Rail-Trails Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York

Midnight

Awesome Blossom!

-Midnight

Firework

Oh my god.

The Turning ~ &tau&omega&omicron

5 months have passed since the virus first infected someone.
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5 months of chaos....
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Now, the country is under national emergency. People are fleeing the surrounding areas. But not as much in fear of the virus but from what it creates.
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Zombies.
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That would be a fitting description for them. They have no beating heart. They breathe no more. They are just a memory; an echo of what they used to be.
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But they are also more than a zombie. They are smart. Even smarter than us; they are ignorant to pain. They are Turned.
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They look as though they were alive, except their skin is snow and as cold as ice. Their eyes, though, burn with a horrid light, hollow yet alive.
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They have taken the towns around the facility but seem uninterested in us and our work. Maybe they are not that smart. Or maybe they know there is no cure.
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Only 5 of my team remains with me, 2 guards, too. We have a tank, not that is would do us any good.
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Now it is August 5th.
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Word of our demise has begun to leak from the USA into neighboring countries. Mutiny is erupting in industrialized cities.
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Riots happen every night...
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What have we done.....?
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My nights are sleepless now. I work endlessly for a cure. Just... anything!
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Day after day, I wait for a break, a change of tides.
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Nothing...
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~~~
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AUGUST 19, TUESDAY; 9:31 P.M. GHECO LABS
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I am working on what I believe might actually be a cure when the lights shut off.
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At first, I believe it to be a colleague playing a trick on me. I try the switch.
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Darkness still.
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A foreboding chill runs down my spine.
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A storm can be heard brewing on the horizon, wind sending eerie gales howling through the rafters.
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Then I hear it.
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Soft footsteps walking down the hallway. Not the heavy boots of a guard.
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The only one of my colleagues here besides me is John. He wears cowboy boots.
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'Oh... fudge....' I think. I throw off the lab coat, knowing it will be like a beacon in the dark.
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I try to keep a level head and silently slip out the back door to the room. The emergency door. Usually, an alarm would have sounded. None. The power was off.
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I shiver as rain pounds down around me, turning the ground to mud.
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Lightning flashes, illuminating the ladder leading to the roof. I rush forward and began to ascend the rungs.
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Suddenly, a cold hand grasps my ankle.
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My breath catches in my throat. I glance down...
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Blazing, bright green eyes glare back.
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A shreak rips from me and I kick my boot on the beasts face, knocking it down.
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I give a shuddeing breath and quickly begin to climb again.
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Upon reaching the top, I place a scarp of a board over the the ladder, preventing entrance. Then I do the same to the other ladders.
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I quel my beating heart and try to control my panic.
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I glance around the dark, soaked rooftop and retreat to a small shed perched upon the otherwise barren roof.
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Panic coursing through my veins, I sit down on a crate and lean against the back wall.
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Maybe I was safe...
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Maybe...
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Then a hand reaches forward from the darkness and clamps onto my wrist.
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~~~
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~ NRm

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