Chapter 1: Liberation Day

September 21, 2048

“No one knew exactly what would happen when the dead would rise. There was speculation, of course. Endless amounts of television shows depicting it came on weekly for years.” The smooth voice of President Emma James drifted across the room, where a family set glued to the screen.

“These movies and series portrayed them as decayed and gruesome with the only thing running through the head being the need to devour human flesh.”

Lines crossed the face of the president, and in her once black hair were stripes of white hair. She stood just a head over her vice president without heels.

Her early days were plagued with rumors that she was nothing more than a pretty face, but she had taken that as an advantage and used it to her strength during her interviews.

She was brutal during her running, tearing apart journalists and running mates alike. Taking smart stances on every situation that came at her, she used her silver tongue to always gain the upper hand in her debates.

The voting for her had been the greatest difference between two candidates in a very long time. With more than 80% voting in her favor, it was a landslide victory. She had taken Capitol Hill by storm and made everything she did very public, often calling out senators that opposed her and putting them down.

She was a very harsh lady, when necessary, but for the most part the people loved her universally. Even across foreign waters they were talking about President James. She truly made a mark on Congress and fought hard for her people.

Something that she was demonstrating in length today, by announcing the most controversial bill in history.

“It was commonly accepted that when the dead rose they would attack. We would scramble. The very civilization that we’ve worked so hard to build towards would collapse in a matter of months and humanity would be on the brink of extinction. That is not what happened.”

She paused for moment to look at the people that were unseen by the camera, and a smile came to her face showing wrinkles in her face but a genuine happiness.

The camera swung around to show the people sitting closest to her, which consisted of people on the Cabinet, her husband First Gentleman Richard James, and her three children, two born during her presidency. The camera rotated to a wide crowd of people outside.

Gentle clouds were lazily drifting over the multitudes of people who were all wearing jackets and holding different colored signs with words.

The camera completed it’s rotation and settled back on the face of the president.

“Society expected the dead to come back as monsters. No one guessed that they would come back as themselves. Of course, they were slightly different, with different needs and personalities, but the fact was they were back. And we were left scrambling in the aftermath of trying to calm people and explain what cannot be explained.

“Some would argue that the early days were the hardest,” She paused and looked over the people again. Behind her images began to display. A picture of a young boy, completely devoid of pigmentation, staring wide eyed and terrified. There was no context to the picture, but there was no need for it. Everyone knew everything about Patient 0. Right down to his grandmother’s name.

“They aren’t wrong,” the president said. “The early days were hell. Medics had no clue what to do.” A picture flashed of a doctor performing surgery to try and figure out what allowed the dead to walk again. The horror of live autopsies went through the minds of everyone there. “We brought back asylums, a horror practice that was almost gone in society, and we locked them away. ‘For their own safety,’ claimed people.

“It wasn’t just the medical field either. Police forces were as clueless as they ever were.” Another picture that was familiar to the audience was displayed on the screen. An Unquiet was lying, shot nineteen times by cops. This was a famous picture from the Watson Rebellion. Everyone in the crowd remembered the days when they couldn’t turn on any electronics without seeing the horrifying picture.

The body was on the ground, and three cops stood, their guns drawn, a stern look of terror was on each of their faces, but that wasn’t what everyone was looking at. The focus of the people’s attention had always been the background. A mixture of faces was there, some yelling, some crying, but the most poignant was a woman. Her face was a mixture of horror and disgust. Tears streamed down her face, and the heartbreak was written across her face.

No one knew who she was, not for sure, but the picture of her face haunted people to this day.

“When the dead begin to rise, people reverted back to the horrifying early days. Medieval ideology somehow became the norm again. A society claiming tolerance was burning people in the street and resorting to horrifying means.

“There is no denying that we’ve gone through the worst humankind has ever experienced, but in traditional human aspects, here we are today, stronger than we’ve ever been.

“We stand here today, on the bones of the Unquiet and the humans that died for them to get to this point. And ladies and gentleman, we’re here.”

“I bring up the past as if everyone here doesn’t know every single detail already,” Her face, usually strong, fell down to look at the podium for a moment. “That’s not the case. We’re not here to look at the past and the horrors of it. We’re not even here to look to the future and the brightness ahead of it. We’re here today to look at the right now. And right now, September 21, 2048, is liberation.”

There was a huge response from the crowd. The camera switched to show the thousands of people standing in front of Capitol Hill. They were jumping up and down, screaming so loud that the speakers had to auto adjust themselves down to avoid destroying the ears of listeners at home.

Cameras zoomed on individual faces and showed signs saying things such as “I support the Unquiet” “Unquiet not Silent” and “They are humans too.”

Mouths were moving in synchronicity with screams of protest and praise. Hands were being slammed together with jubilant force and children were holding hands over their ears to avoid sensory overload. The cameras came back to focus on the face of Senator James. The grim on her face had left and was replaced a smile.

“We start a new trend in America today. Much of our criticism is that we never move fast enough for equality, but that is not the case today. Today, we set a new precedent that I hope each of my predecessors will follow. Today, America makes the first step towards true equality within the world.”

“Today,” she started, her voice booming out into the crowd, “is a day of liberation, freedom, and salvation as we open our hearts and our arms to welcome each and every one as an equal.”

She paused once more, her arms open to the public, and her smile grew as wide as it could.

“We hold these truths to self evident, that every person is created equal. Today, we endow every human in this country with basic human rights. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness with all that America has to offer. Today marks the day that the Unquiet no longer go by that name. Welcome to the human race.” With the final words of her speech, the cheers rose above everything else. People were screaming with loud screams that sent the volume almost to the bottom. The banners were no longer visible as the people had dropped them and hugging the people around them.

Unquiet were smiling, and standing there, enjoying the excitement and yelling.

Even through the speakers of the television the screams were loud. Loud enough for the people in the the room to cover their ears.

A young girl, Daisy, was sitting against a chair while her mother’s legs were next her. The screams of the crowd resonated throughout the room. Volume correct took control and lowered the sounds.

“Liberation day,” The older man in the room scoffed. The people in the room looked at him. He was about seventy, and white hair was receding far back into his head. He was sitting down in the other armchair, with Daisy’s father standing over him watching the television.

Daisy didn’t say a word. She was used to her grandfather saying things such as this and it didn’t bother her anymore, at least not in a way that she would show.

“These Unquiet need to be locked away. Until we can find a way to cure them or they die.”

Daisy brushed her coal colored hair back in an attempt to do something with her hands.

“You’re absolutely right Anthony,” Daisy’s father Blake said, putting his hand on his shoulder and patting it. “Abominations. You know people are already lining up to marry them. Disgusting.”

“Corpsefuckers,” Anthony said, the contempt in his voice.

“People are born,” Blake said. “And people die. And they stay dead. They don’t come back. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. That’s the way it’s always been.”

“I’m not saying that I like it anymore than you do,” Daisy’s mother Chandra chimed in. She crossed her legs and accidentally pushed Daisy away. “But the government has declared them as people. What can we do?”

The old man stopped. Daisy looked away from her grandfather and father to turn her attention back to the television.

“We can end it. Join part of the rebellions.”

“You think there’s going to be some rebellions?”

“Hell, people were rebelling to protect them, and they were a minority. Hopefully the earth hasn’t gone completely insane, and we’ll start murdering these creatures on sight.”

Daisy had heard enough and was ready to leave. She stood up silently, her thin frame slightly blocking her mothers view.

The camera was panning across the still cheering people. It went back to President James who was still smiling.

“In the eyes of god and man, we are the sa…”

Daisy and everyone in the room paused unable to comprehend what they were watching. Skull flew out from behind President James. She stood there for just a second, her eyes emptying and then collapsed. A scream rang out collectively among the people that were there.

Her husband sprang up to the podium and grabbed his wife. A sob that was easy to hear through her speaker came across the television.

The entirety of America stopped in horror. Daisy felt her mouth drop.

Someone had just assassinated President James.