ColumbusGuy

Hmm, zombie flambe? Zombie jubilee? I'll pass. Armani suits and now this--hinting that our purple friend might be 'family'? More please!

Hey, one of the comments sparked something--no pets! Cats are survivors and not all are indoor ones, particularly in the country.... Still catching up!

Cherry muffins sound good, but like Troy, you can leave off the coconut. I used to make a great cherry soup from a German recipe that could be served hot or cold depending on the season. It worked best with sour cherries with the sugar the recipe called for--a nice contrast of tart and sweet. I loved the tie-in with Geron's story...why do my boys have to live before the internet? Keep 'em coming, Ivor!

Well, I was only gonna read a few and I'd caught up with all the other things...the story's characters were like potato chips, 'nobody can eat just one'...and nearly every chapter had a lead in to the next one...what's a hapless reader to do? I'd seen the story listed as updated every few weeks but never looked at it, then checked out the first chapter. Not the average Nifty story--it had plot, drama and good characters...and sex where it made sense. Novelty for that site, so I was intrigued, and am now waiting for the next update. Not a classically crafted work like some European authors gift us with, but not dime novel either. :) Now hush so I can get on to your next adventure!

Just when you think it's safe to go back into the water.... Okay maybe not quite, but at least you've adjusted to things as they now are--something new comes in to upset the status quo. Zombies, got it...crystal statues instead of people, ditto...don't know why, hard but we can deal...now an airplane giving us far more organized survivors. Friend or foe? Fellow victims or creators of the present situation? I'm adapting to this Twilight Zone world, nd now we have a twist before the last commercial break! Nearly caught up...

Catching up here, got side-tracked by another story online. Hadn't planned it, but since the next chapter wasn't out yet, I thought I could do some of the other...silly me. Before I knew it I was sixty five chapters in and had to know what was next. Sorry Geron! An interesting issue raised here, and also more speculation about what the 'zombies' are. Philosophy versus practicality. A conundrum in normal times, but vital in survival modes. Purple is my favorite color, but I'll cheer on Richie and the crew any day of the week. On to the next edition!

Poor Adam, all revved up and he can't release the brakes. The new guys sound like fun, and it'll be fun to see them again if their schedules can ever work out. Liked the 'zombie' reference.... :P I loved bowling, and was even on a league for a year after moving into Columbus...sixteen teams, and if you counted in handicaps, which they did, we came in first place. Unfortunately we couldn't get a team together the next year. My dad bowled in the 60s and I used his shoes but bought my own ball and bag. His scores were consistently around 200 plus. More please!

Dang, that was one nerve-wracking chapter! A lot of action and new questions raised...and no one to give these kids any answers. With this happening over night, there wouldn't have been any printed analyses of it. You have to wonder though...did it happen at the same time worldwide? That had to be the case for no broadcasts being made about it in areas hit first. Mankind is certainly stupid enough to do this to itself...but I hadn't thought of the possibility that it was a quest for the creation of a super soldier. Biological warfare was bad enough to imagine, but this.... One of the tags mentioned 'aliens'--is that the zombies, or the creators of them? Could that be a false clue?

I'm more convinced with each chapter that I don't want to meet one of these zombies...the idiotic rotting corpses of most stories and movies are bad enough, but add in the ability to plan? No thanks! I do wonder about the true effectiveness of the Thompsons--if the only way to kill a zombie is to eliminate the head, then why waste your fire on the body? I know that part is easier to hit, but after the first rounds, shouldn't you be able to move to the head, especially if these kids are supposedly trained in the gun? Panic is understood, but more than once several shooters have fired, all at the body.... Not a complaint, just wondering my friend. Somehow, sapphires aren't as attractive to me as they once were...nor amethysts. 😜

Well, I can't say I'm surprised, knowing how controlling Geoff's mother is. I imagine she'll try to use the house as a lever against him at some point.... Every coming out is different, as we all know. My father found out by accident a month or two before we sold our house and moved into Columbus to separate places...he said, despite my being 29, 'not under my roof'. Once we moved I never heard from him again and he died thirteen years later. My mom, after remarrying after the divorce from my father, said it wouldn't bother her if I was gay since i was her 'baby', but as I was single I didn't let on. At that time, I saw her on weekends when she'd visit me in the country where I'd gone to college, and she even asked a nice guy a few years younger than me to visit me and be friends since mine lived in town. I bet she didn't know we'd be good enough friends that he'd ask me to massage him after he did chores, stripping down to his undies. :) Still, once I did have a boyfriend after moving into town, she met him and took an immediate dislike to him 'just because', so I didn't come out as it would have created more hassles than I wanted. In the end it didn't matter as she died of kidney failure six months before he committed suicide in 2007. If she'd given him a chance, I think they'd have gotten along, but once she formed an opinion it was set in stone. You just can't predict how coming out will change things....

WOOF!! You got my email, buddy....

The bit about the gasoline hadn't occurred to me despite having to buy new every summer to cut my grass...but mine is in a two-gallon can. The point about the huge tank being usable shows that our Author is like a Boy Scout, always prepared. Got a pic of yourself in shorts and a kerchief, Geron? :P The talk about radios just shows me that things like that would have been covered if Jack had lived longer--other things to insure basic survival took precedence...and then his time ran out. In time, I think the future of the species will mean that marriage will be an obsolete custom as limited to couples, unless it is modified to allow multiple offspring by different pairings. Richie may realize that in time, and I think he and Jeremy would be terrific fathers for the future and yet maintain their special bond. Cliffie....grumble...guess I'll call you Ivor! :)

I like it--the boys are well suited to each other. I've answered a few rapid fire questions just as Paul did, and it always surprised the person, but what else did they expect under the circumstances. The night before high school graduation I sat up until 5AM in my country back yard talking with my German exchange student friend...wanting badly to make a move on him but not getting to the point. We did cover a huge range of subjects and corresponded for years once he went home, then I did the same with his mother. He got married later, but I think he may be divorced now. I still carry his picture in my wallet along with a few other friends from those times. Can't think of a better way to warm up, my friend!

This was a very powerful chapter showing us how firmly a group can come together in adversity, and the trauma that losing one of the group can cause, especially if the loss is of a leader and the mantle falls upon shoulders that weren't qute ready for it. That they continue to survive is a testament not only to Jack, but to Richie and the support he gets from the others...particularly Jeremy. The big mystery of course, is what caused The Change...I hope we get some insights into that before long. It seems hard to accept that this is a natural occurrence, but is it by Man's doing? Got fingers crossed for the shopping expedition ahead!

Tons of comments already my friend...it shows that a new take on the zombie genre is worth trying! I've tried reading a few other zombie stories here and elsewhere, and frankly, I stopped within a few chapters from boredom. Same-old, same-old...but not for this one. :) So much we need to know, and we may find out in time...but like the survivors in our group, we are left to chance and the lack of any organizational framework to let survivors know the score. That these kids have managed to survive is amazing and shows us the resilience of the teen mind--we do what we can with what we know--and won't go without a fight. More please!

Following right along with the boys again, but I still don't know what to make of Mason. I don't know if it's something in his upbringing, or his character that gives me pause, but I hope things will work out for him. Some people it just takes longer to warm up to, while the others are already old friends. I got the feeling that some of the guests weren't comfortable with others being gay...and if that's true, then they won't be friends of the core group for long, knowing how protective Clarissa can be for her friends. I'm thinking of the Caleb guy, and the girl who seemed to be put off at Jim's appearance. More please Graeme!

See, that wasn't so hard to figure out was it? 😺 You're one of the writers I know that has never written anything I don't like, so rfest secure in the knowledge that I'll like it all, suspenseful ending or not. Banana milkshakes work, as do orange ones, or grape juice and hot chocolate....

*mumble mumble* Something's missing...where is it...what is it... *mumble* Oh--a cliffie! I'm glad Troy is getting some of his playfulness back, and with the wonderful family and boyfriend he's got we shouldn't be surprised. I hope the doctor okays full speed ahead for their private lives on Monday. :) Guess I need to check out this 'Love, Simon' movie as I've seen it mentioned more than once in stories...some of the foreign films can be a bit of a let-down if the endings aren't always as happy as they might be. What can I say, I want a happy ending for the couple. A more mainstream one I saw ages ago that I loved was an Aussie one called 'The Sum of Us' that was great, and from the other end of the Empire, 'Beautiful Thing' also made me smile. Banana muffins...dang, now I want breakfast!

This could have been the template for my unsuccessful relationships, but it wasn't. While I was seeking a connection that would last, the other guys claimed that, but never stayed around longer than a few months. I guess people were scared to commit back then, but I grew up outside big cities and was looking for a 'normal' life but with a guy instead of a girl. I can't say my immediate family were good examples--all of them had multiple marriages. Aunts and uncles who lived mainly in the rural areas remained together and seemed happy, but who knows since I didn't live day-to-day with them? Their kids were always happy, so maybe that was an indicator.... Like Paul's parents, mine bickered occasionally, but that took two to happen, and my father was quiet and avoided confrontations that my mother began. They finally divorced when I was a college sophomore, and that was a relief in a way. Fault lay on both sides, but the root cause was my mother's, and she never admitted that. So, I fully understand Paul's pain and rationale, but at least he's giving their bond a second chance. I believe if the love is still there, things can work out, and it seems likely in this case. I rate it a 'Sad' because it struck close to home for me, but it was also reaffirming and thought provoking.

Alas, no. I had a thought that it was a deranged parishioner of Adam's old church, or perhaps Mike who got out of hospital...or even Kyle's brother Jason. See, I get too wrapped up in a story to keep track of clues in mysteries, so I'm often surprised unless the author lets us know more directly. :)

Hey Wildcat, my high school was built in 1957, and the middle school attached to it was built around 1965, and I had classes in both, but in all that time no teacher ever responded to an announcement or request for a student to come to the office--we were sent off with a hall pass. The school was where all the kids from three local elementaries went in the little farm towns, so maybe the schools in bigger places had two-way stuff then, but I attended junior and senior high from 1971-1977. The last year I was there, a new building was put up on the site next to us, and that became the new high school in '78, so I was never inside. It may have had such technology, though the exterior was stark white with very narrow vertical windows that couldn't open and looked like a prison. I'll try attaching a pic of the '57 building I attended:

Okay, at least Troy came out unhurt, but I have little doubt that he was one of the kids who jumped on Diamond to subdue him...a point which he may have glossed over for now. Mr Edgars is an amazing man and I'm glad he wasn't badly injured. I hope he gets back to teaching soon. Panic Buttons are something I know nothing about--long after my school years. We had fire alarms that could be activated at points in the halls, but nothing I can recall in classrooms, even the PA was receive only. Heck, I was just in time to take part in a few 'duck and cover' drills in case of nuclear attacks--but the drill for tornadoes was the same except going into the halls and putting your head between your legs and covering your head...of course, it was more effective to 'kiss your ass goodbye' than to provide any real safety from bombs. Might have worked against funnel clouds, but we were lucky in not having any close to our schools. Now at least we know Mike isn't a threat, but not how he died or the circumstances around his and Diamond's relationship... Questions and more questions....

dkstories is deceased? I read mike's comment and knew none of the prior history to this story, which I was loving right up to the last chapter. It makes me angry now that he felt the need to do that in response to people's reactions--it deserved a better resolution, no matter how long it took to get there. I hadn't read his work before, so had no idea what to expect, so I was disillusioned at the end, and my anger now is aimed at those others who so badly affected his love for this story. I am also though, upset that the only note for the reposting was that the final chapter was going to be controversial...I feel it would have been better served to put one in saying that dkstories was deceased and this was being done to memorialize him. Posting the chapters still under his name made me think he was doing it himself, and thus that we might hope for some changes. Had I known, I would have approached this view that 'at least it's finished' and be grateful. There are authors whose fate we don't know, like Dom Luka who just vanished, and leaves us with no closure at all. I read Kombat Kids and loved it, bu only in starting the sequel was there a note that that book wouldn't be finished since the author was dead. If GayAuthors knows the fate of an author, I think it would be helpful to put a note on their work that says the writer has died so we know whether we can expect unfinished stories to be completed in future. With pseudonyms being used by a lot of us, how are we to research these things? If this is stated somewhere on site, then why not gather them into a list and post it somewhere easily found--before I lost a lot of my vision I searched the forums for Dom Luka's fate and found a few things but no one seemed to know...but I went through hundreds of things to find that much. Now that these things are much harder and I use narration software, it's just too time-consuming trying to go through forums for little posts that might say that an author is no longer living. I hate to think that I had something bad to say about a good author--I believe in approaching new ones to me with an open mind, and having a dialogue with them. That he is no longer around saddens me a great deal--I had hopes that he might take up this story again.

I check out the Prompts regularly for ones I might use, and while that one was intriguing, I couldn't find a wayto use it that I was willing to put into one of my existing stories. You did a wonderful job with it, and it evoked just the emotions you intended.

My eyes were watering before I got to the end, dear friend. I've had pets as long as I can remember until August of 2015 when my last Siamese Bortai died at 15 years from cancer. I thought she'd be my last pet as I didn't know how many years I'd have left with the things going on in my life, but she went first out of the blue. Cats are sneaky, not often showing signs until the last few days when I got her to the vet and discovered it was far too late--'too many lung tumors, so it was eat or breathe, and not both'...She resides in a nice copper urn on my mantel now. I was fortunate that my first pet--talked about in my first Prompt here, and my first piece at GA--lived from when I was three years old to the summer before I gegan college at nineteen. All my pets have had long lives with the loving care I gave them, but the length of the bond doesn't matter--it's the loss of a beloved friend that is foremost. I encountered the Rainbow Bridge first in Norse mythology if I'm right--the link between Midgard and Asgard where our spirits live on...it's a beautiful thought that we can rejoin our animal friends when our time comes. I don't know what Christianity teaches about the fate of pets, but I always got the impression Heaven was just for people to sing praises to a deity for eternity...sorry, without my pets that would be hellish for me--and I can't sing worth a damn. So, Heimdall, please let me cross the Bridge when my time comes.