Chapter 43-3: The Darkness Ahead

[Litmaster]

Holy shit... I go to work for awhile, come back home and the forum blows up. Gotta catch up...

I don't know how I feel about the Zebs being controlled by Symbols. It feels soooo Magicy and Supernatural (Not the TV series, but genre/style/ect). I was expecting it to be they see more colors. Like some animals do. Mantis Shrimp style. That Datu saw an address b/c he saw new colors or something. Nope. Freaking Magic Language given to you via a bite. He even knows one means STOP. Explains that Ink is controlling them via his tat's though. So there is that. It's an answer.

I have faith that KC will not go all Lost on us though.

Hoooo-wee! Verse bustin' out the L-word on Kc's Zombie Insta-Language thing! And now we have confirmation (via Datu's actions at the church) that these symbols don't just INFORM, they COMMAND the Zeds to do something or other. And yet Kc says it ain't magic or whatnot.... WELL KC GOT VERSE ON THE VERGE OF CALLIN'

on this whole thing!!! BETTER HAVE A DAMNED GOOD JUSTIFICATION FOR THESE HEAR PROCEEDIN'S, BOSS, Y'HEAR? DAMNED GOOD!

I don't know because of the higher risk of caving in and such. I can't see the zombies wear hardhats and singing "Everything is awesome" as they build complex and stable tunnels.

and

Also, a vast tunnel system will displace a LOT of dirt. There would have been hills of dirt from the inside of the tunnels.

Yeah, WD... my first thoughts exactly when I heard about this hole and tunnel thing: "Where's the Dirt?" And BOSS MAN BETTER HAVE'A GOOD ANSWER, TOO, ELSE WE GONNA BE CAWLIN'G BOWLSHEEEIIT ON DEZE HEAR ENTIRE PLOT HOLES!! (er, sorry... got temporarily possessed by a cajun crawdad from deep in the bayou.... )

It ain't "magic". Some people's theories are close, and some are way off. You'll just have to wait for this one...

Uh-huh. All I gotta say is if I see dwarves in the next episode.... I'M OUT!

Jeepers, you're putting me on edge with the anticipation of all the answers we'll be getting....

Uh, I'm sorry.... perhaps you've got Kc confused with a different author. When has this man ever been in the business of giving an answer without raising three more questions in the process?

So the zombie symbols are complex enough to relay a street name and street number (not just a general location) that can be directly correlated to english, and they are conveyed as part of the zombie infection (or demonic possession or whatever it is). A little bit out there...

A LOT bit out there, as far as I'm concerned... not that the idea isn't compelling. More in this in another post...

Secondly, Grognaurd and UndeadSweeper have already discussed the lurking behemoth at Cain and I really like Grognaurd's idea of the big one being Lizzy's father. If it's as Datu says and the human side of you is still aware while the zombie side is in control, having Lizzy's bulked out behemoth of a dad around during childbirth could be the best possible scenario if he becomes their own personal watchdog. That'd really be the only way to counter all that noise from the generator, wouldn't it? Plus, if he has been lurking around Cain long enough, it's possible that he has driven other Zed's out of the area.

I sure hope this isn't the case. Last I checked, Los Angeles has a population of about 3.8 MILLION people, and to have such an improbable occurrence as this would really stretch the tenuous cords of believability. We've already has the improbable situation of Scratch knowing who Angel was, and of Michael meeting back up with Randy at the water works, and to have another pre-outbreak relationship manifest this late in the story would get me crinkling my nose...

I guess that Michael will break the fourth wall and ask: "Oh, Kc, why did you give my character this abysmal keen sense of bad timing?"

and

Listening to them running into the tunnel while the zombies approached reminded my of another story wear the character were faced with frying pan or fire. I could place my finger on it till it hit me.( The memory. not my finger.) Riley and Angel going into the pile of bodies.

Kc does seem to be going to the well a bit too often with this one. Let's hope it's the last time.

Maybe there is a giant earthworm zombie in the tunnel, that would freak me out a bit. What if there is something seriously wrong with the baby? I can't help thinking that eventually the zombies are going to run out of food and I'm wondering if Ink has a plan for this already. What if he takes lil' henry and starts cloning him and growing more humans in rows like cornstalks...

Um... and this is why I'm glad Kc is writing the story instead of someone else...

Now that Vic and Michael are going deeper underground, it is time for a short season 3 hommage. I just hope they are able to make it out of there

I'll do you one better. Here's a preview into what the next episode with Michael, Datu, and Vic is gonna be like: