Dang WL.  You scared me.  I thought you were already posting:P

Be patient Joanne - his story is worth the wait!

lookin forward to it

Case: Black is an experiment for me based on two theories of horror and suspense.

1. Adults won't believe in monsters unless they are plausible.  That doesn't mean they don't believe in monsters. We've all met them. They are the predators and the pervs, the confidence men and criminals: the every day monsters that populate the world.

In Case: Black I've tried to create as believable a "zombie" as possible. The agent that creates them, the constraints on the "zombies" and the progression of the disease are all very, very plausible.

Viruses don't work as fast or as completely as they do in 28 Days Later. If they did, we would all be extinct. They do work the way that they do in Case:Black and that is by design.

What I'm shooting for is a story that you can "buy" without a ton of suspension of disbelief.

2. Build scenes that are fast, short and directly contribute to the plot and builds suspense and raises the stakes as it moves.

I'm not trying to do fan fiction or "me too" zombie story.

I am trying to start from scratch and create something new that makes something with many tiny cold feet run across your spine. A horror story that doesn't go away when you eject the DVD.

Speaking of Man turning into Zombie, writer's haven't focused on that phase, none of the things I know of, but I've seen a Zombie turn into Man. Have you seen Warm Bodies? Where zombies after eating brains, they accumulate memories from them, making them human. It was ridiculous, but it was good though. Funny. I'll be waiting for your zombie story.

Speaking of Man turning into Zombie, writer's haven't focused on that phase, none of the things I know of, but I've seen a Zombie turn into Man. Have you seen Warm Bodies? Where zombies after eating brains, they accumulate memories from them, making them human. It was ridiculous, but it was good though. Funny. I'll be waiting for your zombie story.

I've seen it, but my story is kind of the reverse of Warm Bodies, in almost every way.

You are right, the process of transformation is usually really quick; there is no exploration of what dehumanizes people, when they become zombies.

James, you took one route in your storytelling and I take another. We are both breaking different ground in this genre. I don't want people to compare us, becuase we're really different in how we approach things.

Also, while Warm Bodies is expository (like the way I usually write) my short story took the route of minimalist expression. Much of the story is written in between the lines with hints towards tragedy and the isolation within groups rather than support of civilization.