Day 1 Of The End Of The World Brenda Holiday

Emergency Dispatcher: "The House of Commons has been secured, but the House of Lords is still being evacuated. Hang in there, Christine, they’ll be coming down the embankment on their way to the city when they’re done."

British actuary Christine Addington spent her first day of the end of the world trapped inside a red phone box in London near the river Thames. Ms. Addington has graciously agreed to share her recorded call to Emergency Services from that night, which accidentally captured some of what would be her last goodbyes to loved ones and friends.

Elementary school teacher Nora Carlyle found her classroom management skills put to the test as an unexpected trespasser came to visit her school.

Janelle found herself working in the unlikeliest of places. Flagstone Manor is a cheap facade of a medieval castle slapped up with a dirt Florida arena, just off State Highway 21. A scream from the crowd shattered the moment. Disruptions were common, and security was usually pretty quick to shut that sort of thing down, but that scream said something different was happening...

Reading from a letter: "Once we reached containment and the lockdowns lifted, there's still a lot of work to do. There's cleanup and rebuilding. There's also settling of accounts because not everyone made it to the shelters, to safety..."

In the aftermath of the collapse, Dunston, Iowa Sheriff Andy Watts discovered that closure isn’t easy to come by, and that the answers you find may haunt you.

"It’s very important that you all talk to your Big People and figure out what your 'just in case' plans are, where your supplies are, and where you will meet up if you get separated..."

Podcaster Sandy Douglas, based in Boulder, Colorado, was well-known for her child-focused programming pre-necrodemic. Her podcast’s mission was to help kids accept and love themselves as they navigate a world that doesn’t always look like them. She recorded her original music with her two children: Sammy (then age 10) and Sherry (then age 7). Her final song is credited with helping children survive and stay calm in countries around the world. Ms. Douglas declined to be interviewed, but she has graciously shared the recording of her final broadcast, loved by so many. 

“‘Mel?’ ‘Yeah, mom?’ She paused, looking for words that wouldn’t come. Finally, she said, ‘I love you.’ That’s when I got scared. Really scared. The panic choked in my throat. Which is good, because there was no way I would shed one single tear in front of my brothers. Not now. That first was for later. My voice cracked, but the anger grounded me. ‘Don’t you do that, mom!’ I shouted. ‘Don’t do that to us!’”
 
Teenager Mel Harden reflects back on the first time a zombie hoard came through the sleepy town of Yellow Springs, Ohio in their story, “Firsts.”