21 Days Later. Pre-28 Days Later short story

[Durandal!]

Very little written so far. Just wanted to have it somewhere.

 

All I could hear are the gunshots. Each shot making the distinct echo any noise near a lake would make. Every pang of bullets spraying tree bark would fire off again in unison as the sound bounced off the water. Every one came closer. Closer still.

 

Survivors has somehow made their way through the woods and landed on the last place it seemed that me and my family had left to hide. The seclusion of the lake house in the middle of what seemed to be nowhere was where we had been held up for the past two weeks. Moving at night, the infected never managed to follow. We worked hard for that fact. we moved like mice in the dark. And since we left West Durham, the sightings and overheard broadcasts of towns becoming overrun became more frequent. This felt like an outbreak. The newscasts always called it that. But the feeling felt more like running away from something you couldn't be rid of. I always pictured an outbreak of anything being something that parliament would make sure was taken care of in a few days. This felt like a dream. When you've lost your home, friends, family, your entire basis of who you are in the course of 21 days, it will be more than difficult to believe it's actually happening. It's hard to swallow being holed up in an abandoned lake house that's been plated with sheet metal stolen from the roof. It's hard to believe half of England has been overrun with these things. These monsters. Blood and saliva have been narrowed down to the greatest concentration areas for the virus. Making every infected person a walking biohazard. A fleshy water balloon. If it were to pop near you, it's over. In the blink of an eye a family member, a loved one, a neighbor, a friend. In seconds they would have become something different altogether. A screaming figure. Any hint of the person you knew would be gone. That would be one of the hardest things i've had to see. A child crying for his mother. Only for her to tackle him to the ground and tear them apart. Down to the bone. Children were never active infected it seemed. Any infected would just tear it apart of ignore it all together.

 

The shots kept getting closer. The echo became much softer than the original shot. The howling and screaming of the infected were louder still. From the small hole etched out of the wooden door, I could see them now on the far side of the lake. Four men, one child. one woman. About twelve infected screaming behind them. My wife kept telling me to get out the rifle and help them. The thought of a child being torn from a parent is something she knew first hand. But to expose ourselves to the infected would put her, myself and our daughter in more danger than we could risk. Part of me hated them for dare leading the infected here. Part of me begged to help them. They weren't as fast as the infected were. Reports gave little explanation as to what the virus was, or where it came from, but detailed that an infected human felt reduced activity in the nervous system causing sporadic movement and above all else, a high tolerance to pain. An infected shot in the chest wouldn't feel much, but the wound itself would do the same damage as a regular human. They weren't an invincible enemy. But ask anyone who had met up with one in a corridor or alleyway. It sure as hell felt like it. They move with no concept of fear. Clamoring over razor wire. Grinding their teeth until they fell out of their mouths. An infected would usually have blood running down their chin from either inadvertently severing their own tongues or the projectile vomiting of half coagulated blood. It would seem they move using more of the untapped potential that the uninfected are naturally hindered by. Our bodies fell second to our brains as we evolved. But that's a far stretch from saying an infected human wouldn't have the ability to find it's way an uninfected one. Losing fingers, arms, legs and other limbs along the way if need be. And the infected now following the eight people circling the lake were no exception. The child was maybe seven years old. Carried in his mother's arms, she was too slow to keep in pace with the rest. An infected grabbed the child's dangling foot. Forcing him out of his mother's arms. He cried out as he and his mother fell to the ground. It was too late for him. The infected swarmed like dogs to a steak. The mother had a clear shot to get up and run. I could see how it would play out before it happened, and the mother leapt onto the infected. Wildly clawing toward her son. And in seconds she was gone as well. The screams of her and her son mixed with that of the infected were enough to make me want to spring up and open the door. But I kept my hands still. I needed to keep absolutely silent. The men knew we were here. The infected had no way to tell. They lacked the ability to find hidden people very well. They seemed to posses the problem solving skills of an animal. While a lake cabin lined with rust-covered sheet metal would send up a red flag for someone looking for survivors, an infected wouldn't know the difference. The only problem being spotted. Once the infected knew you were in there, they would not stop trying until they had forced their way in. Fearing no harm unto themselves.

 

So I sat and pray the four men did not make it to the cabin. The one room was enough to fit more people, but food was dwindling. And who knows how many were still in the woods following the group. I held the trigger of the rifle as sweat poured down my neck. My wife and daughter huddled in silence across the room behind me. And I watched with the heaviest pain and the greatest joy as two of the three men were forced to the ground and disappeared under four more infected. Their screams echoed across the lake.

 

UNFINISHED

More to come

[Durandal!]

[Durandal!]

[Amidala Skywalker]

Sorry...I've been busy.

 

Again, I detest zombies...they scare me. But this is well written. You have several typos, and you need to watch your tenses, but that's about it. You did a nice job capturing the emotions of the man, I think.

 

I'm recommending this to my zombie-loving brother. Hopefully he'll listen to me and read it.

[Zero]

Why are you crying? Did you scrape your knee or something?

 

 

I liked it, but I don't watch zombie movies for the story.

[Anakin T Skywalker]

Very telling about human nature!

[DarthBrendo]

I've seen 28 Days later, but not 28 Weeks Later.

 

This was very well written, sorry I missed it first time around. The descriptions of the infected was very vivid and accurate, I liked the way you related the infected back to animals as far as their 'investigative' skills went, and their doggedness when they found someone was typical of humans in many respects.

 

Well done. I would like to read more of this.