The Man in the Dark Blue Tossle (re-write)

Posted by Zombie Silhouettes on

 The Man in the Dark Blue Tossle Cap

© SL Sullivan

Tossle Cap:  A colloquialism specific to Pittsburgh natives. Generally known as a toboggan, beanie, or skull cap by everyone else.

Timmy and his friends were walking home from school, when they noticed a man in a dark blue tossle cap across the street, watching them. He was about six foot tall, had a grungy, starter beard and wore a long flannel, hooded jacket. He kind of resembled a logger or woodsman. The man had sinister, dark brown, almost black eyes that seemed to just peer right through you. Attempting to ignore the creepy guy, Timmy and company kept walking as well as continuing their conversation. Not being able to shake the image of the man from his mind, Timmy looked back to see if he was still there. He was not. Relieved, he rejoined the conversation. The group stopped at a crosswalk and checked left, then right for traffic. Seeing it was all clear, they began to cross and immediately stopped when they saw the man in the dark blue tossle cap standing across the street from them. Frightened, they all decided to go a different way. They also agreed to stay as a group and all go to Timmy’s house. They would just call their parent’s to pick them up from there.

For the last couple of blocks they saw no further sign of the tossle capped man. Just as they arrived at Timmy’s house and were making their way up the sidewalk, Timmy looked back and gasped. The others turned back and saw that the man was standing there, once again, just watching them. He wasn’t moving. He showed no emotion, he didn’t even blink. It was one of the scariest things Timmy and his friends had ever witnessed in this town. Suddenly, the man lifted his left hand to his head and grasped the top of the tossle cap. They could see his fingers trembling as he gripped the cap tight. One of the friends shouted, “What is he doing?!” Not really wanting to find out, Timmy opened the door to his house and they all ran inside, slamming the door and locking it behind them.

They quickly moved into the living room and onto the couch by a large window that faced the street; and cautiously opened the curtains. They looked out to see what the strange man was doing, but he was gone. They all sighed and backed away from the window with eased minds, until they heard a noise that sounded like a wisp of air behind them. The five boys turned around, only to see the man in the dark blue tossle cap standing in the hallway. They froze in terror at the sight of him. Timmy’s first thought was of how the man was able to get into the house, knowing he locked the door behind him. He realized that the man possibly could have entered through the back door. The man once again reached for his head and grasped the tossle cap. “The backdoor!” Timmy whispered loudly to the others as he jumped off the couch and headed to the other side of the living room that connected to the dining room. The rest followed. Quickly, the group moved through the dining room, into the kitchen and then out the backdoor.

Running out to the middle of the backyard, the boys became aware of their mistake. The backyard was completely enclosed by a six foot tall wooden fence to keep the dog from running away. “Where was Blister?” Timmy thought. “Why wasn’t  he out here?” He heard the smallest of the group, Ricky, scream. Timmy turned to see exactly what he expected. The man was standing on the stoop to the backdoor. “Scale the fence!” Timmy screamed to the others as they ran in the opposite direction of the stubborn stalker.

The five reached the fence at the far end of the yard and leapt to grab the top and pull themselves over. All, but one that is. Ricky. He was too small to reach the top of the fence. On the other side, the rest of the group remembered that Ricky was smaller and they boosted Timmy up to lean over the fence and stretch a hand down to him. As Timmy reached down, he saw the man in the dark blue tossle cap fade into a black smoke and disappear. Almost as soon as the smoke faded, it returned directly behind Ricky as he reached upwards to Timmy. The man appeared and instantly grabbed the tossle. Timmy stretched his arm as far as he could. He could feel Ricky’s hand in his, but just as he was about to yell to the others to pull him over, the man removed the tossle.

Timmy froze in horror at the sight that has just been revealed to him. The top of the man’s skull, absent of hair, had a navel like orifice on the top. It sort of resembled the mouth of an octopus. The hole began to open to about two or three inches. From within the opening sprouted a tentacle with a bulbous, cone like end made up of tightly bound fibrous hairs. It moved in a snake-like fashion towards Ricky, as the man closed his eyes and tilted his head forward. The man reached out with his right hand a grabbed Ricky by the back of the head and held him tight. When the tentacle was about a half a foot away from Ricky’s face, it reared back and paused as the hairs unfolded, revealing an opening within, and then instantly snapped forward toward his forehead. The fibrous hairs clasped on, digging themselves into Ricky’s skin while the suction-like opening attached itself. The tentacle then started pulsing and pumping as if it were sucking something right from poor Ricky’s head.

Timmy felt a jerk on his pant and snapped out of the terrified trance state. He let go of Ricky’s hand and jumped back down off the fence. The others shouted questions asking what happened and where was Ricky? All Timmy could say, with terror in his eyes, was, “Run!”

Minutes, then hours passed, but there was no sign of the creepy man, or whatever he was, giving chase. Timmy tried to explain in as much detail what happen to Ricky, as they took refuge in the local library. None of the boys had ever seen the man before, nor have they ever heard of such a thing. Strange things went on in this town, but this was the strangest they’ve ever witnessed. They all decided to keep it quiet and tell no one what had happened that afternoon; for fear that they would be made to look like fools, no matter the town’s history. They decided that if Ricky’s parents, or the police, asked them, they would lie and say that he left them while they were at the park and haven’t seen him since. It was getting late and the now four boys would have to go to their homes. Timmy asked Alex if he could spend the night, as his parents were out of town for the weekend on business, as usual.

He was also afraid to return to his house, where they last saw the man in the dark blue tossle, still out there, somewhere. Timmy had a terrifying feeling that they would definitely see this creature person again.

The End?

Puppies are Delicious

Posted by Zombie Silhouettes on

“Puppies are Delicious”

by SL Sullivan

Puppies are cute. Puppies are playful. Having a puppy in your household can make people smile. Just watching them fumble around while they learn to walk or run, will make you laugh harder than you can remember. Certainly, they can be a little work, but you will have more fun than frustration. Training them can be difficult, but with the proper know how, they will learn fast. You should try and not get too upset when they pee on the carpet in your living room. Just rub their noses in it… <and then throw them against the wall as hard as you can!>

Wait, no.

You rub their noses in their pee and tell them no. If they pee on clothing or a rug, take the puppy and the article they peed on outside so they know that’s where it belongs. If they continue to pee on things for more than a couple of weeks, you may <have to wrap their back ends in duct tape so they’ll learn their fucking lesson!>

No. … No, no.

If they continue to pee after weeks of training, there may be a problem and you may need to take them to a veterinarian. Most puppies will learn that peeing and pooing is for outside. When they do go out for potty time and successfully do their duty, always reward them with treats, pats on the heads and <some blood curdling screams of anger!>

What? No.

You should reward them with treats, pats on the head and some excitedly spoken, ‘good boy’ (or good girl). This tells them you are happy and what they did is what made you happy. Puppies and dogs want to be happy. When their owner is happy, that in turn makes them happy. Don’t be surprised though. When they sense that you are in a good mood or happy, they will bring you their favorite toy and want to play with you. Sometimes you aren’t in the mood to play, but they won’t understand at first. Sometimes when they bring you a toy, you <wish it was a knife so you could cut their fuckin’ head off!>

What… the… hell?!?

I’ll start over.

Puppies are cute. Puppies are quite playful. <Puppies are delicious! Yes! You want to be certain to feed them, and feed them a lot! Fatten those bitches up!>

No… NO!

I like puppies. I do like puppies. I really do. I like puppies <with Bar-B-Que sauce! All this puppy talk is making my hungry!>

NO! Fucking NO!

Puppies are <fucking> cute. They’re soft and easy <to bake!> What the hell Am I writing?

Get… out… …of my HEAD!

Must concentrate on puppies. Must write … <a puppy cookbook!> That’s what… no. Puppies. What are puppies? They’re just tiny dogs, <that piss and shit all over the place.> I have two dogs of my own. I’ve had them since they, themselves, were puppies. I watched them grow into <selfish snobby little bastards!> I can’t believe what I’m writing!

‘Where is it?’

Moving on. What was I writing about. Cats? No. Puppies? Yes, puppies. They are cute. They are adorable. They are.. <a pain in my fucking ass!>

‘Where… is it?!’

I have two puppies. No. I have two dogs. I have… I have… potato chips. Potato chips are tasty. I like them with ketchup. They’re like crispy thin french-fries. French-fries are good with mayonnaise. I also like seasoned fries. I can’t drink milk. I’m lactose intolerant. It hurts my stomach.

‘Tell me where it is!’

Is today garbage day? I think the garbage goes out today. Should I hide the body in the garbage? I probably should. It’s in pieces. I’ll put them in the bags along with the puppies. Puppies are cute.

‘I need it! Where is it?!?’

Maybe if I put all the parts in separate bags and spread them all over the neighborhood. I’ll use different garbage containers. Spread it out. Make it harder to determine where it came from. Puppies suck! Noisy, dirty, annoying little shits. Kill them all! Kill the owners too! Yeah. That’s what I need to do. Stupid neighbor. Stupid, noisy, neighbor puppy. Keep me awake all night you will not! I fixed it. I did. I fixed it real good, didn’t I? Didn’t see it coming, did you? Chop, chop, bloody ax. Chop, chop, chop! I don’t hear your doggy now, bitch! Pieces and parts. Pieces and parts. You are a fool! You thought I wouldn’t do anything about it.

Threatened to call the cops? How can you call anyone? You have no hands! Ha, ha, ha, ha! I fixed you! Fucking bitch-ass whore! Chop, chop, chop! Into little tiny pieces. Puppy paws and people fingers. Choppity, chop, chop! Did it hurt? You were screaming a lot. I bet it hurt. Don’t lie to me! Shut up you bitch! Yip, yip yip. That fucking dog is still barking. Not enough pieces! Need to chop some more! Chop, chop. Chop, chop. Why won’t that stupid fucking dog stop barking!

‘Where is it?’

…

…

“There you are Mr. Sullivan. Time for your medicine. It will help you rest.”

…

‘At last! There it is.‘

 

Authors Note:

No puppies were harmed in the writing of this short story.

Breakfast in Bed

Posted by Zombie Silhouettes on

This is the second short that I submitted to the Death Throes Webzine contest…

Breakfast in Bed

© SL Sullivan

 

It was Stu and Sues one year wedding anniversary and they wanted to do something special. Online, they found a nice little Bed and Breakfast in a little nowhere town far from city civilization. Strangely, it had absolutely no reviews, yet it branded a five start rating. They booked their reservation and were decidedly happy.

On the weekend of their anniversary they arrived at the B&B around dusk. It was a quaint little house set deep in a wooded area. They must have traveled about a half mile off the main road up the drive to the Inn. They approached the front desk, which was nothing more than a counter in a large living room and rang the bell. They heard a series of strange clicks, resembling a baseball card on bicycle spokes. A moment later, a little, round elderly woman popped out of the and greeted them. “You must be the anniversary couple.”, she said. Stu and Sue looked at each other, smiled and Stu commented, “That would be us.” The woman introduced herself as Betty, and explained the bill. Stu paid and signed the registry, then asked, “Do you offer room service?” “Oh, I’m afraid not deary.” Replied the old woman. “We do offer ‘breakfast in bed’ for celebrating couples such as yourselves though. Would tomorrow morning be acceptable?” She asked them. The couple once again smiled at each other and stated that it would be perfect.

Betty yelled for the bellhop. Appearing at the bottom of the stairs was a tall, thin man carrying a five gallon bucket and some red colored rags. “This is my son, Frank. He will take your bags and show you to your room.” Both Stu and Sue stared at the rags and the red splotches all over the bucket. Noticing the couple focused on the bucket and rags, Betty explained, “Oh, the last guests left quite the mess. Apparently they did some extremely sinful deeds with cherry pie filling. I hope we won’t have the same problem with you.” The couple shook their heads ‘no’. “Good.”, said Betty and added, “If you’d like an evening snack, we’ll be having appetizers here in the lobby in ’bout an hour.” The couple gave their thanks and followed Frank up the stairs to their room.

The couple arrived at their room and Frank opened the door. He placed their bags on the credenza and turned to leave when Stu extended his hand with a ten dollar bill in it. Frank looked at him, put his palm out to stop Stu and shook his head expressing a ‘No thank you.’, then he exited the room, closing the door behind him. “That was odd.” Stu said to his wife. She just smiled and started unpacking some of her items, such as a very revealing blue, lace chemise. “If you’re good.” she said with a wink and a smile. Stu grabbed his crotch and chuckled out, “I think I’ll need some privacy now.” as he jokingly headed toward the bath room. They both had a laugh and then decided to go and explore the garden out in the back of the house, before stopping in the lobby for a brief snack.

The garden was as beautiful as it was creepy. The flowers and other foliage were filled with trance inducing blue and purple hues. The creepiness arose from all the angel statues scattered throughout that had their hands covering their faces. After enjoying the garden, they returned to the lobby and saw that there was now a small square table in the center of the room. On the table were several dishes with a variety of appetizers. Stu and Sue went over and helped their selves. As they ate, they realized that they were the only people there. No other guests, not even the staff was present. Once again they heard the strange clicking noises from somewhere in the house. Both confused and distraught, they quickly finished eating and made their way back to their room.

After discussing the evenings events, they prepared for bed. Sue stepped into the bath room carrying her own trance inducing night-wear. Stu, not having anything arousing himself to change into, decided to just go nude. He stripped off his clothes and neatly laid them on a chair next to the bed and slid under the covers. Moments later, Sue stepped out of the bath wearing her enchanting chemise. Stu, who was lying on his back, unknowingly showed his approval. Sue noticed the quickly sprouting tent made up of bed sheets and giggled as she jumped into bed. After a short round of pure adulterated sex, they both felt strangely over exhausted, much more than usual, and passed out.

It was around five in the morning when Stu awoke with a start. There was a burning sensation in his back along the length of his spine. When he attempted to sit up to examine the cause of the pain, he realized he couldn’t move. He very slowly, and with great difficulty, turned his head towards Sue and tried to yell for her to wake up. Though all he could stammer was a bunch of unrecognizable mumblings. At the same time he became aware of the horrifying sight that was his wife. It was as if her flesh was seemingly eroding away before his very eyes. Thousands of little brown dots swirled her body. He turned his eyes down towards her feet and noticed that from there to her waist was now nothing more than bone. From her waste to her breasts were the remains of muscles and some organs such as her stomach., though they were eroding away as well. It seemed that there were waves of these golden-brown specs and wherever the wave passed a layer of Sue was removed.

First wave, which was now covering her once lovely breasts, was now removing the skin, exposing the

muscle and fatty tissue beneath. A second wave approached and began to erode the muscles, the fatty tissue and the milk ducts right down to her ribs. They moved on and a third wave arrived and made its way around the ribs and began to disintegrate the remaining bits, like the heart and lungs.

Blood just ran off her body during this phenomenon, soaking the sheets under them. They quickly became a familiar red color. “Fuck. The rags!” Stu thought as felt a tingling in his toes. With one last look at Sue, he now observed that there was nothing left but bone from about the middle of the neck down. He was now able to turn his head to look down at his feet when he noticed two figures standing the doorway. The short plump figure turned to the tall thin one and said, “Frank, please collect the lovely woman’s head, if you would.” After a series of familiar clicks, Frank moved to Sues side of the bed, he placed a large glass jar on the nightstand. Hanging from his belt was a butcher’s knife that he removed and lifted high in the air. With one quick swipe, he brought the knife down across Sues spinal cord and severed the head. He then gently picked up Sues head and placed it in the jar. Stu wanted to scream, but could not. He wanted to cry, but again, could not. Stu wanted to vomit. This, he was able to do. Bile and more exploded from his mouth and down his cheeks and chin. He choked and coughed as he jerked upwards into a sitting position.

“Oh dear.” said Betty. “You shouldn’t be awake.” Stu could feel his toes burning now. Then there was an itchy, fiery sensation, moving along his feet, over his ankles and up his shins. He looked down to see the first wave of the little golden-brown creatures consuming his flesh now. His eyes widened as he looked back at Betty. “Oh, don’t mind the bed bugs, deary. My little babies must eat. I’m sorry that you are awake for this, but now you will be able to witness the beauty of our family removing you of your sins.” Stu mustered up every once of strength, grabbed the butcher’s knife that was now laying on the bed and leapt from the bed. As he lunged for Betty, he quickly fell to his knees. There was no muscle left on his calves or feet to support him. In fact the first group of bed bugs have already worked their way to his waste. From there down to his knees was nothing but muscle, veins and blood. Lots of blood.

Betty cackled at the attempt and starting making that clicking sound. Stu could see something moving in her mouth that was not a tongue. It appeared more like a mandible of some sort. Frank returned clicks and moved around the bed to grab Stu and tossed him back on the bed. Stu felt helpless. All he could do know was watch as the rest of his body was being consumed. Once the bugs finished him to the neck they stopped and dispersed. Stu knew what came next. His brain was still alert and aware. He saw Frank lift the large knife over his head. And just before it came down on Stu’s neck, he whispered, “I’ll get my revenge.”

That afternoon a couple arrived in the lobby and rang the bell. Betty stepped out into the lobby and stood behind the counter. She welcomed the quests and said them, “You room is just being finished being cleaned from the last guests. They were very, very messy folk. I hope we won’t have the same problem with you lovely pair.” Then she asked with a smile, “Will we?”

The End

©SL Sullivan

Throes of a Dying Human

Posted by Zombie Silhouettes on

This is the first short that I submitted to the Death Throes Webzine contest…

“Throes of a Dying Human”

© SL Sullivan

It began with one of those mornings where I awoke, mentally, eyes opened, but my body wouldn’t respond to my requests to get out of bed. No matter how much I begged and pleaded, my body just lay there like a fallen tree. I did not feel tired. I did not want to return to sleep. “Coffee.” I thought about how good coffee tasted. I thought about drinking it’s life giving essence, hoping to stir some sort of activity from my body. Nothing. I just lay there on my back, staring at the ceiling. In the back of my mind, I thought I heard faint whispering. Nothing new really, we all hear voices from time to time. We write the voices off as our conscience and continue about our day. Our conscience. What is it really? The dictionary tells us that it is the complex of ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits our actions or thoughts. As I discovered, that is incorrect.

I listened to the voices. By ‘listen’ I don’t mean ‘obeyed’, I mean I focused on what they were actually saying. From what I could tell, there were two of them, and they were arguing. “What the fuck do you mean we can’t do that?” Said the first one. “I mean, it’s not part of our mission to just go off and do as we like.” The second one responded. “The Human will become aware and question it’s actions!” “So what if it does?” Chirped the first one. “We’ll loose control if it becomes aware. We DO NOT want that.” The second one retorted. There was a moment of silence and then I heard the first one again. “No. I can’t go on pretending they didn’t do anything. They WILL pay!” There was a long, drawn out, fading scream by the second voice and then complete silence.

Moments later, I could see that my body got up, then instantly fell to the ground. Oddly, I felt no pain. I heard from somewhere, “Fuck! Stupid bio-controls.” My body once again stood and then turned towards the two pistol style crossbows hanging near my bed. My body then took the bows down and began to load them. It then grabbed a handful of extra bolts and walked from the bedroom to the living room and out the front door. From what I could see, it was still dark. I guessed it was probably somewhere around five-thirty in the morning. My body proceeded to walk across the street, through the small wooded area and into the back yard of a house on other side of our plan. It climbed the stairs of the back deck and approached the back door.

The door was unlocked. My body entered and ventured around the first floor. What was it looking for? I don’t recall this neighbor very well, they recently moved into the plan and we were not acquainted. The body made it’s way up the stairs to the second floor, searching every room it passed until it came to the last room at the end of the hall. It opened the door slowly and I could see a woman lying in bed, alone and asleep. “There you are. Both you fucks will pay!” I heard inside my head. “Both?”, I questioned to myself. There is only one person in this room. What the hell was my conscience talking about? It was then that I realized my conscience was referring to her conscience. There must be a pair in every persons head. It seemed to make the most sense.

I saw my right arm raise the first crossbow and take aim. From the angle and the location of my head to the direction of the bow, it looked like we were going for a head shot. “No!” I screamed inside my head as loud as my thought would allow, just as the finger pulled back on the bow’s trigger. The bolt glided across the room into and through the left side of the woman’s neck muscle. Blood burst out in a powerful stream and then just flowed down her chest as she leapt from the bed in a panic. The first thing I noticed was that she was gorgeous. As I was lost in her beauty, I heard, “What the fuck was that?” from inside. “Who said that?!” Somehow, I think the conscience heard me. I didn’t answer, but I did notice that the woman standing there bloody and naked, reached for her nightstand drawer.

She pulled out a dagger styled letter opener and ran towards us. My conscience caught wind of what was happening and pulled up the second bow. It aimed and fired just as the woman dove, opener first, towards our neck. The bolt penetrated her eye, boring deep into her skull. At the same time, the letter opener landed somewhere in our chest, from what I could tell. I still felt no pain. Currently, all I could see now was a mass of auburn hair and a ceiling. I gathered that the woman was lying on top of my body, but neither of us were moving.

Moments passed. Everything was eerily silent. Inside my head and out. I screamed once again as loud as my thoughts would allow, but heard no reply. With determination I listened throughout the inside I my head. There was nothing to hear but my own thoughts. My view began to fade to black. I didn’t understand what was going on.

“Was this it?”

…

“Was this body dying? What happened to the conscience that commanded it?”

…

“What happens to me!”

…

There was nothing left now but complete blackness and dead silence.

…

…

…

“I… am… still… AWARE!”

The End

© SL Sullivan

Updates on goings on: Part 2

Posted by Zombie Silhouettes on

I’ve mentioned that I had the opportunity to publish some of my scribbles, well… the webzine that I’ve been submitting to was running a contest.  I ended up writing three submissions for entry.  They will be released I believe in next weeks issue.  After which I will be able to post them here.  Some pretty cool stuff.  The webzine I’ve been submitting to is Death Throes Webzine  … you can also find them on facebook.

You can read and PLEASE comment on my first submission here… Man in the Dark Blue Tossle

TTFN!!

SL Sullivan

Updates on goings on:

Posted by Zombie Silhouettes on

Hey fellow readers… I just wanted to give a heads up on what’s happening around here.

I’ve recently had the opportunity to publish some of my writings, so I’ve gone back to some older stories to re-write and sort of polish them up a bit. ” The Journal Z” is still being worked on (I’ve re-written ‘Day 1′ and started on ‘Day 2′), but I really want to get some of my older works cleaned up.  More on this later!  Thanks for your patience!

SL Sullivan

The Journal Z: Day 9: Morning

Posted by Zombie Silhouettes on

Day 9: Morning

I woke up to shifting thoughts in my head. The shooter had not tried to come for me, at least as far as I could tell. There was no noises, save for some moaning from the living dead. I shrugged and cracked open a can of pears for breakfast. Having no real utensils, other than the obvious can opener, I just poured the pear halves into mouth and ate away. I didn’t want to gorge myself, so I figured that would be enough for now.  I decided the first task on the agenda was to reinforce the door and find an alternate way in and out of the freezer. This meant another trip to the supply store.  I decided that seeing if there were another way I could enter and exit this place took priority at the moment. Especially if I were to receive any uninvited guests, like my sniper friend from last night.

Immediately I thought about ventilation. Air flow had to be a constant in here.  I started to move around the freezer, which I determined to be about twenty-five foot by thirty or thirty-five foot.  There were a couple rows of shelving throughout the room.  I started to survey the ceiling for some sort of vent grate.  Over in the back left corner of the room, from the entry door, I found it. It was approximately a two by two foot vent.  There was a shelving unit almost directly under it.  I removed a few boxes and cans from the shelves and scurried up it.

Once reaching the top of the shelves, I was able to reach the vent grate.  I noticed it seemed to be more of a maintenance hatch and had two leaver like locks on it. There were hinges on the opposite side.  I released the latches and the grate swung open with an aged screech. Grabbing my flashlight, I peered up into the crawlspace.  It looked mostly empty save for all the support mechanics.  Seeing as how I had to lean out to reach the opening, this wasn’t going to be easy to enter. I needed a ladder or to move the shelving unit over closer, which would be difficult, as they were bolted to the floor.

Flashlight in mouth, I reached out and grabbed opposite sides of the opening.  I maneuvered one elbow up in, then the other.  I then pulled myself up and into the shaft.  It was oddly roomy up in there.  I could sit fully upright.  Obviously there was not enough room to stand, but it was a comfortable crawlspace.  I took the flashlight and searched around.  There appeared to be something on the far side towards the front of the building.  It was hard to make out from this distance with all the pipes, cables and ventilation ducts running all over the place.  But it appeared to be a sort of large duffle.  I navigated around, over, under and in between all the lifelines of the grocery shop.  As I made it closer to the the large bulk, I started to realize that this was not a duffle bag, unless duffle bags began wearing shoes and growing heads.

“Oh Shit!” I exclaimed.  It was a corpse dressed in a blue jumpsuit.  Perhaps the maintenance guy who worked for the store, crawled up here to hide when this all went down?  I wasn’t certain, but that made the most sense.  I decided that I had to remove his large rotting body, somehow.  I wiggled & wormed my way over closer and reached out to grab his foot.  “Damn, this dude was big.” I whispered, loudly.  I grasped his foot and began to gently pull him towards me.  He seemed to be dragging easily across the support ceiling.  I turned around and headed to the maintenance hatch.  I was only a few feet from the hatch when my arm jerked backwards.  I assumed the large man got snagged on something.  I was wrong.

To begin with, the first thing I noticed was that I had only been toting a foot with part of a shin bone attached. Eww. The leg was not caught on anything. As I followed the detached leg, I noticed that there was a hand firmly grasping the shin bone. Attached to the hand was an arm that led to a torso in a blue jumpsuit. And, at the top of that torso was one hungry looking maintenance mans head. His eyes, as empty as they were, still gave emotion that this bitch was determined. Determined to eat me!

I let go of his leg and began shuffling backwards toward the hatch until I felt my feet drop through. With a quick turn, I rolled over and slid through the hatch and dropped to the floor. It was a good ten foot drop and I twisted my ankle as I hit ground. No time to whine about it. I limped to my pile of supplies and grabbed my handy makeshift, still yet to be tested, spear. I readied my self and waited. This fat bastard was right on my heels, so to speak. “Where is he?” I wondered. And at that thought, I saw a large bluish blur fall from ceiling to floor, head first. With a disgusting “squish” sound, the dumb-ass zombie crushed his own skull coming through the maintenance hatch head first. I looked at my weapon and almost felt sad for it. The poor thing still had not proved himself in battle.

I poked the big blue pile of corpse with my spear. It didn’t budge. I poked at it a couple more times, just to be certain. This guy was dead… again. I figured I should finish checking the crawlspace to see what else may or may not be up there. I once again entered the maintenance crawlspace and inspected the rest of the area. This maintenance area ran throughout the entire grocery. There were a few areas with vent grates that looked down into the store. I found some security cameras, which were useless without power. And over by the goo that the maintenance guy left behind, were some more tools all tucked away in a nice tool-belt. That would definitely come in handy.

The most important part of this inspection, was the convenient ventilation hatch over in the far side of the store in the back. It was one of those industrial “turbine” type roof vents. The base of the vent was sealed with silicone caulking, but with the nice little pry-bar I found in the tool belt, I was able to work it open. I slid the vent to the side and was able to now stand up through the roof. I stepped out and looked around. I was about eight feet from the back of the building as well as from the side towards the parking lot. Keeping low, I walked around the roof, checking out the situation on the ground. Yes, there were a lot of undead down there. I walked over to the front facing the supply store. Of course, the street was once again stocked with the undead. I squatted down and began thinking about what I needed. I either needed to find a rope ladder or make one. Something easy enough to pull up into the hatch once I was up there.

As I thought out my plans for making the hatch accessible to me for an entrance/exit, I also started to consider hiding the freezer door, reinforcing the store and adding traps, etc. I looked down at the street again, and strangely, all of the dead within approximately twenty yards or so were gathered directly below me and staring upwards. I was confused. I was ducked low enough that nothing from the street should have noticed me and I was not making any noise. I was only sitting there, quietly in thought. I focused on that for a moment. Thought. When the one zombie from the other day was looking at me strangely, I was without thought. And then when I started thinking about tactical decisions, that’s when he lunged at me. Thought. I wondered if there was something to this.