vines growing over its old wooden frame. Once inside, the man that had spoken previously slowly reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small note and handed it over to Luke. It was folded neatly and even had a wax stamp on it.

The seal was unbroken, and Luke glanced up toward the man before opening it. The contents of the letter talked about how Adam would take the brunt of the blame for the invasion and attempt to unite everyone against the man known as Luke Wynn. Luke furrowed his brow in confusion as he read through the note. None of it made sense.

The letter spoke about how Luke threatened their goal and that he should be eliminated immediately. It also talked about a man named Gray, for he was a sneaky and cunning bastard that could mess everything up if given a chance. The letter was signed off with the letter 'L,' leading to no clues as to who wrote it.

Luke paced back and forth as his mind stormed with possibilities. If Adam helped orchestrate the invasion, how did he survive? He would have to be crazy to formulate a plan that would surely end with him getting killed, so he must have had a backup plan in mind. Granted, he could have been lucky, but there was no way a bunch of college students would have put their lives in danger for his sake...

Luke's brainstorming was interrupted when the brown-haired man grabbed him by the shoulder.

"I think we might have more trouble on our hands than we thought." The man pointed to the semi-boarded window next to the door, and Luke looked through. He saw armored men with rifles looking around the buildings, and Adam limped behind them.

Luke cursed as he watched a few students converse with Adam. He could've sworn that he killed Adam. Luke looked toward the brown-haired man; his eyes narrowed slightly.

"You must be the Gray the letter mentioned," Luke said as he extended his hand. Gray's brows raised in surprise as he shook Luke's hand. A toothy grin soon formed over Gray's face.

"I knew you were smart, but the look in your eyes makes me feel like you're about to show me the true extent of your smarts." Luke nodded as he looked toward the other three. They were all female, but their eyes wore the same resolute and determined look.

After Luke proposed the idea of staying in the shed for a while, Gray took the time to introduce his friends. Lydia was Gray's sister, which was already evident since they looked practically identical. Her straight brown hair only extended down to her shoulders, and her squinted blue eyes conveyed a ferocity hidden by a sense of calmness.

Kara was the shortest out of all five. Her long black hair hung down to her waist, and her deep brown eyes were emotionless as she stared out the window. Erin had long, honey-blonde hair and vibrant green eyes that matched her bright smile. Luke couldn't help but shiver as he looked at her, for it took a real psycho to be able to smile like that after witnessing last night.

Erin was bright and bubbly and easy to talk to, but Luke's body kept warning him to get away from her every time she moved close to him. There was something about her that he couldn't read and that alone made her more terrifying than any zombie in Luke's eyes.

"Well, it's a pleasure meeting you all," Luke said as he joined Kara at the window, "but I think we should hold off on the pleasantries until after we escape from here." Everyone nodded as Luke waited for the perfect timing.

When the coast was clear, he rushed out of the door and led his small group down a small alley toward the fence line. The military had constructed a fence around the campus to keep the zombies out, and when Luke climbed on top of the wall and looked out toward the city, all he could see were the bodies of tens of thousands of zombies, each frozen by the sunlight.

The sight was terrifying, but Luke trusted his deductions and urged his team to move forward. None of the zombies moved, but the sun was already up halfway in the sky. Luke prayed that the zombies would continue to go after the people on campus instead of him and his team, but the thought was soon tuned out of his mind as he focused solely on finding a place to camp for the night while he worked on his plan to find out who instigated the attack.