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.
Happy Monday!!! We’re excited to present the Zombie Survival CrewTM anthology: Undead Is Not An Option!!! The anthology contributors are: IronE Singleton, Juliette Terzieff, Kelene Toups, Anthony Guajardo, Jim Bronyaur, RC Murphy, Maria Kelly, Sonya May, Chris Philbrook, Neil Brown, Jr., Austin Wulf, Tasmin Bowerman, Jessica Capelle, Natalie Cutrufello, Wendy Sparrow, Andrew Jack, Gary James, EC, and LK Gardner-Griffie. Enjoy!!!!!
I know we’re talking a lot about the Zombie Survival CrewTM Anthology Undead Is Not An Option lately, but it is soooo freakin’ exciting. I’m honored to be the one to put together this post, because this time I get to do a little more than tease…well, it’ll still be a tease, but I can share a little more… like the who!! and a little of the what.
Your command has come through big time and this volume has been a joint command effort. I thought I’d have to peel Juliette off the ceiling when she told me who she got to co-write the forward with her… our own IronE Singleton and while I’m not going to share what IronE wrote, I can tell you it is thought provoking and tugs at the heartstrings. And yes, he did take the time away from his busy schedule to put his own words into this very special collection of Zombie fiction and guide information. And on top of IronE’s contribution, Anthony Guajardo came through with some photos about things he would miss in a Zombiepocalypse. We have some tips on what to stow in your Go Bag from 1st Lieutenant, Neil Brown, Jr. and let me tell you, this guy knows what he’s talking about! And we have some knowledge-building articles from our beloved RC Murphy.
So cut to the chase already? What are the stories in the book? Kelene Toups starts us off with a Classified Message warning of the deteriorating situation as well as the involvement by the Unnamed Government Agency (UGA) and their recruitment of the ZSC. This is followed by a tale by Jim Bronyaur: 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? Find out in The Changing.
Crunch Time by Maria Kelly 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. And we’re especially pleased to have the talent’s of Chris Philbrook the author of webisode Adrian’s Undead Diary. Adrian Ring is our intrepid hero here, having just barely survived a world consuming apocalypse of the undead. Adrian’s Diary chronicles his battles with the zombie hordes and his ongoing struggle with survival. Bitten by Austin Wulf follows the final moments in the life of a woman, Emily, after she is bitten by a zombie. Her husband, Zach, pulls her into an alley, attempting to hide from the horde of zombies out on the street.
There’s more… and I’ll share the rest with you tomorrow. There’s so much packed into this book, I just can’t fit it into one post!!! Make sure you stop by our store and pre-order your copy of Undead Is Not An Option NOW!!
This past week was certainly… interesting. Some of my fellow Commanders decided it was necessary to duct tape me to a chair in command to keep me from publicly releasing the contents of the Zombie Survival Crew Anthology: Undead Is Not An Option.
I was more than a little peeved. I mean, come on, I managed to keep the exciting news private for months what made them think I couldn’t keep my yap shut for a few more days?
To make it worse, while I was busy gnawing through three layers of industrial strength duct tape so I could put out this little missive, Purple Brigade Commander LK went ahead and revealed the cover art!
Well now it’s finally my turn and I am honored to announce some of the talented contributors to Undead is Not an Option.
The following authors and artists have crafted some truly haunting material examining the many terrifying facets of a zombiepocalypse and what survival will ask of all of us:
Tasmin Bowerman, Jim Bronyaur, EC, Jessica Capelle, Natalie Cutrufello, Andrew Jack, Gary James, Maria Kelly, Samantha Lahue, Sonya May, RC Murphy, Chris Philbrook, Wendy Sparrow, Kelene Toups and Austin Wulf.
We are also absolutely thrilled to announce that cast members from AMC’s hit television show The Walking Dead have graciously agreed to increase Undead Is Not An Option’s creep factor with contributions of their own!! Huge thanks to IronE Singleton, Neil Brown Jr., Anthony Guajardo, and everyone else for their participation.
Make sure you leave space for Undead Is Not An Option in your go bags – because this is one guide you won’t want to be without!
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.
