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A penny saved, is a penny earned! That was the moral statement Chris’s grandmother told him every time he seemed to be slacking off in the financial department of life. However, money-- as greedily worshiped it was--had recently lost nearly all of its value. Money simply wasn’t the thing that people wanted most any longer. Instead, the thing most desired in these dark days was life - specifically, their own!

It had been just twelve hours since the crazed mob of walking dead appeared. They moved furiously fast and attacked anybody in sight; women, men, and children…it made no difference to these things. Pools of blood and torn flesh littered the streets, fires enveloped neighborhood buildings, and people looted stores in the most rapid amount of time possible. The world had gone completely mad, as ghouls that sported faces with all manner of rot and torn flesh had ravaged the city with their sickly-green eyes of bloodlust.

Earlier, in Wisconsin, the summer was warm and the normal lives of people went about in its usual fashion. As he drove he truck, Chris began to notice a slight air of panic among the voices of the radio hosts. That noted; he began to tune into an alarming variation of news briefs. What was going on here? Thought Chris. There had been an elevated terrorist warning a few days back and Chris wondered if some radically, religious fanatics were up to no good again. However, no terrorists--no matter how insidious they were--could match the frenzied panic Chris witnessed in the streets. Cars rushed by at top speed, losing control every so often, and creating mighty explosions as they crashed into buildings and storefronts. The National Guard was seen running through the streets, enthusiastically gunning down what appeared to be burned or injured psychopaths. These psychos also seemed to share a cannibalistic lust for flesh.

Chris was far from his family. Being from Chicago, he could only wonder what was happening in that city. It was miles away - way too far to get to under these odd circumstances, so Chris just prayed inwardly that his family was safe. Living alone, he was heading toward his studio apartment, but soon ran into a roadblock. A large bus had toppled over on its side and blocked the road ahead of him. He could see the ravaging zombies tearing away at the people inside. Screams of agony and sheer terror penetrated his soul, for he had never heard such cries of pain and despair before. Shaking uncontrollably, Chris reversed and headed down the opposite side of the road. Hundreds of people were running around on foot and hundreds more were chasing after them…we’ll, that’s if you considered the things chasing them to be people. Chris got a good look at many of them as the things tried desperately to get at him from outside his Ford Explorer. Luckily for him, the windows were too thick for the savages to break through - at least this was true as long as he was moving. The crowd opened up as a mix of policemen and National Guard sent a wave of bullets in the huge mass of tangled bodies. It seemed that some were normal, and some were certainly not! Nonetheless, the authorities needed to clear a way for the tanks to move through.

At this, Chris swiftly drove through the cleared street and passed up a winding road ahead of him. There, he saw five people running toward a large shopping mall. He stopped, taking a look at the group running rapidly to the main gates. He saw two black men; a white man, and two women rush through the empty parking lot with guns ready. Chris was tempted to join them; after all, the mall would be a great place to hold up in…if they could only mange to secure it. However, Chris was distracted by a more familiar vision. It was Penny! Penny was a girl that he knew from his high school days in Milwaukee; she was a good friend to him. But in those days, she already had a jock for a boyfriend. The mere sight of her made his heart pump. Sexy, beautiful, slim, athletic, and kind, Penny was the focus of admiration from many young men in those early days. However, today her beauty was overshadowed by the look of sheer terror on her face.

Chris saw her running from an adjacent street. Fourteen ghouls were chasing her at an alarming speed. The things were fast, and Chris had to speed up the truck so much, that he nearly ran Penny over in his attempt to save her. But his attempt proved worthy, as he opened the door and invited the screaming woman in.

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