Zombie Exodus Fan Works!

[Lys]

Just another small bit of writing. I’m putting it here so as not to clutter up the main thread.

This is an alternate love interest with my teen MC. I don’t think it is as sugary as the previous one, but I admit to going for some angst. Once again, no game spoilers, just about fourth months after the aftermath of the zombie outbreak.

[spoiler]
Danielle looked through the binoculars, and started to count the shapes making their way to their encampment, growls and cries presaging their arrival.

“There’s nine…no, ten of the infected coming this way,” she said, lowering the binoculars.

“Not the most auspicious way to start the day,” said her companion, Rachel, in a slight British accent.

Danielle gave a slight smile, “No, but at least we can keep them away from the others. So, five for you, and five for me?”

Rachel arched an eyebrow in surprise, “You seem to be rather sure of yourself.”

Danielle chuckled, “Sounds like you don’t believe me. Alright, what do you say to a little contest? See who can drop the most infected?”

Rachel bit her lip, and shook her head, but raised her rifle to take aim. Danielle followed suit, and soon the air was filled with gunfire, and before to long the zombies were down for the last time.

“Unless I miscounted, I believe you only got four infected,” Rachel said.

Danielle shrugged, “You beat me fair and square.”

“I…I saw you hesitate with the last one,” Rachel said quietly.

Danielle nodded, “It…it still doesn’t sit well with me to shoot a kid, even if infected.”

“Hesitation will kill you,” Rachel said, “but you still did pretty good. Certainly better than most of the others.”

“Well, I have my dad to thank for that,” Danielle said, “I think he wanted a boy, but instead got two daughters. Still, he was adamant about was his girls being able to defend themselves. Heh, I think my sister was the only one to get a gun and a conceal-and-carry permit as her graduation gift.”

Rachel gave a slight smile, and pushed a strand of her autumn hair out of her eyes, “I think this is the first I heard about your sister.”

Danielle’s eyese closed, “It…it doesn’t hurt as much to talk about her. It was the first day of the outbreak…she was supposed to go in for a cancer treatment, but…”

Danielle left the rest of the words trail off, took a deep breath, “But we all lost someone, didn’t we?”

Rachel gave a slight nod in agreement. Even with something as mundane as shooting, Danielle couldn’t help but notice how Rachel brought a fluid grace to it. Remembering the slight touch as they left Chipper Ridge, Danielle felt her cheeks redden.

“Uh,” Danielle stammered, “if…if you’re interested, why don’t you come eat with us tonight? I know Logan likes talking with you, and…well, I’m doing better cooking prairie dog.”

Danielle slightly rebelled at the thought of eating meat, but considering her nephew was still a growing boy, she wasn’t going to deny him any protein.

Rachel came to a halt, and shook her head, “I’m going to have to decline.”

“Fair enough,” Danielle replied quietly, “I mean, this is the third time you said ‘no’. I might be a little stubborn, but I can take a hint. If you’re not interested, you’re not interested.”

The two walked in awkward silence for a few more minutes before Danielle asked, “I’ll probably regret asking this, but did I do something wrong? Just not your type?”

“It was nothign of the sort,” Rachel answered, “Do…do you remember the first time we met?”

Danielle’s cheeks reddened as she recalled how she clumsily flirted with Rachel, and then Rachel’s reply surfaced again.

“My age? Is that it?” Danielle asked.

Rachel gave a slight nod of her head, “It…it makes it awkward to say the least.”

Danielle gave a bitter laugh, “If that was the problem…well, my birthday comes by in a few months. I can show you my driver’s license if you don’t believe me.”

Rachel shook her head, “It isn’t just a matter of waiting. There is a divide of years, experiences which separate us.”

Danielle smiled sadly, “And I would say it isn’t as insurmountable as you think. The end of civilization kind of brings on bigger worries.”

Danielle looked toward her residence, and started to step toward it. She cast a final look behind her shoulder, “I won’t bother you with this again, but if you change your mind…well, there will be a place for you at the dinner table.”[/spoiler]

[Gregory_Pena]

It’s really good. The characters were pretty good.

[Lys]

A slightly different alternative take on my MC (think Short-Fuse flaw)

[spoiler]
Danielle sighed internally as she found herself involved in yet another argument with the former bank robber. “What part didn’t you understand? You’re assigned to mucking out the barn for a two full months since you fell asleep on sentry duty.”

Reilly snarled, “Yeah? Who died and made you boss?”

Danielle reddend with frustation, and snapped back, “99% percent of the human race, and the rest of the group.”

“Well, maybe it is time we rethought this situation,” Reilly replied.

Danielle narrowed her eyes, and through clenched teeth said “So what do you plan to do about it? Go crying to your mother to make it better?”

Reilly roared, and lunged forward. Danielle backpedaled, managing to get out of his reach, and she started to assess the situation.

Not good, she thought, He’s bigger, and stronger. He will win in a prolonged fight.

Warily, she started to circle around him, feeling like a rabbit trying to take on a cougar. Reilly would attempt a swing or a sudden rush, but Danielle managed to just barely stay out of his reach.

Then she spotted an opening. As Reilly swung a round-house punch, Danielle ducked, and kicked at the back of Reilly’s knee. He let loose a painful scream, and dropped to the ground. Before he could get back up, Danielle started to deliver a series of kicks to his ribs, her blows enhanced by the steel-toed shoes she wore.

“No…no more…” Reilly tried to croak out, his arms raising to protect his head from a couple kicks aimed at his temple.

However, the words didn’t penetrate Danielle’s fury, and she continued to rain blows on him until a pair of massive arms looped her from behind, and put hold her tight.

“Let…let go of me” she growled, futilely trying to get loose from Jaime’s grasp.

Jaime was as immovable as a mountain when he rumbled out, “No, not until you calm down.” He glanced down at the bleeding form of Reilly, “And maybe not even then.”

Slowly, Danielle became aware that a good portion of the rest of the group was surrounding her and Reilly, looks of fear and surprise on their faces. She couldn’t help but notice how her nephew, Logan, was hugging Rachel tight, his face pressed into her side.

“I…I’m good,” Danielle said and took a couple steps away as Jaime let her go. However, she couldn’t help but notice how he put himself between her and the fallen Reilly.

“Would someone care to explain what the hell just happened?” Rachel said.

“Not…not really,” Danielle said, and she started to walk away from the bewildered mob. After a few minutes of walking, she dashed off, feeling their questioning, accusing stairs follow her. It wasn’t until she was behind the stack of hay bales that the last of her energy left. She sat on the ground, drawing her legs close to her chest, and rested her head on her knees.

Time stretched as she muddled in her emotions until she became aware of someone standing about four feet away.

“How long have you been there?” Danielle asked.

“Long enough,” said Bailey, a look of concern and apprehension on her face. She ran a hand through her long brown hair, fiddling with individual strands before asking, “Are you ready to tell me what happened back there?”

“I told Reilly he had shit-cleaning detail, he got mad, insults were exchanged, he threw a punch…and well, you saw the rest,” Danielle answered.

Silence filled the air between both of them, then Bailey added, “Reilly…the doc said he’s going to be out for a long time. You did a real number on him, and there is some worry about internal bleeding.”

Danielle gave a harsh laugh, “Looks like he got out of stable duty either way.”

Another bout of silence ensued until Bailey said, “Where…where is all this coming from?”

Danielle looked off in the horizon, “It builds up. Months of trying to keep people alive, months of trying to keep everyone at each other’s throats, months of people questioning every little decision but offering no alternative.”

Bailey cocked her head, “This…this isn’t you?”

Danielle shrugged, “Isn’t it?”

Bailey bit her lip, “You know, the others are talking about replacing you. Maybe if you explained what…”

Danielle shook her head, “No, if they choose someone else, that’s fine by me.”

Bailey hestitated asked, “And what if you get picked again? People like Jillian and Rosie are backing you up.”

Danielle gave a disbeliving look, “Rosie?”

Bailey pulled her arms close, “She said it was about time someone used a strong hand. So what do you do if you get picked?”

Danielle sighed, “I don’t know.”[/spoiler]

[anon86661845]

@hufflepugg Doodled your MC!

I’ve hardly been drawing anything that’s not for class this past week. I really want to draw my ZE MC or design my ZESH MCs or something but I’m totally blanking on ideas OTL

Also, to any writers here: any tips on how to get out of a writer’s block? I started a couple short fics over the weekend but now I’m totally stumped on how to continue them

[Leopardmoon]

@anon86661845

Also, to any writers here: any tips on how to get out of a writer’s block? I started a couple short fics over the weekend but now I’m totally stumped on how to continue them

Words from my creative writing professor: There is no such thing as writer’s block. There are simply times when we know what we want to write and other times when we don’t. So, just write.

In other words, don’t worry too much about your writing, just write, let it flow naturally, and in the process it will come to you. You can always edit it later (but write first even if it seems “bad” to you).

[Lys]

Another short bit with my MC and her nephew. At some point I will make one with an actual zombie, but I do like the non-zombie scenes a zombie apocalypse can generate.

[spoiler]This is just another variant bit, fallout with a teen and her nephew

“…and why not?” said Logan.

Danielle ran a hand through her hair, and sighed, “Because I said no.”

“But…”

“I said no Logan. That’s final,” Danielle replied.

Logan looked at his aunt, chewing on his lip, and shook his head, “No it isn’t. You can’t tell me what to do.”

While there had been some building tension between them, Danielle was surprised by this, but said “If you keep it up, I’ll send you to your room without supper.”

Logan crossed his arms, “And I said no. You aren’t my mom; you don’t get to tell me what to do.”

Danielle felt a slight heat build in her face, but she tried to keep her tone even, “Go to your room.”

Logan shook his head, “No. I…I’m leaving…”

Danielle was a little dumbfounded by this assertion, and asked “Where do you think you’re going?”

Logan moved toward the front door, “I’m going to Jaime’s. At least he will listen to me.”

“Fine, then go,” Danielle replied.

Logan nodded, and opened the door, but cast a final look over his shoulder, “I wish…I wish you were the one who died…not…not my mom.”

Danielle closed her eyes, leaned against the wall for support. She felt drained so drained that she didn’t hear her nephew leave, or the door open again. Only when she felt a gentle touch on her shoulder did she look up, and see Bailey looking down at her with concern.

“Is everything alright? Almost everyone heard yelling, and then Logan ran over to Jaime’s…” Bailey asked.

“So they sent you to investigate?” Danielle said, the tension easing slightly under Bailey’s touch.

“Something like that. Just what went down?” Bailey said, lowering herself until she was sitting side-by-side with Danielle.

“It started…well, Logan wanted to go on the scavenging run tomorrow, and I told him no. I told him it was too dangerous,” Danielle explained.

Bailey felt her own cheeks redden since of all the people in the group, Danielle was the one who went out the most.

Danielle continued, “Logan then said if it was dangerous, then why did I bring him with me to the school when I rescued Jaime?”

Bailey interrupted, “Actually, why did you take him? A highschool full of zombies…”

“It seemed like the best choice at the time,” Danielle said, “The Makarovs hit the house, taking off with a bunch of stuff. Woody and Jillian…well, let’s just say I won’t leave home security up to those two anytime soon. I…I wasn’t sure whether the Makarovs would be back, but maybe with friends…”

Bailey exhaled slowly, “And that is when Jaime called you?”

“Yeah,” Danielle nodded slighty, “You were there for the rest, like how Rachel chewed my ass out for taking a pre-teen into a zombie-infested school.”

Bailey smiled a little in remembrance, “Although she also yelled at Jaime for getting you in that mess to start with.”

Danielle chuckled slightly, then stopped, “So the argument just got bigger and bigger. The thing is, he’s right. I’m no parent. Hell, I wasn’t even that good of a sister…”

Bailey cocked her head, “What do you mean?”

Danielle shrugged, “As you can guess…my sister was several years older than me. I couldn’t seem to do anything right, at least not as good as my sister.”

Danielle gave a ragged laugh, “That weekend, the one where my sister was going in for chemo…that was my chance to show I could be trusted. But look how it turned out; instead, my nephew can’t stand to be in the same house with me.”

Danielle gave a final, quiet bitter laugh, “And now I don’t know what to do.”

Bailey laid her hand on Danielle’s and said, “Leave it until morning. Things will look different then.”

“Different? Don’t people usually say 'better in the morning?”

Bailey gave her a shy smile, “They do, but there is no guarantee it will be better.”

“No, I guess it isn’t,” Danielle sighed. She rubbed her forehead, and winced, “It feels like all I do is drive everyone away.”

Bailey shook her head, “I know it is easier said than done, but don’t descend into self-pity. I’m here, aren’t I?”
[/spoiler]

[Lys]

Another small bit, this time going back to the very first Zombie Exodus. A bit of an epilogue with the scientist ending. Once again put in spoiler tags, and it might be too sappy/sweet for some tastes.

[spoiler]

“On my mark, Candace, start the clock,” Isabella told her lab assistant. The pretty red-head gave a nod of her head, and held up a stopwatch, keeping her distance from the cage at the far side of the room.

Not that I can blame her mused Isabella, feeling a touch of revulsion herself at the snarling, keening zombie futilely trying to claw its way out of the metal cage.

“And now…” Isabella said as she raised a squirt bottle, and sent a stream of liquid into the zombie’s face. The snarls suddenly became whimpers, and the creature raised taloned hands, and clawed at its face. Within moments, its visage looked no different than raw hamburger and its howls of pain continued until one finger slipped into its eye socket, and pierced the vitreous liquid, stabbing itself in the brain…and bringing about a cessation of activity.

Candace looked on the proceedings, and simply said “Wow.”

Isabella smiled, “Indeed. So how long did the experiment go for?”

Candace held up the clock, and said, “Three minutes and forty-two seconds.”

Isabella sighed, “Better, but not good. The compound breaks down at the four minute mark. Still, we’re making progress.”

However, Isabella couldn’t help but feel a bit of impatience. After devising a vaccine to protect uninfected people, Isabella reached the point of diminishing returns at trying to undo zombies which had been infected from the start of the apocalypse. As a result, she found her time was more productive in researching other means to attack the zombies, especially considering that even with the vaccine, humanity was outnumbers thousands to one.

“You’ll get there, I know.” Candace said in a reassuring tone.

“I appreciate your vote of confidence. However, let’s call it a day,” Isabella said.

“Sounds good to me,” Candace replied, “Oh, I meant to tell you. There is a letter on your desk.”

“A letter? Alright,” Isabella said, intrigued.

The two women left the lab, nodding at the two guards currently on duty. One looked at the proceedings with interest or fear, while the other seemed more interested in Isabella’s lab assistant. Isabella felt a twinge of irritation, and glared at the guard who suddenly turned his head aside.

While Candace was divesting herself of her lab coat, Isabella looked at the letter on her desk. A wave of regret filled her stomach as she saw it came from Heather. She gingerly raised the envelope, and closed her eyes as she debated whether to open it or not.

“Everything alright?” Candace asked, concern in her voice.

“Yes…I…I just have a bad feeling about this,” Isabella answered. Inserting one finger into the envelope, she tore it open, and quickly read the letter…then leaned back against the wall, and let out a quiet sigh.

“That bad?” Candace asked.

“Not really. Just old memories coming up. The letter is from Heather…she…she is getting married,” Isabella said, before putting the letter on the desk.

“Oh,” Candace said, “Sorry if I’m prying.”

“You…you aren’t. It just took me by surprise is all. I can’t say I’m surprised, I mean, it’s been a few years since I last saw her, and anyone would move on,” Isabella explained, though this was more to herself than anything, “I…I asked her to move here, to be with me. She said no…I can’t blame her. I mean, her life was upended enough anyway.”

Candace bit her mouth, “I don’t know if I would be so forgiving. You…you were making the vaccine, trying to perfect it…and Heather…well, she wanted you to chase after her.”

Isabella gave a sad chuckle, “Maybe I should have, but it’s too late now.”

Candace cocked her head, and said, “I’ll be honest, I don’t know what you saw in Heather.”

“An apocalypse makes strange bedfellows,” Isabella said, “I guess it was mostly because we were convenient. There wasn’t a lot of other people. The one I thought of…well, was taken. Mindy…she was too bloodthirsty, and I don’t think I need to go on about Emma.”

Candace laughed, “Yeah, you would have turned a few heads with your own sister, though Jason might have thought it was hot.”

Isabella shrugged, “Truth be told, I’m surprised you’re still here, helping me.”

Candace, surprised, said, “What do you mean by that? Do…do you want me gone?”

“Of course not,” explained Isabella, “It’s just…I don’t know, I don’t want to feel like I’m holding you back.”

“HOlding me back?” Candace repeated, “How could you say that?”

Isabella gestured at their surroundings, “I guess I can’t figure out why you of all the others are still here. I mean, everyone else has moved on…”

Candace took a deep breath, “I…I always assumed you knew, but you were just humoring me.”

“Know what?” asked Isabella.

“You were the only one to take me seriously,” said Candace in a quiet tone, “When you were running your first experiments back at the Cathedral, you let me help. You didn’t mock me, you didn’t belittle me for my questions.”

“Why should I? You were curious, and I was glad to answer. Besides, if wasn’t for your help, and Devlin’s blood, I wouldn’t have created a vaccine.”

Candace ran her fingers through her hair, “That’s nice of you to say, but you would have gotten there eventually. I…I didn’t do too well in school. I passed, but barely. Everyone said I was dumb, guess they were right. Then I got married…and you know how that turned out.”

Isabella nodded her head in remembrance.

“Jason assumed there was something between us, when there wasn’t. Carl…he was always jealous. If it wasn’t for you…someone would have died,” Candace said. Her face got a far away look, “I…I almost died. With them gone, when the raiders hit…if it wasn’t for you…”

Candace gave a shy smile at Isabella, “Once again, you believed me when I said I wanted to learn to protect myself, to do whatever it takes.”

“I would say you more than succeeded,” Isabella said.

Candace shrugged, “It was that moment I realized I was always in a box, always having someone protect me…except this time that box was almost a coffin. I knew I had to change, and you were there supporting me, but not holding me back.”

Isabella felt embarrassed by this moment of praise, and shook her head, “It…it was nothing. Anyone would have done it.”

“Maybe, but only one did,” Candace said. Then a thoughtful look crossed her face, “You said mentioned one was taken? Was that Tom? I know he was married…”

“Tom?!?” Isabella gave a slight shriek, “Heavens no!”

Candace shrugged, “I don’t think it was Crone, if for no other reason Emma would kick your ass. Besides, you never gave the men a second glance. So that would leave…”

Isabella’s face reddened, and she rested her palm on her forehead.

“If…if I had a choice…it would have been you,” Isabella admitted.

“You…you never said anything,” Candace said in surprise.

“What could I say? You were married, and even if you weren’t…well, it was obvious where your preferences were,” Isabella stammered out.

A little dazed, Candace said, “But me? You could do…”

Isabella interrupted, “Don’t say better. You are compassionate and loyal. You will see something through, which is more than I could say for most people. You helped me, believed in me when everyone else thought I was wasting time.”

Isabella’s blush deepened, “I better shut up, but know that no matter what else, I’ll treasure our friendship. Just because I wished…well, I’ll definitely shut up. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make things awkward between us…I promise not mention it again.”

Isabella moved to leave, but found Candace placing a restraing hand on her shoulder. The red-head’s eyes looked into Isabella’s, as serious as the scientist ever saw her assistant could be.

“Did you…did you mean all those things you said?” Candace asked somewhat in disbelief.

Isabella gave a simple nod. Candace removed her hand from Isabella’s body, and looked at her feet, “I…I like you too. After Heather…well, I didn’t know if you would be interested, even if I said something.”

Isabella squeezed Candace’s hand, “I was, but it would have been wrong for me to say anything. And now? I don’t know what came over me.”

Candace offered a gentle smile, “Well, I’m glad. If…if you want…would you like to share dinner with me?”

“Asking me out?” Isabella said with a tender grin.

“There is a first for everything, isn’t it?” Candace offered.[/spoiler]

[Lys]

Another small bit of Safe Haven fanfic.

[spoiler]Bailey held her breath as she looked through the scope on the rifle. The crosshairs were centered on a shambling figure heading toward the settlement, its growls and snarls causing a slight chill to run down her spine. She held her hand on the trigger, partially uncertain she could make a head shot at this distance, but more because…

“Do you need a hand?” said a gentle, if firm voice belonging to her friend Danielle, interrupting Bailey’s train of thought, and causing her to jump a little in surprise.

“I…I don’t know if I can take the shot,” Bailey answered, letting the point of the rifle drop slightly.

Her companion looked at the distant figure, and nodded, “It isn’t an easy shot, but you can make it. I’ve seen what you did on the shooting range.”

Bailey smiled as she recalled how the shooting range was nothing more than a fence with bottles and cans lined up, and the occasional department store dummy used to give a human sized target. The smile then faded as her cheeks blushed, remembering the feel of Danielle’s hands teaching her how to hold the rifle, how the teenager’s presence sent a thrill to the pit of her stomach.

Danielle didn’t notice the hesitation in the Bailey, rather her gaze was fixated on the infected who was rapidly closing the distance.

“Trust me, this is the best way to meet an infected,” Danielle said, “You don’t see many stragglers.”

Bailey gave a slight tilt of her head and raised the rifle once more. She took a deep breath, and centered her aim on the infected’s head…and lowered the rifle once more.

“I…I can’t do it,” she said quietly.

Danielle glanced at Bailey, and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

Bailey handed the rifle to Danielle, gulped, and said, “It…it is a kid.”

Danielle raised the weapon, and got a good look at the infected. She saw saw a young girl, one who would have been 6 pre-Apocalypse. For a moment, Danielle felt a slight sickening in her stomach as the girl’s hair still was braided with ribbons, a final touch from her mother before the infection took her.

“I…I’m sorry, I…” Bailey stammered then stop when the sound of a gunshot silenced her…and the zombie fell as its head burst apart.

“Oh…oh God…” Bailey said, and turned her head aside as she felt that morning’s breakfast come up, and out. After a few more minutes passed, she was able to compose herself, and stood up straight. She looked at Danielle, and much to her surprise, she saw sympathy in the teenager’s face.

“Despite what the good reverend says,” Danielle said, “I doubt God has much to do with this.”

Bailey frowned a little, but inclined her head. After the events of the last few months, she found her own faith in tatters so she couldn’t argue.

Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, Bailey asked, “How can you do it?”

“Do what?” Danielle replied.

“How can you be so calm when you shoot them? Doesn’t it bother you?” Bailey continued, “Man, woman or child…nothing phases you.”

Danielle took a deep gulp of air before replying, “What makes you think I’m not bothered?” She grimaced as she looked at the fallen zombie, “I…I don’t think I’ve gotten more than three or four hours of sleep in a night since all this happened. Their faces…beyond counting by now.”

Danielle shrugged, “But if I don’t…who will? Besides Rachel and Jaime, Rosie and Driver, the others…” Danielle let the words die off, and Bailey could only nod in agreement. Even those who talked big like Woody were reluctant to shoot infected if they didn’t have to.

Bailey shuffled her feet as she asked, “What…what now?”

Danielle rested the barrel of the rifle on her shoulder and said, “I’ll try to make sure you aren’t on lookout. If you can’t…well, let’s just hope we don’t get overrun by zombies.”
[/spoiler]

[Archie_Huric]

Awawawa the cat stole my heart it’s /adorable/
And damn Daniel look very neat. Great thread, it would be neat if we have this type of thread for every games. I really wanted to see more fanart and FANFIC but it’s hard to find them because it’s not like I can just google it. Or tumblr it. Haha

[anon86661845]

Thank you! I’ve been meaning to draw some more ZE stuff, like I really want to redo the busts I posted on the main Safe Haven thread and I have a couple fics started but I’ve just been super busy with school so I haven’t had the time

I want more of these threads for other games too!! I have ocs for Deathless and The Hero Project that I have a few sketches of and I’m always up for talking about them but I don’t really want to be the one to start the thread myself :w; Plus I’m kinda shy about it because a lot of my stuff is really sappy and self indulgent

[AAO]

Psst…I’ll let you in on a little secret…

Safe Haven is out. It’s been out for months now.

And I think there is a walkthrough on the first game.

[Bugreporter]

@JoshuaReeves
Here’s the walkthrough for part 5:
http://zombieexodus.com/2014/09/zombie-exodus-part-5-walkthrough-chapter-5-and-epilogue/

[Ylva]

This
This is pretty great, by all means do continue

[Lys]

The following is just for fun. Nothing within it is really canonical, and would represent another variant. I admit, it is a little stupid.

[spoiler]“How much further, Logan?” Danielle asked, pulling her horse up close to her nephew’s mount.

“Just a few more minutes,” Logan replied, his hand running through his horse’s mane.

“What was it exactly?” asked another, higher pitched voice, the tones of which sent a shiver of pleasure down Danielle’s spine. She couldn’t help but smile at Madison, enjoying the company of her girlfiend.

Danielle’s lips quirked as she saw how effortlessly Madison rode, which was a far cry from just a few years earlier. No one besides Danielle knew how to ride, and as the vehicles started to breakdown, and fuel became more scarce, the group ended up needing a crash course in horseriding. However, it wasn’t without problems as each person suffered from sore muscles…and how Danielle ended up applying to liniment to many of Madison’s more intimate areas.

“Earth to Danielle, is everything alright?”

Danielle’s face flushed, as she was caught amid in lewd thought, but she simply coughed out, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to let my mind wander.”

Madison raised an eyebrow in question, but focused her attention back on Logan, “Sorry about the interruption. You were saying?”

Logan cleared his throat, “I heard what I thought was a fight coming up near the creek. At first, I saw a big brown shape fighting three or four infected. The zombies won that fight, but not before two of them dropped…as well as the brown shape.”

“If it was a fight the zombies won, why are we out here?” Madison asked curiosity laced in her voice.

“That’s where we get our water,” Danielle answered, “It sounds like a bear fought some of the infected. Being that close to the creek…well, we don’t need to have rotting bodies poisoning it.”

“That’s what I thought,” Logan said, “And I couldn’t move it by myself, and if there were some infected still around…”

Madison shrugged, “Okay, good thinking.”

“There is one problem. It wasn’t a bear the infected fought.” Logan said.

“Was it a moose then?” Danielle asked.

“No, not a moose. Just wait until we get there, and you’ll see.”

The trio passed in quiet until they came to the creek. Just as Logan mentioned, there were two dead infected, their stench almost making Danielle retch. However, what was more disturbing was the brown ‘shape’ her nephew mentioned. It was a large biped, easily 8 feet tall and covered in brown fur. Arms big enough to choke an elk lay unmoving, while numerous wounds indicated it fought with great vigor until the end.

Madison stopped, a look of shock on her face, “Is that…what I think it is?”

“Looks like a Bigfoot to me,” Danielle said, trying to keep her own surprise under control.

Madison’s horse stepped a couple feet away, and she said, “But…they are just myths…aren’t they?”

Logan chuckled, “If there can be zombies, then I don’t see why Bigfoot couldn’t exist.”

“It’s a shame,” Danielle said, then she dismounted from her horse, pulling a rope from the saddle. She made her way to the furry body, and looped the rope a couple times around the creature’s massive ankles.

“Uh, Danielle,” Madison said, a look of concern suddenly filling her face.

“Yes?” Danielle asked, making sure the knot was nice and tight.

“I think…I think we should go get the others,” Madison said.

“Why?” Danielle asked, drawing the other end of the rope to her saddle horn.

“The Bigfoot…it fought the infected, correct?” Madison continued.

“Yep,” Logan answered, “And lost.”

“Bear with me,” Madison said, “We know what the infected do if they bite a person. What about that?” She points down at the massive creature on the ground, “I know it isn’t…human…but it must have some relation.”

“How should I know?” Danielle said, though a feeling of unease started to fill her. She was about finished when she noticed a small twitch in the creature’s legs. At first she took it to be a breeze stirring the creature’s hair.

“You know what,” Danielle stated, “Let’s go get…”

Before she could finish, there was a deep guttural growl, far more menacing than anything she ever heard from the infected before. With the sound of a loud snap, the rope broke as the creature opened it’s legs.

“Leave, now!” Danielle yelled, desperately trying to get back onto her horse, but failing as the horse suddenly whinnied in panic, raising up on its back hooves, and sending her to the ground with a loud thump. However, this equine panic saved her life as the infected Bigfoot launched itself at her horse.

Logan and Madison opened up with their guns, but their bullets finding little purchase in the massive form, or else not making it through the creature’s thick cranium.

“Danielle, hurry,” Madison yelled, her arm extended downward. Danielle ran, and with a solid effort that almost pulled Madison from the saddle, clambered up behind her girlfriend.

The two surviving horses galloped toward where the group lived, fear driving them faster.

We better not run into any prairie dog holes Danielle thought. She took a quick glance over her shoulder, and saw the monstrous infected still savaging her former horse’s body, and

“What…what do we tell the others?” Madison said.

“Rosie and Driver are going to have to bring out the 50 caliber machine gun.” Danielle answered.

“At least I’m glad of one thing,” Madison commented.

“What’s that?”

“At least it isn’t April first…”[/spoiler]

[CreepyPastaKitty]

I liked it didn’t think it was stupid, it was well written as always and yay me I saw that coming as soon as the nephew said it wasn’t a bear .

[anon86661845]

I was kind of in a weird place mentally earlier and I was reading some ghost/liminal space stories again today so this thing based on the New Temperance ending of ZE kinda popped into my head. I imagined it taking maybe a decade or so after final battle at the Cathedral. I think this might actually be the first time I’ve posted something I’ve written publicly?

[details=Click for spooky]He remembered, before the world got turned on its head, when he and Emma were still teenagers, sometimes they would sneak out of their Aunt’s house late at night and go hunting for ghosts.

Michael had had a morbid fascination with death and what may or may not come after it for almost as long as he could remember. It started out as a coping mechanism for the deaths he had witnessed, he supposed, like his grandmother’s when he was six and Emma was four, and their parents’ when he was nine and she was seven, and then eventually Emma’s when he was twenty eight and she was twenty six. After all the time that passed, he could hardly remember what their faces looked like anymore, yet he remembered their funerals almost as clear as day.

He had put a little old photo he had of Emma in a corner in the kitchen and put a little makeshift vase of flowers, which he changed every few days, next to it for her and their parents and their grandmother. He had another little vase beside it for the previous owners of the house, who were likely long dead, as well. He wasn’t completely sure if there was any such thing as an afterlife or ghosts, but it only seemed to be the respectful thing to do. Some days Devlin or their son, Gene, would replace the flowers too if he forgot.

It was a bit strange and morbid to live in a dead person’s house, but it was home.

The floors creaked constantly. There were some stains that were too stubborn to come out so they were just covered up by rugs, or wall hangings, or furniture because they were too grotesque to leave otherwise. Sometimes he’d swear that things in the house would rearrange themselves when he turned his back.

It wasn’t much different elsewhere in New Temperance, a ghost town populated once again by the living and breathing, but most people didn’t question it anymore. After all, when the dead walked, who was to say what could or couldn’t happen?

Travelers would pass through sometimes. Usually strangers, sometimes, unexpectedly, old friends and acquaintances. Some of them stayed, like Carl did, but most moved on to other towns whose names were often forgotten as quickly as they were learned.

He remembers once, when his son was little, Gene told him that he had met a lady with brown hair named Emma. She told him that she knew Michael but she couldn’t see him.

He had never told him about Emma before.

He wasn’t sure if he ever would.

Michael couldn’t say whether or not ghosts were real, but some days he was almost sure they were.[/details]

[Ylva]

So… I haven’t written anything in a while so this is quite a bit rough around the edges, and I think the fact I wrote it during a commute back from college doesn’t help. But anyway here it is. This is just after they leave nightfall (maybe two or three hours?) while they’re on the road.

“Hey Luna, got any good music on your phone?” Brody asks from the backseat.
“I guess. Depends on what you like.”
“Mind if I take a look?”
“Sure, knock yourself out.” She hands him the device and focuses back on driving.
“Nice. Let’s see… hmm, lots of good stuff here. The Clash, Arctic Monkeys, Pearl Jam…” he squints at the phone screen “Okay, I gotta ask. Here we have Beethoven and Mozart then I scroll down some more and find System of a Down and Tropkillaz. What’s up with that?”
She shrugs “If I like it, I listen to it.”
Madison stops staring out the passenger window and joins the conversation. “Do you have ‘When The Sun Goes Down’?”
“I think so.”
“For god’s sake just choose a damn song already.” Jillian chimes in angrily.
“Fine, here. Gimme the AUX cable Maddy.” Brody points to the plug near the glove compartment.
Madison turns on the pickup’s stereo and hands the cable to her brother. After a few seconds Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to heaven starts playing and Luna feels the sadness buildup once again. Her eyes moisten and before she realizes a tear’s already fallen, followed shortly by it’s brethren. Fenris bares his teeth starts growling at Brody.
“Um… Luna, I think your dog wants to eat me.” He says nervously.
“Fenris, quiet.” The dog settles down but continues to stare at the boy.
“Hey, why are you crying?” Madison puts a tentative hand on Luna’s arm. She shakes it off and wipes some of the tears but more take their places.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
The blonde cups Luna’s face with a hand and turns it slightly, so that she can look in her eyes.
“It’s alright, you can tell me.” She says while wiping away the girl’s tears.
Their gaze remains locked for a few seconds before Luna goes back to watching the road.
“This was my sister’s favorite song.” She says almost in a whisper.
“Was?” Madison asks softly.
Luna wipes another tear. “She… She died last year.”
Jillian smacks Brody in the back of his head. He flinches. “Nice going smartass.”
“Oh God, I’m so sorry. I’ll turn it off.” Madison extends her arm towards the radio. Luna catches it by the wrist and shakes her head.
“It’s okay. It was our favorite song. I’ve been avoiding this for too long, I wanna listen to it.” Madison nods. She releases the blonde’s arm and grips the steering wheel. And lets the tears run free.

[anon86661845]

Wrote a fic and drew some fanart to go along with it. These were both meant to be really short and quick but I ended up spending the entire weekend working on them and they’re extremely self indulgent

Assuming that Safe Haven would be roughly on the same timeline as the first game, this would take place roughly a year after the main game, before the epilogue. Kind of a non-canon post- (mid-?) canon thing? Centers around my con artist MC with references to his nephew (Johnny), my hacker MC (Addison), and my teen MC (Piper). Woody seems a bit uncharacteristically quiet here. Maybe he and my MC are just comfortable enough with each other to not have to speak, maybe I’m just bad at regional accents and wanted to avoid it as much as possible, who knows ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[details=This is why I have cavities]
Things were blissfully quiet that day.

Felix and Woody had gone into a nearby town to search for supplies. That long after the outbreak, there wasn’t much food or fuel left, but it never hurt to check. Sometimes there were weapons and ammo hidden under mattresses or emergency supply stashes forgotten in dusty basements. There was money too, which didn’t have much of a purpose anymore, but they took that too anyway when they found it, just in case it would be useful again some day.

Even if there wasn’t, there were still things like books, and children’s toys, and, one time, even an old portable dvd player that still had a bit of power left. There had been a lot of heavy rainfall that summer and just about everyone was getting bad case of cabin fever, the younger members of the group (Johnny, Madison, Piper, Brody) especially. Pet toys, animal bones, and rawhides were also invaluable, since Winston went through tennis balls like they were disgusting, inedible candy and he needed to stay entertained or else he’d start causing trouble.

“Well,” Woody said, flinching as a flash of lightning turned the room bright white, “Looks like we’re stuck here ’til the rain lets up.” Peaking through the tattered curtains, Felix saw that the roads were already starting to flood. They had been searching an abandoned apartment complex when the storm really started getting bad.

Past scavengers had picked the place nearly clean, but at least they also got rid of the few zombies that were left over from what Addison and their weirdo hacker friends called “Zombie Exodus.” Where exactly all the zombies had gone, no one really knew or cared. Felix had only spotted a couple, which were starved and sluggish and easy to pick off, outside and the building inside so far seemed empty of any signs of both life and unlife.

There were still a few things that others passed over though.

There was a nearly full crate of canned cat food in the kitchen and a few cat toys (no signs of a cat though, it must have run off ages ago) scattered around. Piper’s old tuxedo cat would appreciate those.

There was a shoe box full off tubes of acrylic paint and a set of brushes too. Addison mentioned they’d been running out of paint that morning. It was originally Piper’s idea to paint the walls of the shelter and others ended up joining in, despite most thinking it was a dumb idea at first. She said she was sick of all of the doom and gloom and some color would brighten the place up. Now the walls were covered in crude images of flowers, landscapes, a rainbow unicorn that no one was willing to take credit for, and whatever else anyone felt like painting. It made the place feel less like a prison and a bit more like a proper home.

While rummaging around, more to pass the time than to look for anything useful, Felix found a box of old vinyl records and the player that went with them. The old tenant must have been an antique collector or something. After a bit of fiddling around, he discovered it was still working and the room filled with the scratchy sound of an old jazz record.

Grinning, he got an idea.

“Hey, Woody?”

“Yeah?” Woody looked up from where he sat on the stripped bed.

“Dance with me?” Felix extended a hand toward Woody. It seemed a bit more of a request than a question.

“Nah,” Woody shook his head, “Can’t. Never learned how to.”

Felix just shrugged at that. “Doesn’t matter to me. I could teach you.”

Woody made a noise like he was considering it.

“C’mon, it’ll be fun,” Felix urged him on.

Woody sighed as, with just a bit of reluctance, he let Felix pull him up. “Sorry if I end up stepping on your toes.”

“You’ll be fine. Just follow my lead,” Felix said, smiling as he took one of Woody’s hands in his own and guided the other to his shoulder, and the two of them began to move.

Woody really liked Felix’s smile. He had been doing it more and more lately. His real smile that is, not just the disarming grins just before he cheated raiders out of half their supplies, or the cocky smirks when he pretended he wasn’t terrified for his life, or the forced half smiles he gave to try to convince Johnny that everything was going to be okay. Felix wasn’t really the type to get close to people, or at least that was what he’d claimed, and Woody was glad to have earned his trust.

“We’re going to turn now,” Felix broke Woody out of his thoughts. He stumbled only a bit and narrowly missed stepping on Felix’s toe by just a few millimeters.

Woody began to get the hang of it after a few more minutes, counting out the beats of three silently to himself. It wasn’t long until he stopped needing to count completely.

“Not half bad for a first timer,” Felix remarked.

“Only because I have a good teacher,” Woody answered as the two of them came to another turn.

Felix just rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Sweet talker.” Maybe it was just a trick of the light, but there seemed to be just the slightest hint of a blush across his cheeks.

Maybe there would be enough room in the truck for a record player.[/details]

I’m not very good at coloring digitally and I barely remember what layer modes do but regardless I’m feeling pretty good about this

Hair cuts don’t exist after the apocalypse apparently (or maybe I just wanted to draw ponytails, you’ll never know the truth)

Also I’ve only recently realized my mental image of Woody just looks exactly like McCree from Overwatch

[Lys]

Just a small fanfic influenced by the recent discussion of Madison and Brody:

[spoiler]Home Danielle thought pleasantly, and felt much less stressed now that she was back.

She exited the car, pulling a burlap bag full of stuff up with her, and was surprised to see Brody making his way toward her.

“You’re back early,” he said, glancing at the vehicle full of food, ammunition, and other sundry items.

Danielle grinned, “What can I say, for once I got lucky. Other than dealing with a stray infected or two, I can’t recall my scavenging going so easily before.” Her smile got a little bigger as she realized that her success also meant she would have a couple more days to spend with Madison before she had to go out again.

“Let me help you put that stuff away,” Brody offered, his hand dropping to the handle of the back passenger door.

“There’s no need for that,” Danielle replied, “I appreciate the offer, but this stuff will keep. I really want to see Madison first.”

“About that,” Brody said quietly, his eyes glancing toward Danielle and Madison’s shared home, “I think you really should put this away. As I said, I don’t mind helping.”

Danielle felt a little uneasy at Brody’s reticence. “Is something wrong? Is Madison hurt?” she asked, worry rising in her voice.

“No, she’s not…” Brody started to answer, but before he could finish, Danielle was already in her house. She didn’t see Madison in the living room, but heard a giggle coming from the bedroom, and Danielle felt a slight bit of relief at hearing her girlfriend’s voice.

However, this feeling was short-lived as she noticed some activity on the bed, Madison’s fingers laced with Bailey’s, their bodies entwined underneath a blanket. Bailey gave out a short, sharp gasp, partly from pleasure, and partly from fear as she noticed Danielle standing in the doorway.

“Danielle,” Bailey rasped, suddenly pulling away from an equally surprised Madison, “This isn’t what it…”

“Spare me the lies,” Danielle hissed, biting her lip until she tasted blood, “Finish…finish what you’re doing. I’ll gather my crap after the two of you finish.”

Danielle spun on her heel, and slammed the door shut as she left her former home. Her gaze landed on Brody, his head angled slightly with shame.

“You knew,” she growled, striding toward him, her fists clenched, “You knew…and didn’t tell me?”

“What was I supposed to say? ‘Hey Danielle, my sister is seeing someone behind your back.’ She’s my sister…” Brody explained.

“And I’m not. I get it.” Danielle said. Then she looked toward the other places where the rest of the group lived, and it dawned on her that in such a small community, this wouldn’t be a well-kept secret.

Danielle closed her eyes, and exhaled as she strained to get her anger under control. Once her emotions were tamped down to a slight boil, she tossed the burlap bag at Brody’s feet.

“Give this to Madison,” Danielle simply said.

Suddenly worried that there might be a trap of some kind, Brody opened the bag and started to pull things out.

“This…this was Madison’s trophy for being first in the state’s cheerleader competition. And this is last year’s yearbook,” he said in amazement.

“I…I made a detour by your place,” Danielle said, her tone somewhat flat, “I know you and Madison didn’t have a chance to go back. I wasn’t sure what might be left, but…”

Danielle took a deep breath of air, “But I thought you might like some of your stuff.”

However, Brody wasn’t paying attention as he pulled out a photo album, and started to leaf through the pages, tears sparkling in his eyes.

Danielle felt drained, as she said more to herself than anything, “I…I would give almost anything to have something from my family.”

No chance of that, she thought, It’s all but ash.

“There’s another bag in there just for you Brody,” Danielle said.

“You…you didn’t have to…” Brody stammered.

Danielle shook her head, “Doesn’t matter now, does it? I better go figure where I’m sleeping tonight…tomorrow…I’ll worry about that later.”
[/spoiler]

[Ylva]

Ouch… my heart, it hurts sobs uncontrollably