Death Role
We’ll all play a role in the apocalypse. Some of us will live, some will die and a few of us may become lost to our friends and family in the abyss of the spreading plague.
At Crypticon Seattle 2013, I offered fans the opportunity to become characters in my dying world. A location, to set the scene, was drawn from a bag. A roll of a die determined the outcome of the story. The chapters that will follow, all under the “Death Role” category, are the product of this little game.
The stories feature real people in fictional situations with sometimes gruesome result. All characters are used with permission and last names have been withheld for privacy. Enjoy and do forgive minor errors!
Death Role: Post One, The Barn
June 13, 2013
The Barn
Alexander had been running through the woods for hours. It seemed as though the forest would never end. Just before the sun went down, he emerged from the trees and into a large wheat field. Scattered about in the grain stood more of the walking corpses that he had been trying to escape. On the far edge of the field he could see a large, weathered barn. At the door of the barn stood his father, his arms waving above his head, signaling for Alexander to go to him.
He would have to run straight through the dead to rejoin his dad. The barn was the best thing he’d seen all day and maybe they could find a way to climb up to the hayloft that he hoped to find inside.
Being young and still yet to grow to full height, Alex was quick on his feet and able to dodge the hands that reached for him as he passed. He was too scared to look behind him, knowing that the zombies would be following. His presence was agitating them and some of the dead began to moan as though in frustration at the meal that was getting away.
He came to stand in front of the barn’s huge doors, but his father was nowhere to be found. The doors towered above him and he pushed against them with his remaining strength, but they wouldn’t budge. Behind him the undead drew ever closer.
“Dad!” he yelled as he ran around the right side of the building, his eyes scanning the wall for any way inside. As he neared the next corner of the building he found a hole where the wood had rotted away. If he wiggled, he just might make it through.
He dove for the ground and reached his arm through the hole. His eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the interior of the barn. The hole led into what looked like a horse stall. There was movement in the shadows and suddenly a face emerged from the darkness; a girl, as young as him, infected and ready to attack. Seeing her up close reminded Alex that his father was gone; one of them.
He scrambled backward through the hole, but the zombie girl grabbed one of his arms, keeping him from escaping. Another arm gripped him from outside of the barn. He was stuck, halfway in and halfway out, with zombies on both sides.
As their teeth broke his flesh, he knew his luck had finally run out and he’d be seeing his father once again.
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