The sun was shining bright as the four of them, Dusty, Sarah, William, and Samantha, gathered in the community center. They had all become close friends, working together to rebuild their new home. First in the village of Florenceville, then again when they had moved on to the city of St. Joseph, and now, here in their new home. The community center was bustling with activity, as people from all walks of life came to share their skills and expertise.
Sarah walked in, her hair tied back in a ponytail, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. She was dressed in her usual attire, a pair of ripped jeans and a faded t-shirt. She was greeted by the others, who were already engaged in their morning routine.
Dusty was busy at the kitchen counter, brewing a fresh pot of coffee. William was sitting at a table, going over some papers and making notes. Samantha was helping to prepare breakfast for the community, expertly flipping pancakes and eggs.
Sarah took a seat next to William and smiled as he handed her a cup of coffee. "Morning," she said.
"Morning," William replied. "How did you sleep?"
Sarah yawned and stretched. "Good. I had some strange dreams last night."
Dusty looked up from his coffee-making duties. "What kind of dreams?"
Sarah shrugged. "Just weird stuff. I don't know what it means."
William nodded sympathetically. "Maybe we can talk about it later."
After breakfast, the four of them decided to head to the school to see what kind of progress had been made. As they walked, they could see the playground equipment was being repaired, and the teachers were busy setting up classrooms.
The school was a hub of activity, with children laughing and playing in the hallways. Sarah couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia as she walked through the familiar halls.
Carrying on the walk around town the four of them decided to visit the hospital next, to see how the patients were recovering from their injuries. As they walked down the hallways, they could see patients sitting up in bed, chatting with their families.
Sarah couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as she saw the hospital coming back to life. She remembered when it was just a abandoned buildings in St. Joseph, the hospital sitting abandoned, full of dust and debris.
They made their way to the nurse's station, where they found Nurse Jenkins busy taking vitals and administering medication.
"Hi there," Nurse Jenkins said, smiling as they approached.
Sarah nodded in greeting. "How's everyone doing?"
Nurse Jenkins nodded enthusiastically. "Everyone is doing great, thanks for asking. We're seeing some amazing recoveries." It feels good to be able to help people again.
Sarah smiled as she looked around at the hospital beds. She knew that this was all thanks to the hard work and dedication of the survivors.
Behind the hospital was the clinic where Dr. Andrew Mullins and Dr. Patricia Merchant were conducting their experiments. It had been a few days since Sarah had given them her latest blood sample so they thought they should check in and say high.
They made their way into the clinic, where they found Dr. Mullins and Dr. Merchant working on some papers. The two doctors looked up as they approached.
"Ah, excellent," Dr. Mullins said. "We were hoping to talk with you Sarah. We've made some progress on the research front."
Sarah's eyes lit up with interest. "What kind of progress?"
Dr. Merchant smiled. "We may be close to developing an injection that will eliminate the need to eat flesh."
Sarah's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"
Dr. Mullins nodded. "Yes, really. With your blood sample, we were able to make some significant breakthroughs. by tomorrow we will be injecting one of our zombies and then we will see if he can go beyond the three days without becoming aggressive and needing food. If it works, we are hoping you will let us inject you as well.
This is just the first step obviously, for the others, we need to find a way to reverse or prevent, the transformation to zombie in the first place.
"Let me know how it goes, I am definitely interested, Sarah replied, excitedly.
After visiting the hospital, the four of them, all quite excited by the news, decided to head to the library to see how things were progressing there. As they walked through the doors, they were greeted by the sweet scent of old books and fresh paper.
The library was bustling with activity, as people from all over town came to research and study. Sarah couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia as she browsed through the shelves.
Dusty pulled out a book on medicine, his eyes scanning the pages eagerly. William sat down at a table, grabbing an old magazine to read.
Samantha walked over to Sarah, who was sitting at a table reading a book on gardening.
"Hey," Samantha said softly.
Sarah looked up at her friend. "Hey."
Samantha sat down beside her, her eyes scanning the pages of Sarah's book.
"I'm so glad, they are getting close," Sarah said softly.
Samantha nodded in agreement. "Me too."
After spending some time in the library, the four of them decided to head back to the community center for a celebration dinner. They had all worked so hard on rebuilding their new home, and this seemed like a fitting way to celebrate their progress.
As they walked into the community center, they were greeted by the delicious smell of roasting meat and fresh vegetables. The tables were set with candles and flowers, and everyone was chatting and laughing as they waited for dinner to be served.
Dr. Mullins and Dr. Merchant stood up at the front of the room, holding two large cups filled with juice.
"Friends," Dr. Mullins said loudly. "We have some amazing news to share with you all."
The room fell silent as everyone turned to look at the doctors.
Dr. Merchant smiled as she began her speech. "We've made some significant breakthroughs in our research..."
Sarah listened intently as Dr. Merchant explained to everyone what they had told her earlier in the day about the injection that could eliminate the need to eat flesh.
As he finished speaking, everyone erupted into cheers and applause. Even though she had heard the news before, Sarah felt tears pricking at her eyes as she hugged Dusty tightly.
"This is amazing news," she whispered into his ear.
Dusty hugged her back tightly. "We did it," he whispered back.
After dinner, everyone gathered around the fire pit in the community center courtyard for stories. Sarah sat next to Dusty on a blanket, feeling grateful for this new life they were building together.
Sarah couldn't help but think about how far they had first met all those months ago.
From abandoned buildings to thriving community centers, schools hospitals and libraries... this place was truly coming back to life.
And now, with this new injection on the horizon... Sarah knew that nothing could stop them now.
As they gazed up at the stars twinkling above them... Sarah knew that this was truly just the beginning of their new life together.