The Tell-tale Heart

By Kevin Jepson

He stands in the back of the hall with his arms crossed.

Middle-aged, weather- and care-worn, like the rest of us, I suppose.  He came in with the "instructor" as guard or companion, or just curious as to what the current state of the war on the Undead is. He doesn't seem to be listening though, like he's heard it all before.

The instructor is talking, droning on to be precise.

"Remember, Zack does not behave anything like us anymore..." yadda yadda yadda. The usual stuff. Necessary for the young ones just joined but, for most of us, stating the brutally obvious. Instead of listening I watch Him, the guy in the back with his arms crossed. Something about him is different, a coolness, a calmness... What exactly I can't really say, but definitely different.

The instructor keeps going on about the physiology of Zack, how he moves, how he targets his victims, how he calls in others to the kill.  Still the guy in the back stands, stock still, arms crossed, watching. Waiting, maybe?

Until, that is, the instructor says, "Although Zack may look human, he is not. There is nothing of the pre-infected person there, only a blank instinctual drive to grab a living human and bite them...".

The guy in the back suddenly uncrosses his arms, turns and walks out. No big sign of disagreement, no words, no snorts, no real change of expression even, just turning and walking back out of the room.  I don't think anyone else noticed. The instructor certainly never skipped a beat, continuing to drone on about how to kill Zack, how to avoid Zack, how to move when Zack out numbers us.  All the latest info on dealing with the walking dead.

The lecture goes on for what seems like hours and then we are dismissed.

As I walk back to the bunkhouse, I see the guy from the back, sitting on a bench against the wall. Eyes closed, legs stretched out like he is asleep.  I know he isn't sleeping. Nobody sleeps like that anymore, not out in the open, even inside a redoubt like ours.

Tales to tell...

Welcome to "Life in Zack's World".

Zack (n.) The military slang for Zombie used during World War Z.

Here I will be collecting and telling tales, stories and anecdotes from life in a world where the Undead Rule.

A world where Zombies, victims of a plague caused by the Solanum virus,  roam at will, ever ready to attack and consume any animal that crosses their path.  Especially living humans.  A world at war with an enemy that does not sleep, does not need to eat or even breathe.  An enemy that has none of the human military requirements to be "bred, fed and led".

Coming Soon.

I've collected some notes, journals and diaries and am trying to read them to maybe get them into some sort of coherent narrative.

It's tough when every piece of paper has bloodstains on it...

KJ