Virus Waste, Vermont

As the orange light of dusk filters through the trees, flies begin to buzz around the corpse of a man clad in tattered outdoorsman gear, his features obscured by the savage deer head mask pulled over his face. But the eyeholes of the mask are bloody, evidence of the struggle that took the man's life. The flies begin to squeeze themselves through the tears that pepper the mask's surface, trying to get at the ripening flesh inside. As they squirm underneath the mask, the nose of the deer head twitches in a disgusting impersonation of sniffing the air. An expensive looking hunting rifle lies discarded on the ground, completely impotent.

Just another day in rural Vermont after the Great Collapse.

The Infected stood in a rough circle around the corpse, panting and growling as their feet shuffle uneasily. The bickering that constantly echoed in their heads had been replaced by an overwhelming rage that easily dominated their animal instincts. The hunter had lost his quarry and gotten himself killed in the bargain. But most importantly -

"They are heading for Maine!" A large Hispanic woman's voice booms over the shared consciousness of the Herd, "My scouts will track them and -"

"And what?" a mean scoffing voice breaks in as a short white man in a soiled business suit strides forward to confront her, "None of us can enter Maine. The hunter fucked up. I told you so."

From the crowd of Herd milling around the corpse a chubby Asian man in a tracksuit emerges, huffing in annoyance. Pausing over the dead hunter, the Asian man kicks it in frustration before shouting over his fellow pack leaders through the collective's consciousness.

"The bear would have retreated to its stronghold by now. And once it heals, it will keep harassing us, denying us of final victory!"

The white guy pipes up again.

"Someone has to answer for this."

And with that, all eyes turn accusingly to the Hispanic woman. Her lips curve into a vicious snarl.

"Don't you dare pin this on me -"

The Asian rolls his eyes as he brushes the dirt off his clothes, more out of habit than trying to appear presentable.

"You wanted the Hunter to handle this. Then you started claiming new pack members when we agreed to share."

The woman's answer is a bark, filled with disdain and fury.

"So that's what its really about, huh? My pack did most of the fighting. We're the strongest. So we get first claim on the new blood!"

The Asian guy merely makes a silent gesture in response to this boast and his pack closes in on the Hispanic woman as one. The woman growls in response, summoning her own pack members. But the white man quickly intervenes, surrounding the Hispanic woman with his own pack, cutting her off from support.

"I'M THE STRONGEST!" the Hispanic woman yells defiantly through the mental network as she roars in challenge.

Tension fills the air like static electricity, each of the Infected knowing what was coming next. The Herd was a meritocratic collective. Anyone had the right to lead, as long as they had the strength. The Hispanic woman's muscles bulge as she tenses, ready for action. Her bloodshot eyes scan the crowd, singling out the rival pack leaders, daring them to approach. The mob pauses, hesitating like hyenas before a lion. The female pack leader smirks, confident in her own strength.

Then a single gunshot rings out, as a nasty wound is punched into the woman's back. And another. As the woman spins about in alarm, more guns are brought out by the mob and in a chorus of pops, they begin to unload into the pack leader without hesitation. The Hispanic woman's own pack, badly mauled in the battle against Xir and Edward's militia stands quietly to the side, unwilling to risk their own annihilation. As she sinks to her knees in pain with panic filling her eyes, the female pack leader finally realizes the mistake she had made.

The strength of an individual is nothing before the might of the Herd. And the truly powerful are not those with the greatest strength, speed or bravery.

True power comes from commanding the strength of many.

A great war cry emerges from the mob and they charge forward at the dying woman, all restraint lost. The mob falls upon their victim like vultures, tearing away at her and ripping out chunks of flesh before she has a chance to expire. The woman's dying cries echo throughout the woods, rousing the bloodlust of the Herd with excited hooting breaking out everywhere.

But one Infected stands to the side in silence, tightly gripping a dirty plastic ID, ears ringing from the noise. As the noise and bickering over the collective consciousness begins to intrude into the lone Infected's mind again, he stares hard at the ID, a laminated employee's nametag, trying to center himself. The past was a blur, but the ID helped the lone Infected to remember, to look past the howling gale that tore through his mind, if only for a brief moment. The name printed on the ID was proof that he wasn't an animal. That he was -

..................

"Clay. Good job."

The supervisor nods appreciatively at the makeshift barricade that had been stacked against the entrance of the Harris Teeter store. Tobias Clay had been working here for some years, after having drifted here from his hometown in Nowhere, Maine. Clay was a good worker with a good attitude and before the virus hit, his supervisor was always happy to give the young man additional hours.

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"Happy to help, Sir." Clay smiles back, "No one's going to be breaking past all the shelves we've got piled up over there."

After college, Tobias Clay decided to strike out on his own, despite the disappointment it caused his adoptive father. His father, the town Sheriff, wanted Tobias to stay close by.

"Family shouldn't be apart." was what Richard Clay said at the time.

When Tobias pointed out that work was going to be hard to come by for him in such a small town, Sheriff Clay offered to arrange work for his adopted son. Tobias knew it was a good offer. People in town loved his father. Doing such a small favor for the Clays wouldn't be much of a bother. But Tobias had personal reasons for not wanting to take advantage of the family's connections, even if it deeply hurt his adoptive father. Tobias could never bring himself to say the reason out though.

Because what drove Tobias to leave and strike out on his own was the example of Richard Clay.

Everyone in town knew the story of Richard Clay, a no name, out of town deputy who had been brought on by the previous Sheriff as an assistant. After several years working for the town and generally holding things together, Richard Clay was the natural choice to takeover as Sheriff when his boss unexpectedly died. From his father's tipsy rants, Tobias knew how much the man disliked his boss. But that only increased the esteem Tobias held for Richard Clay. From nothing, his father had become a success through his own sweat. This was a man who not only talked the talk, but walked the walk.

Tobias didn't want to cheapen his father's reputation by taking advantage of it. He already owed too much to Richard Clay when the adoption happened. And most importantly, Tobias needed to prove to himself that he could achieve what his father managed to do. That he was just as much of a man as his father. So Tobias moved not just out of town, but out of Maine entirely. And he kept going and going, until a healthy distance between him and his father had been built up. Tobias resolved not to return until he became a success.

Unfortunately, graduates were everywhere in the big city. Tobias belatedly realized that his second rate college degree barely qualified him to wait tables. But Harris Teeter was nearer to the place he had been crashing in, so Harris Teeter it was. Until Tobias could find something better.

And then the virus happened, making Harris Teeter the best place Tobias could be. Food was running out. People were fighting each other like savages for PPE. But Harris Teeter was always stocked with food and thanks to the in house pharmacy, medicine and occasionally PPE as well. As the situation grew increasingly dire, the management began turning a blind eye to the staff skimming off some of the stock for themselves. Harris Teeter always claimed to support local, and no one was more local than their own employees. Though Tobias suspected this generous spirit was tempered by the fact that the management was skimming off even more than the staff.

Like his father had taught him, you had to live with evil in the world. And it all worked out in the end. The thefts were keeping families fed. That was a good thing.

But things were falling apart. The Herd Immunity Movement had been mounting almost daily riots all around the city. Corporate had also gone dark, with no further instructions on how to handle the situation from the executives. The only saving grace was that Harris Teeter, thanks to its size, was one of the few chains that was still being occasionally supplied with fresh produce. So while Tobias and the rest of the bag boys were busy unloading a truck filled with coke while the riot cops desperately baton charged the Herd in the background, the supervisors came to a realization.

The city had gone completely crazy. Getting to and fro from work was by itself a perilous quest. Doing business in this environment was just about impossible. But the store still had a fair quantity of food and other supplies left. There was only one natural conclusion to this line of thought.

Self-preservation.

Staff were instructed to bring their families to the Harris Teeter and work began to fortify the premises against the madness that raged outside. Through safety in numbers and with the supplies available, everyone was confident that this little community could simply outlast the crisis until help came.

"Where's your family, Tobias?" the supervisor asks, "We need to begin locking the store down soon."

"Maine sir." Tobias says evenly, keeping the turmoil out of his voice. Of course he was worried about his family. But to Tobias's surprise, the supervisor pats him on the back.

"Lucky guy. Maine's safe. I heard over the news that the infection has hardly spread over there. No Herd either."

"Great, that's really great." Tobias sighs in relief. Everything would be OK.

And with a spring in his step, Tobias sets off to continue his work.