Polemic

[alleyalligator]

“Do you think we should have gone with them?” Becky asked anxiously, as she watched the group of people running across the court and out to whatever fate had in store.

“Absolutely not.” Her father’s tone was resolute, the same voice he’d used when she’d begged him for riding lessons when she was six, to go on the school exchange when she was

Comments

[halfshellvenus]

I hate to think of this poor girl's life being stripped away from her because her father was lifelong idiot.

They probably got their areas mixed up, that’s all.
Yes, THERE'S an argument for how they'll come rescue you. Before you starve to death. Because the government is on top of things...

This makes me think of a book I'm (still) reading, called "The Soft Apocalypse." With so much going wrong-- viruses, blight, infrastructure collapse, starvation-- there will always somehow be that segment of the population that decides the best way to cope is to create more chaos and, incidentally, kill other people who are competing for the same limited resources. Yay. But also entirely believable.

[alleyalligator]

It's a tough call. Because they've also done studies that have shown that those who survive extreme situations are almost always the ones who are the most selfish and the instinct to survive is a strong one. When I'm having strange flights of fancy and wondering what we would do if there were to be a zombie invasion, I've always come to the conclusion that we'd be toast if we stayed in our house - there are easy ways in on all four sides as well as a conservatory which could be smashed through immediately. So we'd have to move on, but the where is a big question?

And although it's silly, removie zombies and replace them with rioters or civil war and it's not that out there a situation at all. My current approach to it all is to cross my fingers and hope it never comes to that, which isn't really practical at all.

[whipchick]

I always enjoy how your stories with otherworldly elements are still so strongly connected to human emotion and interaction! Totally rooting for Becky!

[alleyalligator]

Thanks! I like to think that it's still just a world with every day people in it, even if there are some fantastical elements to it. I've always preferred horror that put the focus on character (heck, I've always preferred stories that placed character as more important than plot), so I try to explore the what ifs through the people in my stories.

[xo_kizzy_xo]

And it works, especially in this piece :) The juxtaposition of everyday people and zombies rather than just zombies, say, is much more horrifying.

And I'm totally rooting for Becky!

[alleyalligator]

Thank you! I think I'm definitely going to have to come back to this - I'm already planning out what's likely to happen to her next.

[lrig_rorrim]

I love love LOVE this. Becky is a totally believable character in a really crappy situation, and I feel for her intensely. Well done!

[alleyalligator]

Thank you!

[java_fiend]

LOVED this. Seriously loved this and it's definitely the start of a much bigger piece. It's a really great piece that can absolutely stand on its own too.

[alleyalligator]

Thanks!