Surviving The Zombie Apocalypse (Book 1): Sanctuary (50 page)

“Pregnant?”
I didn’t know what to say.

She
kissed me a second time, a broad smile on her lips. “You’ll be a father
sometime around the beginning of summer.”

Appendix – Timeline

Day 1 (Monday, August 22)

At 3:15 AM, a quarter of the Earth’s
population goes into unexplained convulsions, dies, and returns seven minutes
later as zombies.

Jacob Thornton wakes at 6:00 AM, turns
on the television, and realizes the world is coming to an end.

Day 2

Jacob meets Briana Mills shortly after
sunset, giving her shelter in his home.

Day 4

Jacob and Briana leave Denton, Texas.

Day 6

The pair reaches Anadarko, Oklahoma and
meets local residents who are attempting to secure their town.

Day 9

They depart Anadarko, turning down an
offer to remain.

Day 13 

Jacob and Briana encounter a large
convoy outside of Garden City, Kansas and accept Cherie and Simon’s family
(Simon, Julie, Michael, and Juliette) as traveling companions.

While passing Garden City, the group
rescues Lizzy, Lois, and Mary.

Day 14 

During a stop in Scott State Park,
Juliette is killed by a zombie.

Day 20

While approaching Dalton, Nebraska they
discover an abandoned police van and are able to properly arm themselves.

Day 21 (September 12)

Jacob and his companions enter the
Nebraska National Forest and meet Pastor Thomas Wills and his followers.

Day 22 

The composition of the group changes
with Simon’s family leaving and Timothy and Susan joining.

While exploring the national forest,
they rescue Miranda who’d been hiding in her aunt’s house.

Day 25 

The group discovers the site where they
will build a permanent settlement.

Day 30 (September 21)

The first day of Fall.

Day 31 

During a scouting trip to the nearby
town of Chadron, Nebraska, Jacob and his companions rescue Eric, Steph, and
several others.

Day 33 

Zombies attack the lake camp shortly
before dawn. Pastor Wills is killed.

November 15

While looting in Chadron, Steph is
assaulted by three men, all of whom are slain.

November 18

Jacob, Briana, Lizzy, Lois, and Mary
head for Martin, South Dakota to investigate a radio transmission indicating
the existence of survivors there.

November 19

The group finds the Martin compound
destroyed and all inhabitants butchered. The bodies of those responsible are
wearing the same distinctive jackets as the gang that attacked Steph a few days
earlier.

Returning to the settlement just before
sunset, Cherie attempts to wrest leadership from Jacob. Lois is killed.

Later that evening, Jacob, Briana,
Lizzy, and Mary decide to target Cherie in retaliation for murdering Lois.

Jacob proposes marriage, and Briana
accepts.

November 20

The band of raiders, the same group that
attacked Steph and Martin, South Dakota, discover the settlement in the
Nebraska National Forest and launch a full scale assault. They are thwarted and
slaughtered by the defenders and an unusually large band of zombies which was
attracted to the sound of battle.

November 21

Returning the next day, Jacob finds only
two survivors, Steph and a four year old boy named Johnny.

Briana reveals to Jacob that she is
pregnant.

Appendix – Zombie Laws

Reanimation Process

Approximately three days after being
bitten, the individual will die. Bites become infected almost immediately,
regardless of any medical treatment given. This will steadily grow worse,
mimicking the symptoms of gangrene. A high fever will also develop, and
eventually delirium will set in.

Physical contact with zombie blood,
fluids, or tissue does not result in infection. Only actual bites that pierce
the skin are known to be dangerous.

Seven minutes after death, the infected
reanimate. Those who die without having first been bitten will rise again as
zombies in roughly twenty six hours.

Appearance &
Behavior

All zombies have a gray film, similar to
mucus, covering their eyes. This is distinct and easily noticeable.

They are silent. They do not moan. They
do not groan. They do not breathe.

The dead walk with short, shambling
steps. Their maximum speed is comparable to the walking speed of a typical,
healthy adult.

Zombies never stop moving and
immediately target any human they sense. This includes mechanical devices
associated with people, such as moving cars. While wandering about they
generally favor flat, easy to traverse surfaces such as roads. Being denser
than water, they are capable of crossing the bottom of lakes and rivers.

All animals, save humans, are ignored.
In return, all creatures, even insects, avoid zombies. After a zombie is
killed, animals will treat it like any other dead body.

The shambling dead have an intense
desire to feed. However, after one or two bites they become sated and
non-violent. This lasts for approximately twenty minutes, after which the
hunger returns. While sated they are completely unaware of their surroundings
and will not recall anything that happens during this period.

Upon discovering prey, zombies will not
cease in their efforts to reach it. If a person is hiding inside a house or
room, a zombie will beat on the door until it gains entrance or is distracted.
If distracted, the creature will completely forget about the original prey.

Durability &
Strength

The only way to kill a zombie is to
destroy the brain. Severing the spinal column will cause paralysis, much as it
would with a human being.

Zombies rot for roughly two days. At
that point decomposition ceases. However, if the brain is damaged sufficiently
to destroy the zombie, the body will then deteriorate normally.

They do not suffer physical injury from
regular activities. A barefoot zombie walking over rough ground will sustain no
damage to its feet. The exact nature of this is unknown with the primary
theories being: 1) zombies have skin more durable than the living, and 2)
zombies steadily heal minor injuries. Major wounds never heal.

The dead are weaker than when they were
alive, although the difference is slight. They have unlimited endurance.

Cold temperatures, even below freezing,
do not affect or hinder a zombie in any way.

Intellect & Senses

Zombies have no memory of their past and
are unable to reason normally. However, they can perform basic functions such
as unlocking doors.

Vision is limited to approximately one
half mile. If blind during life, they are also blind following reanimation.

Their hearing is unchanged, and this
sense is often used to locate prey.