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 Halloween Short Story Contest 2011

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Savfantasy
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Savfantasy


Posts : 2184
Join date : 2009-09-14
Age : 33
Location : Your dreams

Halloween Short Story Contest 2011 Empty
PostSubject: Halloween Short Story Contest 2011   Halloween Short Story Contest 2011 Icon_minitimeTue Nov 08, 2011 8:08 pm

The Australian Way

The news lately had been flooded with news of malfunction that happened in a PC4 genetics lab in Sydney. Apparently one of the researchers had managed to walk out of the lab with tube of genetically modified material in his pocket.

This was followed by a series of experts explaining how such accidents are next to unheard due to the very strict protocols in which researchers have to abide by in PC4 labs.
One man explained the research being done in relation to the tube was a prototype cell which was ment to invade stem cells and get them to create a new type of cell which would be able to move between cells and stop them from developing mutations like cancer.

Then one day the news stopped reporting on the incident, not even mentioning it at all. The Sydney news stations just stopped broadcasting all together, then slowly the silence expanded, Canberra went, not even that red haired backstabber Julia was one the news anymore. Nothing from that area was. 

Brisbane was holding a festival at about the same time, a big concert, all of it broadcast live. Halfway through the show one man, covered in dirt run through the crowd and up to a camera, demanding to be heard out. What he spoke of put the crowd into more of a trance then any of the bands had. Apparently he had broken out from Canberra. The whole area was surrounded by government troops, but not just our government, but the Americans, British and Chinese. He told of how the infection had not been contained and that people were going crazy. Eating other people, reduced to less then humans… Less then animals. He told how he and a few others had escaped, tricked some American soldiers with stories of drop bears and snuck through while they were distracted, and how one of them had trod on a branch and was left with more holes in him then your favorite pair of socks.

This man, whose words shocked, but the look in his eyes brought fear into the very soul was being broadcast live into every free household in Australia. Then, an angry mutter in the crowd, the thunder of heavy boots, blood covered the camera as a gun played it’s song and the man dropped to the screams of the crowd. Next thing the camera had most of the blood wiped off it as a stern looking American put his face much to close to it.
He gave the warning to, in short, stay civil, in you homes… Or else.

______________________

Three houses, much the same size. Big, well kept and from the outside looking like the pride and joy of mature upperclassmen and, maybe his/her family.

But although the houses were similar, the history behind each family was very different. There was one girl, who was currently living in some loophole. In the house by her own and only 17. One Aboriginal boy with his adoptive parents, and one boy who was the odd one out in his own family.

James, the stick thin nerd from a family who had made their sport. By the look of things his other siblings were heading down the same path. While they practiced the sports they wanted to do for the rest of their lives he hacked government weapons programs just for something to do. So now anytime America wanted to launch a missile they had to listen to Waltzing Matilda on a loop for two hours before the program would let them progress.
Rhiana, the poor girl whose mother died giving birth and whose father died on her birthday. Brought up by her military father or whatever maid he could get in to look after her.. Until a few weeks ago.

Then of course there was little Madric, the kid from the North whose only real family had been his grandfather anyway.

Three people out on there own, a little different from everyone and living so close together. It was only natural they would become friends.

The day the man was murdered on live television the three had been watching their favorite bands while drinking pepsi and eating whatever junk food they had been able to get their hands on. Singing like idiots and laughing like they belonged in straight jackets. Then when the man interrupted it got still louder, even though no one had touched the remote. All laughter died at his words, then when his blood painted the screen Rhiana broke down, instantly into tears.

“What the!”
“Rhiana? What is it?”
“He just got shot idiot… And, she is well… A girl y’know?”
“Shut up James you tool… It wasn’t that… He… He was who a friend of my fathers… When dad got called down there, he was still kinda happy because he would be able to meet up with an old friend down there…”
“… Rhiana? You don’t think? That guy, the one who…”
“No!”
“Bu..”

A frantic knock on the door made all three look up. A second later the door opened and Mrs Altor ran into the room “You three weren’t watchin….” It was then she noticed Rhiana “Oh shit… Well, no time… It’s all true. Whatever it is isn’t as contained as they are saying.” She gave James a glare. “I walked into someone's bedroom just as some code on his computer was broken. The military there has been decimated, apparently they think these things, these people. There saying they are like zombies… That there have going to have destroyed this area before sunrise.”

As one they all looked out the open door to a sunset which without that news would have seemed beautiful. Swallowing a lump in his throat James managed to break the sudden silence “Well.. What are we going to do?” Mrs Altor seemed shocked that they were there as she looked back at them and her towering son “We are leaving! Going to Brisbane and paying out way onto the first flight out of here!”

“But mom, even if we could… Do you actually think they would let us all on a flight out of here? How would you get all of us there anyway! Rhiana and Madric wouldn’t fit in the car with the rest of us let alone Madric’s parents!”

Looking like she had just been slapped but with a blunt anger in her eyes she grabbed James’ arm “You and your brothers and sisters are my priority, I have nothing against your friends but you are who I’m worried about!”

With a full on yank James ripped his arm out of his mothers grip, tears were running down his face as he glared at her “If you want to leave them then you are leaving me as well… To do that to my friends… You are not my Mother!”
With a look of murder she walked out the door, a few minutes later they heard the car leave the driveway and slowly the noise of the engine faded. The whole time the three just stared at the door.

It was James who broke the silence, a brittle mask of calm on his face “Well looks like we better get ready for a zombie apocalypse. I shotgun the shotgun hahaha” and a shaky, unnatural forced laugh. But at least it broke the spell on the other two. Rhiana for one got up and gave him a long hug while crying as well.

Madric, scratched his head nervously “Not to sound rude but… James is right… It’s nearly dark.. We need to get sorted or we are going to be zombie food…”

The chilling words did little for their mood but as he was right they went into town, using all the money they could find to buy food, water and any weapons they could get. James was in charge of food and water. Rhiana due to looking the oldest and most of the town knowing her fathers job, as well as having been part of the fire arms club since she was old enough to join was sent to get things like ammunition and any guns she could get.
Madric, was to get things like Cricket bats and that type of thing.

As the sun set they returned to Rhiana’s house. Madrics adoptive parents had left after James’ without even thinking about him. James and Madric had been successful, but as she couldn’t tell the owners why she wanted the guns and ammo, and so she wasn’t able to get any.

As the last light faded the three went about unplugging all the electronics in the house and turning every light off before moving down stairs into her fathers old basement.

Madric looked around bewildered as she opened the thick metal doors “Wow, why do you have a basement anyway?” Rhiana stepped down and turned on the lights before answering “Dad had to add extra security for some of the guns he kept down here. A normal safe didn’t cover it. So he had this built. But he took most of the guns it was built for when he went away.” Her voice was shaky as she added “After… After, they took the rest of the guns back with them… I think they might of left a pistol or something though… If it wasn’t army then I guess they would have had to.”

Watching as Rhiana shut the doors and locked them over them James had to ask “And, it’s ventilated? We aren’t going to suffocate?” She just shook her head rather then going into the story of how she had accidently locked herself down there once.

They spent the rest of the afternoon moving things around the ‘basement’ and checking if they had left any guns there. Overall the gun room was left with five guns, three pistols and two shotguns, all the shelving also proved useful for the supplies they had gathered. This left plenty of room for their bedding. James almost had a heart attack when he found an internet port in the basement, and promptly wired his laptop (Which he refused to leave behind.) up and hacked into the internet. This also put him back to talking to Rhiana who had unplugged all their wifi modems when they had moved through the houses turning lights off.
They went to bed, early. The moment they started hearing the first weird sounds.

Morning came as a shock. As the last dregs of sleep drained themselves dry and the three started to become a bit more active, moving around enough to trigger the motion sensitive lights.

“Talk about rude awakening!” Were James’ first yawned words as he sat up. Despite James complaint they had slept close to twelve hours and were all very much ready to wake up.
It was Madric to voiced what they were all thinking “Well I guess we should go check out the situation?” They all nodded and got ready.

They managed to get to the street with seeing anything out of the ordinary, but after that they noticed that half the town had recently been on fire. “Shit man.” It was the first thing any of them had said, and immediately they heard a grunt and some very round running.

A person with dried blood all over him, and part of his ribcage missing was walking lopsidedly towards them, a cocky lopsided grin seemingly glued to it’s face.
“Isn’t that?” “My old boyfriend, the one that cheated on me? Yes.”

She moved towards it “I really hated when he gave me that look.” With that she leapt the remaining distance and swung her foot hard into the zombies groin. By the look on the things face, those nerves were alive. Her next move was to bring up her pistol and shoot it point blank in the head. The silencers she had found stashed in a draw turned out to be very useful.

“Is it just me, or do you get the feeling she would of done that even if he wasn’t a zombie?”
With that they moved off to town, sticking close to Rhiana.
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Halloween Short Story Contest 2011
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