Let me first start off by saying something. I’m a writer. It’s very easy for me, as an individual to create something from the air and to express it through writing. Whether that’s by jotting the ideas down into a book, or opening a new file on my laptop; either way, the job gets done.
Unfortunately, for me, over the past two months, my muse wells have run completely dry. I haven’t felt this in a long time and the thought that I am not being as creative as I’d like is utterly depressing.
So, in order to combat this immense writers block, I am undertaking a small yet personal challenge for myself and I hope I get supported in doing so. I am going to write in my blog, everything that happens to me over the course of this month of December, it’s basically keeping a diary of everything that goes on in my daily life but it’s more about putting the words to paper (or rather keypad in this example) to help overcome this problem.
Therefore, without further due, I give you my life.
Yesterday was a bit of an adventure for me personally, I had taken the day off from work because I was invited to a job interview for the local railway network. I was contacted the week before from out of the blue by a woman asking if I was interested in a position now available. Now normally I wouldn’t have had a problem with this, after all I had spent the whole of this year trying to get interviews for a job, any job. But the problem was that at the same time I was being offered an interview, my current boss in the job I work with at the moment was offering me a part time position as a weekend supervisor.
It was at this point where I struggled with my decisions, should I go for the interview and if I got the job just leave my temp one. Or do I take the new supervisor job, a role that I wasn’t fully comfortable with. I had far to many questions buzzing in my head at the time, yet with good reason though.
I’m a simple man, I like my jobs easy and straight-forward, and whenever I feel that my control of a situation is sliping, then I panic.
Anyway, I digress.
In the end, I spoke to my current boss who encouraged me to take the interview anyway, in fact, quite alot of people said the same thing, and they were right after all. Nothing bad ever happened from just having an interview; you show your face, shake your fanny about and leave. And if they liked your fanny enough, they’ll call you back and say you got the job.
So around 2 o’clock yesterday, I boarded a train from my hometown and headed into a direction I have never travelled to before, Ipswich. The journey took about 40 minutes, leaving me plenty of time to find the Customer services booth where I needed to sign in.
I was right behind a person who stepped inside first and introduced himself by name and that he was here for an interview. I quickly realised that he currently works for the company already, seeing as he spoke to the staff members as an equal. I then signed in after him and was told to wait right there until I was called. Thirty minutes passed and two more interviewees arrived, the small booth was getting very busy all of a sudden.
Finally, me and the man (who’s name was John) were sent upstairs to wait for someone to see us, and so we waited for another half an hour. It was nerve-racking, and hte only good thing was talking to John. He was a nice bloke and I hope he got the job because he kinda needed it.
Anyway, eventually someone poked their head of a door and asked who I was, after a miscommunication, it turned out that I was originally put down as a NO SHOW, which was bullshit because I arrived perfectly on time. So I had an interview with the world’s most....apathic man ever. All I can remember thinking during gthe whole thing was wanting to come home, it just seemed like a waste of time, almost as if I shouldn’t have bothered in the first place.
So, yeah. That was yesterday, today however was rather mellow. I had a late shift for work which was easy to do, but I was determined to write this blog out during the day so I had something to show for my muse. So here we are. I know nothing particular interesting happened today, but here we are. These are my writings and I hope they help.
Thursday 2 December 2010
Sunday 5 September 2010
Random
Ever wonder where some of your old entries disappear to on the world wide web after going on holiday for a week.
I swear I had more entries in this bad-boy yet all I see if three. Grrr... I'll sort it all out and have some more reviews written up at some point.
I swear I had more entries in this bad-boy yet all I see if three. Grrr... I'll sort it all out and have some more reviews written up at some point.
Tuesday 17 August 2010
The Death of Left 4 Dead 2?
I am a frantic gamer, I love to play, both offline and online. Perhaps one of my most favourite games of all time has to be Left 4 Dead 2. It’s now been over a year since it’s release and I still play it from time to time and enjoy it greatly.
Although since the set of incidents from last night, I feel as though that game nowhere near comes close to being fun any more. Let me explain.
I get invited by my friend to a game of versus so I’m sitting in the lobby for ten minutes, waiting for 3 more players to appear. Sure enough, after a while all three appear together and immediately I knew I was in trouble. They all appeared together and set about being Infected too quickly for it all to be convenient.
Sure enough, my friend loads the lobby up, we get in-game and immediately there’s a black window coming up, with three votes right away to kick me from the game to make way for their fourth team-member.
That’s game one. Let me just summarise the rest of the night for you all right now.
Game 2 – Scavenge game, on the Port level. My ping immediately reads 600 but after a few seconds to calm down, it returned to a 49 or so. But when the action picked up, a Lag-Bomb exploded and my ping exceeded 4000. Funny enough, I was then immediately kicked from the game.
Game 3 – Scavenge game, on the Atrium Mall. I join and see that my team has two people on it, shooting each other and running around setting all the gas cans on fire. Attempts to kick them proved pointlessly and so I left the game.
Game 4 – Scavenge Game, on the Atrum Mall. I join from the Infected side. One of my team members has been spawned as a Hunter and runs and walks around with the other team. They don’t shot him or anything so I immediately figure he’s one of them, he’s a pub stomper. Again, attempts to kick him were pointless as someone on my team refuses to part with him. I get frustrated at this point, but my rage-quit moment was after catching someone with my tongue who was alone somewhere, that said Hunter in question appears and slashes me and my tongue, freeing his comrade who then in turn kills me immediately.
At this point, I turned the game off from the PC. I was getting so frustrated that I had to chill out. I came to the living room with my partner and explained what had happened. It came to the conclusion that we should see if Griefing and Bad-Match-Making systems applied to the 360 Version of Left 4 Dead 2. So I start that up, and immediately start having problems.
Game 5 & 6 – I was immediately hit by lag spikes that only seemed to affect myself and my team-mates. So I left these games to look for new ones.
Game 7 – Finally getting somewhere, I enjoy a full game of Scavenge and we lose by a single point. That doesn’t matter, I want to play. But when we vote for a rematch, everyone says No, we return to lobby and EVERYONE quits, leaving me and the lobby leader scratching our heads.
Game 8 – A good set of games for Scavenge, the other team goes through a bad series of rage-quits so I decide to go very easy on them, making silly mistakes and taking my time till they get a full team again. After all, I didn’t want them all to rage quit and lose the server. But in doing nothing, I earn a Kick Message from one of my team-mates and Three Yes’. I think at this point I started to swear a lot.
Game 9 – All I can say for this one is “Lobby Rage” My team is winning the match by 2 – 0. During the third bout, a message appears on the side, asking to return to Lobby and then to Change Maps. I call this Lobby Rage because they know they can’t win, so they buy time to get a map they’re good at, kick weaker team-mates to bring friends in and then start all over again. Suffice to say, *my* team-mates have enough of the affair and quit themselves.
Game 10 – A match on Scavenge in the Mall. The first thing I hear when I boot in is “HELP ME YOU RETARD!!!” I press to play, turn around and notice half of my team is dead, Ellis is being hunted right beside me and I’ve only 20 HP left. I immediately try to help the Ellis person, but all I can hear is the screaming “YOU’RE F**KING USELESS, HELP ME! WHY DON’T’ YOU HELP ME YOU F**KING TO**ER!”
As I must say, screaming into the mic isn’t going to make me help you any less or any faster. But before I can rescue him in time, I am downed myself and immediately put up for Kick by the screaming idiot.
Game 11 – FINALLY, this was my game! We had even-matched teams, average players and good coordination. We all played well and enjoyed ourselves and only stopped playing when it got late and had to go to bed.
My question however has to be this. Why does it nowadays take 11 attempts to find a decent game on Left 4 Dead 2? Why can’t we have control over match-making sessions, why can’t we play the game and not act like a dick doing it? It’s a difficult set of questions, but after last night. I begin to ponder the answers myself.
Although since the set of incidents from last night, I feel as though that game nowhere near comes close to being fun any more. Let me explain.
I get invited by my friend to a game of versus so I’m sitting in the lobby for ten minutes, waiting for 3 more players to appear. Sure enough, after a while all three appear together and immediately I knew I was in trouble. They all appeared together and set about being Infected too quickly for it all to be convenient.
Sure enough, my friend loads the lobby up, we get in-game and immediately there’s a black window coming up, with three votes right away to kick me from the game to make way for their fourth team-member.
That’s game one. Let me just summarise the rest of the night for you all right now.
Game 2 – Scavenge game, on the Port level. My ping immediately reads 600 but after a few seconds to calm down, it returned to a 49 or so. But when the action picked up, a Lag-Bomb exploded and my ping exceeded 4000. Funny enough, I was then immediately kicked from the game.
Game 3 – Scavenge game, on the Atrium Mall. I join and see that my team has two people on it, shooting each other and running around setting all the gas cans on fire. Attempts to kick them proved pointlessly and so I left the game.
Game 4 – Scavenge Game, on the Atrum Mall. I join from the Infected side. One of my team members has been spawned as a Hunter and runs and walks around with the other team. They don’t shot him or anything so I immediately figure he’s one of them, he’s a pub stomper. Again, attempts to kick him were pointless as someone on my team refuses to part with him. I get frustrated at this point, but my rage-quit moment was after catching someone with my tongue who was alone somewhere, that said Hunter in question appears and slashes me and my tongue, freeing his comrade who then in turn kills me immediately.
At this point, I turned the game off from the PC. I was getting so frustrated that I had to chill out. I came to the living room with my partner and explained what had happened. It came to the conclusion that we should see if Griefing and Bad-Match-Making systems applied to the 360 Version of Left 4 Dead 2. So I start that up, and immediately start having problems.
Game 5 & 6 – I was immediately hit by lag spikes that only seemed to affect myself and my team-mates. So I left these games to look for new ones.
Game 7 – Finally getting somewhere, I enjoy a full game of Scavenge and we lose by a single point. That doesn’t matter, I want to play. But when we vote for a rematch, everyone says No, we return to lobby and EVERYONE quits, leaving me and the lobby leader scratching our heads.
Game 8 – A good set of games for Scavenge, the other team goes through a bad series of rage-quits so I decide to go very easy on them, making silly mistakes and taking my time till they get a full team again. After all, I didn’t want them all to rage quit and lose the server. But in doing nothing, I earn a Kick Message from one of my team-mates and Three Yes’. I think at this point I started to swear a lot.
Game 9 – All I can say for this one is “Lobby Rage” My team is winning the match by 2 – 0. During the third bout, a message appears on the side, asking to return to Lobby and then to Change Maps. I call this Lobby Rage because they know they can’t win, so they buy time to get a map they’re good at, kick weaker team-mates to bring friends in and then start all over again. Suffice to say, *my* team-mates have enough of the affair and quit themselves.
Game 10 – A match on Scavenge in the Mall. The first thing I hear when I boot in is “HELP ME YOU RETARD!!!” I press to play, turn around and notice half of my team is dead, Ellis is being hunted right beside me and I’ve only 20 HP left. I immediately try to help the Ellis person, but all I can hear is the screaming “YOU’RE F**KING USELESS, HELP ME! WHY DON’T’ YOU HELP ME YOU F**KING TO**ER!”
As I must say, screaming into the mic isn’t going to make me help you any less or any faster. But before I can rescue him in time, I am downed myself and immediately put up for Kick by the screaming idiot.
Game 11 – FINALLY, this was my game! We had even-matched teams, average players and good coordination. We all played well and enjoyed ourselves and only stopped playing when it got late and had to go to bed.
My question however has to be this. Why does it nowadays take 11 attempts to find a decent game on Left 4 Dead 2? Why can’t we have control over match-making sessions, why can’t we play the game and not act like a dick doing it? It’s a difficult set of questions, but after last night. I begin to ponder the answers myself.
Saturday 17 July 2010
Review for Singularity
Singularity
Another day, another current generation FPS to come to the shelves, I will admit though when I looked at this game, I had lots of conflicting issues. Firstly, that it was mighty expensive at £45. New releases sometimes come in at £40 or less, but this seemed a lot more then I was expected. Regardless I looked at the box art, and thought to myself. “Hmmm, doesn’t tell me much on the front. What about the back?”
The tagline is “Fight the past to save the future. Stop the Singularity.” And I will admit; it was basically another FPS with Time-Manipulation abilities involved. And as I’ m such a nerd when it comes to Time Manipulation or Paradoxes or anything like that, I instinctively got it. Well done Activision for probing the right side of my brain to warrant me to get your game, bravo!
Anyway, I digress.
I got my game version for the PS3 (Although I learnt that it could be obtained for the PC, damn my attention-span) and so after freeing up some space Goodbye Metal Gear Solid 4. I turned it on.
First impressions, as always for FPS using current-generation graphics, beautiful, realistic but still lacking substance and atmosphere; you start off watching a video of the current situation in-game, regarding the Russians and the search for Ultimate power and how American’s were douche bags, etc etc. How the Russians discovered a new element called E99 and harvested it on an island in the middle of nowhere, and how it was so powerful it could destroy the world, mutant humans and even clean the house and wash the dishes. Basically, the scenario is unique but the premise is old and cliché.
So, to add more salt to the wound for the cliché, the American’s send in a Ghost-Team to go find out what’s been going on on the island. (Since it was now 2010 and the island was founded in 1955) Surprise surprise, helicopter goes down, half of the team is killed, you survive (Oh lucky lucky you) and you discover the events of the story as you explore the island.
Now, first off. I can not stress enough that FPS games *need* a subtitle ability. I searched for ages and ages looking for it, but alas I just had to turn the music and SFX volume down enough so that I could hear the voice acting and such. In the end I felt like I missed out on the conversations whenever I had to dispose of a person or creature because the noises from battle were so loud and overkill that the voices just dimmed away! Good FPS’s give the players the option to have subtitles, so don’t ignore that sound-reasoning. Give us the option to have it, because I would gladly use them!
Anyway, back to the game play. I won’t say anything along the lines of the storyline, it’s relatively simple to understand and such but its better if I don’t spoil anything by saying what happens. Yet in saying THAT! The ending was very obvious and apparent that I had guessed it way before the game opening cut-scene had even started. Regardless of that though, the game itself IS very good. A nice new approach to Time abilities and FPS combat mixed nicely together. The enemies were realistic enough, even going as far as giving me a scare the first time I ever encountered one. But the AI needed little more work (But I don’t blame anyone for that, that’s just the way it is)
My pro opinions about the game are; it’s right up my alley, good combat, interesting time controlling skills, fantastic voice acting (when you could hear it), attractive storyline, immense level-designs and the Seeker Gun FTW.
My cons however go as followed. Introducing the most basic, worthless, boring female character EVER that seems to fill no-other role in the game itself then just to be the only living thing on the island with boobs, (aside from the ending of course) Overpowered guns, paradoxes that make NO logical sense. No subtitles function, no chapter selection option. Completely ripped-off audio diaries scattered everywhere. (Jeez, what FPS hasn’t done that yet?) And finally, the Russians!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love the Russian culture and stuff, but what is WITH them lately, they’ve been in almost every single new video games lately. Seriously?
Anyway…I give this game a good score of 85%. It’s good, so defiantly give it a go!
Another day, another current generation FPS to come to the shelves, I will admit though when I looked at this game, I had lots of conflicting issues. Firstly, that it was mighty expensive at £45. New releases sometimes come in at £40 or less, but this seemed a lot more then I was expected. Regardless I looked at the box art, and thought to myself. “Hmmm, doesn’t tell me much on the front. What about the back?”
The tagline is “Fight the past to save the future. Stop the Singularity.” And I will admit; it was basically another FPS with Time-Manipulation abilities involved. And as I’ m such a nerd when it comes to Time Manipulation or Paradoxes or anything like that, I instinctively got it. Well done Activision for probing the right side of my brain to warrant me to get your game, bravo!
Anyway, I digress.
I got my game version for the PS3 (Although I learnt that it could be obtained for the PC, damn my attention-span) and so after freeing up some space Goodbye Metal Gear Solid 4. I turned it on.
First impressions, as always for FPS using current-generation graphics, beautiful, realistic but still lacking substance and atmosphere; you start off watching a video of the current situation in-game, regarding the Russians and the search for Ultimate power and how American’s were douche bags, etc etc. How the Russians discovered a new element called E99 and harvested it on an island in the middle of nowhere, and how it was so powerful it could destroy the world, mutant humans and even clean the house and wash the dishes. Basically, the scenario is unique but the premise is old and cliché.
So, to add more salt to the wound for the cliché, the American’s send in a Ghost-Team to go find out what’s been going on on the island. (Since it was now 2010 and the island was founded in 1955) Surprise surprise, helicopter goes down, half of the team is killed, you survive (Oh lucky lucky you) and you discover the events of the story as you explore the island.
Now, first off. I can not stress enough that FPS games *need* a subtitle ability. I searched for ages and ages looking for it, but alas I just had to turn the music and SFX volume down enough so that I could hear the voice acting and such. In the end I felt like I missed out on the conversations whenever I had to dispose of a person or creature because the noises from battle were so loud and overkill that the voices just dimmed away! Good FPS’s give the players the option to have subtitles, so don’t ignore that sound-reasoning. Give us the option to have it, because I would gladly use them!
Anyway, back to the game play. I won’t say anything along the lines of the storyline, it’s relatively simple to understand and such but its better if I don’t spoil anything by saying what happens. Yet in saying THAT! The ending was very obvious and apparent that I had guessed it way before the game opening cut-scene had even started. Regardless of that though, the game itself IS very good. A nice new approach to Time abilities and FPS combat mixed nicely together. The enemies were realistic enough, even going as far as giving me a scare the first time I ever encountered one. But the AI needed little more work (But I don’t blame anyone for that, that’s just the way it is)
My pro opinions about the game are; it’s right up my alley, good combat, interesting time controlling skills, fantastic voice acting (when you could hear it), attractive storyline, immense level-designs and the Seeker Gun FTW.
My cons however go as followed. Introducing the most basic, worthless, boring female character EVER that seems to fill no-other role in the game itself then just to be the only living thing on the island with boobs, (aside from the ending of course) Overpowered guns, paradoxes that make NO logical sense. No subtitles function, no chapter selection option. Completely ripped-off audio diaries scattered everywhere. (Jeez, what FPS hasn’t done that yet?) And finally, the Russians!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love the Russian culture and stuff, but what is WITH them lately, they’ve been in almost every single new video games lately. Seriously?
Anyway…I give this game a good score of 85%. It’s good, so defiantly give it a go!
Tuesday 11 May 2010
The Desperate Struggle - Ch. 1
Word Count: 2,316
Version: 1.1
The Desperate Struggle: Chapter 1
by Indale © Daniel Patten
I stumbled across the brick-layered street, losing my footing on a rotting corpse left for dead. I regained what little balance I could by pushing against a shop window and throwing myself into the empty market square. I could no longer see any sign of movement, no wandering corpses vomiting that black liquid everywhere, no disgruntled moaning as I left that all behind, managing to outrun them as I arrived in the middle of the town centre.
Buildings towered over me, shop windows were smashed to pieces, merchandise scattered everywhere. A Starbucks coffee shop still had its water running as the strong smell of coffee poured across the counters, along the lamented floor and into the street. A nearby McDonalds remained deserted; I paused for a moment debuting whether I could salvage any food remaining but decided better upon it. I clenched my satchel close to my side and my grip on my baseball bat tightened. Fresh blood was still dripping from its battered surface, speaking of which, so was my jeans and t-shirt.
I’ve had to expand my territory to locate food and water, I raided the nearest grocery store but found very little if nothing, so my decision was to come into the town centre, an extremely dangerous decision if not just foolish. The trip would have normally have taken ten minutes, but hoping to avoid the denser areas and sneaking past the Infected that paid me no mind unless provoked, an hour slowly passed.
There was a growl in the distance, it hummed menacingly from high above which caused me to panic, I had heard that cry before; a Survivor was fleeing from a Horde near my Safe House three days ago, before I had time to assist in any way. I heard that growl, then a horrific scream as the Survivor was engulfed by a blur that pounced atop him, clawing violently to his abdomen, it wasn’t long after when the Horde finally caught up to him, enveloping him within a mass of screaming cries and pounding limps. I pitied him as I listened to him die just a few feet from me.
But now, the growl grew louder. My eyes scanned the building tops, looking for anything that appeared out of place, the setting sunlight strained my eyes as I looked past the grey mason for any movement. I whirled on the spot, hearing a shriek unlike anything I’d heard before, and then I saw it. Crouching silently on the base of the nearby Waterstones store, a human-figure yet posed like a predator, dressed within a dark blue hoodie which masked its face. All I could make out was a pair of red eyes, ready for the kill. The moment my gaze fell upon it, it attacked.
It launched itself an extraordinary height as alarmingly it came and came closer towards me, I bolted from the spot, hearing both a yelping and thudding sound as the creature landed on the very space where I had been. I whirled my head as I ran, looking at this small frame of a person, its face was still hidden away as the hood did not falter, and as it turned to recover from its landing, it growled again, getting on all fours as it started to crawl after me, preparing itself for another pounce. I tried my best to outrun the creature as I heard it shriek loudly, releasing itself from its powerful leap and pursing me.
I managed to get a clear ten feet before the wind was knocked from my lungs, my baseball bat rolled away from me as I landed onto the floor, shocked as the creature pinned me down to the ground, roaring loudly as it caught its prey. I tried to pull myself free or lift the beast off from me but it proved stronger, and more determined to end me then I did to continue.
I screamed loudly as I felt the first claw try to shed the fabric of my t-shirt from my back, I rocked from side to side as the monster pinned me down harder, striking again with its other claw, drawing blood for the first time. I screamed again and again as it dug deep two more times. I felt the blood begin to warm the cold skin as it trickled down my back. It was then I thought I was going to die, gored and shredded by this Infected creature without a chance of survival. Or so I thought.
I heard the first shot, loud and booming as a round pierced the Hunter’s chest; it recoiled for a moment, seemingly unfazed by the assault, which was until another round propelled straight through its dark hood and splashing a puddle of blood across the back of my neck and down my face. I felt its strength leave it as I finally managed to pull myself free from it, discarding the monster aside in a lifeless bulk on the floor. I struggled to my feet, grasping the lacerations on my back, blood continued to slowly leak from them as I collected my bat and scanned the environment for the entity that saved me.
I saw nothing on the street level, just empty shops, unattended fires and destroyed merchandise scattered everywhere.
“You! Down there!” The voice echoed, seemingly from a long distance. The tone itself seemed metallic rather than fluid as conversation normally went. It was only until I realised that the person yelling was doing so through a megaphone that I noticed the flailing figures high upon the five storey car park just a few yards down the centre.
“If you want to live mate, get your ass up here now!” Shouted a distant figure as he waved his arms around, signalling me to hurry. I whirled in surprise wondering what the urgency was for, until I heard it; the howl of the Horde. They smelt fresh blood and seeked it at all cost; my blood. I turned towards the direction I came, where I had managed to outrun or hide away from the Infected within the streets, now all turned towards me from a distance, bolting as fast as they could together in a mass of undead bodies, all ready to devour me.
I began to run, or rather limp as fast as I could towards the car park as I heard covering fire from ahead of me, three different series of sounds of gunfire ranged overhead and almost seemed to whiz past my head into the vast approaching targets.
My sides ached, I grunted with each step as I limped bit by bit into the car park. I slammed my body weight into the access door, flying inside and then paralleling myself back to seal the passage back, just before the pounding fists slammed against the metal.
“Mate! We blocked the third and fourth stairway so they couldn’t get up! Get to the third floor and head to the other side of the car park, the elevator with the red paint on is where you want to go. Good luck!” Came a booming voice from overtop. I saw the faint silhouette of a face looking down from the stairway yet no time to response as the door began to give way and ravenous arms tore away at the wooden support.
“Oh yes! Watch out for the W…” The voice trailed off however as the Infected screamed wildly as I bolted towards the first flight of stairs. I stormed passed the first floor passageway, and then the second floor. I soon discovered what the voice meant by blocked passageways as the third floor passageway upwards was bared by random junk and obstacles such as shopping trolleys and bins that sealed the entire corridor from that side.
“Fuck!” I muttered, whirling from the barricade and stepping into the third floor car park level. A sudden cold breeze welcomed me as I stepped into the open yard; I saw nothing at first, just parked cars and gray concrete pillars and walls. I then heard the horrifying sound of a crash, which drove me forward when I realised that they had broken through.
“Run run run run!” I muttered as I started to bolt across the car park, I was only slightly familiar with the area but this car park was a maze, and the last thing I wanted to do was get lost in a maze during a Zombie Invasion.
I ran up the first ramp that I could, heading to the opposite side of the dreary complex towards the elevators. My mind raced a hundred miles an hour, I could hear the Horde now pouring up the staircase from behind me and even some had managed to arrive at the third floor with me, hissing and grunting as they chased after me from a distance.
I gasped suddenly, feeling a stitch course through my entire body. My back still hurt from the slash wounds as well which didn’t help as I pushed past a parked car towards the distant doorway and elevators beyond. It was only as I got a couple of feet closer towards the door did I notice the sobbing between my gasps and heavy breathing. I slammed into the door and pushed it open with my weight, standing in a small room with two elevator doors on one side and a blocked passageway which must have been another staircase on the right.
However my eyes turned towards a solitary figure that paced softly backwards and forwards in the centre of the room, a plain woman, who cradled her face with her hands and only worn a pair of white bra and underwear. She sobbed to herself, her back turned towards me as she walked aimlessly round and round in a circle. My eyes suddenly fixated upon the eight inch long claws that extended from her fingertips and I panicked. Her throat croaked as I almost turned towards the door which I had just came through when suddenly an Infected Zombie leapt from its corner and tried to push itself inside. I panicked again, kicking hard as the Zombie fell backwards and without thinking, I slammed the door shut, sealing myself in with the plain woman.
The pounding began to increase as I was sure that the horde was now upon me, the door frame buckled under the weight of multiple zombies and I knew that I only had a limited time left.
My heartbeat raced as I held my back against the wall and slowly tried to avoid approaching the woman, she began to trail to her left, giving me the space I needed to slip passed and approached the elevator buttons. I slammed my fist onto the red-paint covered buttons and waited patiently as the numbers began to descend.
The doorframe braced, a piece
of the doorway collapsed as arms began to claw at the air from within the room.
“Comeoncomeoncomeon…” I whispered as my eyes darted between the failing door, the stumbling woman and the elevator doorway which remained shut.
Suddenly, my attention turned towards the woman, her feet now guided her towards me and as she slowly approached a soft groan escaped her mouth. My lungs burned from running, my legs felt weak and my back still bleed from the assault from the Hunter but now I saw fear in my eyes as the Witch slowly began to clench her hands together, removing them from her face and outwards into a more threatening manner. Her groaning got heavier as she hissed between her teeth at my presence.
Suddenly, the doors to the elevator opened, even as the Witch drew closer I bolted for the passageway, stepping into the brightly lit elevator and then slamming my fingers painfully against the pad, praying for anywhere but there.
The door suddenly gave way; I heard the sounds of rushing bodies pour into the room as I continued to slam my finger against the ‘Close’ button, my stare however was locked at the Witch who was slowly approaching with each step, until suddenly a hideous scream escaped her mouth as her arms stretched outwards and her clawed fingers stuck out like horrifying needles. And it was then that I knew that she was going to kill me.
“SHIT!” I yelled as I watched the Witch start to hurtle towards me, along with a body of Zombies that had chased me from the beginning, persistent hunters. I braced myself for an attack by lifting my baseball bat in front of my head, ready to defend what little I had left.
However, as I opened my eyes, I saw the doors to the elevator beginning to close, and the Witch attempted to slash at my face through the closing gap. Just before they sealed, she flinched away, screaming in rage as I imagined her shredding the metal doors open to try and get me, yet I knew she would fail and that I knew that I would be safe now. At least I thought so.
The elevator began to slowly ascend; I breathed deeply, my heart racing still as I sat down with my back against the wall, resting my head against the arm banister for support.
Eventually the doors opened by their selves and I was welcomed by the sight of three silhouettes, two male and one female. They were all armed with guns of different calibres and looked down at me with observing stares. I felt too exhausted to neither introduce myself nor acknowledge a response, I just sat there, staring the survivors in the face until I almost seemed to pass out.
“He’s wounded, let’s get him some First Aid” Came a woman’s voice, I saw the blur of her approach me just before I passed out, thankful for tender hands to brush my skin instead of the cold embrace of death.
Version: 1.1
The Desperate Struggle: Chapter 1
by Indale © Daniel Patten
I stumbled across the brick-layered street, losing my footing on a rotting corpse left for dead. I regained what little balance I could by pushing against a shop window and throwing myself into the empty market square. I could no longer see any sign of movement, no wandering corpses vomiting that black liquid everywhere, no disgruntled moaning as I left that all behind, managing to outrun them as I arrived in the middle of the town centre.
Buildings towered over me, shop windows were smashed to pieces, merchandise scattered everywhere. A Starbucks coffee shop still had its water running as the strong smell of coffee poured across the counters, along the lamented floor and into the street. A nearby McDonalds remained deserted; I paused for a moment debuting whether I could salvage any food remaining but decided better upon it. I clenched my satchel close to my side and my grip on my baseball bat tightened. Fresh blood was still dripping from its battered surface, speaking of which, so was my jeans and t-shirt.
I’ve had to expand my territory to locate food and water, I raided the nearest grocery store but found very little if nothing, so my decision was to come into the town centre, an extremely dangerous decision if not just foolish. The trip would have normally have taken ten minutes, but hoping to avoid the denser areas and sneaking past the Infected that paid me no mind unless provoked, an hour slowly passed.
There was a growl in the distance, it hummed menacingly from high above which caused me to panic, I had heard that cry before; a Survivor was fleeing from a Horde near my Safe House three days ago, before I had time to assist in any way. I heard that growl, then a horrific scream as the Survivor was engulfed by a blur that pounced atop him, clawing violently to his abdomen, it wasn’t long after when the Horde finally caught up to him, enveloping him within a mass of screaming cries and pounding limps. I pitied him as I listened to him die just a few feet from me.
But now, the growl grew louder. My eyes scanned the building tops, looking for anything that appeared out of place, the setting sunlight strained my eyes as I looked past the grey mason for any movement. I whirled on the spot, hearing a shriek unlike anything I’d heard before, and then I saw it. Crouching silently on the base of the nearby Waterstones store, a human-figure yet posed like a predator, dressed within a dark blue hoodie which masked its face. All I could make out was a pair of red eyes, ready for the kill. The moment my gaze fell upon it, it attacked.
It launched itself an extraordinary height as alarmingly it came and came closer towards me, I bolted from the spot, hearing both a yelping and thudding sound as the creature landed on the very space where I had been. I whirled my head as I ran, looking at this small frame of a person, its face was still hidden away as the hood did not falter, and as it turned to recover from its landing, it growled again, getting on all fours as it started to crawl after me, preparing itself for another pounce. I tried my best to outrun the creature as I heard it shriek loudly, releasing itself from its powerful leap and pursing me.
I managed to get a clear ten feet before the wind was knocked from my lungs, my baseball bat rolled away from me as I landed onto the floor, shocked as the creature pinned me down to the ground, roaring loudly as it caught its prey. I tried to pull myself free or lift the beast off from me but it proved stronger, and more determined to end me then I did to continue.
I screamed loudly as I felt the first claw try to shed the fabric of my t-shirt from my back, I rocked from side to side as the monster pinned me down harder, striking again with its other claw, drawing blood for the first time. I screamed again and again as it dug deep two more times. I felt the blood begin to warm the cold skin as it trickled down my back. It was then I thought I was going to die, gored and shredded by this Infected creature without a chance of survival. Or so I thought.
I heard the first shot, loud and booming as a round pierced the Hunter’s chest; it recoiled for a moment, seemingly unfazed by the assault, which was until another round propelled straight through its dark hood and splashing a puddle of blood across the back of my neck and down my face. I felt its strength leave it as I finally managed to pull myself free from it, discarding the monster aside in a lifeless bulk on the floor. I struggled to my feet, grasping the lacerations on my back, blood continued to slowly leak from them as I collected my bat and scanned the environment for the entity that saved me.
I saw nothing on the street level, just empty shops, unattended fires and destroyed merchandise scattered everywhere.
“You! Down there!” The voice echoed, seemingly from a long distance. The tone itself seemed metallic rather than fluid as conversation normally went. It was only until I realised that the person yelling was doing so through a megaphone that I noticed the flailing figures high upon the five storey car park just a few yards down the centre.
“If you want to live mate, get your ass up here now!” Shouted a distant figure as he waved his arms around, signalling me to hurry. I whirled in surprise wondering what the urgency was for, until I heard it; the howl of the Horde. They smelt fresh blood and seeked it at all cost; my blood. I turned towards the direction I came, where I had managed to outrun or hide away from the Infected within the streets, now all turned towards me from a distance, bolting as fast as they could together in a mass of undead bodies, all ready to devour me.
I began to run, or rather limp as fast as I could towards the car park as I heard covering fire from ahead of me, three different series of sounds of gunfire ranged overhead and almost seemed to whiz past my head into the vast approaching targets.
My sides ached, I grunted with each step as I limped bit by bit into the car park. I slammed my body weight into the access door, flying inside and then paralleling myself back to seal the passage back, just before the pounding fists slammed against the metal.
“Mate! We blocked the third and fourth stairway so they couldn’t get up! Get to the third floor and head to the other side of the car park, the elevator with the red paint on is where you want to go. Good luck!” Came a booming voice from overtop. I saw the faint silhouette of a face looking down from the stairway yet no time to response as the door began to give way and ravenous arms tore away at the wooden support.
“Oh yes! Watch out for the W…” The voice trailed off however as the Infected screamed wildly as I bolted towards the first flight of stairs. I stormed passed the first floor passageway, and then the second floor. I soon discovered what the voice meant by blocked passageways as the third floor passageway upwards was bared by random junk and obstacles such as shopping trolleys and bins that sealed the entire corridor from that side.
“Fuck!” I muttered, whirling from the barricade and stepping into the third floor car park level. A sudden cold breeze welcomed me as I stepped into the open yard; I saw nothing at first, just parked cars and gray concrete pillars and walls. I then heard the horrifying sound of a crash, which drove me forward when I realised that they had broken through.
“Run run run run!” I muttered as I started to bolt across the car park, I was only slightly familiar with the area but this car park was a maze, and the last thing I wanted to do was get lost in a maze during a Zombie Invasion.
I ran up the first ramp that I could, heading to the opposite side of the dreary complex towards the elevators. My mind raced a hundred miles an hour, I could hear the Horde now pouring up the staircase from behind me and even some had managed to arrive at the third floor with me, hissing and grunting as they chased after me from a distance.
I gasped suddenly, feeling a stitch course through my entire body. My back still hurt from the slash wounds as well which didn’t help as I pushed past a parked car towards the distant doorway and elevators beyond. It was only as I got a couple of feet closer towards the door did I notice the sobbing between my gasps and heavy breathing. I slammed into the door and pushed it open with my weight, standing in a small room with two elevator doors on one side and a blocked passageway which must have been another staircase on the right.
However my eyes turned towards a solitary figure that paced softly backwards and forwards in the centre of the room, a plain woman, who cradled her face with her hands and only worn a pair of white bra and underwear. She sobbed to herself, her back turned towards me as she walked aimlessly round and round in a circle. My eyes suddenly fixated upon the eight inch long claws that extended from her fingertips and I panicked. Her throat croaked as I almost turned towards the door which I had just came through when suddenly an Infected Zombie leapt from its corner and tried to push itself inside. I panicked again, kicking hard as the Zombie fell backwards and without thinking, I slammed the door shut, sealing myself in with the plain woman.
The pounding began to increase as I was sure that the horde was now upon me, the door frame buckled under the weight of multiple zombies and I knew that I only had a limited time left.
My heartbeat raced as I held my back against the wall and slowly tried to avoid approaching the woman, she began to trail to her left, giving me the space I needed to slip passed and approached the elevator buttons. I slammed my fist onto the red-paint covered buttons and waited patiently as the numbers began to descend.
The doorframe braced, a piece
of the doorway collapsed as arms began to claw at the air from within the room.
“Comeoncomeoncomeon…” I whispered as my eyes darted between the failing door, the stumbling woman and the elevator doorway which remained shut.
Suddenly, my attention turned towards the woman, her feet now guided her towards me and as she slowly approached a soft groan escaped her mouth. My lungs burned from running, my legs felt weak and my back still bleed from the assault from the Hunter but now I saw fear in my eyes as the Witch slowly began to clench her hands together, removing them from her face and outwards into a more threatening manner. Her groaning got heavier as she hissed between her teeth at my presence.
Suddenly, the doors to the elevator opened, even as the Witch drew closer I bolted for the passageway, stepping into the brightly lit elevator and then slamming my fingers painfully against the pad, praying for anywhere but there.
The door suddenly gave way; I heard the sounds of rushing bodies pour into the room as I continued to slam my finger against the ‘Close’ button, my stare however was locked at the Witch who was slowly approaching with each step, until suddenly a hideous scream escaped her mouth as her arms stretched outwards and her clawed fingers stuck out like horrifying needles. And it was then that I knew that she was going to kill me.
“SHIT!” I yelled as I watched the Witch start to hurtle towards me, along with a body of Zombies that had chased me from the beginning, persistent hunters. I braced myself for an attack by lifting my baseball bat in front of my head, ready to defend what little I had left.
However, as I opened my eyes, I saw the doors to the elevator beginning to close, and the Witch attempted to slash at my face through the closing gap. Just before they sealed, she flinched away, screaming in rage as I imagined her shredding the metal doors open to try and get me, yet I knew she would fail and that I knew that I would be safe now. At least I thought so.
The elevator began to slowly ascend; I breathed deeply, my heart racing still as I sat down with my back against the wall, resting my head against the arm banister for support.
Eventually the doors opened by their selves and I was welcomed by the sight of three silhouettes, two male and one female. They were all armed with guns of different calibres and looked down at me with observing stares. I felt too exhausted to neither introduce myself nor acknowledge a response, I just sat there, staring the survivors in the face until I almost seemed to pass out.
“He’s wounded, let’s get him some First Aid” Came a woman’s voice, I saw the blur of her approach me just before I passed out, thankful for tender hands to brush my skin instead of the cold embrace of death.
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