It has been a wild, crazy, and sometimes downright chaotic twelve months. For those of us who were here when the foundation was laid for the Zombie Survival Crew, those twelve months have flown by. When we sat back recently to look over the progress we’ve made we realized how truly astonishing an accomplishment this empire really is.
And we couldn’t have done it without you, our ever-faithful crew members.
Day by day our numbers grow and we’re introduced to new folks that are eager, ready to take on the shambling horde coming our way with nothing more than a 2×4 and their courage to aid them. The sentiment warms our hearts. It also makes us realize how lucky we are that you all have accepted us so readily. Your support has taken the ZSC from, “I wonder if…” to reality with enough energy left over to drag us into our second year of existence.
Four high-school friends have educated themselves on zombie lore by playing a RPG game they’ve invented. They never dreamed they’d have to put their skills developed in the game to use, but an outbreak of the zombie virus forces their hand. While the town runs amok, they decide to meet in one of their game’s locations and make a final stand. The creator of the rule book, Jimmy, goes to retrieve it, Danny is sent to buy weapons, items a teenager could legally buy, while the ringleader, Joey, and Travis, whose father has fallen victim, stay behind to plan their defense and eventual escape.
Crunch Time brings you into the world of RPG and twitter, something near and dear to the Zombie Survival Crew’s heart, and takes you through the chilling choices which have to be made during a zombie attack.
Please note because the characters are dealing with a zombie outbreak, this excerpt has some strong language.
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Crunch Time by Maria Kelly
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Joey Costello wiped the dust from the cheddar puffs onto his jeans and leaned forward to stare at the brightly lit computer monitor. It was his older brother David’s hand-me-down computer: the one that looked like some fucked-up futuristic space-lamp.
He waited for his tweeps to respond. He watched as line upon line in the stream scrolled past, none of them from his crew.
“C’mon, dudes, damn!” he yelled, banging his fist down on the desk.
He cursed again as a whole load of tweets went sailing by, and he had to scroll down to make sure he didn’t miss one from his friends.
“Oh, man, we SO need our own hashtag.” He made a mental note to spring this bit of brilliant wisdom on his tweeps when they got on line. Where the hell where they, anyway?
He was half-way through the tweets when the auto-refresh kicked in and zoomed a hundred more tweets past his eyes.
“Aw, goddammit!” He swore again, but not too loudly. His mom had begun tolerating him dropping the ‘F-bomb’ but she’d tear his ass up if she heard him using that word. Not that his mother was particularly religious, but Aunt Lois was, and Aunt Lois was always over at their place these days since Uncle Reggie passed.
Finally, his trembling finger stilled on the scroll button as he read the message:
2ndTimeDead: RT @ZombieHuntR666 holla back mah boyz when u online.|| I’m on, Z.
“Yes!” Joey whispered as he typed and waited for his message to appear onscreen:
ZombieHuntR666: @2ndTimeDead it is as we feared, brotha!!!
He waited for 2ndTimeDead’s reply:
2ndTimeDead: @ZombieHuntR666 I know that’s right, bro! Saw 2 on way home from Crosswalk. Scared the fuck outta me. What do we do?
ZombieHuntR666: @2ndTimeDead don’t fuckin panic. that’s the most important thing. don’t fuckin panic. u been readin these other tweets?
2ndTimeDead: @ZombieHuntR666 4realz! Both #zombieapocalypsenow and #realzombiegeddon are TT’ing! WTF? They’re all over the world! WTF? #whatthefuck
ZombieHuntR666: @2ndTimeDead i said don’t panic dude. oh shit! SHIT! brb…
2ndTimeDead: @ZombieHuntR666 Joey i’m fuckin comin over there in about 3 minutes if you don’t tweet me the fuck back!!!!
2ndTimeDead: @ZombieHuntR666 4realz mofo! I aint playin! Are you ok? Joey i swear to god you better not be playin!!!!!!!!!
ZombieHuntR666: @2ndTimeDead damn dude it was just my mom.
2ndTimeDead: @ZombieHuntR666 You scared the fuck outta me asshole!!! I thought one of them got you.
ZombieHuntR666: @2ndTimeDead LOL sorry dude 😛 dude, we need our own hashtag. going thru these tweets is bullshit.
2ndTimeDead: @ZombieHuntR666 Dude, how about #oakleafHSzombies?
Sometimes Danny surprised Joey with a flash of brilliance. Since the zombie virus outbreak in their town seemed to have started at their school, #oakleafHSzombies was the perfect hash.
ZombieHuntR666: @2ndTimeDead Danny Patton you’re a fuckin genius! that’s brilliant i swear to god.
At the thought of his school, Joey’s hands dropped off the keyboard. How many Oak Leaf High School students had already been turned?
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To read more, and find out what happens to Joey, Danny and the rest of their friends, check out Undead Is Not An Option.
With the holidays coming up, Undead Is Not An Option would make a nice gift for the zombie lover’s in your family.
What would you do if you were stuck in a tree house, with a complete stranger who is somewhat annoying but a bona fide optimist, a chest full of rocks, and a horde of zombies waiting below? Louie, the optimist, is certain the government is working on a cure for the zombies or a rescue plan, but Arnie keeps mulling over the question, what could be worse than zombies? The Changing by Jim Bronyaur answers the question, but leaves you with this one: will you draw blood gnawing on your knuckle by the time you reach the end?
Please note because the characters are dealing with a zombie outbreak, this excerpt has some strong language.
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The Changing by Jim Bronyaur
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After the rocks…
Without order, chaos would ensue. It was human nature, maybe instinct, maybe that extra little bit of work creation put into us, but give a man an inch and he’ll probably try to take more. Toss in the idea of the world ending and now you’ve got a whole new bag of shit to deal with.
Arnie noticed the beginning of the chaos after the second rock Louie threw at a zombie. Calm with the first throw, he pretended to be a baseball pitcher. Arnie didn’t like nor understand baseball but with the growing group of zombies below them, he’d take a long, hot day at a ballpark anytime.
Louie’s second throw was filled with rage. He barely took aim and cursed so much and so fast, the words mixed together. By the time he threw the rock, his body sweated and shook. The rock pegged a zombie in the shoulder and the thing fell over but climbed right back up.
“Three,” Arnie said. “Hey, we should consider the rules again. Is it just three? Or should you get three for knocking him over and then one for hitting them…” He tried to break the tension but Louie acted as if he lost his mind.
“Fuck the game,” Louie said. He picked up another rock. With his knuckles white from the grip on the rock, he pulled his arm back but only wept. As his head bobbed, Arnie watched as Louie’s body teetered on the edge.
Arnie knew that if the man kept it up they’d be out of rocks soon. And if he lost his mind, then maybe a push was in order. Sure, it was a sick thought to have—pushing an innocent, living man into a horde of zombies, but these weren’t normal times.
Trying to take the high road, Arnie wrapped his arms around Louie and pulled him back. The rock fell to the floor with a clunk.
“Louie, please. You’re losing it.”
Louie dropped to his ass and kept crying. Arnie always wondered what was worse than watching a woman cry when you had nothing to offer to make it stop. He found it, and it wasn’t the end of the world waiting outside, it was Louie babbling like a baby.
The crying lasted ten minutes or so until Louie sucked up all his snot and put out a shaky hand towards Arnie, offering a forgiveness handshake. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I haven’t had a smoke in a while. Withdrawal. And those things… I just think about all the people I know out there. Are they dead? Are they walking again, but as zombies?”
“You’re the one who told me we’d be saved soon. We had to just hang out here…”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I need a cigarette. And a shot of whiskey.”
“And a woman,” Arnie added with a smile.
“Amen to that. But enough talk about what we can’t have. You know what? I feel like something’s going to happen today. Something’s… changing.”
Changing.
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To read more, and find out what is changing and whether Louie and Arnie survive, check out Undead Is Not An Option.
Need something spooky to get you in the mood for Halloween? The Zombie Survival Crew recommends, Undead Is Not An Option. It will give you chills and have you checking the locks and closets before going to bed.
The first entry in the anthology was a piece from one of our loyalists summarizing the situation in which we’d found ourselves, and helps us to understand how the Zombie Survival Crew came into being and some of the forces we are up against.
Classified Warning Order
by Kelene Toups
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CLASSIFIED MESSAGE
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TASK ORGANIZATION: Zombie Survival Crew (ZSC)
SITUATION: Several weeks ago, your organization was called upon to build a force and recruit for the imminent zombie apocalypse. Your orders are to serve as a front line force to protect the living, and annihilate the undead.
Enemy Forces
Recent reports indicate attacks and sightings in major cities in the United States and other countries around the globe. International recruiting has ensured our allies are well prepared for the attack. And these allies have pledged their full support to the ZSC. Intelligence obtained from our most recent reconnaissance mission suggests a large-scale attack is approaching. The Zombie Survival Crew is now, officially, on full alert. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
The enemy, easily identified by their pale grey skin, unhealed wounds, shuffling gait and colorless eyes, travels in packs and is extremely dangerous. Use maximum caution when approaching large numbers; strive to isolate the enemy or reduce to small groups for ease of dispatch. Our research subject has shown the enemy possesses an excellent sense of smell and hearing, poor vision, nonexistent thought process and an insatiable appetite for human flesh. These vital bits of intelligence will aid you in combat against the enemy; use these weaknesses to your full advantage to neutralize the strength of the enemy and diminish the chance of increase in numbers. The most effective means of destruction is to discontinue the neurotransmission process, accomplished by destruction of the brain. I.e. axe blow, bullet, pick axe, crossbow etc…
Recent intelligence reports indicate enemy forces are increasing faster than originally anticipated, with the potential to reach epidemic proportions. The lethal virus is introduced to the host from the saliva of an infected enemy by means of a bite during an attack.
We’ve been talking about the three day zombie extravaganza called the 2011 Halloween Zombie Event and how you can participate in person. If you missed the video teaser about it, check it out here. We have also posted the live event instructional videos here and here. But what happens if you are unable to participate in the live event? Will you be left out in the cold wondering when YOU will have a chance to kill zombies? Not on this Commander’s watch. I tossed the problem to Commander RC Murphy, and she came up with the way to participate online via Twitter. If you haven’t read her brilliant plan, the click here an then come back to read the rules and guidelines.
In the previous post we mentioned the use of Twibbons, but found that they would be a little cumbersome for everyone to use, so thought we’d give everyone the graphic to copy and you can either use it to REPLACE your Twitter avatar, or you can MODIFY your Twitter avatar — whichever you like. The avatars will all be the same, but the color signifies what type they are: survivor (green), zombie (red), or idle (yellow). Click the images below and then save the file to your machine. We recommend saving all three up front, so you don’t have to scramble to get one you need during the event.
Survivor
Zombie
Idle
Rules and Guidelines: The Basics
In order to participate in the Halloween Zombie Apocalypse Role-Play you must:
Use the HZA hashtag- #HZA11 or a coordinating map sector hashtag such as- #HZA11S3 #HZA11S6, etc…
Apply the image to your Twitter avatar that designates you as a Survivor or Zombie in the Role-Play scenario.
Please refrain from using curse words or engaging in sexual scenes during the 3 days of the HZA event.
Be sure to clarify what is an “action” and what is “dialog” in your tweets. This can be accomplished by putting asterisks (*), dashes (-), or double colons (::) on either side of your action sequence.
Example: @UserName77: Friggen zombies! ::RC grabs her sword & charges into the fight:: Eat steel, suckers! #HZA11
To sign in to the event use an action such as: walking outside, waking up, etc. This will establish your presence in the Role-Play scenario.
To sign out of the event while you are away from Twitter do the opposite: lock yourself inside a secure building, fall asleep, etc.
In conjunction, players must change their avatar image to the “Idle” image.Fellow players — respect the fact that your comrades aren’t available to play and do not attack when they are not present to defend themselves.
Rules of Combat:
Do not attack “sleeping” or “idle” participants. Players with the “Idle” image are “safe” within the HZA on Twitter event in order to give a fair playing ground to those that cannot participate on all 3 days of the event.
Each attack that is attempted cannot be completed until your opponent has an opportunity to retaliate.
Example:
@UserName77: @ZombieLuv42 Back off, Bub. ::swings her sword at the zombie’s neck with what little strength she’s got left:: #HZA11S2
@ZombieLuv42: @UserName77 – snarls, sweeping an arm out to block the sword and suffers a deep gash in his forearm – #HZA11S2
The victim of the attack will be the one to determine a “kill” or “bite”. Please be fair about how you fight. If an opponent attempts what should be a mortal blow, accept defeat. This Role-Play scenario is for fun, not ego.
If a Survivor is bitten during play, they must replace their avatar image with the one for Zombies and then continue playing the event as a member of the undead.
If a Zombie is destroyed during play, they have the option to drop out of the HZA event to sit back and watch, or they may change their avatar image to Survivor and take a turn as one of the living.
Keep your actions within fight scenes realistic. Play injuries as though “real”. Meaning, if your hand has been injured in a fight, you cannot hold a gun properly for the next round of fighting. Humans are weaker than the undead, play that as well. (This all gives “depth” to the scenario and lends for more entertaining play.)
The Zombie Survival Crew considers the Halloween Zombie Apocalypse on Twitter a perfect chance to test your mettle against the potential of what is to come. Crew members are encouraged to give it a try. Hey, any excuse to take a sword to an undead menace, right? We’ve posted the map again for your reference below: (Click the map to make it larger.)
A month ago, we introduced the Grid Concept for our resupply stations, where we broke down the continental United States into 23 Phase I sectors which will roll into 6 Phase II sectors. In order to keep outsiders (walkers or other kinds of predators) from discovering the whereabouts of the resupply stations — because let’s face it, the last thing we want is a surprise visit while gathering the troops — we cannot refer to the resupply stations by city name. And while we have broken them into color-coded groups (North East – Blue, South East – Green, North Central – Red, South Central – Aqua, North West – Yellow, and South West – Purple), we needed a better way to identify the resupply stations without giving away any inkling of the location of the station. So each sector has been given a number and letter to signify its location. This makes it easy for reporting in to the resupply station. If the internet is still an option, check-ins via twitter would be something along the lines of @TheZSC Checking in sector #2D. Travel was quiet. Or if there were problems, they could be reported accordingly. @TheZSC Destination sector #2D. Shamblers enroute, diverting to avoid.
So how are the sectors laid out? Each of the 6 phase II sectors is assigned a number from top to bottom and left to right. Then within each of the groups, the phase II sector will be designated as the A of the group. The alpha sequence then follows a clockwise direction through the remaining locations. For easier visualization, please look at the full-sized version of the map. The breakdown is as follows:**Note** – The colors of the markers are not brigade specific — they are only indicative of the various resupply station groups.
North West Group (Yellow) 1A. Pocatello, ID (Phase II site) 1B. Lakeview, OR 1C. Yakima, WA 1D. Helena, MT
South West Group (Purple) 2A. Madera, CA (Phase II site) 2B. St. George, UT 2C. Phoenix, AZ 2D. Anaheim, CA
North Central Group (Red) 3A. Duluth, MN (Phase II site) 3B. Waterloo, IA 3C. Alliance, NE 3D. Bismarck, ND
South Central Group (Aqua) 4A. Midland, TX (Phase II site) 4B. Liberal, KS 4C. Springfield, MO 4D. Monroe, LA 4E. San Antonio, TX
North East Group (Blue) 5A. Burlington, VT (Phase II site) 5B. Wilmington, DE 5C. Cleveland, OH
South East Group (Green) 6A. Atlanta, GA (Phase II site) 6B. Berea, KY 6C. Kissimmee, FL
To read more on all resupply stations, please go to our (for members only) Key Links under the Escape Routes/Resupply Stations section
Zombie Survival Crew command has been working on the appropriate strategy for mobilizing the crew in the event of a Zombiepocalypse or other global cataclysmic event. Honorable Brigadier, JL Coburn (SAPPED), has amassed a great amount of data and provided it to the Oracle for her to sift through to come up with the best plan. Don’t be left out in the cold! In order for you to view the escape route plans, you must be registered for this site and logged in. If you are already registered and logged in, you’ll definitely want to check out where your closest resupply station is.
Somehow, someway, you’ve found yourself neck deep in the Zombie Survival Crew website. Don’t worry, this is a good thing. Whether you wandered in off the street after meeting us at a convention, or had a well-meaning friend slip the link onto your Twitter/Facebook page, you are welcome and encouraged to participate and browse around the site.
You may be asking yourself, why do I need to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse? We ask, why aren’t you already? The survival skills imparted on this website will not only help you escape being eaten by a reanimated corpse, but also ensure you are capable of surviving any number of natural or man-made disasters such as flooding, tornadoes, or even a full-scale riot in your home town. You can never be too prepared, a motto we take to heart.
There is a softer, though far from cuddly side to the ZSC. When we aren’t scouring the globe for new recruits, your commanders let their hair down and get to know site members better. We introduce fans of the zombie, horror, and sci-fi genres to movies, television shows, and art they may not have been aware of before. There are also numerous contest opportunities coming up in the near future. (Our prize room is getting somewhat cluttered…)
The ZSC also does it part to help those in need when disaster DOES strike. When we can, we help our celebrity commanders pass on information and aid relief efforts the world-over.
So how do you become an official member of the Zombie Survival Crew? Our registration page is easy, straight forward, and FREE. Once you’ve signed up and confirmed via email, you will be randomly slated into one of our Brigades. Each brigade has a commander and a certain set of skills they are to master in order to help the ZSC as a whole continue to move forward with our efforts. From there on out, how much you want to participate is purely up to you. If you wish to sit back and absorb information posted by the command team, go for it. Feel like you have something to say? We encourage members post their thoughts on the articles posted. Or, if you are an artist, writer, or filmmaker, we’d like for you to contribute articles, stories, art, or videos.
Get it? Got it? If not, feel free to ask us whatever questions you have about the site. We don’t bite, honest! The Command team is here not only to teach you how to survive, but to help you.
Purple Brigade Commander LK Gardner-Griffie (aka The Oracle) explains the reasons for her choices of essential Go Bag items… But in order to see what the reasons are, you’ll need to login and if you are not a registered member, please take a few moments and register for the site. The links for both the login and the Member Registration can be found in the sidebar to the right.
It has been a wild, crazy, and sometimes downright chaotic twelve months. For those of us who were here when the foundation was laid for the Zombie Survival Crew, those twelve months have flown by. When we sat back recently to look over the progress we’ve made we realized how truly astonishing an accomplishment this empire really is.
We’d like to thank our command crew as well. Without their hard work and dedication, we’d be pretty much brain dead by now—Norman Reedus, IronE Singleton, Anthony Guajardo, Sean Patrick Flanery, Neil Brown Jr., Anthony Michael Hall, Ted Raimi, David Della Rocco, Casper van Dien, James Gonzaba, Jim Parrack, Tony Todd, Sam Trammell, Kristin Bauer van Straten, Michael Kenworthy, Elizabeth Schaible, Adrian Kali Turner, Addy Miller, Viviana Chavez, Jim Burleson, J. LaRose, Ernie Hudson, Michael Rooker, Billy Tackett, Paul Phillips, and the crew members that have really stepped up to save our sanity this year: Lora Lapoint, Sarah Quattrocci, Wulfie, Grae Wolffe, and JL Coburn.
