NORTH 1

A wash of static came over the radio. Aaron grunted as he went to fiddle with the dial. This wasn't the first time he wished that his truck had more than just the am/fm. He debated scanning on AM, but sometimes silence was better than the Spanish stations. He pushed the power and took a long sigh settling his eyes back onto the road. The desert plane was fading into desert hills and he could see a mountain range looming by the horizon. He had been driving for a couple hours and he had a couple more to go. The sun was setting to his left and its fading rays cast reddish hues on some ominous storm clouds to his right. Aaron hoped he could beat the clouds. He hated driving in the rain.

He was zoning out. His mind wandered along random paths in his brain trying to fill the constant dullness of driving. The thoughts soon found their way to her. He smiled. He hadn't seen her in a year but all of the old feelings still coursed through his system when his mind came to her. He hoped, after much word searching, that this weekend would be life-changing. He didn't want to end up going back to the same life he had been living. He wanted a change, he wanted a fresh start, he wanted to start a new chapter in his life and he hoped it would all start with her. Her smile filled his thoughts.

Red and blue lights flashed in his mirrors. Was he speeding? Yes he was going 82 mph. Damn. The one car he sees for miles is a black and white. Maybe his new chapter would have to start with a cop and it was probably going to take a while. He pulled his truck over onto the shoulder and turned his engine off. He rolled down his window and pulled out his ID/registration. A few minutes later he heard the cop's door pop open and the officer get out. A man of average height approached his window with the unmistakeable kaki uniform of the Highway patrol man. He walked up peered inside the truck and cleared his throat, "Going a little fast back there weren't we?" he asked with an almost humorous disposition.

Aaron nodded his head sighing, "Yep."

"Can I see your license and registration?"

Aaron passed it to him glancing at the officers belt. His gun mostly. There was just something about it that made this man more important and powerful than everybody else, at least more than Aaron at that moment.

"So, Aaron, where are you rushing off to today?"

"Um, I am going to visit my friend up north."

"Is that so. Well I am going to guess that this friend is waiting for you and will be happy to see you get there alright."

"Uh, Ya I suppose so." Said Aaron, trying not to give the police officer any reason to change his present mood.

"Well what if you didn't make it safely? Say you were in an accident. How do you think your friend might feel then? Probably not very good, right."

Aaron nodded hoping he was looking respectful.

"What I am trying to say is that when we do things, like driving, we are not only responsible for our own lives we are also responsible other people. For the lives of other drivers and the well being of our friends and families. You should always think of those other people before taking risks like speeding. You get that?"

Aaron nodded again, relieved that this officer seemed to be in more of a preaching mood than a writing mood.

"Now I am going to let you off with a warning and a little advice. You see those clouds? More than likely they will be dumping within the hour and slicking up these roads quite a bit. What most people end up doing, even when going the speed limit, is hydroplaning or skidding right off the side of the road. Especially in these parts. We have had at least 12 fatalities around this very bend in the past five years. So slow down keep your eyes peeled and make your friend happy, alright."

"Alright", Aaron replied with a smile and a great deal of relief. The officer was handing Aaron back his credentials when there was a loud thud. It sounded quite close and a little wet. Then another, followed by a squawking.

"What the hell?" the officer muttered walking back towards his automobile, hand on holster. Aaron glanced in his right side mirror and saw something pale and low to the ground slide behind the black and white's back tire. Turning quickly to look behind he saw the officer reach the back of his car and glance around the trunk.

Another squawk/screech erupted and a ball of yellowish flesh sprung towards the officer. He lurched back and the creature flew over his head and landed in the road. The officer staggered up and was drawing his weapon when the creature spun and sprung again. It sailed right into the officers head and its appendages leeched around his face. The officer started screaming and pulling at the thing now enveloping his head. His scream became piercing and full of pain before his body went rigid and he fell against his car.

Aaron stared in disbelief. What had just happened? His eyes were reporting everything to his brain but there was no response. Like he would react to a movie. Or a dream. Was it a dream. No. He wouldn't be sitting here wondering if it was a dream in a dream. What should he do? He couldn't possibly leave the officer there. He should call 911. Sure. Pulling out his cell phone he stared at a blank screen. Of course he forgot to charge it. Crap. There was probably a radio in the cop car but he didn't want to-. Oh hell he thought moving his body before his mind could talk him out of it.

Opening his door and taking off his seatbelt he placed his feet on the road. His heart hammered in his chest and he felt his mouth getting dry. He swallowed and moved out of his truck. He looked at the officer, well the former officer. The creature sat on his shoulders and seemed locked on pretty tight. Blood was soaking into the officers shirt and his hand seemed to be going pale. "What the freak?" muttered Aaron under his breath. He then noticed the pistol. It lay halfway between him and the body. He figured he could shoot the thing just to be safe while he was bending over to pick it up. The word impulsive was starting to echo in his mind when he saw movement in his peripheral. The body was moving.

Did that mean the officer was still alive? A moan. "Hey" Aaron said. The body started moving towards him rather clumsily. Aaron started backing up into the road. The body kept coming. Aaron raised the pistol at the body and shouted, "Hey!" It approached a little faster and moaned louder. He backpedaled faster. He had almost reached the other side of the pavement and would soon back into the guard rail. Taking a deep breath he pulled the trigger. Click. He pulled it again. Click. The body was within a yard and a half. It raised its arm, let out a blood curdling scream and-BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!! A semi barreled around the bend and slammed into it. Passing inches from Aaron's hands it continued to fly down the road and around a corner. The only thing left was the officers arm from the elbow down. The distorted fingers were touching Aaron's shoe.

"Aw Fu-

to be continued

Zombie Plan

I have come to realize lately that my Zombie plan is not up to date with my present location and affiliations. This is quite a scary thought when I come to think about it. At any moment the earth could become over run with mindless, blood thirsty, flesh devouring, infectious homo sapiens and I am just sitting here completely unprepared for such an event. If anything is apparent when it comes to zombie survival is that the survivors are always the ones who can keep their cool and stick to a solid plan. So I need to evaluate my assets and possible allies then find a location for optimum survival/defense.

I have a really good addition to my new plan and that is the miniature arsenal in my parents closet. My father owns 3 guns and I have 1. He has a 7 mil., a 308 cal. and a 12 gauge shotgun with plenty of shells. I have a 10 .22 long-rifle with one 10 round clip and one 25 round clip with around 250 rounds. Unfortunately .22 is really small so if I had to take down a group zombie I wouldn't feel too safe with just that. Which is why I need more ammo and guns. I have 2 options when it comes to this. Raid the Big 5 sporting goods near my house or somehow get to my uncle Paul's house.

The one place I would want to be when all hell breaks loose is at my uncle Paul's house. Whether it is for Civil war, Communist attack, alien invasion or zombies that is the place to be. The house is nothing in itself, it is it's contents that are awesome. I will start with his front yard. I am pretty sure he owns at least 4 different automobiles and a RV trailer. This is the perfect survival convoy because everything has 4 wheel drive, besides the van, and he is a mechanic so they are all in good shape. Next is his garage. My uncle is a big outdoors-man/hunter so every possible camping/hunting thing you need, he has. The most important being guns. Now i don't think that I have even seen all of them but the ones i have seen are awesome. Off the top of my head would be, 3 shotguns, a couple .22s, several large caliber rifles, .38 revolver, glock-17, and the most important of all a semi-auto AR-15. The AR stands for assault rifle and it is the coolest thing I have ever shot. Oh and did i mention that he can make his own bullets. Thats right. He can recycle used shell casings and make his own freaking BULLETS. Do I even have to mention his incredibly large stockpile of preserved food. My uncle paul is definitely in my Zombie plan.

The next thing that I would need is a group. Allies to stick with through thick and thin. Friends and family are obviously in. After them would be any hopeless people we meet along out way. Then would be the stop by the shooting range near our house for that one crazy guy with crazy guns and mad skills who is strangely the most calm during crisis. Next would be a very attractive girl around 16-17 years old who's family was recently infected and everybody she ever knew or cared about is dead/infected and she needs somebody supportive and caring, who is around her age, to protect and help her get over such a traumatic experience. And possibly a really awesome dog who can sense approaching zombies.

Well I need time to deliberate and analyze all of these conditions to make a solid plan worth following. I hope that you also have a zombie plan if/when that day finally comes. Don't be one of those people running around screaming bloody murder while you doom all those around you with your loudness. Those people are never fun. Well Good luck and stay tuned for any future postings on zombie survival.

Shout

Take the time to take time out,

If you do you will soon find out,

What this life is all about,

over and out.

Anthony Hopkins Get Out Of My Head!

Well I had a strange dream last night as I do most nights. Full of action and adventure as well as Anthony Hopkins. Yes that's right of course in my dream he was Hannibal Lector, or however you spell it, which was funny because I never actually saw any of those movies. Well this is how it went to the best of my memory. I will fill in some plot holes and add detail so it will actually make some sense and take up more that two paragraphs.

The Ball would be underway in a few minutes and I was nervous in my rented tux. It was going to be a fun night but she was going to be there and she always made me nervous. I dried my sweaty palms on my pants and went to the door. I opened it and was greeted by my best friend Andrew. I had no idea that he would be there and as we talked I was distracted from my nervousness. Until of course she walked in.
I saw Andrew's eyes move over my shoulder and I noticed a devious smile on his mouth. Looking back over my shoulder I saw her standing in the doorway. She was like a dream. The most beautiful I had ever seen her. She wore a breathtaking red dress. Her hair flowed like silk down to her shoulders. Her eyes were like glistening pools of wonder. Her rosy cheeks and cute nose. Full lips and straight white teeth. Her face was full of innocence yet at the same time an intensity that I could only describe in one word. Gulp.
I turned back to Andrew. Who was now waving. I wondered who he was waving at until my peripheral caught a glimpse of red. Then the waft of something feminine and a "Hey guys!" from the prettiest voice ever. "He-y" I managed to stutter out. Then the most unexpected thing happened. I heard what sounded like an invitation to dance. Now after I made my head quadruple check to make sure I had heard right I managed to nod my head. She let out a "yay" and grabbed my hand. As we moved towards the dance floor my heart went bonkers. I had so many butterflies that I almost flew.
Well right as I was about to put my arms around her there was a scream and my world got shattered. I looked up at the stage and saw somebody clutching their bleeding throat while Anthony Hopkins stood in the middle with a knife in hand and smile on face. After that all I can remember is screaming and a stamped of people shove me along to the exits. I met up with Andrew outside as well as several other people I couldn't recognize in the excitement. I was looking around and couldn't seem to see any red dress. Until I looked inside and saw her in a corner with other people trapped by Anthony Hopkins.
Summoning up my courage I ran back in with Andrew and the others right behind me. I stopped right as the knife went up and I yelled out NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! This had no effect as he continued to cut up several people. So I dashed in and grabbed her and barely managed to dodge the knife. Everybody else wasn't as lucky. Their cries rang out as we ran to the doors.
When we got to them we were confronted by a group of people with weapons. They gave me a pistol and we soon found ourselves marching towards Anthony Hopkins. He turned to us and smiled. Blood covering his face. Then he raised his hands and shrugged. As we grew relieved he quickly whipped the knife at us burying it deep in somebodies face. I felt my gun kick and saw blood spray from his chest. It was over. So I thought.
He looked down at his chest laughed and then looked up at me and winked. With a roar and a great display of instant metamorphosis Anthony Hopkins turned from a very scary man into a very scary dragon. And with a swift move he had all of us in his claws and was flying through the air. I saw that we were moving rather rapidly towards a volcano. And then we were dropped into blackness.
I must have hit my head because I woke up with a pounding headache. We were all in a small room. The walls were bare and the roof seemed to be miles above us. I noticed that I was laying between Andrew and her. They saw me move and helped me sit up. I saw desperation in their faces and I realized that it was up to me to save them. I promised them that I would do whatever it took to save them. I saw them both smile and Andrew came and gave me a pat on the back and she smiled and came over to me and was just about to hug me when there was a whoosh and we were knocked off our feet. Anthony Hopkins the Dragon swooped down and landed among us. He looked at all of us and focused on a man in the corner. The man screamed as he was grabbed and Anthony Hopkins the Dragon flew up with him knocking us all back over again. The mans screams echoed down the walls and a shudder ran up my spine. It was time to get out of here.
After looking around for a while I stopped at a pile of rocks. It looked an awful lot like a cave in and I started to move them out of the way. Others soon followed and we had a line bringing rocks off the pile. This was soon interrupted by a bone crunching thud as a body fell from up above onto another man. They both lay dead. The diggers moved faster.
We could see light from a crack when Anthony Hopkins the Dragon swooped down and grabbed another person. We where almost there! Finally a hole big enough for everyone was made and we started to crawl through. There were only a few people to come after me and I was climbing out of the hole when I heard the familiar whoosh. Looking back I grabbed the hands of the guy behind me and tried to pull him through. It was useless though as the man screamed and was pulled back into the room. Then I saw Anthony Hopkins the Dragon's eye look through the hole at me. I glared at it for a while and then I heard his laugh and his wings whoosh.
There was a tunnel that led to the side of the volcano and we all ran as fast as we could away from it. We made it to the edge of the city and standing on a hill we all cheered. There were hugs and high-fives all around. Then I was next to her and we were looking into each others eyes. I smiled and she smiled and I moved my head in. Her eyes fluttered and right as we were about to kiss a large claw wrapped around her, then a great whoosh knocked me back and I saw her in Anthony Hopkins the Dragon's claws flying back to his volcano. His laughter and her screams pushed me over the edge. I screamed NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!. Before falling to my knees and hitting the ground.
I was about to give up when I saw an advertisement on a billboard. It was for a battle balloon. I had promised to save her and that is what I was going to do. So quickly gathering all of the men I could I headed to the store and put a down payment on the best Balloon they had. We all piled into the balloon and every man took up a battle position. There were harpoons, nets, Gatling guns and rocket launchers. I got behind the wheel and noticed how it was pretty much a hybrid of a ship and blimp. It didn't matter we were going to kill Anthony Hopkins the Dragon and I was going to save her.
As the balloon rose into the clouds the sun was setting right in front of us. As we broke through the clouds I could see many other battle balloons rising up with us. And in the distance Anthony Hopkins the Dragon was perched on his Volcano with her chained to an amulet around his neck. This was going to be tricky but I had a plan.
Which I would do right after I turned of that beeping. That beeping that wouldn't stop no matter what I pressed. Then I became tired and when I opened my eyes I saw my ceiling fan... Damn.

What is this about!

I am going to just write without stopping and see where it ends up. Ready? Too bad. Go!!!!!!

Look around at the rubble. There are flames everywhere and the smoke is slowly killing you. Why is this happening? What did I ever do to cause this terrible event? I try to remember but the screams keep blocking me from trying to. The screams have stopped in reality but the echos are still bouncing around inside of me. I try to block them out but it is hopeless I doubt I will ever forget.

Was it really my fault? Can I be held responsible? I didn't want to do it but I couldn't help it. Maybe I could have resisted just a little longer and given them a chance to stop me. Their attempts were quite sad really. To think that a simple reversal would fool me into giving it all up. Of course he could have maybe tried but he doubted that he would have allowed himself to fail. He had worked hard and for that to go to waste would be terrible. Wasted work was one of the things that he hated the most in this world.

Thinking back on it he could see their faces huddled over the device so full of hope and then the desperation that came when their reversal failed. I wonder if they could anticipate their own deaths or if it was a shock. They had to have expect it after a little bit. Maybe they had seen too many movies and expected that the good guys would always prevail somehow. The Hollywood illusion of good and evil is so melodramatic and something that I have no time for. The real world is my movie screen and oh how much more real and exciting it is. So full of surprises and shocks. And the good thing is that it lasts for as long as you are breathing. Just to imagine that there are people out there who think that their lives are boring that they have to do things like drugs or other narcotics just to feel better. It simply is sad that they cant add their own spice to their lives like some of us can. It must take a real stupid sap of a person to find life boring. Not for me though.

I will always find something to keep me going. To keep me breathing. Even if it means putting my breathing on the line to do so. I can accept the risks. The real irony is that those people who I watched put their lives in danger for the good of others are the ones who should live and the ones I watched flee so hard that they put others in danger from their crazed stamped should be the ones to die. Yet they don't and the world keeps on turning. Why is there such injustice in the world. The ultimate irony is the fact that myself, being the instigator of this whole mess, would be pondering the events that transpired with a remorseful note.

Life goes on though. The world spins and turns and the sun will burn at an intensity that these people and animals will never fully comprehend. They will never fully understand their insignificance. That they are a speck on a speck moving around another speck in the rim of another dot flying away from billions of other dots all in a vast emptiness. They will continue on blowing their lives and problems and actions way out of proportion.

________________
Well I got interrupted. Well I noticed that the thoughts are not that in order and a little choppy. I noticed that when i started out I was just trying to figure out what was going on in my story and it really showed up in my writing. There was some confusion in my voice that I noticed. Then as I got my story a little straighter my character started to have more confidence in his voice as well as himself. I think that this is pretty interesting how when writing without really thinking about it I could write sort of how I was feeling. Of course you might read it differently so if you can comment it would be helpful.

Oh and the kind of scary part is that I wrote myself as a bomber/terrorist persona before I kind of knew why. I just hope that this isn't a type of psycho test that shows my personality and that it was just my subconscious wanting to challenge me. I also noticed that I switched from different points of views in the beginning as if trying to define my character. It might be a little confusing but I think that it has a cool schizo feel to it.

Oh and I went over and corrected all of my bad spelling but as for the grammar. Sorry but it was never really my thing.