Excerpt: Survivors

As World War Two drew to a close, Germany was fighting a losing battle. While other nations rejoiced, German everywhere hung their heads and wondered what had happened to make such a mighty country sink so low.
But with an explosion of light, the world’s course was changed forever. A potent force echoed down from the heavens, and Jesus appeared to all those on the planet. And as He spoke, they ceased about their daily routines, froze in their war like toy soldiers, and looked up at him in wonder and awe, and, as they listened, with growing terror.
He said that Hitler was God’s Chosen One, given the sacred duty of carrying on His work, fixing the mistakes He made, buy getting rid of the weak and the useless and building a superrace of perfect humans who alone would be fit to return to Eden.
With His words, Hitler and his Nazis were enveloped in a softly glowing white light, brilliant and pulsating.
But, Jesus continued, in opposition of Hitler, the rest of the world had committed a grave and terrible sin: they had gone against God. Yet - for He was benevolent - they would receive a second chance, an opportunity to renew themselves in His eyes and become as pure as they had once been. Those Christians who, although misguided, had been loyal to God, would be given the earth as reward, until the time when He came again.
Christians everywhere shucked their old skins and emerged from the chrysalis in resurrection bodies, new and beautiful.
And then, having done His duty, He ascended to heaven, carrying with him the Nazis in their orbs of light; and, flying by his side, Hitler, king of the new Eden.
Those left behind by Jesus - those atheists and agnostics and those members of a thousand other religions - breathed a sigh of relief that they had not had visited upon them the dreadful tortures of their imaginations, and swore to themselves that from now on they would follow God, and that when Jesus again returned to earth, He would not be disappointed.
But all too soon, His true intentions were made clear. The resurrection bodies, while initially flawless, swiftly began to fade. Reflexes slowed, bright eyes dimmed, skin took on a pallid and sickly hue, and the stench of rotting flesh filled the air. Finally, the mind was taken over by the bizarre sickness, and left as a weak and crippled thing, thinking only of their insatiable hunger for the sweet, rich taste of human flesh.
Those left behind stared in dismay at the ravening hordes, as one by one they were hunted down and torn to shreds. Slowly, the realisation dawned that Jesus intended them to suffer Hell after all; Hell on an earth ruled by the Resurrected.
Their numbers grew by the day; while dead bodies, their spark of life extinguished, would not join their massed ranks, a single festering bite or scratch was enough to transform its victim, within a few days, into one of the infected.
And soon, a new name was given to the Resurrected legions; a name that grew and spread like wildfire.
Zombies.