After what happened yesterday, we’ve all been on edge. We’ve taken no chances today and avoided all signs of civilization. It’s just too soon for us after losing Barbara to gamble with our lives again. We knew that there would come a time when we would need to resupply ourselves but yesterday’s lesson has taught us to be that much more careful the next time.
We’re seeing less and less of the Undead the further west we travel. That makes us hopeful that we have gotten in front of the encroaching infection. After yesterday we’ve had to re-evaluate our escape plan. There was no way that we could attempt to cross the border into the US so close to where people were dying and then returning as the Undead. We needed to find a spot where the border wasn’t likely to be closed or on high alert. Since we truly have no idea how far the Undead have multiplied, we don’t know where we might encounter too many questions and/or possible detention. The idea is to get across the border without drawing too much attention to ourselves. And to be perfectly honest, we are starting to attract a little unwanted attention.
Think about it, we’re travelling on foot with weapons, both firearms and melee, and we’ve got dried blood and gore on our clothes. If anyone with any kind of authority were to have seen us, I’m sure that we would have been detained for questioning. Let’s think about it for a second, it’s not like there is much of anything being reported in the news and after our altercation on the bus, there is a nation-wide APB out on individuals matching our description. It’s imperative now that we stay out of sight and hopefully we’ll be out of mind soon as well. I shouldn’t say that though because the only way that we’ll be forgotten about is if the Undead show up in full force. We’ve been very lucky so far with that. I guess the 5.5 million people in the GTA are keeping them busy for the time being.
What we don’t understand is the lack of disregard that locals have for what is happening only a few hours away from their doorsteps. Classic head in the sand attitude. If you’re reading this and you’re one of those people, consider this the “ah ha” moment where you take your heads out of your asses and start preparing to live. Because otherwise you’re going to die. And that doesn’t equate to eternal rest anymore.
We’ve located an abandoned factory to spend the night in. The structure itself is very open concept, mainly just a large vacant room. It’s strategically not very secure but all of the offices are located a level above the ground floor. The benefit being that they can only be reached by one staircase. It was a hard call whether or not to stay here. The singular staircase is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Technically speaking, it’s only one entrance to watch but that makes it only one exit as well. In a pinch, we supposed that we could go out the window. There is a rusted fire escape but it ends about 8 feet from the rocky ground below it. The chance of breaking a leg or spraining an ankle is high but in a pinch we would use any exit we had. It would just be seriously difficult to make a clean escape with all of our gear and an injured team member if something went wrong.
Feeling slightly safe and having found that the Wi-Fi connection in the factory is still connected (I know, seems crazy that an empty, abandoned building would still have unsecured Wi-Fi but I guess there was a computer glitch at Bell Canada during the disconnection process), I’m scouring the ‘net for any tidbit of information that I can find. For any reports of the dead rising around the globe but I haven’t found anything yet.
It’s just so strange, so odd to find nothing. We’d always assumed that the spread would be lightning fast but that’s just not the case. I’m sure that you’re out there thinking that what I’m writing here is in fact some major prank. Or perhaps some publicity stunt for a new movie. If that’s the case, it’s sad and disheartening. I wish I could make you all believe that what we’re running from is in fact real. But you won’t believe me until you open your front door one day and come face to face with your now decomposing neighbour.
Maybe the infection IS contained to Toronto and the surrounding areas. Maybe there ARE no reports to find because no one else needs to worry about telling the world of their struggle for survival. Maybe hordes of the Undead HAVE NOT massacred the populace. After everything that I have seen and witnessed in the past week I just don’t think that’s the case. I can feel the Undead breathing down my neck everyday even though I know they’re literally not there. It’s that feeling that is keeping me going, keeping me fighting.
It’s a constant concern of mine that one I will come across a press release. A cry for help. Or a blog from some shut-in thinking that their hastily boarded up windows and doors will be enough to keep the Undead at bay. And that just resurrects all of the fears and regrets that you have about your own loved ones; the ones you left behind, the ones you knew you had to leave behind. It kills you inside but at the same time your survival is all that you can really worry about. At least their memory will live on in you.
The day that Brooks VanReit rose from the dead I called my parents in BC. I told them to start heading south as soon as they could. To head south and to stay away from towns and cities where the Undead had been observed. Knowing my father, he would have refused to go thinking I was just acting crazy. If it’s not on the ‘Newfie’ news it can’t be true. I can actually hear him in my head saying it. My mother on the other hand would have understood the urgency of the situation and started packing the car. Packing it with things they were unlikely to need but at least moving in a positive direction. The only thing I cannot predict about them is whether or not they will actually leave. Two differing ideologies, likely fighting a battle of wits. On one side the chance for survival, on the other stupid pig-headed denial and most probably death.
I haven’t heard from them since that day. Neither of them lives in the technological age so there are no cell phones or a computer. The phone at the house just rings; no answering machine either. I’ve got no way of knowing so I must choose to forget until I have the luxury to wonder.
The main thing that we need to remember is that we cannot save everyone. In the end, I believe that we’ll hardly be able to save anyone. If what we see in the movies or read in any of the books is correct, there really won’t be any chance for most people. By the time they’ve figured out what’s happening it’s going to be too late. And while urban areas will likely have a larger and more concentrated effort to fight back, the numbers will ultimately work against them. The Undead just need to get one across the front line to wreak havoc and turn a scared subsection of the population into converts. And then exponentially the army of the Undead will grow again. It’s like a vicious circle. Our past has shown us that we are likely to fail…
There is one thing that I find incredibly odd about this whole thing: why Brooks VanReit? Why Toronto Canada? What has made us so special that we get to be the epicentre of the coming Apocalypse? It just seems so weird, too weird doesn’t it? There is no high level bio-containment lab in the city or even in the province. One was supposed to have been built in the 90’s within Toronto’s city limits but community opposition prompted the lab to be relocated to Manitoba. There are scientists that work with viruses and infectious bacterium but their labs are not equipped and therefore not authorized to handle specimens that pose any significant risk to humans. Puzzling, isn’t it? In the end, Toronto had just as much luck as any other place to be the birth of undeath.
I’ve even done a thorough background search on VanReit. I have access to a number of databases through my position at the CFS and I couldn’t locate him on any watch list or cited as having authored any scientific papers. From the looks of it, he was just an ordinary guy that has held the same job at a downtown marketing firm for the past 16 years. He literally was just a mid-level manager with no apparent links to anything covert or illegal. It just doesn’t make any sense. What HAD started all of this? At the moment, it doesn’t look like we are ever going to know. God, I’m beginning to hate questions. Especially those without answers.
It’s getting late and I’m exhausted. Adrenaline has kept us going for the past few days but soon its effects will wear off. Sleep is essential to keep our bodies working for us. And hopefully now I’ve passed on enough of my roiling thoughts to you, enough to allow my brain to shut off for a few hours. Keep yourselves safe in the meantime and pray that some answers surface soon. We need them if we are going to survive this.
Days with the Undead 
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