#but we were also in the city. running from violent and fast “zombies”

[morningstarnomore]

the horrors are incomprehensible. to YOU. they come to ME in my dreams.

[rihem900]

Survivors-ZK32

This story is set in an alternative earth where the society evolved the same as ours in terms of technology and history, with the difference being minor (some city and places are named different, like the twin towers were labelled the sister towers and were in New-Jersey instead of New-York, instead of a male Black president, we have a female Asian. And the capital of the US is Boston, just a reminder that some stuff may look the same but be different. The croissant and baguette are more of a Canadian culture, China is the birthplace of wine, and many more other small stuff like that).

The story takes place in 2022.

ACT 1- THE HOSPITAL

The scene starts in front of a hospital where a man is in a hurry. He parks frantically and runs inside the hospital. On the TV, we can see a report of the first people coming back to life and attacking. People are panicking and running around; others are trying to contact their loved ones. There are also reports of planes being grounded by air control; nothing is going up or coming down, and the airport is closed and quarantined as it is declared "Ground 0".

We are introduced to Thomas (we can see his full name on his badge and the logo of his office) rushing through the hospital, looking for his wife, who is there to collect samples to study a new strand of the Coronavirus. He is also on the phone with his sons, who, with his classmates and professors, have just landed from a trip to Paris. He locates his wife on the sixth (6th) floor and without hesitation utters "Plane to Koudo." His wife understood, stopped immediately what she was doing, and started to follow him. They head to the stairs, and still on the phone with their children, telling them to stay calm and be with the instructors. They plan to reunite with their kids and head to a safe place.

As they are making their way onto the staircase, suddenly everything collapses, and the screen fades away. In the next scene, we see debris of a plane near the hospital, making us understand that the collapse was due to the crash. We see Thomas and Sandra slowly waking up and making sure they are both OK, except for some bruises. The staircase is pitch black, and they are obliged to use their smartphones for light, and enabling the silent mode. We can hear screams, alarms, people running, and basically chaos. After desperately trying to reach their kids without any luck, they sent a text telling them to stay put and that they are on their way.

They continue to make their way onto the fourth (4th) floor, only to discover the path blocked by rubble. After analyzing a security plan on the wall, the options they had were:

1- Use the second stairs which is on the other side of the hospital.

2- Find the elevator shaft and try to use it to slide down.

3- Find a way outside through the windows.

After discussing it, they settled on the second option because the elevator is closer. They made their way to the elevator, but the doors were jammed shut. They tried to pry them open, but it was no use. The noise attracted the dead, and they started to hear roars and snarls from walkers. The walkers were closing in, and they had to act fast. They were finally able to open the doors, and in a desperate attempt to escape, they climbed into the elevator shaft and started to make their way down. It was a dangerous move, but they had no other option. They slid down, hoping that they would reach the first floor safely.

Suddenly, they heard a loud noise, and the entire structure shook violently. Being near the third (3rd) floor, they jumped to safety and realized that the elevator had fallen, and they were lucky to have escaped by the skin of their teeth and to be alive, but they also knew that they had to keep moving.

They made their way to the second staircase, which was still intact, and started to climb up. The stairs were steep and narrow, and they had to be careful not to slip. They could hear the zombies near them, and they knew that they had to reach the first floor as soon as possible. On the second (2nd) floor, they had to use the main corridors to get to the first floor

Continuing through the corridors, they encountered mutilated corpses and walkers unable to move. With his knowledge of zombies, Thomas tried to kill a walker with a metal pipe he picked up. He first hit the torso and lower body, but no matter how much damage he inflicted, the walker remained alive. It was only after hitting the head multiple times that the walker stopped moving.

This ordeal made Thomas vomit on the floor, and he expressed how sick it made him feel. He told his wife how different it was from what they usually see in movies and TV shows, and how horrible it is because the walker was once a person. Although the mind was gone, the flesh was still there, so it felt like taking someone's life. For the sake of their family and to reunite with their kids, they pushed their discomfort aside and armed themselves with metal debris.  They tried to contact their kids with no luck. They reassured each other about their kids' well-being but remained worried.

Thomas and Sandra came across another couple, Mark and Sarah, who were trying to flee from a walker. Thomas and his wife saved them and showed them how to deal with the walkers, with a bonus rule about putting the phone on silent mode. Along the way, they encountered other survivors: Sophia, Ava, Isabella, Harper, Ethan, and Liam.

The next scene shows that 24 hours have passed since the outbreak and the group of ten people had been trapped in the hospital. They knew they had to get out before it was too late, but they also knew it would be dangerous. They had no idea what was waiting for them outside those walls. As they made their way through the corridors to get to the first floor, they had several close calls with the undead. They fought tooth and nail, using whatever weapons they could find.

Near the first floor, only one room away from the outside. They came across a lobby full of walkers. No matter how they strategized, they would not all make it, even if they ran. They decided to rest and evaluate their options. While resting, Ava noticed Harper passing out and informed the group. They immediately noticed the bite mark. An argument erupted about whether to dispose of him right away or wait to be sure he would not turn. Here, we understand that Harper is a close friend of Ava. Harper comes back to life and tries to bite Ethan.

With the chaos that ensued, walker Harper was able to bite Ava. Without hesitation, Thomas lunged forward with a brick and bashed walker Harper's head, spattering the group with blood. Thomas stood there in shock for a couple of seconds, only to come back to his senses when his wife touched him, startling him.

After realizing her fate, Ava volunteered to be bait for the walkers in the lobby to allow the rest of the group to escape. She ran past the walkers, only attracting them with noise. She hid behind the doors and locked them after all the walkers passed her, making herself the target once more.

Ava died a sad death, crying and imagining a normal life. She looked at Thomas through the windows as if trying to tell him something. With the zombie on her, she collapsed, and the group could hear and see the door banging and lights flickering. The group managed to escape, but they lost two of their own.

The last scene shows Thomas confused, not totally present, as if lost in thoughts. A message notification snaps him back, and he reads a message from his sons that says "Safe, inside Airport, Quarantined with sensei and brother, Waiting." He shows his wife the message, and they hug.

[authorofdanger]

Miroh

Genre: angst with slight fluff

Skz zombie apocalypse au

Not much warning really

It's pretty short but I got bored

🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♀️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️

The storm finally calmed after nearly an entire day of harsh rain and strong winds. Sitting up on a high branch in the first climb able tree I could find I hung my bag and bow on the branch while ringing my shirt out. With the temperature being basically below freezing and having no dry winter clothes or jacket I knew shelter was a must unless I wanted to go through hypothermia.

My body shook violently as another breeze hit my arms and I determined it was time to look for the closest town. Taking a careful glance around me I couldnt see another moving object in sight so I grabbed my few items and leaped out of the tree, bow and arrow at the ready.

Walking through the woods has been scary enough as it is recently with the limited food supply and starving walkers that have been found in hoards but nothing adds fuel to the fear more than being completely alone. I kept my steps as silent as I could and listened to the best of my abilities but in the end I could only hear the thumping of my rapid heartbeat that never seems to calm these days. I use to be able to ignore it when I was with a group but being alone you tend to notice more about ok but yourself compared to when you are with loved ones.

****Four months earlier****

"Y/N you breathe any louder and the walkers will here you," Minho joked as we crept through the abandoned town. Playfully hitting his arm I tried even harder to control my breaths so he could move his jokes onto one of the others. "Unless they hear your blabbing first," Seungmin hushed, "seriously Minho were we not just attacked by a group not even a couple of minutes ago? Let her catch her breath. We all know she is a terrible runner." Rolling my eyes there wasn't much room for arguments. The boys were athletic and strong, only keeping me around for my ability to provide medical care and my shocking ability to hunt. I've tried teaching them for weeks but only successfully having Jeongin shoot a dose after using five arrows and chasing after it.

"Hey it could be worse. We could have Jisung not being tired." Jisung faked a hurt expression with his jaw dropped and a hand slapped to his chest but you could see from the bags under his eyes that if we were to take a small break in one of these buildings he would collapse from exhaustion. "Last I checked I kept watch while I let you guys sleep. I did all of you a favor," he gasped. Placing a soft kiss to his cheek I slightly chuckled at the tiny his face turned and how large the smile on his face turned. "Me too," Jeongin whined while pulling at my arm. Giving him two on his uninjured cheek he seemed satisfied with his reward. I was just happy he was talking again.

He once didnt say a single word for nearly two months due to the trauma of us losing our best friend after we found his family who was going a different way then we were. They claimed to know of a society going west but we were heading east for one we knew of. It was a no brainer he would go with his family and we couldnt be happier for him but we miss him terribly. It took me saving his life and nearly getting bitten for him to find his voice again.

"You are such a baby," Seungmin groaned but apologized once he caught a glimpse of my warning glare. "Last I remembered I beat the shit out of Jisung when he called him a baby. Dont think I wont do the same to you." The boy is an adult now and I refuse to allow the others to treat him as less. "She's stronger then she looks man," Jisung added as he grabbed his wrist, "I thought she broke something!"

"Guys listen," Minho interrupted, "do you hear that? It's called silence and I prefer ot over your bickering." Before I could open my mouth Jeongin grabbed hold of my hand and mouthed a "thank you" while we continued to walk. Security wasn't a feeling we felt but there was a sense of it when we were together. We had eachother.

*****

Taking in a deep breath I had to force myself to think of other things to prevent myself from crying again. After being separated by an attack from a hoard I have been struggling to stay alive, wondering if it was really worth it.

****Three months ago****

I desperately rushed through the city to find the others. Being separated was bad enough but not knowing if they were okay only added to the anxiety. There were bodies and gunshot holes everywhere but no sign of my friends. Losing hope I slowed my pace to a speed walk but kept my eyes shooting everywhere. Then I saw it, Jeongin's bandanna that I used to wrap his ankle after a nasty gash. He never removes it, leaving that for me to do when I wanted to check his wound for infection. I knew it was his when I saw the my fading initials in the corner of the red fabric.

I couldnt stop the tears that rolled down my face with the knowledge that something terrible had to have happened. Tying it around my wrist I spent hours circling the area but when all I found was his bandanna and a few broken arrows from his crossbow I knew one of three things could have happened. They escaped, they got turned, or they got devoured. My heart shattered and all hope was lost. I was alone and I was afraid.

****

Tightening the filthy bandanna around my wrist I took a few more glances around before I spotted glimpses of buildings just a few miles north. Maybe there is food, hopefully there is because I havent had a meal in days and it's taking a toll on my health. With the constant hunger and running I have become extremely thin and weak but just strong enough to keep moving.

The town was in ruins but the market had a few canned items left. I also was able to find more arrows in a hunting shop and medicine in the local pharmacy. "This should hold me off for a couple of days," I whispered to myself before climbing up to the top of a diner's rooftop to look for walkers.

"This place gets worse each time we come," a voice said in the distance. "Shut up and look for some food. I think we havent scoped out that store all the way since we were attacked last round," another ordered after an echoing smack filled my ears and a pain filled wince. "You hit too hard Hyung!" Fear filled my veins. Last time I ran into other survivors they nearly killed me with a gunshot to my shoulder. I still have a hard time moving it since I never got medical attention and it only happened less than a week after losing my friends.

"Any signs of walkers," another voice asked, "I'm not risking us being separated with a sign of danger." I held tightly to my bow and prepared an arrow before deciding to move backwards to try and escaped unseen. "Nope. I think we are fine," a familiar voice groaned, "now can we hurry so we can go back. It's cold out here!" "Minho," I muttered to myself. Crawling to the ledge I carefully peered over to catch a glimpse of the group below. There were three boys I had never seen before but my heart was bound to explode when two familiar faded hair colors caught my eye. With black roots I could see the beyond faded green hair and another faded red. Seungmin and Minho? They're alive!

"What's that," one of the boys growled after spotting me, "guns at the ready!" "Fuck," I muttered before quickly trying to escape. They're alive! Are the others? I didnt have time to think as gunshots filled my ears. "Is it a walker?" "Its too fast to be a walker!" Picking up the pace I felt my lungs burning but kept going after a bullet barely passed my ear. "Stop your fire! It's not a Walker!" I hid behind a dumpster before my legs could give out and tried to keep my jagged breathing quiet. 'Breathe any louder and the walkers will hear you,' Minho's joke replayed in my mind. Even if it was them chasing after me they arent alone and are not afraid to kill me on the spot. I was in serious danger.

Hearing footsteps I stopped breathing all together and listened carefully as multiple footsteps crept past me. "It looked like a girl," Minho whispered. "Minho did you see what she was carrying," Seungmin asked, "she had a bow. It was silver." Many people we have come across had bows of all kinds of colors but rarely did we see a shining silver one like mine since my father handmade mine before the outbreak as a birthday gift. I never got the chance to thank him after the outbreak began due to him getting infected.

"Y/N," Minho called out. "What are you doing," one scolded, "she could be dangerous!" Damn straight I am dangerous. "Dangerous? Y/N is as dangerous as a housefly. She is just a nuisance," Seungmin scoffed. Rolling my eyes I knew if the situation was different I would have slapped him by now. I could see the men from a small crack just behind me but it was hidden enough to where it would be hard for them to see me. Prepping my bow and silently sitting up I had it aimed just a few inches away from them just in case I needed to scare them. "She is as scary as Jeongin. They are both a couple of babbling babies," he added. I then released my arrow, it landing in the fence right next to the faded pink haired boy. "Holy shit," he yelled in a deep Australian accent making me internally laugh but hood it in to not be found. "Definitely Y/N," Minho and Seungmin said in sync.

"Look man we arent going to shoot but dont threaten my men," the faded blonde yelled, "now come out where we can see you." "Drop your weapons. You can take me down without them anyways," I called trying to sound as strong as I humanly could. Slowly each of them lowered their guns and held their hands up to show they were unarmed. I hesitantly crawled out of my spot and made direct eye contact with the two of my four boys. "You're alive," Minho gasped before racing to me and engulfing me in a tight embrace with Seungmin joining on the other side of me. "Shoulder," I winced, "watch the shoulder."

They both immediately pulled away and gazed at my body. Soaked and filthy with blood and dirt I looked as horrible as I felt even with the rain washing some of the grime off of me. "We thought the walkers got you," Seungmin stammered as tears rimmed his eyes, "we didnt even have time to look for you. The boys found us but said they never saw you while searching the place." "I looked for you guys for days. I didnt leave the city until I was nearly attacked again! I was alone for since then thinking you all were," I couldnt even finish after my voice cracked. I placed my head onto Minho's chest and allowed him to rub my back soothingly. "We need to go," the blonde ordered, "I hear walkers."

****

The ride to their base took around half an hour in their safari looking vehicles but looking at the multiple fences let me see just how secure they were. They seemed to reside in an altered town with handmade wooden fences that had to be atleast twenty feet tall that must have taken months to make. "I know it's not the best looking place but its safe," the pink haired boy sighed as we pulled in but I shook my head and gave him a shy smile. "Its better than a simple tree."

As we pulled in there were around fifty people waiting around the parking lot to see if all of their men made it back. In the distance I could see Jeongin and Jisung waiting patiently by a tall and clean building that had to have importance to the people who resided here. Minho helped me out of the vehicle and held his arm around my waist as we walked past the crowd with Seungmin hot on out trail. "Y/N," Jeongin cried once we got into eyesight, "oh my god!" Trampling me to the ground I could only cry as he pampered my face with kisses and tears as he repeated over and over "I'm so sorry!"

"Innie! Innie stop it's okay! I'm here! You're crushing me!" Slowly prying himself off me me Jisung helped me get up and then yanked me into him, body shaking as he tried to be gentle. "How did you survive? Oh my god I'm so sorry," he mumbled into my shoulder. Jisung and Jeongin were always more likely to show emotion so their shaking and crying didnt phase me just as Minho and Seungmin tried holding composure. Running my hand though his quickly fading brown hair I tried soothing him while also bringing comfort to myself. They're alive, they are okay, and we are all together now.

"So who is she again," the pink haired boy from earlier asked as four men approached us. "This is Y/N. She is the girl you were supposed to find when you found us," Minho said with a hint of harshness in his tone. They had to be angry. They were lied to and they knew it, I knew it. Nobody came to look for me that day and I was right where we got separated from! "There arent enough apologies I could provide," the familiar blonde sighed while running a hand through his locks, "but what matters is she is here now right?" "This is Chan, Felix, Changbin, and Hyunjin. The eight of us run this place but Chan is the big man," Jisung explained as he fully let me go.

"You talked about your shoulder," Hyunjin asked, "can I take a look at it in the clinic?" Nodding my head I followed behind him with Jeongin glued to my side as we entered the tall building from earlier.

****

"It looks pretty nasty but I think it will be fine since I cleaned it. We're going to keep an eye on it for the next week or so alright," Hyunjin asked after the last stitch. "Thank you. I could only do so much with a travel first aide kit from a drugstore." Jeongin kept a firm grip on my hand as his friend left the room, leaving us in total silence. "You've been alone this whole time? In the woods? Injured," he asked lowly. "I'm okay now," I encouraged while ruffling his almost white locks with a soft pink hue. "Still havent found dye huh?" He shook his head and mumbled "not worried about it anymore. Too busy around here."

His eyes were full of emotions but I could see so many questions filling his mind that he was pondering if he should ask. "You know to help us feel better we would come up with ways you were alright? Jisung tried making the theory that you found Woojin and stayed with him." Giving him a soft smile I tried to change the subject to clear his mind. "Do you like it here? The boys seem nice." "They baby me. Alot."

I immediately got frustrated but fought to contain it. Have the boys not realized he isnt a baby? Even after I beat the shit out of Jisung? "But Chan has been teaching me how to lead. He told me if anything happens he wants me to take over Miroh. It's pretty cool but kinda scary." My body relaxed at this, so the babying wasn't so bad that he wasn't given respect. It's a big job to lead and he is being trained to do it!

"I'm so proud of you. I know you can do it." "I can now that you're here. Y/N?" I let out a soft hum, listening to everything he had to say, "you know we are staying here right?" "As long as I'm with you boys I dont care where we are. I'm never losing you again." "Well then welcome to Miroh."

[impartofthesolution]

Road to London

           Alone.  It’s not a good word.  It’s not typically a fun or appealing word.  But, it’s a safe word.  Because if I’m alone, that means there’s nothing nearby to hurt me.  That’s the closest thing to a promise I have anymore. Sure, I miss my crew, but they only slowed me down, or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself.  What I have to tell myself.            It’s been two weeks, but I’ve really only been alone ten days.  Those first four were awful.  I was always moving, got almost no sleep, killed more zombies than I could count, and had to leave the bodies of the people I grew to love, unburied.  Then, I got in the clear, and there has been no zombie activity at all as I continue to make my way north.  Alone.  Safe. For now.            As I simultaneously watch my step on the potholed road and scan the horizon for signs I’m no longer alone, I reflect on my state.  I suppose I’ve always been the loner type, more alive in my head than I was around people. It served me well, when the outbreak came.  It spread far too fast, too many people unwilling to believe their friends and family could be infected.  It tore through households; friends went for a drive somewhere and never came back.  I stockpiled what I needed in my small house. I could stretch any ration as long as I had to to see this through.            The only problem is, I’m still not through.  The outbreak created hordes of ravenous monsters, and it became unsafe to say.  The radios talked about a party, thousands strong, making their way to the city, devouring everything.  So I left. I took what I could, “borrowed” what I needed, and left.  I didn’t even have a gun back then, but I’m not sure if that would have made my life easier or harder.  I certainly hadn’t learned to use it yet.  We learned early on that cars attract the zombies, and the zombies ate all the horses.  That left walking.            Rumor has it that there were some cities in Canada that had missed the earliest wave of outbreaks and had quickly contained the threat from within.  It made it so much easier to keep the zombies and threats out.  They’re fearless devils, but they lost their humanity and all that makes humans special, namely, our minds.  They’re no threat to an organized defense.  If only we had more of those.            Buffalo is 60 miles away, I note the highway sign. It’s Buffalo, cross a bridge, and then I’m in Canada.  Which, to be fair, is little different from the fields and roads and small towns I’m seeing.  Until I get to London and an old fort there.  Thankfully, I don’t have to go anywhere near Toronto; that place is a writhing nightmare of destruction.  In addition to the zombies, violent street games have divvied the city.  Nope, no place for a woman, or anyone in her sane mind. I’ll take my chances with asylum in London.  They couldn’t possibly turn me down, a single woman out in the world who can prove she can’t be infected.            Oh yes, my forearm aches as I remember the decaying jaws biting down on my arm in the early days of my escape from Harrisburg. I kicked and thrashed and did everything I could.  That was my first kill.  But then, I just locked myself up and waited for the madness to take me, unable to take my own life.  A few days passed, my arm was swollen and slightly infected, but not with the zombie contagion.  A group of survivors escaping to Canada had found me.  Ryan assured me if I could have turned, I would have.  He was the one who gave me my first gun and taught me how to use it.  I had no idea handguns could hold 15 or more rounds in a magazine.  I was just used to seeing revolvers on TV.            I make it another six miles before finding a small town as dusk was settling.  It is quiet, which is a good sign.  Towns like these usually were safe.  The zombies ransacked them for every ounce of meat and then disappeared when it was all gone. Lucky for me, they wouldn’t touch water or canned foods.  I didn’t bother to carry much with me; it was too heavy.  Finding somewhere with basic supplies like food, clothes, and bedding was pretty reliable.  I tried to stay light with my guns, ammo, maps, and a rather large first aid kit.            I find a store, grab a shopping cart, and look to see if there was anything the scavengers left behind.  The virus came so quick, there weren’t many of us left with our humanity.  The odds were good that there were few enough survivors to have come before me that there would still be supplies left.  I take what I found and go to search for a defensible looking home that hopefully had clothes that fit me for after my bottled water shower.            Buffalo is my only real threat.  I managed to skirt around the edge of the city until I walked along northern tip of Lake Erie.  Now, I could see the zombies milling around the US side of the border. From what I can see with my binoculars, the bridges look clear.  I suppose there isn’t really anything interesting to a zombie on a long bridge. But the city of Buffalo, that could keep a large pack of zombies occupied for a while, longer than I had to wait them out.  I have to make my move, and make it now, while it’s still light out.  Sure, I could hide a little better in the dark, but it would also be far harder to see the zombies.  I’m a better shot during the day, too.            There are more ways to cross a bridge than to walk the dotted line.  My target is the structure underneath, moving from beam to beam.  Most zombies couldn’t follow me or even see me down there.  All I had to do was get there.  I screw the silencers into my Berettas and hoist my backpack up on my shoulders.  I am ready for anything.            Making my way carefully along the side of the street, my primarily goal is to not attract the zombie’s attention.  I either need to strike first, or not engage at all. Otherwise, I’d be swarmed, and I have no backup this time.  On the plus side, I don’t have Robin to accidentally kick a can and alert an entire nest to our presence, either.  One small mistake, so many deaths.            I turn a corner and a twisted form hunches in front of me, back to me.  It must be eating a rat or a possum or… I don’t care.  I look and check to make sure there are no others and I shoot. Perfect, effective, trained.  A bullet through the head and the zombie collapses with barely a sound.  Alone, again. It’s an illusion.            I continue on, effectively staying undetected by the mindless fiends.  The bridge is back in my view.  It’s a couple of hundred yards out, and I’m in the last bit of cover I’ll have until I crawl under the bridge.  I survey my surrounds, looking for the best path forward.  Guns blazing is a dangerous option.  I have roughly 30 bullets without reloading, and I see at least 10 zombies.  That means another 10 zombies are out of sight.  There’s no way I can try to engage them one at a time.  I finish my plan: I need to make it as far unseen as possible, engage and kill the first attack wave, and then I just have to make it under the bridge.  Hopefully, that’s only a 100 yard sprint by that point.            Just then, I hear a noise above me.  I look up, and on top of the building above me, a zombie looks down straight at me with its one eye and crooked jaw.  I’m faster, whipping up my gun and shooting it in its only eye.  My gun may be quiet, but it’s not silent.  A quick look around me tells me I attracted some attention from the zombies on the road to the bridge, but there’s nothing coming up front behind me. Stealth gone, I start jogging towards the bridge and the two zombies eager for a fresh meal.            Shhht, shhht goes the report of my Beretta.  One zombie falls motionless, and I don’t even break a stride.  The other zombie is 20 feet away.  He must have been someone import, for he was wearing a suit, still distinguishable though it is in tatters.  I stop, aim, and fire.  Four, I keep track of how many bullets I’ve spent.  By now, I’ve attracted the attention of all the remaining zombies. There were the 8 I had seen plus another 5 had appeared.  Thirteen is too many to take on.  All I have to do is take out the ones in front of me and outrun the ones closing in from the sides.  I take a shot at the lead zombie and miss.  I mutter an unladylike curse under my breath, still careful not take make unnecessary noise.  I have to run if I want to not get mobbed by the zombies coming from my right.            As I’m running, I fire off five rounds, dropping two zombies quickly.  I’m breathing heavy.  The bridge is still 150 yards off, and there are still 5 zombies in front of me.  My chances are slim, but I have no hope.  I keep charging.  I try to steady by aim, but the running and adrenaline shake my hands. My final six shots in my right hand pistol only fell two more zombies.  Without even looking, I extend my left arm to the left and fire, hearing a zombie drop a second later.  I switch my loaded gun to my right hand.  Three zombies, 50 feet away.  I put three shots in the lead zombie, and it topples in a pile of gore.  I jump it and take out the second zombie while in the air. Ten shots left, I remember.  The final zombie is closing fast.  It lunges at me with wicked claws and two obsidian marble eyes.  I duck and slide on my leg, tearing the “borrowed” jeans.  The zombie passes overhead, and I shoot up at it, flinging it over and behind me.  As I try to stand up and continue running, the zombie’s foot connects with my head knocking me sideways.  There are four zombies closing in from my right, but my concern is the last zombie my left.  I was knocked dangerously close to her.  She reaches out with her only arm, and all I could do is bash it away with my left arm. Her decaying limb goes flying.  I sweep her legs as I spin back to full standing. The bridge is so close.  I take off in a full sprint.  I reach the edge of the bridge and jump, arms extending. Ooof, the breath is knocked out of me as I catch a horizontal bar under my arms.  I barely stay on, dizzy and winded and gasping for air.  I turn behind me.  The two closes zombies had fallen off the edge.  The others had run along the bridge above me, looking for a way to get to me, but they can’t.  I’m safe. Not alone, but safe.  For now. Back to Table of Contents (x)

[fandomsphere]

Welcome back to the FANDOM-sphere! Here is the latest addition to our #fanfictionfriday collection. Chapter 3 of How to Date a Superhero. If you haven’t read the first 2 chapters, you can search the tags or check it out on ao3 under the same name (link)

Without further ado... 

Step 3: Sweep her off her feet.

Luka watched as Marinette doubled over, holding her head. Adrien hovered beside her, repeating some of the same statements she had just been saying moments earlier about dispelling negative emotions and finding a solution. Luka hesitantly reached out and touched her shoulder.

“You can fight this, Marinette,” he encouraged softly.

Suddenly the darkness faded from his jacket and the black butterfly flew out. Marinette slumped heavily against him and he caught her. He held her close, relieved that she had successfully fought it off. He wasn’t sure if he would’ve been able to forgive himself had she been akumatized because of him. Marinette shouldn’t have to experience something like that.

“Where did the akuma go?” Marinette asked, straightening from leaning against Luka.

“Oh no.”

They both looked to Adrien and he pointed at Mme. Dupont. They followed his gesture to see the akuma disappear inside of her necklace. It was gold that was quickly consumed by the akuma’s dark infection and was shaped like a snake devouring its own tail around her throat. There was no chance for them to try and advise the woman to fight it as she succumbed quickly to the akuma. Darkness covered her entire body as it transformed her into Hawkmoth’s newest villain.

“Run!” Marinette yelled to the crowd. She pushed Luka and Adrien away from the newly birthed akumatization. It was clear that her aim was to get them out of the room, but they were stopped when a glob of steaming, green slime suddenly flew past their heads. It hit the double doors and spread to cover them completely.

They stopped and turned back to face the akuma. She was covered in vibrant green scales that shimmered in the artificial light from the chandelier above them and sharp fangs protruded from her mouth, reaching down past her bottom lip. Luka moved to push his two younger companions behind him but was impeded by both Marinette and Adrien instead shielding him.

“You don’t have to give in to Hawkmoth, Mme. Dupont,” Marinette implored.

Mme. Dupont hissed at her, green venom spittle flying from her mouth. “My name is now Vitriol! And I don’t have to take orders from some talentless, little know-it-all!”

“You won’t gain anything by working with a villain,” Adrien joined in. “He’s only out for himself.”

Vitriol turned to hiss at him now. “You’re not a part of this, boy. Go sit down and shut up. It’s all you’re good for.”

Luka watched Adrien flinch at the words and clench his fists by his sides. He may be unhappy with the teen model at the moment but that didn’t mean Adrien deserved to be subjected to those words.

“You’re wrong!” he yelled. But there must have been an echo because he swore he heard another voice speak in unison.

“Adrien is much more than you know!” Marinette continued, making Luka realize it was her that had spoken with him.

Vitriol suddenly snapped her mouth closed, fangs still protruding. Her complexion slowly went a much brighter green as her cheeks puffed out. It took the three teens too long to realize what was happening. By the time Luka understood what the akuma was doing, she was already spitting a mouthful of venom at them. It hit Marinette squarely in the chest and she fell backwards with the force.

“Marinette!” both Luka and Adrien yelled in shock. Luka managed to reach out and catch her just in time. Vitriol wasn’t fazed and turned to spit more venom at the rest of the crowd.

Luka looked down at his date and saw Marinette’s features screwed up in pain. “We need to get her away from here,” he said as he lifted her fully into his arms bridal style.

Adrien looked around at the chaos as lobs of green venom flew around them. “You take Marinette, I have to go find Nathalie and the Gorilla. I’ll come find you after I get them.”

Luka didn’t understand how Adrien would even get to them. It was more logical for the three of them to find safety until Ladybug and Chat Noir could take out the akuma. “I don’t think you should-” But before he could finish his statement Adrien was already gone.

 It wasn’t easy but Luka managed to slip away into a small maintenance area with Marinette in his arms. She had gone ghostly pale and was trembling from head to toe. He propped her up against a wall and grabbed what looked to be a clean rag to dab at the sweat collecting on her forehead.

“You’ll be okay, Marinette.” Luka hoped his voice sounded more confident than he felt. She looked awful, shivering and sweating, all color lost from her face. Whatever Vitriol was spitting, it was doing a number on Marinette. “Ladybug will save us,” he reassured with a strained smile.

Marinette shook her head violently. “No, she won’t,” she croaked out with great effort.

“Don’t say that,” he said with a sigh. “It may seem hopeless, but she’s never let us down before.”

She grabbed his wrist, stopping him from continuing to wipe at her brow. “Luka, listen to me. Ladybug is not coming.”

She released her grip and he let his hand drop to rest on his thigh. “How do you know that?”

Marinette let out a humorless laugh that turned into a weak cough. “Because she is currently trapped in a maintenance room, barely able to move much less stop an akuma.”

As he looked into her eyes, Luka wondered how he hadn’t seen it before. There it was, all the strength and courage that was Ladybug, was in Marinette. “Then what are we going to do? Is there any…” He trailed off as Marinette reached up to take off her earrings. She took his hand and placed them in his palm. “What is this?”

“My miraculous.”

Suddenly, a small, red creature flew out of Marinette’s bag. “Marinette, are you sure?” she asked in a squeaky voice.

“I’m sure,” Marinette wheezed. The red creature flew up to nuzzle Marinette’s cheek. She locked eyes with Luka and pressed his fingers closed over the earrings. “Luka Couffaine, here is the miraculous of the Ladybug which grants the power of creation. You will use it for the greater good.”

Luka tried to push them back into her hands. “I can’t just leave you here. There has to be something else we can do.” He couldn’t imagine abandoning her while she was so incapacitated. It was out of the question.

“There is no other way,” she replied firmly.

The little, red creature nodded. “The only way to help her is to purify the akuma.”

Luka didn’t want to agree to such a plan but if what they said was true, then his only options were to go and purify the akuma as quickly as he could, or watch Marinette deteriorate and hope that another solution fell into their laps. “Alright then. I- I’ll do it. I’ll be Ladybug.”

Marinette handed him the earrings once more. “Thank you, Luka. Tikki, my kwami, will explain things to you. First thing you need to do after you transform is to get in contact with Chat Noir.” After she finished speaking, she let out another weak cough.

Luka picked up his jacket from where it had fallen beside her and laid it over her. “I promise, I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Marinette closed her eyes and nodded. “I trust you.”

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before getting to his feet. “Okay, Tikki,” he said turning to where the kwami was floating beside him. “What do I need to know?”

 Luka ran out of the maintenance room in his new Ladybug suit. It surprisingly looked different than Marinette’s. His had long black gloves that went up his forearm to his elbow and his yo-yo was attached to a black belt that hung loosely around his waist. He also noticed that after he’d transformed his hair was suddenly parted differently. He didn’t have time to admire any other differences and ran back into the fray.

Except Vitriol was gone. She left behind civilians that were either curled up, looking as ill as Marinette had, or wandering around like zombies. He hoped that Chat Noir hadn’t been affected. He had to find the other superhero before he could jump into fighting the akuma.

Luka ran outside of the building to see the food truck owner slumped over his work counter, obviously effected by Vitriol’s venom. There were other ill or zombified citizens left in her wake, collapsed or wandering the streets. He looked around, feeling a bit lost for what to do next.

“What would Marinette do?” he muttered to himself. It only took a second for it to hit him. “I need some perspective.”

He took the yo-yo off of his belt and threw it. When it caught on the tallest building in the vicinity, he was pulled into the air. His stomach lurched as he fought to keep some control. As he landed on the roof, he stumbled a few feet before regaining his balance.

Looking out over Paris, it was clear where Vitriol had gone. Waves of green steam radiated up from the west part of the city. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. At this point he didn’t have time to go searching for Chat Noir. The akuma was moving too fast. He would have to go in by himself and hope that the other miraculous holder showed up.

Luka got ready the sling the yo-yo out in the akuma’s direction. Then he heard the sound of feet landing on the roof behind him.

“It’s a lovely night, isn’t it, Bugaboo? Not as lovely as you though.”

Luka whipped around to find Chat Noir wearing a silly grin on his face. Although, the other hero quickly sobered upon seeing a replacement for the usual Ladybug.

Chat pulled out his baton and shifted into a fighting stance. “Who are you and where’s Ladybug?”

[septic84]

Eschew The Chew

“Phil, wake the fuck up!” I jerked up fast, feeling my stomach lurch.  

“What the hell, Dan?”  

“We need to pack and go, now!”  

“Go where?” Dan wasn’t playing a joke on me; I could tell by his demeanor that he was scared. “Dan, calm down, what’s going on?”  

“It’s all over the BBC, Phil!” He said, pulling a travel bag out of the closet. “It’s like some virus,”

A03

 I had now fully sat up, if Dan had not have been so scared, I would have laughed at how animated he was.  I grabbed my glasses and placed them on my face. “Virus?”  

“Yes, it’s making people cannibalistic.”    

“Dan, are you intoxicated?”  

“Fuck off!” Dan was now shoving random pieces of clothing into the bag. “Just look at your fucking phone, okay?”    

So, I did, but nothing would load, not on Wifi, not on data. “there’s nothing Dan, I can’t get anything to load.”  

“Shit,” Dan said, “That means it’s getting worse.” I walked into the lounge where Dan had the TV on, we hardly watched anything on cable.  

“Started in the northern parts of Ireland and is spreading rapidly. Daily curfews and quarantine zones are now going into effect in all of Ireland and are expected to affect the UK later tomorrow.”  

“Holy shit,” I muttered.  

“You see!” Dan demanded, “What I believe to be one of or the last Plane to Florida is leaving in three hours and we need to be on it. It may be our only chance.”  

“Hold on,” I took a deep breath. “Dan, we are talking about leaving country. We are going to leave our families here?”  

Dan took a deep breath, “Phil, we are going to have to trust that they can take care of themselves.”  

I was stood frozen, I couldn’t move.  

“Phil!” Dan screamed, “I am not fucking kidding. We need to move!” I went back to our room, placing various things in my travel bag. How do you know what to pack for the apocalypse?  After I had packed clothes, some irreplaceable keepsakes, and my pillow, I took another bag to the kitchen and filled it with nonperishable food items. That was smart right? If the disaster movies taught me anything, it was that food becomes scares quickly in these types of scenarios.  

Dan walked into the room, “Okay, I have packed everything in the bathroom.” He looked at me and nodded approvingly. “Oh, good idea. I hope they don’t limit our baggage.”  

Once we arrived at the airport it was sheer chaos; people were screaming, crying or just staring into nothing. “Dan,” I whispered, “What if we don’t get out?”  

“We will,” was all Dan said. He was surprisingly calm. We saw armed officials with medical staff examining people.  They were making their way throughout the lines and were currently examining the family next to us.  I started to panic.  

“Deep breaths, Phil. Don’t draw too much attention to us, okay?”  

“Right,” I said  

“Names?”  

“Daniel Howell,”  

“Phil Lester.”  

“Country and city of origin?”  

“United Kingdom, London.”  

“Both of you?”  

I nodded.  

After the doctor looked into both of our eyes, then mouths, he took each of our temperatures. “They’re good.” I breathed a sigh of relief.  Since Dan and I were cleared to fly, one of the armed guards led us directly to the plane. There seemed to be limited staff and the normal “check your bags” policy seemed out the window.  Dan and I had all of our bags with us in the cabin of the plane, on our legs.  

“See, we’re fine,” Dan said when we had gotten arranged.    

“Are we?” I asked, hesitantly.    

“Don’t Phil, not now,” Dan warned. Looking closer at him, I now noticed the fear on his face. I could tell he was doing everything in his power to keep moving forward, to keep going. I took his hand and squeezed it, not releasing it when I had finished. He gave me a tight-lipped smile.    

The plane took off a short time later; it was eerily quiet. There were no conversations and only the occasional wail from one of the two babies that were on board. Glancing around I noticed everyone either had blank stares or panic on their faces, there was no in-between.  

“Where are we going when we land?”  

“I have booked a hotel for at least a week in Orlando.”  

“Okay, then what?”  

“I don’t know Phil, I got us out. Right now, that’s all that matters.”  

“Thank you,” I stayed quiet for the rest of the flight. I wondered how many people in the UK had already been infected, how quickly had is spread and if it had reached London. I then wondered how much time we had running to Florida before it got there.    

The plane had touched down about 10:00 pm local time. At the Orlando airport, there were also many armed guards and more medical personnel at the gates, screening people before they were allowed to enter.  We had passed again, but this exam was more in-depth. They asked about medical issues, medicines we were taking and the last time we had had a physical. They went through all of the bags of the passengers and gave them cards that showed they had been cleared medically and their bags had been searched.  

When we were in the hotel room Dan looked as if he were about to break.  “I’m going to go take a shower,” he didn’t wait for my response, but I still muttered “Okay.” As soon as the water had been running for about 5 minutes, I heard Dan start to sob. I wanted nothing more to comfort him, but he clearly needed to be alone. Using the hotel phone, I called my parents and brother, leaving them messages in case they were able to get them. I hoped they were okay. When Dan came out he looked as if he hadn’t slept for days.    

“I called my parents and Martyn and left them messages in case they can get them at some point, you should do the same. I am going to shower now.”  

“Okay,”    

The bathroom was steamy and smelled like Dan, this brought me a little comfort. I wiped the fog off of the mirror and stared at my face. I didn’t look that bad, maybe a little tired.  I turned on the shower and stood under the stream of water, watching it swirl down the drain.  I wondered why I wasn’t crying now, why wasn’t I as upset as Dan? I didn’t feel much of anything and I figured I must have been in shock.  I washed and got out feeling like I was in slow motion; as if time had been thickened by honey and I couldn't move properly.    

When I went back out to Dan, he had the news on. As he predicted, all flights out of Ireland and the UK had been grounded. Also, the same had happened in The Netherlands, Belgium, and France; no planes were allowed in or out. The number of infected people had grown increasingly, hour by hour.  The news was repeating clips of people that were caught on security cameras who were infected. Some were just aimlessly walking, staring blankly ahead. Others were violent, going after and attacking anyone who was not behaving as they were. It was horrific to watch, I was numb.  

“They are literally fucking Zombies,” Dan breathed out.  

I did not have the words to respond to that. I sat next to him watching video after video of the same scene. The further advanced the virus progressed, the more violent and dangerous they became.  If I didn’t know better, I would have thought we were watching a movie, but this was real life. Dan silently grasped my hand as we watched what appeared to be the fall and demise of humanity.    

“Are you hungry?” he asked, surprising me.  

“Are you being serious right now?” I asked, motioning to the TV.  

“I,” I watched his head fall in dismay. “I don’t know what to do, Phil. I don’t think we are ever going back to London.”  

“You don’t know that,” I said, indignantly.  

“Phil,” He said softly, “Look at them. Even if they can cure these people, they are destroying everything. Without humans, healthy working humans, the city will collapse.”    

“So, what are we going to do then, Dan? Live here? Look for a house? Do we go elsewhere? What do we do?”  

“I don’t know,” he said honestly.  

“I don’t either.”  

“This is really happening isn’t it?”  

“Yes. It is.” He yawned.  

“We should sleep, it’s not like staying awake is going to help us right now, watching this over and over won’t either.” I turned off the TV.    

“I don’t know if I can sleep,”  

“Then we should lay down and at least rest.”   We both got settled and started by laying far away from each other, but gradually Dan was inching closer to me.  I pulled him onto my chest, kissing the top of his head. “Rest, love.”  

“Phil, I’m scared.”  

“I know. Rest.” After a while, Dan’s body stilled. Knowing he was asleep helped me to relax and with his breathing as my guide, I drifted off.  

We woke up around noon the next day, we didn't speak. We sat on separate beds, both trapped in our heads trying to process the unthinkable.  

“Should we turn on the TV?” I asked.  

“No,” He said, “Not just yet.”  

“Okay.”  There was still Wifi in the hotel; Dan started one of his playlists and we sat together, listening to relaxing instrumental melodies that helped to somewhat put my mind at ease.  

“I'm not sure what I am allowed to say,”  

“Well, talk to me about anything other than what’s going on.”  

“Ah,” I came up with nothing.  

“Yeah, I know.” He said shaking his head.  

“I didn’t pack sun cream.”  

He smirked. “Lucky for you, I packed the bathroom and there was some in there.”  

"That is lucky for my translucent skin, thank you. We should eat something.”  

“Are you hungry?”  

“I don’t feel hungry, but I am sure I am.”  

We decided to walk down to a nearby café, not going too far from the hotel. As we picked at our sandwiches, I started to watch and listen to the other patrons.  

“It’s spread into Spain already,” someone said. “It’s spreading so fast and no one knows how to stop it. I am afraid it’s only a matter of time before,”  

“Phil, don’t eavesdrop,” Dan looked at me. “Hey, we should go swimming.”  

“You want to go to the beach?”  

“Yeah, why not?” He opened his backpack, showing me the towels and sun cream.  

“Okay, yeah.” I smiled at Dan as we left money at the table. On our way out I overheard the same person say. “We are all screwed.” I couldn’t help but agree with them. It seemed to be the end of the world.  

On the beach Dan and I were sat on our towels, watching the waves. I had to admit, it was easy to get lost in them and forget why we were actually here. I wondered how many more moments like this I would have with Dan. Would this be the last? I looked at the way the sun was hitting his face, he was truly beautiful.  

“Let’s swim.”  

I smiled at him, “Yes, let’s.” I wanted to make sure whatever time we did have left was spent doing things that made us happy.  As we made our way out into deeper waters, Dan came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.  He started to kiss my neck. It was so public; it wasn’t something I was used to.  

“The ocean and the sun make your skin glisten a lovely shade.” He murmured against my neck. He continued to kiss my neck, softly starting to suck at the flesh. “So, you wanna?” he whispered as he trailed his hand down my side.  

“Here?” I whispered harshly, “Dan, the world is ending and it’s three pm, we are at a public beach .”  

“I know, but no one can see us.” I was hesitant, but remembering my earlier vow to make sure the time we had left was memorable, I agreed.  So that is how at three pm, in the ocean during the apocalypse Dan and I were having sex. “I love you so much, Phil.”  

“I love you too, Dan. You mean so much to me.”  

“Please don’t stop, I am so close,”  

“Me too,” I moaned. When I felt a breeze I noticed that somehow, we were not in deep water anymore, not at all. The water was brushing against us about knee level.  Anyone who looked our way would be able to tell what we were doing and could see all of Dan. “Dan,” I slowed down, “We’re in the shallow, people can see!”  

“Good,” He growled, "I want them to see.”  My whole body shuddered, I was moving my hips faster, spilling inside of him.  

“Yes, Phil, I’m cuming.” Dan moaned low and quiet as he found his release. When he had stopped panting so heavily, I slowly moved us back to the deeper water.  “Holy shit Phil, that was so hot.”  

“End of the world brings out your kinks, does it? I see you were already prepped.”  

“Well, It could be now or never so, a guy needs to plan ahead.”  

“And if it ends up on the internet?”  

“Well, then we will be giving them one hell of a finale, won’t we?”  

I laughed pulling him close to me, kissing his lips. He tasted of salt. Looking deeply into his eyes, I brushed a curl off of his forehead, suddenly his brow knit together.  

“Phil, promise me something?”  

“Anything.”  

“If I get infected, leave me.”  

“What?”  

"We both know it will be me that will get infected, of course, it will."  

"Dan,"  

“Don’t stay with me and die. Please.  

“We’re not going to talk like this.” I said, “We are going to be fine.”  

“You can’t possibly know that, Phil.” He said softly.  

“I can and I do. I’m done swimming now; I need to shower.” With that, I started to make my way back to the shore. I refused to listen to that, I just couldn’t.  With Dan in tow, we made our way back to the hotel.  We did not speak, but Dan did bump his shoulder into mine. It was our silent signal that we were good.  

“We should turn the telly on now,” I said after we had both showered. “As awful as it is, we should know what’s going on.”  

Dan sighed, “At least we had a nice day.” Grabbing the remote, he turned on the news. It was worse than we could have thought.  They now had blocked off most of western Europe.  So many countries were infected now, it was only a matter of time before it made its way to America.    

“How does it spread? Where did it come from?” I asked, not expecting an answer.  

“I have no fucking clue, it seems to have started in Ireland, but who knows what started it.” Dan sighed. “We have to figure out what we are going to do, Phil.”  

“How? We are Youtubers, we make videos, what would it be? “How to survive Zombies” tag?”  

“Actually,”   “DAN! I am being serious.  

“Jesus Phil, how should I know? It’s not like I have a contingency plan for the living dead, do I?"  

“Dan I’m,” A knock at the door cut me off midsentence.    

Dan looked at me and got up to answer it. “Tom?”  

“Oh, thank Christ, you’re still here. I’m glad to see you, mate.” He invited himself in. “Hey, Phil,”  

“Hi, Tom. Glad to see you’re okay.”  I said,  confused as to why he was here.

“Well, I’m not sick physically, so there’s that.” He ran his hand through his hair. “A literal Zombie apocalypse, bloody hell.”  

“How are you here, Tom?”  

“I hoped that you both had gotten on one of the planes to Florida, I checked and you had. Then I tracked you here, was able to get your hotel information and here I am.”  

“Wait,” Dan said, “what do you mean you tracked us here?”  

“Well, I hacked into some systems, but yeah, I found you.”  

“How?” I asked.  

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, boys.” He said.  

“Right, so what’s the plan then, Tom?”  

“Go north, into the woods.”  

“Are you mad? Into the woods, he says. What do you know about the woods, Tom? You’ll get eaten by wild animals. What do you know about survival?”  

“You really think that I would be unarmed in a Zombie apocalypse?”  

“Okay, but why are you here? Why did you come to find us specifically?"  

Ah,” he rubbed his neck. “I figured you may need help.” He sat down. “I was already in the air when it crossed the border into the UK. I knew America would be the best bet.  I lost my cell service, then I knew that it was bad. I am kind of a doomsday nerd, so I have planned for something like this."  

"You think you know a guy, "Tomska, Youtuber and a doomsday aficionado." Dan sighed.  

“You want us to go with you?” I questioned.  

“Staying here is a death sentence. “  

“What are you on about?”  

“I am sure it’s here already, Phil. I am sure someone, perhaps even many people are infected.”  

“How? There are medical screenings.”  

“Yeah, but what are they even screening for? A fever? No one knows how this started. It is spreading too quickly to do any early-stage testing. They have no idea what it is. They can’t tell if a fever is even a symptom. How could they know?” He paused. “Look, lads, this thing is unpredictable and it’s quick. If you are in a city that is infected, the chances that you will get away unscathed are slim to none.”  

“How do we know you’re not infected, then?” Dan asked.  

“How do we know either of you isn’t infected?”    

I sighed. “We don’t.”    

“No, we don’t, however with how fast it develops, I think we would have been starting to feel off by now. Then again, I have no idea. Maybe it’s just poof, Zombie.”  

“Right, so what do we do?”  

“We head north,” He said.  

“How do you even know where to go? How familiar are you with America?”  

“Oh, I know enough.”  

“Where north?”  

“Just north, for now.”  

“This is all so fucked,” Dan said, looking at me. “What do we know about survival?”  

“Not much,” I admitted.    

“As I said, I thought you may need my help.” Tom looked at the TV. “We aren’t going home lads, soon there will be no home left.”  

“What does that mean?”    

“They are going to burn it, Dan.”  

“The entire country? What? Why?” I was confused.  

“Phil, they are trying to save humanity. They have already burned most of Ireland.”  

“Who is “they?”  

“I don’t know, citizens? Government? I don’t know. All I know is that it is what is in store for our homeland too. It’s been three days and it’s ramping up to take over all of Europe.”    

“Oh my god,” I muttered.  

“We want to survive, right?”  

Dan and I both nodded.  

“Good, pack your things, we need to get petrol for the car, supplies and we will leave.”  

“Right now?”  

“The longer we stay here, the less likely we will make it out alive.”  

“Wait, can you even drive in America?” I asked.  

“I’ll manage just fine." Dan and I exchanged looks. “Listen, it’s not like we are here to sightsee, we are running for our lives. I’ll be fine driving.”  

The Black SUV was packed to the gills with supplies. We were both nervous about Tom driving in America, let alone in a huge SUV, but we didn’t know what else to do. Tom seemed to have his wits about him and he had a plan, that was more than we had.  Tom’s gun occupied the front seat as Dan and I sat in the next seats back.   I figured that he probably had more than one, but I didn’t ask. As much as guns made me nervous,  in the circumstance we were in, it seemed like a good idea that someone had them and knew how to shoot; at least if the movies were any indication.  

“I’ve got it mapped out; we will be sticking to the back roads to avoid the county border health checks.”  

“We aren’t sick though,” Dan said.  

“Mate, we are British, they will automatically assume that we are infected.”  

“I don’t know that that’s true,” I said.  

“It is. People are scared.”  

“That’s xenophobic,” I muttered  

“None of that matters, right now Phil. Even though the American media has given them a false sense of security by closing the borders, people are still fucking scared. How could they not be?”  

“So, do you know exactly where we are going yet?” Dan asked.  

“North,”  

“You keep saying that,”  

“You’ll know when we are there.” He looked at us in the rearview mirror, “Why don’t you try to get some sleep?”  

I felt Dan grasp my hand, it was the slight comfort that I needed to be able to fall asleep. I was awoken an unknown time later to hushed voices.  

“He’s very calm about this,” Dan said.  

“I think he’s in shock Dan, no offense intended, but Phil’s a pretty happy go lucky guy. Something like this must take a much larger toll on his mental state. We are darker, more cynical.   I mean, how many times have you been in an apocalypse together?”  

“Fuck off, Tom.”  

“I’m just saying, give the man some credit. He seems to be holding his own.”  

“Right. Tom,  I am still a little confused. Why did you look for us? Phil and I, I mean.  You have been friends with us for years, but we have never really been good friends. I don’t mean to be rude and I am not ungrateful, I’m just wondering why you went to so much effort to find us.”  

His voice dropped low, “I didn’t want to be alone.” He paused a moment. “I tried to find the others, too you know. The “YouTube” gang.”  

“Well, who else did you find?”  

“No one.” He said, his voice thick with emotion.  

“Oh god.”  

“I think the Brighton crew made it out, but I can’t be sure.  I really hope they did.”  

“Me too,” Dan said, somberly.  

About 20 minutes had passed, I still had my eyes closed. I hadn’t even thought about our other friends, they could be dead, infected or just as lost as we were before Tom found us. Just like my family, just like Dan's. I still really couldn’t muster any emotion about it, but I knew I would be shattered if my emotions ever returned.  

“We should stop and eat,” Tom said, breaking the quiet. “We’ll stop here, wake him up.”  

Dan slowly rubbed my shoulder, but I could tell he knew I was awake. I faked waking up.   “Hm?”  

“Food time, Phily!” Tom said from the front seat.  

I sat up and stretched. “Is it safe to stop?”  

“We’re going to find out,” Tom responded, parking the SUV in front of the large windows. When we went in, he requested the table in front of those windows. Tom wanted to keep an eye on our lifeline, which currently was a vehicle full of our supplies.  

“Glad you fellas are here and not over there,” The waitress said thoughtlessly as she handed us menus. I somewhat agreed with her, but the uncertainty of the health and safety of my family and friends had me on edge. “So, what’ll  ya have?” I pointed at some sandwich; I wasn’t very hungry anyway. I guess I had been lost in my thoughts because Dan was softly nudging me.  

“Food’s here.”  

I shrugged, looking down at the food as if it were the enemy. My stomach lurched.  

“You should try to eat something,” Dan said, softly.  

“I don’t know if I can,”  

Tom cocked his eyebrow at me, “You’re not feeling poorly, are you?”  

I was, a little, but I said. “Not Physically.” I figured the unease in my stomach was fear or emotion-related. Maybe even both. Also, some could be contributed to the fact that we had been riding in a car for so long.  

“You should try to eat,” Tom said, his voice harsher than before, almost as if I were to eat something it would prove to him that I wasn’t infected.    

“Tom, back off. Phil gets travel sick; we have been in a moving car for hours.” I was thankful for Dan.  

“Oh, right.” He looked at me. “Sorry.”  

“When are you going to sleep?” I asked I wanted to take the attention off of myself.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to stop moving.”  

“You still need to sleep,” Dan said, taking a drink of his coffee. “We’re sticking to back roads still, right? Then I can drive while you sleep for a bit.”  

“Dan, are you sure?”  

He shrugged, “It can’t be that hard, just the other side of the street, right?”  

“Yeah, okay.” Tom conceded, “I could use a nap.” We had finished at the diner, after paying for our food and an uncomfortable and disgustingly wet handshake from the owner, we piled into the car.  Dan and Tom had gotten out the door before me so they had avoided the grotesque gesture of appreciation.  As I walked to them, I noticed my hand was stinging.  I looked down to see a cut that the man’s sweaty palms had come into contact with; I cringed and desperately attempted to keep down the two bites of sandwich that I had taken.    

“You okay?” Dan asked.  

“Yeah,” I said wiping my hands on my pants.  I didn't want to talk about it.

 Tom pulled into a petrol station and filled up; he also bought many food items and drinks. He waved his credit card at us. “Might as well max the bastard, they can’t expect me to pay the bill when the world’s ending, can they?” He winked; Dan rolled his eyes.   Tom drove us to the back roads so Dan could take over. He turned on the radio.    

“Officials say outbreaks will be likely, but the CDC has assured AXI news that they will be able to maintain it, keeping casualty rates lower than other countries”    

Tom scoffed, “Oh yeah.” he said sarcastically.  

“Be as snarky as you want, but you had better hope they’re right,” Dan said.    

Tom had pulled over for Dan to drive; but not before a quick insisted lesson on how to shoot a gun.  

“Tom, I don’t want to know how to shoot a gun.”  

“Tough, you need to. If something happens to me, you need to know how to protect yourself.  

“I won’t shoot anyone, anyway.” He said, bitterly.  

“You would if it saved him.” Tom pointed in my direction. I saw the inner struggle happening, it was written all over Dan’s face.    

“Okay, show me.”  He said, his voice wavering.

I had stopped paying attention at this point. I couldn’t handle the thoughts that the conversation had spurred on. It was too much.  Watching Dan have to choose to kill someone to save me was a daydream I didn't want to indulge.

After about 20 minutes, they both got back into the SUV, and Dan started to drive. He surprisingly did pretty well. Tom and his gun (at least the one I knew of) were now in the back and I was next to Dan upfront. With Tom sleeping, I felt calmer.    

“How are you doing? Dan asked, quietly.  

“I’m not sure,” I was progressively starting to feel worse. I had a headache and was currently doing everything in my power not to vomit. Dan knew I was sure of it.  I knew he hadn’t said anything because he didn’t want to draw too much attention to me; Tom was already suspicious.  I wasn’t sure what lengths Tom would go to avoid infection.  Even if I wasn’t infected, would Tom’s paranoia get the best of him?  

“I’m not sure we are doing the right thing,” Dan said.  

“I know, neither am I, but I don’t know what else to do.”  

“I know.  

It was starting to get dark and I could tell that Dan’s confidence in driving had drastically diminished. I saw a sign for a motel, lit up. “We should sleep,” I said, motioning to the sign.  

“I doubt Tom would approve,” He said, but he was already slowing down.  

“I don’t care,” I said looking at him. “Dan, I need to get out of this moving vehicle.”  

Dan nodded, took the exit and pulled into the “Lazy side Inn.” He left me in the car with a sleeping Tom while he got the rooms.  

“Wake up, Tom,” He said getting back into the car.  

“What?”  

"I have gotten us two rooms for the night. I need to sleep on an actual bed and Phil needs to be stationary for a while.” Tom sighed but didn’t protest. Dan handed him his room key as he unloaded our bags.  He went directly to the shower as I sat on the bed observing our room. This was a questionable hotel, I was sure it was typically only used for one thing, but at least we weren't driving.  

“What are you thinking about?” he said, scrubbing his hair with a towel.  

“Nothing, really. I am just thankful to be still.”  

He kissed the top of my head, “Go shower, you’ll feel even better.”  

So, I did.  The water felt fantastic and it was nice to change into clean clothes. When I came out, Dan had the Tv on.  

“In addition, to the closure of the US border, the military has amped up the efforts, putting in a nationwide curfew. No one is to be outside after 10:00 Pm in your respected time zone.  Fighter jets and military-grade vehicles will now be on constant patrol. This will remain in effect for an undetermined amount of time.”  

“So, it starts,”    

“Yeah,” Dan said softly. “It appears so.”  

“I’m so,” I paused trying to find the words.  

“So,” Dan prompted.  

“I don’t even know, numb, I guess.”  

“I’m sure a lot of people have that reaction,”  

“I’m just having a hard time accepting this is reality.” I shook my head. “This is actually a Zombie apocalypse. I just don’t understand, how?”  

Dan threw his arm around me, “We should sleep, I’m sure Tom will have us up early.”  

“Probably,” I groaned.    

Dan looked at me intently. “I know car rides make you sick, but you seem unwell otherwise,”  

I looked at him, “I’m not sure.” I sighed. “Maybe you should just leave me here.”  

“Fuck off, Phil.  I am not leaving you.”   "How is this any different than what you asked me in the ocean, Dan?" "Goodnight, Phil."  

When I woke up the sunlight told me that it was probably late morning. Dan was still sleeping; I kissed his forehead softly so it didn’t wake him up. I looked out the window, everything seemed peaceful, calm, normal. If I didn’t know better, I would think we were on holiday and not running from a deadly virus.  I guess we could look at it as a holiday, except we wouldn’t ever be going home. We didn't have a home left, from what we were told. My stomach felt better today and I was starting to feel hungry. I wondered if that was what happened in stressful situations; once you accept the chaos and fear, your emotional responses are muted and they stop having physical effects on you. I didn't know, but it seemed plausible.  

“What are you looking at,” Dan’s sleep voice was one of my favorite sounds, I smiled.  

“Birds, currently. I wonder if animals can be infected?” I asked, rhetorically.    

Dan grunted and stretched, untangling himself from the blankets. “How are you feeling?”  

“Better, hungry.”  

“Good, that’s good, Phil.”  

“Mm,” I hummed, noncommittedly.    

“We should eat, I’m surprised that Tom hasn’t been banging on our door for ages. What time is it?”  

I looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand, “11:30.” I frowned. “That’s a good point. Maybe we should check on him.  

Dan hung his head, “Yeah, maybe.”  

We got dressed and attempted to leave the room, but before we could I noticed an envelope on the floor.  

I picked it up, retrieving the letter inside and read it out loud.  

“I had to leave, I located some of the others. I have left you the car and half of the supplies, there are bullets and a gun in the glove box. DON’T GET RID OF IT. You need it and I want it back when we meet again.  I left a map in the car, the route is highlighted and marked, I also made some marks for stopping places. We will all meet up at the circled area as soon as we can. Don’t waste too much time staying in one place. I have heard that it was confirmed to be in America now, so the further north we get as quickly as possible gives us the best chance. Be smart, don’t get caught up in things that don’t matter. God speed! (I’ve always wanted to write that in a letter.) -Tom”  

I stared at the note stunned, I wasn’t sure that Dan and I could do this on our own.  

“Well, I suppose we had better get moving then.”  

I looked up at him, “How are you so calm about all of this?”  

He shrugged, “This is pretty low shock value, all things considered.” He was calm, I was numb and I still couldn’t wrap my head around any of this. "We can eat in the car."  

“Dan, the gun,”  

“I can use it if I have to. Hopefully, It won’t come to that and I can give it back to Tom without shooting it.”  

“Right,” I wasn’t sure Dan would shoot anyone, even if it was to protect me. “So, I guess we are leaving?”  

“Yeah, I suppose.”  

Dan’s driving wasn’t good back home, so here it was even worse. Despite that, I was giving him credit for how well he was doing. He had managed not to get stopped by the authorities and we had not been in a collision. That’s all that mattered, I supposed. The map was leading us far north, to Thunder Bay Canada, so following the map, we drove. We had driven for most of the remaining daylight. It was starting to become dark.    

“We need petrol,” Dan said  

“I will look for a place,”  

“Great.” He rearranged. “I am so bloody bored. And sick of fucking driving.”  

“I’m sorry.”  

“S’not your fault. I just am sick of this nightmare. No internet, no sofa crease, no Netflix. Tom is gone and we truly are on our own. We have no idea how to get anywhere without this map, which is just fragile paper that can be destroyed at any moment. It's pretty much our lifeline at this point. If we lose it, we are screwed. I am not sure why we split up. In every movie known to man, splitting up ends badly. Yet here we are.” He glanced at me, he was waiting for me to reply.  

“I’m not sure what to say,” I said honestly.  

“Then don’t say anything, much like you have been since this started,” he huffed.  "I'll just be alone in this worry, I guess."

“Dan,”  

“Don’t say you’re sorry again.”  

“Why are you mad at me?”  

“I’m not mad, not exactly, but you’re acting strange and I’m bloody scared, Phil.”  

“I’m,”  

“Don’t. Just don’t”  

We got petrol and drove for about another hour, tense silence as company. There was no light left in the sky now, it was fully dark.  

“I need to sleep," I could hear the fatigue in his voice.  

Holding the map close to the radio for light, I said “There’s a “rest stop” marked here."  

“What does that even mean?”  

“For lorries, I think.”  

“Right, just tell me where to turn.”  

We had parked in a quiet corner, under a tree, and dim amber light. The rear seats were folded down into a makeshift bed, I grabbed a bag that contained some of our food and set up two plates.  

“Snacks for dinner,” I said, smiling slightly in the overhead cab light.  

“No shit, Phil. You don’t see a diner, here do you? Don’t be stupid.” His voice was callous and mean.  

“Dan, can you please stop being rude to me?” I had finally broken. The tears I had questioned the existence of that first day in Florida were now flowing down my face. “I know you��re scared and I haven’t been that supportive, but now,” I stopped and looked at him. “You may be the only one I have left. My family may be dead. I can’t deal with your cruelness or attitude right now. I am sorry, whatever I did or didn’t do to you. I am sorry. Just, please.”  

“Phil,” Dan said softly, moving towards me, pulling me into a hug. “I’m sorry. I will do better. It’s not fair for me to expect you to process a certain way or in a certain amount of time. I’m just tired, yeah? I’ll do better. Once I sleep, it will be better. Please, don’t cry.” I sniffled, “Let’s eat, I’m sure we both could use some food.”    

We had eaten and were getting ready to lay down to sleep. Dan had the gun back with us, though I was sure he was somewhat scared of it. I wasn’t entirely comfortable with it either, but I didn’t say anything.    

‘I love you, Phil,”  

“I love you too, Dan.”  

Unfamiliar voices woke me up, harsh hushed whispers seeped in through the doors.  

“Do you think anyone is in there?”  

“Maybe they are asleep?”  

“There isn’t anyone around, maybe we could,”  

“I don’t want to do this,”  

“Dan,” I whispered directly in his ear “Wake up.”  

“Wha,” I put my hand over his mouth, pointing to my ears indicating to him to listen. The dim amber light from outside gave just enough light for him to be able to see me.  

“We have to do this. We have to at least check.”  

“What if they are infected?”  

“We don’t even know if it’s occupied.”  

“It could be,”  

“I don’t think it’s spread this far north.”  

Dan reached for the gun and sat up, oh god. This was happening. He didn’t pick it up yet.  

“There is someone in here and we are very much awake.”  He said, causing me to jump.

“Oh shit,” the female voice hissed.  

“So, you’ll be on your way then,” Dan said with more confidence than I had ever heard him express.    

“Ah,” I heard more whispers, unable to make them out I strained harder with no luck. “Listen, we don’t mean any harm. We just need some supplies, we had to run,”  

“They were collecting sick people, we had to go.”  

“You’re sick?” I squeaked, fear in my voice.  

“We’re not sick at all and the one who is isn’t “Zombie” sick.”  

“Doesn’t matter, leave!” Dan yelled.  

“Please,” the female voice sounded desperate, “We just need a little food for my child so he can take his medicine. We don’t have any food right now, we are,”  

“Prove it!” Dan barked. I had never heard him speak in this tone.  

“What? How?”  

“I haven’t heard any children.”  

I heard a car door open and close, then a child whine. “Moses, wake up,”  

“Momma, I don’t wanna,”  

“I know, baby,”  

“There,” the male voice said. “So, you see, we need to help our child. We don’t want to hurt anyone.”  

“Dan,” I whispered, “The kid,”  

“Yeah, I know,” he closed his fingers around the gun, still not picking it up. “Okay, this is how this is going to work, I have a gun.” He took a deep breath. “If this is a trick, I would just leave right now. Think of the kid.”  

“We promise, just a little food and we will leave.”  

“Momma, I’m scared,” I heard the child start to cry.  

Dan’s hands were shaking so badly I doubted he could have opened the door, let alone pick up the gun. Without much thought, I picked it up, Dan looked at me confused. My hands held it steadily, I wasn’t sure how. “Phil,” Dan whispered, I shook my head  

“How can we be sure you’re not infected?  

“We have hand sanitizer!”  the male exclaimed  

Dan scoffed. “I doubt that will combat becoming a Zombie,”  

“The alcohol sizzles on the skin of an infected,” the female said, “It’s been all over the news!”  

“What?” How could we know if that were true? We hadn’t paid any attention to the news lately.  

“Do we trust that?” Dan whispered.  

“I don’t know,  how do we know how it spreads, is it through the air?”  

“No,” the male voice said, “direct contact with bodily fluids.”  

“We haven’t been keeping up with this as well as we should have been,” Dan said, shaking his head.  

“Fine,” I took a deep breath. "I have the gun, I am going to crack this window,”  

“Put your arms together and show us you aren’t infected.” Dan finished.  

We cracked the window and saw three arms and a hand applying the sanitizer, nothing happened. Dan opened the door and climbed out, I followed closely.  

“Thank you,” the woman said, relief flooding her face. I looked at the little boy, he looked sick. I frowned. Dan reached into the back and grabbed a bag of fully sealed food and water. He knelt to him, “Hello,” I heard him say in a tone of voice he saves solely for animals and children. I smiled. “Are you hungry?” The boy nodded. “Okay, here.” Dan handed him the bag as he retreated to his parents, stumbling slightly from the weight of it.

“Thank you,” the man said.  

“You’re welcome,” Dan said. “So, they are rounding up sick people are they?”  

“Yes,” the woman said, “They think they are more susceptible, but it’s spread through bodily fluids, not the air. It’s ridiculous."  

“What are they doing with sick people?” I asked. Both of them remained silent. “Oh,” I said.  If they couldn't answer, I knew it wasn't good.

“You’re British?” The man said, panicked, suddenly noticing our accents. “Did you live here before, or did you flee?”  

“We just made it out,”  

“They say it started in Texas, a flight from Dublin. At least in the US”  

“We hadn’t heard,” Dan offered.  

“The updates we’ve heard is that they lit most of the Uk on fire and alcohol burns the skin of those infected in the stages where they don’t physically appear sick.”  

Suddenly, the woman dropped the bag and the man tossed the hand sanitizer to Dan. They just had realized they didn’t know if we were infected or not.  “Your turn then,” He was nervous. Dan nodded and applied some to his arm and nothing happened. Relieved the woman picked up the bag. Dan handed it to me.  My hands shook as I took the bottle, setting the gun down on the seat.    

“Phil?” Dan asked, his face dropping.  

“Yeah, Yeah.” I popped open the cap and drizzled a large glob on my arm, suddenly pain blossomed and I heard sizzling.  

“Holy shit,” the man said, ushering his family quickly to his car. “He didn’t touch the bag, did he?”  

“No, I didn’t,” I said sadly. They all slammed their doors and sped out of the parking lot.  

“Oh, Phil,”  

“Dan,” I said quietly. “I am not sure how I haven’t infected you.”  

“How did you get infected, Phil?” He asked, raking a hand through his curls.  

“Must have been the sweaty guy at the diner,” I said. “Dan, I’m going to turn into one of those things. I am going to die.”  

“You don’t know that, I bet the American government is trying to find a cure right now! You’re going to be fine Phil; it’s going to be fine.”  

“I don’t know how I am still me; I thought this thing moved fast.”  

“See? Maybe you are somehow immune to that part!”  

“Dan,” I said softly. “You know you have to leave me here.”  

“What? No Phil. No. We have to go to meet Tom and the others.”  

“Dan, I am going to become a Zombie.”  

“We don’t know that for sure!” He insisted, he was becoming hysterical.    

“Dan, please don’t make this harder than it needs to be,”  

“No, we will live here, in the car, until they come up with a cure!”  

“Remember Florida? You asked me not to stay and die with you. I am just asking you the same.  How can I allow myself to even consider having you stay with me? How can you do this to me? I am going to infect you.  You are going to die, because of me. You have to leave, now! Somehow you are not infected!  You are going to survive. Go.”    

Suddenly Dan opened the front door, laid across the seats and got something out of the glove box and came back to me.  “I'm sorry about this," He said, confusing me.  

“For what?” Suddenly, Dan, had me pinned to the rear seat; I saw he was holding something that glinted in the light. “What are you?” My words died in my throat as there was a  sharp,  burning pain in my arm. Dan then slit his palm open and pressed it into my cut, as hard as he could, causing both wounds to open further.  

“No, Dan, what are you doing! Stop!”

"You have not infected me and you won't, Phil. I am infecting myself."

I struggled against him, “Please, stop.”  Tears welled up in my eyes.

“Shut up, Phil.” He said softly, “You know, my whole family is probably dead too.  I’m not fucking leaving you, Phil. I knew you wouldn’t accept that. Now we both are going to be infected.”  

I was crying at this point. “You are an idiot.”    

“I don’t see it that way.”  

“We are both going to die now, you realize that, right?”  

“Or become mad Zombies together,” He had removed his hand from my arm and grabbed a wad of napkins. He pressed some to the cut on my arm as he tried to control the bleeding in his palm.  

I moved my arm and held the pressure on my wound. “You could have gone to Tom, could have been happy. You didn’t have to become this,”  

He shrugged, “Can’t be bothered, I can't see a life where I am happy without you.” He grabbed my face and kissed me hard. “I love you.”   “I love you too,” I said resolved.    

“So, what do you say, Phil? Want to be my Zombie boyfriend until the end?”  

“This is so stupid, you should have run from me. This is going to be hell.”  

“Nah,” he said kissing my cheek. “This will be the most fun I’ve ever had!”  

[practiceuniversepoet]

I had an idea of a setting, but I have no where to go with the story.  So putting it here to share.

X

It’s been nearly 150 years now since the plague hit Necroa.

It was just a small farming village then, and located well away from the better trading routes. Back then the people here called it Everdale. They were a friendly and hardy bunch those villagers. There were not often times of plenty, but they had enough.  When time called for the harvest every capable hand joined to help, and ever helping hand and their family was fed.  Each hand took a turn at every labor for which they were able and no one was denied any need. It could be hard, but with every person working together, they made it.

Then came the sickness.  In a single winter nearly half the population succumbed to an un-treatable illness.  There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to who fell ill. Half a household might fall ill while the rest remained healthy and safe under the same roof.  And for those who fell ill there was no way to know who might live and who might die.  A treatment that seemed to cure one might do nothing for another despite the illness always appearing the same.  Or so at least say the writings that Brother Harold left behind before he succumbed to the disease himself…

They sent for help to the neighboring villages, but no one ever responded.  They struggled through that horrible winter and when they came out the other side the sickness was gone just as fast as it had come on.   But the terrible toll it had taken meant that Everdale the village could not survive.  There were not enough left able to plow and plant the fields, nor to tend the sheep, nor even to tend and teach the children.  They were making plans and beginning to pack their belongings to settle elsewhere when the miracle man arrived.

His name was Xon and he felt pity for the people of Everdale who struggled to bury their dead before they had to leave them.  He told them that there was another way, a way that meant that they would not have to leave.  A way that meant they need never worry about the number of able hands being stolen by  death again.  And then before them Xon raised their beloved dead from the graves, giving them new names, and set those shambling hands to fill the work that would have gone undone.

It was not an easy time even then.  For before the people of everdale they saw those they loved, but Xon explained that they were no longer.  Death still held their loved ones.  He brought only the body back to life.  Their mumbling groaning speech was only that of an empty brain parroting back what little had not crumbled in death. But he implored them to feel no sorrow as their loved ones were surely in some paradise beyond and would be happier for them to use what they had left behind to continue living themselves.

It was truly a perfect solution.  You see the dead did not need to feed or sleep.   They could do all the work the people needed while taking from them no resource.  In time this change became normal, and when next death visited Everdale it was only natural the Xon raise this new dead to add to Shambling Hands.  And since then this has been the way of things.

To put the tragedy behind them and honor their new savior the people begged Xon to rename their village.  He called the village Necroa, a reference to his own profession.  He became a venerated leader and brought the village into an age of prosperity.  In the last century or so Necroa has become much larger and turned into a major stopping point on all of the local trading routes.  It would be much more appropriate to call it a city rather than a village any longer.

Every child here grows up learning about Xon, The Grand Necromancer. We know that on our death our soul will go to paradise and our mortal body will join The Shambling Hands, serving the city and helping the family that we are forced to leave behind to live in comfort.  It’s a knowledge that brings peace to our people.

However there are always some exceptions.  Like myself… I’ve never quite been comfortable with this whole business of The Hands. Sometimes I swear when I walk by it sounds like they’re actually talking to me.  But they aren’t supposed to be smart enough for anything like that and so people have taken to thinking I’m a bit around the bend.  Mom wasn’t happy to hear that and signed me up for the first program she could find to keep me in close proximity to the Hands so that I can get over myself.

Spoiler Alert, didn’t help, now I’m all but certain they’re talking to me.  And if they are what they’re saying well… It’s bad.  It’s really bad. So overall the job’s pretty uncomfortable but what I did learn was to keep my damned mouth shut.

And then Xon died. (Apparently.  I’m really really not so sure about that, BUT…) Now I’ve been voted Town Zombie Wrangler and the magic of Xon’s Tower door didn’t kill me when I opened it so I guess I’m stuck with it.  Now the last thing to fear I suppose is finding out if I’m right.  I really hope I’m not right.

For @somethingfyshie because reasons

Residents of Necroa

The Lady Jett – An influential artist, the Lady Jett is known to be the only woman to have been allowed Entry to The Gran Necromancer’s Tower to paint his portrait. She was also commissioned by Xon to create several other works over the last 10 years due to her steady hand.  When asked she replies only that she has been sworn to secrecy over whatever she created inside the Tower.

The Rotocron (Roto)- Roto is known for creating the statue of Xon that resides in the town square today. The most impressive part of this accomplishment is that Roto has never seen Xon in their life and yet it is still acclaimed as the best sculpture of Xon known to Necroa.

Lord Kyle – This swordsman is captain of the City Guard and it is reputed that he knows and sees all that happens.  Which would explain his preternatural ability to appear wherever there’s any kind of trouble at hand.

Miss Kit – Clerk at the Necroa Emporium.  Miss Kit is known for friendly service and usually not messing up the Emporiums catchphrase during transactions.  “Always shop Necroa Emporium.  We bring you big savings because we sell Everything!”* *Disclaimer: Necroa Emporium does sell everything but that frequently doesn’t bring any kind of savings as they drove the competition out of business.

Mike the Mystery – Not much is known about Mike, but he’s there and he’s the loudest to boast of the skill of The Rotocron.

Skerin von Sker – Sker runs the city night-watch.  No one is terribly certain what they’re watching for, but it keeps them out all night.

Player Character(s?)

The Protagonist (Male) – young with a talent for necromancy...

Shambling Hands

Most of these undead work in places out of view of the Living who are not of Necroa, barring a few here and there.  The Hands are not typically violent apparently preferring to go about the jobs for which they were raised.

Sister Winifred – Missing one eye and several of her teeth, Sister Winifred is in charge of caring for the children of Necroa when their mother’s have better things to do.  Like gossip with the other mothers of Necroa.  Despite her missing eye, teeth, and pronounced limp, Sister Winifred is one of the most well preserved Hands from the original rising.  Her bright red hair serves as the last reminder of her past as a young woman and the flower for which she was once named.

Sister Martha – This steely eyed old woman is the only silent member of the Shambling hands. One of the 10 remaining from the first rising. She appears to be missing her tongue and her hands have been crippled.  Sister Martha is usually found in the Monument Garden where markers are placed to honor the souls of the deceased.  Given that she is not able to work some wonder why she has not been retired from service.  There is a mysterious silver chain around her neck that burns to the touch.

Brother Annuas – One of the newest hands Annuas tends to the grounds around the local church in death just as he once did in life.  Some claim he still seems to be afraid of Sister Martha.

Brother Reed – Those who knew the man he was before death claim that Brother Reed never changed.  He just got up one day and went to accounting as a dead man instead of a living one.

Small Tyman – This hand is only a child, it is believed that he come from the first rising.  He is blinded in both eyes.  Tyman is usually found around the schoolyard, he plays with the living children and some claim he has told them stories of a dark one but no adult has heard him speaking.

Brothers of the Field – Their individual names have been lost to time, but it’s assumed these men were all related.  They tend the farms and guard crops from crows and other pests with unceasing vigilance.  Some people avoid them because they will try to speak to you with their mumbling broken voices.

Keepers of the Flock – These members of the shambling hands keep the sheep.  Necroa is known for the above average quality of it’s wool and so these hands are the most closely monitored by the Living in Necroa.  These also seem to be the quietest and most “nervous” of the Shambling Hands.

[avengersnumberonetrash]

Talk to Me

You don't have to be a hero to save the world

It doesn't make you a narcissist to love yourself

It feels like nothing is easy it'll never be

That's alright, let it out, talk to me

Tony let out a shaky breath as he slumped against his workbench. He could try his hardest to do good, to be good, but nothing would ever erase his past of destruction and death. He could never forget it, either, the news certainly would never let him forget. He was tired of being crucified for everything. The things he did do and the things he didn’t do, it was always his fault. Today he wasn’t fast enough, an innocent life was lost. Another family, torn apart because he wasn’t good enough. Cap had told him to evacuate the building sooner, but Clint needed evac off the roof of the same building that was half collapsed already and going down faster than he could run. Tony, of course, caught him and dropped him off on the ground safely. He looped back around to get the rest of the civilians out of the top floor. He got all but one. And the headlines read “Ironman left man for dead” and “Tony Stark heartless in the face of destruction”. Instead of going to medical to get his ribs tapped and head checked out, he went straight to the lab to watch the news. It didn’t matter that he saved over 15 people from the building or that he blasted that weeks monster in the face or stayed as long as he could to help pick up the pieces or that he’s giving thousands of dollars towards rebuilding the city and individual funds for people who lost their property or loved ones. Someone was dead because of him.

“Jarvis, find out who it was that was lost in the building and make sure all funeral expenses are covered.”

“Of course, sir.”

The lab doors slid open silently. Tony was aware that someone came in and sat next to him, he just didn’t bother looking at who it was.

“You should go to medical, solnyshko.” Bucky, of course.

“I should have saved him.” Bucky didn’t say anything else, just held him until his voice was raw from screaming and sobbing.

You don't have to be a prodigy to be unique

You don't have to know what to say or what to think

You don't have to be anybody you can never be

That's alright, let it out, talk to me

Tony stumbled, slightly, into the communal kitchen clutching his favorite Star Wars mug after 48 straight hours spent in the lab upgrading the teams equipment and getting back-logged work for SI done. He was the equivalent of a zombie at this point. Eyes blurring slightly, shaky legs and the pounding headache that usually accompany these binges. He went right to the coffee pot to pour himself some sweet, sweet caffeine.

“Stark, are you finished with those stun arrows yet?” Clint dropped down from the top of the fridge effectively scaring Tony so bad that the boiling hot coffee sloshed over his hand.

“Jesus! Clint you’re going to kill me one of these days.” Tony hissed as he wiped his burnt hand on his shirt.

Clint shrugged. “Arrows?” Tony shook his head, he still hasn’t managed to get the voltage correct.

“I thought you were some super genius and you can’t figure out these arrows?”

Did Tony say that out loud? Maybe he isn’t as recovered from that concussion as he thought if he’s speaking without realizing it. He also might need sleep soon. Clint snorted.

“I don’t think you can blame a concussion for you not thinking before you speak. That’s just a Stark thing, no filter.” Tony, for once, had nothing to say. So he just blinked at Clint and then put his mug in the sink. He’ll get coffee somewhere else. He turned to flee the kitchen with a heavy feeling in his chest. But before he could step out completely he stopped and said:

“Don’t worry, Birdbrain, I’ll get your arrows finished.”

He stepped back into the elevator to go back down to the lab.

“Sir, I would recommend that you sleep for at least 10 hours, not go back to the lab.”

“You heard Legolas, arrows, J. To the lab.” Jarvis didn’t respond other than to start the elevator down. Tony let out a sigh, in reality nothing sounded better than face planting into his bed. Who needs sleep when your team needs gear to keep them safe? Not Tony, that's for sure. Howard Stark only cared about himself, a bottle of scotch, and Captain America. Tony cares about a hell of a lot more than that and he'll be damned if he’ll let sleep drag him down. He stood up a little straighter and rolled his shoulders. He could do this, arrows and then sleep. Tony stepped back into the lab and got to work.

Turns out, he cannot do this. He has been shocked and burnt more times in the last hour than he has in the last month alone. With a frustrated growl he swiped the contents off the desk onto the floor. Taking in the state of his red and raw hands, he clenched them into fists. The pain made him focus, clearing the haziness in his mind. He jumped violently when hands connected with his shoulders.

“Shh. I think it’s time you get up to bed.” Tony’s anxiety lessened upon hearing Bucky’s voice and almost completely vanished when he started to rub circles into the hard knots within Tony’s shoulders. He didn’t register that they were walking out of the lab until the doors opened. Tony jerked out of Bucky’s hold.

“Sorry, Bucko, I have work to do.” Tony gave him a forced smile and he couldn’t quite name the emotion that came over Bucky’s face. Almost disappointment, but sadder. That’s okay, Tony knew he was a disappointment.

“Tony, you’ve been up almost 40 hours straight. You need sleep, not to mention medical attention.”

Tony couldn’t meet his gaze, instead looking at the mess in his lab. The blueprints for Clint’s arrows and their failed prototypes littered on the floor.

“Clint needs arrows.” It was said without any malice, just defeat. This shouldn’t be so hard, he was a genius for fucks sake.

“Tony,” Bucky waited until the inventor looked at him, “it’s hard because you need sleep and food. Clint’s arrows can wait until you’ve slept, gotten food, and your hands looked at. And if he says anything about it, I’ll kick his ass. C’mon, solnyshko, let me take care of you.”

Anxiety tossing turning in your sleep

Even if you run away you still see them in your dreams

It's so dark tonight but you'll survive certainly

It's alright, come inside, and talk to me

Tony slept for exactly four hours and 17 minutes. He woke up with a scream dying on his lips and sweat soaking through his shirt. Apparently, even sleep deprived, his mind was still a cruel bastard. His shirt felt like a wet noose slowly making its way up to his neck. He could feel his ridiculously soft sheets beneath him, but his mind was screaming that he was on rocky and hard ground. Tony tumbled out of the bed onto the floor while gasping for breath. He couldn’t hear Jarvis telling him where he was, what time it was or the weather outside. All he could hear were bombs going off and his harsh breathing. Tony clawed off his shirt, not registering that his hands were wrapped and he tapped the arc reactor rapidly as the walls of his room closed in on him.

We can talk here on the floor

On the phone, if you prefer

I'll be here until you're okay

Jarvis must’ve alerted Bucky to Tony’s panic attack because he was suddenly there grabbing his hands gently.

“Tony, hey, it’s alright. Can you try to match my breathing? In and out.” Bucky placed both of Tony’s hands on his chest, exaggerating his breathing in an attempt to calm Tony’s own rapid breathing. It took awhile, but eventually Tony sagged and calmed down. Bucky moved so he could pull Tony into his lap.

“Please don’t leave.”

“Not unless you want me to, doll.”  

Let your words release your pain

You and I will share the weight

Growing stronger day by day

“I’m sorry.” Bucky lowered the book he was reading to peer up at Tony.

“What?”

“I’m sorry.” Tony repeated with a little exasperation leaking into his voice.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What for, solnyshko?” Tony started tapping the arc reactor casing gently.

“Being a mess.” Bucky arched an eyebrow and reached forward to snag one of Tony’s wrists to pull him down into his lap.

“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, doll, but you’re talking to a man who's had his brains scrambled for the last 70 years.” Tony huffed and looked away.

“But you handle it so well.” Bucky snorted

“I don’t, not really. Sometimes I wake up still feeling like the Asset.”

“Sometimes I wake up feeling like I’m still hooked up to a car battery.” Tony leaned on Bucky’s chest and Bucky held him closer.

“Looks like we both have burdens to bare. Not alone, though. Not anymore.”

It's so dark outside tonight

Build a fire warm and bright

And the wind it howls and bites

Bite it back with all your might

Bucky found Tony on the roof. It was the dead of night and slightly chilly and why on earth was Tony even out here?

“I hate it, you know?” Tony’s voice made Bucky’s steps falter. After a moment's hesitation Bucky walked the distance to Tony and sat down next to the man who hadn’t looked at him once.

“I hate that I can never take back all of the things I did. I was an awful person, still might be an awful person. But I try, yeah? I give pieces of myself away in hopes that that will rectify the things I’ve done. But I’ve realized that don’t have anything left, nothing good enough anyways, and I’m just so damn tired.” Bucky took a moment to look at Tony, not that he hadn’t already committed this man to his memory, but he did see how tired he was. Dark circles under his eyes, slumped shoulders, glazed far off stare, and he was so pale. When Bucky spoke he made sure his voice was soft, but firm.

“You’ll never run out of pieces, your body will give them back to you without your consent to keep on giving. Other people will throw them at you, damaged and unclean and then it will be your job to fix them up to give them away again.” Tony’s eyes finally drifted to look at Bucky. “Sometimes, you'll pick up the fallen and forgotten pieces of yourself and place them next to your heart to never forget who and what they were given to and you will never give those pieces away again. There is no such thing as giving away too many pieces of yourself, you’ll still have them, they may be broken and dirty and old but they are still yours and they are still good enough.” Tony’s tears were silent as he nodded.

“You sound so sure.” Bucky looked away, a sad smile dancing on his lips.

“Yeah, I’m still picking up and polishing off my own pieces.” Tony’s hand moved to rest on top of his and they sat in silence.

Anxiety tossing turning in your sleep

Even if you run away you still see them in your dreams

It's so dark tonight

It looks nice, fall asleep

It's alright, come inside, and talk to me

“Tony, come to bed, doll.”

And for once, Tony didn’t worry about any nightmares plaguing him in his sleep. He didn’t worry about all the work he still had to do. He didn’t have to worry about his demons clawing their way up from his personal hell when Bucky was there to help him keep them at bay. Tony shut down his work and got up to follow the love of his life to bed.

[mathiaskillmaster]

My GOT Ending: Battle of Winterfell (Episode 3 Season 8) Part 2

Jon, on the back of Rhaegal, wandered endlessly through the mashed peas, the icy wind whipping his face. He could see nothing except the night and the fog as far as the eye could see, as if the whole world had been covered in a few seconds. In the dim light, he thought he could distinguish the shape of another dragon, further down. Was it Dany and Drogon? Suddenly, a torrent of intense blue flames was propelled like a geyser toward him, forcing him to do a maneuver to Rhaegal to avoid it. Forced to flee the flames, Rhaegal was flying fast, Jon clutching himself as he could and glancing back. It was him. The Night King was there, perched on the huge blue-eyed Viserion, pursuing him relentlessly and trying to cover him with his endless blue fire. Jon could feel the stinging heat of the flames coming up against his back. The blue fire was getting closer and closer. Animated by the necromantic magic of the king of the dead, Viserion seemed even faster than during his lifetime, and also much stronger. Then, Drogon's imposing and majestic figure rises from the blizzard, roaring loudly, and violently hits Viserion, almost failing to bring down the Night King. Jon, surprised, cast another look. Daenerys, looking more than determined, throws herself with Drogon in the fight. The dance of dragons begins between Drogon and Viserion, the two large reptiles agglomerated to each other and spinning in a deadly dance in the sky, inflicting each other violent claws, bites, and other attacks of extreme savagery. The Night King, sure of himself, looks at Daenerys, and vice versa. The Queen of Dragons, furious and sad to see her child transformed, glares at the Night King. The king of the walkers seized his spear of ice, ready to throw it on the young queen despite the tumult of the two dragons. The Night King throws his spear with force, but Daenerys bends down just in time to see the ice weapon pass right over her and fall into the void. Viserion, indefatigable, closes his jaw on the wing of Drogon, while the latter, in a burst of fury, strongly bites the neck of Viserion. From the back of Rhaegal, Jon observes with apprehension and decides to come to the aid of his queen and goes with his dragon towards the aerial combat. But as he approaches, Viserion releases his hold on Drogon's wing and spits a mighty torrent of blue flames toward Rhaegal, who is brutally hit in the face. Rhaegal, roaring with pain, deviated from his race, Jon tried to force himself hard not to fall and manages to move away Rhaegal and masters it despite his pain. Having seen this, Daenerys, even more furious, continues the fight with Drogon against Viserion and the Night King. However, Viserion manages to free himself from the grip of his former dragon brother and disappears with his rider in the dark of the blizzard, leaving Jon and Daenerys lost on their dragons in the middle of the storm, and hearing all around them the threatening choes of Viserion, lurking all around them but without them being able to see it. ******** In the crypts of Winterfell, fear and silence dominate. Mothers try as much as they can to reassure their terrified children, as does Gilly with Little Sam. Varys, sitting against a wall, remains pensive, dark, sometimes listening to what's going on. Sansa and Missandei also wait without saying anything. Tyrion himself rummages inward and paces, taking a sip of his bottle of wine. Sansa watches him, saying nothing. _ "If only we were up there, we could see how it evolves .... we could even do something ...." Tyrion muses. Varys sighs and Tyrion hears him, turning to him. "What? At the battle of the Nera, I led the troops through the gate ...." said the dwarf. _ "And you got face being slashed in two." Varys reminded him, much to Tyrion's annoyance. _ "That's right, but at least we won .... If I was up there ...." _ "They would kill you." Sansa said to Tyrion unceremoniously. "There is nothing we can do." Tyrion, annoyed, drops his wine bottle and gets closer to talk to Sansa. _ "You would be surprised at things I could do to not join the army of the dead." _ "Your remarks would not make any difference, that's why we're here ... Because we can not do anything. The most heroic thing we can do now is .... look at the truth in the face." Sansa adds. Tyrion listens to it, recognizing that she may mark a point. _ "Maybe we should have stayed married." said Tyrion, taking another sip. Sansa smiles slightly and responds. _ "You were the best of them ... but it would not work between us ..." _"Why not?" asks Tyrion, puzzled. Sansa then announces his answer immediately. _ "The Queen of Dragons .... your loyalty to her would become a problem." _"Yes," Missandei suddenly replied, somberly, towards Sansa. "If the queen of dragons were not there, there would be no more trouble ... we would all be dead already." With these words, Missandei moves away, leaving Sansa, Tyrion and Varys, silent and thoughtful. Suddenly, the doors of the crypt open, surprising everyone, but the tensions subside a little when Samwell Tarly arrives, but alive, to the great relief of Gilly who comes to hug him with love. _"What's going on?" Tyrion asks for this step. The fearful face of Sam makes him fear the worst, like all in the crypt. _"We ... we have been defeated. The dead have reached the walls." Faced with this news, the fear is gaining a little more inhabitants. Gilly takes Little Sam in her arms and tries to comfort him. Varys and Missandei exchange a really worried look, as do Sansa and Tyrion. _ "Is there not a way for women and children to get out of this crypt, is there another way out?" Tyrion asks Sansa. The young lady of Winterfell, despite the stress, thinks and remembers some stories told by her parents about the age of the crypts and the many secret passages it can conceal. ********** On the ramparts, all prepare for defense. The wights, in endless hordes, crash against the gates and the ramparts, climbing one another, forming noisy and massive mounds to reach the top of the walls of the city. The archers, Davos and Arya shoot a lot of arrows and shoot down dozens of creatures, but their numbers keep growing. At the top of the ramparts, Brienne, Tormund, Sandor, Beric, Jaime, Gendry and Podrick are preparing for the arrival of the first creatures. In the courtyard, Lyanna and Jorah Mormont, leading the rest of the surviving soldiers, are preparing for the brutal entrance of the dead by the city gate, which is already shaking under the numerous hammering of the living corpses. From the rear of the battlefield and out of reach of archery fire, the twelve white walkers, lined up and armed, contemplate the army of the dead assaulting the city. ********** In the sacred wood, Theon, Alys and the Ironborn soldiers formed a real circle of protection around the big tree at the foot of which is Bran, neutral and impassive. Theon shows deep concern about the progress of the battle. _ "They have reached the ramparts ...." said the young ironborn prince. Bran nods without saying a word. Theon goes to him to talk to him. "Bran .... I wanted to tell you that everything I did ...." _ "Everything you did led you to where you should be today .... home." Bran interrupted Theon, without showing any animosity towards him. Theon seems moved by the young man's words. "Now forgive me, but I must leave you." _"What?" asks Theon, perplexed. Bran does not answer and turns to the tree, puts his hand on it, near the face engraved in the bark. Bran's eyes flinch, turning white and milky, and the young man plunges into another trance, seeming to look deep into the memories of this ancestral tree. ******** The wights eventually reached the heights of the walls. If Arya, Sandor, Beric, Gendry, Brienne, Tormund, Jaime and Podrick manage to repel the firsts on their arrival, very quickly, the first defenders are swept by the blades of the dead and they land in the precincts of the city. The archers and Davos find themselves also having to fight for their survival. Despite their former rivalry, Sandor and Brienne help each other against the wights that attack them, forming an effective and devastating duo. Jaime is overwhelmed by three dead but Brienne intervenes and saves it. With his fiery sword, Beric sets a dead man on fire and lets him fall on others, who in turn burn themselves. Using her faceless man talents, Arya quickly reveals herself to be formidable, with rapid movements and precise attacks with daggers and spears, managing to repel several wights alone. She even saves Gendry's life by piercing the skull of the zombie that had stuck him against a wall and threatened to tear his face to death. But despite all these efforts, the first dead have already sprung up in Winterfell's courtyard. The gates finally give way when a giant shatters the wood and makes the doors fall violently, behind him hordes of wights spilling in groups into the city. Lyanna, Jorah, and the defenders of the court find themselves fighting, too, with the energy of despair. Unfortunately, the giant charges and strikes violently around him. Lyanna is unfortunately hit by a blow and falls to the side. In the bitter struggle, Brienne grabs Podrick by the shoulder. _"Go to the crypts, tell them that the defenses are pierced and that they must flee!" Podrick wants to insist on not giving up Brienne, but she pushes him backwards so that he leaves, while two wights jump on her. Podrick begins to run reluctantly and tears to the eye, seeing Brienne stay behind and repel the two creatures fiercely with the intervention of Tormund and Jaime. Arya and the other defenders, despite their resistance, are forced back and down to the yard. Seeing that the defenses of the ramparts were repulsed, the twelve white walkers advanced, standing now just in front of the gates of the city, watching with their ice eyes. ********* In the sky covered by the blizzard, Daenerys and Jon manage to stay together with their dragons, but still under the invisible and omnipresent threat of the Night King, who almost seems to play with their nerves. Suddenly, Viserion appeared from behind, attacking Rhaegal with his teeth and scratching his chest deeply. Jon clings as best he can to keep from falling out of the dragon and the two flying creatures stomp on each other. Daenerys on Drogon sees it and immediately rushes to Jon's rescue. She thinks to spit the flames of Drogon but changed her mind very quickly, she will not take the risk of touching Jon and Rhaegal. On the back of Viserion, The Night King drew his sword of ice, and Jon, seeing him do, draws Long Claw. In aerial combat, Viserion manages to grab Rhaegal's neck and bites him deeply. That's when Daenerys and Drogon arrive at full speed, violently striking Viserion, and disarming the Night King who falls into the void, disappearing into the blizzard. Having seen it fall, Jon manages to move a little Rhaegal, very hurt, while Drogon, bigger, in turn persecutes Viserion. _ "GO ON!! KILL HIM!!" Daenerys yells at Jon, mentioning the Night King. The latter having fallen from his terrible mount, he was now more vulnerable. Jon seizes the opportunity and trusts Daenerys and Drogon, though reluctant for a moment to leave them, he finally leads Rhaegal to the ground, while Daenerys and Drogon continue the aerial fight against the fallen dragon. But curiously, after a few bites and scratches, Viserion manages to free himself from the fight and Daenerys does not understand why, seeing him flying away and disappeaing in the blizzard, without her being able to catch him up. ********* In the courtyard and in the city, the dead are pouring in hundreds and the carnage continues. Although wounded by the giant, Lyanna Mormont manages to get up, armed with her ax and rushes, screaming to the giant who continues to hit and crush all the men who come within reach. The giant seesher, seizes her in his hand and begins to compress the girl in her armor. Spitting blood and feeling death come, Lyanna, in a last gesture, pierces the eye of the giant with her dragonglass dagger, killing him instantly. The giant collapses into a heap of inert bones, and Lyanna falling beside him, dead. Harassed by wights, Jorah caught a glimpse of the scene, desperate. _ "LYANNA!!" he screams while managing to repel an undead. ******** In the crypts, all begin to hear the muffled sounds of fighting noises and screams approaching each other little by little. Samwell alongside Gilly and their son, Varys and Missandei, Tyrion and Sansa, all are not reassured. The sudden arrival of Podrick, also wounded and in panic, is not to reassure them. _ "The .... The defenses are pierced! The city is invaded!" the young squire blows to the end. Tyrion reassures him as he can and forces him to take a few seconds of breath. Given the gravity of the situation, Sansa makes a decision and turns to Varys and Missandei, having successfully remembered the location of the secret tunnel in the crypt. _ "Have everyone evacuate, let everyone follow me, we will take the passage leading out of the city." _ "My lady, are you sure?" Varys asked. But suddenly, the violent drumming of dead against the barricaded doors of the crypts leaves no place for hesitation. _"They are here!" Exclaims Gilly with fear. _ "Let's go, come on!!" insisted Tyrion in agreement with Sansa. All in the crypts are busy getting up and following the lady of Winterfell passing in front and lighting a torch to guide them in the dark. ******** In Winterfell, the dead continue to spread throughout the city, devastating and slaughtering everything in their path without distinction. Brienne, Jaime, Tormund and Gendry continue to fight with determination, despite the physical exhaustion and the unstoppable advance of the dead on them. Sandor, in front of the fire and the chaos, remains paralyzed in a corner, breathing noisily and blood covering his face. Beric, while fighting, tries to bring him back to reality. _ "CLEGANE! CLEGANE! It's not the moment! We need you!" _"Fuck off! You don't understand, you moron? We can't beat them Death is in front, and we can do nothing against her!" Beric then hears Arya and sees her scramble like a devil against the wights and manage to drop several from the heights of the walls. Despite a visible injury to the head, the young Stark girl continues to fight. _ "Go tell that to her!" says Beric, pointing her to Sandor. The latter, seeing her doing and surrounded by more and more wights, reacts and rushes to her aid, followed by Beric. But suddenly, they stop abruptly their advance. Four white walkers appear, passing the gates of Winterfell in a slow but steady march, and immediately put their blue eyes on them. Beric takes a stand with his fiery sword, as does Sandor with his ax. Two of the white walkers grab their ice lances and advance towards them. The fight begins, Beric and Sandor finding themselves fighting a walker each and having to avoid their powerful blows. Two other white walkers advance towards Brienne and Jaime, who side by side, decide to face the ice creatures and start the fight too. Unfortunately, Beric is in trouble against the walker and is pushed back. Jorah intervenes to help him and also faces the monster. Sandor, too, despite his talent as a warrior, is hit violently and pushed back. All of a sudden, Arya comes up from behind and clings to the back of the walker, trying to stab him with her dagger. But the walker reacts immediately, stopping the young woman's wrist and throwing her over his shoulder. Arya rolls on the ground and immediatly rise with her agility, dagger in hand, and standing between Sandor and the white walker, her concentrated face and a dark look. Arya tries a new attack, but the walker is fast and blocks it, hitting her again and sending her to the ground. Sandor intervenes to help her, but the walker pushes him too, even hurting him on the shoulder with his blade of ice. As Sandor recoils, hurt, Arya takes advantage of the diversion to jump and push her dagger into the white walker's neck, paralyzing him instantly and reducing him into thousands of fragments of ice that collapse on the ground. Brienne is struggling with one of the white walkers, but having to back down against the powerful attacks of the monster. Jaime wants to help, but is cornered by another. While Brienne is going to receive a blow, Tormund comes screaming like a ferocious beast, throwing his whole body against the walker to destabilize him and makes him fall to the ground. _ "GO!" Tormund screams at Brienne and Jaime while trying to restrain the walker, who with a violent setback pushes Tormund away from him. The wildling chief is sounded on the ground, but regains his senses and with great sword blows, attacks relentlessly the walker forced to parry the blows. But the walker manages to disarm him, cutting Tormund's hand in the process, then stab him in the chest. Flowing blood, Tormund, frozen in pain but clenching his teeth, retains the blade of ice in his flesh with his only hand, and gives a last look at Brienne, who can not help but be horrified by the sacrifice of the wildling. Jaime manages to avoid a blow of the walker and grabs Brienne by the wrist to force her to follow him. _ "For the northn, you motherfucker ...." Tormund addresses the walker, spitting at him. The white walker remains impassive and lets Tormund fall back, which collapses into a pool of blood, his lifeless gaze fixed towards the sky. Everywhere else, Arya, Gendry, Davos, Sandor, Beric, Jorah and Ghost are also forced to retreat to the crypts, whose doors were, to their astonishment, destroyed. Already, surviving soldiers begin to rush in to escape. _ "Everyone in the crypts!" yells Arya to the others while protecting the retreat, she too being aware of the secret underground leading outside the walls of the city. Gendry, Davos, Sandor, Beric, Brienne, Jorah and Jaime remain with her to defend the positions with other troops against the advance of the dead towards them. Then, Jorah manages to make his way and starts running towards the sacred wood. _ "Ser Jorah! Where are you going ?!" yells Jaime while fighting. _ "I'm going to get Bran and the others, do not wait for me!" he replied, running towards the sacred wood and also attracting a maximum of wights on him. ********* Outside the walls, Jon and Rhaegal manage to emerge from the blizzard to find themselves a few meters above the ground. Jon can contemplate with horror the field of battle covered with a sea of ​​corpses and farther away, Winterfell in flames and besieging on all sides by the dead. Then he saw him .... Standing in the middle of the battlefield, the Night King stands there, standing, impassive, and almost seems to be waiting for him. For Jon, this is the opportunity. Jon makes Rhaegal spit fire, with all his strength, and the torrent of flames covers the Night King, who did not try to avoid it. A few seconds pass and with astonishment, Jon sees the Night King emerging from the flames, unharmed, and addressing to him what looks almost like a smirk. Suddenly, Viserion rises again from the mist, at great speed, and hits Rhaegal with full force. Jon is unhinged instantly and falls from several meters into the snow, still dampening his fall. The two dragons begin a fight almost on the ground, violent and fierce. Jon, dizzy, manages to get back on his feet, in the middle of the field of snow and corpses, and a hundred yards away from him, the Night King facing him. Jon picks up Long Claw who has fallen beside him and is ready to fight. But the young man is horrified at the sight of three white walkers arriving and standing behind the Night King. The latter, seeing in Jon's gesture a challenge, seems to have ordered the others to stay behind and walks alone toward Jon, unsheathing his blade of ice, amid the ashes and smoke. Jon, both hands firmly on Long Claw's, stands ready and dodges the Night King's first attack by rolling on the side. The duel starts.

[silvertsundere]

dnd session 3 highlights

traveling edition™ under cut too cause there is a LOT

next one won’t be for a while so ripperino

- we gotta travel like 40 miles? or something to a city to see if we find out something about villain elf man from last time

- we left from town where we started (it was raining) and soon after found a cute female hill giant

- she had left cause other hill giants were too violent and killing animals like deers and rabbits which she called her “friends”. and she was in the process of gathering food and stuff for the animals and building a little shack to live in some ruins together with her friends

- she called us all “little ones” but patted the halfling cleric who got mad about it 

- we decided to help out since eh it’s already gonna take like 3 days travel wouldn’t hurt to take a tiny bit longer. so we gathered some food water and wood and helped her finish the hut. she rewarded us with an alchemy jug she apparently had laying around. we tried to say goodbye before leaving but she was too distracted with her new hut so we let her be and left.

-  everyone lost their minds cause among all the normal stuff the jug can produce like water or oil, it can also produce mayo???????????????????ok

- still raining btw

- we went back on the road and camped out for the night

- we got up and (still raining) but continued on our path. found a merchant caravan that was attacked but since the supposed attackers tracks continued on the road we were following we just continued

- later down the road we found the rest of it with the corpses being eaten by some undeads lead by a wight

- we spent like 3 minutes debating how to pronounce wight

- got rid of them p fast cause dm didn’t expect us to beat the adds so fast, but not before the wight reduced the monk’s max hp for a bit before pally removed that effect with lay on hands after the encounter

- caravan had a half plate armor +1 which the cleric insisted on taking it instead of me (fighter) even tho he stays back most of the time just slinging spells. it also had a robe of the archmagi crafed by one of the guilds in one of the biggest cities in the kingdom, which the sorcerer equipped and is attuned to now. there was also a buncha gems worth a lotta money

- it was still morning so we continued travelling. couple hours later we started to smell like corpses or something and we were like “hm....should we at least go check out what it is and decide what to do instead of ignoring it or...” so we did

- we found a graveyard off the road with some skellies around and the PALADIN of all people was like “pff let them be let’s just continue on the road it’s fine” but most people were like “eh it’s just some skellies it’ll be fast and easy”

- it wasn’t

- btw it’s still raining

- after we killed some skellies some zombies came out the ground so we were like “welp guess we‘ll take care of them too”

- I say I wanna do an insight roll on the zombies (to see if I can tell everyone else that if we don’t do overkill dmg or use radiant they have a chance to not die) everyone makes fun of me before I tell them saying like “yup you can tell they’re zombies alright” smh

- we killed rest of skellies and like 1 zombie and then a ghast shows up right next to cleric who was p far away from everyone else doing some decent damage to him

- most people keep fighting the zombies and I go help the cleric with ghast. me: “I cast magic missile cause it doesn’t miss. guaranteed dmg baby😎” cleric: “ ‘guaranteed dmg’ watch you roll a 1″ and I rolled 1 2 3 smh

- NOW IS THE CRAZY PART

- after we beat ghast. a FUCKING ghost shows up. immediately nearby people gotta do a wis roll and me,bard and monk fail, aging 4 and 2 years respectively..

- oh yeah it’s still raining BTW

- the ghost then takes over the body of the cleric. we finish taking care of the few zombies that were left and decide that since he‘s an halfling and can only move 25ft we should just run away til he can kick the ghost out through save rolls

- he immediately does it on his next turn so there went that plan

- ghost comes and ends turn on my space. on my turn I move away to attack it and completely forget opportunity attacks are a thing so it does some hefty dmg to me. first real damage I’ve taken so far actually

- one of the pallies reveals she was actually an aasimar and flies in to smack the ghost but can’t til her next turn

- cleric gets his first turn since he got possessed and casts guiding bolt as lvl 2 doing 2d6 dmg x2 cause it’s super effective obliterating the ghost. meanwhile aasimar is just “...oh.... ☹️”

- we look around in the graveyard and found a ring in an altar in the center of it. it was a ring of regeneration. I wanted to take since I’m a mainstay of the frontline, and even more in the future when I get extra attack and shit but monk also wanted it so instead of arguing any more told the dm to roll a d100 and if under 50 it’d go to me and over 50 to monk. and with my luck guess what happened? I didn’t get it ofc, but w/e. always more loot next time right?

- it stopped raining FINALLY

- we then followed a path that left off the graveyard to get back on the main road we were travelling before instead of risking going through the middle of the forest at night and getting lost

- after walking a bit we came across a big farm with a homestead that works as a roadside inn for travelers and stuff so we stayed there, paying the old lady who opened the door for us with one of the gems we got earlier.

and that’s basically where we ended off, after a long rest at that inn. we still got like 30 something miles left but eh we'll get there eventually right. things seem to be going a bit now since it’s out 3rd session. there‘s still some hiccups here and there with the new players but things should get better with  experience? I say that but I’m a new play er too, this is my v first campaign. I just feel like I’m more invested than them so it doesn’t feel as daunting. not throwing any shade at them ofc. I don’t want them to stop playing. would rather they continue and get better with time. no one starts a pro at anything, only with time, study and practice do you get better at something so yeah. I mean hell for example, our bard who almost died in like our 3rd or 4th encounter, cause he tried to attack an orc while only having 7 max hp, was out here today doing tons of damage and killing things.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

oh also I had an idea for a campaign but shelfed it for now in lieu of something less serious considering how this one is going/will go in the future (knowing our dm lol) and started working on another campaign which will be a lot harder to make cause it’ll have a LOT of homebrew stuff, but also much more lighthearted and easy to digest, I think. so I might make a post about it sooner or later. sooner if anyone is actually interested in hearing about it lmao.

[sweet-sugar-sunsets]

We Are Deadly

a/n: the second installment!! just finished editing it so...kinda long so be warned

warning: there is a lot of violence//swearing//zombies??? idk

[prologue] [chapter 1] [chapter 2, coming soon]

❝ We are an endangered species. A species of nothing. A species of burnt out cities, of pockets of survivors, of living to your next meal. A species of dead. Mostly dead. We live this way, will live this way, will fight this way, will die this way, forever. Or, at least, until this whole damn thing is over. ❞

Chapter 1

Andie

The apocalypse, Armageddon, the end of the world. Whatever you want to call it, it's here. And it's been here for the past two years. Two years of hell. Two years of nothing. Of burnt out cities, of pockets of survivors, of maybe not living to see your next meal. Two years of the Dead. But not the dead who lay in stacks in the alleyways. Not the dead who lay in piles of ash and mass graves on the outskirts of cities and towns. Not the dead who are blackened by elements and decayed by time, their eyes staring at the nothingness of the world. Not those. Those are the Still. The Dead are the ones who get back up, who walk around, who eat us to make more of them, who make more of them and more of them and more of them. And less of us. There are no more cities. No more adults. Only children, masquerading around like grown-ups. Trying to protect their own. Playing a deadly game of hide and seek with each other. We all grew up too fast, to violently.

We are an endangered species. A species of nothing. A species of burnt out cities, of pockets of survivors, of living to your next meal. A species of dead. Mostly dead. We live this way, will live this way, will fight this way, will die this way, forever. Or, at least, until this whole damn thing is over.

My body was disgustingly sticky in the scorching Florida heat. I think that heat makes everything twice as worse. The fact that I had been hiding behind a dumpster for half an hour. The fact that the years old trash that surrounded me made me want the projectile vomit all over the alley wall. The fact that I was surrounded by reanimated rotting corpses. Yep. This heat wave made everything worse.

Frankie, squatting down next to me, was shaking like a leaf despite the sweltering heat. Sweat was dripping from her brow and formed puddles under her arms. I couldn't help feeling sorry for the poor kid. It was her first time on a run and it was already going to shit.

She was only thirteen, only a kid, with scruffy dark hair and skinny limbs. But, then again, I was only a couple years older than her. We were all just kids. All the adults died from disease, but not the kids. No one knows why. Anyone who was under the age of eighteen at the Beginning had a natural immunization to the disease. Our parents, unfortunately, didn't.

The effects of the Lazarus Plague are simple: at first, it can easily be mistaken for the flu. A runny nose, a sore throat, migraines, the usual. Then, the blood starts to flow to your head and you become paralyzed waist down. Next is the fun part; your brain cavity, being completely filled with unwanted blood cells, begins dispelling them in any way possible. Crying bloody tears, a constant dribble of blood from your nose and ears, blood in your spit, in your puke, your piss, your shit. Blood everywhere. Your brain goes senile, you begin muttering incoherently, then the seizures. Eventually, your heart stops. Then you come back. And, my God, do you come back violently.

You turn into one of them, one of the monsters, the immortal gods that now rule this land, feasting on the flesh of their brothers and sisters. The end of days was here. Death, Famine, War, Pestilence. Everything went to shit pretty quickly. Everyone stayed indoors, surgical masks glued to their faces, eyes glued to the TV.

Russia fell first, then Africa. Most of the Eurasian continent fell at the same time. There were rumors about Australia, but no one knew for sure. The US tried to hold on. Strict border limits. No one comes in and no one goes out. Strict curfew. No one out after dark. If anyone started to show signs of the plague, they were to be put down immediately. Their bodies burned. People started migrating away from the coasts in suspicion that it was waterborne. The cities were protected. Quarantines, rations, gas masks, government facilities.

We thought we could fight it. We thought we could get through it like every other catastrophe before.

We were so wrong.

The United States of America fell on January 17, 2019. The government retreated. Left the cities unprotected, left the borders unpatrolled, left the disease untreated. They holed up in their underground bunkers and waited. There was nothing they could do, so why not spend the end of the world in faux comfort. We were left in complete martial law. Complete anarchy.

War took the streets. Famine took the cities. Pestilence took the households. Death took the world. The cities were decimated. People retreated to the forests. Doomsday preppers took to their bunkers. Everyone else holed up in their homes, windows and doors boarded up, waiting for the virus to seep through the walls or the last sardine can to be emptied. The streets were clogged with the Dead.

"Andy, what do we do," Frankie said yanking on my coat. Tears were welling in her eyes. I think she recognized just how screwed we were. It was a narrow alley, with high walls and minimal coverage. Besides the dumpster we were hiding behind, there was an old tin trash can, knocked over and dented from a hundred undead feet and a fire escape who's ladder had been pulled up beyond reach. One end was blocked by a ten-foot chain link fence, behind that, what looked like the remains of a parking lot. The other end led back onto the main road, also clogged with Dead.

Great, we were so screwed. I kept searching the walls, looking for something, anything, that could save us.

Slowly I zipped my jacket up to the collar. Every small noise I made sounded like a thousand atomic bombs going off. The jacket would cover my bare skin from the claws and hopefully the teeth, too. I pulled my gun out of its holster on my hip. I couldn't believe I was actually doing this.

I pulled Frankie in close and whispered as softly as I could. "Make a break for the fence, I'll cover you. If I can't make it, leave me behind."

I smiled. "Don't be a hero."

She answered back shakily, "Don't be a jackass."

Our little mantra, that had started half a year ago when she tried to shield me from a rogue shooter.

Don't be a hero, I had said, My life is no more important than yours, so don't go sacrificing yourself for me or anyone else. She had answered with a snarky little comment that I can't remember now, followed by those three little words. Don't be a jackass.

"Do you remember how to hotwire a car?" I whispered. She nodded slowly. "Get out of here if you can." I pulled her into a tight hug. It was a shit plan, with an almost guaranteed failure, but it was the only option we had right now.

I slipped the supply pack from my back and handed it to her. We got into position, each of us on either side of the dumpster, crouched and ready to run. I met her gaze and began to count down.

Three.

She pulled her knife from the waistband of her faded jeans.

Two.

I gripped my gun tightly and swallowed hard.

One.

And it all went to shit.

tagging: @she-who-the-river-could-not-hold @michael-hearteyes-wheeler@mikeweezers @puzzlingsnark @dustinhendrsn

[creativitymouth]

Up-Surge Pt.1

A/N - So there is a 50/50 chance I won’t be uploading this as often as I uploaded TWFBTWF because I have a lot of requests I am also working on at the moment but I will be continuing this if the response is well enough.

Summary: We can’t contain the unknown. AgedUp!EddieKaspbrakxFem!Reader

Trigger Warnings: Germs, Swearing.

Forever Tags: @mari-melancholy​ @hello-mynameisfinn​

Chapter 1: The Spread

Day 1:                                                                                                                    It was just a cough. A young woman passing by a child and forgetting to cover her mouth. She didn’t see the countless bacteria she’d spread, she hadn’t known she’d infected others. Her trip to Malaysia had been an innocent one, all she’d wanted to do was care for the innocent there. If only she knew what was inside of her meat.

Day 2:                                                                                                                    5 cases now, spreading across New York. Hands touching bus poles, bodies pushed together on crowded trains, money being passed to the waitress at the local diner. They don’t know. They think it’s just a common cold, it is so much more.

Day 3:                                                                                                                    The Center for Disease Control has been notified 18 cases, 6 dead. They have no idea what they’re working with. They’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a cross between Swine Flu and Bird Flu, with violent symptoms.

Day 5:                                                                                                                It’s spreading like wildfire. One uncovered sneeze in a movie theatre and the entire movie-goers are sick. A mother goes home to tuck her child to bed. She forgot to wash her hands before touching him. Not that it would have helped any. Her head spins violently, her mouth is dry, vision blurry. The Doctor has said it was just a cold. Just a cold.

Day 8:                                                                                                               They don’t want to alarm the masses. 48 cases in New York. 12 in Massachusetts. 10 in Washington. It is spreading like wildfire. And there is no cure. They can’t figure out who patient sub-zero was, they do not know of her travel to Malaysia. They do not know of the infected meat she ate. They do not know that she went home to kiss her mother on the forehead. She died 2 days after infection, without a trace to her there may be no hope.

Day 12:                                                                                                             They must tell the people. New York is suffering. Massachusetts is close behind. The larger the city is populated the easier infection spreads. No one thinks to wipe down subway seats before they sit, or to wear gloves when they touch things others have encountered. They had conditioned them to not be afraid. Now they should be.

Day 20:                                                                                                           Mass Hysteria. Doctors are fleeing their jobs. How can they work without a cure? It has spread past the East but, yet they haven’t shut down travelling. They consider quarantining New York, they don’t for now. People wear Masks outside, but it isn’t enough. Now is not a time to be brave. Stay in your homes and pray for the best.

Day 30, Hour 12:                                                                                              Eddie Kaspbrak sits in his Derry home watching the new reports of the fast spreading virus. His friends had always teased him about his obsessively clean and hygienic quirks. Now look where they were. A virus with no cure, airborne, and extremely deadly. All you had to do to contract it was touch what the infected came in contact with. Chance of survival from the illness was low at least until they could come up with a cure. But in 30 days New York State and Massachusetts had already been placed under quarantine, no one in or out. They’d thought it would prohibit the spread of the infection but they were wrong. Eddie knew Maine was 7 hours away from New York and 4 hours away from Massachusetts, but those numbers seemed so small. Already 1 person had fallen ill in Derry though rumors told it was just a chest cold. Isn’t that what all the infected had thought? Just a cold.

Day 30, Hour 14:                                                                                               Your father, ever the stubborn man, did not take heed of the virus warnings. He still traveled the days to work. It was not until Day 20 of the spread that anyone noticed his lethargic behavior. Your mother had locked him away in their room to try and contain the illness. She tried to tell your sister and yourself that it was nothing to worry about. 4 days later they were both dead, rotting away in their rooms as you held your younger sister to you while she cried. Your aunt had come to retrieve you and now you were being sterilized in the basement of her house in Derry, Maine. You understood why the precautions she took were necessary. She didn’t want to risk infecting her 3-month-old child and husband. She took you in out of courtesy, not because she wanted nor needed too. Your sister was just 10 years old, her child-like brain unable to understand what was going on. She didn’t see the dangers of contact and would whimper when denied hugs from her extended family. You too missed the embrace of another human beside her, but you had learned to accept what you were given.

“This can’t get much worse.” You spoke aloud, your sister was snoring soundly beside you. You didn’t know how wrong you were.

Day 45, Hour 17:                                                                                                The Infected now display signs of insanity. They run rampant in the streets, with a fervor you’d only seen in movies. They foamed at the mouth, clawed at their eyes, and attacked anyone in sight. This was the last stage of the illness, the only thing to follow was death. You listened on as your aunt cried softly.

“Even if you don’t believe in a God, I suggest you pray.” The spokesman said. “The illness has once again developed just out of reach in time for our doctors to find a cure.” His face was red and blotchy, and you wondered if he would be the next to fall ill. “The sick are now experiencing Walking Dead like symptoms. If you come into contact with one,” he paused taking in a large breath, “well may God help you. May God help us all.” He signed out then and the only sounds left in the house were the cries of your aunt.

“(Y/N)?” You looked down at your sister taking in her large eyes.

“Yes baby?”

“Am I going to die?” You didn’t respond because you didn’t know how too. “Are you?” You looked away from her to the TV, watching as the ill roamed the streets in anger. Some sat banging their heads on the concrete, others chased passerby. The world was in chaos. The sickness, still had failed to reach Derry but you knew peace didn’t last.

“No Sully.” You said with strength because you knew you meant those words. “Neither of us is going to die.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Day 50, Hour 20:                                                                                            “Have you seen the hot new girl next door?” Richie was squinting through the blinds in Eddie’s room. Pretending as though he was oblivious to the chaos outside. He was 18, but in the heat of the everything he felt 100.

“No.” Eddie responded blandly. Unlike Richie he couldn’t ignore the death counts, and the ill roaming around like zombies. He hardly wanted Richie at his home and breathing the same air as him, there was no way to insure he didn’t carry the virus. “I’ve been busy studying.”

“For what? Schools been out for 3 weeks.”

“I still need an education Tozier.”

“What you need is to ease up and get some fresh air.”

“Yes, because I am so keen on getting ill and then attacking my mother in a frenzy of neurological madness.” Richie rolled his eyes, accustomed to his best friends tiring sarcastic commentary.

“She moved here like a little less than 3 weeks ago.” This caught Eddie’s attention. He put down his Trigonometry textbook and faced where Richie was playing peeping tom from the window.

“She has a little sister too.”

“Moved here?” Eddie mumbled under his breath. “From where?”

“Washington, D.C.” Richie turned away from the window and watched as the wheels of panic turned inside of Eddie’s head.

“How long ago?” He didn’t want to think too much about it, there was a chance he was just overreacting. There was also a chance he wasn’t.

“I said a little under 3 weeks ago.”

“What day was that?”

“Um, if I remember I saw the car pull up on the March 27th.” Richie was trying to play it off, but he knew that was the day you had moved in. Since the spread of the virus, and the shutdown of the school he’d had nothing to do but watch life pass him by. He had been doing just that when he saw your aunt’s car come back into town. “Why?”

“Washington was quarantined on the 1st of April. She came here from an infected zone. She’s going to get us all killed.” Eddie had begun to pace the room frantically. There had been a scare once before that Derry had contracted the illness but if someone was here from an infected zone that raised the stakes. “She’s going to run out of that house, come over here, and attack me. She’s going to be foaming at the mouth and crazy and going to completely fucking ruin my chances of survival.”

“Calm the fuck down.” Richie moved away from the window and over to the passing Eddie. He put his hands on his shoulders to try and slow his paced movements. “Think of the plus side in all of this.”

“What plus side?”

“The Losers Club can now become like Zombie fighting bad-asses.”

“What?”

“You know,” Rich took his hands-off Eddie’s shoulders to gesture into the air, “How in every T.V show there’s a group of kids who fights monsters or something. That could be us.”

“This isn’t a fucking T.V show, it’s real life.” Eddie was growing tired of Richie’s look at the Brightside attitude. To him there was no Brightside just infected people roaming the streets, and an illness that had no cure. “And they aren’t zombies.”

“They’re close enough.” Richie smiled at Eddie, he knew his best friend was nervous, but he didn’t see a reason to be. The likelihood of the illness reaching Derry was 0 to none.

Day 51, Hour 20:                                                                                                    They now had a name for the people infected who became mad. They called them Rabid and they were dangerous.

Day 52, Hour 4:                                                                                                   He had just managed to escape the quarantine in Florida, seconds before the barriers had come down he’d drove his car through. He’d heard the sirens following him but after about an hour of chase they’d given up. He wasn’t infected, so it didn’t matter if he left. That’s what he kept telling himself as he drove to what he considered a haven town. He had been raised in Derry, Maine and knew that the infection couldn’t have spread there so quickly. He could lie low here and not have to worry about becoming a Rabid or getting pulverized by one.

Day 54, Hour 14:                                                                                                  He was experiencing dry mouth and blurry vision. He told himself that it was just the nervousness of having escaped with his health. He handed money to the waitress bringing his food, she gave the money to the cashier, and the cashier put it inside of the register. The Cashier went home to hug his wife and kiss his 3-month-old baby on the forehead. He didn’t touch his wife’s nieces in fear that they were infected. He didn’t know that he now carried the virus, that he should be afraid of himself and not the young girls in the basement.

Day 57, Hour 12:                                                                                                  The man who traveled into town looking for haven died, after clawing his eyes out in a fit of rage. He had denied his symptoms for so long that he was capable of spreading the virus in the small town. All it took was a cough, a handshake, a hug, and someone else was infected.

The Waitress had died alone in her house where she had one day hoped to start a family. She hadn’t had much but she was content to build, now she would never have that chance.

Then there had been the Cashier:

“Sully,” You whispered as your aunt began to violently cough. “Come here right now. Cover your mouth.” The Cashier had been your Uncle and though he had shown the symptoms of the illness your aunt refused to believe he was sick.

“But auntie is making us a sandwich.” Your uncle had yet to come out of his room that morning, you’d figured he was dead. Maybe your aunt had killed him when she started to experience signs of madness.

“Sully,” you took a deep breath as you watched your aunt slowly slamming the knife onto the cutting board, “I said now.” Your sister saw the panic in your eyes and scrambled over to your side. “Walk to the front door and run to the neighbor’s house when I tell you to.” She was staring at your aunt as she cackled to herself the madness settling in her bones. Her head was tilting side to side threateningly, her eyes leaking blood as she coughed. “Don’t take your hand from your mouth no matter what.”

“(Y/N)?” Your sister whimpered as she started walking to the front door her eyes never leaving her aunt.

“You did this.” Her voice was hoarse and tired as she waves the knife in the air in front of her face. “You brought this illness here.” She turned to you smiling with her teeth blood stained. She coughed blood spewing from her mouth. You instinctively put your hand over your face inhaling short breaths.  “Come give auntie – “she struggled to speak the blood gurgling in her mouth, so instead of finishing she lunged towards you.

“Go, Sully! Now!” You listened as your sister’s footsteps took off from behind you. Your aunt had given up the ability to speak and was now just making wet sounds from her throat. You pulled your sleeves over your hands grabbing the nearest chair and throwing it at her. It hit her in the leg, but she wasn’t at all stunned as she took another lunge for you. You stepped away quick enough and grabbed the thing too your left. It was a set of forks and you weren’t very sure they would help but you’d flung them at her regardless. You were very aware of your bodies proximity to hers and became grateful for the fact that she’d been so paranoid that you or your sister carried the illness. Those plastic utensils suddenly seemed like a godsend. The forks hit her in her forehead and did absolutely nothing. She shook her head, reaching out for your foot. You screamed kicking out at her not wanting her to meet your skin.

“(Y/N)!” You didn’t have to turn your head to recognize the voice as your sisters. Your aunts head snapped in the direction of Sully.

“What the fuck Sully, I thought I told you to go!”

“I heard you scream!”

“And that caused you to come back?” You would have taken more time to scold her if your infested aunt hadn’t changed course. Her ears had begun to bleed, and you knew it was only moments before she depleted all her energy and dropped dead, but moments were too long. Since her attention was temporarily distracted from you, you took the opportunity to slip towards the butcher knife she had been making sandwiches with. You should have known something was wrong then, but you wanted to play house and ignore it. No one made turkey sandwiches with a butcher’s knife. Your sister was screaming as your aunt cackled and stared at her. It was if her brain was melting. Pulling down your sleeve over your hand you picked up the knife.

“(Y/N)!” You turned around with the weapon in your hand to see your aunt having cornered Sully. You took a deep breath - which you realized you shouldn’t have done and didn’t have time for – before walking quickly over to your aunt and stabbing her in the shoulder blade. She howled in pain reaching around for the knife in her back. You took her lapse of pain as a chance to escape.

“Go!” You yelled at your sister, “Go, go, go.” You wished you could push her, but you didn’t want to risk infecting her. She glanced once more at your animalistic aunt before turning and running out the door. You followed behind her and with your hands still covered by your sleeves you shut the door and locked. You know her cognition would be to messed up for her to turn the knob to begin with but you wanted to be safe. You stripped your shirt off - it had come into contact with a lot of things that carried the virus - and tossed it to the side. “Walk to the neighbors, don’t touch me.” You said sternly as you moved a couple of paces away from your sister. You were happy she’d come back because it had saved your life, but it had also risked her own. After the death of your mom and dad you weren’t ready to handle another. Sure, the passing of your aunt had been sad, but you’d never had a close relationship with them to begin with. When you reached the neighbors door you shooed your sister away, she took several large steps over.

“Who is it?” Your eyebrows quirked up, you hadn’t expected someone to answer so quickly. The

voice sounded strained and nervous, but it was obviously a boy around your age.

“We need help.” You tried to keep the desperate pleading from your voice. Eddie peaked out of the peep hole, and was mortified by your lack of clothing.

“I don’t sell clothes.”

“No, what the –“ You took a shuddering breath in. You were still overcome with nerves over your aunts Rabidism. When it had first started you weren’t given a chance to let it sink, but now standing here with your thoughts and a boy who wouldn’t open his front door you couldn’t shake the metallic taste of fear. “Please open the door. My little sister is only 10 and she’s afraid and so am I, we have nowhere else to go.” Eddie shifted his weight between his feet. He could see it in your eyes, something terrible had happened over in that house. He didn’t know if he wanted to risk bringing it to his own. “Please.” You tried again as the emotion clogged your throat.

“Oh, for fucks sake.” Eddie whispered to himself before swinging his door open. “Come in.”

“Thank you.” He didn’t look at you as you stepped inside of his living room, a shaking girl behind you. You stood in the center of the small house as your sister sat on a lounging chair and curled into herself. She at once started to cry, and you wished for nothing more than the ability to comfort her. Eddie tossed you a shirt from the bag of clothes he had by the door if he ever needed to make an escape. You caught it gratefully and shifted it over your head. Between your sister’s cries and the way, you stood stiffly, the tension inside of the living room was awkward.

“The illness,” you cleared your throat looking up at the lanky boy before you, “it’s in Derry.”

[jmroscoe]

Halloween Review #20 — Nightmare City (1980)

Years ago, as part of my quest to watch every movie that contains the phrase ‘of the living dead’ in its title, I watched City of the Living Dead (1980). I remember almost nothing about it other than the ending was very confusing — apparently because coffee was spilled on the film during the final stages of editing. Only afterwards did I realize that the Italian zombie movie entitled City of the ... Dead that I had just watched was not the one I was looking for.

It turns out that in the same year that Lucio Fulci released City of the Living Dead, Umberto Lenzi released Nightmare City, which was known as City of the Walking Dead when it was released in the USA in 1983. 

I do not regret watching Fulci’s zombie flick when I did, however, because finally watching the much better Lenzi movie today — several months into the coronavirus pandemic — made it that much more impactful.

Nightmare City covers the whole gamut of what makes zombie movies so compelling. A zombie apocalypse is a good metaphor for almost anything if handled well, and this film handles it expertly.

The zombies in Nightmare City are the result of nuclear radiation. People contaminated with radiation develop superhuman strength and endurance. Anyone in contact with them might be contaminated with radiation themselves. And worst of all, those affected by radiation develop an insatiable craving for human flesh, as their mutated bodies require more blood in order to maintain their heightened abilities. The only way to stop them is to burn them alive or damage the head.

As far as explanations for a zombie apocalypse go, this one is pretty sound. And, just as the discovery of electricity led to Mary Shelley writing Frankenstein, it’s clear that the development of nuclear power plants all over the world in the 1970s inspired this movie as well.

But Nightmare City isn’t just about the dangers of a world developing in potentially dangerous ways that we don’t fully understand yet. The 1970s in Italy were a time of unrest, with neo-fascist and Communist groups clashing violently for many years. Lenzi’s zombies — and survivors’ reactions to the zombies — can be seen as a critique of either one of these ideologies depending on how you look at it (but I think it’s clearly anti-fascist, given the explicit criticisms of people who only care about amassing money and power at any expense).

At the risk of putting too fine a point on it, many things can spread throughout the country as quickly as a deadly disease. Fascism, misinformation, panic, paranoia, consumerism and violence are just a few of the things that Lenzi likely saw as a disease spreading throughout Italy just as the zombies ravage the city in this film.

Nightmare City is also the first zombie flick to deviate from the “slow zombie” archetype that George Romero established in Night of the Living Dead. Lenzi’s zombies are fast and still retain some higher-level thinking. Normally, I’m not a fan of fast zombies because I think it goes against the horror inherent to a zombie apocalypse. But Lenzi’s zombies don’t reflect the fact that death is inevitable for all of us. They represent how quickly everything can go to shit if we don’t pay attention.

“In the long run, we are all dead.” -John Maynard Keynes

Lenzi manages to turn fast zombies from a cardinal sin of the genre to an interesting commentary. He performs the same feat to an even greater extent with the film’s ending. 

In the final moments of the movie, the main character, Dean (Hugo Stiglitz), wakes up from a bad dream. Everything that we just saw on screen was just a nightmare. I audibly exclaimed. I couldn’t believe this was happening. A really great movie was ruined just like that.

But Nightmare City doesn’t end there. Our main character gets up and goes to work, just like he did at the film’s beginning. The exact same scenes play out in the exact same way. You keep waiting for Dean to do something. But he never does. He doesn’t warn anybody. He doesn’t do anything different this time around. Just as the zombies are about to arrive on screen for the first time (again), the movie ends. “The nightmare becomes reality...” appears on screen just before the end credits roll.

Just like people did nothing to stop a fascist revival from happening in Italy during the 1970s, Dean does nothing to prevent the zombie apocalypse from happening even though he knew what would happen. 

Beyond subverting my expectations, this wowed me because it was chilling. Of course a pandemic movie would feel prescient during the age of covid. But it was downright eerie. The hospitals are hit first and hardest. The government declares lockdowns too late. Some people refuse to take measures because they just want to enjoy their weekends. Others think that they’ll be safe in places of worship because God will protect them. Theme parks stay open.

Nightmare City proves that we knew this would happen. Scientists knew just as well as Lenzi did that modern humanity is not prepared to properly tackle the threat a pandemic — or fascism — poses. 

But Lenzi is not all doom and gloom. As Anna (Laura Trotter) says, we are still living in the age of advantage. Despite all the problems that modern society presents, our quality of life is higher than it ever has been. We have instant coffee, nuclear power and the ability to stream Nightmare City online for free.

We also have first responders — both in real life and in Nightmare City — who put themselves on the front lines in order to save people. We have people who will risk their jobs to do what’s right. We have scientists working overtime to develop vaccines. We have the power to make our lives better, we just can’t sit idly by as the world goes to hell around us.

[valkyrie-echo]

Project Echo, Part 1: Chapter 27 (...It Will)

Part 1 Summary: A long-buried Hydra disaster, a monster in the shadows, a missing child. Eight months after the events of “The Winter Soldier”, Bucky turns himself in to the Avengers on one condition: They must help him find a girl snatched off the streets by Hydra seven years ago. In their quest, the Avengers accidentally unleash a horrifying creature of darkness and shadow, intent on making their quarry its prey.

Chapter 27: ... It Will

"OK guys, you know the drill," Tony paced as he addressed the Official Stark Industries clean-up crew, "The TV room is in need of a new wall and flatscreen, Hulk smashed his front door again, there are two broken windows- one in the TV room, one in the penthouse- and there's probably other damage. Just wander around and fix whatever you see that's broken. Black Widow wants more lights in her place and in the stairwells, and someone needs to team up with DUM-E to install a launch pad in the guest quarters so Falcon can take off from his bedroom. Also- who the hell are you?" he stopped in front of a new face on the crew. This guy was thin, small, and kind of mean looking.

"My wife's cousin," his Foreman nodded to the boy, "needed some work for the summer, and at the rate you have us up here fixing things lately, we need the extra muscle.

"Muscle?" Tony cocked an eyebrow- the guy couldn't be more than 140 soaking wet, "Anyways, split up however you want. Each group gets a remote suit supervising. I apologize for the inconvenience in advance- but no cutting power to do electrical work. Let the suit handle that. Lights stay on in all rooms at all times." He wandered off to check on Cap and find something to annoy him with.

"Alright men, you have your assignments already. Tyson, as requested you will be going with Nash and Rodriguez to get some electrical experience. They are installing extra lights in the penthouse and the Captain's place, got it?"

Tyson nodded, pleased. Getting into the Tower was simple. Getting onto the crew was a cake-walk. The real fun would be the aftermath- and Dennisson promised him a front-row seat to the slaughter.

New York Ferry, One Week Later

Dennisson watched New York rise out of the early morning fog. The "City that Never Sleeps" looked, well, tired. He focused on Avengers Tower, looming over the rest of the city like a sentinel. The top several floors were illuminated- the heroes, ever vigilant.

"I want to see inside," Dennisson growled. Morris produced a laptop and within only a few keystrokes he had a feed.

"Mr. Tyson was only able to plant three devices and five cameras. All run on a special encrypted feed. Mr. Stark's in-house system should not be able to detect them."

"If they do, I'll take you apart. Slowly."

He took the computer and flipped through the available feeds. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Gold. The Winter Soldier was in a workshop of some kind, having a very serious discussion with two people Dennisson did not recognize.

"That one is Clint Barton, codename Hawkeye," Morris indicated one of the men, "the other we believe to be Dr. Bruce Banner, the host of the creature known as the Hulk."

"Why don't I have sound?" Dennisson asked through gritted teeth.

Morris watched him carefully. Ever since they put him through the 'Indigo' device his temper was shorter, his rages more violent, and his victims lasted mere hours instead of days. He was devolving, quickly, "Our intel indicated if we were to add microphones the possibility of the technology being discovered by the house system increased by a factor of six. Also, our devices give off a frequency which would significantly diminish the clarity of audio signals. We do have a lip reading program if-"

"-silence." Morris obeyed, though he continued to eye Dennisson. He was beginning to suspect his employer was a fast burner- they show promise, yet let themselves fall to other, baser influences. Dennisson may not be aware, but Morris' job was to keep him on-mission, as any good minion should. Dennisson was different now. He wasn't making Morrison's job any easier.

After several minutes, Dennisson changed cameras. His eyes lit up, "So, they thawed her out after all." Echo looked as much like a zombie as ever. She was guarded by the Black Widow. Who else? There was talk among Hydra's upper echelon, long ago, of partnering the Winter Soldier with the infamous Natalia Romanova. That they were together now (on the wrong side) wasn't surprising.

"May I ask a question?" Morris prompted, "To be as useful to you as possible I believe I must inquire into the ending of this 'Project: Echo'. Why was the subject sent to the Asylum rather than given to you for termination?"

"The mongrel saved her," Dennisson switched back to the feed of the Winter Soldier, "A Project as high-level as Echo had to be closed by a top Hydra official. In that case, Alexander Pierce himself. The Winter Soldier made a deal with him to have pity on the girl. Made me look like a damned idiot for not wiping him before Pierce arrived. The girl went into the freezer and the Soldier became Pierce's little errand boy."

Morris didn't understand, "Why not order the Winter Soldier to serve him? Why make the deal?"

Dennisson growled, "Maybe because Pierce liked to pretend to be an upstanding man, of a higher moral ground than most of Hydra. It didn't matter that the Winter Soldier couldn't remember making the bargain, all that mattered was he could pretend to be merciful and benevolent. That's my theory anyways. Pierce was a fucking useless man. Who knows why he did anything."

As they closed in on the docks, Avengers Tower was blocked from view. Dennisson studied the tablet. Whatever the Winter Soldier was talking about with the others, he looked anxious. Looks like he's doing well enough, he thought, new friends, new home, new life. He's even working through some of that guilt- bringing Echo here. "Activate the first device," Dennisson ordered, handing the laptop back to Morris, "let's remind our friend just who he was."

Chapter 28: Crack

[cerastes]

So this ask is probs gonna be the polar opposite of the Garrosh ask but why do people love Kel'Thuzad so much? I remember back then in December when I started playing that this one was of the most requested characters from the Warcraft universe (along with DeathWing). Also wasn't Arthas the Lich King?

Kel’Thuzad is a well beloved character among Warcraft fans because of a number of reasons. He debuted in Warcraft III first as a pushover “boss” in one of the very first levels, just an old man necromancer getting killed by Arthas and Jaina, and you think that’s it. Kel’s dying words are “My dead is meaningless in the long run”, and you don’t really think about him again. Then, much later, when Arthas goes Bad, one of the first things the Lich King tells Arthas (this is all before he becomes the Lich King himself) is to use the ashes in the Sunwell of the elf city to complete a certain ritual. Arthas does so (killing and raising Sylvanas in the process, turning her in to the ANGRY banshee she is today), and BOOM, the ashes were Kel’Thuzad’s, and you just revived him as a powerful Lich. His first words? “I told you my dead was gonna be meaningless” in the smuggest tone. That’s his big establishing moment as a character. He serves as one of the two protagonists of the Undead Campaign alongside Arthas, and is in general a pretty funny guy. And, you know, hardcore as hell, seeing as he set up his own death knowing Arthas would eventually succumb to the Lich King and revive him himself.

The other thing with Kel’Thuzad is that he’s extremely plot relevant: He’s the one that started spreading the undead plague in the first place. The orders were the Lich King’s, but it was Kel that created the Cult of the Damned, contaminated TONS of grain, and had it sent out to major human settlements as if it was regular grain, effectively, successfully starting the zombie apocalypse that almost killed the Warcraft universe like twice now. He’s also the Necromancer that basically all the Necromancers try to emulate, and even though he’s a terrifyingly effective, intelligent villain, he’s always been rather chill (pun absolutely intended), making small chat with Arthas and his enemies alike, never raising his voice, and joking around 35% of the time. He’s like this BIG SCARY FROST SKELETON DUDE, but a funny and charming one, is the thing. He’s also the only person Arthas, even after going fully rotten, considers a friend, and Kel himself is violently, extremely loyal to Arthas. Even Anub’Arak is heavily implied to be serving Arthas against his will, due to the curse he is under, Kel’Thuzad does it entirely out of his free will.

Later on, when he became a raid boss in WoW, we meet his cat, Mr. Bigglesworth. It’s not an undead cat or anything, it’s a perfectly regular cat that Kel loves. It hangs out outside his boss room, and if you kill him, Kel gets PISSED and yells at you. WoW also delved into his backstory as a former human, but that’s longer. Also, in terms of gameplay, being a Lich Hero, he had command of THE strongest single target regular spell in the game, Frost Nova. A well placed Frost Nova in a fight turned tides and allowed to take out high priority targets really fast. He also had the VERY USEFUL/ANNOYING Frost Armor buff to give allies, which gave them increased defense AND made enemies close to them Slow (basically, what Arthas has in HotS? Kel gave it to others), and finally, he also had his ultimate, the VERY trollish “Death and Decay”, which was an absolute base wrecker. All in all, he was extremely powerful in gameplay too. Fragile, but his damage output and utility was immense.

All in all, Kel’s just a really cool dude, and to go like in even more detail would make this already lengthy post even longer, but basically, as I’ve said times before, Kel’Thuzad is my favorite male character Blizzard has ever made (and one of my favorites, period), he’s like a childhood inspiration for me, hahaha. I used to use “Kelthuzad” as my forums username and have Kel signatures and shit, that kind of love. And regarding Arthas being the Lich King, yep, that’s the case! And he needs Liches to command as the King of Liches. Kel’Thuzad is his most prominent and important one of those Liches: The Archlich.

[scithemodestmermaid]

Thoughts on Deep (2017)

allow me to quote myself from when i was watching this movie:

“so what we got here is an octopus who’s spent his life secluded in a vault colony, protected from a lifeless post-apocalyptic world, but the vault colony is in trouble so he has to go and find a GECK white whale named nathan to save them.  his journey is frought with dangers and destroyed (but still recognizable to the audience) landmarks, has his life threatened by insane and violent natives who survived the apocalypse, one of which is a raider eel who joins him (it should be noted that her fins resemble punk hairstyles, one specifically shown on raider chicks all over new vegas), he ends up in the commonwealth a generic big city that he navigates by subway trains that are somehow still working, and now he’s being chased by ghouls zombie fish.

DEEP IS JUST FALLOUT: OCEAN CONFIRMED.“

Thats the summary, now some more thoughts on this random DVD i picked up at walmart.

Spoilers, of course

It is seriously very falloutish, just rated PG instead of R.  the setting, the characters, and a lot of the humor all felt like it’d be right at home in a fallout game (or maybe not that generous, maybe just in a fallout mod.)  that makes it sound like it’d be the most amazing movie ever, but i don’t know if its good or not.  i liked it a lot more than i thought i would.  but its just so crazy and out there and i don’t know what i just went through.

so you’ve got Deep.  he’s a dumbo octopus, and his grandpa is the kraken of yore.  must be adopted.  anyway, he’s kind of a naive jerk.  he charges ahead and doesnt give a damn about the dangers, but he also sadly has some ADHD which causes him to go off-course at the worst times.  it makes him come off kind of cold towards everyone.  when the eel slaps him across the face, you’ll cheer.  he deserved it.  but he finally grows up and saves the vault colony from the lava-filled doom he created in his obsession with humanity.  so he does have a character arc, it just kinda all happens right at the end.  and him getting there is kind of annoying.

his friends are all much nicer to deal with.  you have Alice the shrimp, who’s got more sass than you can shake a stick at.  she ends up being kind of the only sane woman, who snaps Deep out of his severe highs and lows and keeps the group together.  Evo is a lanternfish who is nervous and skittish and kind of gross, but by the end he’s so brave that he takes an icy bullet for his friends without a second thought.  then theres Maura, the eel who is basically this world’s version of a raider.  she struggles with her carnivorous instincts because she’s desperate for friends, which leads her to be a little bit impulsive.  but she, like Deep, learns how friendship is really supposed to work and goes from punk to sweetie.  only problem is that i’m pretty sure the director included her for fetish fuel.  besides her design (smooth and sleek, fin that covers her eye sometimes, you know, the kind of design thats just vaguely attractive enough for dudes to take it and run with it), she’s essentially into vore, and theres a scene that goes on TOO FRIGGIN LONG with her trying to puke up the gang and it gets really uncomfortable really fast.  during her introduction, she even jokes its more romantic to eat guys she doesn’t know.  Maura, do not do this, you live in the age of internet, theres scalies everywhere who will jump on you.  

the supporting cast is just as colorful.  the kraken is an imposing vault overseer colony leader who is trying to do what’s best for everyone and especially his grandson.  the snow crab who is a rapping gangsta who falls in love with Alice is a strange fellow.  and theres a vampire squid (she calls herself an octopus but whatev) who is a former opera singer trying to recapture her fame and shes just one hilarious sunset boulevard reference and she seriously needed more screentime.  theres an evil team of a penguin, a walrus, and a dolphin (ok hes not AS evil but still) who long to be human and think bringing the now-extraterrestrial humans some deep-sea fish will do the trick and they’re all just larger than life weirdos.  and lucien dodge cameos as a stressed-out scientist.  such a fun, colorful cast of characters.

theres so much lore and backstory to the movie that just gets shoved to the side.  i mean, its a post-apocalyptic earth.  its flooded, but it still uses a lot of the tropes as radioactive-wasteland earths (as implied with my constant references to fallout).  and theres an ARK initiative to get all the humans and animals to a different planet, with the marine life ARK lagging far behind.  what’s going to happen to this planet when the third ARK when it arrives completely empty?  how did earth end up in such a state?  its stated that the humans caused it, but how?  what’s with the zombie fish?  please, movie!  you shouldve used the time spent making piss and fart and vore jokes to give the audience lore!

and the three songs are catchy, too.

i just don’t know if i can recommend this one, though.  it’s so freakin weird, theres some really cringey parts to it, but then again you get to see an octopus in a gun fight with a dolphin and a walrus while a punk eel and a sassy shrimp look on.  again, i ended up liking it a lot.  i just don’t know if it would have an audience at large.  if someone were to make a new vegas mod based on this movie, however, THAT i could get behind.