Day Zero

I had a bit of a shock when I turned on my phone this morning. There were so many texts from relatives, friends, acquaintances, all asking the same thing: "Are you OK?"

The first thing I thought was that something had happened at the airport. I'd just gotten to Scotland last night; maybe a plane crashed or someone set off a bomb and my mom forgot to mention that I'd checked in with her safely. Then I noticed one of the texts was from her.

I tapped on my phone's keyboard. "Yes, what's going on?"

Three dots, then a reply. "So are we for now. Check the news. Have to go."

And that's when I saw the headlines about the zombie apocalypse. Lovely. I scrolled through a couple articles quickly. So far there weren't any cases reported in Europe, but plenty of airports were still open. My phone buzzed; this time it was an email from my study abroad adviser. Apparently they want any study abroad students to check in at the university; they had set up an improvised shelter and quarantine area. I checked out of the hostel and headed out.

It was odd. The streets were packed, and I could see that grocery stores were flooded, but everyone was so quiet. I couldn't tell whether it was shock or determination, maybe both. Anyway, I didn't bother with the roads. I just hauled my luggage and walked. It wasn't that far.

So here I am, stuck in the quarantine unit. I have no idea how long they want to keep me; it's not like they know for sure how long it takes for symptoms to show up. At least there's food and lights, plus I can still talk to people. No wifi though, so I don't know how anyone back home is. As for here it's getting worse on the streets; there are riots breaking out. Someone said people are attacking anyone who looks sick or behaves oddly.

Anyhow, this is definitely not how I thought my study abroad journal would look. I'm going to ask if there are any books I can read. Maybe someone has a survival guide or something.