Daily March 28

Once upon a time, in a land far far away… the story isn't over yet! If you've ever wondered what happened to Cinderella's mice after the ball, or what happened to Oz after Dorothy left, now's your chance to continue the story and find out! Write 500 words playing off a familiar fairytale or children's classic for 400 points, and a bonus 100 for sharing.

I did the princess and the pea!

In a kingdom far away, a princess and a prince lived happily together. They had a few kids, and were training them up to be respectible princes and princesses themselves. Whenever the young children would ask about their parents, they would tell the story of how the mother detected a pea beneath a massive amount of matresses. They would all laugh, and wave it off as a tall tale, meant to make their story sound more exciting. However, every week, the princess would walk down to the local museuem and look at a tiny pea, which was hard. One day, the queen of the realm happened to be walking in the same museuem as the princess. Seeing the princess looking at the little pea, she was confused. “Why do you still look at such a little pea, my preisous princess?”
“To remind me where it all began. This wonderful life of love and joy. I wouldn't be here without this little pea. I mean, I know you were just testing me, your majesty, but still, it started it all.” the princess replied.
The queen smiled at this statement. “You have a good heart. You are a worthy canadate for the crown. Which is good…your time will come very soon.”
The princess looked up, startled. “The crown? You majesty, I'm still so young…you're still young….I don't think I'm ready!” she said, alarmed.
“Calm down. You'll be fine. You're going to be a great leader. And it's not your time yet. But it will be soon. I think we need to properly prepare that for you, the way the queen before me prepared me, the queen before her prepared her, and so on. The queens in this kingdom have a unique training process that no one, not even our husbands know. Just as a king needs to be ready to lead their people, a queen has too to. We may not lead the military, we may not be the head of the country, but we are the voice of our people. We are the advovates for our people they don't even know about. The pea? The pea was just the beginning, just the first test. Normally, other people don't find out about this, but this time word slipped out. No…the true test is just now beginning. Come now princess. Let's train you to be the best queen this country has ever had.” the queen said, offering her hand out to the princess.
The princess accepted the hand, placing her own hand in the queens.

A few months later

Grand music played at the former prince and princess walked down the alse, hand in hand, ready to accept their crowns. The former rulers smiled at the two. Eventually, the two newest rulers arrived to the stage, and each accepting their crown in turn. The rose, greeting their subjects and queen and king for the first time, and the subjects cheered their names, fully celebrating their new rulers. The new queen met the eyes of the former queen, and shared a smile. No longer was the new queen scared of ruling. She knew she was trained by the best line of royals. She also knew her loyal mentor would be by her side for the first little bit, to make sure she led her people with wisdom and with kindness.
+556 words

Daily March 29

Hello, writers! Today, we’re writing prologues! Find a story with the beginning written, then write the prologue for it. Is there something you could foreshadow? If your main character will get a new dog, potentially add a ‘Adopt a Dog’ sign in the scene. Some more ideas include introducing your characters, setting, plot, or a day to a few years after the first chapter in a big scene. Write 350 words to earn 400 points for your cabin! An additional 100 points will be granted for sharing proof.

A lone man paced the floors of a grand royal palace. He had given up everything for his rank. Everything. He had people killed for his position, he tricked and lied, and he risked it all for the place on the throne. At first, he let his people have some freedom. But she changed it. Not his wife, no. His former wife died when his only son was born, and he hadn't remarried. No, it was a lady from the resistance group called The Dawn. They wanted to bring the dawn of a new kingdom, much like how it was before the man took the throne. The lady led it all, leading ambushes on supply wagons and soldiers on the way to the palace. It really caused a lot of issues for the man. What made it worse was that the lady had the power of the sun, a rare power only seen in a few people. Unfortunately, the man had yet to convince the two people he knew to harness the power to join his cause. Luckily for the man, the woman disappeared from the scene for almost a year. When she came back, she wasn't at the top of her game and lost the final swordfight between him. She died doing what she lived for, fighting for freedom. After this happened, the man tried to find more information about her family but came up dry. He then tightened down all rules, especially on women. They weren't permitted to work, only to raise children and marry. He kept a loyal band of knights, who arrested anyone who even had rumors of a rebellion. He would keep his throne through whatever means necessary. He walked out on his balcony, watching his knights. His eyes narrowed as he spotted something peculiar, next to a tree. Grabbing his sword and sheathing it, he made his way down to the training grounds, his mind reeling. In his thoughts, one thought repeated itself. ‘What is the rebel doing alive and with my son?’ As he walked out towards the tree, he knew he had to do whatever it took, especially if she was back. Walking up to the two, he noticed the girl was younger, closer to his son's age. Clearing his throat, he stepped forward, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SON?”
+389

Weekly 4: MemorieSWC

Author Notes: TW for Guns, Weapons, hints to death

Part 1: Outline
238 words:

Set in a dystopian time period, ravaged by a zombie apocalypse, a teenage girl struggles to survive alone in the destroyed war.
After arriving at a military base, also overtaken by zombies, she finds an 18-year-old soldier, the last soldier from his troop.
After leaving the military base together, they travel silently down the road. Arriving in a small town, they stop to raid houses for supplies, when they find a Corporal, a young adult man, who also joins them on their newfound mission to make it to the airport in Orlando, to fly to safety up in Alaska, the only place the zombies can’t survive.
They drive together for miles, never saying much. They have a few close calls driving through various small towns and cities.
Eventually, they arrive at the airport but are attacked by a massive horde of zombies by the various people who had been in the airport when the airport was attacked. The three try their best to survive, but only the girl makes it, while the other two turn into zombies themselves.
The girl rushes to the plane, but not before having to fight off the 18 year old boy, who had unknowingly come after her in his zombified state. Forced to choose between herself or the boy, she chooses herself, ending the zombie, before getting on the plane, flying away alone, mourning the silent silence from the lack of her colleagues.

Part 2: Beginning
400 words

The house I was staying in was an eerie sort of silence. The night was falling over the small town I was in, and I could hear zombie noises coming outside. I wasn’t worried though, as I had barricaded the house enough they wouldn’t be able to get in, and even if they did, I had my weapons. Grabbing a can of tomato soup, I downed it like it was a Mnt. Dew. I sighed after finishing the cold and lonely meal, reaching for my journal in the light of my lantern. I had always kept a journal, always willing to document my life. However, I only had time to grab one from my house before I left. I could have grabbed an old one, but I didn’t. Those happy memories were gone, filled with the shallow remains of my new life. Instead, I had an empty notebook, empty minus the few pages I had written in, documenting my new life out in the ruins of the apocalypse. As I was flipping to an empty page, the first entry caught my attention. I pushed a strand of my black hair out of my face, reading it.

Day 1
Here I am, alone. Alone in a world full of former humans, who want nothing but my blood. Today was an eventful day. I went to school like normal, despite the CDC’s warnings of a potential disease that could be spreading. Around mid-day, things went sour. An alarm went off at lunch. A public service announcement popped up on the screen. “WARNING! ZOMBIE VIRUS DETECTED! BARRICADE YOURSELF IN YOUR HOMES AND WAIT FOR FUTURE INSTRUCTION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”
Kids panicked, and I rushed home, only to find my neighborhood already hit by the zombies, including my house and my parents. Luckily the zombies had moved on to find someone else to attack, so I had a moment to pack some stuff. I grabbed an empty backpack, putting a blanket, some canned goods, some bottled water, this empty journal, a few writing utensils, a picture of my family, and a flashlight. I also grabbed the family gun and a knife. Then I ran for my life. Eventually, I found a small house in the middle of nowhere, whose owners looked as though they had evacuated in a rush. I barricaded myself inside, beginning my first day alone surviving a zombie apocalypse.


Part 3: Stirring the Soup
2857 words


After rereading my first journal entry, I wrote a small bit about today, before shutting my journal and shoving it in my backpack. I hopped on the couch, turning out my lantern, before getting some sleep.

After waking up from my slumber, I noticed the sun was already peeking through the trees surrounding the house I was currently sheltering in. I checked my supply of food. I was quickly running out, and that worried me. Then the TV turned on. On it was a military general, making an announcement to the survivors.

“Hello, survivors of America. We bring you the news of a plan we are putting into place to keep as many people alive as possible. Recently, we discovered that the zombie virus, and the zombies, can’t survive in cold temperatures. Using this to our advantage, we request all survivors make it down to the closest airport before the end of the month. We will have military servicemen located at all of the airports and will make flights to Alaska until the end of the month. There we will focus on finding a cure for the virus and rebuilding humanity as a whole. We await your arrival. Until then, stay safe, and good luck.”

The TV flickered off. I quickly searched the house, trying to find a map to tell me where the nearest airport was. Eventually, I found a map. I located where I was, and found the closest airport was in Orlando, Florida, and was around 90 miles away from my current location. I bit my lip, checking the calendar. It was, if my calculations were correct, the 18th of March. It would take too long and would be too dangerous to go on foot. I had to figure something out. I began to stuff my backpack with my remaining supplies, as well as any supplies I found around the house. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, grabbing my weapons, before carefully walking outside. Outside, I noticed a small garage just off the side of the house. Walking to it, I noticed it was locked. However, there was a window on the side, and I was able to smash it, and I climbed inside. Inside was a small car. I grinned, knowing this was the perfect way out. I unlocked the garage door from the inside, and after a quick glance around the garage, I found the keys to the car. Throwing my stuff inside, I noticed the gas was at ¾’s of a tank. “Hmmm…” I said out loud, to myself, before spotting a bright red gas can. It was around half full, but it would work. I placed the gas can in the back, and hopped into the car, igniting the engine. I put it into drive, hit the gas, and was off down the small gravel road snaking its way from the house to a main road.
My driving was far from perfect. I was only 15 and only had a small bit of behind-the-wheel experience. “I miss you dad…” I whispered, remembering the vast plans of driving practice we were going to have. I still swerved a bit, bumping down the gravel road, but I knew enough to drive. Eventually, I arrived at the main road, which was an eerie sort of empty, minus a few wrecked cars and a few zombies roaming around. I hit the gas, driving down the highway, maneuvering around the wrecks and the zombies, and soon cruising at around 50 miles per hour down the highway. After a few hours, I noticed a military base on the edge of the highway. I decided to stop there, grab some supplies, and go from there.
As I pulled into the military base, I noticed it was an eerie sort of quiet. The base had been evacuated, but the wreckage of a helicopter was still on fire, presumably from when a zombie had overtaken the crew flying the copter. I pulled my car next to an empty helicopter pad, near the main base building, and hopped out, grabbing my stuff. I clutched my gun tight in my hand, in case a zombie were to jump out at me. I made it into the main building with no issues and quickly scanned my surroundings. There were signs of a battle, but no human or zombie was currently taking refuge in the building. I sat down, and dug through my backpack, grabbing some food and a bit of water. I downed it, staring at a digital clock above the door, which told me it was 6 p.m.
Soon, I grabbed my journal and began to write. As I was writing, I heard the noise of gunshots and zombies outside. I rose, rushing to the window. There, I saw a boy, just over 18 running away from a small horde of zombies, taking them down with ease. He rushed inside, not even noticing me, leaving the door as he began to scan the building. I shut the door behind him, so no zombie could make their way inside. At the sound of the door closing, he spun around, pointing his gun at me. I froze. “Don’t worry, I’m good. I’m human.” I said, trying to reassure him.
He narrowed his eyes, scanning me, but soon decided I wasn’t worth his time. He finished his search of the building, before laying down on a nearby chair and falling asleep. I sighed, finishing my journal entry, before falling asleep myself.

Waking up, I looked around groggily, seeing the clock read 7:13 A.M. The soldier was awake, and was scanning the base through the base. I walked quietly over to him. “Hello,” I said, quietly.
He looked over to me, his dark brown eye studying me. I paused, hesitating for a bit, before saying, “What’s your name?”
“Private Miller,” He said, “Private Blake Miller. Yours?”
“Hazel. Hazel Stegeman,” I replied.
He nodded, absorbing this information. “How’d you get here, Hazel?”
I sigh. “Well, I was at school. I’m…I mean…I was only a sophomore…I turn 16 in May. We were told to go home and hide in the middle of the day. When I got home, everyone in my neighborhood was already turned… I didn’t see my parents, but the house looked… disturbed. I just gathered a few things and ran. I don’t have any family besides my parents, so I’m unsure if I even have anyone left. I’m just trying to get to the airport and go from there.”
He nodded. “I joined the military. My troop was sent to defend a town, but we were overwhelmed. I’m the only one left. I’m trying to rejoin a troop. I don’t even know how my family is doing.” he said, his voice sharing no emotion.
I nod, silence filling the room once more. I look down, a little awkward, before taking a breath. “Well, I think I’m going to search the base for supplies real fast. Then I’m going to resume my journey to the airport,” I said, grabbing my backpack. He nodded, presumably going to do the same, as he walked out of the main building. I followed, but spilled up, going towards a building that looked like a storage building. It had a small lock on it, which after a few seconds of work, I managed to break through. Inside, there were a few zombies which were easily downed. “I’m sorry…” I breathed, but I knew it was me or them. I managed to get some more food, as well as a slightly better gun and some ammo for it. Wandering out, I pondered whether I should use the car I borrowed from the house I had previously stayed in or if I should attempt to find a different, better vehicle. My question was answered when Blake drove over to me in one of those army vehicles that could fit a lot of soldiers in it. He didn’t say anything but motioned for me to hop into the back. I nodded, throwing my stuff in the back, before remembering my gas can in the car. I grabbed it, and jumped into the back, and relished the wind blowing through my hair as we drove out of the military base, picking up speed. I noticed on the sign that it said 70 miles to Orlando. “We’ll make it,” I whispered to myself. Soon, I drifted to sleep as we drove down the highway.
There I was, just a young kid, playing with the neighborhood kids, cheering as my team scored the winning point in our tiny soccer game. The same neighborhood was there as my father helped me down the street on a bicycle I had received as a birthday gift. The neighborhood didn’t change as I grew older, waiting for a yellow school bus to pick me up for my first day of middle school. Again, I was older, driving my car with my dad in the passenger seat, rolling past the houses. Finally, I watched myself as I ran past burning houses, houses barricaded quickly with wooden planks. I heard zombies behind me, as I ran and ran, trying to get away. I screamed tripping, the world spinning out of focus, as we came to a complete…

Stop.

I woke with a start, my dream turned nightmare putting me on high alert. The vehicle was stopped and a couple of zombies were approaching. We were in a small town. I jumped to my feet, my gun in my hands, as I looked for Blake. “We’re out of gas!” he yelled.
“Gas can!” I replied, grabbing my red thing of gas and handing it to him.
He nodded. “Defend me,” he ordered, going to fill up the vehicle. I jumped out of the vehicle, shooting into the horde, pleading that I could hold them off long enough to get out to safety. Suddenly, another figure rushed over, taking out the remainder of the horde. I look up at the newcomer and see it is a grown man, dressed in another military uniform. “Who are you?” he asked.
“Hazel. You?” came my reply.
“Colonel Tom Johnson. Where are you headed?” he asked.
“Orlando Airport,” I replied.
“Figured. Listen, the government says the last plane leaves on the 25th now, the horde has grown, and we are losing a ton of men. I was heading there too, I just got stuck in this town because my vehicle broke down.” he replied.
“You can come with us, Sir,” Blake said, holding a now-empty gas can. “There’s room in the back.”
The colonel nodded. “Thank you Private,” he said, noting his badge. “I shall take you up on this offer.”
We all returned to the vehicle, and Blake put the gas can next to me. He hopped into the driver’s seat, as the colonel hopped in across the car from me. We began to ride away, dodging a few zombies. Leaving the small town, the miles left to Orlando was 50. As we drove down the highway, I grabbed my journal and began to write.

Day 11
I’m currently in a vehicle with two army people, both older than me. Neither of them talks much, only when it’s important. I think they are just as nervous around me as I am around them. I’m heading for Orlando like I was yesterday. I’m getting closer as we speak but now I’m worried that we won’t make it before the military pulls out. Apparently, it’s getting worse. A lot worse. The fact I’ve only found two survivors in the variety of towns I’ve been through proves that. I don't know how I’m still going. I’m only 15, and I’ve been alone since the beginning. Now I’m with a soldier and a colonel. I think I may make it. I think we may make it. If anyone was to make it though, it would be the other two. I’m scared I’m only going to weigh them down. I just hope we can make it through…what do you do when there's nothing left to live for in the zombie apocalypse?

I closed my notebook, sliding it into my bag. My photo caught my eye. The only memnto of my old life. I stared at it, deep in thought. Maybe one day I would make it back to my old house, to collect my old journals, my old photos. Maybe my parents were still out there, alive, looking for me. Maybe they thought I had been turned and given up hope. I was unsure. I looked up at the colonel. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, perhaps about his own family, or maybe about the whole zombie situation. I didn’t know. I just looked into the distance, letting the sound of the wind carry my thoughts away to the distance.

I woke up, yawning. Looking around groggily, I noticed a city rising up in the distance. Off the side of the road, I noticed a small building with the wreckage of a plane in it, as well as a horde of zombies with the outfits of police officers and firefighters, and several emergency vehicles nearby. I cringed, knowing the virus probably got the plane, and when the first responders went to help, they got bit and taken by the virus as well. I looked away, noticing the colonel looked as though he had just woken up himself. I then looked away again, back at the city, knowing we were almost there. The vehicle turned to a side road, labeled as the path to the airport. The engine hummed as we approached the airport. Immediately, we noticed the airport was quiet…eerily quiet. Eventually, we reached the front of the airport, and the vehicle came to a stop. We hopped out, clutching our weapons tight. We walked in, noticing the lights were out and the place was trashed. We glanced at each other, before walking forward. Suddenly, we heard a noise. The noise of a zombie. We all looked around as zombies began to come out and swarm us. I heard the colonel shot and heard myself scream as we jumped into action. We fought, the sounds of the zombies intermingling with the sounds of gunshots. I watched in horror as the colonel was taken down by a massive horde of zombies, disappearing underneath them. “NO!” I screamed, running towards the terminals. I was alone, alone with a horde of zombies after me. I had lost track of Blake, I had lost track of where anything was. I just had to survive.
Soon I heard the sound of a plane powering up. I sprinted towards it, losing the zombies. I ran towards the plane sound, giving everything I got. Soon, I made it out to a runway, where an airforce soldier was standing there. I rushed to him. “Hurry! Orlando is overrun! This is our last flight out of here!” he said.
“My…my,” I said shakily, not even knowing what to classify them as. We had barley spoken, only known each other for a few days, yet were willing to defend each other for anything.
“You’ve got people in there kid?” the solder asked.
I nodded. “I’ll give them five minutes,” he said, going to finish preparations for the flight.”
I paused for a moment, catching my breath. It was silent again, minus the sound of the plane and my own breathing and heartbeat. I exhaled again, pleading that Blake would make it out, make it without succumbing to the virus. Eventually, a figure approached the entryway. I held my breath. Out came a zombie…that looked exactly like Blake. “No…” I said, my world spinning. I had left him, and now he was gone. And I was going to have to take him out in order to make it out of Orlando with my life. I raised my gun, ready to shoot, my hands shaking. “I’m so sorry…” I whispered, tears forming in my eyes. I had only known him for a few days…but he had been willing to help me despite having his own goals. He drove all the way to this airport for me.

I closed my eyes, ready to pull the trigger.

My finger began to move.

Suddenly, something in me snapped, and I chucked the gun at Blake with my full force. It didn’t kill him, but it was enough to knock him to the ground as I boarded the plane. I shut the door. “Go…” I said to the pilot, who nodded, leading the plane down the runway to take flight. I sat in a plane seat, numb to the world. Grabbing my journal, I began to write again.

Day 12
I lost them. They’re gone. It’s not fair. Why did I survive and they didn’t? Maybe there’s still hope. Perhaps we’ll find a cure and save them. Maybe one day, we’ll even meet again, as humans. Maybe…

A single tear fell on my page, as the plane engines roared. We soared over Orlando, going to a place. The future was uncertain. As the sun set, I drifted to sleep again…numb to the world.


Part 4: Editing

Authors note: I could only submit the introduction due to word count. So I only really edited the introduction. I'm still open for critique, and will probably tweak this story even after camp. I really liked this story and hope you all did too

The house I was staying in was filled with an eerie sort of silence. The night was falling over the small town I was in, and I could hear zombie noises coming outside. I wasn’t worried though, as I had barricaded the house enough they wouldn’t be able to get in. Even if they did, I had my weapons. Grabbing a can of tomato soup, I downed it like it was a Mountain Dew. I sighed after finishing the cold and lonely meal, reaching for my journal in the light of my lantern. I had always kept a journal, willing to document my life. However, I only had time to grab one from my house before I left. I could have grabbed an old one, but I didn’t. Those happy memories were gone, filled with the shallow remains of my new life. Instead, I had a notebook, empty minus the few pages I had written in, documenting my new life out in the ruins of the apocalypse. As I was flipping to an empty page, the first entry caught my attention. I pushed a strand of black hair out of my face, reading it.

Day 1
Here I am, alone. Alone in a world full of former humans, who want nothing but my blood. Today was an eventful day. I went to school like normal, despite the CDC’s warnings of a potential disease that could be spreading. Around mid-day, things went sour. An alarm went off at lunch. A public service announcement popped up on the screen. “WARNING! ZOMBIE VIRUS DETECTED! BARRICADE YOURSELF IN YOUR HOMES AND WAIT FOR FUTURE INSTRUCTION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”
Kids panicked, and I rushed home. All I found was my neighborhood already hit by the zombies, including my house and my parents. Luckily the zombies had moved on to find someone else to attack, so I had a moment to pack some stuff. I grabbed an empty backpack, putting a blanket, some canned goods, some bottled water, this empty journal, a few writing utensils, a picture of my family, and a flashlight. I also grabbed the family gun and a knife. Then I ran for my life. Eventually, I found a small house in the middle of nowhere, whose owners looked as though they had evacuated in a rush. I barricaded myself inside, beginning my first day alone surviving a zombie apocalypse.


After rereading my first journal entry, I wrote a small bit about today, before shutting my journal and shoving it in my backpack. I hopped on the couch, turning out my lantern, before getting some sleep.

After waking up from my slumber, I noticed the sun was already peeking through the trees surrounding the house I was currently sheltering in. I checked my supply of food. I was quickly running out, and that worried me. Then the TV turned on. On it was a military general, making an announcement to the survivors.

“Hello, survivors of America. We bring you the news of a plan we are putting into place to keep as many people alive as possible. Recently, we discovered that the zombie virus, and the zombies, can’t survive in cold temperatures. Using this to our advantage, we request all survivors make it down to the closest airport before the end of the month. We will have military servicemen located at all of the airports and will make flights to Alaska until the end of the month. There we will focus on finding a cure for the virus and rebuilding humanity as a whole. We await your arrival. Until then, stay safe, and good luck.”

The TV flickered off. I quickly searched the house, trying to find a map to tell me where the nearest airport was. Eventually, I found a map. I located where I was, and found the closest airport was in Orlando, Florida, and was around 90 miles away from my current location. I bit my lip, checking the calendar. It was, if my calculations were correct, the 18th of March. It would take too long and would be too dangerous to go on foot. I had to figure something out. I began to stuff my backpack with my remaining supplies, as well as any supplies I found around the house. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, grabbing my weapons, before carefully walking outside. Outside, I noticed a small garage just off the side of the house. Walking to it, I noticed it was locked. However, there was a window on the side, and I was able to smash it, and I climbed inside. Inside was a small car. I grinned, knowing this was the perfect way out. I unlocked the garage door from the inside, and after a quick glance around the garage, I found the keys to the car. Throwing my stuff inside, I noticed the gas was at ¾’s of a tank. “Hmmm…” I said out loud, to myself, before spotting a bright red gas can. It was around half full, but it would work. I placed the gas can in the back, and hopped into the car, igniting the engine. I put it into drive, hit the gas, and was off down the small gravel road snaking its way from the house to a main road.
My driving was far from perfect. I was only 15 and only had a small bit of behind-the-wheel experience. “I miss you dad…” I whispered, remembering the vast plans of driving practice we were going to have. I still swerved a bit, bumping down the gravel road, but I knew enough to drive. Eventually, I arrived at the main road, which was an eerie sort of empty, minus a few wrecked cars and a few zombies roaming around. I hit the gas, driving down the highway, maneuvering around the wrecks and the zombies, and soon cruising at around 50 miles per hour down the highway. After a few hours, I noticed a military base on the edge of the highway. I decided to stop there, grab some supplies, and go from there.
As I pulled into the military base, I noticed it was an eerie sort of quiet. The base had been evacuated, but the wreckage of a helicopter was still on fire, presumably from when a zombie had overtaken the crew flying the copter. I pulled my car next to an empty helicopter pad, near the main base building, and hopped out, grabbing my stuff. I clutched my gun tight in my hand, in case a zombie were to jump out at me. I made it into the main building with no issues and quickly scanned my surroundings. There were signs of a battle, but no human or zombie was currently taking refuge in the building. I sat down, and dug through my backpack, grabbing some food and a bit of water. I downed it, staring at a digital clock above the door, which told me it was 6 p.m.
Soon, I grabbed my journal and began to write. As I was writing, I heard the noise of gunshots and zombies outside. I rose, rushing to the window. There, I saw a boy, just over 18 running away from a small horde of zombies, taking them down with ease. He rushed inside, not even noticing me, leaving the door as he began to scan the building. I shut the door behind him, so no zombie could make their way inside. At the sound of the door closing, he spun around, pointing his gun at me. I froze. “Don’t worry, I’m good. I’m human.” I said, trying to reassure him.
He narrowed his eyes, scanning me, but soon decided I wasn’t worth his time. He finished his search of the building, before laying down on a nearby chair and falling asleep. I sighed, finishing my journal entry, before falling asleep myself.

Waking up, I looked around groggily, seeing the clock read 7:13 A.M. The soldier was awake, and was scanning the base through the base. I walked quietly over to him. “Hello,” I said, quietly.
He looked over to me, his dark brown eye studying me. I paused, hesitating for a bit, before saying, “What’s your name?”
“Private Miller,” He said, “Private Blake Miller. Yours?”
“Hazel. Hazel Stegeman,” I replied.
He nodded, absorbing this information. “How’d you get here, Hazel?”
I sigh. “Well, I was at school. I’m…I mean…I was only a sophomore…I turn 16 in May. We were told to go home and hide in the middle of the day. When I got home, everyone in my neighborhood was already turned… I didn’t see my parents, but the house looked… disturbed. I just gathered a few things and ran. I don’t have any family besides my parents, so I’m unsure if I even have anyone left. I’m just trying to get to the airport and go from there.”
He nodded. “I joined the military. My troop was sent to defend a town, but we were overwhelmed. I’m the only one left. I’m trying to rejoin a troop. I don’t even know how my family is doing.” he said, his voice sharing no emotion.
I nod, silence filling the room once more. I look down, a little awkward, before taking a breath. “Well, I think I’m going to search the base for supplies real fast. Then I’m going to resume my journey to the airport,” I said, grabbing my backpack. He nodded, presumably going to do the same, as he walked out of the main building. I followed, but spilled up, going towards a building that looked like a storage building. It had a small lock on it, which after a few seconds of work, I managed to break through. Inside, there were a few zombies which were easily downed. “I’m sorry…” I breathed, but I knew it was me or them. I managed to get some more food, as well as a slightly better gun and some ammo for it. Wandering out, I pondered whether I should use the car I borrowed from the house I had previously stayed in or if I should attempt to find a different, better vehicle. My question was answered when Blake drove over to me in one of those army vehicles that could fit a lot of soldiers in it. He didn’t say anything but motioned for me to hop into the back. I nodded, throwing my stuff in the back, before remembering my gas can in the car. I grabbed it, and jumped into the back, and relished the wind blowing through my hair as we drove out of the military base, picking up speed. I noticed on the sign that it said 70 miles to Orlando. “We’ll make it,” I whispered to myself. Soon, I drifted to sleep as we drove down the highway.
There I was, just a young kid, playing with the neighborhood kids, cheering as my team scored the winning point in our tiny soccer game. The same neighborhood was there as my father helped me down the street on a bicycle I had received as a birthday gift. The neighborhood didn’t change as I grew older, waiting for a yellow school bus to pick me up for my first day of middle school. Again, I was older, driving my car with my dad in the passenger seat, rolling past the houses. Finally, I watched myself as I ran past burning houses, houses barricaded quickly with wooden planks. I heard zombies behind me, as I ran and ran, trying to get away. I screamed tripping, the world spinning out of focus, as we came to a complete…

Stop.

I woke with a start, my dream turned nightmare putting me on high alert. The vehicle was stopped and a couple of zombies were approaching. We were in a small town. I jumped to my feet, my gun in my hands, as I looked for Blake. “We’re out of gas!” he yelled.
“Gas can!” I replied, grabbing my red thing of gas and handing it to him.
He nodded. “Defend me,” he ordered, going to fill up the vehicle. I jumped out of the vehicle, shooting into the horde, pleading that I could hold them off long enough to get out to safety. Suddenly, another figure rushed over, taking out the remainder of the horde. I look up at the newcomer and see it is a grown man, dressed in another military uniform. “Who are you?” he asked.
“Hazel. You?” came my reply.
“Colonel Tom Johnson. Where are you headed?” he asked.
“Orlando Airport,” I replied.
“Figured. Listen, the government says the last plane leaves on the 25th now, the horde has grown, and we are losing a ton of men. I was heading there too, I just got stuck in this town because my vehicle broke down.” he replied.
“You can come with us, Sir,” Blake said, holding a now-empty gas can. “There’s room in the back.”
The colonel nodded. “Thank you Private,” he said, noting his badge. “I shall take you up on this offer.”
We all returned to the vehicle, and Blake put the gas can next to me. He hopped into the driver’s seat, as the colonel hopped in across the car from me. We began to ride away, dodging a few zombies. Leaving the small town, the miles left to Orlando was 50. As we drove down the highway, I grabbed my journal and began to write.

Day 11
I’m currently in a vehicle with two army people, both older than me. Neither of them talks much, only when it’s important. I think they are just as nervous around me as I am around them. I’m heading for Orlando like I was yesterday. I’m getting closer as we speak but now I’m worried that we won’t make it before the military pulls out. Apparently, it’s getting worse. A lot worse. The fact I’ve only found two survivors in the variety of towns I’ve been through proves that. I don't know how I’m still going. I’m only 15, and I’ve been alone since the beginning. Now I’m with a soldier and a colonel. I think I may make it. I think we may make it. If anyone was to make it though, it would be the other two. I’m scared I’m only going to weigh them down. I just hope we can make it through…what do you do when there's nothing left to live for in the zombie apocalypse?

I closed my notebook, sliding it into my bag. My photo caught my eye. The only memnto of my old life. I stared at it, deep in thought. Maybe one day I would make it back to my old house, to collect my old journals, my old photos. Maybe my parents were still out there, alive, looking for me. Maybe they thought I had been turned and given up hope. I was unsure. I looked up at the colonel. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, perhaps about his own family, or maybe about the whole zombie situation. I didn’t know. I just looked into the distance, letting the sound of the wind carry my thoughts away to the distance.

I woke up, yawning. Looking around groggily, I noticed a city rising up in the distance. Off the side of the road, I noticed a small building with the wreckage of a plane in it, as well as a horde of zombies with the outfits of police officers and firefighters, and several emergency vehicles nearby. I cringed, knowing the virus probably got the plane, and when the first responders went to help, they got bit and taken by the virus as well. I looked away, noticing the colonel looked as though he had just woken up himself. I then looked away again, back at the city, knowing we were almost there. The vehicle turned to a side road, labeled as the path to the airport. The engine hummed as we approached the airport. Immediately, we noticed the airport was quiet…eerily quiet. Eventually, we reached the front of the airport, and the vehicle came to a stop. We hopped out, clutching our weapons tight. We walked in, noticing the lights were out and the place was trashed. We glanced at each other, before walking forward. Suddenly, we heard a noise. The noise of a zombie. We all looked around as zombies began to come out and swarm us. I heard the colonel shot and heard myself scream as we jumped into action. We fought, the sounds of the zombies intermingling with the sounds of gunshots. I watched in horror as the colonel was taken down by a massive horde of zombies, disappearing underneath them. “NO!” I screamed, running towards the terminals. I was alone, alone with a horde of zombies after me. I had lost track of Blake, I had lost track of where anything was. I just had to survive.
Soon I heard the sound of a plane powering up. I sprinted towards it, losing the zombies. I ran towards the plane sound, giving everything I got. Soon, I made it out to a runway, where an airforce soldier was standing there. I rushed to him. “Hurry! Orlando is overrun! This is our last flight out of here!” he said.
“My…my,” I said shakily, not even knowing what to classify them as. We had barley spoken, only known each other for a few days, yet were willing to defend each other for anything.
“You’ve got people in there kid?” the solder asked.
I nodded. “I’ll give them five minutes,” he said, going to finish preparations for the flight.”
I paused for a moment, catching my breath. It was silent again, minus the sound of the plane and my own breathing and heartbeat. I exhaled again, pleading that Blake would make it out, make it without succumbing to the virus. Eventually, a figure approached the entryway. I held my breath. Out came a zombie…that looked exactly like Blake. “No…” I said, my world spinning. I had left him, and now he was gone. And I was going to have to take him out in order to make it out of Orlando with my life. I raised my gun, ready to shoot, my hands shaking. “I’m so sorry…” I whispered, tears forming in my eyes. I had only known him for a few days…but he had been willing to help me despite having his own goals. He drove all the way to this airport for me.

I closed my eyes, ready to pull the trigger.

My finger began to move.

Suddenly, something in me snapped, and I chucked the gun at Blake with my full force. It didn’t kill him, but it was enough to knock him to the ground as I boarded the plane. I shut the door. “Go…” I said to the pilot, who nodded, leading the plane down the runway to take flight. I sat in a plane seat, numb to the world. Grabbing my journal, I began to write again.

Day 12
I lost them. They’re gone. It’s not fair. Why did I survive and they didn’t? Maybe there’s still hope. Perhaps we’ll find a cure and save them. Maybe one day, we’ll even meet again, as humans. Maybe…

A single tear fell on my page, as the plane engines roared. We soared over Orlando, going to a place. The future was uncertain. As the sun set, I drifted to sleep again…numb to the world.

Weekly Four, Full Story, Unedited

Author Notes: TW for Guns, Weapons, hints to death

The house I was staying in was an eerie sort of silence. The night was falling over the small town I was in, and I could hear zombie noises coming outside. I wasn’t worried though, as I had barricaded the house enough they wouldn’t be able to get in, and even if they did, I had my weapons. Grabbing a can of tomato soup, I downed it like it was a Mnt. Dew. I sighed after finishing the cold and lonely meal, reaching for my journal in the light of my lantern. I had always kept a journal, always willing to document my life. However, I only had time to grab one from my house before I left. I could have grabbed an old one, but I didn’t. Those happy memories were gone, filled with the shallow remains of my new life. Instead, I had an empty notebook, empty minus the few pages I had written in, documenting my new life out in the ruins of the apocalypse. As I was flipping to an empty page, the first entry caught my attention. I pushed a strand of my black hair out of my face, reading it.

Day 1
Here I am, alone. Alone in a world full of former humans, who want nothing but my blood. Today was an eventful day. I went to school like normal, despite the CDC’s warnings of a potential disease that could be spreading. Around mid-day, things went sour. An alarm went off at lunch. A public service announcement popped up on the screen. “WARNING! ZOMBIE VIRUS DETECTED! BARRICADE YOURSELF IN YOUR HOMES AND WAIT FOR FUTURE INSTRUCTION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”
Kids panicked, and I rushed home, only to find my neighborhood already hit by the zombies, including my house and my parents. Luckily the zombies had moved on to find someone else to attack, so I had a moment to pack some stuff. I grabbed an empty backpack, putting a blanket, some canned goods, some bottled water, this empty journal, a few writing utensils, a picture of my family, and a flashlight. I also grabbed the family gun and a knife. Then I ran for my life. Eventually, I found a small house in the middle of nowhere, whose owners looked as though they had evacuated in a rush. I barricaded myself inside, beginning my first day alone surviving a zombie apocalypse.


After rereading my first journal entry, I wrote a small bit about today, before shutting my journal and shoving it in my backpack. I hopped on the couch, turning out my lantern, before getting some sleep.

After waking up from my slumber, I noticed the sun was already peeking through the trees surrounding the house I was currently sheltering in. I checked my supply of food. I was quickly running out, and that worried me. Then the TV turned on. On it was a military general, making an announcement to the survivors.

“Hello, survivors of America. We bring you the news of a plan we are putting into place to keep as many people alive as possible. Recently, we discovered that the zombie virus, and the zombies, can’t survive in cold temperatures. Using this to our advantage, we request all survivors make it down to the closest airport before the end of the month. We will have military servicemen located at all of the airports and will make flights to Alaska until the end of the month. There we will focus on finding a cure for the virus and rebuilding humanity as a whole. We await your arrival. Until then, stay safe, and good luck.”

The TV flickered off. I quickly searched the house, trying to find a map to tell me where the nearest airport was. Eventually, I found a map. I located where I was, and found the closest airport was in Orlando, Florida, and was around 90 miles away from my current location. I bit my lip, checking the calendar. It was, if my calculations were correct, the 18th of March. It would take too long and would be too dangerous to go on foot. I had to figure something out. I began to stuff my backpack with my remaining supplies, as well as any supplies I found around the house. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, grabbing my weapons, before carefully walking outside. Outside, I noticed a small garage just off the side of the house. Walking to it, I noticed it was locked. However, there was a window on the side, and I was able to smash it, and I climbed inside. Inside was a small car. I grinned, knowing this was the perfect way out. I unlocked the garage door from the inside, and after a quick glance around the garage, I found the keys to the car. Throwing my stuff inside, I noticed the gas was at ¾’s of a tank. “Hmmm…” I said out loud, to myself, before spotting a bright red gas can. It was around half full, but it would work. I placed the gas can in the back, and hopped into the car, igniting the engine. I put it into drive, hit the gas, and was off down the small gravel road snaking its way from the house to a main road.
My driving was far from perfect. I was only 15 and only had a small bit of behind-the-wheel experience. “I miss you dad…” I whispered, remembering the vast plans of driving practice we were going to have. I still swerved a bit, bumping down the gravel road, but I knew enough to drive. Eventually, I arrived at the main road, which was an eerie sort of empty, minus a few wrecked cars and a few zombies roaming around. I hit the gas, driving down the highway, maneuvering around the wrecks and the zombies, and soon cruising at around 50 miles per hour down the highway. After a few hours, I noticed a military base on the edge of the highway. I decided to stop there, grab some supplies, and go from there.
As I pulled into the military base, I noticed it was an eerie sort of quiet. The base had been evacuated, but the wreckage of a helicopter was still on fire, presumably from when a zombie had overtaken the crew flying the copter. I pulled my car next to an empty helicopter pad, near the main base building, and hopped out, grabbing my stuff. I clutched my gun tight in my hand, in case a zombie were to jump out at me. I made it into the main building with no issues and quickly scanned my surroundings. There were signs of a battle, but no human or zombie was currently taking refuge in the building. I sat down, and dug through my backpack, grabbing some food and a bit of water. I downed it, staring at a digital clock above the door, which told me it was 6 p.m.
Soon, I grabbed my journal and began to write. As I was writing, I heard the noise of gunshots and zombies outside. I rose, rushing to the window. There, I saw a boy, just over 18 running away from a small horde of zombies, taking them down with ease. He rushed inside, not even noticing me, leaving the door as he began to scan the building. I shut the door behind him, so no zombie could make their way inside. At the sound of the door closing, he spun around, pointing his gun at me. I froze. “Don’t worry, I’m good. I’m human.” I said, trying to reassure him.
He narrowed his eyes, scanning me, but soon decided I wasn’t worth his time. He finished his search of the building, before laying down on a nearby chair and falling asleep. I sighed, finishing my journal entry, before falling asleep myself.

Waking up, I looked around groggily, seeing the clock read 7:13 A.M. The soldier was awake, and was scanning the base through the base. I walked quietly over to him. “Hello,” I said, quietly.
He looked over to me, his dark brown eye studying me. I paused, hesitating for a bit, before saying, “What’s your name?”
“Private Miller,” He said, “Private Blake Miller. Yours?”
“Hazel. Hazel Stegeman,” I replied.
He nodded, absorbing this information. “How’d you get here, Hazel?”
I sigh. “Well, I was at school. I’m…I mean…I was only a sophomore…I turn 16 in May. We were told to go home and hide in the middle of the day. When I got home, everyone in my neighborhood was already turned… I didn’t see my parents, but the house looked… disturbed. I just gathered a few things and ran. I don’t have any family besides my parents, so I’m unsure if I even have anyone left. I’m just trying to get to the airport and go from there.”
He nodded. “I joined the military. My troop was sent to defend a town, but we were overwhelmed. I’m the only one left. I’m trying to rejoin a troop. I don’t even know how my family is doing.” he said, his voice sharing no emotion.
I nod, silence filling the room once more. I look down, a little awkward, before taking a breath. “Well, I think I’m going to search the base for supplies real fast. Then I’m going to resume my journey to the airport,” I said, grabbing my backpack. He nodded, presumably going to do the same, as he walked out of the main building. I followed, but spilled up, going towards a building that looked like a storage building. It had a small lock on it, which after a few seconds of work, I managed to break through. Inside, there were a few zombies which were easily downed. “I’m sorry…” I breathed, but I knew it was me or them. I managed to get some more food, as well as a slightly better gun and some ammo for it. Wandering out, I pondered whether I should use the car I borrowed from the house I had previously stayed in or if I should attempt to find a different, better vehicle. My question was answered when Blake drove over to me in one of those army vehicles that could fit a lot of soldiers in it. He didn’t say anything but motioned for me to hop into the back. I nodded, throwing my stuff in the back, before remembering my gas can in the car. I grabbed it, and jumped into the back, and relished the wind blowing through my hair as we drove out of the military base, picking up speed. I noticed on the sign that it said 70 miles to Orlando. “We’ll make it,” I whispered to myself. Soon, I drifted to sleep as we drove down the highway.
There I was, just a young kid, playing with the neighborhood kids, cheering as my team scored the winning point in our tiny soccer game. The same neighborhood was there as my father helped me down the street on a bicycle I had received as a birthday gift. The neighborhood didn’t change as I grew older, waiting for a yellow school bus to pick me up for my first day of middle school. Again, I was older, driving my car with my dad in the passenger seat, rolling past the houses. Finally, I watched myself as I ran past burning houses, houses barricaded quickly with wooden planks. I heard zombies behind me, as I ran and ran, trying to get away. I screamed tripping, the world spinning out of focus, as we came to a complete…

Stop.

I woke with a start, my dream turned nightmare putting me on high alert. The vehicle was stopped and a couple of zombies were approaching. We were in a small town. I jumped to my feet, my gun in my hands, as I looked for Blake. “We’re out of gas!” he yelled.
“Gas can!” I replied, grabbing my red thing of gas and handing it to him.
He nodded. “Defend me,” he ordered, going to fill up the vehicle. I jumped out of the vehicle, shooting into the horde, pleading that I could hold them off long enough to get out to safety. Suddenly, another figure rushed over, taking out the remainder of the horde. I look up at the newcomer and see it is a grown man, dressed in another military uniform. “Who are you?” he asked.
“Hazel. You?” came my reply.
“Colonel Tom Johnson. Where are you headed?” he asked.
“Orlando Airport,” I replied.
“Figured. Listen, the government says the last plane leaves on the 25th now, the horde has grown, and we are losing a ton of men. I was heading there too, I just got stuck in this town because my vehicle broke down.” he replied.
“You can come with us, Sir,” Blake said, holding a now-empty gas can. “There’s room in the back.”
The colonel nodded. “Thank you Private,” he said, noting his badge. “I shall take you up on this offer.”
We all returned to the vehicle, and Blake put the gas can next to me. He hopped into the driver’s seat, as the colonel hopped in across the car from me. We began to ride away, dodging a few zombies. Leaving the small town, the miles left to Orlando was 50. As we drove down the highway, I grabbed my journal and began to write.

Day 11
I’m currently in a vehicle with two army people, both older than me. Neither of them talks much, only when it’s important. I think they are just as nervous around me as I am around them. I’m heading for Orlando like I was yesterday. I’m getting closer as we speak but now I’m worried that we won’t make it before the military pulls out. Apparently, it’s getting worse. A lot worse. The fact I’ve only found two survivors in the variety of towns I’ve been through proves that. I don't know how I’m still going. I’m only 15, and I’ve been alone since the beginning. Now I’m with a soldier and a colonel. I think I may make it. I think we may make it. If anyone was to make it though, it would be the other two. I’m scared I’m only going to weigh them down. I just hope we can make it through…what do you do when there's nothing left to live for in the zombie apocalypse?

I closed my notebook, sliding it into my bag. My photo caught my eye. The only memnto of my old life. I stared at it, deep in thought. Maybe one day I would make it back to my old house, to collect my old journals, my old photos. Maybe my parents were still out there, alive, looking for me. Maybe they thought I had been turned and given up hope. I was unsure. I looked up at the colonel. He seemed lost in his own thoughts, perhaps about his own family, or maybe about the whole zombie situation. I didn’t know. I just looked into the distance, letting the sound of the wind carry my thoughts away to the distance.

I woke up, yawning. Looking around groggily, I noticed a city rising up in the distance. Off the side of the road, I noticed a small building with the wreckage of a plane in it, as well as a horde of zombies with the outfits of police officers and firefighters, and several emergency vehicles nearby. I cringed, knowing the virus probably got the plane, and when the first responders went to help, they got bit and taken by the virus as well. I looked away, noticing the colonel looked as though he had just woken up himself. I then looked away again, back at the city, knowing we were almost there. The vehicle turned to a side road, labeled as the path to the airport. The engine hummed as we approached the airport. Immediately, we noticed the airport was quiet…eerily quiet. Eventually, we reached the front of the airport, and the vehicle came to a stop. We hopped out, clutching our weapons tight. We walked in, noticing the lights were out and the place was trashed. We glanced at each other, before walking forward. Suddenly, we heard a noise. The noise of a zombie. We all looked around as zombies began to come out and swarm us. I heard the colonel shot and heard myself scream as we jumped into action. We fought, the sounds of the zombies intermingling with the sounds of gunshots. I watched in horror as the colonel was taken down by a massive horde of zombies, disappearing underneath them. “NO!” I screamed, running towards the terminals. I was alone, alone with a horde of zombies after me. I had lost track of Blake, I had lost track of where anything was. I just had to survive.
Soon I heard the sound of a plane powering up. I sprinted towards it, losing the zombies. I ran towards the plane sound, giving everything I got. Soon, I made it out to a runway, where an airforce soldier was standing there. I rushed to him. “Hurry! Orlando is overrun! This is our last flight out of here!” he said.
“My…my,” I said shakily, not even knowing what to classify them as. We had barley spoken, only known each other for a few days, yet were willing to defend each other for anything.
“You’ve got people in there kid?” the solder asked.
I nodded. “I’ll give them five minutes,” he said, going to finish preparations for the flight.”
I paused for a moment, catching my breath. It was silent again, minus the sound of the plane and my own breathing and heartbeat. I exhaled again, pleading that Blake would make it out, make it without succumbing to the virus. Eventually, a figure approached the entryway. I held my breath. Out came a zombie…that looked exactly like Blake. “No…” I said, my world spinning. I had left him, and now he was gone. And I was going to have to take him out in order to make it out of Orlando with my life. I raised my gun, ready to shoot, my hands shaking. “I’m so sorry…” I whispered, tears forming in my eyes. I had only known him for a few days…but he had been willing to help me despite having his own goals. He drove all the way to this airport for me.

I closed my eyes, ready to pull the trigger.

My finger began to move.

Suddenly, something in me snapped, and I chucked the gun at Blake with my full force. It didn’t kill him, but it was enough to knock him to the ground as I boarded the plane. I shut the door. “Go…” I said to the pilot, who nodded, leading the plane down the runway to take flight. I sat in a plane seat, numb to the world. Grabbing my journal, I began to write again.

Day 12
I lost them. They’re gone. It’s not fair. Why did I survive and they didn’t? Maybe there’s still hope. Perhaps we’ll find a cure and save them. Maybe one day, we’ll even meet again, as humans. Maybe…

A single tear fell on my page, as the plane engines roared. We soared over Orlando, going to a place. The future was uncertain. As the sun set, I drifted to sleep again…numb to the world.

Weekly Four, Just the Intro

Author Notes: TW for Guns, Weapons, hints to death, not sure how much applies to the intro, but putting it anyway

The house I was staying in was an eerie sort of silence. The night was falling over the small town I was in, and I could hear zombie noises coming outside. I wasn’t worried though, as I had barricaded the house enough they wouldn’t be able to get in, and even if they did, I had my weapons. Grabbing a can of tomato soup, I downed it like it was a Mnt. Dew. I sighed after finishing the cold and lonely meal, reaching for my journal in the light of my lantern. I had always kept a journal, always willing to document my life. However, I only had time to grab one from my house before I left. I could have grabbed an old one, but I didn’t. Those happy memories were gone, filled with the shallow remains of my new life. Instead, I had an empty notebook, empty minus the few pages I had written in, documenting my new life out in the ruins of the apocalypse. As I was flipping to an empty page, the first entry caught my attention. I pushed a strand of my black hair out of my face, reading it.

Day 1
Here I am, alone. Alone in a world full of former humans, who want nothing but my blood. Today was an eventful day. I went to school like normal, despite the CDC’s warnings of a potential disease that could be spreading. Around mid-day, things went sour. An alarm went off at lunch. A public service announcement popped up on the screen. “WARNING! ZOMBIE VIRUS DETECTED! BARRICADE YOURSELF IN YOUR HOMES AND WAIT FOR FUTURE INSTRUCTION. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!”
Kids panicked, and I rushed home, only to find my neighborhood already hit by the zombies, including my house and my parents. Luckily the zombies had moved on to find someone else to attack, so I had a moment to pack some stuff. I grabbed an empty backpack, putting a blanket, some canned goods, some bottled water, this empty journal, a few writing utensils, a picture of my family, and a flashlight. I also grabbed the family gun and a knife. Then I ran for my life. Eventually, I found a small house in the middle of nowhere, whose owners looked as though they had evacuated in a rush. I barricaded myself inside, beginning my first day alone surviving a zombie apocalypse.

Critique for @wolfiebear-


It was late at night, just after midnight when I looked at my phone. There was an email notification, saying Sent at 0:00. What kind of idiot sends an email at midnight? I was curious so I looked at the email.

I feel like Sent at 0:00 needs to be in italics or quotations. It might be correct grammatically, I'm not sure, but I feel it could benefit from a tiny bit of formatting, especially if you match the formatting with the email.

Re: The Ides of March
talb.donotreply@wahoo.com
to jceas11@ymail.com
Today is your last day alive. Enjoy it.
And remember, beware the Ides of March.
Reply | Forward

I scrolled farther down, looking for the “please give us all your personal information and you won’t get killed!” but there wasn’t anything, just those fifteen words. I put it out of my head and tried to sleep, assuming it was spam or something. I had a Geometry test tomorrow and had to sleep so I wouldn’t be nodding off in the middle of calculating sines or something.

Maybe capitalize the p in please, again, not sure if that is grammatically correct or not. I'm a bit new at this critiquing thing. Maybe add a line like I drifted off to sleep, the email all but forgotten.

My alarm went off the next morning, and I slammed the snooze button so violently the screen broke and glass went everywhere. I felt a sharp pain in my chin, and I brought up my hand to feel the place. There was glass embedded in my face, mere inches from my neck. I pulled my hand back and there was blood on it. I had almost died, I realized. That glass would’ve slit my throat.

I went into the bathroom and pulled out the glass. Thankfully it wasn’t too deep. After I washed the wound I continued to get ready for school, shaken. I grabbed my backpack and a muffin on the way out of my house. As I stepped into the street I took a bite of my muffin. The sweet banana taste flooded my mouth but it turned sour as I heard the screech right before the impact.

Maybe add banana in front of the muffin when you first introduce the muffin, that way when later you say, “The sweet banana taste” the banana doesn't seem to come out of nowhere.

A car was careening down the street, and I was in the middle of it. It tried to break and seemingly magically stopped right before it would’ve mowed me down. I just stood there, staring down the driver. It was a very old woman, someone I felt shouldn’t be going double the speed limit down a residential street. I ran to the curb and tried to gather my thoughts. This was the second time in literally an hour that I nearly died. This was not normal.

The clock.
The car.

Suddenly I remembered the email. Was there a connection? There couldn’t be. Could there?

A few hours later I was eating my lunch when some idiot threw a Cheez-It at his friend. The other guy threw back a peanut. I was standing behind the first guy and as I opened my mouth in a gasp the peanut flew past me, missing me by a hair. I’m very allergic to peanuts, so it could’ve killed me if I swallowed it. Another brush with death. This was partly getting on my nerves and partly scaring the * out of me.

Scratch forum did censor a word here, I don't know if you noticed, but just letting you know, in case you wanted to fix it.

The clock.
The car.
The peanuts.

I somehow made it through the next two periods, and after a near miss with my pencil in Geometry I had finished the day without getting fatally injured. I was so on edge on the way home from school that it took me twice as long as usual. It was getting dark as I got home, and I turned on my street, nearly running into someone walking their dog. It was a massive thing, more like a wolf, and it started growling and gnashing its teeth at me. The owner looked between me and the dog and then tried to wrench it away, but in a sudden burst of power the dog slipped free of the owner and tackled me onto the grass of my lawn. It was on top of me, crushing my chest and snapping its massive jaws at my throat. Slobber got all over my face and if I wasn’t so terrified I would be absolutely disgusted.

You could use a comma after Geometry and power.

Between me and the owner of the dog we managed to shove it off of me, but it still had some bruises and lots of tears in my clothing. The man looked shocked by his dog's behavior, so I imagined it wasn’t a normal occurrence. He apologized profusely and I tried to brush it off, but once the man and his dog had left my block I ran into my house and barricaded myself into my room. No one was home, my parents wouldn't be back until dinner, and I thought my sister had some sort of sports practice for the next few hours, but I wasn’t taking any more chances. I changed out of the clothes that were crusted over with dog spit and after my shower–where I barely avoided cracking my head open on the wall–I sat on my bed.

Another comma after the first dog.

I had always considered myself a pretty chill person. I didn't have any particular incapacitating fears and I was pretty steady in crises. I was going to go to university and become a biomedical engineer. I was going to start a family, in some little suburb. I was going to provide for them, I was going to make some sort of impact in my field. I was going to have a steady but fulfilling life. I was excited for my future. And now I was going to die.

You use pretty twice in the first two sentences. Maybe changing the second one to generally or some other word that would still fit the context, but avoid reppatiion.

In the morning I hadn't thought much about it. The clock was a freak accident, and the car could've happened to anyone. Throughout the day I had become increasingly concerned, but the dog changed everything. It became…personal. There was definitely something wrong, and it was definitely about me. My throat tightened at the prospect of not making it through today. I moved cautiously to my bed and sat on it, my phone in my hands. I closed my eyes and thought through the day.

The clock.
The car.
The peanuts.
The pencil.
The dog.
The shower.

I went through them each, trying to think logically and not succumb to my fear. They were all accidents, which had to mean something. The dog seemed to be the exception, as the only one that reacted to me specifically. All the others could've happened to anyone. I was wondering what that meant when there was a violent crash.

Maybe add a bit more emphasize to the last sentence, but wording it like I was wondering what that meant when suddenly, there was a violent crash

Something was careening through my now broken window and I could only see it for a split second before it filled up my vision and made contact with my forehead. It was a golf ball, hurtling towards me at an immense speed. I was frozen, and the less than a second as it traveled across my room felt like an eternity. I watched my phone tumble out of my hand as if in slow motion. The force of impact made me fall over onto my bed. There was a massive pain in my skull and then I must have gone unconscious because there was nothing for a long time.

a key in a lock
the squeak of a door
a shout of my name
crying
911
what's your emergency

When I woke up I was in a hospital. It seemed stereotypical, a steril white cot surrounded by blinking machines and a steady beep of my heart rate. My vision was blurry at first, but I blinked a few times and everything cleared a bit. There was an IV in my arm and a dull pulsing in my head, but it wasn't too bad. I glanced at the heart rate monitor. It looked steady to me, but then again I had zero medical training. A nurse must have been notified that I woke up because a woman bustled in wearing scrubs and a bright look on her face.

Sterile is spelled with an e at the end.

“Hi! I'm your nurse, Trina. You had severe head trauma instigated by a golf ball and you have a major concussion, but we expect you to make a full recovery.”

My mouth was dry, so I only nodded.

“Do you need any water?”

I nodded again. I wanted her to leave so I could analyze this occurrence as well. She turned and started walking out, closing the door but not before I could hear my family hounding her on when they could see me. I didn't really feel like talking to them right now, but I presumed I could thank my sister for my current state of aliveness.

The clock.
The car.
The peanuts.
The pencil.
The dog.
The shower.
The ball.

It was almost 10pm, not even 24 hours since the beginning of this horrific day. I was thinking about the day and I suddenly remembered the email that had set the ball rolling. I needed to see it, right now. I knew I wouldn't be allowed my phone, but there was a computer across the room I could use if I got rid of Trina for long enough. I called her in with a blue button next to my bed, and asked her for some food from the cafeteria that was conveniently located on the other side of the hospital from the emergency room.

10 pm needs a space in between it and you can remove the comma after bed.

“Of course dear, anything in particular?”

I shook my head. “I'm fine with whatever, thanks.”

She left and I glanced at the clock in the far wall. After fifteen minutes had passed I moved to the computer and turned it on.

It felt like there were a thousand tiny nails boring into my skull and my eyes. The pain clouded over my vision and I looked away from the machine. The soft light filled the room, and I squeezed my eyes shut against it. I tried to turn around but I tripped on something. I fell, in the dark, and hit the ground hard. I nearly impaled my stomach on a spike embedded in one of the many machines surrounding me, but it only grazed me.

I love the figurative language in the first sentence!

I lay on the ground, motionless. There was a commotion outside and I could hear someone trying to get in and someone else stopping them. Strangely enough, it sounded as if Trina was trying to get in to help me but…my parents were stopping her? I tried to figure out what was happening but my head was still buzzing from the aftershock of the computer incident. I just waited, and then the door opened and the room flooded with florescent light. There was a figure so backlit I couldn't figure out who it was, but it certainly was not Trina. I wondered if it was an angel, come to take me away.

Fluorescent is spelled wrong, and the final sentence could benefit if you changed come to coming.

The figure stepped forward and pulled out a gun.

THE SISTER

This transition is a little confusing, I don't know how to fix it, but my first time reading through I had to backtrack and read this part again to understand fully it had switched from the brother to the sister.

He was a liability. That's what they told me. They said he would lead to us being caught, that he needed to be “disposed of.” They let me leave clues, and said if he picked up on them he could live.
He didn't.

I put the bullets in the gun. I flicked off the safety. I opened the door and stood over him, tortured all day from my attempts at ending him stealthily.

The clock.
The car.
The peanuts.
The pencil.
The dog.
The shower.
The ball.
The computer.

The gun.

I pulled the trigger.

I was celebrated.

I was the mastermind.

Overall, I really liked this story! It was really well written, and it defiantly brought suspense until the very end. The only thing I'm a little confused about is how the sister orgastrated it all. Did she have magic powers to make the dog attack, to make the peanut fly almost into his mouth. Maybe you meant to leave this up to speculation, but that bit seems a bit unrealisitic if you're trying to keep the whole story more realistic. If you were going for the magical mafia vibe, then you nailed it, spot on! Again, I am new at this critique thing, so I hope I did it justice and I appoliguze if I sound too mean or if I did anything wrong

+425 words of critique

Daily March 30

Imagine your character getting the superpower they've always wanted to have…now throw that thought out the window. Today, you'll be writing about a character getting their least favorite superpower in 200 words, for 200 points. Feel free to share for an additional 100 points!

Phoenix was surrounded. She scolded herself internally, knowing she was the one responsible for her current predicament. Her hands shook slightly as flames danced at her fingertips. “STAY BACK!” she said, masking all her fear behind a brave mask. ‘Come on Phoe,’ she thought to herself, ‘Hold out until backup arrives. Just a little bit longer…’
She had told Corseia to call backup and was pleading mentally, hoping her friends and advisors would make it in time to help save her. She sent fire flying forward, catching a Dark Tribe's member clothes on fire, rendering him, and a partner useless for a bit as they fought to control the fire. She spun around to meet her next attacker, finding herself face to face with the leader of the Dark Tribe, Maria. Phoenix didn't know much about Maria, to the point where she only knew her human style name, but she knew Maria had it out for her. Maria activated her powers, darkness swirling around her like a shadowy hurricane. Phoenix forced herself to dig deeper into her magic, making her fire burn brighter and hotter. The two elements met when each of the welders threw their magic at the other. “NOW!” Maria yelled, and suddenly Phoenix felt as though a vast darkness hit her like a speeding bus, sending her flying to the floor. The darkness was suffocating, overwelming, and Phoenix could only manage a small, strangled cry, as everything around her disappeared into a void.
Suddenly, she heard a bird cry, sensing the darkness being thrown at her disappaing slighlty, as it's owners lost focus of Phoenix. She felt a bird land on her wrist, and felt something in her change. Something big, deep down inside, where her fire found it's spark to ignite. Phoenix struggled to open her eyes, but couldn't, slipping unconsious as she faintly heard the voice of Diamond in the background

~Later~

Phoenix woke, groaning. She was in the Fire Tribe Hospital. She sat up, looking around, her head throbbing. Suddenly, she heard a noise at the door, as Diamond rushed in. “Oh my gosh Phoenix, you're awake! Are you ok? Of course your not ok, you were just attacked by the Dark Tribe,” he said, the words rushing out of his mouth.
Phoenix's head throbbed even harder, as she put her hands to her forehead. “Shut…up…” she said, through gritted teeth.
Diamond nodded, studying her, freezing. “Phoenix…your mark…it's changed!”
Phoenix shook her head, confused. “What do you mean its…changed?” she said, her voice trailing as she looked at her mark.
No longer was her mark the sole flame of a fire mark. Instead the flame was surrounded by a ring of many colors, 8 in total. “Oh…my…gosh…” she whispered.
“What?” Diamond asked.
“It's an elemental mark.” Phoenix replied. “I'm like…the most powerful Magkoa in the world now…” she said, but her voice wasn't filled with joy, or pride. Instead, it was full of fear.
“What's wrong?” Diamond said.
“It means…it means I…IT MEANS I HAVE THE SHADOW MARK DIAMOND. IT MEANS I'M LIKE THEM!” she said, her hazel eyes full of fear.
“Calm down Phoe, calm yourself. You'll be fine, you can control it. Besides, you don't even know if it's a powerful shadow mark or not. You do remember that most hybrid marks don't always produce the most powerful second or third marks. Besides, you've got every other mark too. Surely Shadow won't come out on top,” Diamond reassured her.
Phoenix nodded, but her quick, forced breathing showed she wasn't calm. Suddenly, a doctor rushed in. Phoenix screamed, startled by the sudden entry, and shadow magic darted out of her hands, filling the whole room with shadows. Phoenix began to panic, unable to control the new magic. Dispite all her better judgement, and the cries of Diamond to stop, Phoenix grabbed her emergance teleporter, her trusty MK-362, and pressed a random button on it, causing her to vanish from the people and tribe she loved.
Landing in a field, which was likely stored from the previous, Dark Tribe owners for a training grounds, Phoenix sunk to the ground. “What am I going to do?” she whispered to herself, now scared that it wouldn't be the Dark Tribe to take down the tribes…but it would be her.

+713 words

MMAP Tracker:


Detective Chloe, on the case!

Team: Dragon (attempting to also inflitrate and join Ghost…we'll see XD)

Word Goal for April: Uhhhhhhh
Current Word Count for April: UHHHHHHHHHHHHhh


Dailies completed:
None atm

April 7th

Titles are very important, and most of us struggle with coming up with some that fit the story we want to write. So today, everyone drop a comment with a title you made up and let others claim it to write a 400 word story based off of! This prompt is worth 300 mangoes.

The Flames That Engulf

I woke up in a small room. The light illuminating the area was blinding, forcing my weary eyes to squint. My head was pounding, like a million elephants all having a dance party in my brain…but the elephants were very uncoordinated and broke every wall and floor they touched. I sat up, acknowledging mentally the fact I was in a small bed, with white sheets, and a white pillow. My head hurt but at the same time…it was empty. Looking around the room, I realized that it was unfamiliar. Searching through my memories I came up dry.
“Where am I?” I whispered, before freezing. “Who am I?”

I grunted as another wave of pain flashed through my head, and with it, a flicker of fire. A scream. A pair of gleaming turquoise eyes stared into my soul as if they were pleading with me. The flames rose, engulfing the eyes.

My breathing was ragged as I tried to piece together what the memory could mean. I looked around the room yet again, my eyes locking on the door as I suddenly heard a rattling of the doorknob. I stood, alert, despite my pounding headache.

“You're awake. That's good,” a boy, around the same age as me said. He had auburn hair, light skin, and the same turquoise eyes that bore into my memory. His outfit was a casual black uniform, and he had a badge that had the blood-red outline of a lion. He was familiar…as if I knew him…as if I could trust him.

“Who are you?” I whispered.

His eyes widened, surprise flashing over his face. He quickly regained his professional look, but that brief flash was enough to send my thoughts spiraling out of control once more. His tough, commanding voice broke the stunned silence. “Do you remember anything?” he asked me.

I shook my head, before pausing. “Only a small bit…fire. A scream. Your eyes. Nothing else. Not even my name,” I said, surprised at how timid my voice sounded.

He nodded. “I'll have to tell my ad- I mean the doctor about this,” he said, turning to exit.

“Wait…you can't just go…please…tell me something…what's going on?” I begged.

He didn't say a word as he exited. I sat back down on the bed, unsure of what to do. Everything was so foreign…the only thing I knew was the boy. I decided just to wait. Wait until he came back.

A little while later, he came back, and with him was a tall grown man, with dark red hair and deep emerald eyes. He wore a similar, yet more formal uniform, with the same lion badge. The man spoke first. “You really don't remember?”

I just shook my head, a little intimidated. He nodded, intrigued. “Well, I'll fill you in on a little bit of information. Your name is Tahara. You are a member of my group, the Rebellion of Lions. I am the head of the Rebellion. You can call me Commander Ryan,” he said. “This is my trainee and future leader of the Rebellion, Liam.” He said, gesturing towards the boy. “You were out training with Liam, and one of the equipment malfunctioned. That's what you remember. The machine blew up, and you took a serious blow to the head,” he finished.

I hesitated, all this information pouring into my already pounding head. I looked at Liam, unsure if anything was correct, but my gut told me I could trust him. He nodded, a mixture of emotions showing through his turquoise eyes, emotions that I couldn't quite decipher. Was it a mixture of compassion…kindness…guilt…love? I couldn't tell.

“I'll give you another day to rest. But we need you back on your feet. You're one of our best fighters Tahara. We need you back in the fight.” he said.

I nodded, watching as they walked out. I sigh, flicking the light switch to the room off, before sinking into the bed, and falling asleep.


~~~~~~~
The next few days were a strict training regiment getting me back on my feet. Me and Liam trained together, him filling me in on the history of the Rebellion. The weapon drills came easy, years of constant training natural instinct, something I couldn't forget. Even though Liam had to remind me, I quickly fell right into the flow of the fight. Now I sat in the cafeteria, chatting happily with Liam.

“And then I was like *BOOM* and I scared him straight out of his skin!” Liam said.

I laughed, imagining the story of this prank.

“Yeah, you should have seen him! The look on his face was priceless,” he continued. I watched him, still listening, watching his turquoise eyes light up as he told his story. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him mindlessly fumbling with his badge. Suddenly, I wasn't in the cafeteria, but on the training grounds. Liam was standing nearby, a sorry look in his eyes as he fumbled with his pin the same way he was currently doing it. “I don't want to do this…please don't make me do this…” his voice came, a soft whisper nearly lost in the wind.

I heard myself inhale sharply. “If you don't want to do this, then you don't have to. I don't know what you are going on about, but I have my mission, and nothing will stop me from completing it. Nothing,” I said, my voice firm and sharp.

He gazed at me in sorrow. Suddenly, the memory flashed. “Wait, no!” I whispered as flames engulfed me yet again.

“TAHARA!” Liam shouted, trying to snap me out of this daze.

I shook my head, focusing on my breathing. Looking up at Liam, I breathed in yet again, before saying, “What happened at the training grounds?”

“What did you see?” Liam asked.

“There was a mission. What mission? What happened that day?” I demanded.

Liam inhaled. “We had a small fight. I didn't want to worry you about that, so I didn't tell you. I'm sorry,” he said, looking down.

I just stood, walking silently out of the room, heading for the bathroom. Everything felt so right…I felt like I knew Liam, that I could trust Liam, yet everything felt wrong about this place. I walked into the bathroom, my brain on autopilot, as I went to stare in the mirror. My blue eyes stared back at me, taking a look at my golden blonde hair, a reflection that seemed so familiar, yet so foreign. The mirror reflected the badge, the lion badge. I stared at it for a moment, before going to leave.

Once out in the hallway, I noticed Liam rushing silently down the hallways, heading for the commander's room. I snuck after him, suddenly curious. Hiding outside the closed door, I listened.

“Commander. I bring news,” Liam started.

“What is it?” the Commander asked.

“She's remembering more. She remembered our fight. She doesn't know…yet…but her memory is coming back,” he said, sounding worried.

“That's not good…we can't let her know…if she does she will be a danger to us all! You know how close she was to taking down the entire rebellion. And if she regains her full memory, there is no telling where her loyalties lie. Our best bet might be to take her out now before she becomes a problem,” the Commander said.

“But…” Liam said, his voice suddenly full of emotion.

“Liam. I need you to remember where your loyalties lie. I know you love her. But she didn't return the feelings before the incident. She barely returns them now. There hasn't been enough time. And if she does remember…would she really choose you over her lifelong commitment to the Kingdom?” The Commander asked.

The room was filled with silence before Liam spoke again. “Just give me more time. And if she remembers and rebels, I will personally take her out myself.” Liam said.

“Good. That's what I want to hear,” the Commander stated.

I didn't hear if Liam replied. I just began to run. I slipped out of the building, heading for the training grounds, needing to process everything. I sunk to the dirt. “Who am I?” I whispered.

Suddenly, I heard voices, voices that were familiar. “Where is she?” one said.

“I don't know. What if she died on the mission? What if she's trapped in the compound?” another one said.

I looked up, seeing two people in navy blue uniforms, with crown badges on them. They spotted me, running over. “Tahara? You are alive? We've been searching for days!”

I nodded, not knowing who they were, but somehow knew I belonged with them. “Yeah…”

“Why do you have a Rebel pin on?” one questioned.

“Uh…I lost my memory….I barely know what's going on…they tricked me into thinking I was one of them…” I said.

They nodded, before freezing. One raised her sword in defense. I spun around, seeing Liam. “You,” I mutter, fury filling my voice.

“Look…I don't know what you know…what you heard…but-”

“I heard everything. You lied to me, Liam. I TRUSTED YOU.” I said, furious.

“I know…and I feel awful…I was just really hoping you would give me a chance…you never even thought about me just because I was a part of the Rebellion. But I've never had a choice…I was hoping I could change your mind…the fire went out of control and it exploded, and you blacked out and I panicked. I never meant to lie…I was just hoping…hoping you would see me for more than an enemy,” Liam said, looking to the ground.

“I can't go back, Liam. It's not where I belong. I can feel it in my heart, Liam.” I said.

“I'll come with you. I'll lose everything…I know….but I don't think I could continue without you. And we have to go…my distraction should be just now taking control, and we have a little bit of time to get far away.” he said.

He glanced behind him, and I saw flames begin to engulf the compound. I looked at Liam. “This isn't over… I haven't forgiven you…but I also won't hold this against you forever. Prove your loyalty to the Kingdom…and to me. Prove to me that I can trust you as much as I trusted you when I first woke up. And maybe…just maybe…we will work out,” I said, before looking towards the two soldiers. “Lead us home,” I said.

They nodded, and together we ran towards the Kingdom, leaving the flaming compound behind.

1752 words