ZACK TRACKS

The online story of two friends struggling to survive in a deadly new world...

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

5/4 21:40

Still noises outside but the sounds of gunfire have disappeared. I have a horrible feeling the infected are out on the streets. Katherine has thrown up twice since we got home, I think she is in shock. 

We are heading up to bed. I have placed glass bottles on the floor in front of the front and back doors as an extra precaution. 

I will do my best to keep my journal updated, but I feel if the situation becomes worse I may have a lot on my plate. That and right now I don't feel like writing, i just want to wake up from this nightmare. 

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

5/4 20:57

House is locked up. Matt has done the same. I have closed the blinds too as a precaution as I'm sure it wont take long for the looters to jump on this opportunity. There are noises out in the street and I can still hear sounds of gunfire coming from Leeds.

I checked the news and there was nothing. NOTHING. Fuck you government.

I wont be checking again. 

I tried Mum a few more times but couldn't get through. However I did reach her voice mail. I am more worried than ever about their well being. If the infected are here then i'm willing to bet they are all over Europe too.

I am beginning to think stocking up was not such a bad idea.

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

5/4 19:31

They are here. 

Arrived in town with about ten minutes to spare, so wasted no time in heading up to the starting point at Leeds Uni. As the Uni came into view the scale of the thing hit me; it was like a crowd at a football match, there must have been thousands of people, all with banners and signs.

As we joined the masses a voice came over a loudspeaker. The voice thanked us for coming in such great numbers and went on to describe the course which the protest march would follow. As I listened I could see police vans pulling up and riot teams preparing all along the intended rout. It is not uncommon to see such authorities at mass protests but their presence set me a little on edge.

At a little after 16:00 the march began. We were on the outside of the snake, and therefore closest to all the riot guards. As the mass of people made its way down the Hedgerow, the shit really hit the fan. A noise not unlike a gunshot rang out, quickly followed by more. The crowd in front of us began to panic and split up, and I could see the riot police readying for trouble. I could hear screaming and it wasn't long before the panic reached our part of the line. Everybody was running back up the Hedgerow, people were falling over and getting trampled. We had no choice but to run with the crowd or become one of these unfortunates. I grabbed Kats hand and just before I turned, caught a glimpse of what had set all this off. There was a large number of people attacking the riot shields at the front of the line and bodies were strewn everywhere, in the midst of this chaos I saw a child kneeling over the body of a woman, flesh hanging from her mouth as she bit into the corpse. 

My heart raced and we ran, it quickly became apparent that more of the infected were in the crowd with us. We tried to make our way back towards the car park but obviously everybody else had the same idea. Instead we pushed our way through an area where the riot police were thin, narrowly avoiding being slammed by a baton on the way through. I think Kat must have known somebody there because she pulled out her phone to make a call as we paused for breath in a side street. The next thing I knew we were joined by a couple of students who led us to their car parked a few hundred meters away. I could still hear the sounds of the panic a couple streets away as we drove off. 

We are all home now. Getting out of Leeds was a nightmare. Everybody was heading out and the roads were jammed as ambulances and police streaked to the scene. Dropped Matt at his place. I tried to call my parents but there is still no answer. Kat is really fucked up, she hasn't said anything since we got home. I am barely holding it together too.

I have to go pull myself together. 

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

5/4 15:20

Alarm went off right on time. Felt like i only slept ten minutes..

I hauled my ass out of bed and showered, then headed downstairs to my current position, on the sofa eating a sandwich.

;Looks as if Katherine returned sometime whilst I was asleep. She told me she has spent most of the day making picket signs so i guess she is coming protesting too. I asked her what she knows about the whole thing, she told me it has been organised by students who used the Leeds Uni website to spread the word. It doesn't stop there, apparently they got a message out to Universities around the country so hopefully there should be a protest going on in most major cities all at the same time. Clever.

Setting off in a few minutes as I am picking Matt up at 15:30.

Back later.

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

5/4 7:42

Had a quick check of the Internet forums whilst I was having breakfast, mostly out of habit as I already know that searching yields no results anymore.

Feeling tired now, my original plan was to stay up most of the day and have a power nap before I head to the protest. Not happening. Off to grab a few hours.

Alarm set for 15:00

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

5/4 7:00

Finished my final night shift this morning. I got my holiday request granted too, so no work for me next week.

Been thinking about this protest most of the night and I really don't know what to expect. Matt reckons the turn out is going to be huge, but I have my doubts whether any number of people will be able to force a censorship lift so soon. The Government probably wont even see it. 

Going to loot the cupboards for some breakfast. 

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

4/4 23:37

Matt called while I was in the canteen making a coffee.

He asked me about attending a protest or something that is being organised at 16:00 in Leeds city centre tomorrow to speak out against the new censorship laws. Its good to see people are already demanding the truth. 

I told him I will be there.

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

4/4 20:15

Just about to set off for work when Matt text me. Apparently somebody he knows has heard some shit has gone down in Dover. 

No details.

After reading that I instinctively went to check a news site on my phone, of course it isn't working. Fuck.  I am worried its something to do with the outbreak. Maybe some people from France have come across on the ferry hoping to escape whatever is now going on over there and brought that infection with them.

I hope not. Maybe its just nothing. A panic rumor.

Better set off, last one tonight.

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

4/4 18:25

Got back from the gym about half an hour ago and checked the TV for the 18:00 news. I was surprised to see an actual broadcast and sat there watching intently for news on the outbreak.

That news never came, instead the news reader pushed her way through twenty minutes of local bullshit with not so much as a mention of the outbreak, or the situation in France. During the last five minutes of the broadcast the reason for that became clear. There has been a reporting ban put in place on news about the outbreak, government firewalls have been erected on all news websites and blogs, and anybody found to be breaking the new censorship laws by sharing information will be heavily prosecuted.

What the fuck. That is unbelievable. I am sat here like people all across the world now furious about that decision. How can they block news about something so important and then threaten people with 'heavy prosecution' for just relaying information. This is not going to go down well.

I have turned off the TV. New worries have come into my mind. What if these new censorship laws have something to do with the fact I cant get in touch with my parents? I must not think about that being the case. There must be some other reason. 

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

4/4 15:03

Got up about ten minutes ago. 

Matt left me a voice mail, when i first saw the little message icon on my phone I had hoped it was from my parents, I grabbed my phone and listened only to hear Matt's voice telling me his phone was playing up and wouldn't send texts, and that he would be at the gym at about 15:30 if i fancied it.

That was disappointing. I hung up and went to get my gym clothes. 

Going to set off early and give Katherine a lift to her Mum's. She mentioned something about going to visit her Grandparents tonight. 

I should be back around 18:00, 

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

4/4 6:10

I am back from work and have decided I cant wait until this afternoon to check the news, going all night without the slightest bit of information has got me agitated.

It looks as if i'm doomed to stay that way because i just flicked on the news channel and there is absolutely sweet fuck all.

No broadcast. 

TV off. Not even going to bother checking the Internet. I'm going to bed before I go mental. 

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

3/4 18:12

Jesus this is driving me crazy. Iv been trying to get onto the usual news sites and blogs and every time I go onto a page it comes up with the fucking loading symbol. On every single one. Without fail. I have tried re-setting my modem, and still nothing.

I gave Matt a text a bit back and he is having the same problem. Maybe the sites are overloaded or something. It wouldn't surprise me, but if that was the case surely I should be able to get onto one site. To top it all of i just turned the TV onto the news channel to find there is no news broadcast either. 

I'm going to shut down and get ready for work. This is pissing me off. Still  haven't managed to get through to Mum either. I feel like I am in limbo. 

I will give it until tomorrow afternoon, surely by then it should be sorted out.

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

3/4 17:24

Fuck.. I have spent the best part of two hours trying in vain to contact my parents. I keep getting the same tone;

 Line busy, please try again later.

I hope they are still safe. I am so frustrated that my thoughts are beginning to get the better of me. As far as i know they are still in Spain and there has been nothing on the news to suggest something could have gone wrong there. 

Come to think of it, I had expected to see more on the news after the earlier broadcast. I think i will check the online forums, see if they have anything.

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

3/4 15:45

I woke at around three and took a shower. I then called Matt to tell him about the news. It seems while I have slept more footage has been leaked onto the internet showing all sorts of shit hitting the fan. One link Matt described was of a male citizen attempting to protect his family against the soldiers trying to get them to leave their home. In much the same way as the clip earlier, the men knocked, waited, and then kicked in the door, only this time the occupant rushed over the threshold and smashed his fist into the nearest soldiers face, knocking him to the floor. As i listened to Matt tell me this story I felt a smile cross my face as I thought of that act of defiance.

What Matt told me next wiped that smile off my face as quickly as it came. After seeing the citizen attack his comrade, the supporting soldier pulled out his sidearm and shot the man straight through the chest, killing him on the spot. Or so it seemed. The soldier helped his friend to his feet and turned around to cut the camera, but as he did so a hand grabbed him by the shoulder and blood shot from his neck as the previously dead citizen bit into him. The punched soldier barely had time to react before the rest of the dead mans family where upon him. 

THE DEAD CITIZEN BIT INTO HIM. Holy shit. I asked Matt if he was certain about what he had seen and he sent me the link to see for myself. It is true. That man dropped to the floor with no sign of life and then was suddenly all over the French soldier like a bad suit. 

I am sat here now. And i don't quite know how to describe my feelings. That piece of footage, which i'm sure by now is absolutely everywhere, along side the symptoms list released by the US last week, seems to confirm the 'Zombie' theory. Dead returning to life. It explains why nobody seems to be able to control this outbreak and why it keeps spreading relentlessly. 

I fear it is a matter of time until it reaches the UK. I fear for my parents safety. I will try to call them.

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

3/4 6:15

Home after a long ass night shift. I checked the early morning news just now and it doesn't look good.

The French military have started kicking people out of their homes, the clip they included alongside the report looked like it was filmed by a war correspondent, and showed a couple of armed French soldiers hammering on a door, with a woman's muffled voice coming from the other side. She seemed to be shouting something out at the soldiers. I don't know what was said but the two men proceeded to kick down the door and drag said woman out along with her two young children. The larger of the two men saw that one of the children looked pale and instantly forced the family to the ground, pulled out his weapon, and then the camera cut.

I have a terrible feeling about what i just witnessed. The news reporter hastily moved on to another topic. I didn't take it in. I went into the kitchen a minute ago and took out some cereal. I put it back. I don't feel like eating.

I'm heading up to bed now to try force myself to sleep. As much as I doubt I will succeed I need to try or I will be fucked tonight.

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

2/4 19.00

Off to get some dinner, get ready for work and watch some TV before i set off at around 20:15. 

I am thinking about requesting next week off. 

[jonnyzacktracks-blog]

2/4 18:20

This is the first chance iv had to write in my journal since this morning, as i have been running a few errands.

I spent most of the afternoon shopping for food, as we are running low in the house. As well as my other groceries, I decided to pick up a large sum of canned food and bottled water. Kat thinks I am being paranoid, especially as the news this morning showed that the French are not crossing into the UK in masses, bringing this deadly infection to my doorstep as I had first feared. 

Either way its better to be prepared for the worst, as the worst is always an option.