Later this year a new post apocalyptic horror film is coming out at the cinemas and it looks amazing! Loosely based on parts of the novel World War Z: An oral history of the Zombie War by Max Brooks.
The Zombie Pandemic is to be released June 21st and stars Brad Pitt.
The trailer for which is below.
I'll blog about the film later on, firstly I'm going to blog about the book!
The World War Z book, is not a usual book, it is a collection of individual accounts in the form of first person anecdotes. The interviews chart the war of the zombies which lasted over a decade. Brooks plays the role of an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission who is interviewing survivors and key players in the 10 year fight back against the Zombies.
Its a pretty good read and it has got me writing my own fictional account from World War Z.
So here it is! Just to let you know this is my first official public writing material ... I think .... my grammar will be bad and it probably doesn't make much sense but you get the idea.
I am getting interview and am talking about my experience of the infected from my current location, Lancaster.
The extract fits in with the first section of the book (after the intro) "Warnings."
Lancaster, United Kingdom
[Lancaster Castle, built on the site of a Roman Fort in 79AD, was thought to have been built in the 11th Century with extensions and battlements added in the 15th Century. The site saw its good share of military action and war; however for the majority of its life it was a court house and prison with hundreds of executions taking place, including those of the Witch Trials in 1612; along with many German Prisoners of War from the First World War. It was one of many castles in Europe that were used during the infection with this being the most successful, due to its strong structure and layout adapted for military action and for a prison. 42 people now occupy this castle which is the only occupied building in Lancaster. Larger defences surround the centre of the city and the hill of which the castle resides. Adam Dargan, a member of the Lancaster Castle Community, part of Sector4, has little post war injuries but explains the mental scars he and other members of his community have to face.]
I had been working for a government funded company looking at Soil Ecology and bioenergy crops. We had been given an extreme hike in funding, following the closure of the BBL and JAGAR gas pipelines from Eastern Europe. Our base was on the former Lancaster University Campus, a hub or CEH1 and BES2 we were looking at ways of accelerating bioenergy crop production and other future long term energy alternatives.
We had heard the reports earlier that week of the spread of the outbreak across mainland Europe and the lockdown of British ports, but there was rumours and unconfirmed reports of infections starting in major cities. Manchester was the closest of those cities and voluntary evacuations had already been issued. The spread of the infection was unreal. It spread in a matter of hours.
[He pauses for a moment]
We had high security at the hub and were notified at around 10pm of a loss of communication of Squadrons 15 and 16 located at the Garstang Base. Minutes later Squadron 23 at the old Lancaster Motorway Services had come into contact with hundreds of people travelling in vehicles which were stopped by the blockades on the motorway. We were told that they were now running on foot and entering the restricted area. Over the radio they were saying that they were overwhelmed and that there was mass panic. This ensued a code black situation at the hub, an immediate lockdown. Me and the other scientists entered the Ruskin Labs, underground, before the first wave of people arrived. We ran to the hub headquarters beneath the library and saw the CCTV footage of the hundreds of people trying to enter the complex via the perimeter fences. None were getting through and the security at the base were telling them to retreat, with some shooting random uninfected civilians to scare them. We then got a call on the radio with gunfire in the background, we could here Squadron 23 stating that a large wave of infected reanimated humans had overcome the services and that they were retreating.
We then saw the perimeter fences fall and tens of people getting shot down; kids, adults, even elderly. It was not a pretty sight. The remaining team; me, the other scientists and Alpha squad took the decision to jump ship. We began to leave through the emergency evacuation route that brought you out North of the Hub when the lights went out. We stayed calm though, well until the sounds of explosions, gunfire and screams of terror were heard from above.
That must have been difficult to hear. How did you find your way out in the dark?
Well we had the red emergency flashing lights and Alpha squad had flashlights on their MP5s so it was still dark, but made it visible. As we started to move off, a group from the chem-labs came down the stairs with numerous civilians including one child, all covered in mud and blood. The child was being carried and was shaking violently with a high fever. She was showing clear symptoms and was engaging in first signs of reanimation so we tried to persuade the family to leave her. They wouldn't have it and insisted on them bringing her; but she wasn't going anywhere with us. We fought for like 3 minutes or so trying get them to leave her or... run in the opposite direction.... We just needed to get away from that child as soon as possible. Whilst we were fighting we didn't hear .... we didn't hear that a handful of the infected had entered the building and reached the basement.
The chem lab team were closer to the door and were jumped first. Panic Ensued. Bullets flew in every direction, me and a few others ran towards the exit. We were followed by the family with the child but they were slower, and perhaps took a wrong turn. We were nearing the exit when we heard the family in the distance. It was really hard to hear.
Had they been caught up by the infected?
No, it was worse their child reanimated and they initially thought that she'd awoken from consciousness but ... then the screams and cries and then awful... horrible sounds of a creature.... deep inside the girl it was horrendous.
No, it was worse their child reanimated and they initially thought that she'd awoken from consciousness but ... then the screams and cries and then awful... horrible sounds of a creature.... deep inside the girl it was horrendous.
After a few moments he continued.
We left the building, closed the door behind, entered the woodland and took a Hilux towards the city. There was 4 of us left from the base. 2 scientists a member of alpha squad and one of the proteam leaders. He mentioned that with the hub compromised the Great Northern Barrier would have too fallen, meaning that we were open to the infected from the South. He said that it would be too late to try and reach the safe houses in Scotland and that Ferries to the Isle of Man would be no more. We agreed that the best bet would be to use the old Lancaster Castle in the centre, it had already been modified and 10m concrete walls added. It housed the Lancaster Regiment and the remaining 316 of the Lancaster residents, the others had been evacuated weeks before. Thank god. They were later relocated. We radio'd ahead told them to open the gates but they weren't for doing because of what happened at the base. We arrived and pleaded with them. An, officer came down via a rope to ID us and check we weren't infected or bitten, we had the all clear. As we drove through the gates the first of the following infected were spotted and shot at.
I looked back to see all these running people in the distance, getting gunned down, whether they were infected or not. Then the doors closed. We entered into L7, the castle itself and after meeting with the general he took us to the roof and we were given weapons. We could see the light from the shooting guns flash across a mass of horror. There were hundreds of infected. After an hour or two, there was still a battle with further infected clambering over the already hundreds of corpses across the Front Barrier and gate. Then there was a moment when things took a turn for the worse; a group of faster, what looked like stronger zombies came racing down the main street towards the front gate.
They had a much bigger build, were generally all male and the speed and strength of them was unreal! They must have been extra hungry because there was nothing getting in their way. Anyway, they began clambering on each other to gain height. This was the first time that advanced intelligence in the infected had been seen. They understood that by climbing on each other they could gain height and topple the defences!
Yes, well it was definitely a worrying sight. A handful toppled over the barrier before the decision to Napalm, and the whole Southern Side of the defences went up in flames.
It sure felt like it! The screams of the infected were deafening. The few that entered over the wall were soon taken down. We lost five men and our first barrier was unstable, we had numerous other barriers however; we were safe. After a week or two there was no infected attacks and we rebuilt defence barrier one. We also cleared the 3m pile of bodies and carried on our lives. With food drops every week we weren't to bad, we were definitely safe. We had a few events, and a few further waves of zombies but nothing as substantial. We helped out in B4823-Terra when we took down a large number of the infected, but most of the time we just survived, tried to continue the human race. We had contact with other safe houses and got updates regularly, so we knew what was going on around the world. We also tried to continue our research. We even got a bit adventurous and drove back to the hub and the labs a few times, but we ended up calling it a day when we could process no data.
Looking back I think we were lucky; I've heard much worse tales of survival.
I looked back to see all these running people in the distance, getting gunned down, whether they were infected or not. Then the doors closed. We entered into L7, the castle itself and after meeting with the general he took us to the roof and we were given weapons. We could see the light from the shooting guns flash across a mass of horror. There were hundreds of infected. After an hour or two, there was still a battle with further infected clambering over the already hundreds of corpses across the Front Barrier and gate. Then there was a moment when things took a turn for the worse; a group of faster, what looked like stronger zombies came racing down the main street towards the front gate.
How did they look stronger?
They had a much bigger build, were generally all male and the speed and strength of them was unreal! They must have been extra hungry because there was nothing getting in their way. Anyway, they began clambering on each other to gain height. This was the first time that advanced intelligence in the infected had been seen. They understood that by climbing on each other they could gain height and topple the defences!
I heard similar reports in Israel and Kazakhstan around this time.
Yes, well it was definitely a worrying sight. A handful toppled over the barrier before the decision to Napalm, and the whole Southern Side of the defences went up in flames.
That must have been a site, Lancaster Castle almost surrounded by huge flames, I bet it looked like a scene from hell.
It sure felt like it! The screams of the infected were deafening. The few that entered over the wall were soon taken down. We lost five men and our first barrier was unstable, we had numerous other barriers however; we were safe. After a week or two there was no infected attacks and we rebuilt defence barrier one. We also cleared the 3m pile of bodies and carried on our lives. With food drops every week we weren't to bad, we were definitely safe. We had a few events, and a few further waves of zombies but nothing as substantial. We helped out in B4823-Terra when we took down a large number of the infected, but most of the time we just survived, tried to continue the human race. We had contact with other safe houses and got updates regularly, so we knew what was going on around the world. We also tried to continue our research. We even got a bit adventurous and drove back to the hub and the labs a few times, but we ended up calling it a day when we could process no data.
Looking back I think we were lucky; I've heard much worse tales of survival.
1Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
1British Energy Solutions
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