Geron Kees

Jack opened his eyes, and looked slowly about. He was safe in his own bed, in his own bedroom. Beyond the windows, golden sunlight painted the gardens about his country estate, while teams of gardeners moved among the paved walkways, tending to the flowers. There was no converted silo, no group of kids struggling for survival. All was beautiful and right with the world, all was safe and secure. "A dream," he said slowly, still not quite believing it. "It was just a dream." He smiled, relieved; but then a new thought came to him. "This would make a great story for GA! As soon as I've had my breakfast, I'll begin typing it up!" He reached to the side of the bed and pulled the braided cord hanging down the wall. Far off, somewhere in the depths of the house, he heard a faint gonging sound; and then the little intercom by his bed spoke: "Good morning, sir. Are we ready for breakfast?" "Yes, Gregory. Country ham and eggs, please? And juice - I must have some juice." "Right away, sir." Jack settled back against his pillow, smiling. A dream! And what a wild one it was, too! This would make a half-decent story, certainly. Now, if he just began it here, some time after the world had ended, and then had his characters do this... He was still lost in thought fifteen minutes later, when there was a polite rap at his door. "Come in, Gregory!" Jack didn't even look up as the man entered, he was so wrapped up in thought on how his new story would play out. "Just set it on the nightstand, Gregory. And thank you." "Very good, sir." Jack heard the soft click of the silver tray as it was place atop the nightstand, but was still so engrossed in plotting out his new tale that it took several moments for him to realize that Gregory was still standing beside the bed. Annoyed now, he looked up at the butler, intending to send the man on his way. "That's all, Gregory. Thank you --" Jack froze. The man beside the bed, arrayed in his finery, was grinning at him, beautiful white teeth set in a face that was weirdly purple and blue. Jack just stared, as the butler leaned slowly forward, his hands reaching. And then the man grabbed him, and yanked him out of the bed. His strength was enormous, incredible, and Jack screamed in agony as he was torn limb from limb. "Breakfast is served!" Gregory grated, the last thing that Jack heard in this world. Jack screamed again, and then died. Outside, in the garden, the gardeners turned their blue faces towards the mansion, and smiled.

Alzheimer's and genes have a link, but no one seems sure of what it is yet. Some specific gene variants have been linked to the disease, but the problem is that everyone that has the suspect gene does not get the disease. For now most medical professionals simply say that certain gene combinations indicate a likelier possibility of getting the disease at some point in life. I have to agree that anything that steals away a person's individual spark is tragic. That we are immaterial creatures housed in a material brain seems a bit of a design flaw on someone's part. It is bad enough that flaws in our bodies lead to physical difficulties in old age, without having our minds dwindle to the point that we can't even enjoy the last years of our lives. Just one more indicator that the universe has never been a fair place, and never will be.

Well, Richie and Jeremy are out. If there is anyone else in the camp that hasn't made up their minds about things, they're keeping it to themselves so far! Getting near the end now. Just hope you feel it was worth the trip when you get there.

That's the old joke: what do you get when you cross a table saw, a vacuum cleaner, and a dishwasher? A Volkswagen.

Plot? Am I supposed to have a plot? NOW they tell me!

Thank you. Can't wait for you to see what happens next, either! I couldn't see any real reason to stick to the one chapter every other day thing. I'll be posting the rest of the story a chapter each day until it's done.

Um...I wasn't referring to the characters in the story, necessarily.

Marnie is in a difficult position. She is every bit the leader that Richie and Jeremy are, and she makes certain that she says her piece each time. She is smart and has much to offer. But she also very much feels a need to be home to look out for the others. It's her nature, the thing that drives her. The center of her world is the camp, and those that live within it. Agree on the divisiveness even within communities that are already set apart from others. That's one of the hard things to tolerate about being human. We are all individuals, with our own points of view. For some reason, some people feel their point of view is the only one that matters, and that everyone else should toe the line. Why these kinds of people always seem to wind up running things is obvious - they are compelled to take steps that ensure they have some power to enforce their views on others. Compulsions are a real bane to human existence, because what compels one is too often thrust forcibly upon others. And, every human being on the planet has an asshole. That some people think with theirs is something the rest of us just put up with. Goes back to what I said about nice people being unable to give the boot to the jerks of the world.

That sounds sad to me, on so many levels.

An awful lot of interest in this hunky, naked guy-zombie, from a bunch of grown men who should have better things to do than think about hunky, naked...oh. What am I saying!!

I like the name, 'Mr. Frisky'. Makes me imagine a centerfold spread in PlayZombie, for the ladies among us with blue skin and an ability to make men scream in, um, ecstasy.

Haha. I think the zombie is less worried about his eyebrows than he might be about having other parts singed. I know I would be! I think a group of young people thrust together in a bad situation would be even more likely to form very strong bonds than would a group of adults in a similar situation. Anyone placed into a situation where they have to rely on others for survival had better learn the art of cooperation, as the world frowns on loners and miscreants in situations where unity is required. Just ask any group of soldiers who depend on each other for life in a time of war. They either cooperate, work together, and survive...or not. Sadly, disruptive types are too often tolerated by the others in such a situation, because good people find it difficult to expel even troublemakers from their midst. Just takes one asshole to get everyone killed. Such characters often make for suspenseful reading, but I couldn't quite bring myself to toss one into this mix of pretty decent young'uns.

Nice people often find each other. In a situation like this, chance - even luck - would definitely come into play. But I agree that this group has decided that it is one for all, and all for one. D'Artagnan would be proud of them.

Always good points you make. Every kid on the planet has a subject he or she loves, that has touched something inside of them and resonates strongly. It's one of the things I love about the human race, that you can go anywhere in the world, into any political or social division, caste, economic state, or education level, and find a young person that loves music, or stares up at the stars in the night sky, or creates beautiful artwork from the commonest of items, or who has such an affinity for animals that even the wildest ones come to to them readily. Every gift a person can possibly have is represented, everywhere, with every subject under the sun an enchantment for someone. It truly is what sets up apart as a species, that our minds can be captured by an interest that outweighs all others, and which in so many leads to talents and creativity that stun the rest of us. We are all specialists in at least one thing, the one thing we love above all else, the one thing that makes us smile to talk about, and the little lights in our eyes to shine the brightest of all.

Yep. I am in New York, another state that prohibits the use of scanner in vehicles. There are other things that go on in this country that are probably unconstitutional, but which stand until someone challenges them in court. The average challenge, even for an ex post facto violation, which should be quite obvious, takes ten years to work its way upwards through the legal system. The simple fact is that both states and the Feds try to get away with whatever they can, and are quite happy to have their way for the ten years it takes to prove their actions unconstitutional. Fortunately, we do at least have this process, and it still mostly works. There are far too many other places where there are no safeguards to liberty, and no recourse to the decisions of the courts.

I'll see it. I promise!

In my state, it is illegal to use a police scanner while driving in any vehicle. You can have them at home, and you can carry a portable, but not in a vehicle. I was unfamiliar with these rules and had to look them up. I guess because I am not interested in this stuff, I do not know much about it, beyond being aware of it in general. Which is why I did not really consider it in the story, and which makes my point that not everyone would think of this.

Chapter Thirteen Marnie was up earlier these days, trying to beat the sun at starting the day. She had made it a priority to now get up while the last of the night was still at hand, to avoid the possibility of another sneaky visit by their zombie friend. The realization that the creature could move before the sun was actually up had scared her. They had been banking on darkness as security, and knowing now that even the pre-dawn scatter of illumination at the horizon was enough to set

I surrender!

I don't even remember that much. Just that Alec Guinness and Burl Ives were in it, and that the novel was a Graham Greene effort, not as good as his screenplay for The Third Man, but still good. I guess I'll have to watch that one again.

You obviously are interested in that sort of thing, and therefore know a lot more about it than the average person. Scanners are a sign of interest in listening, again a hobbyist thing and not something the average person does. I would guess that if the kids went through every house in town, they would find at least one scanner. Jack would have done that, I think. Your point is made, but it's moot at this point, short of a rewrite.

Okay, you make a good point. I grew up at the very tail end of the cold war stuff, and even I remember the Emergency Broadcasting System. But that stuff is absent today, as well as are radios in general, for a lot of younger people. People carry digital music everywhere, and don't listen to radio like they used to do. This is not to offer an excuse for why these guys did not automatically look for radio contact with others, as I am sure Jack would have thought of it. But I do feel that radio is not in the mind of young people today like it was for kids forty years ago. I have one radio receiver in my entire house, and it's an emergency/weather portable. I don't listen to radio, or even watch broadcast TV. Everything in the form of electronic entertainment I do today is digital in nature. Even I do not think of radio much. Guess that's what the problem was there.

If it was an invasion, the aliens really didn't do a very good job of it. They should have dropped ten million zombies to take over, not so few that this group has only encountered two in as many years. But then, I have to say that, as it's the official position of the author that no one can guess the story's ending!

You know, libraries have been a refuge for many for a very long time, almost as potent a place to go as a church (and, um, far more interesting). If civilization were to crash, libraries had better be conserved by the survivors, as most other forms of knowledge are going to evaporate along with the power grid. Libraries, as repositories of knowledge, are invaluable. Much as I like to do research online, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can replace a big collection of books for sheer durability of the knowledge base. I have about 5000 books in my house. I've been collecting them and reading them since i was a kid. If the world ends tomorrow, I will know how to do a lot of stuff, because I have a book on it. And, sadly, if the winters get harsh and there is no fuel available for the fireplace...I at least have furniture to use as firewood!

Yep. There was also the issue of powering alternative com gear. The portable sets that many police use are battery powered, but a base station at a police station would be AC at 110-120. Oh well, it doesn't matter. There is so much stuff to consider about the end of civilization that I was bound to miss some of it.