So I'm too lazy to read all the last posts, but whatever you do, do not have anyone fighting the Zombies with a flamethrower. Why you ask? Because what's worse then fighting off zombies from eating your flesh? Zombies on fire.
Just curious though...how are you gonna make the zombies? Runners like Dawn of the Dead, Smart like Land of the Dead, or retards like Resident Evil? Or some new hybrid zombie that saves energy and the enviorment?
I've always felt the runners and the smart ones were the scariest. Slow and dumb is just like eh, I just gotta make sure they don't catch me.
Running, but not particularly intelligent. Want them to represent the sort of, mob mentality as much as possible. So move quickly, but they're stupid. It's sort of, paragraphed and spread out a bit better in word but when posting it removes certain bits, so speech isn't on seperate lines like it should be. Still sort of in the build up of the characters, well, only 4 and a half pages in so makes sense really. Got a plan for something to happen at the speech though, and that'll lead to introducing the sort of, second main protaganist. It was a bright and warm London morning, a stark contrast to the night before. The birds had already begun their morning song and slowly the people of London began to rise from their beds and emerge into the world. The Secretary of Defence, Kaiden Christophe, had already been awake for several hours. He was a large man, formidable and overwhelming to all who met him and today he seemed particularly overbearing. He marched past two guards stationed within Number 10 who didn’t pay him a second glance, shifting their HK G36 Assault Rifles upwards slightly as a sign of respect; though you may have feared Kaiden, you had to respect him. He stopped in front of the Prime Minister’s master bedroom and raised a bulky fist to the door, slamming it against the wood three times, causing the door to creak and whimper under its sudden assault. “Prime Minister, sorry for the interruption, but it’s your speech today and we need to get ready, security is being set up as we speak but we need you down there. Sir? Prime Minister?” he bellowed, fist still banging against the bedroom door. “Kaiden.” Michael called as he stepped out from the room he had slept in, nightgown still wrapped tightly around him. “I’m here, now come on it’s six in the morning, don’t wake the whole house” he said, grinning slightly to himself. “Sorry Sir, are you ready?” Kaiden asked sincerely, drawing a bemused look from Michael. “Not sure, do you think I’m dressed for it?” he asked, glancing down at his bright blue nightgown, chuckling quietly. “Ehm, I, your car is waiting for you when you’re ready Sir.” Kaiden stuttered, and with that he turned on his heels and left for the exit. It took a lot to fluster a man like Kaiden Christophe, but if one man could do it, it was Michael King. Michael suspected Kaiden had never particularly liked him, finding his rather casual attitude to be an annoyance more than a benefit, his ‘care free’ attitude had struck a chord with a number of political analysts also; resulting in a strange mix of both positive and negative press. With a shrug, he walked slowly into his bathroom, the automatic lights fading on and bathing the room in a welcoming orange glow, highlighting the expensive features; such as a gold plated sink, a complex water feature and rather oddly Michael had thought, a chandelier. “Maybe I could redecorate in secret” he whispered to himself, prompting another small laugh as he began his morning routine. Kaiden sat in the waiting limousine, glancing down at his watch every other second. The limousine was top of the line, a long black vehicle with an exquisite leather interior, equipped with a fully stocked champagne bar and a telephone that could reach any government on the planet, it also had a newly fitted V12 engine, at Michael’s request. “What the hell is taking him so long?” Kaiden muttered under his breath, fist clenched around the edge of the seats, fingers digging into the stitching of the seat as he pulled a microphone from his front suit pocket, tilting his head down towards it. “What’s the situation?” he questioned, forceful tone ever present within his voice. “We’re doing our final security checks now sir, we’ve got quite a hefty crowd.” A voice came back, crystal clear. “Good, we will be there shortly. I want the sniper team in position on the west and east tower blocks, and keep the damn Tories out of there; we want this to run as smoothly as possible, understood?” Kaiden barked back, slipping the microphone back into his pocket before the receiver had the opportunity to reply. Eventually Michael strolled out of the front door of Number 10, accompanied by the two guards who were stationed inside, their rifles crossed across their shoulders ready. He stepped into the back of the limousine, positioned across from Kaiden and relaxed against the seats, legs outstretched. Kaiden began to talk about security measures, the number of snipers positioned and the new weapons they had just developed but Michael was barely listening. He was staring out of the window at passing London. It was a glorious day, bright sunshine beamed down across the city accompanied by only the smallest wisps of brilliant white clouds. People paraded happily down the streets on their way to work, grateful for the likely temporary break in the bout of rain they had had, the remnants of which still laid in shimmering puddles on the roads. “Relax Kaiden, it’ll be fine” he said contently, turning from the window to his frustrated colleague. “With all due respect Sir, it has been a long time since the last terrorist activity, we’re not sure why they’re waiting.” Kaiden replied, fingers once again digging into the black leather. “Maybe the peace talks in Iraq have finally paid their dividends?” Michael asked, vividly remembering the hours upon hours spent in a searing hot conference room, attempting to resolve the conflict. “Maybe Sir, but that may be what they want us to think, we have deployed enough resources to handle any situation regardless, and we currently have men scouring the sewer network and the buildings that immediately surround the area, just in case.” Kaiden stated, about to continue when Michael suddenly motioned for him to stop talking. “We’re here, we can discuss this later Kaiden if you truly believe there is a threat” and with that the Prime Minister climbed out of the car and stepped up onto the waiting stage. Kaiden watched him stand in front of the podium at the front of the platform, and then clicked his microphone back on. “The Prime Minister has arrived, I want the men to back comb the streets in the immediate area and report anything suspicious back to me immediately, there will be no mistakes today do you understand?” and once again Kaiden clicked off his microphone before the reply came, stepping out of the limousine and joining a security officer at the side of the stage. “Firstly, I’d like to thank you all for coming here today, especially on a day quite as nice as this. It just shows the spirit and dedication of the British people!” The Prime Minister smiled an endearing smile and the crowd instantly warmed to him. “It has been a time of peace and a time of prosperity for us as of late, I’m sure you have all noticed it as well. Crime is down and dropping further every day, the NHS is back on its feet and saving more lives than ever, and as much as I’d like to take the credit” with this Michael laughed, spurning several members of the crowd to giggle. “The credit truly belongs to you, the people of Britain; the Doctors and Nurses who save lives every day, the Fire and Police services who put their lives on the line to keep us safe, the Dustbin Men who keep us free of disease.” This sparked cheers from a gaggle of men wearing reflective jackets to the left of the crowd. “Thank you to everyone who keeps this city running, every student who is working towards both ours and their future, every soldier who gave their life to protect our country in its time of dire need.” Michael slowed down now, adding a slightly unhappy tone to his voice. “We owe our very lives to the brave soldiers, out there on the front line; men and women willing to risk life and limb to ensure the safety of ourselves. The heroes of Iraq, and the heroes of past wars; all who gave their lives for the protection of this country. If you would, a minute of silence for these heroes. Though they may no longer be with us in body, they shall always be remembered in our spirits and hearts.” And with this, Michael stopped talking and bowed his head, the crowd following suit. It was a peculiar sight, nearly eight AM on a Saturday morning and a crowd containing hundreds of London citizens stood together, as a unit, their heads bowed in respect. The only noise to be heard was the faint whisper of traffic in the nearby main roads, but even that seemed stifled. Silence had once again descended on the city of London, even the security guards stopped voice communication temporarily, and followed suit with the crowd, all except for Kaiden.
Done another page or so. Problem I've always had is going from event to even too quickly, not enough middle space, not enough detail within each occurence. So that's one thing I'm -reeeallly- trying to avoid, don't want to introduce a zombie of any kind until at least page 10+
Still not quite sure who the enemy is going to be, bleh. Considering it being done by the hospital at the moment, they've got access to the appropiate research etc. but there's just no benefit for them involved that I can think off. He was scouring the crowd, eagle-eyed, something just didn’t seem quite right but he couldn’t see what, he clicked his microphone back on. One of the snipers positioned in a nearby building heard his radio crackle and flicked it on, Kaiden’s voice came through the speaker “Scan the crowd”. The sniper shifted his weight forward, resting the bottom of the gun against the windowsill and moved behind the scope. It wasn’t easy to see, the bright light created harsh reflections on the scope’s glass and it made it very difficult to pick out anyone in the crowd, much less anyone acting suspiciously. The crosshair shifted slowly along the crowd, a middle aged woman clutching a baby tightly; crying to herself, a teenage boy with his head bowed playing a hand held console, a number of people he recognised as undercover security, but no one out of the ordinary. The sniper was just about to tell Kaiden that it was all clear when he saw him. An elderly man lay collapsed on the floor at the back of the crowd, his arms wrapped around his chest and his legs bent at a strange angle; nobody seemed to have noticed thus far. “Kaiden, Sir. There’s a collapsed man towards the back, he’s going to need an ambulance” The sniper called down his microphone, causing Kaiden to shift his gaze to the back of the crowd; he saw him too. The man was motionless and laid at the side of the pavement, the few silver strands of hair on his hair matted down by the water residue. Michael left the stage to a flurry of applause before walking over to Kaiden, who was talking urgently down his microphone. The noise of the ambulance hurtling towards the hospital could be heard in the background. “What was that?” he asked, genuinely worried about whoever was inside that ambulance. Michael had barely seen what happened, the crowd managing to block most of his view he could only make out the vivid yellow strip on the ambulance, and what looked like a stretcher being carted inside it. “What happened, Kaiden?” “Nothing for you to worry about Sir, a man had a stroke or heart attack, he’s being taken to the hospital now and they’ll deal with him” Kaiden replied, satisfied that the event had been completed without a single glitch in security, despite the ambulance incident. “Oh no, I’m going to go down and visit him, wish him well, the crowd was so large I’m surprised we didn’t have any more injuries” Michael said, nodding towards the waiting limousine as he walked towards it, Kaiden striding besides him with a rather unsatisfied look upon his face. “Sir he’ll be fine, you’ve got press reports to do and I have security matters that need to be dealt with.” Kaiden plead, determined not to have to lose a portion of his day to such a trivial matter. “I did not say you had to come with me, Kaiden, I appreciate your help today but I’m quite capable of visiting a hospital on my own.” And with that, Michael climbed into the back seat of the limousine, telling the driver to head towards the nearest hospital, London Community Hospital; the driver had just put the car into gear when Kaiden regretfully clambered in besides Michael, igniting a wry smile from the Prime Minister. The hospital soon loomed over them, cloaking the limousine in a thick quilt of shadow; it seemed strangely ominous. Michael shrugged off the feeling, noting the time as 2 PM on his watch before stepping through the front door of the hospital with Kaiden besides him. The entrance hall was empty except for a young secretary who appeared to be dozing off, a large fan was positioned to her side and blowing air directly against her face, causing her hair to flail about wildly; she didn’t seem to notice them. “Excuse me, an elderly man was brought in here not too long ago, possibly with a stroke or heart attack, could you tell us where he is please?” asked Michael, smiling his ever endearing smile. The secretary sat upright instantly, blinking her eyes to try and gather her senses, “You’re...the, the, Prime Minister?” she stuttered. “Ehm, yes, of course, he’s in room 34B, just up the hall to your right, take the staircase and then it’s the third door on the left.” Michael nodded, thanking the shocked secretary and heading to the right side corridor with Kaiden in tow. Hospitals always scared Michael, and this was no different. The pristine white walls were uncomforting and forbidding, they seemed as sterilised as the rest of the building; small pictures drawn by children were stapled to various message boards, coupled with equally disturbing posters warning people about STD’s, maybe not the best combination thought Michael as they found room 34B. Another room devoid of life, aside from three doctors huddled around a bed in the corner, an elderly man lay in it; seemingly asleep. The pair approached the bed, Michael standing next to the bed and peering over at the man while Kaiden explained why they had come. After realising the man was not about to speak any time soon, Michael began to look around room 34B. It seemed to be a traditional hospital room, a row of unused beds laid against one wall, lit up by large circular windows. He was sure that after the barrage of NHS questions he had once received, particularly about over-crowded hospitals, that this hospital’s lack of life was odd; maybe Saturday’s weren’t accident prone days he thought. Eventually boredom set in and he walked over to one of the circular windows, pressing his face up against the convex glass and gazing out into London. The people bustled around like a gigantic creature sweeping through a maze of roads and alleyways, illuminated by the slowly descending sun. All across the city, children were beginning to flee from their schools and colleges, running as if they were being chased by their books and teachers; Michael spotted a man and woman with two small children crossing a street, children skipping happily along in their brightly coloured school coats. He couldn’t help but feel a slight pang of pain, his political ambition had left him without a family of any sort, both his parents had passed away in the last three or so years and he was an only child. A small tap on his shoulder stirred him from his sorrowful thoughts; Kaiden was standing before him, a grim expression adorned on his face. “You should have a look at this Sir.”
Alternative ways to create zombies you might want to consider what would possible be less chiche than terrorist biochemical attacks (which are pretty much the only thing any entertainment medium is writing about) #1 Full Moon Effect: Moon orbits too close to Earth, chemicals in the brain change. People start acting strange. Twist: Only the part of the earth that the moon is close to is affected, so you could write about how the craziness goes around the world in real time. Dramatic Angle: Places that were affected stop when the moon get far enough away, and they can see the horror that they've committed while knowing it will happen again at the next full moon. #2 Hydrophobia Virus Mutation: A mutation of the rabies virus causes a surge of animal attacks in country x, people in country x start getting sick. Inflammation of the brain occurs, causing them to go bat-----. Basically black plague but with added bonus of slow death + berserk victim. Twist: Known strains of the virus are known to be able to survive in water as well as blood. Dramatic angle: No one is really dead, they're just crazy. #3 Digital Control: In the future, when people have digital uplink equipment implanted into their heads, a virus of unknown original begins to spread among citizens at high speed. No one can delete it, but no one is really concerned because it isn't doing anything. A group of programmers are tasked to figure out what the chip does, but once they start making some decent progress, half of their city goes nuts all at the same time, and starts attacking the high-rise they're working inside. They have to defend themselves, and figure out the digital virus to survive. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand go.
