THE DEAD TIMES
DEAD ARE COMING...
Episode 8 - Attempted Recovery
Welcome back to the topsy-turvy journey to Canada - a quest of excitement, boredom, Zombies, death, undeath, life, frying pans and cheeseburgers! In the previous episode, our lads bagged a new car, traded car fuel for human fuel and battled through a deadly Zombie horde, Ann meeting her demise in the heated carnage. With their heads hung low, morale having suffered a devastating blow, can the group recover? Is the dream of Canada about to come to a bitter and bloody end? Will Calvin cope with the loss of his frying pan? Find out below.
After surviving the Siege of the Nameless Shack just moments ago, the team mourns the loss of Ann - only the ever-practical Calvin sees the bright side of this grim circumstance; now there is one less mouth to feed and with food as low as it is, this lone fact brings Canada that bit closer (metaphorically speaking of course, no one is moving mountains here). The group experiences the same level up process that affected Ann such a long, long time ago. This time, they focus on medical skill - the undead are becoming more numerous and rowdy by the day so the group being able to seal holes in their bodies with something more than duct tape, seems like a good plan. Still, even after training, Leroy and Davy can't tell a scalpel from a bandage - Calvin remains the only confident medic.
Leroy and Davy might be able to put a plaster on a cut, but not much else
© Screenshot from Death Road to Canada
The group need a break after all the excitement recently so decide to set up camp at the side of the road. Everyone smells something - the place reeks but no one knows where the abysmal odour is coming from. "Whoever smelt it, dealt it" exclaims Davy, prompting the others to roll their eyes, not in the mood for the witticisms of the cool. It is obvious the trio can't sleep here, it's just too stinky, and they begin shoving the camping gear back in the car - the effort in their sleep-drowsed state is almost unbearable. However, once back behind the wheel, it's soon proved that the grizzly task was worth it. The group roll up on a house that looks secure enough for a few hours rest; maybe they can get inside and, if they are lucky, the place won't be infested with Zoms. Drawing the car alongside the entrance, they see that the boarding on the window to the left is broken; dag'nam it - something got in! Davy peers inside, though sees very little in the gloom; the place is decked out like some kind of saloon bar - most of the chairs and small circular tables are still upright which is promising. Davy can hear some faint movement and groans towards the back of the building meaning that at least one of the walking dead dudes is inside - with no visible sign of them though, going in would be extremely hazardous. The group decide to chance it, the urge to rest outweighing the potential danger. Keeping quiet is key for now, they still can't see the dead guy that's in there, so they sneak upstairs, making as little noise as possible - no dead alerted to their presence. The living on the other hand, are harder to fool...
At the top of the stairs, the group is assaulted by a group of bandits; assorted people of big and small, nothing being noted about the appearance of each individual thug out of spite. They demand supplies from the group (how original), whispering as they know the dead are nearby. They say they will yell if the three tired amigos do not give them what they want. Calvin figures that the bandits have not thought their dastardly plan through - if they yell, attracting the Zombies, wherever they may be, the bandits will also be attacked by those Zombies, assuming of course that these bandits do not have teleporters, rumoured, but never proven, to exist. However, before he has time to call their bluff, Leroy sternly tells the undescribed bandits to cool it. It was expected that this would anger the bandits greatly, causing the group to catch another beating at the hands of ruffians but, the actual outcome, is far stranger. The bandits seem taken aback by this unexpected interlude and do not seem to know what to do, stunned by the otherworldly power of cool. The bandits shimmy towards the stairs, their palms out, hands raised and arms outstreched in a sort of shrug, a nervous look plastered on their faces. Turns out, they were all talk. Davy and Calvin are supremely pleased at the bandits skulking away, they both know however that Leroy will never let them hear the end of it, the day when all his diligence, all his training in the ways of cool, paid off and saved, not only his life, but the lives of those around him.
The bandits gone and the dead blissfully unaware, the group of boys finally get some well-deserved sleep.
This, will go down in the history books of cool
© Screenshot from Death Road to Canada
The next morning, having crept back to the car and started it up, Calvin wonders why all these "Zombies" are not running like in the movies. World War Z, 28 Days Later... they all show Zombies moving really, really fast - sprinting at Usain Bolt speeds. Do these risen dead not know they are modern Zombies or something? I mean, jeez guys, come on - Zombies have not lumbered around like idiots since Romero's Zombie movies and they started almost 50 years ago.
It's not long before the first event of the day - a video games arcade! This is a radical find that cannot be ignored; everyone knows that playing video games makes you a better person, increasing every skill known to man (and a few which have still to be discovered). However, there is a problem and, well, it's kind of a biggie - the area is teeming with undead. They are everywhere, swarming around outside the plaza, walking on the roof (hell knows how they got up there), spilling out from the entrance and falling out of second story windows, pushed by their inconsiderate undead cousins. Some dead-heads even pop out of manholes before dropping back inside, forming a curious scene of whack-a-mole. The group know they would be foolish to attempt to go in. Deep down, Leroy knows this too but he can't help but let out a tiny sob - "video games...". The group will just have to hope the next spot is more suitable and less bitey; the car is running on fumes, medical supplies are out and food is down to miniscule amounts - it's not looking good.
Gods be praised! The next looting point (a small apartment building) is infinitely safer (if far less cool) - it looks like the group just missed a gun-fight between the living and the dead, explaining the low number of Zombies around and the bullet hole ridden upholstery. They manage to find enough food for two more days and some extra shotgun ammo - it's not much, they figure the earlier group picked out most of the good stuff but, at this point, nobody's complaining.
The car is about to punch out but, hey, could be worse
© Screenshot from Death Road to Canada
DIARY:
Leroy and Calvin's Excellent Adventure
DIARY WRITTEN BY:
ENTRY DESCRIPTION:
The previous episode ended on a major downer. Will things pick back up in this episode as our noble travellers continue to forge their way through the apocalyptic United States, to the holy citadel of Canada? More undead await to heed their progress and bandits continue to be a frustration but, even after all the hardship, hope remains.
DATE ENTRY UPLOADED:
19/03/2017