3 Survivors. Castle. #Norwich
We're calling them Zombies now. For a while we called them infected, Others, stuff like that. I guess for a while we treated them like humans but we took a vote on it and we're calling them Zombies now.
Alice and I argued for. Mark argued against. We said it was easier not to care about the heads we're breaking if they're not human. Mark said it's scarier being attacked by animals. Like, you can't reason with them and you can't understand why they're doing it so you just panic. I pointed out that that's kind of what happens when the Zombies attack us, so we won the vote. I reckon Mark was bitten by a dog as a child or something.
I'll post a link to this on twitter. Call it #zombies and #infected. Maybe someone else will look for the hashtag and find this post, maybe get in contact with us. Unlikely. Disease and Bite were trending topics for a while, but now the only posts are of the stlye "3 survivors, brixton academy #london" and those are getting rarer. I'm the only person I've seen with a #norwich tag. That's how Mark found me. "Alone. Female toilets Playhouse #norwich", updated from my phone before the network went down.
In my defense, had the male toilets been an option, I would have hidden there instead. Had I the choice I wouldn't have chosen toilets at all. Alice, however, will never let me live this down.
We look like we belong in comics, the three of us, dressed like the world's worst superhero team. Like we decided to do 'Kick-Ass' for halloween at the last minute. We raided sports shops and specialty shops and any shop we wanted to. The zombies move pretty slow so it's not been a problem losing them. There're less in the city centre than you'd think; the infection broke here late evening, after the shops had all closed. Terrorism's the theory we all agree on. Only way to explain how it happened everywhere all at once. You'd think they'd've unleashed it during the day, when everyone was out and about, but I guess it was still daytime in America, and we're not the prime target.
Actually, we don't look as bad now as we did a few days ago. The shin pads were the first to go. I'm not sure now why I ever thought they'd be a good idea. And we ditched the American Football helmets early on. Field of vision's more important. Speed and wits are our best defenses. Kevlar gloves are my best find. While being bitten is the potential future that keeps me up at night, broken glass is the more common foe. But I guess if you're reading this, you've already figured this stuff out.
"This is a baseball bat. It's like a pony, except for two things: One. You won't need to feed it as much hay and two. It's a baseball bat." Alice told me, on the second day. "You aim at their heads and every cell in your brain will tell you to shut your eyes before impact. Don't. If your swing misses you're off balance and probably won't get time for a second attempt."
She was right. It's horrible, seeing a man's face cave in. The sound of the bone breaking. The warmth of the blood that sprays back against you. You never, ever want to see that happen, to know it's your fault. But if you look away, if you don't watch your aim, you give them time to fight back and time is all they need.
"With your weak girl arms you'll probably only be able to bruise them but it should give you a chance to run away."
She was wrong there, it's surprising how fragile skulls seem. In my head I take a step back from the action. It's a weird, lucid panic. My limbs do exactly what they need to while my brain watches like it's some documentary. "And here we have another zombie. This one is wearing a hard hat. Perhaps a sign of some primitive survival instinct. Maybe they're getting smarter. No wait, it's a construction worker. Probably a few more like this about then." Does anyone else get this?
Anyway. We're in Norwich, at the Castle. Not the pub, the actual castle. It would be so cool if it wasn't this tragic. Supplies are running low so we'll be making a run for Tesco tomorrow. Will let you know if we all make it. Join us here if you can. Contact us if you can.
Wednesday 13 April 2011
BLITEOTW 2008
It's odd but the thing I find strangest about this whole situation is not the zombies, it's that I don't mind that I'm naked.
Pick any day in history before today and I think I'd do a lot to avoid walking through the city center without any clothes then but the crowds today, they're not like the crowds from any other day. At a glance maybe they look people, but anything more than a glance and you can see they're clearly not. For a start, they don't move right. Take a person and string up his limbs like a thunderbird. Not all of them; leave an arm or a leg hanging uselessly. Then break his neck and cut his flesh and call his mother a bitch. Broken and graceless and angry, that's how they move.
Worse than how they move is how they smell. And you can't get rid of it. The city is rotting, all of it. Not just the centre where they've gathered but everywhere they've been. Like this building; I don't think they've been here since the early hours of the morning but still I'm writing this with a cloth over my mouth so I'm not sick again. It might be how they've been following me; a trail of my vomit. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe there's just so many of them now that I can't help but keep running into them.
Zombies have risen and I'm worried I might be a little paranoid. Heh.
It could be different packs. Is packs the right word? Anyway, it could be different ones. I work at. No. I used to work at, I guess. I used to work at a cinema and it's strange how short a time you have to be there serving people before they all start to look the same. And thats when they were people with thoughts and emotions and personalities. These things are less than animals, I've no idea how anyone could hope to tell them apart.
Except when you see one you know. Knew. You recognise them and then you're sick again, cloth or no. I lost all food hours ago; it's just bile coming up now and even that's starting to run dry.
I should tell you things. Where I am now, where this all started. You might be wondering why I'm naked. You might not be there at all. Far as I know I'm the last one left. I guess I'm writing this for aliens? In the future, when they come and see a rotted planet and wonder what happened, they'll log onto my livejournal and be like "hey, check it out. More zombies. Humans this time."
No, I'm not writing this for aliens. I'm writing this because I'm sitting in someone else's living room with the curtains drawn and I heard a noise upstairs and I don't think it's one of them but I don't want to go up there to look for clothes and their internet was working but there's nothing new online so I had to write something.
I saw The Happening last night. M Night Shyamalan's latest film. Last film, I should say. It wasn't very good. It could have been scarier. God, I'd love it if this was as scary as that film. So much wasted potential. Can't stand Mark Wahlberg. Guess I should tag this 'film review', right? Anyway, on the walk back I took the quiet roads 'cause I hate the drunks along Prince of Wales. There were police and flashing lights everywhere. I figured it was just a fight that got out of hand or something, but now I'm wondering if it was the start of this. I might've heard screams or gunshots, but I don't know, that could be my memory playing tricks on me. I'm tired, by the way, and I'm really not thinking straight.
I was in the bath when I definitely heard screams. Then this thing came through the door and there was splashing and blood and water was everywhere. It was strong but it was clumsy. It slipped and hit its head but I couldn't get to my room because another one was there, so I grabbed a knife and was out the kitchen window. Running all day. They're not fast, but they don't stop.
So I headed out the city but they chased me back in. I went another way but there they were. Again and again, herding me back. I think I got past them this time. Sometimes if you hide and don't make a sound, don't even breathe, they don't notice you. Sometimes.
So I'm here at the internet, where I always end up, and I'm the last one online. It's supposed to bring the whole world closer together but when I am the whole world, there's not a lot it can do. God, I've never felt so alone.
Alone and naked.
Last post. I win.
Pick any day in history before today and I think I'd do a lot to avoid walking through the city center without any clothes then but the crowds today, they're not like the crowds from any other day. At a glance maybe they look people, but anything more than a glance and you can see they're clearly not. For a start, they don't move right. Take a person and string up his limbs like a thunderbird. Not all of them; leave an arm or a leg hanging uselessly. Then break his neck and cut his flesh and call his mother a bitch. Broken and graceless and angry, that's how they move.
Worse than how they move is how they smell. And you can't get rid of it. The city is rotting, all of it. Not just the centre where they've gathered but everywhere they've been. Like this building; I don't think they've been here since the early hours of the morning but still I'm writing this with a cloth over my mouth so I'm not sick again. It might be how they've been following me; a trail of my vomit. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Maybe there's just so many of them now that I can't help but keep running into them.
Zombies have risen and I'm worried I might be a little paranoid. Heh.
It could be different packs. Is packs the right word? Anyway, it could be different ones. I work at. No. I used to work at, I guess. I used to work at a cinema and it's strange how short a time you have to be there serving people before they all start to look the same. And thats when they were people with thoughts and emotions and personalities. These things are less than animals, I've no idea how anyone could hope to tell them apart.
Except when you see one you know. Knew. You recognise them and then you're sick again, cloth or no. I lost all food hours ago; it's just bile coming up now and even that's starting to run dry.
I should tell you things. Where I am now, where this all started. You might be wondering why I'm naked. You might not be there at all. Far as I know I'm the last one left. I guess I'm writing this for aliens? In the future, when they come and see a rotted planet and wonder what happened, they'll log onto my livejournal and be like "hey, check it out. More zombies. Humans this time."
No, I'm not writing this for aliens. I'm writing this because I'm sitting in someone else's living room with the curtains drawn and I heard a noise upstairs and I don't think it's one of them but I don't want to go up there to look for clothes and their internet was working but there's nothing new online so I had to write something.
I saw The Happening last night. M Night Shyamalan's latest film. Last film, I should say. It wasn't very good. It could have been scarier. God, I'd love it if this was as scary as that film. So much wasted potential. Can't stand Mark Wahlberg. Guess I should tag this 'film review', right? Anyway, on the walk back I took the quiet roads 'cause I hate the drunks along Prince of Wales. There were police and flashing lights everywhere. I figured it was just a fight that got out of hand or something, but now I'm wondering if it was the start of this. I might've heard screams or gunshots, but I don't know, that could be my memory playing tricks on me. I'm tired, by the way, and I'm really not thinking straight.
I was in the bath when I definitely heard screams. Then this thing came through the door and there was splashing and blood and water was everywhere. It was strong but it was clumsy. It slipped and hit its head but I couldn't get to my room because another one was there, so I grabbed a knife and was out the kitchen window. Running all day. They're not fast, but they don't stop.
So I headed out the city but they chased me back in. I went another way but there they were. Again and again, herding me back. I think I got past them this time. Sometimes if you hide and don't make a sound, don't even breathe, they don't notice you. Sometimes.
So I'm here at the internet, where I always end up, and I'm the last one online. It's supposed to bring the whole world closer together but when I am the whole world, there's not a lot it can do. God, I've never felt so alone.
Alone and naked.
Last post. I win.
BLITEOTW 2007
Is anybody reading this?
(10:52am) It seems to have died down a bit now, so I think it's safe to write this. I'm not really sure what's going on. Sorry if this is a bit incoherent, but we didn't get much sleep here.
Late last night, we started hearing noises somewhere outside. We figured it was a party at first, but now I think it was just screaming. Ade went outside to have a look, and there were all these guys just wandering around. One of them started towards Ade, and he said the guy just really freaked him out, so he came back inside. Thing is, the guy just started hammering on the door. We tried calling the police a few times, but the line was always engaged. Anyway, we turned the lights off and stayed quiet and eventually the guy got bored and went away. For maybe an hour or so, then he was back, knocking on the door again. So yeah, not much sleep. It's been quiet out there for a couple of hours now.
(11:59am) Ade says there's bodies out there lying in the road. I don't want to go look. We still can't get through to the police from the house phone. None of us can get a signal on our mobiles.
I'm scared, you know. I just want to call home. The BBC news website hasn't updated since yesterday and I don't know why but that's creeping me out more than anything.
(14:24) WHERE THE FUCK ARE ALL THE PEOPLE? The body Ade saw has gone. I never saw it, but there's a big red stain on the ground marking where it was.
(16:32) The plan was to go to Somerfield and grab as much canned food as we could. We barely made it to the shop and back. Our road was clear of those things. They're not people; we know that now. Our road was clear so we thought maybe they'd moved on. Bastards were waiting just around the corner. The Avenues down from Colman, swarming with them. We broke in the back of the shop, so we didn't have to go out where they'd see us. I cut my hand scrambling over the fence, and maybe they could smell the blood. I don't know. Maybe they just saw us in the shop.
Sammy and me ran straight back, dropping most of the stuff on the way. Ade led them off, down towards South Park. That was almost forty minutes ago, and he's still not back.
(16:53) Hazel's here. I'd forgotten she was coming back today, with everything that's happened. Nearly shat myself when I heard footsteps on the gravel outside. She says she had to abandon the car a while back. Ran the rest of the way here. She says it's dead out there. There's cars left in the road, and half the houses have their doors open or kicked in. We've started boarding up the windows. There are too many damn windows down here.
(18:36) Ade's back. There's blood on him and he's not speaking. Sammy said it looks like something bit him. He's sitting in his room at the moment. It's dark 'cause we covered all the windows and won't turn the lights on. Sammy's in there with him; she doesn't want to him to be alone.
(21:08) I guess it's getting dark outside now. I don't know; we found some duct tape and we've sealed up most of the cracks around the boards, so we can put the light on in here without attracting those things. I knocked on Ade's door earlier but there was no response. I guess they're sleeping. I'll wake them up later so they can take watch.
(22:35) I'm not scared anymore. I'm too tired to be scared. Ade and Sammy still aren't answering the door
(23:47) sammys dead and ades one of them now. i went into his room to see wake them up. im so fucking tired but sammys dead and ades one of them. he followed me and i think he's outside my room right now. I pulled the bookcase in front of the door, so hes not getting in. sammys dead and ades on of them and all i want to do is sleep. Theres half a bottle of coke in here and thats it. after that ive got no food or water. i dont even have a knife or anything. i should be scared but im not. i'm just numb. I'm going to go to sleep now. Mabye they'll get in while im sleeping. maybe I wont wake up.
I just want to call home.
(10:52am) It seems to have died down a bit now, so I think it's safe to write this. I'm not really sure what's going on. Sorry if this is a bit incoherent, but we didn't get much sleep here.
Late last night, we started hearing noises somewhere outside. We figured it was a party at first, but now I think it was just screaming. Ade went outside to have a look, and there were all these guys just wandering around. One of them started towards Ade, and he said the guy just really freaked him out, so he came back inside. Thing is, the guy just started hammering on the door. We tried calling the police a few times, but the line was always engaged. Anyway, we turned the lights off and stayed quiet and eventually the guy got bored and went away. For maybe an hour or so, then he was back, knocking on the door again. So yeah, not much sleep. It's been quiet out there for a couple of hours now.
(11:59am) Ade says there's bodies out there lying in the road. I don't want to go look. We still can't get through to the police from the house phone. None of us can get a signal on our mobiles.
I'm scared, you know. I just want to call home. The BBC news website hasn't updated since yesterday and I don't know why but that's creeping me out more than anything.
(14:24) WHERE THE FUCK ARE ALL THE PEOPLE? The body Ade saw has gone. I never saw it, but there's a big red stain on the ground marking where it was.
(16:32) The plan was to go to Somerfield and grab as much canned food as we could. We barely made it to the shop and back. Our road was clear of those things. They're not people; we know that now. Our road was clear so we thought maybe they'd moved on. Bastards were waiting just around the corner. The Avenues down from Colman, swarming with them. We broke in the back of the shop, so we didn't have to go out where they'd see us. I cut my hand scrambling over the fence, and maybe they could smell the blood. I don't know. Maybe they just saw us in the shop.
Sammy and me ran straight back, dropping most of the stuff on the way. Ade led them off, down towards South Park. That was almost forty minutes ago, and he's still not back.
(16:53) Hazel's here. I'd forgotten she was coming back today, with everything that's happened. Nearly shat myself when I heard footsteps on the gravel outside. She says she had to abandon the car a while back. Ran the rest of the way here. She says it's dead out there. There's cars left in the road, and half the houses have their doors open or kicked in. We've started boarding up the windows. There are too many damn windows down here.
(18:36) Ade's back. There's blood on him and he's not speaking. Sammy said it looks like something bit him. He's sitting in his room at the moment. It's dark 'cause we covered all the windows and won't turn the lights on. Sammy's in there with him; she doesn't want to him to be alone.
(21:08) I guess it's getting dark outside now. I don't know; we found some duct tape and we've sealed up most of the cracks around the boards, so we can put the light on in here without attracting those things. I knocked on Ade's door earlier but there was no response. I guess they're sleeping. I'll wake them up later so they can take watch.
(22:35) I'm not scared anymore. I'm too tired to be scared. Ade and Sammy still aren't answering the door
(23:47) sammys dead and ades one of them now. i went into his room to see wake them up. im so fucking tired but sammys dead and ades one of them. he followed me and i think he's outside my room right now. I pulled the bookcase in front of the door, so hes not getting in. sammys dead and ades on of them and all i want to do is sleep. Theres half a bottle of coke in here and thats it. after that ive got no food or water. i dont even have a knife or anything. i should be scared but im not. i'm just numb. I'm going to go to sleep now. Mabye they'll get in while im sleeping. maybe I wont wake up.
I just want to call home.
BLITEOTW - June 13th
Back in 2007 the blog My Elves Are Different launched 'Blog Like It's The End Of The World', a day on which anyone interested with a blog posted like a zombie apocalypse was happening around them. In 2008 the website Blue Moon Rising took over. I was kinda hoping the premise would be different but it seems everyone just loves zombies. I missed 2009 because I am quite daft and completely forgot, but remembered in time for 2010, by which time facebook had taken over and seemed the best place to run from. Facebook remains strong and the group for this year's event - taking place as always on June 13th - can be found here.
To make it look like I update this site regularly, and so I don't lose them, I'm going to copy over my '07, '08 and '10 entries from my livejournal, where they were originally posted. And while I've got you reading my stuff, check out a piece of flash fiction I wrote for 365tomorrows.
To make it look like I update this site regularly, and so I don't lose them, I'm going to copy over my '07, '08 and '10 entries from my livejournal, where they were originally posted. And while I've got you reading my stuff, check out a piece of flash fiction I wrote for 365tomorrows.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)