My first interview takes me across the border into the United States.

The once hectic streets of New York are not what they used to be, now with the lack of stable power grids, and the rationing of what was left of gas reserves keeping most cars off the streets.

I step out of a taxi, looking at the redone central park. The grass was a deep shade of green, whilst the trees where starting to take effect to the autumn weather setting in.

A cool wind passes by, causing my interviewee to shiver, lifting his collar.

“No matter how many times winter hits this city, it always gives me the chills”

We shake hands and begin to walk down a gravel path leading around what’s called turtle pond.

I decide to set things in motion.

“So, may I call you mike? Or zombie furnace?”

He chuckles, “it’s been a while since I’ve been referred to that name when discussing zombies”

I pull out my note pad.

“Yeah, just call me mike, that will do.” I observe this man, who appears to be in his mid twenties, as he screws up his face, in response to the cold wind.

“Well, first question. Where were you when you heard of the zombie apocalypse, and how did you take action?

His face darkens, his five o’clock shadow adding to it. He passes his hand through his hair, thinking how best to reply.

He stops walking, and lets out a sigh.

“Well, the first I learned of the zombies was the North Troy riots that started not three blocks from where I was, at my grandmother’s house.”
“She owned a double apartment at the time, where a few of my aunts and uncles lived as well. We could hear the shots going off, and the blood curdling screams from where we were. There was a police station only a few houses away from her house, but it seemed even the dispatcher had left his post to attempt to wrestle the rioting to a halt. Sirens eventually deafened the noises of the crowds, but that didn’t last long.”

“The crowds of people were traveling towards the house, and reached Nuedecker’s Guns and Ammo only a block and a half away from us. We were able to tell because the gunfire increased exponentially at that point. Luckily, we were able to get our family into my uncle’s pick-up truck soon after. It being a large model we were fortunate to fit everybody inside.”

“My grandparents each took with them a small suitcase of clothing, and my uncle carried a small stack of rifles and ammunition into the vehicle. We were all in shock as to what was happening, but were sure that we would be able to sort some things out at my house, and made the 25 minute journey in the traffic. My house was only five minutes away. We stayed at my house for two hours, watching the news and gathering what we could.”

“The news reports were strange to say the least, as cannibalism was a common crime during the riots. Also, reports of new riots were springing up in Albany, Schenectady, Clifton Park, and Latham. Our shock had completely left us and was replaced by a heavy feeling of fear that was so thick you could feel it in the air. As we learned of the reports of cannibalism and new rioting, we stopped packing food and started packing tools and the meager weapons laying around the house: hammers, nails, the hatchet, the woodsman’s’ pal, some heavy duty woods saws, a longbow, a Billy club, and multifarious other things we felt the need to pack as we were getting ready to leave. My uncle was out procuring gas from a local Hess station. I think he brought an M14 with him. We left after two hours, hearing the riot’s ensuing noise, and its progression from 107th street to the bottom of Hoosick.”

We continue with our walk, leaving the pond and finding a bench to sit at. I finish scribbling what he said onto my pad.

Once done, I looked at him, as he gazed into nothingness.

I asked another question.

“What where your feelings during all of that time?”

“During our escape?”

I nod

“To be quite honest, I was horrified nearly to the point of paralysis. If it weren’t for my father and the presence of my family, I would probably be on one of the many casualty lists right now.”
“ If I had had more time to think, I would have most likely spent it reflecting upon my own morality and how quickly the feeling of vulnerability crept up upon me. However, the genius my father was, kept him, my brothers and me on a tight shift, so tight we barely had the luxury to think while we were working so hard. We had a lot of work to do where we were staying, and keeping our minds on it kept them off of the subject of death, and a mortifying rebirth.”

He chuckles, “he was the main reason we survived the first couple of months”

“Where did you flee/ barricade yourself? How did you do it?”

“Well, after we were situated and ready to leave my house, we took back roads adjacent to the long route 7 until it appeared clear. The main road was cluttered with hundreds of vehicles, but we cleared the side roads of drivers with the threatening firearms we were wielding in the back of the pick-up.”

He laughs again. “I remember thinking we looked like regular hillbillies packed into the large vehicle with all that stuff, waving our guns as menacingly as we could.”
“After about an hour, we made it to Brunswick, normally 15 minutes away. Route 7 was finally decongested, due to an enormous pile-up at the last intersection. The highway usually sported an average of thirty thousand cars in a day, but with the congestion two blocks back, it seemed as if all four lanes was just a heap of steel traps just waiting for the riot to prey upon.”
“As we made it to Brunswick, we continued on Route 7 for a good hour and 45 minutes to Vermont, and brought the car to a halt amidst the trees and shrubs of the dense forest that lay between us and New York. My father and me made an hour’s hike on the trail we used to take camping, until we reached a familiar campsite. We returned to the vehicle to retrieve our relatives and equipment.”
“ This trip took a lot longer because one of my aunts collapsed from exhaustion, and we had to fashion a stretcher and carry her onto the site. We resided here for weeks; with the food we brought with us the eleven of us were sustained as long as we could. My father brothers and I would have to venture into Bennington eventually to scavenge for food and other necessities.”

“What weapons did you have/improvised to fight against the zombie's?”

“Apart from what I had mentioned before?”

“Yes”

“Well, there was a pistol taken from a man that fired upon us from his van in Bennington, and many melee weapons that we stashed in a dugout hole used for hiding all of the stuff we felt we may have needed. Other than that our most used weapon was the snowplow mounted onto my uncle’s pick-up that he never cared to remove.”

“Ah the snowplow, that’s classic” I said as we both laughed.

“What where your thoughts of what was going on around the rest of the world and how other ZPI members where handling things?”

“If I was confident in anybody’s abilities to survive the plague through information being taught on the radio, I was sure it was going to be alright with the members of our good old forum.”

“ I was able to bring many ideas to the drawing table when it came to problems we had simply based on the discussions that were held on the site leading up to the initial breakout. As far as the rest of the world goes, hope seemed dim for them. The zombies proved to be a dangerous foe, as brother turned against brother, fueled by the fear and danger brought about by the new monstrosities desecrating our world, feeding upon us.”
Familiar faces turned into horrifying specters of human beings, transformed from emotionally filled countenances to disfigured and mutilated forms showing only the most primordial of feelings. It seemed that the monsters attacking mankind attacked us at the very foundation of unity, making people insecure as to who they can trust, and how secure they are every waking moment.”

We finish off the interview with a heart handshake and both leave, taking separate paths as we depart. I call up a taxi and take a seat inside. I cross off my interviewee’s name from a list that I had made.

Mike ‘the_zombie_furnace’ member of ZPI, and head of New York restoration and management.

One down, a lot more to interview.