Grueberfest Round 1- Pearls Of Wisdom (712 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.58 on 32 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by frankthebear (View user info) at 2008-09-25 01:01:09 EDT
Pearls of Wisdom
It's kind of strange, the thoughts that flit across your mind during times of great duress, mused Roger. He hurtled a park bench, nearly lost his footing on a patch of wet leaves, then regained his balance and continued to run. Just yesterday he had been thinking he needed more exercise, now he was running for his life from a mob of flesh-eating zombies. He stole a quick glance over his shoulder and was crushed to see that instead of outrunning his would-be attackers, there were now nearly twice as many and they showed no signs of the weariness that was starting to slow him down.
The mindless screaming hoard that followed was starting to gain on him, and he clutched at a hot stitch that was growing in his right side. His breath tasted hot and strangely sweet as he tried to keep up the insane pace his body wasn't used to. Up ahead he could see the public pool and the changing rooms off to the side.
With one final, desperate burst of speed, he dashed across the playground and slammed through the door of the nearest stall, slamming it shut behind him and turning the lock. Only a few seconds later, the sounds of his pursuers pounding and hammering and screaming came through the door. He slumped against the wall and tried to catch his breath. His legs felt like jelly, and he knew that if the chase had lasted only a few seconds longer, he'd be dead by now.
As the jack-hammering of his heart started to slow down, he felt his eyes starting to droop. He shook his head and sat up straighter. This was no time to fall asleep! But no matter how hard he tried to keep his eyes open, eventually his exhaustion got the better of him, and he slept in peace despite the threat of undying death that waited only a few feet away.
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Roger came home from work, narrowly avoided running over the dog as he pulled into the driveway, and climbed out of the car in time to catch his son Danny as he leapt into his father's arms to welcome him home. Roger limped inside the house with his left leg weighed down by sixty pounds of kid. His wife Jenny gave him a peck on the corner of his mouth and started dinner.
Roger went upstairs with Danny to help the boy with his homework, then retired to the living room to watch some TV until dinner was ready. After dinner Danny was sent upstairs to brush his teeth and get ready for bed while his parents curled up on the sofa together to share a bottle of wine and watch a crime drama. It didn't matter which one, they were all the same.
After the show and the wine, Roger and Jenny went to bed themselves, and the next morning the same routine started all over again. It was a simple life, yet it was satisfying. Roger had everything he really needed and a wonderful family to share it with. Until the storm blew in.
The whether man on the morning news said it would be a lot of thunder and wind, but otherwise nothing serious, although there had been reports that some people were claiming the rain was slightly irritating to the skin. However, these reports were written off as nothing more than a low-grade toxic rain, and viewers should stay inside during the storm.
As it was a Saturday anyway, Roger and his family heeded the whether man's advice and stayed inside, getting caught up on a few chores. Danny did a half-assed job on the dishes, then tried to escape to his room where his Playstation was waiting, but he was soon caught and sent back to the kitchen to do it right this time. When the storm finally hit, Roger was amazed at the severity of it. The trees in the front yard were nearly blown down in the gale, and sheets of rain poured down on the neighborhood.
All the people stayed safe at home during the storm, but they were only a small percentage of the people who were to be effected by the stinging rain. In the local cemetery, the wind blew and the rain fell, and the water seeped into the ground. A drink for the dead.
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Roger woke with a start feeling disoriented and sore all over. He struggled to his feet and looked around him. Oh yes, he remembered now, the changing room near the public pool. He laid his head against the door and listened for any sound of the zombies. He shook his head. That was stupid. This wasn't the movies, they weren't zombies, they were just the dead, and the dead were hungry.
All was quiet outside, so he quietly unlocked the door and opened it just enough to peek out. There was no one either living or dead in sight. He stepped outside cautiously, ready to dash back inside at the slightest sign of trouble. The dead must have left in search of easier prey. Come to think of it, Roger felt pretty hungry himself.
He headed off across the playground towards the corner store on the other side of the street. As he cleared the swing set and the monkey bars, he saw the store front and noticed the door was standing open. He looked around and saw a car that had crashed into a nearby tree. He went to the back and popped open the trunk. A few seconds rummaging yielded what he was looking for: the tire iron.
Now armed he crossed the street with a little more confidence and entered the store.
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Sunday morning dawned clear and bright. Roger woke up just enough to acknowledge that Jenny was taking Danny to soccer practice and they would be back after lunch. That was the last time he ever heard her voice. But not that last time he ever saw her.
He finally got up around 11 and finished off the coffee that jenny had thoughtfully left for him, like she did every Sunday. He flopped down on the sofa with his coffee and switched on the tv, but every channel was switched to the emergency broadcast system. He flipped through some of the channels, but it was the same thing every time. Exasperated, he turned off the TV and went to take a shower.
After he was dressed again, he decided to go out and pick up some burger from the supermarket. It was a fine day and perfect for a barbecue. Smiling at the thought of the simple pleasures of a back yard barbecue, he opened the front door and looked at mayhem.
He stood on the front step and just gaped up and down the street. Everywhere there were bodies lying in the street, cars left abandoned, houses burning, dogs and cats running terrified in every direction. As he looked around, he saw old man Davis from next door making his way down his front walkway. Roger noticed that Davis wasn't using his walker today, even though he seemed to be staggering much worse than usual due to his arthritis.
"Mr. Davis!" he called, hurrying over to lend a hand. "Mr. Davis! What's going on out here? What the hell happened?"
Old man Davis turned to see who was shouting, and Roger received his second shock. Half of old man Davis's face was gone! And not just gone, it looked like it had been torn off like a piece of paper. Davis let out a rusty scream and ran at Roger. Ran at him, when for years he had hardly been able to walk!
Roger stood dumbfounded as his formerly lame neighbor came to kill him. As Davis leaped over the fence, Roger's paralysis broke and he ran back for the house. He slammed the door and braced himself against it, but the window next to the door blew inward and old man Davis came flying through like an Olympic gymnast. He crashed into the small table at the base of the stairs, but was quickly back on his feet and coming at Roger again. Now Roger finally started screaming.
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As Roger entered the store, he barely glanced at what was left of the clerk, who was dangling over the edge of the counter, barely more than a skeleton held together with a little cartilage and a few sinews; not enough left to come back to life. He grabbed a few Power Bars and started eating as fast as he could, not knowing how much time he had before they came back.
On the way out he picked up a bottle of water and a few more Power Bars, which he stuffed into his pockets. He looked left up the street. All clear. He looked to the right. "Oh fuck!" he moaned. There they were. All of them. Probably the same bunch from last night. He looked at the tire iron. Then he looked at the dead. There had to be at least thirty of them.
He couldn't outrun them this time. He sure as hell couldn't fight them all off. He threw the tire iron aside and looked at the dead rushing towards him. Amid the dead, he recognized what had once been his beautiful Jenny. He also saw the remains of his father coming at him with the rest, and he was knocked down and overwhelmed by the dead with their grasping hands and hungry teeth.
And as they started to feed on him, he was reminded by the advice his father gave him only a few days before he took a straight razor into the bath and never came back out: There's no shame in admitting when you're beat. Pearls of wisdom from a man who knew when he was beat. Roger couldn't help but grin at the irony. Then he couldn't help but scream.
Pearls of wisdom.
-end
User Reviews
Submitted by JoeyG (user info) at 2008-12-23 04:27:44 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Thanks to MRR, I read this again and didn't realise I'd already read it. And reviewed it. Fucking alcohol.
Still good though.
Submitted by Jenevievejs (user info) at 2008-12-23 00:24:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I enjoyed this. Good work Sweety.
Submitted by JoeyG (user info) at 2008-09-29 16:58:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good work.
I really should take more notice of the reviews, but from what I gather, KK hasn't posted.....so do you have an opponent?
Submitted by billrhine (user info) at 2008-09-28 12:52:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Brian_Johns (user info) at 2008-09-27 22:15:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2008-09-26 23:48:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by thaumaturge (user info) at 2008-09-26 16:03:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2008-09-25 21:56:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2008-09-25 12:16:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by The_Drake (user info) at 2008-09-25 13:44:36 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm gonna give every post that I read a +2 today.
I'll be posting again soon and I have to make sure people don't retal -2 me.
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Based on the gayness of your last post, you'll need to give out a lot of +2s.
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RATE THE FUCKING POST, NOT THE FUCKING POSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by Snark (user info) at 2008-09-25 17:50:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2008-09-25 16:01:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i certainly could never come across as being gay
Submitted by The_Drake (user info) at 2008-09-25 16:00:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2008-09-25 12:16:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by The_Drake (user info) at 2008-09-25 13:44:36 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm gonna give every post that I read a +2 today.
I'll be posting again soon and I have to make sure people don't retal -2 me.
========
Based on the gayness of your last post, you'll need to give out a lot of +2s.
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It really was super gay, wasn't it?
Oh well, next time I'll superimpose my face on bruce willis or something... he's not gay is he?
Submitted by messmind (user info) at 2008-09-25 15:36:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by rorrim (user info) at 2008-09-25 07:41:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
nice, mr bear.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2008-09-25 15:23:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
This was OK, but honestly, after seeing what so many other writers did with the avalanche of Pandemic stories a few years back, I needed a zombie story with more bite, so to speak.
Submitted by Harmon (user info) at 2008-09-25 12:35:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Jack McCallum is a published author. You can buy his books on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Made-U-S-Jack-McCallum/dp/0738867764
Submitted by John_H_Kim (user info) at 2008-09-25 12:30:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2008-09-25 12:16:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by The_Drake (user info) at 2008-09-25 13:44:36 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm gonna give every post that I read a +2 today.
I'll be posting again soon and I have to make sure people don't retal -2 me.
========
Based on the gayness of your last post, you'll need to give out a lot of +2s.
Submitted by Gyro_Gearloose (user info) at 2008-09-25 12:11:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by The_Drake (user info) at 2008-09-25 08:44:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm gonna give every post that I read a +2 today.
I'll be posting again soon and I have to make sure people don't retal -2 me.
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2008-09-25 08:20:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That was pretty god-damn excellent! Nice formatting, an engaging storyline, and an overall good read.
Submitted by Squirrelly_Girl (user info) at 2008-09-25 08:20:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
On a side note - Zombie movies/ books are the only horror things that creep me out.
Have you read Z-wars? :::shiver:::
Submitted by Squirrelly_Girl (user info) at 2008-09-25 08:19:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Can someone PLEASE write something shitty? Just for me? PLEASE?!?! :)
Submitted by weather (user info) at 2008-09-25 08:12:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
I am THE WEATHER man!
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2008-09-25 07:44:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
This cunt gets +2s now? These are dark days...
Submitted by rorrim (user info) at 2008-09-25 07:41:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
nice, mr bear.
Submitted by Method (user info) at 2008-09-25 07:23:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by EmissionImpossible (user info) at 2008-09-25 07:11:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
so why do you post shit if you can write like this or did shlongy write this for you?
Submitted by Nellypaal (user info) at 2008-09-25 07:08:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hurdled/hurtled - first line.
Nicely done, though.
Submitted by Desz (user info) at 2008-09-25 05:22:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
it's a pearl alright
Submitted by frankthebear (user info) at 2008-09-25 05:09:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
thanks, I've been watching the George Romaro zombie movies in preparation for this. I can't wait to get started on the next round, I haven't been able to write anything in a while
Submitted by whiskey_jack (user info) at 2008-09-25 04:53:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
A good take on a old subject.
Submitted by frankthebear (user info) at 2008-09-25 01:38:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
SHIT-DAMN-HELL! it's been too long since English class...
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2008-09-25 01:33:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
1) Weather- it goes on in the sky.
2) affect.
Cool story, Frank.