Dejavu

Wow this is weird, i was just Google-earthing all the places that I've lived and i came to one of my old houses that i lived in for 8 or so years when I was a kid...and I've got this creeping dejavu feeling now...  It's like i remember those trees, and that bike trail, and the ice cream drive in, and the woods, and the fields, and everything...how weirdly creepy...it seems like it was just yesterday, and I haven't thought about that place in forever!

I hate being sick

my nose is stuffy :(  but on the bright side I have a three day weekend!!  no work tomorrow!!!

I made cup cakes today, I'm hoping to post pictures of them soon, but basically what I did was make some cakey cupcakes and brownies and cut the tops off.  Then i coated the bottom of the decapitated cake with a basic butter/powdered sugar/milk icing.  After that i put a nice sized scoop of cherry pie filling on them, squirted whipped cream around the edges of the cupcake and put its lid back on.  I finished them by putting another squirt of whipped cream on top and either drizzling chocolate syrup over them or just putting a single cherry on top.  They were very very good :D

I got the idea from a dream i had last night...kinda weird, most of my inspiration, good or otherwise, comes from dreams...i wonder if it means something...?

We had to Leave...

We had to leave.  It was noon now, but by the time we arrived at the settlement, the sun would be waning.  That was if we didn’t run into any problems.

I walked to the large garage where we kept the army tank we’d commandeered.  It was big enough to seat three.  I quickly pulled three environment suits out of the lockers lining the garage; my employers would be joining me soon.  I slipped into the suit, the canned oxygen which emitted from the mask, tasted stale compared to the rich air contained in the false atmosphere I was surrounded by.

All around me, outside the garage and stretching almost a mile square was contained in a huge dome constructed of metal and bulletproof glass.  The only habitable area in a desolate country.  I’d designed and helped to construct all the technology which kept the glass bubble running.  I was the only one who knew how it worked.  I was also the resident bodyguard, the only person in the dome who knew how to use a gun.  The once millionaire family who had taken me in, only asked I defend them from the menaces outside on their rare outings to search for survivors.  And of course, I had to keep the bubble running.  I guess we both benefited from the arrangement.

I heard footsteps approaching from behind me; my employer and his wife arrived and silently pulled their environment suits on.  I waited for them to finish, then stepped to the tank and helped them in, before myself dropping into its dark interior.

We had to go through three levels of sanitation before the last door opened and the great desert plains were revealed.  The sanitation was really only necessary for the return trip, when all traces of the deadly virus which had swept the land with devastation must be removed.

As our tank rolled out the door I looked out across the vast expanse of sand.  A barren desert now stripped bare by harsh winds and the deadly virus, but once it had been a fertile field, filled with trees and soft grass.

The tank traveled on, many miles further and further out in the sea of nothingness.  Our GPS locater was keyed in to the approximate location we were aiming for.  We’d been receiving garbled radio transmissions from what used to be a small town off the highway for several days now.  And my generous benefactor felt it his solemn responsibility to respond.  Not that I blamed him, it was just a long hike out into the middle of nowhere on limited fuel if it turned out to be nothing.

The trip proved to be uneventful, and we made good time, arriving around three at what appeared to be an abandoned filling station next to a cheap motel.

I leapt out of the tank first, guns at the ready, scanning the area for life.  When I had waited several minutes and nothing seemed to have moved I signaled for my employer to follow.  He crawled out of the tank slowly, helping his wife down as well.  I secretly wondered why he’d brought her.  To show her the extent of human weakness?  The complete lack of decency and self-respect the virus could embed in a normal human?  She seemed a poor choice of companions to me, but I hadn’t planned the party.

“Let’s go in.”  He gestured to the broken down door of the filling station.  He had a .22 grasped in both hands, I wondered if he was planning on opening a can of pop with it, or actually thought he was going to be able to defend himself against a mob of undead.

“Wait; keep your backs to the tank.”  I approached the station slowly, skirting around the pumps, I didn’t want to have any surprises.  When I was within ten feet of the door I holstered my mini-uzi’s and pulled the AK74 off my back.

“Any one in there?”  I heard a faint scuffling from inside, lowering the AK74 to my hip, I fired into the interior of the building.  Once again I heard movement, it was approaching the door.  My fingers tightened around my gun as a spectral figure came into sight.  It came to stand in the doorway, it had long stringy hair, its head was covered with oozing scabs, and what was left of its clothing was torn and tattered.  It saw me and immediately started a long, low moaning.  It began approaching me, reaching out to me, as if to rescue it.

I did.  One shot to the head and it fell down heavily.  I heard the wife cry out softly over our three-way headsets.  I turned the volume down.  The last thing I needed right now was distraction.

The moaning had alerted more of the infected residents across the town.  The filling station appeared to be now deserted, but from the hotel numerous creatures were emerging.  They slowly and deliberately walked through the floor-level doors.  Intent in their need to feed on fresh flesh.

“Get in the tank.  There’s no one here.”  I commanded.  The creatures were getting closer.  I heard the wife gasp again as they began pouring out of the second level of the hotel as well, simply falling off the balcony’s or stepping out windows, indifferent to any sense of danger or pain.  I could hear bones cracking and grinding as they continued to approach.

“Get in!”  I was backing towards them, not daring to turn around to see if they were obeying, all my senses focused on the approaching menaces.

I heard the husband telling his wife to come, but she was resisting, her eyes had locked on to one of the second story windows.  A little girl was leaning out of it.  She was waving her arms and gesturing, she actually appeared to be healthy.

“We can’t just leave her!”  The wife cried.  She was pulling in her husband’s arm, trying to make him agree.  He looked at me and I shook my head.  We were running out of time.

“We have to,” He told her, bodily dragging her to the tank.  The first line of undead was only twenty feet away, I hated to waste ammo, but I knew they were going to need more time.  I brought my rifle to me shoulder and fired at the first zombie, he fell down, the others continued to walk, and they didn’t even seem to notice the noise.  I fired again, and another undead fell.  The husband had his wife almost in the tank, but now I was cut off.  The zombies were between me and the tank.  I began a wide spread of fire, hitting low, trying to knock them down.  I knew they couldn’t feel the pain, but a shattered femur will always slow you down, regardless of your pain tolerance.

The husband was standing on the tank, firing down into their midst with his pea-shooter.

“What the fuck are you doing?!  Get in the tank!”  I hollered over the headset.  He looked at me across the sand, seemingly not understanding.  The zombies were clawing at the tank, I directed my fire at them and they fell back.  Slowly he lowered himself into the tank, but left the top open.

With the man and wife out of reach, all the zombies turned their affection towards me.  I tried to run around them, firing into their midst to flank them, but they continued to block me off, until I found myself surrounded.  I charged into what used to be an elderly woman, glasses still on her nose, and dried blood caked around her mouth.  I knocked her down, firing one shot into her forehead before turning, throwing a steady stream of bullets into the zombies by the tank.  Some of them fell not to rise, but many were only temporarily stunned.

I knew I was going to have to reload soon, I needed some space.  I swerved and fired my last bullet into a teenage zombie with dreadlocks.  I jumped over his body, smashing the butt of my gun forward into another attacker, slowly purging a retreat.  I continued to move through the undead, once I felt fingers grasp my environment suit, with a swift movement of my rifle I plunged the barrel into the flaking white skin and through the soft bone of the faceless mutant.

Finally I broke through their ranks; I sprinted forward, only increasing the distance between me and the tank.  I jumped and rolled in the sand, coming around in a crouching position facing the zombies.  Steadily I pulled the old clip from my gun and replaced it with a fresh one from my belt.

In the few seconds I had before the zombies reached me I scanned the area, trying to find an escape.  My eyes alighted on an ice cooler, covered in dust and blood situated outside the filling station, if I could get on it, I’d be able to reach the roof.  Then I could snipe them off one at a time.  At my leisure.  It sounded too good to be true.  All I had to do was lead the mindless horde away, and then make a dash for the station.

I put my plan into action immediately jogging backwards, the zombies continued to follow me, they were able to go faster than I could go backwards without risking stumbling.  I fired at them, knocking down the front ranks, and making the ones behind stumble over their bodies.  In this way I continued to keep them within ten feet of me until I was about 100 feet from the filling station, the vast expanse of sand behind me and on my left and right.  And the blood thirsty mutants before me.

Swinging my rifle onto my back I put every molecule of energy I had into speed.  I sprinted towards the ice cooler, purposely not looking back.  If I had, I would have seen that after their first second of confusion at the sudden change in speed, they moved fast.  The ones that could go faster, trampled over the slower ones, they weren’t going to let me escape that easy.

I reached the cooler and jumped; I caught the lip around the top of the cooler and hoisted myself up.  I felt something catch on my leg just before I had finished pulling it up.  I reflexively kicked back and the grip loosened.  I looked down to see a mutant picking itself up from the ground, there was blood on my heel from where I’d kicked its face.  I pulled out one of my mini-Uzi’s and shot the zombie back down to the ground.

From the roof I was able to see all the zombies congregating down below me.  They were clawing at the cooler, but there was no strength in their lax muscles; they’d have no success in getting up that way.  I inspected the circumference of the rest of the roof, no where else would they be able to get up either.  I found myself filled with a thrill of success.  I’d outsmarted them.  But then I was brought back to earth by the thought that they were mindless mutated animals, and if I couldn’t outsmart them it wouldn’t be saying much for me.

I slowly and carefully took aim from the edge of the roof and sniped at the zombies.  One after another fell, every one of my bullets carefully planned.  When I ran out of ammo their numbers were greatly reduced, I counted and found that only ten of the mindless mutants were still circling the station, futilely trying to reach me.  I swung my AK74 on my back and pulled the twin mini-uzis from my hip holsters.

As the last of the zombies fell under the barrage of the rapid fire I heard a cheer from over the headset.  I’d almost forget that my employers would be watching over the camera’s mounted on our transportation.  I resisted the urge to salute them.  But I let myself bask in the glow of success as I leapt from the roof and strode across the body-ridden arena towards the tank.

Perhaps that was my mistake, or perhaps what happened next could not have been avoided even if I’d been at my most cautious.  Either way, it happened.  I made a stupid mistake.  I saw my empty discarded ammo clip lying on the sand, partially covered by a zombie.  I kicked the body out of the way and bent to pick up the empty clip.  But the body wasn’t quiet dead.

The moment I took my eyes from it a wiry hand shot up and grabbed my arm, pulling me off balance.  I struck out with my free arm and smashed my hand down across my assailant’s radius.  I heard the bone crack, but still, the grip remained like iron.  And then another arm wrapped itself around my kneck, pulling my head back.  I felt teeth grating on the outside of my helmet, I yanked my head away, but the mutant clung tight, increasing it’s grip as it smelled the potential of feeding.

Focusing mainly on the zombie wrapped around my kneck, I temporarily lessened the priority of the one gripping my wrist.  I pulled a mini-uzi from my belt with my free hand and fired behind myself into the dead flesh which held me in a bear hug.  The grip loosened enough that I was able to swing around and knock the body from my back, as I did so I felt the other zombie on my arm tear free as well.  Before either of them could move again, I planted a shell in both their brains.

I exhaled.  I could hear my employers talking in hushed whispers over their headsets.  I wondered if they were disgusted or impressed.  I was a little of each.  At least I was still alive.

But the thought froze in my head as a reached down to retrieve the AK74 cartridge.  The right arm of my suit had been torn open, and blood was running down my exposed arm.  For a moment I was sure my heart stopped, as I stood looking at the wound.  It was relatively minor in comparison to some that I’d sustained over the years, but any wound, no matter how small if it was inflicted by one of the infected creatures it spelled death.  Even worse, it meant you were destined to join their ranks.

The understanding seeped through me slowly, I felt numb all over, and yes, I was disgusted.

I turned up my headset and spoke as clearly as I could into the mic.

“You guys are alone now.”  I picked up my mini-uzi from the ground where I’d dropped it, I looked at it as if it was a strange object, a bazooka in the hands of an infant.  I could hear my ex-employers talking urgently into the headset, but I ignored whatever their ever-so-helpful advice was.  I slowly unstrapped my helmet and dropped it onto the sandy ground.  It thudded softly as it rolled to a stop at my feet.  The air was dusty and smelled overly rich of dead and decaying flesh.

I raised my uzi to my head; the metal pressed firmly against my skull was a strange feeling, but freeing and rebellious as well.  My eyes scanned the area one last time.  Taking in everything in a strange light.  Nothing looked the same, all the colors were more vivid, and everything was so much more real suddenly.  My eyes rested on the tank, now easily accessible, all of the zombies lay scattering the ground.  I’d come so close.

“Good luck.”  I whispered to the static tank.  I smiled as my finger pulled the trigger.  Good Luck.

ugh

allow me to whine.

I've been working for almost 14 days straight, i technically had monday off, but i had a three hour doctors appointment and school so I don't see as it counting as being a free day.  Other wise i've been working 0445 to 1315 for the last week and a half and it is starting to suck terribly.  I Just Am Falling Apart!!! ....

Dang I have like four things I need to turn in within the next week, kinda sucky.  I think I just finished one of the papers, but I still need to write two speeches and fill out this trainer thing for work so that I'm officially awesome...they own me :(

I was off by -.30 today on my drawer.  that vaccums.

I really wanted to make cookies today, I was thinking about warm and delicious chocolate chip cookies just a little crunchy on the outside and warm and chewy on the inside.  I really really want some, I can practically smell them right now.

I should probably go to bed seeing as I finished my first written report and so now I only need to do three things.  One of them is supposed to be an interactive grammar interpretation or something or whatever.  I don't really want to do it i think maybe i'll just skip that day, i'd rather not give a presentation on anything.  I'd rather just sleep.


SLEEEP.  It's what I'm craving.  I've been so crazy busy these last couple of days that I managed to get the sheets off of my bed to change them, and didn't actually put fresh ones back on the bed until just a couple of minutes ago today.  Ugh...anyways, I had a cool dream about zombies the other night...I wrote it up...heck why not throw it on the ol'e blog?

name something that happened in your life which would make a good novel

I have gen eds now...i thought that they would be nice and easy but turns out they're terrible and easy...oh well...  we're practicing free writing right now which is basically what i do whenever i sit down and write, only without a topic...its waaaay to easy, and i could extremely easily loose myself in it because i like to write so much...but i have to remember that i am around ppl and then i feel a little self conscious because i look like a word nerd or whatever.

i also have to give a speech on an assigned partner on Monday or something.  That should be fun.  I actually like giving speeches but it's different in front of your friends because i feel like we're just messing around and it's hard for me to be serious and if i'm serious then i feel way too serious and i feel like i'm being lame.  But i think i'm just going to have to suck it up and be serious.

I got called the valedictorian today :D

And i'm going to make this beef hot pocket thing this weekend.  It looks really good it's cheesy and spicy and beefyness all wrapped up in light flaky buttery dough and baked in the oven until it's golden brown and scrumptious.  Hopefully it's as good as the manicotti i made last weekend that stuff only lasted two nights!!!  Haha spellcheck wants to turn manicotti into manically stupid spell check.

But anyways...i get to work at 0445 again tomorrow...that's gonna be sooo much fun or somethin....*sigh*

2011!!

Yay!!! i can finally legitimately write 2011 on stuff!  For some reason i've been signing all my checks and papers 2011 for a while already, just anticipating i guess.

Ugh, school started again today...kinda depressing, even though i like it and am with all people i know and like its still kinda depressing wow thats kinda a run on sentence now that you mention it!  I have speech, math and English...the math is unbearably hard...we had to do fractions and ratios today...so complex...my little brain...haha

I've also officially started physical therapy today...and i learned a great lesson...make sure to mention PHYSICAL therapy when talking to people...just saying therapy makes them wonder about you.

Other than that nothing too exciting has happened...oh i stayed up for the new year kinda and played video games and didn't drink any mt dew which is amazing.  but other than that just life as usual...for me...driving on the wrong side of the road, getting lost in my neighborhood, forgetting people's names, acting ADD, nothing too exciting.