Live one more day: Survive Ten Seconds After Midnight
I woke up one day, and the world was no more. Just like that, I was just one of the lucky few that have been spared from the onslaught that took most people in their sleep. Unless, I haven't exactly been. But that's how I felt it at first: my front door was destroyed, my home ransacked and my family missing. And there I was, fine, unharmed. Just a little hungry.
Have you ever thought about what you would do in the event of a zombie outbreak? Where you'll go, who you'll team up with, which kind of weapon are best to take out the undead... Governments even have contingency plans in case such an absurd scenario happens. For most people, a potential outbreak would be contained in a few hours, or a few days by a competent army.
What happens, then, when it strikes everywhere at once, in the dead of night? Have you anticipated your reaction when you're woken up by the reanimated corpse of your sister sinking its teeth into your neck? Well, we didn't.
Midnight
One night was all it took. It began in America, favored by the political instability and the disorganized military forces. Communications were cut off early, the rest of the world unaware of the catastrophe that just occured. Following the course of the moon, the wave of dead then hit Europe and Africa, sweeping away every country in one breath, until the modern civilisation was completely smothered.
Everybody knows where they were at Midnight. To be honest it's easier this time: most were sleeping in their bed. The outbreak wasn't as traumatic for them as the aftermath. The few of us who were awake and still lived to tell the tale are scarred for life.
The fateful night that marked the beginning of the apocalypse was called Midnight, in reference to the Doomsday Clock. The clock had ticked earlier than expected but the world wasn't thrown into a nuclear winter like predicted. Instead, it was a hell of blood and teeth. As civilisation collapsed, humanity survived to see the first seconds after midnight.
The vector
The World Health Organisation, as well as any laboratory with the means to study the dead went up in flames at Midnight. Thus, only theories could be made concerning the origin of the pandemic. Some suggested the genre's classic, a virus, others a fungus, or a man-made biological weapon. While it is a good fuel for campfire debate, nobody is really intent on finding the truth any more. The question is not what it is, but how to avoid it.
Infected fluids, scratches and of course bites are all it takes to transmit the infection. Cooking a zombie's meat, even for a long time, is not enough to kill the pathogen, some tried and suffered the consequences of their terrible experiment. The turn rate is heavily dependent on the person, from a few seconds to several agonizing days. When the wounded dies, there is less than a minute before they rise again. And then, there are those who survive.
Living Deads
Defying all odds, a small portion of the population doesn't die from being infected. Yet, they are not immune, the disease does get to them. They turn, joining the ranks of the ever-hungry army, but they never die in the process. Thus, they retain their consciousness and most of their personality. More aggressive and prone to bite anyone who comes too close to them, but ultimately still humans.
Hope
This discovery was celebrated as a candle of hope for humanity's future. If people could survive the initial infection, then it meant a cure was possible. The newly formed government tried to gather every such survivor to study them and their relation to the hordes of zombies. Those who agreed were promised safety and great rewards once the crisis was over.
and Despair
This discovery propagated like a chilling wave within the surviving population. If they were still part-zombie and displayed some undead behaviour, weren't they a new stage of the catastrophe? Instead of mindless hordes easy to lure away and dispatch one by one, humanity would face intelligent and crafty monsters, way more dangerous than before.
The opinion shifted when it was revealed that these special survivors, nicknamed Living Deads, could infect others through the usual means of the infection. Even worse, their victims would rise up not as regular zombies, but Thralls, obedient slaves who would execute every command given by their progenitor.
In the end, everything went horribly: some of the Living Deads who surrendered themselves were slaughtered by survivors or even soldiers, and others decided to side with the undeads, becoming the monsters humans feared they would become.
Ten Seconds After Midnight
Ten months have passed since the initial outbreak. The world has stabilized, albeit slightly. Factions were established throughout the lands, multiple human organisation claiming to be the new official government, led by generals, politicians or religious figures. Living Deads kingdoms are death traps harbouring zombie farms, waging war against the remaining humans out there.
For the regular survivor, life within a community means live according to the radical rules of a dictator or become a fanatic believer. The line between an essential member of the community and a superfluous mouth to feed is thinner than ever, all life hanging on this thread. Outside, it's even worse. Danger is everywhere, from unmapped groups with ill intents to Living Dead strongholds and wandering hordes, every step could be your last.
Themes
Trust is outdated
Paranoia is paramount in this world. Living Deads are always looking to expand their armies and may work with isolated communities to provide them with fresh bodies. Benevolent groups got overrun by letting another one who passed as a sickly kid. In safe havens, your neighbor might be looking for an excuse to kick you out and steal your plate.
Scarcity Society
New cities can't sustain themselves. Farmlands couldn't be redeemed from the dead, and canned food can only take you so far. Hunting animals was proven difficult since they too are carriers. In some extreme cases, entire villages resorted to cannibalism. The bigger communities are still managing, but for how long? By the way, did you indentify the taste of your last stew?
Post-Humanity
Living Deads are not special people. They were merely lucky enough to survive the infection and not get eliminated by their group before they could flee. Except for a few, they know their place is not among humans any more. They adapt, evolve, build a new simulacrum of a society on their own, secluded in their lair or protecting the last things that still counts for them.
"Long-term"? Been a while since I heard this word. Look, I'm just trying to make it to the end of the month. Draft your long-term plans if you want, but I tell you they won't do jack shit when your face will be bitten off tomorrow.
This is dark and just my vibe <3 The Living Dead are creepy and the thralls are so sad to read about.. I have a question, you say the Thralls are not rise as regular zombies, but do they carry the disease? Or are they a strange, twisted form of "bonus" hope?
Thank you! I thought it would fit your vibe, I would have recommended Crux Umbra but I think it's an even better fit for Risenhall. Thralls will be more developed into the dedicated article, but they are regular zombie in everything except that they follow the orders of their makers and not shamble aimlessly on their own. So they can infect others and decay all the same. However, if they infect someone then their victim will become an ordinary zombie, only the direct bite from a Living Dead can create a Thrall. I think I can rewrite this part to be more explicit, thank you!