Creep World: The End (Part One)

[Eyoshi]

Great read.

Not the end, you say? Might there be a new conflict coalescing in Creep World?

The part where Steven decides to kill Eric was interesting. For me, that idea seemed pretty untapped, which is pretty good.

It was nice that the heroic death archetype was used. It seemed to be executed well, as it didn't feel forced.

[MalReynolds]

For the count, I'm not going to tell you how long this piece is going to be, but this could be considered maybe the one third mark?

Mal

[whiteflame]

For the count, I'm not going to tell you how long this piece is going to be, but this could be considered maybe the one third mark?

Mal

Well you've already told me.

[mead1]

That was a very excellent conclusion. Even if it wasn't really the conclusion.

[MalReynolds]

There's a wee-bit left.

To those I've told the rest of the plot to... They know it's a lie.

There's many, many more roads to walk down.

Mal

[Lightknight924]

I'm just wondering, where did you get this idea because it's really good. I usually get bored of most forum stories but this, this holds my attention. Just like that one little story you wrote about the end of the world and the most "darkest action". That was one of my favorite stories from you.

Edit* I can't wait until you become a book publishing author so I can buy your books and say "I knew that guy through an internet forum when he was just starting out!" and show them your early works.

[MalReynolds]

The inspiration for the story was...

Well, it's complicated. Like most things I think about, it went through many many iterations before I started typing it.

It was originally going to be about a self-obsessed survivor (which Eric has shades of in the first chapters) but I dropped that in favor of a more likeable hero.

The rest of it stems from the fact that I really, really dislike fantasy literature for the most part. I wanted to write something that was fantasy, but the antithesis of it. No swordplay from the heros, they use guns and explosives. As soon as a character might have mystical abilities, kill him off (Sorry, Iggy.)

The plotline has gone through some changes. Arizona was going to be the original end until someone prompted me with a very good question, so the rest of the book is going to revolve around that. Homage to "The Beach" with the radio station. The book really built itself around several situations I thought would be humerous or fitting for an anti-fantasy setting, like Iggy getting stabbed or the group running across the party treating the situation like Final Fantasy.

I have a natrual penchant to include zombies in things because I find the concept fascinating. And the zombie/curable thing I wanted to add in there, but back when the hero was self obsessed, he was just going to shrug off killing all those people and go on his merry way.

The plotline has, for the most part, worked itself out as I wrote. The only reason I could see myself keep reading is to see if anyone else is going to get killed off. I have a real problem with making characters likeable and then offing them (Gopher excluded; he really didn't every say much or do much except explode and make funny comments about trains) just when I've solved their problems (So long, Wheels!)

I could write more about it, but I don't want to come off as the self-obsessed author, so I'll just leave it at that. New sections should start coming out tomorrow.

They will stop after I hit five more because I need to go back and edit the other... 15 and write more backstory chapters. (Gopher, Eric, Angela/Steven, Fichter, Danny Fife)

Mal

[Tokzic]

I'm still reading through this, but it's pretty absorbing so far. Nice work, Mal.

[MalReynolds]

The ride back to Virginia was almost uneventful. Eric and Fichter almost went out of their way to find trouble, shoot monsters, and blow up buildings on the way back. They were ecstatic, the vibe felt for miles. For the first time since they began the mission, they were happy. They successfully halted the invasion, despite losing two people.

The windows of the wagon were down, blasting “We Are the Champions,” to dead America, singing along until they were hoarse.

Days of constant driving passed, and they were in Virginia, heading back to Fort Eustis to deliver the good news to they only other survivor they knew of. Danny Fife, in the almost hidden bunker in the back of the base.

They rammed through the gates that they had so carefully closed, the car covered in a funny coat of paint consisting of Creep blood and the various bugs they had decimated on the way back.

Eric vaulted down the bunker stairs, knocking the secret knock and shouting as the door opened.

“DANNY! DANNY! WE DID IT!”

Danny ran out from the back room leaving the door ajar. The Creep in the cage was fiddling with a yo-yo. It lay back, gasping for breath. It was on its way out.

“You did what?”

“We blew the gate!” Fichter cried out, coming down the stairs and into the bunker.

Fife nodded, pointing at the thing in the back. “Look at that. Would you look at that? I gave it that yo-yo a week ago and it’s been surviving off of it. Of course, it’s got it all figured out now. Won’t last much longer.”

“So?”

“Well, they don’t need to burn things or knock things down. They just prefer to. Without proper equipment, I won’t really know anything else about them.”

“But, Fife,” Eric interrupted, “You don’t really need to know anything else about them now. The gate is gone. They’re going to stop coming in. We can just… Find more people that are hiding, and give them guns and they can fight. We can take America back, Fife.”

The computer in the back beeped.

“Eric, why don’t you walk with me? Fichter… Have some peaches.”

Fichter walked over to the shelf and took a can down. Fife had gone to the mall and restocked on food at some point; the shelves consisted now entirely of canned peaches.

Fife shut the door behind them. “Eric, I want you to take a look at this.”

Eric looked at the computer. “What?”

“Well, I know you all took out the gate. The readings stopped, I assume, when you blew it up.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“Take a look at the latest readout.”

Eric’s jaw dropped.

The Creep in the cage let out a whimper and died.

Fichter heard the muffled outburst from behind the closed door. It sounded suspiciously like-

“FUCK!”

“Do you need me to explain what that means?”

Eric fell to the floor. “Sure. Go ahead.”

“It just means there’s another gate out to the west.”

“To the west, there’s ocean, Danny. Lots and lots of ocean.”

“And… Well, there is another large landmass to the west.”

Eric sighed.

The door swung open and Fichter stepped in. “Everything all right?” he asked, slurping the peach juice.

“I don’t know, Fichter. Danny, tell Fichter the wonderful news.”

“Well, according to the latest readout, there’s… Well –“

“There’s another Gate, Fichter, somewhere in Europe, approximately.”

Fichter frowned. His frown quickly turned into a smile and he began to laugh.

“I don’t know why you’re laughing, Fichter. We lost everyone on the way to Arizona, how the hell do you think we’re going to do on the way to Europe? It’s impossible.”

“It’s not that. I just wondered why the rest of the world didn’t send help when the things invaded, and now we know. They couldn’t, because they were trying to deal with the situations of their own. Funny. Ironic.

“The rest of the world didn’t hate us after all.”

Eric sighed. “Well, Danny, what exactly should we do?”

“My advice to you, as a scientist, would be to… Well, get to Europe somehow and shut the gates down before they figure out exactly how to get overseas. There’s going to be a little… Well… Whatever they were trying to send through the gate in Arizona was automatically diverted to one of the Gates in Europe. The big thing they were trying to send through is currently making its home in Europe.”

“Alright, fine. We got to Europe and try to take out… Did you say ‘Gates’? As in… The plural form? More than one?”

Danny nodded. “From what I can tell, there are two in Europe.”

“Do you have any idea what they could be?”

“Well, considering their affinity for big things, like landmarks… Well, I can draw the general area. But you’re pretty much going to be on your own for finding them.”

Eric stepped out of the room.

“So, you going to come with, Danny?”

“Nah. Gotta hold down the fort… Protect my peaches. See if I can’t capture another one of these things. Figure out what makes it tick. Besides, I figure an autopsy is in order anyway.”

Fichter clapped him on the shoulder. “Well, good luck with that, Danny.”

He stepped outside the room to Eric, who was facing the blackboard, his forehead resting against the cool surface.

“You know, Fichter, I don’t particularly think that this is fair. I don’t think we should have to go over there. There are people in Europe. People that probably made it. Can’t they blow it up? Why do we have to do it?”

Fichter shrugged. “Because we really don’t have anything better to do.”

Eric laughed, blowing chalk dust from the tray. “That has to be the worst reason I’ve ever heard. How the hell are we supposed to even get to Europe? Do you know how to fly a plane, too? Another ace in the hole, deus ex machina that I don’t know about?”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know how to fly a plane.”

Eric turned around, a word finely printed into his forehead in chalk.

“But boats aren’t really that hard, are they?”

“Have you ever captained a boat, Fichter?”

“No. But it seems easy enough.”

“I hate to be a pessimist, but it doesn’t sound like we’re even going to make it out of the country.”

Fichter shrugged again. “It’s worth a shot. Better than sitting around waiting for death, at least.”

“Alright. Lemme go talk to Fife. Figure out where the best launch point might be.”

Eric stepped into the back room to find Danny passed out on the floor.

-

“Florida? Are you sure?”

“Well, as slow as my computer is, it’s still a computer. Wouldn’t steer you wrong for any reason. It says there are functioning ships down there. Weak power levels, but ones that would work. Just take one of the ships and head east. Most of em’ have a good mapping system anyway… You’re not likely to get lost out in the blue.”

Eric nodded, clapping Fife on the back. “You might want to get your narcolepsy checked out, Fife.”

“By who?”

Eric laughed. “Alright. I guess… I guess we’re heading out then. It’d be considerably harder to get back here if we knock the other two gates out… So… I guess this is goodbye.” Eric paused. “You’re the only person I’ve said goodbye to that didn’t leave, you know… In a casket, I suppose.”

Fife was silent.

“I’ll be seeing you, I guess,” Eric said, opening the door and stepping out of the room. Fichter waved as the door closed.

“What did we get?”

“Nothing new. Guns, ammo, another set of satchel charges, and some more antidote for that nasty bug that’s been going around… Although I doubt we’d need it. I don’t know if the virus has spread to Europe or anything yet.”

Eric handed half of the supplies to Fichter. They closed the blast door on the way out, walking over to the wagon and opening the back, dropping the munitions inside. Fichter grabbed the top of the gate to close it when something shiny caught Eric’s eye. He leaned in over the munitions and food. It was a bracelet wedged between the seat and the floor. Eric pulled it out of the crack and let Fichter close the gate.

He slid it onto his wrist as he took the co-pilot seat, feeling somewhat comforted by the singular item that she had left behind.

The headlights turned on, and once again the car barreled into the distance. One thing was certain in the minds of the travelers.

If they got to the boats and if they managed to get to Europe…

Things were going to be different this time.

END PART ONE.

Mal

[Chromer]

Mal when are me and you going to collaborate on something?

[mead1]

Nice ending.

[Tasuke]

a boat?
I love the story mal, please keep it all coming!

[msbrunnettemickey]

Mal it's wonderful.

DON'T DIE =(

[Eyoshi]

It'll be pretty interesting to see the upcoming events, as I am guessing the pair will making their way through many European cities on their way to destroying the gates. It's like an even bigger odyssey.

Although long series tend to decline as the story progresses, I'm confident that you'll be able to keep us reading.

[MalReynolds]

Not an update on the story, the psuedo sequel will be put into a new thread.

The way I'm working out the next section: I'm collecting, once again, little interesting pieces to put into the next chunk of the story.

Some stuff to look forward to:

New characters.
Big explosions.
Grenades.
A boat.
A new threat.
The main threat.
Another love interest.
Some ironic situations.
Mexicans.
Border Patrol.
Slave Labor.
A retired general.

-

Mal