Oak Ridge

Introduction

Word around town is that people are coming back from the dead. The ‘returned’ is what they’re calling them – god damned zombies if you ask me. I haven’t seen any of them personally, but I know some people who have. All the families who have had loved ones come back have been keeping pretty quiet, probably afraid of what people might say. I’m not usually one to believe in rumours or conspiracy theories, but everyone seems to be pretty freaked out lately. My dad is the Sheriff so I’ve seen a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have, but he has yet to confirm or deny these so-called "returned" people. Probably doesn’t know how I would react to something like that. Hell, I’m not sure he even knows how to make sense of it.

My dad told me once that the word Sheriff comes from an old-English phrase 'Shire-Reeve' or Keeper of the Shire. I'd say that is true for the town of Oak Ridge, where I'm from. When there’s a problem in town, people usually look to my dad for answers. But if people are coming back from the dead, I’m not sure this is a problem even he has an answer for. It’ll likely be a while before this mystery gets solved.

The way I see it, there are three kinds of people where I live: Those who've had zombies come back, those who're waiting for someone to come back, and then there’s everyone else. I’m not exactly sure which category I fit into. I only know two people who've died — my granddad died of lung cancer a few years back, but he lived halfway across the country so I don’t reckon I’ll be seeing him anytime soon. The second person was a kid we called ‘Newbie’. The truth is, I don't much fancy him coming back. I’m not sure what I’d do if that little brat comes knocking at my door and yapping about what we did to him.