Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Memoirs of a Zombie Hunter - [Short Story]

 As I have stated before I have always wanted to write my own stories, and I had at one point even started writing the first chapter of a book on here, big mistake by the way as the app crashed on me and i lost it, but I decided that from there on out I would begin writing somewhere relatively safe and luckily for me Google Drive as a built in MS office application. I have written a few short stories there for the Writing Prompt Subreddit, but I felt that this recent one that I wrote, Memoirs of a Zombie Hunter, was actually pretty good and I felt like posting it here. Anyway, I have made a few changes to the one that I posted, like making the ending a bit longer as it was kind of abrupt, but for the most part it is pretty much the same. I hope you guys enjoy.


Memoirs of a Zombie Hunter:

I was what you would call an outcast, a loner really. I was good at making things, whether it was repairing electronics, fixing cars, or building some kind of new quirky invention. I was pretty good at it, but even though I had gone to school for Computer Repair I was really struggling to find a job. As bad as it sounds, I wished for some kind of apocalypse type event, preferably one that didn't kill me. I saw it as a way to reinvent myself into somebody new, but what I wasn't expecting was what was to come in the next few years. Let me go back and start where it all began.


Everything began in 2023. We had just lived through the terrible spread of COVID-19, aka the coronavirus, and the number of deaths and cases had fallen quite dramatically from where they were in 2020. What many were not taking into consideration was what other diseases were lying dormant waiting to pounce on an already wounded society that was just getting back on its feet. It was early in 2023 when the first sightings of these creatures started to spread. Horrible hideous human-like creatures that if your blood got infected with their fluids, blood, saliva, etc. would turn you into them. As many were both unaware and incapable of protecting themselves, it wasn't long before major cities were overrun. That's what happens when you have so many people crammed into such small areas, at least that's how I looked at it anyway. It took less than a year for society to essentially crumble underneath the number of new, “cases”as I dubbed them. 


The United States tried to shut its borders, but with many scared people out there, they had the right to be scared. That's for sure, it wasn't long until the virus found its way onto our shores. The first major city to fall was New York. The military was dispatched but this virus was crazy. It wasn't like your typical Zombie outbreak. It made you not only incredibly fast but strong too. One time I saw a newbie, a newly turned zombie, rip a man clean in half. I think it had to do with them still having blood pumping through their veins, but I never really ever found out what made them so much stronger. Anyway the military did not wind up doing much other than facilitating the spread of the disease quicker and on top of that just left high grade military equipment laying around like guns and vehicles. I didn't have a gun at the time, but after the amount of times that I had seen shows like The Walking Dead, and the countless number of zombie movies I realized that it might actually be good to learn to use a weapon with ammo that I could make. First I started with a bow. My Grandpa had been a bow hunter in his younger days and I used his at first, but I wasn't very good with it. Too many missed shots and I didn't really have the arm strength to pull the bow back all the time. You had to be stealthy because even though the zombies didn't have very good hearing they were incredibly strong and there were of course a lot of them. You definitely didn't want to get caught by a gang of them, that's for sure. I moved onto a crossbow. I know I know, ïts Daryl guys, the dude from the walking dead”. I heard that a lot from plenty of the other Hunters that were part of the NZHL. The difference between them and me was that I was crafty and smart. I didn't let my lack of physical ability stop me from trying to help society.


What's the NZHL you ask? Well that's where our story really begins. The NZHL was the National Zombie Hunters League. It began as a sort of joke on Discord when the outbreak began. As many of us were games and loved to game we used Discord as a way to communicate with other people across the country. I thought that it was a great way to get insight into which parts of the country were “safe” and which parts were no zones. Gradually over 2023 the discord exploded in popularity with people keeping count of the number of kills they had, and as I am a very competitive person I too decided to compete right along with them. As many people predicted, eventually powerplants failed and the servers went dark, but what had spawned in the NZHL continued. When people have something that they are good at they will find a way to keep that thing alive on matter how hard it becomes. People had set up an underground system that was designed to keep track of the number of kills you had gotten. I personally used a chest or head mounted camera, depending on what I was setting out to do, to keep track of the number of kills that I had. I would upload the footage to my computer every night and keep count.


Since I had hoped for an apocalypse, although I felt bad that it happened to be a zombie apocalypse, I had acquired some stuff over the years. I had built a small compound in my backyard, it was a shed that had a few addons, with a bunker I had secretly built underground. Luckily most of my neighbors were as antisocial as me and didn't ever bother to find out what I was up to. I had a few solar panels, some I had even ingeniously hidden inside fake rocks that I had put out into the area where it was the most sunny. I had built a pretty large fence around my yard that seemed to keep most of the looters out, but I also don't ever keep anything majorly important inside of my shed. I mostly made it look like an old shed somebody had previously lived in, but they were long gone. I knew how to keep myself safe.


Within that first year I had racked up at least two-thousand kills. I had figured out how to make something like the monkey bombs from Call of Duty Zombies. It took a few tries but they came out ok. I had easily moved to the number 1 spot on the Leaderboards, but there was fierce competition. Butch in Cali was my biggest rival. He had a Monster truck he had named Bertha that he had tricked out with a giant metal scoop on the front, spikes on the hub caps, and a giant minigun almost like a miniature tank. He had managed to get about 1900 kills but was hot on my trail. I didn't make zombie killing my main objective, but I certainly wasn't going to let one of them get in my way when I needed to go out and get things. There were times when I needed to vent so I would go on a massive zombie killing spree.


The League Lasted for around 2 years before the great awakening happened. It was a typical night like most when I got a call from Trevor, who was the guy running the radio towers in my area. 


“Hey” he said, “Have you heard the news?” 


“Nah manI hadn't heard anything yet, I was just getting ready for my nightly run. Why what's going on?”


“Apparently they've done it. They've created a cure for the virus. They've been spraying it all over  the place with planes.”


“No fucking way…”


My heart dropped. I never figured something like this would happen. Many of us thought that the Government had collapsed. We hadn't heard a peep from them since the Military got essentially obliterated trying to protect New York.


“What's the news, has it worked? Are people turning back?” I asked him frantically.


“Yeah, ive got video footage from Butch showing people turning back.” he said a bit quietly.


“Guess that means the League is over Huh?”


“It sure looks like it dude. On the bright side though you did finish at Number 1”


“Wait though…” I said nervously, “what's going to happen to all the zombie hunters. Doesn't that mean we've been killing people?”


“I really don't know. I mean I guess technically they aren't really people, and the people infected with the virus did kill a lot of people so I don't really know what to say.” He said to me, “I will keep in touch with you though to keep you updated.”


“Thanks Trevor, I appreciate it dude.” I said before signing off. 


Somber and pondering what I had actually done, I felt at least a little relief in the fact that what I had done was the right thing at least at the time. I was content with that knowledge and I figured that the Government would be on the same page as well and hopefully they wouldn't find out about what the members of the NZHL had done.


It was only a few days later when I heard back from Trevor with an update.


“Hey dude, you there?” he said crackling over the radio


I quickly hopped out of my cot and grabbed my radio. 


“yea dude im here, whats up? Bad news?” I asked quickly, my ADHD really spiking as I was extremely nervous about what he might tell me.


“Well I can tell you that they have been doing more flights and dropping more of the powder over cali. I heard from Butch about a day ago, but nothing since then” he told me kind of nervously.


“Im getting a little scared, I feel like we fucked up pretty badly. I mean we killed a lot of people…”


“Technically” I said, interrupting him. “Technically we did, but how could we have known there was going to be a cure for all this? It was either us or them.”


“I know, but I'm still so torn over the whole thing. I am planning to leave the radio tower running, but I'm scrapping everything I can involving the NZHL and getting rid of all paperwork.” Trevor said matter of factly.


“That's probably a good idea. Even though I don't think we did anything wrong it's still a good idea to at least cover our asses.”


“Anyway this might be the last you hear from me for a while, i'll still have my portable on me but i'll be leaving and heading somewhere. It was great to get to know you Dan, but this looks like the end for us. Hopefully we will get to meet up again someday.”


“You too Trevor, stay safe buddy.” I said as I said my goodbyes to Trevor for the last time.


I heard nothing but static for a few days but nevertheless I kept my radio on the emergency channel just in case there was some kind of update. I decided to keep a low profile for a while as I had a good stockpile of supplies anyway, and I didn't really need to go out and scavenge for anything. I had created a pretty good security system setup for myself, it had been just over 4 years since the outbreak in 2023 and I had needed to do something with my time. I had hidden cameras setup around my city to allow me to keep an eye on whether or not it was safe for me to leave. It wasn't long, maybe February when I first heard the broadcast from my radio's emergency channel.


“This is an Emergency broadcast from the President of the United States of America. To all citizens still out there we would like to say that this tragic horrible time you have been living through is finally over. We have spent the last 4 years working diligently to create a cure for this horrible ‘monstrous disease. We are using planes to spread this vaccine across as much of the country as we can. We will be broadcasting the dates and times of which cities we will be hitting next. Please refrain from going outside and please refrain from attacking the infected. They can be cured and we would like to refrain from any more lives being needlessly taken. Unfortunately it seems that a group of people that we know only as the NZHL took it upon themselves to try and eradicate these poor innocent infected peoples. We are seeking any information regarding members of this terrorist group and there is a bounty for anyone involved. We already have captured a few of their members, but we would like to bring all of them to justice if we can. This is President Macllens signing off.”


I began freaking out. What had I done? I thought to myself. How many men and women, I specifically never killed any of the zombie, sorry infected children, would never get to see their families again because of me. I resided in the fact that I had done what I needed to to survive and that I did not know that there would ever be a cure. Luckily I took great care in keeping my identity safe. I had made a fake id that I had used when we had formally set up the NZHL and I had used my fake name for the entirety of the apocalypse, as I said in the beginning I had wanted to reinvent myself. I had also changed my appearance by wearing fake glasses, and shaving my head so many people didn't know what I actually looked like, and since we had done practically no video meetups in the last year nobody knew that I had regrown my hair out. I pretty much looked exactly like I did pre-apocalypse. Still though, i couldnt believe that in the blink of an eye I had gone from the Number 1 best zombie killer in the country to the Biggest mass murderer that the United States had ever seen. Little did I know that this would merely be the beginning of my story…

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

2021: Wow It sure has been a while...

Wow it sure has been a while since the last time that i posted on here. i guess for many 2020 was a bad year and i didnt really read much of any anything. There was on book which I started this year, Fanuilh. Its a high-fantasy, I believe, type book, but one then something struck me. The problem that I was having was that I just couldnt find a book that really captured me. It was then that I realized that I should try writing short stories. I have never tried writing stories before, but I would definitely like to give it a try. so this year i am going to seriously give writing a try. Im not sure what kind of stories i would like but i know that i will have a good time regardless. Anyway I would just like to say thanks to everyone that still checks out my page. It really is crazy that the last book that I read was in 2017, where has the time gone? am i right? anyway, thanks.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

2019 - Winter Update

Hey everyone how is it going? Much like I did last year (2018) this year I am making a small update post to help talk about things pertaining to reading, and the 52 weeks book challenge.

The post I made last year, on pretty much the same topic, echoes many of the things that I want to say in this post. As far as my relationship with reading goes, it hasn't improved how i though it would. I still struggle to finish books that I start and I have trouble starting new books. As I have stated quite a few times in other posts, I feel like 52 books a year is quite a lot for me. I struggled to find books that I wanted to read during my second month into my first try doing the challenge all the way back in 2016. This coming year, 2020, I want to be more prepared. I want to be able to participate and attempt a more reasonable challenge for myself. I am going to be attempting to read 2 books a month in 2020 (total of 24), and I am going to be researching a list of books that I am either interested in reading or just think look interesting to read. I already have a few books added to my list on goodreads, I think there is a link in the sidebar. If not I can always add it here.

I have been given a few recommendations for some books in the young adult genre by a few kind souls on reddit, and so i will be writing them down and adding them to my list on goodreads. I am planning to spend the rest of this year (November and December) putting together a list of books for next year. Instead of having a specific book each and every week I want to put them all on a list and just pick one from the list each week. As you may know, I know there are at least a few people who check out my posts, I really enjoy the young adult genre of books. This is probably what is going to take up the majority of my books for next year although I do hope to add in some science fiction, and maybe even some fantasy novels into that mix as well.

I am hoping to add at least one book review before 2019 is over, and i have a few shows to review as well.

Thanks for reading the update,
Andrew

Monday, October 8, 2018

2018 - Fall / Winter Update: End of the year stuff, Next year goals

So 2018 has mostly come and gone and I have not even posted one single book review this year. Like I have said on multiple occasions I am not generally inclined to read a book over doing something else (watch tv, play video games) so it can be hard for me to do something like the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. For me just reading something like 8-10 books (new books, not re-reads) a year is a pretty amazing feat. Anyway, to help curb that hardship of trying to read an entire book in a week, write and post a review, and find another book for the next week, I have decided to try to come up with a list of 52 books that I like or look interesting to me that I may actually read. This will allow me to participate in the book challenge next year without the added stress of not knowing what I am going to read the next week. I plan to just find 52 books and read them in no particular order. To help with this plan I am going to be using an extremely helpful tool known as Good Reads. I will also be posting he link to My Books on Good Reads, so that you can know what I am currently reading and what I have already finished. I will post a link in the sidebar and in this post.

Another thing that I would like to do more of is TV show reviews. I binge watch a lot of shows (thanks Netflix), but one thing that I have not done enough of is reviews. I know that I have mostly posted book reviews and updates on this blog, but I love to watch all kinds of shows and so it seems only natural that I review them at the end. It allows me to go back over the show and think critically and more in depth about the show as a whole.

Either way I just want to get back to reading more and posting more reviews. I am hoping to complete just one year of the challenge, but it will be a tough road ahead for me.

--Andrew

Monday, April 23, 2018

2018 - Spring / Summer Blog Update: Where Have I Been?

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| 2018 Update / Things Pertaining to the 52 Week Book Challenge|
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I figured it was only fair that I do a 2018 update considering that I have not posted anything since October of last year. For all those who actually look at the things I post (probably peeps from the 52 Books reading challenge) I want you all to know that im not dead. I also wanted to make another thing clear, me and reading don't have a great relationship. I am not sure if it is a combination of being a procrastinator or being lazy but I have always had a difficult time finding books that interest me enough to pick them up and read them all the way through. This combined with actually having to go and hunt down PDFs or other E-reader type book formats (E-Pub) for books that I dont own made it a really big daunting task taking on the 52 books challenge. Hopefully over the course of 2018 I can locate and find many of those books that I actually want to read and make them into a list for 2019. I may re-visit books that I have previously read (although I don't like to do that), but for the most part it should all be new books that I haven't done for the book challenge yet.

p.s. - if you hate young adult novels you probably will hate all the stuff I post, because I seem to be addicted to them.

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| What have I been Up To? |
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Well honestly its been just more of the same for me this year. I have been going to school, serial killing more shows on Netflix, and still trying to figure out where I left off on Game of Thrones (started watching didnt finish). Im not exactly sure why, but I have only done a review of "The 100" on here and none of the other shows I watch, maybe this year I will hone my writing skills a little bit more and post a few TV show reviews on here. If you are a huge fan of TV shows don't worry because I love them too and I feel like I will definitely be posting more Reviews for them here in the future.

Until Next Time,
Andrew

Friday, October 27, 2017

Week ? / 2017 - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

So I just finished reading Catching Fire. I know it has taken me a while, but honestly im not a big reader, and sometimes it takes me a little while to finish books. Honestly its not the fault of Catching Fire for taking me so long to read it, it just falls under the same problems sequels always do they slow down. The first book had you hooked from the beginning. Everything from experiencing all these new "wonders" that Katniss discovers when she goes to the capital for the first time, to the intensity of her surviving in her first hunger games. It made for a pretty easy read for me (if you dont trust me, just go read my review). Unfortunately the second book starts off pretty slow, and we dont even get to the hunger games portion until the last chapters of the book.

  I have been thinking a lot about how to write these reviews. Mostly its been about how to review the book without giving too much detail away, or spoiling any of the big moments in the book. I thought that maybe deciding on some categories and using those categories to rate the book.

1 - Story:
The story is what you would expect from a young-adult book. Plenty of action and plenty of romance combine for a very interesting story. A lot of people like to compare the Hunger Games and the Divergent series, but to be honest they are nothing alike. The only thing they have in common is the young adult genre (that and a strong female lead character). I would say if you have not read this book or the series, then to definitely give them a read. They can be read relatively quickly (if you are not lazy), and the stories are generally pretty good. Definitely will not be dissapointed here.

2 - Characters:
Another strong point of the series is its characters. I dont think I have come across a character that I do not like in this series of books, besides any of the antagonists. As you read you learn new things about each characters personality and the way they think, and that is something I really enjoy that about this book series. You definitely get a deeper connection to the characters especially after the announcement of the quarter quell. You get to meet a few new faces, such as; Finnick Odair, Johanna Mason, Beete and Wiress, and Plutarch Havensbee just to name a few.

3 - Readability:
This is something that I take very seriously when it comes to books. I find that if a book is hard to read, no matter the story, it makes it unpleasant and I just dont want to read it. The beginning was a little hard to get through, but after I made it over the hump I really started to enjoy the story. I think that knowing at least somewhat what happens from watching the movies makes these earlier books a little more difficult to read, but still enjoy all the extra detail you get with the books. Overall I would say that just get through the first 10 chapters before deciding whether or not you want to continue reading.

4 - Action:
This series is most definitely know for is action. From killer fog, to trident throwing, to Katnisss' killer shot, there is plenty of action to go around. Seriously though, the beginning doesnt have a whole lot (beisdes a whipping), but the second half of the book will quench your action thirst.

Welp thats about all I could think of on categories. As an overall, I enjoyed the book but I probably wont ever read it again. I just unfortunately did not like the beginning of the book, even though the second half and end were really good. Give it a read and see if you like it.

As always,
Andrew

Sunday, October 22, 2017

The 100 - CW Exclusive (Seaons 1 - 4)

What can I say about The 100. It was an amazing television show. It had drama, suspense, and some crazy math and engineering skills (best example is the Season 4 Finale). I had an absolute blast watching this TV show, so kick back and relax while I tell you about why you should watch it.

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*****POTENTIAL SPOILERS*******

  The show is simple in the beginning, it starts out with you on a space station with what most people consider the last of Humanity. This is what is called the Ark (it is also referenced as such in later episodes). Unfortunately the Ark is dying, so the council members decide to send 100 kids (prisoners) to the ground to see if it is inhabitable. After realizing that they can use the stations (12 of them connected to the Ark) they launch themselves to the ground. I dont want to go much further so I don't spoil the whole show for you.

  The show focuses on a main cast of characters (some supporting have big roles) throught the whole show. First we have your Natural Born leader and proclaimed Wanheada, or commander of death (she gets this title later in the show), Clarke. She tries to do what is best for her people, and throughout the show this leads her to some very tough decisions. I believe Clarke to be about 19-21 years old. Her mom is a Doctor aboard the Ark, and therefore Clarke has quite a bit of medical knowledge herself, becoming a sort of Doctor for the 100 sent to the ground.

  Next we have Bellamy, your fun loving, throw caution to the wind type character. Initially he is seen as the antagonist against Clarke in the beginning, but later you begin to understand why he is the way he is. He simply wants to protect his sister, sometimes at ALL costs.

  Next up we have his sister Octavia. She is shy and was kept hidden from the Ark due to the fact that she is the second born child to her mother, which it was forbidden to have 2 children on the Ark, and her mother was Floated (sent into space) for it. She comes out of her shell after meeting Lincoln who is a grounder that falls in love with Octavia when the 100 first make it to the ground. ****Spoiler Alert***** she later saves most of Skaikru and the other 12 Clans by winning a conclave. **spoiler Alert Over**. She has a very up and down character climb into the 4th season, but besides Clarke she may be my second favorite character. She doesn't give a fuck and loves the grounder way of living. I believe she is the only member of Skaikru besides Clarke to learn the Grounder Language fully.

  Next we have Monty. Hes your typical token asian character. Is very smart, and was studying engineering when he was on the Ark. He sneaks onto the Ark so that he can be with his best friend Jasper. Unfortunately there isnt much to say on Monty's character. He's the typical underdog nerd that manages to make it through the whole ordeal.

  As far as other characters go there are quite a lot of other characters on the show. Some are only with us for a brief moment, and others play big supporting roles on the show as the sidekicks of Skaikru (as the latter come to be called by the Grounders). There is a lot of depth and sad moments (happy sad) later in the show. I would definitely say that the show gets better as you watch it, and it will definitely throw you some curveballs on your way to watching all 4 seasons of it (which are all on Netflix right now). I would probably rate the show a solid 5/7, with terrific acting by many of the main characters, terrific story writing, and great character backgrounds. The show is amazing at getting the viewer to feel and understand why a character made the choice they made and the consequences of that action.

  I feel that if I have not grabbed your attention for this show at this point in time, then maybe it just isnt for you. If you are like me though and are looking for a good Sci-Fi tv show and want something new and original I would definitely give "The 100" a try. Give it until the end of season 1 before you make your decision on it.

--Yours Truly
ANDREW