Lost In The Northlands: A Blogged Novel

Chapter One: Running
   
Slosh-Slosh.
   
Cold water, briny and deep, bit at my waist as I moved through the darkness, through the moon-washed night. It was hard to keep my footing as the current tugged on me. My bare feet slipped and slid over the smooth, but somehow piercing, rocks lining the riverbed. Searchlights spun and glared through the fridged night and gunfire crackled through the air, but they weren't shooting at me, yet. I was pretty sure that they didn't even know I was here. I needed to get far away before they did.
   
Slosh-Slosh.
   
There was a faint wind and screams were carried on it. It was a miserable thought, but I wished that the others would do their dying further away. One fo us had to escape and I had the best chance. Most of them still had their collars on. I got my collar off. Even less of them had slipped over the fence and down into the prickly underbrush. I had gotten over the fence and all the way down into the river. Others were blundering in my direction, leading Jack-booted soldiers with large automatic weapons to me. If they got any closer, I'd have to dive deep into the running current, let it drive me helplessly away. I didn't like the idea of being helpless.

Slosh-Slosh.

Sticks snapped and dead leaves crunched aloud and for a moment, I wondered if the soldiers had shot one of the others dead, letting their body roll and pinwheel its way through the brush. It turned out not to be so. It was Macula. Macula was a moose of a man with a shaved head and shunken-in eyes, making him look like he was wearing his own skull. I didn't think that he would've been able to get this far, that he could've even got his collar off. He stole into the river, splashing wildly as he made his way towards me.
   
"Cherla, they're coming. The soldiers, they almost got me." Macula said, breathlessly. It was normally difficult for people to understand Macula. His nose had been smashed in at some point and had never healled properly. Him being breathlessly made it doublely difficult.
     
"Shut up." I hissed at him, ducking down low, putting the cold, churning waters at my chin. Macula didn't take my hint and kept standing. He scanned up the hill, studying the underbrush as if he was expecting others to imerge. That wasn't what we planned. It was everyone for themselves, everyone running in every direction. That way, at least one of us could make it out of the Northlands.
   
I started moving my way throguh the waters and away from Macula. If he wanted to get shot dead, then I'd let him. Hopefully, the soldiers would assume that Macula had followed the patterns of the others and was alone. Bullets zipped downward and into the riverwater. Macula shrieked aloud and started rushing towards me. I started rushing away from him until I couldn't. A bullet sliced through my leg like a hot knife through butter. I fell forward, into the water and for a moment, I breathed in the cold river. I rose up from the water as bullet whipped down into the river. I coughed the river out from my lungs as Macula ceased me about the shoulders, lifting up onto his shoulder and into easy firing range. I don't know how I ddin't die.
   
"Into the river, deeper into the river. Like it wash us away." I called Macula. Macula dove long and far, slamming backward into the faster currents. We were both washed away.

Day Zero: December 3rd, 2012

President Obama and his family fled the Nation's capital today as Zero Virus victim swarmed across the White House lawn. Secret Service opened fire on the swarm, but Vice President Biden along with several cabinet members were lost in the attack.

The Apocalypse as Self-Help

We are exactly twenty days away from the leged apocalypse.

I haven't been living the life I'd like to be leading. If I was going to die in 20 days than what would I want to do with my time.

Back in 2006, I did my very first 'Bucket List.'

I'm developing another one. I'm improvising this one so it'll be short.

Here's eight things I want to do before the apocalypse:

1. I want to see a Stephen King Lecture.... (And I am  on the 7th)

2. I want to see some awe-inspiring...

3. I want to be a hero...

4. I want to smoke a cigarette while watching the sunrise...

5. I want to finish "Kid Silver: Alone"...

6. I want to fall head first into a new novel...

7. I want to tell someone I love them...

8. I want to go out to eat and drink a Vodka Cranberry made by a professional...


 

The Best of The Best Villains: The Joker

 

The Clown Prince of Crime, The Agent Of Chaos, The Harlequin of Hate, The Ace of Knives, The former Red Hood. He killed the second Robin, Jason Todd. He paralysized Barbara Gordon. If you name something truly horrible in the Batman Universe, this guy is probably responsible. I'm talking about the Joker, of course and I'm compiling the best incarnations of this killer clown in the post below.

 

The Whacky, Barefoot Richardson Joker

 

Kevin Michael Richardson is normally forgotten in his role as the Joker, but not here. A black guy finally gets to be the Joker.

 

 

The Campy Romero Joker

 

 

I prefer his more scary counterparts, but you have to give Cesar Romero a nod. An entire geeration grew up loving his wild energy and the fact that he wouldn't shave hsi mustache.

 

The Silly and Crazy Nicholson Joker

 

If Jack Nicholson could have done his Joker sometime outside of the the 90's, I'm pretty sure he would have been number one on this list. As it is, Nicholson had to deal with some cumbersome face prothetics and a weird music video wedge right in the middle. His placement on this list has nothing to do with Nicholson's performance and everything to do with Nicholson dancing while splattering paint on paintings.

 

The Creepy, Crazy Hamill Joker

 

A serialized Joker, in my opinion, is the best way to do Joker. Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill knocked it out of the park with his Joker. It was a very politically correct Joker, but you felt like he could have been the Joker from "The Killing Joker." His crazy and mean and you got glimpses of him being old and vicious, beating on Harley Quinn. He was funny, scary and almost perfect.

 

The Just Plain Scary Ledger Joker

 

Surprise, Surprise. A twenty-something who loves the Ledger Joker over the Nicholson Joker. Call me wrong. It's okay, but I feel like Heath's Joker is the best kind of Joker. This Joker wasn't a funny Joker. He did funny things, but he was a criminal, first. He felt worthy of Batman while more silly Joker don't. Some people love that. Some people don't.

 

 

 

   

Day Zero: November 28th 2012

The National Guard was called in to Ogden, Utah and was forced to open fire on a horde of Zero Virus victims. Though, the National Guard secured the area, soldiers sustained many injuries.

Day Zero: November 21st, 2012

The night sky over America blazed as Scud missles etched across the nights. Night became day for thirty seconds and Michigan became silence, seemingly for the rest of eternity.

Day Zero - November 14, 2012

The National Guard was called in to Lowell, Massachusetts resulting in seventeen people infected with the "Zero Cell" virus being shot to death.