2006 and Still Rotting!

Wishing everyone on this New Year's Eve a happy and safe 2006. Writers keep writing, dreamers keep dreaming, and most important of all let's make 2006 our most enjoyable.

I'll be sure to continue to dish out more undead, zombie stories for the new year.

New Year's Rising

The piercing cold night air dried every inch of Steven's face. He could literally peel the dried up skin off of his face in thin layers. His nose and ears were frozen and numb to the point that he couldn't feel them anymore. The snot ran down onto his lips. Steven reached up and rubbed the thin drying coat of mucus off of his mouth. The taste of salty mucus reached his tongue and he spit it out in disgust.
He looked at his watch, it was an hour before midnight. An hour before the new year rang in a list of promised dreams and desires. He let out a heavy sign and his breath manifested in front of his face like a thin transparent cloud. The thermal undergarments that clung to his body now felt like an extra layer of frozen skin. Even with a heavy coat, gloves, and hat on the cold air penetrated inward.
Steven surveyed the area. Crowds of people had already gathered around Times Sqaure to watch and cheer as the bright, glitering ball prepared for its desent.
"How can all these people stand out here in this cold?" asked Steven.
"They're probably just numb and running on adrenaline by now," responded Edwin. Edwin Meyers stood next to him and rubbed his arms while trying to look alert. He reached down to check his sidearm.
"This is your first year patroling Times Sqaure on New Year's right?" continued Edwin.
"Yeah," responded Steven.
Steven also reached down to check his sidearm. New Year's in Times Square was like Fort Knox under heavy surveillance and complete lock down. Those that were lucky enough to get here early got inside the perimeter to enjoy the ball drop. Cops surrounded the entire zone and made sure the evening's events went as smoothly as possible. This year however, security was more tight not only for the usual threating claims of terrorism. An unsual high number of strange deaths and violent attacks had risen during the last month causing the mayor to ask for an increase in security.
"I really hope everything goes smooth tonight," said Edwin. "I just want to go home myself and enjoy the rest of the night eating and drinking."
Steven laughed feeling the tension that was growing in his head from intense concentration disappear. It felt good to laugh although it didn't take away from the fact that he was still freezing.
"So you have anything special happening once you get off your shift?" said Edwin.
"Not really. I'll head home and eat something before crashing to get rid of this New Year's frost bite I'm getting from standing out here."
"That's it. You're not getting wasted or maybe a little action if you know what I mean."
"Yeah I might," Steven said smiling. "I'm gonna go see my girl later after I get some sleep."
"Sleep? Come on you're twenty-five just go on over after your shift and enjoy yourself. You're still young and you're surviving this little bitty cold weather."
"I heard it might snow tonight."
"Sure looks like it might."
Steven looked up at the sky. There were no stars, not that you could see any with all these bright electric city lights illuminating everything. The gray clouds were visible in the night sky under the blaze of lights. It was a decent atmosphere.
It was a moment to behold in person. The amazing display of lights that ornamented Times Square, the stage and performing artists that entertained the crowds that found themselves packed like rats behind fence baricades. The crowds of people fenced in around Times Square stretched for what seemed like blocks. It was a sea of multi-colored shapes waving, jumping, and shouting in unison. Watching it on TV in the warm comfort of your own home was nothing compared to seeing it in person thought Steven.
Despite precautious warnings, and the unknowing subconscious fear of the recent violent happenings people came to enjoy themselves.
"Hey look at this guy," said Edwin as he pointed behind Steven.
Steven turned to find a disheveled man staggering around toward them.
"Where did he come from?"
"Probably found his way around while having one too many drinks." said Edwin.
The man was falling down drunk. He wobbled from left to right dragging his feet behind him, but his face stayed staring straight ahead at them. Steven looked on wondering if he should brace the man's eventual fall or continue to enjoy the sight.
"Getting wasted on a day like today must be fun," said Steven.
"Like you do know what that's like."
From behind a faint scream emerged from somewhere in the large crowd of shouting partiers followed by a screeching metalic noise. Steven turned to see the fence railing keeping the crowd of people in bulging out as a swarm of onlookers hysterically tried to climb over and out. Something had panicked them.
"What the hell's going on?" asked Steven.
Up the street another section of the railing was collapsing as more people tried to break through. The scene looked like an out of control mosh pit that was breaking out of its barrier. Other cops raced to that section; in front of them the approaching man tripped on a curb and toppled over hitting the ground hard.
"Shit."
"See what's causing the panic," said Edwin. "I'll check on him."
Steven approached the railing to find people being crushed in front as the whole mass pushed outward trying to break through the barrier.
"Stop!" Steven shouted. "You're hurting these people."
A wall of panicked screams and shouts of "get us out" smacked him back in the face. He grabbed the interconnecting joints between a set of railings and pulled hard. It didn't budge and he pulled harder and felt the whole structure tilt over on him. The front of the mass dropped and Steven moved in to help those caught on the bottom as people ran everywhere. The police force moved in to calm the crowd, but were only trampled on or shoved aside as the panicked spectators rushed out.
In the sea of chaos, Steven saw a man struggling to free himself from an attacking individual. He pushed forward and felt hands reaching and pulling on him to lift themselves out. He lost sight of the man and turned to find Edwin and found him struggling on the floor with the drunk on top of him. What the hell was going on he thought. A scream erupted from behind and he turned to find the man being bitten across the face. As his assailant pulled away and a chunk of flesh ripped off the man's face, and red muscle and blood spilled out.
Steven's eyes shifted again and caught a woman screaming in strained agony a her attacker ripped into her throat pulling out an artery that spilled blood all over her white coat. He pulled out his night stick and tugged on the woman as she fell over into his arms the blood pouring out like a thick stream of red liquid. The attacker moaned agitated and reached forward, Steven swung his stick across the attacters face. Dropping over the man stirred on the ground and slowly picked himself up and looked back at Steven.
He growled and exposed his teeth as the blood dripped down his chin. Screaming from everywhere echoed around him and he stood in the middle of that pandemonium holding on the to a dead woman. He saw another individual eating the arm of a fallen victim. He didn't know what to do. Steven turned around and couldn't recognize what direction he was facing. There were other attackers in the crowd but he couldn't tell them apart from fleeing bystanders or how many there were.
Gun fire ran out up the block from somewhere in the chaotic sea of uncontrolled panic. Steven continued to drag the woman out of the crowd when she turned and clawed at his arm. He dropped her and she continued to pursue him while crawling on the ground. She had the same agitated, growling, and blinded look of fury on her face. It wasn't possible he thought. She was dead, as if the bloody hole in her neck wasn't evidence enough.
They were like zombies, but it wasn't possible. For a moment Steven's mind leaped ahead of him as he thought he was dreaming. More shooting erupted from across the street as panicked wails resonated and filled the enclosed setting of Times Square. The approaching new year was being greeted with death, and Steven found himself in that surrounding lost and staring in all directions. Snow flakes had started falliing in steady streams covering the ground and dead bodies with a thin layer of white frost.

Beginnings...an intro.

Where to begin, what would be a way to begin an endless saga of undead writings? Funny they're dead, but writers still like to write about them and their helpless victims and so shall I. At the very least I will try to capture the essence of the shambling, rotting beings that I've come to enjoy. I hope that those who read my entries will also come to enjoy them.

So read on as the journey begins through a slowly zombifying world.