The outbreak began in New York on the 20th February. Within weeks, the virus had spread throughout the entire world. Nations fell, law and order gave way to chaos, and anarchy took grip almost everywhere.
Here in Britain, Sir Michael Quigley, our Foreign Secretary, took over after the Prime Minister’s disappearance. An emergency coalition cabinet was formed that included Jennifer Masterton. Rationing, curfews, martial law, the piratical theft of overseas food-aid, the banning of almost all public gatherings, it wasn't enough.
Everyone in the inland cities of Britain were to be evacuated to enclaves established around the coast. To ensure that they left their homes, evacuees were promised a vaccine once they’d reached their evacuation muster point.
My name is Bill Wright. I grew up with Jennifer Masterton. We were friends. We were colleagues. The evacuation was my idea. It was my plan, but I didn’t join those other refugees fleeing the city. My leg was broken on the day of the outbreak. Trapped in my flat, I watched as the evacuees left London. I watched those deserted streets, waiting for the rescue I was sure Jen would send. I watched as the roads filled up again, this time with the undead. The evacuation failed.
My supplies dwindling, my leg still not healed, I was forced out into the zombie-infested city. It took weeks, but eventually I managed to escape to the relative security of Brazely Abbey in Hampshire.
When out looking for supplies, I stumbled across a letter lying next to the body of a dead police sergeant. The letter said the evacuation was a lie. I went to a muster point, and I saw the truth for myself. The evacuees had all been murdered, poisoned by the vaccine they had been told would protect them.
I’d brought little with me from London, just my clothes, weapons, the little food I had left, and my laptop and a hard drive. On those were files sent to me by an American political fixer I only ever knew as Sholto. With little else to do, I finally found time to look at those files. I discovered that the virus originated at a demonstration in New York, witnessed by dignitaries from around the world. Most wore masks, but there was one that I recognised. It was our Foreign Secretary, Sir Michael Quigley.