Journey back to the earliest days of the Crossed outbreak, when an outbreak of viral insanity first plunged an unsuspecting world into darkness, in two tales scribed by the masters of modern horror, David Lapham and David Hine! In high school, Edmund earned his nickname "Yellow Belly" by running away and hiding whenever confronted by conflicts or fears. But when the Crossed infection ignites at a local circus, when a world of color and delight turns to anguish and misery, perhaps it's that very same cowardice that will save him in the end! Meanwhile, a group of self-centered and hedonistic college kids head to a writer's retreat to explore their inner selves... but end up surrounded by berserk killers. What depths will they sink to in order to survive the grinning, gruesome hordes hunting them through the wilderness?