The End of America

by Pete Thorsen

  Even though I couldn’t help with the lab work to try to find an answer to our zombie problem there was something I could do. The problem started in Guatemala and the answer to fix it might be there also. No, I was not going down there but I could go and get Dr. Renner’s notes from when he was down there. I think he witnessed the beginning of this and maybe I could find something in his notes that could shed some light on how to stop it. I thought it was worth a try and something that I could actually DO.

  So I left the relative safety of my home and drove to Dr. Renner’s office. The city streets were not vacant but did have very little traffic. I parked and went in to find the building also containing very few people. I had been to his office on a couple of occasions and found it without a problem. The locked door was a problem, though I wasn’t going to let that stop me.

  I left to see if I could find a janitor or anyone to let me in. After ten minutes of futile search I went back and after looking at the door I slipped the lock using my driver’s license like a pro burglar. I surprised myself with a skill I never knew I had. Inside his office I found his notes right away because they were sitting on top of his desk in plain sight. A quick look around the office and I took the computer bag, inserted his laptop with its cord attached, and put in all the notes that I could find on his desk and inside it.

  My task complete I left his office and was on my way out towards the entrance of the building. Walking down the hallway I could see another person walking in the same direction ahead of me. When that man turned around I saw that his face and the front of his shirt were covered in what looked like dried blood. I wasted not a second and spun around and ran like my life depended on it (which it likely did).

  I was only a little ways from the office I had just came out of and went and got the door shut just before something slammed into it from the outside. I had achieved at least a temporary shelter but the door had a glass window that was almost half the door and I knew it would be smashed soon. There was a window in the office but it did not appear to be the kind you could open. Well I fixed that in about three seconds flat when the office chair flew through it. Followed closely by me just as I heard the glass in the office door break. I did not look back as I went through the new office emergency exit. I was so lucky that this office was on the ground floor and if my luck would hold I could get back to my car ahead of my pursuer.

  It was about a half a block to my car and I think I made Olympic record time on my sprint. Not that it mattered as my zombie apparently got hung up crawling through the smashed door or through the smashed window because I made it to my car, opened the door, got inside, and had closed the door by the time my new admirer made it to my car.

  In my infinite wisdom I had gotten my keys out while I was running for my life and started the car and drove off, leaving my new friend behind (who only chased my car for a block or less). Nothing quite the same as desperately running for your life to get the old heart pumping, I thought.

  I was calm (mostly) by the time I got back to my house. I had driven slowly and saw one more zombie on the way home. The bloody face and shirt front was a dead give-away (pardon the pun). Shook up but now safe I hoped the hair raising experience would be worth it and that I would find the treasure I was seeking in the notes of my dead friend.

  I started reading them right away. Right away after I mixed a cocktail to help me calm down that is. When it started to get dark I reached for the lamp to get more light but stopped myself. I did not know if the zombies would be attracted to the lights or not but I closed the blinds and the heavy drapes both before turning on a single light.

  I had organized the notes in chronological order before I started reading them. The first part of the notes showed no abnormalities at all in the behavior of the monkeys. I read carefully and Dr. Renner had seen no alien spacecraft land or any meteorites strike nearby or anything at all out of the ordinary. He apparently really disliked the flying biting insects he found in abundance while there as he mentioned them quite often, usually in a most derogatory way. I stopped reading for awhile after having found nothing so I could make supper and watch both the national and the local evening news.

  The local news was first and it was a half hour of zombies. There was plenty of film of real live zombies but after one where the zombie almost busted through the windows of their vehicle the remaining shots were all at a distance. They announced that they would no longer send any reporters or cameramen out in ground vehicles anymore due to the extreme danger.

  They told everyone to remain inside their homes because that was the safest place. They also had first hand experience with zombies and gave their advice and observations. The zombies were fast, slightly faster than a normal human and did not tire as fast as a normal human. Trying to out run a zombie was a losing proposition.

  The zombies are strong, stronger than they appeared and felt no pain so hand-to-hand fighting with a zombie was a losing proposition also. But zombies are stupid. They can maybe bust a door open but are not smart enough to turn a door knob.

  They can not use any tool or weapon and certainly can not drive a car. If they see you they will try to eat you but they are not smart enough to hunt for you or look in houses trying to find you. When you are in your house cover your windows or close the drapes so if a zombie walks past he can not see you through the window. If he does not see you he will not know where to look for you. Remember zombies are stupid.

  Zombies are not all grown men. There are women zombies and teenage zombies and even baby zombies. Be careful of old eighty year old zombies, they are also fast and strong. Do not let their outward appearance fool you. If you can go to the second floor of your home, or apartment it will be safer.

  Zombies are unlikely to know how to find the stairs or even what the stairs are used for. But even a stupid zombie can stumble on a stairway and go up it or chase someone up a stairway. Use your brain to out smart them and do not let them see you.

  Zombies do not appear to sleep and they are much harder for you to see at night. Zombies can see and hear and that is how they will find you. Be quiet and stay out of sight and you will be safe. If you have a dog that barks it will attract zombies. Yes zombies eat dogs.

  Zombies eat any kind of bird or animal. We do not believe your dog can become a zombie dog because we have found none so far. Zombies are always hungry and will stop and eat what is available. As soon as a zombie is done eating something it immediately looks for more to eat.

  Zombies heal amazingly fast and seem to feel no pain so are difficult for the police to kill we have learned. Once a zombie is dead it remains dead but they do heal very fast so one that is shot and falls down may get up after a few minutes to continue attacking. They can be killed just like any human can but they are rather tough.

  The police are shooting any zombies that they find. These are no longer people but more like crazed animals. You can not talk to them or reason with them you can only be food for them. That is why the police are shooting them. That zombie is not your wife or son or grandfather, it is a zombie and if it sees you it will try to eat you.

  Well that news program was not very cheerful. We will see how the national and world news is today.

  “Boston is under siege. The city of Boston has been over run with zombies. Yes you heard correctly folks, zombies. These are creatures that were once human but no longer are human. Now they are just mindless eating machines. And yes they eat people. The Boston police department is now openly shooting these zombies on sight. While many are calling this action by the police to be nothing more than murder or genocide the police are defending this action. Here is a short clip of a meeting with the police.”

  “Yes we are shooting these zombies on sight. Look at what it says on the side or our cars ‘To protect and serve’. The only way to protect you from a zombie is to shoot it and kill it. Anyone who calls this murder we invite down here to act as mediator or legal consul on behalf of the zombies. We will allow you to spend some tim
e with your client before you talk to us. I think if you would some how live through that encounter you would change your mind about our actions.”

  “Of course Boston is not the only city with zombies. They have now been found in many cities throughout the United States and also in twenty three countries so far in the world. The rate of spread is amazing. All airports worldwide have been closed except for military use. That is right every airport in the whole world is closed. Many sea ports are closed but some shipping ports are still open but incoming vessels are stopped and checked before entering port.

  What do zombies look like you might ask? Well they look exactly like every other human. They might be a seven year old little girl or a ninety year old man. Often when you see a zombie they will have their face covered in blood from eating their last victims. They do not wash up after they are done dining. They will eat anything. A rat or a cat or your neighbor or a loaf of bread is all the same to them.

  These zombies are not the slow moving ‘undead’ like in a movie. Their heart beats just like yours does. If they get shot or cut they bleed just like you or I. These zombies are fast, not fast like a cheetah but fast for a human. You can not out run a zombie; it will catch you and eat you. Zombies are tough, they can be killed but they are hard to kill.

  You do not have to shoot them in the head to kill them like in the movies but that does work well. They heal very fast and they do not appear to feel any pain or have any emotion. They do not talk; in fact they make no noise at all. They can run, jump, and climb, everything like a regular human. But they are better at those things because they are strong and do not seem to tire out like we do.

  Zombies have apparently lost all higher brain functions. Some people say they are just stupid. They can not operate any tools or appliances or vehicles. They can not open your door and walk into your house. A zombie can not shoot you or stab you with a knife or dig a hole with a shovel or drive a car.

  They do not think, they only eat, and unfortunately one of the things they eat is people. Your home is the safest place for you. Just stay in your home. Pull the shades and close the curtains so the zombies can not see you. Be quiet so the zombies do not hear you. Then you will be safe. If you have a dog that barks, that will call in the zombies.

  If you have a cat that is outside a zombie may very well follow it home, zombies eat cats and dogs. When they are done eating your cat and your dog it will try to eat you. A zombie is never ‘full’, it is always hungry. A zombie has never been found to sleep; it is always looking for more food.

  A zombie does not want anything except food and it is never satisfied, it always wants more. A zombie will eat a cow or a horse or a rabbit or eat all three and still want to eat more. Do not make the mistake and view a zombie as a human instead view them as a hungry lion or tiger.

  We do not know how people turn into zombies but we do know that there are more zombies everyday and zombies in more cities everyday. You may be thinking about getting in your car and running away from the zombies but where will you run to? There are or will soon be zombies just about everywhere.

  So just stay home where you will be the safest. The governments of all nations are looking for a cure or an antidote or a vaccine. We have received a statement from the CDC and they have only stated that ‘They are working night and day on the problem and hope to have a solution soon’. Stay in your home and keep quiet and keep out of sight and you will be safe.”

  Well the national news was not very cheerful either. Just when I was about to get back to work reading the late doctor’s notes my phone rang.

  “Hello.”

  “Thank goodness you are all right. This is Lynn. The police and the news reports are so bad I was afraid that something may have happened to you.”

  “I am fine. Are you OK? Have you learned anymore?”

  “Yes the team and I are fine. The police are watching over us very well. Unfortunately we are not getting anywhere. We have started the trial and error tests that you suggested because we have no other ideas here.

  I have talked to the CDC and everyone there is working on this problem probably along with just about every doctor and scientist in the world. The spread of this is way faster than we imagined. We don’t really have anymore ideas to even try here.”

  “I had an idea today and went and retrieved the field notes of Dr. Renner. I thought he was there when this started and there might be a clue to be found in his notes. I started reading them but nothing so far.”

  “That was a good idea about the notes but it was very dangerous to go out alone and get them. I hope they turn out to be worth the risk you took.”

  “Have you investigated why the zombies don’t try to eat each other?”

  “Many have talked about this but so far neither here nor anywhere else can answer that question. It may very well be the key.”

  “Everyday the number of zombies is going up exponentially. If we can not stop it soon the population of human race will be very drastically reduced.”

  “While that is true, the huge number of very talented people working on this is staggering. If there is an answer, I feel that it will be found very soon.”

  “It is very ironic that a tiny parasite could possibly do this much damage to the whole human population. Do you know if the police are actively hunting the zombies?”

  “Yes they have several armored vehicles and are using them on constant round the clock patrols where they kill every zombie they find. The zombies seem to be attracted to any sound and when they shoot one often others show up shortly after hearing the gun fire so they can also shoot them also.”

  “There are likely many zombies in homes, apartments, and other buildings that can not get out because they don’t know how to open the doors. Have other researchers learned anything at all yet?”

  “Oh they have learned many things but not anything that we can use to stop this. They tried tranquillizer guns to capture some for study but though the tranquillizer works it wears off very, very quickly. The zombies have a faster heart rate than humans and have an elevated temperature. An electric shock like from a stun gun has almost no effect on them.

  The more they get to eat, the more often they sneeze. With constant food they almost sneeze constantly also. The sneezing is apparently the primary method for dispersal of the eggs. The parasite grows in the brain of the host but has an egg tube that grows down into the nasal passage. The eggs are almost constantly ejected into the nasal passage which causes the sneezing and leads to the egg dispersal. There are eggs in the saliva but they actually come from the nasal cavity and enter the mouth through the throat or are inhaled after a sneeze and are trapped in the saliva.

  Cell growth in the host is sped up tremendously. Where a normal human loses and replaces skin cells constantly, in a zombie this process is many, many times faster. That is why they heal so fast, their whole metabolism is running at a much faster rate. Our resident test zombie is shedding skin cells fast enough so the floor in its area gets covered with dead skin cells. At least as long as we keep feeding it all the time. To feed it we now just have a trash can in the cafeteria where everyone throws their scraps and left over food. This is what we feed our zombie. Along with a steady supply of different medicines to see if anything affects it at all.”

  “Did you try starving the zombie?”

  “We haven’t here but it has been done other places. Its metabolism slows automatically when it as no food intake. Eventually it lies down and enters a state similar to hibernation. Noise will bring it out of this state in the hope of finding food. We assume at some point it would die from lack of food but it would take awhile same as with a human.

  No one has found a fat zombie. Apparently even if the human host was fat that is burned up quickly after they are taken over. The whole human body becomes much more efficient, especially the digestive tract. Waste is reduced dramatically. Because there is no advantage to the parasite in having the hosts reproduce the sex organs in what were forma
lly both male and female are absorbed by the body leaving the zombie asexual or sexless. This would also make the body more efficient.”

  “There will never be a cure will there? Those that are now zombies are just gone, aren’t they? I know very well that those changes can not be reversed, correct?”

  “It might be possible to kill the parasite and clinically keep the host alive but the brain functions are gone and can not be brought back. So no, there will never be a cure.

  The best we can hope for is something to kill the parasites and maybe a vaccine to prevent the parasites from taking over anymore hosts. I think there is a very good chance we will have one or hopefully both of them in a fairly short time but as you have said in the mean time the zombies are increasing in numbers exponentially.”

  “The CDC and the federal government are making this way worse by their silence. They should be announcing all the information that we have right now to the entire world.

  All zombies that can be found should be killed as soon as possible to help minimize the spread. They should tell everyone about the spread by sneezing. Instead they say nothing. The government is killing millions of people through their silence and inaction.”

  “I guess I agree with that totally. In any pandemic inaction costs lives.”

  “Maybe I will try to contact the local news and see if I can make a statement and if so maybe the national news will pick it up.”

  “I don’t see how that can hurt anything. If I make a statement without the OK from above besides losing my job which would be fine, I can also be charged with a felony and even treason.”

  “I will see what I can do as soon as possible. I know how it got here and how it spreads. I will do everything I can. I will also try to contact the national news directly. I will not mention your name and it is doubtful we could be connected in any way.”

  “Thank you, if the government won’t try to save lives maybe you can. Please call me anytime. I have little work now to do since we have exhausted all our ideas.”