Compiling ideas for Zombie fluff.

Posted by messyart on May 27, 2011; 6:26am
URL: http://the-lost-and-the-damned.71.s1.nabble.com/Compiling-ideas-for-Zombie-fluff-tp6409892.html

I didn't want this to fill up the main thread, so figured this might be the best place for it. If you feel otherwise, Mort, feel free to move it.

I've just begun writing up some fluffiness for the modernised zombie apocalypse game.
for the record, I pretty much hate my own writing. :P


London
31st December, 2011

Helen strode past the door to her garage on her way to her front door, pleased in having just finished another day of work.
The world around her was beautifully serene. The fresh snow had been building up since Christmas.
Her kids were waving from the window, Sally, Jack and Joseph all eagerly awaiting their mothers’ warm hugs.
She smiled up at them, fumbling for her keys as she noticed Jacks glare growing steadily further into the sky, a scared looked growing on his face. She peered over her shoulder, watching as the street lamps all flickered in unison.
The stars were hidden by cloud cover, and Helen looked back to try seeing where his eyes were looking.
She looked once more, and through a fine gap in the clouds she could see a fine orange glow. Initially she believed she’d simply seen the flashing lights of an aircraft, until she realised it was not only solidly placed, but growing steadily larger.
Panic begun to rise as the orange glow spread to the clouds that were exposing the light, as more and more people stopped in the streets to witness the phenomenon.

Screams arose as the glow was checked out through spyglasses, revealing the giant ball of flaming rock soaring towards the earth.
People ran for cover, begging the heavens for mercy as the heat in the air begun to make their skin sting.
Their final overwhelming sensation was an ear-splitting shriek and a bone-breaking shockwave as the rock collided twenty miles from the once thriving street Helen had arrived home to.

A fine crackle woke her to a world of carnage as Sally lifted her head from a pillow to see a television monitor in front of her.
News crews were impatiently waiting outside a huge steel wall, hurriedly leaping on anyone official enough to question.
“Excuse me, excuse me sir? What happened last night? Why did all of the power go out over the South East of England? Is it true that it’s more than a mere meteorite?” The reporter bellowed over the mob of news jockeys as a man crept out of a door to an awaiting car. He ignored her questions and reached to his pocket, pulling out a phone before Helen was alerted to a fine rumbling beside her.
Anxiously she picked it up, putting it to her ear to hear the baying of crowds suddenly silenced with a bang as she watched the car door on her screen violently close.
“Helen, I think we need to have a little chat” the man said softly, as a fine violin played from the stereo in the car.
“I’m at home, led out in bed. What the hell happened?” She barked, turning the TV off and limping out of the comfort of her sofa-bed.
“It came down last night, I know, you’ve been watching it for a few weeks.  It was earlier than expected. Helen, don’t tell anyone. We need to keep this hush-hush until we can make sure it’s nothing... Hazardous.” He finished with silence before the sound of glass colliding.
She put a hand to her mouth in shock as her kids begun gathering around.
“Mum... Who is it? Is it work? IS IT DAD?” Jack asked, before a giddy round of rambling started between them all.
“It’s not your father. It’s… No one. Now, to your rooms.” She said as she listened more intently to the phone.
“Good girl.” The man started
“I’m on my way. We’ll be bringing two cars, I’ll make sure your kids are looked after while you’re here” he finished, before hanging up.
Helen begun wiping and pinching at her mouth in worry.

She flicked the TV back on and watched the BBC in shock as news reports came through.
“It was dubbed “QT-4U” by the scientists involved in the project, but I think the whole of mainland Europe will be calling this “One of the biggest errors in human history” for a time to come. Millions are believed to have died when this meteorite shattered on entrance into our atmosphere, and pieces of it have landed as far as Russia. Coming soon will be a brief report from our Russian correspondent Richard Bishop in Krasnoyarsk Krai, where the people, already coping with crop failures for another year running, are now trying to come to terms with the military cordons around the sites of collision. It is still unclear as to why the military are present at every site.
But now we have an exclusive interview with Gene Orchard, one of the scientists who have been worki..”
Helen muted the TV to hear a car door slamming outside, and turned the box off to stumble to the door.
A man in a smart grey suit stood the opposite side of her frosted glass-windowed door, a pair of men clearly behind him in drab.
The children ran downstairs as she opened the door, and stopped to gasp and squeal as the two soldiers stepped forward to the doorway, guiding their mother through to the man in front of her.
“With us, you lot. You’ve got five minutes to fetch anything you want to bring with you” one of the men barked, as the man in grey took Helen to his car.
“What’s all this about, John?” she started, pointing out to the fires in the distance.
“Why are your boys locking everyone out?”
He looked at her as if his day had been made.
“Helen, let me put it this way.. “It’s better safe than sorry”. Right?”
She nodded in bemusement as she watched her kids being led to the car in front, staring into the blacked out windows of the car she sat in.
“Good. These things have just been shat out of space. We can’t risk letting the public get all over it, and we can’t let the press know that we got it wrong, and millions died because of it. Can we?” His face became a grim smirk, and she grew uncomfortable with his attitude as he started to flick through news pages on his iPhone.
“Hah, look. Americans are saying this is because we don’t give them enough credit for WWII. Can you believe that? And after we helped them cover up the death of that beardy bastard in ’01..”
Helen looked at him in shock as he ogled the news as if a banquet.
“God damn... A piece hit down in Libya… I doubt they’ll even try to contain that”
The car slowly started moving forward, trying to turn around through a growing stream out traffic.
Helen lowered her window and waved to her children as she was driven back into the centre of London, a trip that would take her through a wave of terror.
“It’s going to cost billions to repair all this damage…” she said softly, peering out over fallen apartments and houses.
“Oh, they’ll just beg for people to cope with more wage cuts, it’ll be fine. Come on, you know this country is always there for the people.. Hah.” He replied, still pouring over the screen his eyes remained utterly glued to.
Within a few hours they’d reached the press-hounded doors of the new compound. Camera flashes lit the car up as the doors opened; the reporters desperate for a view within. All to be disappointed as a pair of checkpoints prevented any visibility.
“Damn piranhas, always trying to get at every bit of meaty… Ooh, look. Vikki Blows on page three again” John muttered briefly before staring brainlessly at the girl taking up his screen.
“Men…” Helen blurted, punching his arm for attention as their car came to a stop.
The scene before them wasn’t nearly as impressive as Helen had hoped. The rock was no larger than any single piece of Stone Henge, though the crater around it was almost the full size of the football stadium it had crashed into.
“We nearly managed to clear up all the bodies before we got you here. So… If you find Rooney somewhere in that crater, point him out. I’m sure someone would like the rest of him.” John chuckled
Injured fans were still being carefully taken from the wrecked site, Arsenal and Manchester United banners dangling from their backs as they attempted to uphold some sort of solidarity.
“Poor people, was the game going?” Helen started, before the smirk across Johns face gave the answer.
“Chelsea’s got a much better chance now, though. So I’m happy enough”
She scoffed and ran off to start helping limping fans to the evacuation doors.

A smaller containment zone had been built around the actual rock itself, and those going within were forced to wear heavy radiation suits. They came out periodically, climbing into a large, mobile cleaning tanker before stepping out in casual dress to write their reports.
It was here where a group of military scientists begun reading through every fine detail.
Helen stood watching, peeking over their shoulders for anything interesting.

"If you want to see the rock, we can find you a suit.." John said softly from behind her. She looked round and nodded, following him into the changing room at the back of the tanker.
In full suit, they both took to the locked door.
The sight inside, once Helen had gotten over the initial shock of random body parts, was even less than fascinating. The rock was relatively smooth, shaped much like a pure quartz crystal. It was dull and lacklustre, even the stadium lights let off no reflection in the gloomy grey stone.
"It's so beautiful.." Helen started, before stepping down to touch the stone.
"I'd REALLY not do that if I were you" John shouted in muffled tones, stepping down to grab her arm.
As he pulled her back to the door, and alert sounded over the PA system, from the Colonels office above them.
"We'll be allowing a single reporter through the doors in five minutes and counting, ladies and gentlemen. Ensure all procedures are met"
John quickly led Helen out through the door and up into the tanker, before leading her into the command centre.
A pair of soldiers stopped them at the door, moving aside only when John flashed his ID card to them both.
"It's alright lads, your cookie jar's safe with us" He winked, leading Helen in by the hand.

The Colonel spun around to see them both, stepping over and smacking a hand down on Johns shoulder firmly.
"Been a while, lad. How's life treating you?" He asked cheerily.
"Not all too bad. Wife died a couple months back, kids pretty much disowned me. Keeping a brave face on things."
The Colonels' expression turned bleak before he dragged his friend over to the radio desk to pounr him a cup of coffee.
"It gets easier. My lad's not spoken to me since he was 7." He muttered, waiting in silence as if knowing the reply.
John smirked his smirk, chuckling under his breath before plucking out the words they both knew were coming.
"Aye, but if you'd not been playing about, maybe that wife  'o yours would have kept you around longer?"
They laughed together as Helen looked on, bewildered.
"Oh, sorry. Helen, this is Steve. Don't bother yourself with titles around here. Pretty bloody pointless while the EU is trying to take us all over, anyway!" He laughed, before handing her a cup of coffee.
An alarm rose as they spoke, alerting them to the reporter entering their compound.
"Right, I imagine I'd better go make sure there's no funny business. Feel free to take a gander about" Steve declared, before making his leave.
The deserted security screens against one wall showed him leaving, as Helen stared over them all.
"You'll be wanting to get home by the time that one's done. It's gonna be like this all bloody week. First we'll have to clean up the mess, get rid of that rock, write letters to the bloody dead and deceased family members... I tell you, it's time consuming. I wish they'd let us just copy paste a load of compassionate BS from google." John mumbled, stepping over to photographs taken of the star the rock had initially come from.
The Colonel had lead the reporter into the tanker, and they were both stepping out as Helen noticed something worrying on another screen.
"John, is that man supposed to be so close to the.." She started, before the screens all went black.
John turned, startled by a sudden power cut.
"Well. That's wonderful. Now I will have to go blind trying to study these photos..." He moaned, punching the table before continuing.
"Close to what?" he replied, blinking quickly as the lights flashed back on.
He watched her staring at the screens as they came back on, and tried tracing her eye level. One of the screens showed a man creeping around the back of the inner compound, seemingly looking for a way inside.
He rushed to the PA system and punched down onto the buttom before bellowing into the microphone.
"Unprotected civilian navigating the south of the compound. Apprehend immediately"
Within moments a group of soldiers had surrounded the man and taken hold of his wrists, dragging him off of his feet and towards the small mobile office building acting as an entry point for the soldiers changing shift.
"Bloody idiots. I swear you lot do all you can to push.." John started, finally letting his fist off of the PA button.
The door opened as a soldier walked through, and he begun looking between Helen and John before speaking.
"Colonel Sunders would like you both to join him in guiding Mr. Lamb about the site"
They both followed him out into the open air, before the Colonel ushered for them both to join him.
"This fine lady is Helen Ness, the woman who first discovered the star. If you have any questions regarding the event, feel free to ask her" He said, stepping away and leaving the shocked woman alone with the reporter.
"So... Miss... Mrs? Ness. I'm interested in seeing this rock, perhaps I could get a quick interview with you beside it?"

With no one around, Helen found herself in a situation she'd not planned for. She tried to look for John or the Colonel, but they were out of sight. No one was watching, and she felt too pressured to simply ask the reporter to wait.
"Ok, but we have to put one of the radiation suits on to get close to it, they're through here.." she said, guiding him up into the trailer to pick out a clean suit.
After a few awkward moments, they both stepped back out at the other end.
There was a distinctly uneasy feeling as the lack of personel left Helen feeling deeply isolated, but she guided the man down to the containment door.

Up in the control room, Colonel Sunders stood beside John as they both watched intently at the screen, watching the pair make their way into the compound.
"Do you think he'll be stupid enough? Really?" Sunders asked, watching John smiling in amusement.
"They always are."

As Helen closed the door behind them, she turned to see the reporter leering over the smooth rock, pulling out a small camera from a pocket in his suit to get a record.
"So, Mrs Ness, would you like to do a brief interview?" He asked, turning quickly on his heel to face her, before loosing his footing. His fall seemed to take an eternity to Helen, as she watched him tumble backwards over the meteor.
His back landed hard against one of the edges, and he whelped slightly as he climbed back to his feet.
"That's a pretty damn hard stone.." he mumbled, rubbing his lower back before stooping to pick up his camera.
Helen took a step towards him, grabbing his hand and pulling him back up to a more solid level of the crater.
A glance toward the rock set the hairs of her neck on end. A fine crack had formed along the edge he'd fallen onto, from which a strange liquid was seeping.
The reporter looked at it and gasped, climbing down once more to look more closely.
He ran a finger through the sticky mucous, stretching it between his fingertips.
Pressing his finger back to the crack, he suddenly whinced, pulling his hand back to his chest. He looked down to see a large slice in the glove, exposing a deep cut in his fingertip. He started to grow irritable as the pain grew more and more unbearable.
Helen begun stepping back towards the door as his hand started to shake uncontrollably.
He stared at her in terror as his body begun to convulse aggressively, and she turned and ran for the door as he collapsed screaming.

Colonal Sunders tilted his head aside as he watched her sprinting for the cleaning chamber, alone.
"John, guess you were right"
He stepped to the PA and ordered a pair of soldiers to enter the compound.
"You'd better get down there, John. She did better than we anticipated, she deserves a bit of an explanation" he muttered, watching John nod and depart for the cleaning station.

Helen stumbled out, shaking. She jumped forward the moment she saw John, slapping him across the face before he could speak.
"I guess there was a reason for that. What happened in there?" He asked, leaning around the side of the chamber to see a pair of armed soldiers carefully opening the containment door. They raised their SA80's to eye level and begun shooting almost the moment they'd entered, and Helen stared in shock as she heard the gunfire.
"The rock is bleeding... He touched it, and then he started to shake... I ran" She started, breaking down into incoherent mumbles as John looked on with a glare of indifference.
He pulled out a radio handset and turned aside to speak into it.
"Alright, let our double back outside. Make sure he looks at least a little like this pillock..."
Helen turned and glared at him questioningly as he put the radio into his pocket.
"Oh, please. I think you'd expect as much. Now, here's a warning. Those soldiers haven't given the all clear yet. Something's gone wrong."

They both stared in panic towards the containment door, their hearts pausing in their chests as a slow hammering built up from the other side of the metal walls.
"So, shaking?" John started, before drawing a pistol from his jacket and approaching the door slowly.
Suddenly the PA roared loudly as the Colonels voice came overhead.
"Reports from Lybia, Russia, Spain, France, Poland and Hungary, violent outbreaks around the collision sites. Be warned, and stay away from the area. All staff evacuate until we can safely dispose of the meteor"
John and Helen watched as all members of staff made a neat evacuation towards the main doors of the compound, but stood by the door, intrugued by the sounds coming from the other side.

With a single kick, John booted the door open, suprised to find it unlocked.
Inside lay two bodies. The reporter lay on top of one of the soldiers, both bloodied and riddled with bullet-holes.
The third soldier sat huddled against the wall beside the door, startling John when he first noticed him. His gun sat limp in his hand as he held his right arm up to his chest. A deep wound bled from his wrist as he rocked softly back and forth.
"Talk to me. Tell me you're alright" John said gently, reaching out to take the mans' arm.
He turned, his eyes glazed over and dilated.
His eyelids flickered as he begun wobbling, turning to his side and getting up from his hands and knees.
A slight moan fell from his lips as he got to his feet, and he seemed incapable of walking more than a single step without falling over.
John grabbed his arm and hauled him up to his shoulder before walking him out of the containment zone and towards the main doors of the compound.
Helen stepped ahead of them, running up to the doors as they begun opening for the next group of staff.
They both stepped into the group for the next set through, and watched the doors close behind them as the next  begun to open ahead.
It was once they'd reached the final section of the door when the soldier begun to twitch, and John let him down to his feet to try calming him.
The final door begun opening as the soldiers eyes flickered. It seemed as if something more than human was staring back as he lunged, bitting at Johns face before he could be pulled away by some of the people around them. The man quickly begun attacking others, until a quick burst of gunfire wracked his skull full of lead, putting and end to his violence.
The bloodied victims stumbled out of the door amongst the witnesses.

The rest, they say, is history.