Five Steps Forward

Imagine this: Abel Township, a small, resolute compound sat atop a rolling hill in the English countryside. They called it a township, but it wasn't much more than a rugged camp: a half dozen crude shacks. An abandoned barn that served as a mess hall (and still vaguely smelled of cows). A large tent that functioned as the medic. A bunker built into the ground, converted to an armory. A radio tower, and the corrugated tin shed they referred to as "the comms shack" that sat under it. A decent farm, garden beds and chicken coops built up over months and meticulously tended. And, of course, the big stone farmhouse sitting solemn and proud in the middle of it all. It was all enclosed by two rings of chain-wire fence, patched up in some places, stained deep red in others.

It wasn't rust. The stains were something else entirely. You can guess what it was.

Now, this is where the story began, but when it began is another question entirely. It's difficult to say, and it'll depend on who you ask, but some people agree that things began to get really interesting just over a year after the outbreak. Specifically, on a sweltering August day, a day in which a certain runner would fall from the sky.

*The narrative is based on and inspired by Zombies, Run! and Zombies, Run! 5k and is entirely fictional. Most names, characters, places, and incidents depicted in this work are the product of Six To Start. Those that aren't are a product of my imagination or used fictitiously. The sequence of events may or may not follow the app. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is not intended and entirely coincidental.entirely coincidental.