Geron Kees

Hmm. HMM. You missed you calling, I think.

I had FUN writing this. But of course I worried about my characters, and tried to think what they could and could not do, and what they could and could not survive. And of course they care about each other, because I care about them all. If you write about people, it's hard not to care about them, just as if they were real. Each one is a facet of yourself, or born from people you know, and of course you care about people you know. Thanks!

Oh, brother. The American Civil War has some pretty gruesome moments that made it into diaries and memoirs, and some of it is just sad and scary reading. Guys died of wounds that would be quite survivable today, just because infection or gangrene set in. The state of battlefield surgery was simply primitive in the extreme, and no one understood about sanitary procedures or cleanliness. The deaths among the wounded often, eventually, met or exceeded the number of men killed outright in battle. It did come down to individual immune systems. Some people died from minor scratches or abrasions, while others sailed through amputations and lived to talk about it later. I would think anyone in a survival situation these days would understand that there is no more medical care to be had, and that you'd better look out for yourself, or face the possible consequences.

I've shot on an indoor range before, years ago, but I never once did not use ear protection. But the very first time I ever entered a pistol range, I was late putting my headset on, and as I stepped onto the range, someone started firing almost right in front of me. I never forgot the way that felt, either.

You really want me to tell you the ending? Well, it's like this, the zombies.... Nah, you don't want that!

Happy you are enjoying. As for the rest...I can't say!

Thanks. Scary to think about all that might have gone wrong. i tried to, and then didn't want to. I wanted the guys to come out okay, so I ignored all the stuff that yelled, "Hah! I could do THIS instead!"

Really! Can you imagine a zombie olympics? "And that's Carl, who used to be a weightlifter in his previous life, but who has really come back to life, sort of, since he turned blue. That bar he is about to lift will be a world record if he makes it, as you will note that the weights have been removed and a Volkswagen Passat welded onto each end..."

Caring about people adds a lot of mojo to courage that is already there. I would not have been able to sit by at the camp and watch. I would have wanted to do something to help. I figured she would be the first one out the door. I guessed right!

Can't give anything away here, but you will know more about that later. Sherry kind of likes Mike. But you never know!

It would still be hell on the ears. I didn't think to have them talking loudly after the battle. Missed another one!

Thanks. I didn't actually mention the ringing of the ears, just that the noise was incredible inside the truck when Mike fired. I probably should have had everyone yelling at each other after the battle until their hearing returned. Hindsight, sigh.

See, you were quite prescient. Everyone reading has has some great insights into how this could go. Makes me think that the idea of writing a story by committee ain't such a bad idea, after all!

Who knows what goes on in the mind of a zombie? I sure don't. I'm making this up as I go along!

Chance plays a part in most events, and it did here, too. This was one of those things that could easily have gone the other way. Frankly, without the introduction of the unexpected element - Sherry and her weapon - it may well have gone bad for the guys. I just figured that there would be no way the guys in the camp would all just be able to stand and watch while this went down. Sherry was the most effective person to come to the rescue. I think she did the right thing, too.

Exactly. Not to mention that the other guy was shooting back, and never hit Mr. Finney a single time. It takes a trained pro to use a weapon with any accuracy in a high-stress situation. You know how much ammo is exchanged in a firefight that simply never even gets near the enemy? If a monster capable of pulling your head off popped up suddenly in front of you, could you guarantee that you would remember to shoot at the head, or would you just plain shoot the crap out of whatever you could hit? I would like to think I would remember to aim at the head. But I think my reflexes would be out in front of my reason in that race, and, at least in the first moments, I would simply be trying to hit the sonofabitch any way, and anywhere, that I could.

I agree that they need to get some headshots....but in the excitement, the biggest target draws the fire. These are kids, despite what Jack has drilled into them. Plus, the zombie doesn't exactly stand still and present its head as a target. Haha. Relax on the sapphires and amethysts. Neither will ever pull your arms off and beat you with them.

Chapter Five There was a sense of relief in the cab of the truck after they had finally made contact with the camp. The zombie was nearby, but obviously not intent on facing the Thompsons. The knowledge that the others were okay took the edge off their fears, but could not quite reign in the imperative to be there, where things were happening. Twice Richie tried to tell Jeremy to slow down, afraid that the truck might actually flip over, the way it was bouncing in the rutted drive.

Absolutely wonderful! Now, that's a zombie-fighting dude! I want that Thompson in my fateful climax scene, so that no one has to reload, ever again!

I think I would be polite even at the idea of hypodermic needle-sized bullets, when applied to the face, and in number. Then again, who knows? I might just laugh, and feel a band aid was worth the trouble.

Oh, I gotcha. You just happened to be there. I liked the first few episodes of Lost, just because they hinted at a lot of things. But they didn't deliver, and I got tired of it pretty quickly. My use of chainsaws is confined to the occasional downed tree, and will stay there for the foreseeable future. Braveheart, like most Mel Gibson movies, was good one time. He's a little too hammy for me to watch more than that, with the exception of the first two Mad Max movies, which were fun enough to see several times. And I have never been to the Tonga Room, though I have heard about it from another visitor.

Hey, if a Smurf walked up to me and stuck a gun in my face, I would tend towards politeness, no matter how goofy he was dressed!

Hmm. Bet the TV at your place has a permanent splatter of blood on the inside of the glass!

Thank you. Zombies in most movies are really only dangerous due to their numbers, and because if they bite you, you become one. Remove the numbers and the contagion, and a zombie would become less dangerous than a violent and angry human being. So one shambling, brainless goof would be a toy to a bunch of kids with survivor instincts and training, automatic weapons, and an inclination to shoot first. We needed something different, because this story line ends a little differently than a regular zombie movie. That's all I can say, because Droughtquake will be after me with more movie titles if I give him an opening!