3 Years After. [RSWC]

Zombie Apocalypse.
Author's Note: All member names used in this story have been granted permission for use by their respective owners. While crafting this story, I have tried to stay as close as possible to the member's true nature, but given artistic freedom, I have drifted sightly in some places, and in no way do any of the events depicted herein reflect upon real events, nor would I expect you to believe any of the members would behave in such a fashion. This is a work of fiction.

VOICEOVER: A slight breeze ripples across the field, cool enough to cause the hunched over figure to stand upright in the sunlight, and look around. As she works out a kink in her back, she squints, her keen eyesight detecting movement in the woods at the edge of the field. Calmly, she reaches down to the whistle attached to the necklace around her neck.

*A whistle blows, four times, quickly.*

VOICEOVER: Danger. *pause* All the workers in the field stand upright, and look around. There is a flurry of activity at the camp at the other end of the field, a mere fifty yards away. The gates open, and several armed men run out.

Destinyone: Over there, in the northwest corner. *points*

Soldier #1: *out of breath* Could you tell what it was, ma'am?

Destinyone: It looked like a group of five.

Soldier #2: We'll go investigate. We'll need the Nets.

VOICEOVER: One of the men holds another whistle to his mouth, and we hear two blows, long. After a few moments, another group of four are expelled from the gates, holding between them what appears to be some roughly fabricated netting, rolled up, with weights at the end. They soon arrive at the group standing in the field. One of them speaks.

TinkerHaus: Another hunt today, Des?

Destinyone: Has to be better than working the fields.

TinkerHaus: Hey, I'll get my turn next week. What did you see?

Destinyone: It looked to me like another feral group. Five total. Three were small, probably young teens. Gender's hard to determine at this distance, as you know. *pause* Just be careful, Tinker, Ok? You know how vicious they can be once they turn.

TinkerHaus: Gotcha. Nothing new there. See you at dinner.

VOICEOVER: The group of soldiers collectively move off towards the indicated direction, while the workers in the field bend back to their labors. Sunlight eventually fades, and one long whistle blow is heard. The workers in the field head back to the gates.

VOICEOVER: Inside the camp is a flurry of activity, as always, and we notice many of the camp members filing slowly into the log cabin style dining hall for the evening meal. Casual chatter permeates the room, but we narrow in on a conversation taking place at the Council Table.

TinkerHaus: We couldn't save the fifth one. Too much radiation damage.

FissionSurplus: But you at least saved four....

TinkerHaus: And those are still quite feral. We have them in the holding pen. Druid is going out later to work with them.

FissionSurplus: I'll be joining him for the assessment.

Beezzer: I think your team did the best it could Tinker. Any lives saved, and returned, only helps the community to grow stronger, and expand. We need more hands around here.

Druid42: I agree. As our population increases, we need more able bodies. It's not the rehabilitation that's the problem. People have little problem regaining their humanity once in the presence of others. It's slow, but permanent.

Beezzer: Right. The radiation is our biggest concern. The feral groups wander too much, into hot zones, and the damage....

Destinyone: Is often permanent. Poor stupid Zombies.

Beezzer: Have the patrols got all the signs up yet?

TinkerHaus: Up to a ten mile radius. Thanks to the Geiger counters, we have signs posted into every 10 roentgen or higher zone. It's not like they read them.

FissionSurplus: Hunger is a horrible thing. It's what caused them to devolve in the first place. Once they begin eating irradiated food, well....

Destinyone: The signs work, beez. The incidences of fatal radiation exposure have decreased. There is humanity left in the survivors.

Druid42: I agree. Beyond extreme hunger which causes the devolution, their cognitive abilities are only repressed. I recommend another series of Hunts.

FissionSurplus: Can we afford that?

Beezzer: I think so. Let me go over the latest production numbers. Our birthrate is only 1.5%, so we could really use the infusion.

Fissionsurplus: Meaning most of us are sterile.

Destinyone: We've all been exposed to radiation, at some point.

Druid42: We are all getting older, as well. Too old to safely procreate, then add the radiation exposure.
TinkerHaus: Agreed. I know I've had my share.

Beezzer: So then it's settled. We'll adapt to the additional mouths to feed. *sighs* As Council Leader, are there any objections?

Druid42: None.

TinkerHaus: None.

Destinyone: None.

FissionSurplus: None.

Beezzer: Then we'll schedule another Hunt for one week from now. *pause* You do know guys, that I can't wait for my term to be over.

*all around laughter*

FissionSurplus: Hey, we all take our turn. You only have what.....

Beezzer: Three more months till the next election.

FissionSurplus: That's all? *laughingly* It seems like just yesterday we elected you.

Destinyone: Well, time does fly with a good leader.

Beezzer: Oh stop. This job is not easy.

*In Unison* We know!

VOICEOVER: Life goes on in our little camp of survivors, and a week passes quickly. What we find is that humanity is never lost, only repressed, given circumstance.

We discover our survivors with an entourage of twenty, hiking miles a day, camping at night, on a Hunt for others like them, fellow humans who have mis-placed their humanity.

Due to extreme hunger, and the collapse of society, many people died within weeks. Many setup communities. The rest turned into Zombies, feral humans with no dignity, reduced to eating food from dumpsters and drinking stagnant water. They retain nothing of civilization, living wild, often with sparse clothing, in sparse groups.

The Zombies have survived the past few years, and also our characters. We meet two of them walking down a path, during the Hunt.

Destinyone: Want conversation?

FissionSurplus: Sure. This walk could use some flavor.

Destinyone: What's up with Druid? He seems like he's miles away. Like, he's living in times long ago. Why does he get all the Zombies to turn? I'm not saying he's out of touch, but there's something with him lately that's been bothering me.

FissionSurplus: Like what?

Destinyone: Like how he relates to the Zombies. Like he spends all his spare time with them.

FissionSurplus: Those Zombies are humans. Right?

Destinyone: Yes. Sorta. *pause* No. Not really.

FissionSurplus: Why?

Destinyone: Humans act normally. Those things don't. One of those things killed my son.

FissionSurplus: Old wounds run deep.....

Destinyone: I guess so.

FissionSurplus: So do you want to save them, or not? Or not find out at all?

*the two exchange glances, and a pause in the conversation ensues.*

FissionSurplus: I thought so.

Destinyone: Your thoughts?

FissionSurplus: Druid is an old soul, quite out of place but full of useful knowledge.

*continued*

*continuation*

Destinyone: *chuckling* That's why I like him. *pause* So why is he so determined to turn the Zombies back into Humans?

FissionSurplus: He cares. Probably a bit more than you and I.

*a brief silence ensues*

Destinyone: Yeah. Probably. *pause* So how does he do it? You work with him in the pens.

FissionSurplus: That is something you gotta see.

Destinyone: Why? What is it about?

FissionSurplus: He walks into a pen, with four feral zombies, and closes the door.

Destinyone: Deathwish?

FissionSurplus: Maybe. More like conviction.

Destinyone: And???
FissionSurplus: They attack him.

Destinyone: What?

FissionSurplus: He grabs one and holds it close, and starts chanting to it. The rest withdraw, and listen.

Destinyone: What does he chant?

FissionSurplus: The usual. You really ought to watch once.

Destinyone: I'll have to. But what does he chant? Is it magic?

FissionSurplus: *a hearty laugh* Not at all. He simply reminds them.

Destinyone: Of what?

FissionSurplus: Of all the things we lost.

Destinyone: Like?

FissionSurplus: XBOX. Internet. Smartphones. PS3. Communication. Halo4. Diablo3. Starcraft 2. Coupled with a meal, they start speaking English again. It's fascinating to watch.

Destinyone: Then there is hope.

FissionSurplus: I agree.

Well done, Druid...well done...

Des

A great job! Thank you for doing this!

Thanks for the flags guys!

I was going to make it a gruesome zombie killing fest, but then I went to thinking about it....

While I could see everyone snuffing zombies, when I got to beez, I couldn't picture blood on a furry white rabbit.

I went with a variation, and a different explanation. This one I did shorten a bit, simply because it was flowing along. It was interesting for me to incorporate members, and make it a bit more realistic.

reply to post by Druid42


One thing I wanted to give you Kudos for Druid. In the dialogue you wrote for the character representing my name...your intuitive skills really pushed to the forefront. You did capture my basic essence. I could see myself saying what you wrote, in those given circumstances.

You put a lot of yourself into your writing Druid....more than just putting pen to paper.

Des

hahaha chanting Xbox, etc. Delightful twist on the zombie theme. Also amusing to think of ATSers as the civilized ones and others as feral humans. I enjoyed it

reply to post by Iamschist


I liked that chant too Iams....creative it was.

Druid...see if you can give Iamschist as character too. She's sweet, sensitive, yet feisty too. Find a role for her if you can......

Des

reply to post by Destinyone


Wow, thanks for the praise! I was thinking along the lines of slobbering serial killer

I kinda feel like my friends would be the feral guys, if the utterance of XBOX can keep them from losing their reason and humanity.

Very awesome, and creative. I can't offer any critique, because... I don't know nothing about radio scripting. BUT! I still found it awesome. I've never seen anyone use ATSers in a story, too... very creative.

S&F

reply to post by Druid42


Wow that was really good. I enjoyed the read very much.
Thanks for sharing. I liked the characters. Very well written. If there is more to come I can't wait

SnF
~nat

reply to post by Iamschist


Oops....Casting closed.

There's always a next time......I'll send you a u2u if so.

Glad you liked it.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


Thanks for stopping by and reading. I've entered quite a few stories in these contests, It's a creative endeavor that's challenging at times. Keeps the imagination flowing.

I recommend you keep writing as well. You get better with practice, and always get feedback from your readers. I will admit, this month was a bit harder than most, but fun nonetheless.

See you in next month's contest!

reply to post by natalia


Thanks for the kind words. (And the flag!)

Glad you enjoyed reading.

Good story, Druid! Very interesting, fascinating concepts, and it flowed well.

S&F for you, and for not making me out to be a hard-nosed old hag.

reply to post by FissionSurplus


Well, it was a fictional story.

Honestly, thanks for permission to try out this 'writing experiment'. Much appreciation, hag or not.

Aweeee man!

Very clever using ATS characters!!! I should have done that ha ha!

Nice story Druid, I appreciated it!

reply to post by Hijinx


It was pretty tricky learning the format, and it took three tries to find something that worked. Hey, challenges are good.

Thanks for stopping by and reading!