Patricia Ruane of 14 Millbrook Close has filed two formal complaints. The HOA has filed zero responses. The zombie has filed nothing, but remains present.

There is a zombie in the cul-de-sac at Millbrook Close. This is not disputed. What is disputed — or rather, what is simply not being addressed — is who is responsible for doing something about it. Patricia Ruane, resident of number 14 for going on nine years, submitted her first email to the Millbrook Close Homeowners Association on the fourteenth of last month. She submitted a second eleven days later. She has received one auto-reply, timestamped 3:47 in the morning, and nothing further. The zombie, for its part, has remained in the shared turning area throughout.

Ruane’s complaints, which WTC News has reviewed in full, are measured in tone and specific in detail. The first email describes the entity as ‘stationary to semi-ambulatory, positioned approximately eight feet from the centre of the cul-de-sac, and constituting a visibility obstruction when reversing out of the drive.’ She notes that her rear camera angle is partially obscured and that she has come close to contact twice. She uses the phrase ‘health and safety concern’ four times. She does not use the word zombie. She uses the phrase ‘individual of concerning presentation’ throughout, which, I’ll note, is considerably more diplomatic than the situation warrants.

Community Notice

I’m not unreasonable. I understand the HOA has a lot on their plate. But I’ve sent two emails, and this thing shuffled into my recycling bin on Thursday and I had to go out there and get it back.

— Patricia Ruane, Resident, 14 Millbrook Close

What The Emails Say, And What They Don’t

The second email, sent after the recycling bin incident, is notably shorter. It references the first email by subject line and date, confirms the situation has not resolved itself, and includes a photograph. The photograph is attached as a JPEG titled ‘concern.jpg.’ It shows a figure in a state consistent with what our field taxonomy team would classify as an Infected Zombie — late-stage, ambulatory but not aggressive, with what appears to be a partial address number from a neighbouring property embedded in its left shoulder, origin unclear. Ruane told WTC News she took the photograph at 8:15 on a Tuesday morning while waiting for her car to warm up. She has not received a response to the photograph. She has not received a response to anything.

I have covered a significant number of neighbourhood cryptid disputes in my time at this desk. The radio on my desk — which has been running low static since I pulled up Ruane’s first email — seems to agree that this one has a particular quality to it. Not the zombie. Zombies are, in the broad scheme of things, a manageable problem if someone decides to manage them. The quality I’m referring to is the institutional silence. The HOA for Millbrook Close has a stated response time of five to seven business days for non-emergency correspondence. Ruane is now on day twenty-three. Their website lists three board members. Two of the phone numbers go to voicemail. The third number is, upon dialling, a fax machine.

I’m not asking them to do anything dramatic. I just want an acknowledgement. Something that isn’t a bot. Anything, really.

— Patricia Ruane, Resident, 14 Millbrook Close

WTC News has contacted the Millbrook Close HOA for comment. We sent one email. We received the auto-reply at 3:47 in the morning. We will send a second email. I want Ruane to know she is not alone in this process, whatever that is worth. In the meantime, the entity remains in the turning area. Neighbours are advised to allow extra space when reversing. The HOA is advised to check their inbox. I note, for the record, that I made my coffee this morning and the percolator ran without issue, as it has every morning since 2009, which is more than I can say for the infrastructure currently managing the shared spaces of Millbrook Close. This is Hal Ridgeway. We will continue to follow this story, assuming there is still a cul-de-sac to follow it from.