An election is held and nine representatives are selected to sit on the Black Hills Council, an advisory group created to assist the consuls in the governance of the Black Hills settlement.
Appendix – Timeline (Year Five)
August 22
Four years have passed since the change marked the beginning of the zombie apocalypse.
August 30
Following a raid in Rapid City, South Dakota, the settlement obtains an operating x-ray machine, which goes nicely with the x-ray technician who flew in from Hawaii.
September 13
The Caliphate launches an unprovoked, surprise attack against Israel.
September 14
Israel declares war, destroys the Caliphate, and declares peace, all in the same day.
September 18
Jacob finds the prophet and puts an end to his evil once and for all.
Appendix – Zombie Laws
Reanimation Process
Approximately three days after being bitten, the individual will die. Bites become infected almost immediately, regardless of any medical treatment given. This will steadily grow worse, mimicking the symptoms of gangrene. A high fever will also develop, and eventually delirium will set in.
Physical contact with zombie blood, fluids, or tissue does not result in infection. Only actual bites that pierce the skin are known to be dangerous.
Seven minutes after death, the infected will reanimate. Those dying without having first been bitten will rise again as zombies in roughly twenty six hours.
Appearance & Behavior
All zombies have a gray film, similar to mucus, covering their eyes. This is distinct and easily noticeable.
They are silent. They do not moan. They do not groan. They do not breathe.
The dead walk with short, shambling steps. Their maximum speed is comparable to the walking speed of a typical, healthy adult.
Zombies never stop moving and immediately target any human they sense. This includes mechanical devices associated with people, such as moving cars. While wandering about they generally favor flat, easy to traverse surfaces such as roads. Being denser than water, they are capable of crossing the bottom of lakes and rivers.
All animals, save humans, are ignored. In return, all creatures, even insects, avoid the zombies. After a zombie is killed, animals will treat it like any other dead body.
The shambling dead have an intense desire to feed. However, after one or two bites they become sated and non-violent. This lasts for approximately twenty minutes, after which the hunger returns. While sated they are completely unaware of their surroundings and will not recall anything that happens during this period.
Upon discovering prey, zombies will not cease in their efforts to reach it. If a person is hiding inside a house or room, the zombie will beat on the door until it gains entrance or is distracted. If distracted, the creature will completely forget about the original prey.
Durability & Strength
The only way to kill a zombie is to destroy the brain. Severing the spinal column will cause paralysis, much as it would with a human being.
Zombies rot for roughly two days. At that point decomposition ceases. However, if the brain is damaged sufficiently to destroy the zombie, the body will then deteriorate normally.
They do not suffer physical injury from regular activities. A barefoot zombie walking over rough ground will sustain no damage to its feet. The exact nature of this is unknown with the primary theories being: 1) zombies have skin more durable than the living and 2) zombies steadily heal minor injuries (major wounds never heal).
The dead are weaker than when they were alive, although the difference is slight. They have unlimited endurance.
Cold temperatures, even below freezing, do not affect or hinder a zombie in any way.
Intellect & Senses
Zombies have no memory of their past and are unable to reason normally. However, they can perform basic functions such as unlocking doors.
Vision is limited to approximately a half mile. If blind during life, they are also blind following reanimation.
Their hearing is unchanged, and this sense is often used to locate prey.
Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 3): Salvation Page 40
