Prologue

Ron gripped his rifle tightly as another moan escaped from the night. He shivered, although the night was hot and humid. His eyes were wide and his heart beat erratically. Reaching down into his pocket, he grabbed a small, squishy ball and started kneading it over and over. The stress ball was old, but the worn out texture was a great comfort to his frayed nerves. Ron took a deep breath to settle himself and replaced the stress reliever in his pocket again.
“Rookies,” Jack laughed loudly, breaking the silence that had begun to press in. “This your first time out on watch, son?”
“Y-yeah,” Ron replied. Jack’s weathered, suntanned face broke into a tired grin, revealing his perfectly straight, white teeth.
“I hate it when they give me rookies,” Jack said, teasing. “Command just doesn’t understand the effect a well timed biter howl can have on a green boy. I’ve seen rookies pee their pants the first time they hear a real moan and I’ve had even more faint the first time they see a biter.”
“Did you faint when you first saw one?” Ron asked, calming down as normal conversation made him forget about the terrors right below him.
“Faint?” Jack asked, a scowl on his face. “No I didn’t faint. If I had fainted, I wouldn’t be here today, making you feel ridiculous for asking such a stupid question.”
“N-not here?” Ron stammered, his face flushing a bright red. “I thought that all new recruits got to see their first ‘z’ from the wall. If not, they wouldn’t be reliable in battle, right?”
“Sure, if that’s what your manual says,” Jack replied, rolling his eyes. “Only what your manual doesn’t tell you is that years before you were born or even years before this place existed, I was your age and my first encounter.... was on Z Day. If I had fainted then, I’d be moaning outside right now, wanting you to come down and party.”
“You were there during Z Day?” Ron asked, awe lacing his voice.
“Yeah,” Jack replied, “Sure was, and it wasn’t any picnic either. People were screaming all the time, biters were never more than a few steps behind you, and if your friend got bit, you didn’t burn his body like a decent person. You shot him in the head and moved on. Time wasted on someone already dead was time ill spent.”
Jack went silent then, eyes slightly watery and stared into the fire. Ron stayed silent as well, knowing that this moment was private and special for his comrade. Turning his head towards the fire, Ron watched the flames dance as the silence lengthened. The moans of the undead moved west and the humid air pressed in, sticking Ron’s clothing to his back. Ron tried to be silent and unnoticeable as he fixed his shirt but when he moved, Jack grunted.
“Bet you’re curious, aren’t you?” Jack asked, a smiled on his face.
“Yeah,” Ron said and then mentally berated himself. “I mean, only if you think I should know.”
Jack laughed a small genuine laugh, “Don’t worry about it kid, that was a while ago, I’m over it. Besides, you ought to know your history. It was when I was younger, about your age. The day was beautiful, bright blue…”