After their wall patrol shift, Father Fen-Chang and Father Mucker were transported by bus, back to Xi' an from Shaanxi. Efforts were being made to have a more permanent station in Shaanxi so that volunteers could stay there to defend the wall from the oncoming undead. As it was, every other day, there was a bus that went between the two cities to shuttle shift change replacements to and from the wall.
Defense of the wall had so far kept Xi' an as a safe haven for survivors of the zombie outbreak. Wall duty was highly regarded because it gave the people of the city a sense of security with the threat being so distant. The Great Wall of China was the first line of defense. Of course, the walls around the city of Xi' an itself were an effective measure against attack as well. There were shifts for guarding that last line of defense as well.
Scientist were working tirelessly working on a strategy that someone had come up with. It had been noted that the undead seemed to be attracted to the smell of fear. The smell of fear is actually a survival mechanism, a pheromone put off to warn others of potential danger. Most humans don't have an acute enough sense of smell to notice it. To the zombies however, it is what tells them that prey are nearby. This is how they differentiate between the living and the dead.
An idea had been proposed to extract the smell of fear from any willing subjects. Scientists were working on a way to do such a thing because it could be used as a diversion. In the city of Xi' an is a rather large collection of life-sized terra cotta statues of soldiers. If these statues could be sprayed with a concentrated solution of the smell of fear, it might act as a distraction should the perimeter of the city ever be breached. It would hopefully give the inhabitants of the city enough time to evacuate to safety.
The scientists were finally successful and the plan was implemented. What no one knew was that today would be the day that the plan would be needed. During the bus ride back to Xi' an, Father Fen-Chang started to notice people running around in the open. That was highly unusual because most people were either holed up in the city or hiding in random spots all over China. This was a bad sign. The bus driver radioed ahead to the city, but no one answered.
After having driven most of the way to the city, they could already see the billows of smoke taking flight from their once safe fortress. There was no use going home. Father Mucker suggested that the bus driver stop so that they could devise a new plan. There were twelve people on the bus, all told. They might have been the only twelve left from the city. It was time to take decisive action.
It was decided that the bus was their safest way of getting around. The plan was to find another safe haven. They would pick up any survivors they found along the way. There was food and water on the bus. There were also several tanks of gasoline. The closest headquarters was in Tibet. That was over 700 miles away, but it was their best bet. Another huge obstacle was all the mountains. It was with heavy heart that these weary travelers started on their journey. Hundreds of people had been killed in Xi' an. They would not be forgotten. Many prayers were given to the hope that their evacuation plan had been a success.
Defense of the wall had so far kept Xi' an as a safe haven for survivors of the zombie outbreak. Wall duty was highly regarded because it gave the people of the city a sense of security with the threat being so distant. The Great Wall of China was the first line of defense. Of course, the walls around the city of Xi' an itself were an effective measure against attack as well. There were shifts for guarding that last line of defense as well.
Scientist were working tirelessly working on a strategy that someone had come up with. It had been noted that the undead seemed to be attracted to the smell of fear. The smell of fear is actually a survival mechanism, a pheromone put off to warn others of potential danger. Most humans don't have an acute enough sense of smell to notice it. To the zombies however, it is what tells them that prey are nearby. This is how they differentiate between the living and the dead.
An idea had been proposed to extract the smell of fear from any willing subjects. Scientists were working on a way to do such a thing because it could be used as a diversion. In the city of Xi' an is a rather large collection of life-sized terra cotta statues of soldiers. If these statues could be sprayed with a concentrated solution of the smell of fear, it might act as a distraction should the perimeter of the city ever be breached. It would hopefully give the inhabitants of the city enough time to evacuate to safety.
The scientists were finally successful and the plan was implemented. What no one knew was that today would be the day that the plan would be needed. During the bus ride back to Xi' an, Father Fen-Chang started to notice people running around in the open. That was highly unusual because most people were either holed up in the city or hiding in random spots all over China. This was a bad sign. The bus driver radioed ahead to the city, but no one answered.
After having driven most of the way to the city, they could already see the billows of smoke taking flight from their once safe fortress. There was no use going home. Father Mucker suggested that the bus driver stop so that they could devise a new plan. There were twelve people on the bus, all told. They might have been the only twelve left from the city. It was time to take decisive action.
It was decided that the bus was their safest way of getting around. The plan was to find another safe haven. They would pick up any survivors they found along the way. There was food and water on the bus. There were also several tanks of gasoline. The closest headquarters was in Tibet. That was over 700 miles away, but it was their best bet. Another huge obstacle was all the mountains. It was with heavy heart that these weary travelers started on their journey. Hundreds of people had been killed in Xi' an. They would not be forgotten. Many prayers were given to the hope that their evacuation plan had been a success.
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