Regina the Zombie Slayer, Episode Nine: Left Behind

Regina's feet were suddenly carrying her toward the window before she even realized what she was doing

"Wait!" Charlie shouted from behind her.

Too late.

Regina was already breaking the window, opaque and thick at the bottom with age, with her skillet. No turning back now.

Regina stepped aside. "Lead the way, Will!"

Will raced forward, climbing through the window.

"You've really done it now," Charlie growled, his accent growing thicker.

"We've gotta move."

Regina climbed through the window after Will, scraping her hands on remnants of glass on the sill. "Bickering will only get us killed by that horde."

By the time Regina dropped down from the window, Will was already several lengths ahead of her. Leaves crunched under Regina's feet as she ran through the camp grounds. The moans of the horde swelled in response to the noise of their escape, but there was nothing she could do to prevent it. She could only run faster.

Regina risked looking back at Charlie behind her. The beam of his flashlight shook violently as he ran to keep up.

Regina tripped as she turned around. She thrust out her arms to keep from falling flat on her face. She scrambled on all fours for several moments, trying to cover ground while she regained her balance.

Charlie came barreling in behind her, knocking her to the ground as he jumped over her.

"What the hell!"

Regina looked up as Charlie and Will disappeared into the darkness and trees.

Regina jumped up and turned around. A few zombies were right behind her now, zeroing in on her position. Regina high-tailed it into the trees, searching desperately for Will and Charlie. She could not even see their flashlight beams anymore.

Regina chastised herself as she ran. She had known not to trust those men. Now, they had left her behind with the horde.

Tree limbs and other sharp things she couldn't see put fresh cuts on her arms and legs.

"Damn, damn, damn!" Regina shouted. She clambered through the trees and underbrush. She finally broke through the tree line on the other side and found herself on a trail that sloped down to the left.

Regina followed the trail down, hoping Will and Charlie had gone the same direction. At the bottom of the hill was a rest stop with a parking lot, and what looked like a Ranger Station or information center. A wooden swing set, well into the process of rotting, sat lopsided in front of the building.

Regina ran straight through the rest stop, not knowing where she would go next. The roar of the horde was deafening now. If Regina fell or dared to stop for any moment, the zombies would be upon her. But, even adrenaline and fear couldn't drive her tired limbs forever.

At the end of the rest stop, there was a crossroads. There was a pole a little taller than her with arrows attached, each one pointing to a different destination.

Stoneman's Valley was to the right. Deadwater Lake was to the left.

Regina almost laughed at the name of the lake. It was terribly appropriate.

She had no time to appreciate the irony, however. She needed to make the right decision.

Heading for Stoneman's Valley meant a lot more running, but maybe Will and Charlie had gone that way. The valley, whatever it was, might also be the way out.

Then again, Deadwater Lake might be the right choice. Regina was sure zombies couldn't swim. She could jump in the lake, swim to the middle, and wait for the horde to pass. Or she could swim to the other side and have a huge head start on the zombies.

Regina looked behind her. A few running zombies had broken ahead of the horde's solid line and were headed right for her. She had to move now.

What should Regina do?

Head for Deadwater Lake

or

Head for Stoneman's Valley

Vote now and come back Thursday for the outcome. Hopefully, you will make the decision that saves Regina's endangered life once again.

The readers' score: 0 deaths

Regina the Zombie Slayer, Episode Seven: Zombie Camp

"Alright," Regina said. "I'll go with you guys. But no funny business!"

The Englishman raised his hands innocently. "Easy there. We just want to help. Why not stick together? Our chances will be much better."

The American nodded his agreement. "You're safe with us. Sorry about the rope thing. It obviously wasn't meant for you."

Regina looked from one to the other before she gave a nod. "Alright, then. Where are we going?"

"There's a summer camp half a mile away," the American said. "It's pretty out of the way, and it's closed this time of year, so it should be safe."

"Should?"

"You can go back to town, if you'd like," the Englishman suggested. "But we're headed to the camp. You're welcome to tag along if you want."

I'm already liking you jerks...

"Fine," she said. "Let's get moving."

The three tromped through the trees and crunched over fallen leaves. A cold wind blew, and there was no sound from any living thing. The full moon hung overhead - it must have been two in the morning. With that thought, Regina felt a wave of exhaustion overcome her.

She kept up her pace, and she decided to talk to stay awake. "So, what are you guys' names?"

"I'm Charlie," the Englishman said, "and he's Will. You?"

"Regina."

Nothing more was said as they walked up a wooded hill. She noticed that both carried pistols in their right hand. Guns had always made Regina nervous. Her skillet probably looked useless to Charlie and Will, but it felt just right in her hands.

"Is that your only weapon?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah," Regina said. "I don't like guns."

Charlie gave an ironic chuckle. "Good luck with that."

Regina decided to just ignore him.

They topped the hill, and a valley spread out below them. Within the valley was a large clearing that held some old, wooden buildings.

This must have been the summer camp.

The buildings lay on either side of a dirt path. A large building on the top of a small hill looked like a dining hall - another large building looked like a community center of sorts. The smaller cabins were spread out, outside of the clearing and half-hidden in the woods. A light fog enveloped the entire place.

Regina couldn't help but feel she was entering a horror movie - and the fact that she didn't trust these guys didn't help either.

"This place looks pretty abandoned," she muttered.

"That's strange," Will said. "I guess they must have shut this place down. That's good for us. Means no people."

They walked down the hill toward the first row of cabins. Darkness hid whatever could be lurking inside of them. One had a broken window - perhaps decades ago, a boy had thrown a baseball or rock at it. The cabin's front door faced toward them and hung ajar. It swung freely in the wind, creaking forebodingly.

"I guess this place would be good as any other to shelter in," Charlie said.

Regina heard what sounded like a distant scream from somewhere within the camp. The hair on her neck stood on end. It was unearthly and unreal, and she clung to her skillet tighter.

"Did you guys hear that?" she asked in a near squeak.

"Hear what?" Charlie said. "You're just imagining things. This place is kind of spooky, though."

"Yeah, it sounded more like the wind to me," Will said. "Let's just take some shelter. If it is something, we don't want to be out here in the open."

Regina shivered. It was getting colder, and she had neglected to bring her coat.

"I don't like the look of this place," she said. "Let's just go back."

"To those things?" Charlie gave a rather loud laugh. "Hardly not. Come, now. In you go."

Reluctantly, Regina took a step toward the cabin.

But then she stopped. She didn't want to go in there. At least, not first.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Charlie demanded angrily. "We haven't all bloody night."

"Yeah, go in the cabin," Will echoed.

Both of the men looked at her intently.

Did she have to do this? Would they get angry if she refused?

They did have guns...

What should Regina do?

Run for it!

Investigate the cabin,

OR

Suggest one of them investigate it?

Place your vote and come back this Thursday for another episode of Regina the Zombie Slayer.

The readers' score: 6 correct decisions to 0 incorrect decisions.

Who is the Necromancer....

For those readers and friends who have fortunately remained ignorant concerning their knowledge of the Necromancer (learning the truth almost always means certain death) below you will find an explanation for the title of the book, and some insight to the most dangerous person you will encounter during your night of survival.

NECROMANCY- conjuration of the spirits of the dead for purposes of magically revealing the future or influencing the course of events. (Merriam-Webster Online)

The sound of rattling bones

The crawling of dead flesh

The emptiness of the grave

The macabre conquering of death

You will know the Necromancer by these signs...

(from THE BOOK OF THE UNDEAD)

If you had read this before the terrible night when the zombies rushed into your apartment complex, you would have written it off as creepy, insane, occult, pyscho-babble. But now you know that the legend of the Necromancer is an all too real threat to your life.

It is rare that anyone survives an encounter with a necromancer. Unfortunately for you, he will become your chief foe as you struggle to survive the terrible predicament that you've found yourself in. The secrets of his existence, and his sinister motives, are all locked up within the choices you make. Choose wisely. You will only have seconds to make life-saving decisions when you encounter him.

He controls a vast undead horde of zombies.

You and your fellow survivors are only five strong.

The odds are already stacked against you.

How will you ever survive the Night of the Necromancer?

Accept the challenge here.