Another sleepless night.. They are banging at the door. But I have to keep on going on.. I try to sleep, but I’m exhausted. I’m afraid to close my eyes, because I am afraid that I will turn into one of them. I know I have succumbed to their horror, I sometimes cover my face in black cloth to appear to look like them so they wont consume me. I don’t know if they are alive or dead. It all started back in December of 2019 and stretched into the year of our lord.. 2020. A nightmare. I had recently moved to the Des Moines Iowa area from Chicago and the local news kept running stories about something going on about two to four four hours west of us in Nebraska stretching into Colorado. The folks who lived in the rural areas were contacting the local authorities about scores of unknown drones that were scaring the hell out of the people who lived in the western states. Judging by their reaction, Its highly improbable that the drones were anything but normal. After all, these are people who were born and raised in the 21st century. Aircraft were a thing that they are used too. Especially in areas where our nuclear arsenal existed for many years, and military aircraft were a regular site in the sky. Why would they be alarmed about drones.. simple stupid drones. But this was different. People were really scared. The government, FAA, Cops and other government people were combing the country side trying to find out what was going on. And then came the bad news.. A virus was spreading around the world. First word came out of China around March.. Word had it that people were dropping in the streets by the thousands from an unknown virus.. And it was spreading fast. Then Italy was hit… and decimated. The population of older people there had been quickly wiped out. Being too old and too frail had rendered them unable to fight the monster virus which was over taking us. It quickly spread through the U.S and the sick maps piled up with colors and filled in with more and then all the colors became one.. thousands of deaths.. one disease. But there was something much worst than the evil virus. And that was the black fear that swept over the land. It was like a dark sack cloth and touched every home. As our once organized and peaceful society started to break down, new leaders.. war lords took control and the used fear, isolation and punishment to control the people in their areas. They used the news media against the people who they controlled. Every day they flooded the news with virus body counts and demanded that people not talk or do business with each other. The new leaders found ready made adherents… Zombies. Creatures who covered their faces with dark coverings and had deep piercing eyes. They became informants of the new leaders and turned in anyone who who dared to disobey the new leaders. The mistrust between all people became deep and wide.. As I walked the street or attempted to go about a normal day. I made ever effort to not look them in the eyes and to hide my own normality. My fear of becoming one of them is overwhelming. So much so that when I see them the blood rushes from my head and I nearly pass out. I have hallucinations about taking one of them out and skinning them to see what they really are. I struggle to believe that they are still human. They cant be…. I cant recognize what they are now. Are they monsters… ? Monsters from a dark winter.
Monsters After Midnight 