Writer's blood
First of all, there might already be a thread about it, but meh, at least not in the past ten pages, so yeah, totally justified.
Anyway, are there any Telltalers here with writing skills? Wanna share tips or tricks for fellow soon-to-be-authors? Or do you just want to share your stories? What are your writing projects and plans currently? Here's the place to be, and the place to go.
Anyway, I first have a good question for you guys. As an author, either soon-to-be or an already established one, what are the places to be when it comes to publishing stories and other writings, both free and commercial? Do you have some personal favorites, and why?
Anyway, I'm sure you guys are wondering, what's up with him using anyway at the start of nearly every sentence? Aside from that, a lot of you will also be asking, what does Gary do when it comes to writing?
At the moment, I'm working on a Dutch novel, it's mainly a fantasy novel, with some sci-fi fantasy elements mixed in. To be honest, it's fairly hard to do a true sci-fi fantasy blend, because there's a thin line between what is science fiction and what is fantasy, at least that's how I see it. The way I see it, sci-fi stories are generally more about explaining things, rather than it just being there, unlike fantasy, where everything can happen without any real explanation. In that opinion, my novel is a bit more sci-fi than fantasy, as it tries to explain elements in a way that makes it sound a little bit science-y.
The novel is set on a world called Ertar, and tells about a woman called Nikene who travels the world because she just needs to. The story however basically tells the life of various characters. Nikene might have been a hero once, but she knows that fame doesn't last, and that sooner or later she won't even be needed. And what she did surely didn't shape the world as it was now.
Yeah, that's basically what the novel is all about. Right now I'm at page 61 (about 8000 words, so quite some pages less). I'm hoping to one day release the novel, or rather, the trilogy, as I intend it to be a trilogy of some sorts.
Also, I've had this concept since 2003, so yeah, quite some time.
Anyway, are there any Telltalers here with writing skills? Wanna share tips or tricks for fellow soon-to-be-authors? Or do you just want to share your stories? What are your writing projects and plans currently? Here's the place to be, and the place to go.
Anyway, I first have a good question for you guys. As an author, either soon-to-be or an already established one, what are the places to be when it comes to publishing stories and other writings, both free and commercial? Do you have some personal favorites, and why?
Anyway, I'm sure you guys are wondering, what's up with him using anyway at the start of nearly every sentence? Aside from that, a lot of you will also be asking, what does Gary do when it comes to writing?
At the moment, I'm working on a Dutch novel, it's mainly a fantasy novel, with some sci-fi fantasy elements mixed in. To be honest, it's fairly hard to do a true sci-fi fantasy blend, because there's a thin line between what is science fiction and what is fantasy, at least that's how I see it. The way I see it, sci-fi stories are generally more about explaining things, rather than it just being there, unlike fantasy, where everything can happen without any real explanation. In that opinion, my novel is a bit more sci-fi than fantasy, as it tries to explain elements in a way that makes it sound a little bit science-y.
The novel is set on a world called Ertar, and tells about a woman called Nikene who travels the world because she just needs to. The story however basically tells the life of various characters. Nikene might have been a hero once, but she knows that fame doesn't last, and that sooner or later she won't even be needed. And what she did surely didn't shape the world as it was now.
Yeah, that's basically what the novel is all about. Right now I'm at page 61 (about 8000 words, so quite some pages less). I'm hoping to one day release the novel, or rather, the trilogy, as I intend it to be a trilogy of some sorts.
Also, I've had this concept since 2003, so yeah, quite some time.
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Mine was about a private detective having to deal with demons invading Earth and getting caught up in a holy war. ...that doesn't sound too appealing to publishers, does it? But it was pretty good, I think.
Really need to get back to that.
One is a bit of what I guess I'll call a technomancy nihilist adventure. It has the surface coating of a some what standard fantasy/sci-fi but underneath, all victories are fairly hollow and nothing really means anything.
And then, for fun, I have a series of noir-mystery-type short stories (also fantasy) that I was working on with mgrant. I'm fairly horrible at writing good mysteries, but I think I'm learning the more I write. And it's also super fun. In any case, the characters are pretty hilarious (if I do say so myself) and I feel that they kinda save the story from any shortcomings in the actual plot.
Oh, also, in the tips and tricks category, I have determined that it is extremely helpful (especially with fantasy) to iron out DnD type character sheets for the characters. For me, it helps me categorize exactly what the characters can and cannot do and prevents them from being too overpowered or Sue-like. It also really helps me figure out their personality based on stats so that they remain fairly consistent throughout.
Honestly, I've found that possibly one of the easiest things to do is to just write a scene. Doesn't even need to be at the start. Then keep on writing scenes until a story comes out of it. You don't even need to use all of the scenes if they don't fit.
Yah, I've just got to get my butt into gear... of course I've been saying that for years and years...
I guess it also depends on where your focus is. My focus tends to be characters and they're usually the first thing I have ironed out. So I could basically just stick them in an empty room and let them have at it. Then I just write down the result and maybe come up with some sort of setting and plot out of it.
The way I'm writing my novel is this. As soon as I figure out what to write next I'll just write it down. If I don't like what I've written, I'll reword it, or even just let it rest for a couple of days.
It does help though that I already have the entire story in my head. I already have the end goal for my characters, and whether or not they will actually get to this end goal doesn't matter. Writing is something fluid, ideas can change, details can be made depending on what direction you have written yourself into.
For example, let's start with a simple plot, something I already have in mind for a story I'm writing, called Order of Z. It features several characters, which is something I actually started with (actually, it was the setting, but the setting was the same as some of my other ideas). First you have Jules, who might be a paladin, but he at least is a knight who wields a huge motherfracken sword. Then you have Claythen, mostly known as Clayth, also a knight. He wields a lance. Peter is an archer, although he does have elements of a rogue. Clayth's love interest, Aurelia, is an acrobatic elf with some minor magical skills. She possesses powers of nature. Finally, of the main beginning cast, you have Bohr, a giant (in this world, giants are only just bigger than humans, but not that much). He mostly uses blunt objects, but looks can be decieving. Despite the fact that he looks like a brute, he's the most philosophical person on the team.
The entire setting is a fantasy setting. It takes place on a planet called Phandagron, which is one of the several planets on Digit-5. Unlike the other planets, this one doesn't have a lot of modern facilities. Not that they can't have them, but most just prefer the simple life of fighting with swords and stuff. It just isn't as exciting if you can simply gun down a dragon.
So let's set up the quest. During the first part of the story, Jules' love interest, Rhonda, one of the strongest knights, ironically gets kidnapped just outside the city gates. It is then that Jules gathers everybody to get her back. But what is the reason Rhonda got kidnapped?
Now that I have the basic story, let's write the story down. Now I'll have to say, I'll be making this up as I go. I haven't yet written this down, and it actually was meant to be for a sprite comic I wanted to do one day. So, here we go.
Out of all the places on Phandagron, the city of Mountain was most likely the most beautiful Clayth has ever seen, which was ironic, seeing as it had the most idiotic names ever. Given, he was a bit biased, since he was born and raised here, but there was no other city on Phandagron or even the entire system that had a view this beautiful. From here he could almost see the Beat Cluster Station floating many distances away, in the big darkness some people refer to as space. Even in broad daylight the station was visible.
"What are you looking at," asked Aurelia.
"The view," Clayth replied. "Even after so long, this view still amazes me."
Aurelia laughed. "You humans are easily impressed."
The sun reflected on her long red hair, making it appear as if it radiated magical beams of light back into his eyes. Her hair waved in the wind, but he could not feel any breeze at all. For a moment, time stood still, there was nothing but Aurelia.
"Friends," a voice said. Clayth became a bit annoyed, but didn't let anybody know, instead replying: "What is it, Jules?"
"Are you guys up for some practice?"
Jules seemed very excited about it going on a practice, and Clayth knew he wouldn't go unless they both went, so he reluctantly agreed.
"What kind of practice is it this time," Clayth asked.
This got Jules really excited. "Okay, remember when you read about the Hall of Shadows and you were all, like, 'It would be incredible if we could go there one day,'?"
Clayth's eyes got big. "No way! That's awesome! When are we going?"
Jules hesitated a bit, and he could already see the disappointment in Clayth's eyes. "It's not exactly the Hall of Shadows. But it's close!"
"When I asked for a mirror fight, I didn't expect to fight an actual mirror," Clayth said in a disgruntled manner, wondering what a mirror was doing in a forest in the first place.
"Wait a bit," Jules said. "This isn't just a normal mirror. Just wait until the others arrive."
Not long after he finished his sentence Bohr and Peter arrive.
"What's the rush, brah?" Peter said.
Suddenly, with fear in his eyes, Bohr pointed at the mirror. "It's that mirror!"
He quickly rushed to the mirror, trying to smash it with his gigantic club, but before he managed to smash the mirror, he could hear Jules utter words, after which a quick flash came. When everybody regained their sight, they could see dark versions of themselves, on the other side of the room.
"Too late!" Bohr exclaimed.
"Well," Jules said, "it's time to duel!"
Clayth looked at Jules. "Wait, is that your battle cry now? I mean, your previous was bad, but-"
Just at that point the shadowy version of Jules screamed: "Attack!"
Both sides rushed at each other, each taking on each other's counterpart. Clayth tried to stab his counterpart, but his shadow parried. Meanwhile, the sound of two swords clashing could be heard where Jules and his double were. Arrows flew through the air as the two Peters tried to hit each other, and several small quakes were caused when the two Bohrs made their moves. Aurelia could see an evil grin on her own doppelgänger, as terror was all over her own face.
"This is too dangerous," Aurelia yelled. "Jules! How can we stop this?"
While still swinging his sword, Jules replied, "I guess by smashing the mirror."
With a brief "Got it," Aurelia rushed to the mirror, jumped up and swung her staff.
"No!" Bohr screamed. "Breaking mirror will make them permanent!"
A loud crash could be heard, while all Aurelia could mutter was "Great," after which she yelled: "Now what?"
"Hit them!" Bohr replied, quite angrily and a bit out of breath. He could see that the other Bohr was also a bit tired. He rushed towards the other, and the other did the same. Then, suddenly, he found an opening. He swung his club and hit the shadow to the other side of the room, where it vanished.
Peter hid behind a tree, and his shadow did the same. He looked around, and then found the spot he was looking for. He immediately fired a barrage of arrows towards that one spot. The first arrow hit a tree. The second arrow hit the first, after which it ricocheted and hit another tree, all until the last arrow finally hit his shadow self.
"You know you can't win," Aurelia's double said to her.
"Look around you," Aurelia said, while both Clayth and Jules defeated their own.
"We might vanish," the double said, "but we will always come back."
"Well," Aurelia said. After a brief pause, she looked into the figment's eyes, and said: "Come back from this."
She rushed towards her mirror self, and with a swift roundhouse kick kicked the other into oblivion.
"That was the most stupidest idea you ever had," Clayth said to Jules.
"Hey," Jules said, "at least we defeated them!"
So yeah, that's just the first few lines I just written from scratch, and all based on a short description. I might not even use this story eventually, but at least I've got the setting.
Basically, when you have an idea for a story, just write it down. Some day it might come in handy for something.
Or even if their actions don't seem to make sense at first, I want there to be a very solid reason that I may choose to divulge later that will make them make sense.
Also, for some reason, a lot of my characters tend to carry on extensive internal monologues that are occasionally punctuated by dialogue. This has happened to the extent that I ended up having one character be almost entirely mute, even though he was telling most of the story. He'd think complex arguments and theories that would sometimes take up several paragraphs, and reduce all of that to "Shit."
And that's another thing with writing. Know your limits, so you can either work around them, or work on them. Of course, the latter is more preferable in the longer run, but if you want to at least write down your stories now, you can always find ways to avoid them.
Also, of note, most of the characters for the novel I've been working on for nine freaking years have changed in such a way that even their names aren't the same anymore. Most even have their roles changed to fit the story better.
An example of this is the character of Kuona. Originally a very side character without any traits of any kind, she got promoted to a main character in the current concept. Meanwhile, Gray got demoted from main character to supporting character.
The funny bit is that after all of this... I really hate writing in first person. This is what happens when you read too many horrible self-insert fanfics. First person is dead to me and so instead I do omniscient third person monologues. Or something like that.
Here's this thing I typed up for Ringmaster that kinda illustrates what I try to do. Sometimes it works... sometimes it really sucks for action scenes. Luckily I tend to be rather skimpy on the action and have the narrator not really know what the hell is going on.
Writing is something that I just sort of fell into really. It started last year when I was bored on one of the many long bus journey's back from college, and I decided I'd make a Doctor Who (audio) tribute. So I wrote a few episodes of that, and planned out a couple of extra serials. But then life got too busy, and I just stopped, around the time SWP announced his tribute.
Then, a month or so later, I got a smartphone, and I decided to convert the planned plots into a trilogy of novels/novellas, so started doing that on google docs. I have to admit, I haven't gotten far (20 A4 pages I think, 9,700 words at the last count), and what I have written varies in quality quite a bit, so will probably need re-writing at some point. I may even add in another character to act as an extra layer of mystery. (I actually got that idea from the OP). But hey, it's all part of the experience! No writer is perfect.
Anyway, the plot involves a weather experiment that goes wrong. Everyone inside the building ends up dead, and various strange weather related occurrences are happening all over town (Super strong localised winds knocking over radio towers, Flash flood appearing out of no-where in busy intersections, that sort of thing), and the main character is trying to find the cause of it all, and how to fix it all out. The cause will actually be that the experiment accidentally created life from the elements.
I'm toying between two possible titles: "Weathermen" or "The Elementals". I'm thinking if I name it the first then I'll be able to use a similar naming system for the rest of the books (like the third book will involve a company manipulating the government into starting a war in order to boost arms trade, possibly titled "Businessmen"). Then again, the second title sounds so much more awesome.
Another idea I toyed with was re-writing someone else's book (hey, if Hollywood can do it, why can't I?). Possibly modernising or futurising a classic. Around the Galaxy in 80 years? I even though about novelising Civilisation (the game) at one point, with it revolving around a family line throughout the ages, dealing with threats similar to that of our history, but with fictional countries, and possibly scenarios such as "What if the Nazi's had won?" or "What if the cold war had actually exploded into full-blown conflict?"
Anyone noticed how everyone's posts in this thread are really long?
I love Google docs. I don't even know why, but it's so much easier to type on that word processor than any other I've tried. I think it's because it doesn't have all that stupid crap that Word constantly tries to get you to use... like WordArt. WordArt lost it's appeal after fourth grade, really. Google docs just has what you need to write something and format it correctly, which is all I really need.
And it's super easy to share stuff with people, which is also a plus. I thrive on people reading my half finished attempts at something.
The only downside for me is that it doesn't work properly with the college computers. The cursor doesn't move across the page properly, so by the time you reach the end, the flash-y thing that tells you the letter you just typed is just before the letter you just typed, which can get annoying when trying to edit something. ¬_¬
But then I can access my stuff on any mobile device. Also, Docs is awesome when you have to make a group presentation. And if you rewrite an entire section and then decide you liked it before, as you can go through revision history to see what it was like before.
And, the best part... you never have to worry about saving every few minutes in case something horrible happens, because it does it for you!
Like at the last NANOWRIMO or just purely on my own.
But every time I give up on it because I start to criticise my own work.
I have recently started again, this time I am writing a fanfic, and so far the first chapter is done. It's not that long though, only about 1500 words.
But I think it's one of my main problems, I take on more than what I can actually do and then get disappointed in my self because I can't do it.
But then again, like my other hobbies, its likely to be picked up and put down a lot.
(Its why I never get anything done. I jump between playing videogames, coming up with game ideas, playing the guitar, listening to music, reading video game news feeds, twiddling around with hardware/software, and doodling stuff all the time)
Like how I was recently reading something that I wrote a year ago and realized that a lot of my problems could be solved if I simply had a different character narrate the beginning. Since when I was writing that part, this particular character had no defining features except to just... be there, this was not really an option. But as the story progressed, further down the road, this character started to become quite interesting and a viable candidate for being a narrator.
This is a good practice. Any serious writer will tell you that even before you submit a draft, you should wait at least 2 weeks to a month to detach yourself a bit from the work, and then go back and do a full edit.
Only I'm going to keep the bits I take out for a blooper reel! But only if they're funny.
Well, here's a short part I literally just typed in. The goal is to write a short story out of it, with that short part as the beginning of the story. Nothing is set, except for that part, so it can be any sort of genre.
As I opened the window, a cold breeze filled the room. Despite it being summer, the air was fairly cold. Given, it was early in the morning, and everybody was still asleep. The sun was barely visible against the horizon. I wondered if anybody else would be awake somewhere in this small village, waiting for something, perhaps for others to wake up, perhaps for the warmth of a sun.
However, its presence continued to be known throughout breakfast, throughout my daily commute, and even went as far as to remind itself of its existance as I begun to sit down and start my shift at work.
Bah! I cannot quite seem to remember what I had forgotten today. It was as if I was missing words on a page, or a few letters of a decoder ring. Something didn't quite add up.
Did I remember to brush my teeth? Yes.
Did I remember to lock the door? Yes.
Did I remember to feed the cat? Yes. How could I ever forget that with the little bugger reminding me every five minutes after seven.
So what had I forgotten? What was so special about today?
The gum in my mouth had begun to lose its flavour, but the forgotten memory had continued to leave a bitter taste in my mouth for the rest of the day.
Maybe it had something to do with chocolate?
Chocolate? But I already had chocolate stashed away in a tin at home. It couldn't be that! Try again brain!
What about flowers?
What would I need flowers for? We have a garden full of them. Besides, I have hayfever, and spending my time sniffing daisies is only going to provide sharply diminishing returns.
I let out a heavy sigh as I packed away the "magazine" I had been reading on the bus.
I use that term loosely, because it was essentially a collection of ads. The main "article" being about the "Top 10 Gifts The Mums Just Love". Pandering garbage! But it had distracted me long enough as my stop was fastly approaching.
Once the bus stopped, I got off, brushed a few crumbs off my jacket, (its funny how jackets always seem to gather crumbs of some sort, even if you haven't eaten anything!), and renewed my journey back home by foot.
For some reason, the shops I passed seemed to pop out of the scenery today. I seemed to be drawn to them. Impulsed to stop at a few to have a quick browse.
I was able to resist. Mostly. But I did buy two games for a tenner from my local GAME store. I don't think I ever played those games, come to think of it, but thats not so suprising considering I have thousands of the things lying around at home.
Eventually, I managed to find my way home amongst the winding labrynth of council houses. A feat which only a few were ever capable of successfully navigating, (or so I thought).
I approached the door to my house. Key in hand. Eager to quickly get in, dump this load down, and have a cup of tea.
But as the door opened, a familiar wave of heat once more pounded on my face, and then I remembered. It was as if all the cosmic entities had aligned themselves perfectly to reveal a hidden code, and all that was obscured had suddenly become clear.
Sweat begun to bead upon my head. But it was not from the heat, but from the realisation and the fear formed from that realisation. I had forgotten something today, something very important!
Today... was Mother's Day! 0_o
EDIT: Thats my attempt at continuing that paragraph. I think it might be cool if we all tried to come up with our own versions!
I don't think that was too bad. Considering I haven't wrote anything in years!
(And even then that was for an English Literature assignment! XD)
EDIT 2: Cleaned it up just a tad. But I'm mostly satisfied with the quick, spontanious exercise.
And yeah, it would indeed be cool for everybody to write their own version. I might do it myself once I cleared my head a bit.
Thanks for the compliment!
I know its a little weak and lacking some depth in some areas, but considering I was writing that at like 6am in the morning, (I've been up since 4! XD), its pretty well done for something just spontaniously typed onto a keyboard!
In fact, I've been resisting the temptation to finish the story.
I mean its fine as it is, but it would be great to see what happened next and find a bit of closure.
I had uni work to do though, so I decided to finish at a point I could feel moderately satisfied with.
Also its a bit dry of a topic area so I'm kind of afraid that I would run out of steam.
I definately am looking forward to seeing what other people come up with. Might give me some ideas. (And I love ideas!
I'll think of writing a continuation of that paragraph, but the thing is, I really suck at making a distinct character in first person. It always ends up just sounding like me wearing a silly hat. But I'll give it a go after I think up an idea.
Also, I have little experience with mornings. I'll need to go experience a few before I feel myself qualified to write about them.
Well to be honest Mother's Day was on my mind, since I didn't get my mother a Mother's Day present this year! :eek:
(Been busy with exams. I'm going to make it up to her though! Take her out to a nice lunch or something
And yeah, that character had a fair bit of me put in there, but I put in a few unique characteristics here and there.
And then I remembered. There was no-one left. I was all alone. Withdrawing into my core, I began to rock backwards and forwards, sobbing gently to myself. There was no-one left to console me. No-one to hear my sobs. No-one to reprimand me for my actions and no-one to compliment me on my work.
My mind then turned to all the people that I had once known in my life. Everyone I had gone to school with... I outlived them all! My parents, well they had died a long time ago. My friends were long gone too. As for family... well, I was always rather clumsy with relationships.
As a tear rolled down my cheek, I picked up a photo from my bedside cabinet and clutched it close to my heart. Inside the frame was a scene with a much younger version of myself, stood next to a strapping young lad strolling beside a beautiful lakeside. We looked so happy back then. I gently stroked the sepia toned photo, a great sense of remorse and regret filling my body.
In my mind, he was still alive. He lived on in me.
My eyes gazed around the room, and met with a large award hanging on the wall. It was what my entire life had lead up to, and yet I had learnt to despise it and everything it represented. Oh, how cruel a world I lived in for people to be amazed by what it represented. Did they not think that I had feelings? Did they not think that I had a story to tell?
Not that it mattered now of course. I could feel the cold, clammy fingers of death reaching upwards towards me, clutching at my very soul. And yet, it was strangely welcome. Like meeting someone for the first time that you feel you've known your entire life.
I let my body relax, and I felt submerged in the icy blackness that so many before me had felt.
The door opened a crack, and a nurse crept slowly into the room and shook the arm of a withered old woman, resting peacefully in her bed.. Reaching to measure a pulse, she let out a scream. But it was pointless. Eunice Sanborn, the oldest woman in the world had finally slipped into the void.
-Friar
There, how was that? I'm not a huge fan of reading/writing in first person. And I didn't initially know where I was heading with the post, so it may feel a bit random. The original plan was to have them thinking they're all alone, only for them to discover some-one else. But then I thought about what it would be like to be the oldest person on the planet. To know that everyone you had gone to school with had long since died.
And yeah, Retro Vortex, yours was pretty cool. It gave me the inspiration to have a twist ending.
The soil underfoot was soft, and made softer still by the seeping of blood that stained the earth and made its way into the cracks of of the ground. Bodies, piled one on top of the other in a macabre assortment of limbs and other body parts, had been strewn helter skelter along the path leading up toward the barn. It was a grim scene, the pale moonlight spilling across grass and soil before finally revealing the dozens of shattered bodies that made a walkway of death. Breaking the silence, a single noise, that of the whirring blades that rotated, slicing through air.
From her position behind the large boulder, Adrianna could catch quick glimpses of the large machine, one of the first of its kind. Also known as a Reaper, it had been one of the first intelligent machines deployed in the crackdown of the zombie population, long before their A.I. had gone rogue and allowed them to break away from human control. In those early days, before the zombies had begun evolving, the Reaper had been enough. It would plunge into the crowds of directionless hordes, emitting the scent of flesh and blood, beckoning the zombies on the attraction of a potential meal.
Then its four arms would extend in a continuous circle of blades that rotated around its large silvery torso, cutting outwards into the crowds and mowing down shambling corpse after shambling corpse. This was long before the Evolution had begun, and the zombies had begun to adapt into quicker or more brutish versions that were able to take advantage of the Reaper's limited mobility. It was, after all, little more than a silver can on treadwheels, its four blade zipping out around it. Even now, with its new A.I., it was among the most limited in intelligence of the Steel Nation.
Still, it was sufficient for these encounters, more than adequate as the front line defense against the zombie masses that had flooded the country. It still did its job adequately, cutting down and tearing apart the base zombie, what were known as Shamblers.
Against a woman like Adrianna however, an armed member of the Human Resistance, it still held little power. She quickly stepped upward, turning to face the steel body of the machine, its rotating laser eye quickly catching her. Its treads attempted to turn, directing it toward her, its arms desperately swinging outward to catch her. Adrianna, though, was too far away, her weapons too powerful. A squeeze on the trigger of her shotgun delivered a powerful blow that carved into its body, tearing off one of its bladed arms in the process. For a moment sparks and fire erupted from the Reaper, a loud squealing sound the one reminder that these machines had an equivalent to pain. With one more squeeze of the trigger she'd blown a hole clear through the top of its body, the Reaper erupting in flames and smoke as its mechanical innards went flying into the wheat and grass.
She paused, smiling. These days it was hard to tell which of their enemies was a greater threat, the zombies or the machines. What the zombies lacked in firepower and intelligence, they made up for in numbers and a slowly evolving biology that had made them far greater than their original shambling counterparts. The machines, though, had all the weapons. All the good ones, anyway, and they knew how to use them. The only reason humans were still alive was due to the evolution of the zombies, which had momentarily distracted the machines from their manhunt.
Still, she had only a moment to ponder on this before she caught sound of the eery moaning that had always marked the Shamblers, their guttural utterances their only remaining grasp of language. Her face turned, eyes glancing into the fields behind her, its tall grass masking any sight of what might lie beyond. Unwilling to simply stand in the killing field, she began to hasten toward the barn, fingers quickly moving to the earpiece that wrapped behind her head.
"Evac, now!" she called into it, waiting for response. She could only hope they arrived in time.
The phone rang. It was buried somewhere in the pile on my dresser. As I worked to unearth it, I smiled to myself, thinking someone else must be awake after all. I found the phone and eyed the display. Number Blocked. Great. With all the work I spent unburying it, though, I decided I might as well answer it.
"Hello?"
"Jasmine! Where are you? Craig found out the stuff is fake, and he's after us!"
"Ummm, excuse me?"
"We've got to go into hiding long enough to ditch the goons, and then we can make a run for the border!"
"My name isn't Jasmine, it's Mary. Who is this?"
"Uhh, sorry, wrong number." Click.
Weirdo. At least I was already up. I would've been pissed if that had woken me up. Though that talk about running for the border reminded me, I still had some of that burrito from the taco place in the refrigerator downstairs. I wondered if that was a fair thing to eat for breakfast, then decided it was better than all the other stuff I had. I found my favorite robe in the pile, the one with the pink ducks on it, and headed downstairs.
No sooner did I reach the bottom step, but there was a pounding on my front door. Did I seriously wonder earlier if anyone else was up? I brushed some of the things on the floor aside and decided to see who it was.
It was a scruffy blonde guy, with freckles. He might have looked cute if he cleaned up and dressed a little nicer. Before I could ask what he wanted, he blurted out, "Please, Miss, you have to come with me! Your life is in danger!"
Great, it was Weirdo Central around here. "Beat it or I'll call the police!" I yelled and slammed and locked the door. He continued to pound on it. I realized I left my phone upstairs, and I really wasn't looking forward to going back up to get it to follow through with my threat. Why couldn't I find the peace today that the daybreak had teased me with?
Then the kitchen wall fell in.
"The Zombie - Machine Wars: A Historical Record of the Fall of Man"
I myself was waiting for something else. Death. I knew that today was my last day on Earth. I didn't know when exactly, I didn't know how, just that I would. For the past few months I was restless, couldn't sleep. People fear death, but they fear it even more when they know when they are going to die.
I already made my preparations, I got to see my relatives, made sure I didn't leave them with any feelings of guilt. I never told them about my knowledge. They didn't need to know. They shouldn't need to know.
I decided to go for a little walk. I snuck downstairs, put on a coat, and quietly got out of the house. The sky was clear, but I could still see some mist coming from the nearby forest. I hesitated. Should I even be there? I remembered from that dream, that dream that kept coming back, that I would be found there, lifeless but otherwise seemingly unharmed. But I figured that if fate wanted me to be there, I should be there.
The mist kept getting thicker, until I could barely see a thing. A chill went down my spine, not just because of the cold, but also because of some presence. I couldn't place this feeling. It was undescribable. It wasn't fear. Not that I didn't feel fear, but that feeling wasn't fear, although closely related. I began to feel dizzy, and my vision became blurry.
Or at least I thought it became blurry, for as I looked at the trees, still stationary and clear as ever, I knew something was wrong with the mist. I tried to focus, and for a split second, everything became clear, and at the same time, what I saw terrified me. It was only a small glimpse of what I saw. It was truly undescribable. It was as if I stared at the innards of a monstrocity, thousand times as large as this very planet, pitch-plack flesh surrounding me, and sound, not the kind you can hear, but the kind you see. And just in that small timeframe, it seemed as if this elder being would almost awaken, only to fall into a deep slumber again.
They eventually found me, tried to resuscitate me, eventually brought me to the hospital. A few days later I woke up. They said I had a heart attack, that my heart stopped beating for several minutes. If my sister hadn't followed me I would have actually died.
But you know what? I sometimes wish I did die. Since that day, I kept dreaming about that thing I've seen, only to remember just small bits and pieces. I would wake up screaming, not knowing what startled me. The only reason I know what I've seen is from the bits and pieces I wrote down each time I got a night terror. It's not that which I've seen that scares me, though. It's the thought of what would happen if it finally awakens.