[ WP ] Its the zombie apocalypse . You are completely oblivious to everything about it , although its been going on for 2 years now . Your routine the past 2 years has not changed at all .

Life in the commune has always been... the same. Nothing ever changes here. Sure, we sometimes venture out in order to bring in new supplies or fresh food we just ca n't grow here - more recently, our crops have been failing more and more so we've been making more midnight trips to the nearby town. 
 The important thing, once we do leave, is to follow all the laws. If we were to get stopped, we'd be questioned, and we'd risk giving up our location. We ca n't risk that, which is why each of us has a tiny black pill tucked away in our sleeves every time we go out. What's one life against the health of the commune? 
 
 Today, though, there are no secret trips to town. Today we decorate for the upcoming festival, the Night of the Moon. Once a year on the solstice we do it up big with music and dancing and food like you've never seen; we've got roasted squirrel and grilled vegetables and even sometimes cake. It's always my favorite night of the year. 
 
 The elders have been acting strange, though, which has put everyone on edge during the decorating. They've been meeting in secret more often than usual, and when they walk among us they wear worried looks behind their forced smiles. Mother Hara looks most worried of all, so naturally we're all a little on edge. We all look to her for guidance, and now that she's worried none of us knows what to think. 
 
 Our commune has written archives, which we are allowed to visit with supervision. One day, I venture down to the vaults with Uncle Joseph. I start three years back, working through the written logs set down by the village elder, Aunt Lydia. Reading through her detailed notes, I notice something strange starting about two years ago. She started writing about `` the others,'' which is not what we usually call outsiders. We call them the unforgiven. Yet she writes of these others over and over again, causing me to wonder who these could be. Is there perhaps another commune just like ours somewhere else? A sister village? 
 
 But as her logs progress, she seems more and more worried. She writes of Mother Hara's concern but only vaguely. She says the elders are wondering if the others are a threat to us at all. A threat? We have faced no true threats since we've been here; only the threat of discovery, but only as a distant fear. 
 
 The last few months of her logs are shorter but more urgent. She writes that the trips to the nearby town are becoming more dangerous and they've considered halting these excursions altogether. What is she talking about? We have never been stopped or questioned during our visits. We are stealthy and quick, getting what we need and returning safely. What could she mean? 
 
 The most concerning thing to read is this: 
 
 > We are keeping a careful watch over Sister Abigail. She has begun to show the signs. We are unprepared for her transition into one of the others. We will need to seek clarity through ceremony. 
 
 That must be what the elders are doing; they are locking themselves away to perform the ceremony of clarity. No one outside the circle of elders knows exactly what they do, but it is a very serious affair. They have only performed it twice in my lifetime. 
 
 I leave the vaults shaking, afraid to even look Uncle Joseph in the eye. Does he know? He must, being a part of the elders. But what does it all mean? 
 
 As we emerge into daylight, I see sister Abigail being carried through the village by Brother Mark and Brother Jason. She is shrouded with a white sheet. 
 
 That night, I am unable to sleep. My mother is in the room next door and I worry she will hear my tossing and come to check on me. The watch for Sister Abigail continues through tomorrow night, but I am not one of the watchers. I volunteered, but Uncle Joseph did not think it wise. 
 
 It is just past one o'clock in the morning when I hear a distant scream - it comes from the other side of the village. 
 
 I throw back my covers and race barefoot across the path to the house where Sister Abigail's body lies, but I stop short about 50 yards. The door to the house is thrown open and a trail of something very dark leads from the door to the side of the house. I hear a muffled cry and I race to follow it, realizing the trail is blood, and a lot of it. 
 
 As I round the corner, I ca n't help but scream as well. A monster is tearing into brother Mark, a monster that looks remarkably like Sister Abigail. Only, her face is black and purple as if bruised, and blood is dripping from her eyes. The rest of her face is covered in what I assume is Brother Mark's blood; it looks like she was eating him! 
 
 I scream and take off running, back toward Uncle Joseph's house, but he's already racing down the path along with many of the other elders. A few have crosses in their hands, but others have the axes we use for cutting trees. Aunt Martha has... a shotgun! Those are forbidden within the village! 
 
 I hear a round of shots being fired, and it is n't long before the entire commune is awake and crowding the area. Uncle John appears, stretching his arms out as if to herd us back. He is covered in blood. 
 
 He begins to say something weakly, which none of us can hear, but then he drops to the ground as if he were a marionette puppet whose strings have just been cut. 
 
 Sister Lana screams, breaking the trance many of us are in. We all begin to panic, unsure of what to do. But Uncle John starts to pick himself up, and I can see it - blood trickling from his right eye. 
 
 

