The World I Was Not Ready For

[ZombMan]

Chapter 1: Before Hell Came Around - May 23rd - July 8, 1993
 

It was a few days since I had graduated High School. My Application to Kentucky State University had been accepted and I was sure I was going to be playing for the football team they had. Of course, it made me excited and cheerful as I always dreamed of becoming a player for the NFL since I was a little kid. My parents were supportive of it thankfully. Can't say the same for some of the other kids.

I remember on the last day of classes I walked out of those doors to fellow classmates laughing, talking with each other, and blasting heavy metal from their boomboxes. Some of the students sent me a nod as I left the school. A lot of my peers knew me due to my position on the High School football team which made me one of the popular kids there. There was also the fact that a lot of the girls there were attracted to me somehow despite me never showing any interest in them. I guess having red hair with a mullet does you favors.

After the graduation ceremony, I went to eat out at a fancy looking restaurant just outside of Muldraugh. I saw some of my friends there. Some I know I won't be seeing again after the ceremony so I've decided to party with them one last time. I don't even know what I did with the VHS tape but I guess it's somewhere back at my parents' house. Still, it was a party I'll never forget.

I had a job at that Zippee Market on Main Street to keep me occupied post graduation. It didn't pay much but at least it was something for me to do so my parents wouldn't bitch at me for having nothing better to do before I went off to college. Some days when I didn't have work I'd frequent the community center in March Ridge just to keep myself in good health. March Ridge was also where my High School was as well.

I've noticed that weeks before things got crazy there was a weird smell in the air around Knox County. Like most people in town concluded, it was an awful smell but no one including me thought much of it. Maybe that contributed to the chaos right now but who knows? Not long after the smell first appeared some of the townsfolk began to cough constantly but they didn't seem like they were infected with anything major at the time so nobody made a big deal about it. Neither of my parents had the cough but like everyone else, no one thought much of it. My parents left for vacation on the 5th of July to some city in New Jersey I forgot the name of to attend a concert of a Christian singer they liked. Of course, they asked me to take care of the house since I was going to be the only one home. The very next day I hear about the military doing evacuations of residents from affected areas including Rosewood, where I lived. The evacuation buses were filled with people that were most likely from other parts of Knox County since I didn't recognize any familiar faces inside them.

It was from there that I began hearing way more sirens than usual and cases of people suddenly attacking others began to pop up and be talked about by the townsfolk. A co-worker told me about a man who was randomly attacked at the bank in West Point by a homeless person and ended up with the homeless person having to be put down by the cops. He also told me about another man not too far from Rosewood who was scratched in the face by a Woman as he was trying to help her on the side of the road. Despite what I heard, I continued on normally with my life.

I remembered on the 8th of July at midnight I heard a couple of loud screams and several car alarms going off for a bit. Having been startled by the sudden noises and feeling uneasy about it I decided not to leave my bed and go investigate the noises outside. I eventually fell back asleep after 10 - 15 minutes. This would be a decision I would come to later regret as morning came up.