Awesome indeed. I liked it.

Excellent stuff; a lot more professional than you see in net fiction these days. I'd comment more, but its evident to everyone that this chapter rules.

So Spaztic is up next...

nice

With the way we're leaping around, I thought it was Ducky next, then DD, then Alister, then myself.

Really? Well, you heard him people, any of the four people he mentioned may as well post something; I wouldn't call this leaping around, more like plate tectonics.

DD, even though it warms my heart to see how much you support Stratn, it's not Ducky's turn. It is Spaztic's since he asked for several of us to go first. After that we're back on track. Okbye.

I thought we skipped Spaztic cause he wasn't posting on time. Ah crap, whatever. Slay is the law of the land. All bow to him!

Blast! I keep forgetting who's in charge here, both your names start with 'S' its very confusing. Either way, I don't see why people can't make a start on their chapters now.

That's a good idea. Everyone should start on their chapters right NOW!
So that if someone changes a lot of things they have to delete it and do the whole thing over again. Why did I not think of this before

Anyway, Spaztic said he'll be writing whenever he feels like it. (That's the spirit, old chum) So our dear Ducky is up next. I hope anyone can find her and get her to post this week. Otherwise it's your turn DD. (I don't feel like waiting months between posts anymore, so I'm going to speed things up a little. Even if that means there'll be only three people left eventually.)

Am I one of the three? =D

That's a good idea. Everyone should start on their chapters right NOW!
So that if someone changes a lot of things they have to delete it and do the whole thing over again. Why did I not think of this before

As far as I can see, little actually changes between chapters, and when it does its stepwise, predictable and logical. At least some preperation can be done before chapters are posted; all of mine were almost done by the time the previous chapter was posted.


Now, let us go Ducky hunting!

It's my plan to post a short chapter tomorrow or later tonight. If I don't get it done then, I'll probably just pass.

You better get it done then.

Is that a pass?

It is, lets give Ducky three days to reply. She's been inactive for a while.

Ok, DD is up next

I don't believe you until Strato says so; if I did anything now I'd probbably ruin someone's nicely prepared chapter.

Ok, skipping DD and moving on to the next person in line.
Good luck Alister.

Okay; I'm assuming The Slayer is in charge here and posting a chapter, so if this annoys anyone its his fault okay? Just to play it safe I've made this nice and general and not used anyone's characters, so this shouldn't be too big of a disruption.



The fight was almost three days previous.

Michelle stared at the small mound of dirt in front of her, marked with a crude wooden cross; the only marker that said her brother had ever been anyone, had existed. Her family had never left a big impact on the world, or even shown an interest in it. They hadn't patrolled and fixed the lines because they were employed to do so, but rather because they always had. They'd stuck together and cared for each other because that wass the way life was, and nothing else was even imaginable. Her mother had died just after her birth, falling down a ravine in the dark, and the three that remained, her, her brother and her father had just got on as well as they could. She'd been so close, that was what people didn't understand. And then he'd gone off all full of hope and a better life just a hundred miles away from their turf, and he'd never come back. She'd heard of his death by radio, seen it on a TV screen.

Michelle felt a small inkling of a sensation she'd become increasingly used to, the feeling of life in her location. She turned and saw the two figures behind her, Tier and Alexander both keeping a respectful silence. Alexander was the first to speak, approaching her and gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "The others wondered where you were, you've been gone almost two days, have you been here all that time...? I guess its hard to remember what with all this that we've lost a few people. I- I'm sorry; I guess there's not really anything I can say is there? I guess you were really close. Michelle sighed "You have no idea; the only time you saw anyone else was either when you bumped into another patrol by chance, or once a month when we went to Skite for supplies. Can you imagine that? A town called Skite." She laughed bitterly. "Course, it was really nothing more than a supplies store for parts and food, we were never given real wages as such."

Alexander paused, he was way out of his depth here and he knew it. He didn't even know what the hell he'd come out here for, or what he'd been going to do. "Uh, so you've still got your father? What now?" There was a long pause before she answered in a small distant voice. "I... don't know. My father can join another patrol, or retire; he's always talked about it. I don't really think I can go back, not now." Alexander stood in the uncomfortable silence then eventually wandered away, with the odd backwards glance, leaving the two zombies together.

The silence persisted for the best part of half an hour, Michelle losing track of her thoughts, being roused from her contemplation only by a quiet cough from Tier. "I warned you about this. I said there was no going back." When it came, the reply had tones of ice. "So what? So that’s it then? Don't think I didn't plan for this! Perhaps you may think it fine to go around all emo, but I for one plan to use this to my advantage, whatever I do!" There was another silence; zombies had a lot of time on their hands to think things over. Finally Tier spoke. "I'm going to this dinner party everyone's talking about, and I'm quite sure you will to, not that we'll be eating anything." In the meantime I suggest you go have fun with your new friends, they have a lot to be thankful for.

Tier turned and headed back the way he'd come. He'd only been there to show Alexander where Michelle had gone, and he'd known her location more out of prediction than anything else. The sun was setting but the darkness held no fears for him anymore. He felt strange these last few days, a feeling he was finding hard to pin down, it certainly wasn't excitement, or fear, anger or hatred or anything else that could be caused by this latest conflict. He'd seen wars before, up close and from a distance, hell, he'd seen everything pretty much, and this new... eagerness perhaps? was worrying him. He was welcomed at the door by Susan who, he guessed from the vague odor of alcohol was out for a bit of fresh air and a recovery. He'd never seen anyone so sensitive to booze, it was amazing she didn't get tipsy just breathing the fumes from inside, where there was a kind of low level social event had been going on for the last day or so. It was far too subtle to be called a party, more like a get-together.

"Hey, I hear you're inviting yourself to Parker's big dinner party; be careful huh? I really don't like the feel of this whole thing. Tier smiled, but it was a smile with no humor in it, one that always unnerved anyone he talked to. "And if I'm not? What then? What can they do to me? Shoot me? Set me on fire? Cut me to pieces? You saw Michelle with those wolves, she was never in danger of getting hurt, she didn't feel anything and there's not a scratch on her now. There's nothing they can do to either of us and you know it. The refugees at least admit it; you can see the looks we get." Susan smiled back, if anything it had even less goodwill in it than Tier's "Yes, but my friends will go with you, and if anything happens to them..." she broke off in mid sentence and went back inside. Tier went out back and worked on some plumbing. He'd be there till morning when things had quietened down, and then there would be the wounded to see to. After all, he didn't drink or sleep and there was work to do. There was always work to do, somewhere.


* * *


Michelle stood in the darkness and saw through it perfectly, eyes that didn't see cutting through the ebony night like a lance. She saw the lives dance around her, split, change and fade away, the whole world glowed. And she strode through it, aloof and unchanging, a sliver of darkness in the noise and tumult that was existence. And she had power, incredible power. She would never end, never change, never grow weak or old or tired. She grabbed a passing moth and crushed it; felt a tingle of energy as it gave up its life force to fuel her.

And she could reach out so much further than she'd ever dreamed. She stretched out a hand and watched as a tree wilted and withered to a rotting stump, she twirled through the night riding the cold and the dark, capturing life force to continue the mad dance.

And couldn't stop. She saw her friends around her, running and screaming at her approach as she whirled past them the crumbled to dust amid screams of anguish. And still she feed, off the noise, the screams, the life Nobody was safe, friends, family... her father; they were all gone in a flash of feeding. And others fell too, too many to count, the forest burned and the seas dried up, land moved and stars died, the universe flowed around her as she sucked the light from it.

And then it was over, nothing but cold and dark and quiet, a universe of silence and death. And she was alone. And there was Tier, watching her in the darkness with dead eyes, still and silent and cold as the rest of creation, alone with her in a prison of a thousand years.


It would be wrong to say she awoke, for she hadn't been sleeping, as such. It was more a drift back to reality. It hadn't been a dream, or a nightmare, just a train of thought that had left the tracks. She'd still to get used to not sleeping, or crying, breathing or the many other small changes this 'life' forced upon her. She shivered in the dwindling light and made her way back to the house. She needed the light and the noise to drown out her thoughts.

She never had the chance to reach the door; she was met halfway there by a blue rat standing on the porch. "Hey, you're the chick they use around here to keep the vermin down right? Me'n my friends just wanted to say hi, but it seems Mark and David got distracted by some somewhat more lively girls, and Amaya passed out on the couch before you got here, I told her it was no good drinking after losing all that blood but who listens to me? Anyway, my names Szev, which is gonna be a real problem if you lisp." He held out a hand, which Michelle eventually accepted. "Yeesh! They aren't kidding! You're as cold as last night’s leftovers! Hey is it true about all the no pain and regeneration and stuff? I mean, I caught a rat in my pillowcase this morning and I'll let you have it if you'll stop staring at me like that, I feel like a main course.

Michelle smiled, she felt better already. "Hell, why not, show me this captive of yours and I'll show you fourteen ways of cookin’ him, but you're eating half; I can't stand cooked food anymore."

.

I was never in charge. I'm not sure where that idea came from. D=

You commissioned the group vote n' everything!

Well? Is anyone actually reading this stuff? Who's going next?

Hello? *pokes*

I have read it. Alister (ToxicBunny) is next.
It's a shame you felt like leaving all of those characters out, that was not really necessary. Apart from that it's another very well written chapter, but I came to expect nothing less of you.

nice..

[edit:] by the way, were were you this morning? I waited 2 hours..

What the explicit?

(she never reads her pm box, so i just posted it, yesterday was my b-day adn she usually shows up around the time I eat my breakfast... I dont see her that ofthen because of that time difference, but yesterday, the school started 2 hours later then normal...)

back on topic plz..

Back on topic indeed.

Nice chapter DD, though I must agree with Slay that there was no reason not to use other characters. Nevertheless I enjoyed it.

This story is great...I am in the work of genius. Keep it up! I am happy that I have read this!

Nice chapter DD, though I must agree with Slay that there was no reason not to use other characters. Nevertheless I enjoyed it.

Oooh, you can't use people's characters without their express permission; not only is it ilegal, but they get real mad into the bargin.

isn't that just the goal of this story? (using a group of comman characters with multiple writers) (no, I didnt mean sueing eachother for ripoff)

Yeah, because what this story really needs is more people dropping out.

I'd rather have her drop out then act like this.

I've been kicked out lets see, three times for using other people's characters. I don't dare anymore.

I can get rid of my characters in a flash if that's what people want.

No one is kicking you out.
Using other peoples characters is the whole point of this isn't it?
If you don't want that, then you should leave. We are not kicking you out though.

...Something tells me that this could end badly...let's all just try to keep the peace. The last thing we need is something like this turning out into a full scale flame war. That wouldn't be pretty...

Doubble Dutch is a girl?! I didn't know that.

Oh....The Dimension in Darkness has a new story in the works. Come by and see. You can also offer input and characters to my story...If you wish.

yeah, shes a girl...


back on topic...

WE WANT STORY !!!!!

You want a story while you wait? Just come the Dimension in Darkness link. It's good...I promise... I wrote it, after all.

But... I only post on weekends, Wendsday and sometimes Thursday/Friday.

Yeah, let's get all worked up over our bunny rabbit story!

Look, I don't care if people use my characters. I don't even like Alexander. I made him years ago. I rather liked the chapter, and I dont' care that it didn't include the full cast. It'd get really old if people were forced to use everyone constantly. I understand if people get worked up over it if somebody dosen't use other character, but she's gotten the idea that we shouldn't. So instead of going at eachother's throats, I think it's time we changed our focus a bit.

This project has changed dramatically and I think our methods and ideas need to be retooled a bit to fit the dynamics. Certainly, the authors that are remaining have all changed writing habits, and that might be creating some friction. I for one like to write huge passages, but I'm rather picky about when I do it. As such, the turn based system dosen't work for me very well because I'll be inspired when I'm not supposed to write, but I won't have a very relevent outlet except for tangent story arcs. This is just an example, but I think we should all discuss exactly how we feel about the story and any suggestion we might have.

Superjwren, please do not endorse your own story in a different thread. It is offtopic and just a little rude. I'll leave your current two posts but any more I'll remove.

Strato, do you have any specific suggestions?