"Attention, SaveMart shoppers! A group of bloodthirsty zombies has invaded the store. Do not be alarmed, but please proceed to the nearest exit in a calm, orderly fashion. Leave all unpurchased merchandise within the store. Regardless of the circumstances, we will continue to prosecute all shoplifters to the fullest extent of the law."

This announcement met with several moments of shocked inaction, then an anthill of activity erupted in the shopping center, as if the pronouncement’s full meaning had hit everyone at once.

“But a cheetah can outrun a man.” Braddock said. The video – he still could not believe what he had seen.

“Of course. Everyone recognizes that fact. That is the whole point.”

“The whole point is to be killed?” Braddock could not fathom the reasoning of men such as these.

“Not to be killed. That’s only a small part of the process. To be challenged by death. That is the object. To be confronted by its absolute certainty. To know, inescapably and undeniably, that it is bearing down on you. That is the catalyst. Everything follows from that.”

Enoch slammed the hood of his stubborn Cutlass. Great. He'd been ignoring an ominous grinding noise for weeks, and now he'd have to walk home.

Within fifteen minutes he was in town, but it was a bright day, and the sweat was pouring off him. Judging by the number of kids on bikes and playing on the sidewalks, Enoch guessed it was about 3:30. He heaved a sigh of relief in spite of himself; though he was years out of high school, 3:30 still felt like freedom.