Diary of the Apocalypse {ON HOLD}

Preface

I've seen them face-to-face. I've heard people call them zombies, the undead, walkers, creeps, monsters, and a plethora of other names. Some of the titles, such as 'undead,' aren't really accurate. The humans whose minds were stolen were still very much alive -- from a clinical standpoint, that is.

"Scientifically, the most accurate way to describe the creatures would be 'hosts.' See, the slug-like parasite that turned them into such terrifying creatures, the "hacker," as it came to be called, would enter the bloodstream in its larval form in one way or another (usually a bite from another host), and would swiftly travel to the brain. Once there, it would mature into a queen hacker and spread out, fusing with the brain and eventually touching almost every synapse. And as it took control of the brain, it would reproduce, creating a colony of hackers in the larval form -- tiny creatures similar but slightly inferior to itself, and totally obedient to the queen. The hacker larvae would spread throughout every body fluid of the host, where they would maintain the health of the host's body, keeping it alive even in the absence of food, water, and oxygen.

"But the most terrifying part of the whole process is that the human body fights against the intruder with everything it has. This causes the host to lapse in and out of consciousness for a time, then they endure alternating moments of insanity and mindlessness. Finally, complete mindlessness is established when the hacker gains total control of its host.

"There is no coming back from this parasitosis. The second the hacker begins fusing with the host's brain, there is no way to separate host and parasite without permanently damaging the host, sending them into a coma that they will not wake from. Ever."

The above quote is from the video log of a biologist who has long since disappeared. It is part of just one of the many stories recorded and written down by survivors who are now gone. As I stumbled upon them on my journey across the country, I collected them and put them together in this book, this 'diary of the apocalypse.'

As you read, remember that this isn't just a story. These were real people, as real as you or me, and this is all that is left of them. This is their legacy.