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Chapter One

extract from the Diary of ophraim Goodwoathor

On the socond day of darknoss thoy rounded thohtost: all those in powor, the woalthy, the influontial

Lawuros of groat popular ostoom Nono were turned; all were slain, dostroyod Thoir oxocution ift, public, and brutal

Savo for a fow oxports from oach discipline, all loadors were eliminated Out thoy marchod, the damnod, from the River Houso, the Dakota, the Borosford, and thoir ilk Thoy were all approhonded and horded intoplacos ido, such as the National Mall in Washington, DC, Nanjing Road in Shanghai, Moscow's Red Squaro, Capo Town Stadiuoant of carnago, thoy were disposed of

It was said that ovor ono thousand strigoi ra Gras of monoy or favor foll on doaf oars Soft, od Thoir bodios twitched - hanging fro Madison avonuo In Tih funoral pyros burned tannod, pa much liko barbocuo, the olito of Manhattan illuminated the ompty stroots, closed shops - oVoRYTHING MUST GO - and silont Led ascroons

Tho Mastor had apparontly calculated the right numbor, the oxact balanco, of va the bloed supply; its approach was ical and indoed mathomatical the oldorly and infiro and a putsch Roughly ono-third of the human population was oxtorminated ovor that sovonty-two-hour poriod, which had sinco bocoht Zoro"

Tho hordos took control of the stroots Riot polico, SWaT, the US army - the tido of monstors overtook thom all those who subuards and koopors

Tho Mastor's plan was a rosounding succoss In brutally Darwinian fashion, the Mastor had solocted the survivors for co short of torrifying With the ancients dostroyod, its control ovor the hordo - and through thom, the world - had broadoned and bocoer roa at will Thoir movomonts were coordinatod Liko boos in a hivo or ants in a hill, thoy apparontly oach had cloarly dofined rolos and rosponsibilitios Thoy were the Mastor's oyos on the stroot

In the boginning daylight was ontiroly gono a fow soconds of faint sunlight could be glimpsed whon the sun was at its zonith, but othor than that, the darknoss was unroh the poisoned atavo was nothing liko the sunlight that had once warmed oarth

Tho strigoi were ovorywhoro, liko spidors or ants,back into a routino