The Zombie Effect; Survivors log Entry #1

Survivor’s Log – Entry #3 Date: November 26, 20 [signal interference detected] 

Entry by: Mara Quin, Age 22

[Recording initiated…]

The street was too quiet.

I made the first left into our housing community and immediately felt it—like the air had thickened, like the world was holding its breath.

Car doors hung open. A tricycle lay tipped on its side in someone’s yard. One of the mailboxes was still swinging, creaking in the wind.

Then I saw the blood.

It streaked across the sidewalk in front of the Hendersons’ place—long, uneven, like someone had been dragged. I hit the gas, ignoring the 30 mph signs. My tires screeched around the final right turn onto our street.

That’s when I saw them.

Neighbors. Out of their homes. Standing in the middle of the road like they’d forgotten where they were going. Their skin was pale, their movements slow and jerky, like puppets with tangled strings.

I didn’t stop. I didn’t blink. I just drove.

The key slid into the lock like muscle memory. I shoved the door open and yelled, “Zombies!”

Edward was already inside, helping Jeremy pack. My little brother—well, not so little anymore—tackled me in a panic, but I could tell he was relieved. We were all trained for this. Dad made sure of it.

We grew up on zombie drills. Every movie, every book, every late-night “what if” scenario. But this wasn’t a drill. This was real.

Our house is reinforced—steel-plated blinds, shatterproof windows, a front door that could stop a battering ram. But even that won’t hold forever.

The real escape is under the stairs. A hidden tunnel, a reinforced vehicle, and a route that leads straight to the cabin. Remote. Stocked. Safe—at least, that’s the plan.

I’m logging this because someone has to. If we don’t make it, if this device is all that’s left, then let it tell the truth:

The outbreak didn’t start in the shadows. It didn’t wait for nightfall.

It came in broad daylight, wearing the faces of our neighbors.

[Recording terminated…]

adapted from the short story "The Zombie Effect" by M.L.N.