Outbreak – Day 1

Zombies. People used to laugh at the possibility of the undead overrunning the world. They'd snicker in disbelief at those hording supplies and making plans should the zombies ever come. The laugher stopped this morning when the first undead was reported. What so many have feared has become a reality, a zombie apocalypse has begun.

My name is Charles Rosenthal, lead researcher at the Camden Biomedical Center. From what fictional stories have told us about the arrival of the zombies, the situation always seems to get out of hand, so I'm leaving this record. In case something happens to us, our work will continue and perhaps someone can live beyond the end of this present world. I hope so.

Outbreak – Day 4

Militaries around the globe have been working to purge all traces of the undead. They've been successful in thinning the overall numbers, but containment seems to be beyond their capabilities. Whenever an infection is reported, rapid response teams are deployed, containing or burning out the disease, but new spots appear in other zones. It seems similar to fighting an infestation of roaches, no matter how many are eliminated, more crawl out somewhere and continue unhindered. Humanity is losing this fight.

Outbreak – Day 16

Things are going very badly. The numbers of the undead seem to be growing larger every hour. Being on the front lines, the soldiers have had the greatest exposure to the undead and have suffered the highest number of losses. To better concentrate their remaining defenses, military forces have abandoned every base on foreign soil and countless cities here at home, pulling back to surround key strategic locations. The Camden Biomedical Center is in one of the cities the military's depleted numbers can no longer afford to protect. We're on our own.

Outbreak – Day 37

It's been three weeks and we haven't heard anything from the outside world. Radio and television broadcasts have stopped, only static now. Cell towers aren't working any more. The Biomedical Center has a mass of solar panels on the roof and a water treatment facility in the basement. Storage areas contain enough processed and vacuum-sealed food to last everyone inside for a year, but the debate is still going on as to what we should do before it runs out.

Outbreak – Day 39

Libraries are quiet. Cemeteries are quiet. But, ever since the undead showed up and the city around Camden Biomedical was evacuated, we've experienced a whole new definition of the word. The silence ended this morning with the arrival of the undead. It was only a single zombie, but she was followed by three more. By noon, the grounds were covered by them like a Biblical plague of locusts. They moan and thrash against our walls as if instinctively knowing the living are inside. Fortunately, we've had the first floor barricaded as heavily as possible since the outbreak first began. We can only pray it holds.

Outbreak – Day 40

My staff and fellow researchers are questioning my decision to capture zombies for study. I know I'm risking the infection spreading among the people inside, but the food isn't going to last forever. We need an effective method to eliminate the undead, and to find such a solution we'll need actual data. Without facts, we have only speculation, and that isn't enough. Despite the risks, we have to try.

Outbreak – Day 41

Our efforts did not go well. Lowering a scaffold, previously used for washing windows, down the side of the building, we managed to lasso a trio of zombies and haul them back up. Once on the roof, we stood behind cages, and the zombies showed their limited intelligence by trying to reach us through the bars rather than going around, making the closing of the cage doors behind them a simple matter. On our fourth attempt, one of the ropes slipped, tilting the scaffold and throwing lab assistant Mayes over the side. We were able to pull him up by his safety line, but he'd been bitten on the ankle. He's been placed in isolation along with those who've had direct contact with him.

Outbreak – Day 42

I had to deal with a small mutiny today. After the infection of Mayes, and the possible contamination of three others, outcry over my decision to retrieve the undead despite the objections of my staff intensified to near hysteria.

They think I'm not listening to them, or that I disregarded their concerns over the possible dangers, but they're wrong. I did listen, and I knew what the risks were to all of us. It was the right decision. No matter the consequences to Mayes or the others, it was still the right choice. If something isn't done to find a way to eliminate the zombies, humanity is going to end, not just a few people in a lab but every single one of us.

I used to keep a gun in my locker, but I've started carrying it with me.

Outbreak – Day 43

Mayes turned early this morning. The others in quarantine are showing no signs of infection, but they'll be held for another day or two to be safe. My staff nearly lynched me today when I suggested using Mayes as one of our test subjects, but it's the only way I can think to honor my friend. His death can't be for nothing. I won't let it be for nothing.

Outbreak – Day 63

I'm so tired. It's difficult to concentrate. Haven't got much sleep lately. Someone left a note on my desk containing a detailed plan on how I could be locked in with one of the test subjects with minimum risk to anyone else.

They hate me. I know they do. I take my meals alone with a fork in one hand and a gun within reach of the other. My lab and connecting office have become a sanctuary, or prison cell depending on how I'm feeling on any particular day.

Outbreak – Day 65

I fell asleep at my computer yesterday. Realizing my exhaustion was posing a greater threat than usual, I've set up traps around the lab near doors and vents, designed to create enough noise to wake me if someone tries to get in while I'm asleep. I've got to get some rest.

Outbreak – Day 67

After the first good sleep I've had in days, my mind started thinking clearly, and I realized I needed to find a way to make peace with my people. When I opened the door to my lab, I was instantly attacked by a zombie in the hallway. If I hadn't had my gun with me, I would've certainly been infected or worse. A closer look revealed the zombie to have been one of the chemists who worked on the second floor. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Outbreak – Day 68

I managed to make it to the security room, but a check of the cameras showed I was the only person still alive. Knowing I wouldn't have to watch my back around my team anymore gave me a feeling of relief, but it also made me feel guilty for taking any kind of enjoyment out of their horrid fate. I'll have to get them into isolation chambers, but it won't be easy with all of them on the loose.

Outbreak – Day 70

It took some time, and several close calls, but I managed to get all of the zombies locked away. I had to use one of the biohazard suits from storage to keep from being infected myself. It's unnerving to see the dead faces of my former colleagues staring at me from behind the isolation doors.

Outbreak – Day 73

Progress has been slow, but I've made some interesting discoveries. Despite their active nature, the bodies of the zombies are dead and continuing to decompose at a mathematically predictable rate. I'd hoped for the ability to restore them, but the body is dead and the mind empty. There's nothing left to bring back. Since curing the infected is no longer an option, I'm directing my efforts toward disposal.

Outbreak – Day 74

I've taken skin and bone samples from various zombies and tested them in combination with a variety of substances and environments. Although freezing does cause cell damage due to the expansion of water within the cells, it fails to do enough damage to disable a zombie's ability to move and attack.

Fire and various acids of high corrosive values have proven the most effective in eradicating all infectious materials. Tomorrow, I plan to test my conclusions.

Outbreak – Day 75

Test subjects one through five have been eliminated. Although successful in my endeavors, the solutions still have their drawbacks. Fire, with the proper amount of accelerant, will reduce a zombie to ashes. However, doing so on a global scale without burning down what's left of the world would prove problematic, to say nothing of finding sufficient levels of fuel to complete the task.

Corrosive acids also proved effective in reducing the bodies to little more than bones and a toxic sludge, but the obvious negatives are the potential damage to everything else the acid touches and the hazardous cleanup afterwards.

Outbreak – Day 81

The solution is so obvious I don't know why I never thought of it before. With the zombies continuing to decay, disposal is already being accomplished. The only thing required is a large enough place to hold the undead and wait for them to rot away entirely. An abandoned quarry exists a few miles to the east. Once I clear the undead in front of the Biomedical Center, I'll start transporting them there for orderly storage and disposal.

Outbreak – Day 96

Collecting the walking dead one by one from around the building and putting them in cages took more than a week of effort. So far, no new undead have arrived to replace them. Putting the cages on a cargo truck, I was able to transport them in groups to the quarry where I released them into one of the deep chasms hollowed out by the miners. Without access to the mining elevator I disabled, the zombies won't be getting out.

Outbreak – Day 120

Using noise while driving, I've managed to attract the remaining zombies in the city, caging them, and transporting them to the quarry. With the city clear, I've managed to restore power to a hydroelectric plant, and it allowed me to get a radio station broadcasting again. I've made contact with other survivors and told them of how to capture and contain the undead. They've promised to tell others.

It will take time to rebuild the world, but we'll get it done. Humanity has survived the zombie apocalypse and turned a dark page in the great book of history. I look forward to seeing what lies beyond.

Restoration – Day 1