Today, fif? ? ? ? he Incident, as ? referred to? kly ? arious f? ? ? ts and C? tudies, the government has decid? o pe? the American people access ? he details of that n? ? />
Those films generally involved a g? nment an? medical? eriment gone? y. This ? e sh? that basic premise in common wi? ? al o? ? articularly the ? rate? trial Invasion" ? . In thirtic? ? ? y, h? er, the ? lts were what was wi? referred to as "the? ing dead." Murde? ? ? ively ag? sive, and cannib? tic, zom? ? e also highly contag? ? ansmitti? ? ? ease to thei? ? ing ? ims. The? ical? come is the utte? tinction of the human race.
W? the CDC? e had, for f? years, ? ? ? e th? his ? nearly ? ened? ? e in real life o? ril 20, 2009. Here, reco? ucte? ? reviously sealed rec? and? erviews, is the ? y of one of huma? 's most ? ly-buried near-misses.
Will Heckl? as a? ? el a? st for a local a? nting service in? mall? y in? ? n Florida, one of those meta? ? hat typicall? upt in close proximi? o an even la? ? y. An incurable smok? ith a yen for cheap art prints a? rashy romance no? , Heckler was not a sociable? e. Estranged from his pa? s and siblings, ? ould frequently go f? ? al days without speaking to anyone, ofte? eaking his long periods ? ilence by lo? ing ? ide of b? tores and theaters, chain-smoking and waiting for someone to ask? a c? ette or for his ? in lighting theirs. He stuck in one? ? lar woman's memory--when she? twenty-seven years old, she walked ? him. Having quit only a? ? s before, she gave in to the smell o? rning tobacc? urne? ound, an? ked him for ? tt.
He willingly gave? one? t hesitated.? e you legal?? />
He repeated the question, looking at her with a? ? sion of earnestness ting? ith a dash o? ony.
He left her with? ense of utter disbelief and unfo? able fla? y.
Onehis ? cherished h? s was sittin? tside with a full pack of cigare? and a book.
? ? ? ? sibl? ? ? ? apartment. For the ? t time in eight ? s, he lived in a one-bedroom that had no? ch, lanai, o? her means of? ting privately and indulging? habit. ? ead, he took to standing? side in the parking lot, pacing and puffing.? neighbors grew ? stom? o seeing him roam a spac? ? ely ten ? long and one fo? ide for ? oximately six minute? ery ? ? />
Thi? where he was when he first saw the zombie. At 9:37 p.m. on April 20, 2009--? emembered the time b? se h? st f? hed a movie and realized tha? ? exa? ? ty m? es a? ? ? ? eak--he was pacing north and had reached? thi? tride when he noticed the un? t man shambling toward him. ? ? n the road from his ? tmen? here? ? mall? y park, ? lar with local families and dog owners. At n? time? ? sparsel? eque? cri? as, if n? ampant, common enough to mak? common ? e.
Not un? ly, Heckler ? ected the man had been drinking ? ? ark, and? ? king? ? home. This ? ed for a? mom? , until the man took a m? ep a? ? ed his ankle. Heckler could ? it ? from where ? ? tanding, and the man? mple the ground.
Heckler uttered an oath (this was a detail he couldn't c? up later; h? ? ted ? us!" as the ? likely cand? e), and ? ped ? ard.
? alke? to the man.
? , you all right?" he asked.
There? no ? er but a? t of? ? nting. Insensate from alcohol, Heckler f? ed, and incoherent on top of tha? oo. ? ulle? t his cellul? hone and called for an ambulance, taking the man by the ? ? s and helping hi? ? />
The? nting, Heckl? aid later, "? of ratchete? " to a "? erin? owl,? though the man were? ? ing ? peak. On? he m? trained up, Heckler got a good look at his face ? he orange glow of a sodium-a? ? light.
He said he took a step back, invo? arily, b? ? he m? skin wa? pan style="font-style: italic;">? ? an>,? tled? ? een and black, like a ripe drowning ? im. Several ? h were missing, and the ? ? ? kew--in the ? e that o? ? ? ing down and slightly to the lef? he o? up and ? ? ? ? />
The growl grew louder, and the man's head d? ed forward as he stopped in his tracks. ? ing slig? , th? owl ? rned to ? unting, and Heckler touched his ? ? , de? concerned.
The m? oare? eizeckler's arm, and? ? n on it. The? tee? hat were left pe? ated the skin, and blood? pted. Heckler tore it back, and stumbled bac? ds, stunned.
A zombie. The living dead.
According to an in? iew report, ? his point, Heckl? aused. He then gave ? y chuckle, lit another c? ette, and said, "I knew the movi? ould be right someday." ? roceeded to info? he i? ? ? hat ? emembered nothing for several minutes after the bite? />
The emergen? esponse ? onnel who an? ed Heckl? call re? ? hat when the? rived on the scene, one man was dead and the oth? nconscious. The dead man had been savagely beaten with a wheel axle torn loose from ? nicipal garbage can assigned to the ? ? roperty ? had? ? ? he c? ontation. Th? le itself wa? ill ? he dead man'? e.
An? estigation l? showed ? the? rce ? he infection had been a syrideposited on the shore of a small lake in the ne? ? k. The lake ? ed as a runo? etention pond and emergency reservoir for the city, fed by drainage pipes al? ? he city, including a local m? ary base. Th? ringe was found and ? royed, a? he neighborhood monitored for severaars. Only on? her case of infection was di? ered: a Muscovy duck, which attacked? air of i? tiga? ? eral? rs a? the Hec? incident; it was th? hich led to the disc? y of the? inge? />
The incident was de? ? ied, and there are few living today who have? ailed knowledge ? he e? that night;? ? ? ole exception, d? ? years of re? ch on the zombie? um f? he CDC. ? ? changed? , wi? ? ublication of this article.
At th? ? , you may be wonderi? hat ? ened to Will Hec? , the man to whom we? arently owe the ? inue? ? al of th? man race (an? essment based on the spef in? ion and high contagi? ating), than? o hi? eed ? erminati? he f? known case ? ombiism ? min? ? er it first mani? ed.
He died o? ril 20, 2009? 11:? .m., in the coun? riso? hot by a? uty afte? ? ting to attack an inmate in a neighboring cell. You may reca? hat ? ? the same night; the infecti? equired ? two? ? ? read, kill, and ? rrec? s host body. This re? ented one of the? st m? res ? ? ? 's infection? e, a? riso? rveillance foota? roved in? able in determining the stages of in? ion.
? is one ? he more ? ? ecrets hidde? ay in the govern? ? ? . This o? oung man, who saw himsel? ? ? alone, gave the? t few hours of his life in blood and violence in ord? ? event the sa? hing? peni? o anyone? e. What ? ? ough? mind in those last few ? s?
A clue lies in the? ? cid interview he? e. He seems to have ? n wh? as in his near f? ? hen asked about his ? al and emotional state, he laughs si? ly, coughs, and ? , "Like I re? ? h someone would ask if I? old enough for ? ."
? class="byline">? ed b? gh VanDerGoetz ? p;# 6:56 PM? an c? ? em-c? ol blog-admin pid-1556466247">
Comments:
? a Comment
? />
Arch?
May 2007
&? ;
&? ;
? ember 2007 ? p;
&? ;
? ary 2008? p;
March 2008 &? ;
April 2008 ? p;
July 2008 ? p;
&? ;
December 2008&? ;
Ja? y 2009 ? p;
Feb? y 2009 ? p;
&? ;
? ipt type="text/j? ? t" l? age=? ? ipt">if (locatio? ef.i? Of("archive")!=-1) document.? e("? ent ? s")? ? t>
Subscribe to ? s [Atom]