Group Story Write - "3 Days After"

[Curious101]

Hey Jaybird wheres your rewrite?

[jaybird]

I'll have something up tonight . Hang in there.

[tenhigh]

I'll have something up tonight . Hang in there.

You, sir are a LIAR! Although, after I promised an update in May, I can't really talk. Get your rewrite up there and I Promise! that I will also update this. So? Where is IT?

[jaybird]

I couldn't help it guys the site was down, sorry . I kept getting a connection error. Tonight it will happen, providing that doesn't happen again.

[jaybird]

edit: Had to write something... but didnt want to mess anything up, so I figured a side story might be good.



==============================================================================
Side story, Bubba's dad-

"...Sure you could wait till you get a raise before you buy a policy... but things can happen ya know?" Gabe Anson was saying to some sucker on the other end of the line.
"Gabe..." Charles, two desks over, yelled ", have you seen what’s going on?"
Gabe held his hand over the phone mic "What, what?"
"Fuckin towel heads again... probably, CNN is saying a biological attack... but FOX says bomb Iran immediately..."
"What the fucking... why the hell didn’t someone let me know?" Gabe spouted ", is it here? ...in the city??"
"Uh, maybe... sounds like stuff going on all over the eastern..." Charles’s blather trailed off in Gabe's head, as he thought "Good excuse to go home" already heading for the door.

"Good thing most everyone in the office breaks the "no radios" rule, or he would never have heard, dick head boss" Gabe was thinking, as he filed into the loud gaggle of people, all trying to get out of the building.
"Is it a terrorist attack?..."
"Are we supposed to evacuate?..."
"Will we still get paid for a full day?..."
Are some of the things he was hearing as he pushed and bumped through the crowd. "Ah, staircase!" he thought ", few of these fatties will be running down 5 flights." He made a left, or as much of a left as he could... eventually getting to the stairwell. He had been right, only a trickle of the jogger types were heading down.

Maybe 5 minutes later he hit the street, he could see the entrance to the highway a few blocks down... he always knew if it would be an easy ride home by how backed up it looked as he left the building. Traffic was actually not moving at all... past his building and as far as he could see the other way.
"Hmmm... long walk, but its gotta be faster than sitting perfectly still" he chuckled. "Better call Cindy and let her know I will be a while."

He pulled out his cell, saw he had missed 12 calls, all from home..."Crap!" He hit 1 and waited "Hello?" Cindy answered on the first ring, sounding frantic. "Hey babe, everything ok there?" Gabe asked.
"God no!" she cried ", have you seen the news?"
"Well, not much...sounds like some kind of attack, should be safe were you are though... I shouldn’t be too long" he lied, knowing she would freak if he told her he was walking home.
Ok...ok, get home as quick as you can, and be safe." she said and I love you!"
"Alright babe, see you soon... keep Jimmy away from the tube, he doesn’t need to see... whatever is happening" Gabe finished with an "I love you to" and closed the phone.

He had never walked home, but knew the area well enough. Cutting between buildings and jogging between gridlocked cars, he figured he would cut the 15 miles by car, down to maybe 10, on foot. Part of the short cut was crossing a pedestrian bridge over the river, it was 2 or 3 miles south of the highway crossing, profit!

He stopped for a sec to catch his breath it the apex of the crossing, after trying to jog up the spiral walkway... "Shouldn’t have let the Golds membership expire" he thought.
"Is that... oh hell!" Gabe stared down into the water, what looked to be a person, was splashing around... going under, then back up... "Hey!! Are you OK?" Gabe yelled down from the bridge. The man (seemed to be a man, anyway) should have heard, his head was mostly out of the water, but he seemed in his own world. The river was slowly bringing him close to the far side, Gabe decided to see if he could help the dude.

Racing down the far spiral, balancing with one hand off the chain link fence that surrounded the entire crossing now and then, he stepped off the landing just as the guy seemed to be getting some shore under his feet. "You alright buddy?" Gabe said, as he jogged over to see if he could help.
The dude looked up, with what seemed almost like... recognition? He was struggling in the mud of the shore, one foot, then the other sinking in the mud, then pulling out.
Gabe took in the scene, no shoes, missing left sleeve, some sort of wound on the left shoulder... somehow not out of breath, after flailing in the water for quite a while... freaky.
"Uh... dude, want me to call someone for you?" Gabe asked, feeling very noble.
The guy was trying to climb up the bank, but getting caught in the weeds on the shore. He tripped once, elbows in the mud... strange way to fall... never taking his eyes off Gabe.
Gabe was starting to get a "crazy" vibe from this guy, and was starting to question getting too close.
"Listen bud, I’m gonna call and get some help for you, but you look like you got it under control for now, huh?"
No answer, just a funny stare, and constant motion... crawling, trying to get up, just steady moving towards Gabe.
About that time Gabe felt his phone vibrate... saved by the buzz.
"Ok, man... I gotta get going, family is waiting... running late, with all that’s going on." Gabe was backing up, the crazy looking guy seemed to distress over this, though still not saying anything. Then he let out a sound... a moan?... maybe a grunt/moan? Kind of reminded Gabe of a mute or a retard, trying to say something very important.
Ah, now Gabe understood... poor retard, fell in the river & barely got out alive. Both hands up now, like a kid running to his mommy, but stumbling toward Gabe... I’m not his damn mommy... I wish his mommy was here, Gabe thought.

He reached out, figuring the spaz would take his hand, he did almost have a "happy" look on his face now that Gabe stopped backing up, must be relieved to have someone helping him. The tard grabbed his hand & pulled it quickly towards his mouth... Gabe yanked his hand away, didn’t really want spit & slobber all over his hand, regardless of how thankful the guy was. "Ughhhhhh!!" The guy yelled, a decidedly unhappy look now fixed on his grayish face. He lurched at Gabe now, hands in claw like shapes, some spittle now dripping from his mouth... that was now open, in sort of... a "I’m gonna bite you" type way.

"Fuck this!" Gabe thought, easily dodging the slow lunge. Gabe turned tail & headed back up the bank, to the roadway above. He looked back as he topped the hill, the crazy tard was trudging after, grunting & groaning in a very pissed off fashion... As the hill began to get steep, he went to all fours, still never taking his eyes off Gabe.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Gabe headed off towards home, looking back a few times... leaving the retard far behind as he jogged. "fucking crazy bastard!... whatcha get for trying to be nice" he thought, then he remembered the phone.
Checking it, he saw a few more missed calls from home, he pressed 1 as he walked briskly.
"Hey, saw you called, is everything..." Cindy cut him off "Gabe... God, where are you!!... we need you here!!!"
Gabe heard fear in her voice he had never heard before "I’m on the way... had to hoof it, traffic was dead stop... what the hell is going on??"
"They are saying people are being attacked everywhere!" she sounded like she might be crying "...Jimmy said he saw strangers out back, he is scared!"
Gabe trying to think... "If there is someone in our yard, call the cops, now!"
"I tried... recordings are all I got... do you know the neighbors number?... the gun nut guy?" Cindy said, sobbing now.
"Listen babe, lock all the doors & windows... stay INSIDE! I will be home as fast as I can... I will try the police from my phone to." Gabe added "...And don’t bother with that looser next door, he’s probably more dangerous than anyone wondering around the neighborhood."
"God Gabe, please get here... " Gabe heard banging in the background "Someone is at the door... I’m going to look" Cindy said.
"wait babe... " no answer, she must have the phone down at her side "...Strange looking woman outside, never seen her before" Cindy said into the phone "Oh... she sees me in the window... God, she fell off the porch trying to reach the window, I think..."
"Cindy, get a weapon...knife of something, and get away from the window!" No answer... she is not listening again. CRASH... glass pieces hitting tile... "Cindy!!" Gabe yelled into the phone... At the same time, he heard Cindy yelling "let go you crazy bitch!!... ouch! fuck!! FUCK!!!"

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Will try to finish later... or someone else can jump in, whatever


Oh yeah, if someone already gave names to anyone in this, let me know... I couldnt find names for mom, dad, or the last name of the bubba family.

"Bubba's" family name is Smith, his real name is Aiden. The names of Mom and Dad where never given so this works out fine. Good writing, Maldon007!

[jaybird]

This will be a two-parter guys due to the split up of the two groups. I hope you enjoy .

Cabin Search

Inez said the party, " All right, Pat and Bo will be coming with me to look for Earl. The rest of you will search for the cabin that our now-departed prisoner spoke about before he was shot". She shot a look of accusation at Bo. Inez rifled through the prisoner's pockets finding a wallet with, now useless, money, and various cards (shooting clubs, fishing license, movie rental membership) a nudie pic of some stripper named Cinnamon, and...a map! Inez found herself thankful that this man exercised very little internal security discipline.

"We're in luck my little chickens!", Inez exulted," I found a map on this guy, so you don't have to wander around like this is some "wild goose chase" or something. It'd have been a lot harder on us to find because I'm not sure how long it would've taken ya', or how experienced you are in the woods, no disrespect".

"Larry, Jeff, Jeremy, Porter, I want you to protect the mayor and the girls--Not that they can't protect themselves, right ladies?" This brought many evil grins to the faces of the assembled women. Huei Liu even raised her rifle.

Inez handed the map to the mayor. The mayor noticed that in some spots the map had the word "TRAP" written in bold red letters. He, being a reasonable man, decided he would side-step these and would deal with them later according to Inez's instructions. "Inez, when you find Earl, call us on your radio. According to the map, there are traps surrounding the cabin area. We can tell you where they are, or at least give you a general idea where they might be", said John.

"Roger, that. Well, we'd all better get a move on", said Inez, "Time, tide, and zombies wait for no man", answered Inez." C'mon, fellas", and they departed into the woods 'til no one could see them for the night and Winter fog.

"Well, I guess that leaves me in charge, huh?", said the mayor somewhat sheepishly. He looked to Porter whom had been his bodyguard while he was still running for mayor and before all this craziness hit. "Porter, how would you suggest we move in this group?". Ported said, "Let's see, I'll take point. Larry will cover the rear. Jeff will cover the right flank, and the kid," motioning to Jeremy," will cover the left flank. The six of the girls will be between us side- by-side groups of two, with the kids between them. Try not to bunch up too much, okay? We don't know for sure if we killed all of Earl's men, or just some." Everyone nodded and got into formation.

They set out on their journey, following the map as they went crunching, through the snow. The map indicated that they couldn't use their vehicles so they were gonna have to hoof it. They marched for about 2 and a half hours then stopped to take a break. Bubba and Emily sat with the ladies and ate some MRE's. The men stood watch. Halfway through the meal Bubba and Emily fell asleep in Huei liu's and Sam's arms. Then the girls began to talk. "All right girl, what's with you and Pat? Dish girl! Tell me my sister isn't suddenly some chubby-chaser", sniggered Samantha. Huei just grinned. "I am NOT a chubby-chaser", Bambi declared semi-seriously, " It's just that he seems like a nice guy... even if he is kinda rough...and not exactly a super-model." Bambi's mind wandered back briefly to thoughts of her ex-fiance who was a handsome, if self-obsessed, underwear model who had a rich dad... and who she caught in a affair with a brides-maid three weeks before the wedding. Huei spoke up," So, is he going to be Mister Right... or Mister Right Now?". " I don't know. I kinda like a man who will call me on my own shit... He could stand to lose some weight, though". They all laughed and bed down for the night.

[maldon007]

Nice add!

While eating the cookies, and chips that she served them, Pat found out that her name was Inez Ripey, it was her house, and her grandson lived with her while he was attending school. She, and Pat, learned that the kids name was Jimmy, but he actually liked being called 'Bubba', so they could keep on calling him that. Pat felt a little foolish when he realized that he'd never asked the kids real name.

This must be the only place he was called Jimmy then? ...oh well, I will switch up the names

[jaybird]

Thanks! The second half will be added tomorrow. I might do a bit more tonight having to do with the search for the cabin. As for the name of Bubba, how about Jimmy Aiden Smith?

[Lurch]

how about Jimmy Aiden Smith?

Not Jimmy, James. James Aiden Smith, could be shortened to Jimmy and is a very respectable sounding name.

Nice addition. Thanks for picking up the ball.

[jaybird]

how about Jimmy Aiden Smith?

Not Jimmy, James. James Aiden Smith, could be shortened to Jimmy and is a very respectable sounding name.

Nice addition. Thanks for picking up the ball.

James Aiden Smith it is, then .

Thanks! Tomorrow there will be moar.

[doc66]

I see Pat still survives.

Lurch and I had them going to the Island under the premise that it would have fewer people and be easier to defend. It was also just a place to go.

Remember... Pat is not Rambo, he's more of a normal guy than a super-trooper and gets lucky, A LOT. Bubba is often smarter than Pat. At least when Lurch and I were writing him.

Don't forget, THE COUCH MUST NEVER BE LEFT BEHIND.

[Yeti]

I see Pat still survives.

Lurch and I had them going to the Island under the premise that it would have fewer people and be easier to defend. It was also just a place to go.

Remember... Pat is not Rambo, he's more of a normal guy than a super-trooper and gets lucky, A LOT. Bubba is often smarter than Pat. At least when Lurch and I were writing him.

Don't forget, THE COUCH MUST NEVER BE LEFT BEHIND.

There is a recliner in the mix now as well. Remember they took what's his faces recliner too.

[jaybird]

Couch survives, chair survives, Pat is smart, Bubba is smarter. Got it!


ETA: I think the recliner dude's name was Jerry.

[Lurch]

Pat is not as smart, as he thinks he is, Bubba is smarter. Got it!

Fixed that for you.

Something else about Pat, is that while everyone has their guardian angel, his has to work overtime, because he has the fuckup-fairy riding on his other shoulder.

[jaybird]

Pat is not as smart, as he thinks he is, Bubba is smarter. Got it!

Fixed that for you.

Something else about Pat, is that while everyone has their guardian angel, his has to work overtime, because he has the fuckup-fairy riding on his other shoulder.

Yeah, I was making a little joke . Duly noted, though.

[Curious101]

jaybird dont leave us hanging! Moar!

[jaybird]

:cry: jaybird dont leave us hanging! Moar!

Tonight you will receive MOAR. I promise.

[jaybird]

Cabin Search PT2

Everyone woke at about dawn. The men had taken shifts in sleep so everyone would do sentry duty and get some sleep as well. The ladies and children were allowed to sleep all night. The men were somewhat tired but most were used to it. The Mayor, not so much. They had a small breakfast consisting of some rice Huei Liu took from her family's store and some Hot Pockets taken from the convenience store where Pat and Bambi had their little conversation.

A little later a message came across the radio from Inez. " We're finding tracks so far... Earl looks like he's lost a lot of blood...It's possible that Earl is already dead...I just hope the snow doesn't melt enough to destroy the tracks...He'll probably still leave others if he is still alive, but it might be harder to follow..." There was some muffled conversation followed by a gunshot.... and silence.

The group wondered what just happened. "Do you think Inez is all right?", asked Sam with a worried look on her face. Bubba and Emily began to cry a little. "Maybe she's okay, Inez has gotten us out of scrapes tougher than this, hasn't she?", Huei Liu offered. Bambi wondered silently about the fate of Pat.

The mayor, hearing this, said," We can't know for sure if Inez is hurt... or dead, but sitting around here won't make her not one or the other. We have to make it to the cabin and check it out. It might have some supplies we need as well as provide shelter. We need to move on."

Samantha thought this was a bit cold of the mayor to say, but she agreed that it wasn't safe to just hang around. The mayor called to his bodyguard Porter, and Larry, Jeff, and Jeremy to resume positions for the march.

The walked for a few more miles when suddenly... they saw it! It was a large log-style cabin that was surrounded by a fence that looked the way you might imagine a frontier fort post-Civil War made from tall, thick wood pikes. "It looks like the fort from F-troop", said Huei Liu with amazement. The other girls looked at her weirdly. "What? I used to watch a lot of "Nick at Night", she said as she twiddled her index fingers while blushing. They walked up to the gate cautiously, looking for any resistance. They saw none.

The gate however was locked from within. This led them to believe that there might still be people inside.

[tenhigh]

The entire party clustered around the gate of the cabin, prepared for any resistance. Some time passed at the gate, but suddenly Samantha knocked on the gate of the fence.

The mayor exploded, "What the hell did you do that for?"

Samantha answered, "Why not knock?", but her answer was almost drowned out by the moans and scratching from the inside.

The Mayor replied dryly, "That's why not." Apparently any humans inside the primitive fort had been overwhelmed by the undead. The party gathered around the front gate, wondering what to do.

Sam wanted to climb the outside of the gate and kill any undead within the palisade, but the mayor wanted to just leave the whole setup alone. He said, "We don't know how many are in there, and we don't know if we can handle the ones inside the paliside."

Sam replied, "We need the supplies in the cabin, and we can't afford to ignore this cache in the hope a better one will come along."

The mayor retorted, "We don't know what supplies are in the cabin, and we do know that that there are Zombies inside. I think that we should leave well enough alone and just go on. We don't need to risk ourselves over possible supplies, when there is a definite risk to us."

The argument was settled with a loud 'Crack', as the bar closing the cabin's gates broke under the pressure of the zombies. As the Zeds boiled out, all arguments were forgotten as the entire team focused on disposing of the rancid reanimated corpses. They were lucky, as there were only half a dozen that came out the broken gates.

With the Zombie threat suppressed, Sam asked caustically, "Do you mind if we explore the cabin NOW?"

The mayor replied halfheartedly, "Sure, go for it, see what you can get."

Samantha, followed by Huei Liu and Bambi, swept the cabin and the surrounding compound, disposing of three half-eaten zombies along the way. The cabin was a rough-built log cabin, without hookups for water lines, power, or phone lines. It looked like whoever built the cabin was prepared to live off of the grid, without any modern conveniences.

There was a manual pump for water out back, which produced water after a couple of priming pumps. The Cabin itself was set up as a survivalist's paradise, with months' worth of MRE's, prepackaged food, and reloading equipment. It looked like someone was set up to survive the apocalypse in this cabin.

Bambi remarked sardonically, "All this stuff didn't help them much, did it?"

The mayor, who'd entered the cabin by this point, replied, "No it didn't, did it? However, all of this stuff can help us get to that Island we're looking for, and it might just give us the edge to survive. Let's load this all up and get back to the trucks. Inez is counting on us, and I want us to be there when she returns."


/author: Back to you Jaybird, and if anyone actually likes this entry, please say so...

[jaybird]

I liked it, but I wanted them to stay for a little while longer.

[tenhigh]

I liked it, but I wanted them to stay for a little while longer.

Well, there's no reason that something can't keep them there for a while longer. Say, for example, Zeds showing up outside of the perimeter, forcing them to fort up. This can happen, and will, so that you can continue on the search for Earl.

[jaybird]

I sent you a PM for a gist of what I wanted to do. It doesn't differ much from what you've done so far, I hope it will be respectful to you.

[tenhigh]

The party was preparing the supplies to return to the convoy when they heard the unearthly moaning of the undead outside of the palisade.

The mayor exclaimed. "Board up the enterences! We've got to survive here, Inez knows where we are, she'll meet us here."

Samantha exploded, "Board up!? Shit! We need to kill these undead bastards, and we'll meet up with Inez later, back at the convoy."

The rest of the expedition, however, agreed with the mayor, and the cabin was reinforced with any and all furniture and spare lumber, trapping the expedition inside, and keeping the Zombies outside.

Bambi remarked, "OK, they're out there, we're in here, so what the fuck do we do now?"

The mayor replied gloomily, "We wait for rescue, or wait until the barricades break. What the hell else can we do?"

Bambi risked a look out over the barricades and saw dozens, if not hundreds of Zeds outside of the barrier. She said, "well, we sure as shit can't shoot our way out of this, So I guess we're dependent on outside rescue. I hope Inez and the rest are doing well in hunting down Earl..."

/author: does this work for you jaybird? I really hope so, as I hate to edit...

[doc66]

Something else about Pat, is that while everyone has their guardian angel, his has to work overtime, because he has the fuckup-fairy riding on his other shoulder.

The fuckup-fairy. Love it.