Zombies Sound Safer Than My Family

Submitted into Contest #60 in response to: Write a funny post-apocalyptic story.... view prompt

174 comments

Funny

Most people are scared after and during an apocalypse. Am I?


Nah.


I basically run around with LOSER tattooed on my forehead; I'm sure a few zombies aren't scarier than half the bullies at Gire High School.


I'm that Harry Potter nerd. The computer nerd. The Percy Jackson nerd. Guess what?


I'm a nerd.


You know, in case you haven't noticed.


Want to know what's ironic? My best friend is captain of the football team. Boy, does that have its advantages. My bestie can beat up Andrew Vanderwalk, Jake "The Pit (DON'T ask, you'll regret it)" Jackson, and about 18 other buff guys. It has its disadvantages, if you could believe it. Ben is male. I am female.


Yup.


I know exactly what you were just thinking.


A boy and a girl? Wow, they should kiss.


That's what everybody thinks, so yeah.


Just about now, I'm thinking that too. Not gonna lie. Considering we just witnessed a zombie apocalypse, I'm sure one little kiss wouldn't hurt. Or two. Or fifteen. Or more than kissing...


OKAY.


That escalated quickly.


But then again, so did this town.


I'm not gonna go into detail, but a super smart, super pretty, super forgivable 17-year-old genius created a portal to the fourth dimension that may or may not have made a gateway for thousands of zombies to come waltzing into the town of Gire, hurt a few people, and die the second the sun came out the next day.


If you hadn't already guessed, I'm the super smart, super pretty, super forgivable (you know, in case you missed that part) genius that started a zombie apocalypse. Buuuut... nobody knows it was me.


I should feel guilty.


But come on, people. Don't you realize what scientific discovery I just made? Being able to travel to other dimensions? Yeah. Who's the nerd now?


Pff.


Still me.


Too bad the machine self-destructed after a very nice girl hit the self-destruct button.


Me?


Of course not.


Maybe.


Yes.


I did destroy the only thing that could make me popular. God, I'm stupid.


Not really. But you know what I mean.


Sooooo...that's pretty much it.


I nearly destroyed my town, I'm still a nerd, and I'm still thinking about how to explain to my family it was me who released thousands of zombies from another dimension into our peaceful, (mostly) loving town without getting myself killed.


Right about now, I'm guessing I would have been safer with the zombies.


How did I even get myself into this?


Oh, you're gonna be sorry you asked that.


How about, "Oh, it's alright, Callie. I'm sure your loving and understanding family and friends can forgive you, because you're so beautiful and smart!"


Yeah, nobody's ever going to say that to me.


They'll probably say the opposite of that.


And then kill me.


I'm really starting to think I should have called a zombie uber or something.


I've actually been working on Mike (yes, I named a magical portal) for about 2 years now. Well, I've technically only been working on Mike for 3 months.


Jared, Kelly, Jim, Ophelia, and Greg went boom.


I guess Mike did, too, if you think about it. But at least he did his job.


Good for nothing portals that can bring their inter-dimensional friends to destroy a town, am I right?


You're probably wondering how I'm taking this so well. Wanna know something?


I am too.


Ooh. Bingo.


I have a plan.


Step 1: Gather everything I need to create Jessica (my future portal).


Step 2: Build Jessica.


Step 3: Use Jessica to travel to some other dimension so my family won't murder me for almost destroying the entire town.


Yep, I would say that's a pretty solid plan.


Or maybe I should take the zombie uber. I could take Ben with me and we could get married and get rich from the billions I'll make as a scientist and we can buy a big house and get a gerbil-no, a dog- named Hermie. (For a super smart junior in highschool, I, apparently, suck at grammar; please refer to the run-on sentence above if you didn't notice.)


Nah, that won't work. My lab blew up when Mike self-destructed.


Maybe my family won't be hard on me. Maybe they'll understand that their daughter is a brilliant genius. Maybe they'll understand that nobody died, and that they love me.





Pff.



Ha.



BWAHAHAHA.


Let's be honest. That is not a possibility. And besides, my sister, little miss perfect, who has won countless beauty pageants, broke her wrist because she punched an inter-dimensional zombie in the face, and its head promptly rolled off.


That's really too bad. I'm sure that zombie could drive.


If my parents found out that it's my fault my sister can't attend any more pageants in the near future because she has a bulky cast on....once again, I'm missing the zombies.


It's been 3 days since the zombies evaporated in the sunlight (is anybody else getting a Minecraft vibe from that???), and the town is slowly recovering. The grocery stores just reopened, and my parents think there's going to be pageants anytime soon?


Some people were not blessed with the smarts that I was.


Anyway.


I'm bored.


Everything is shut down, there's nothing to do, and a freaking zombie ate my sketchbook.


Come on, guys. You really had to take my only source of entertainment?


Yes, I've been talking to Ben and hanging out with him, but there's only so much you can know about a person. Especially considering I've been talking to Ben and hanging out with him for 15 years.


Here I am, talking about this, when I should be deciding if I should tell everybody that I caused everything.


Not really.


I already know I'm not. I like my life.


And besides, if I did?


Well, let's say the bullies from school would look like butterflies compared to what that would be like.


Maybe someday I'll tell them.


Over text.


When I'm in a different state.

September 19, 2020 01:54

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

174 comments

Krishi Norris
13:43 Sep 22, 2020

Nice story! I loved the careless, funny, some say "choppy", vibe that flowed throughout this story! It was cute, and TOTALLY in a nerd's mind. I love that twist at the end where Callie decides she likes the zombies more than the humans. I don't really have much critique for this one, so good job! Keep on writing!

Reply

Zea Bowman
13:49 Sep 22, 2020

Thank you! :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Joshie Seahorse
13:01 Sep 22, 2020

Great work! :) I love the story, It's one of my favorite stories to. I am also a nerd, And I like Harry Potter. This is awesome, Thanks for making this artwork and incouriging me to read your stories to. :)

Reply

Zea Bowman
23:59 Oct 01, 2020

Of course! Thanks for checking it out!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
11:28 Sep 22, 2020

Hey Zea I really like your story! Callie sounds like an insane person which is cool! Keep on writing 😉 Sincerely, Danielle💜

Reply

Zea Bowman
23:59 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Megan Sutherland
10:40 Sep 22, 2020

Great story, Zea! I think that the dialogue was a little patchy. Try to make it run smoother. I loved Callie's personality and how it seemed like we were having a conversation throughout the story, good choice of how to set up the dialogue there. Overall a great read! -Megan Sutherland

Reply

Zea Bowman
23:59 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you; I'll work on it!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Nandan Prasad
09:24 Sep 22, 2020

A hilarious story! I loved the premise; just kept egging me on to read the entire thing. No critiques from me. Keep writing!

Reply

Zea Bowman
23:59 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
<inactive> .
06:16 Sep 22, 2020

1. Amazing use of line breaks, comic relief 2. Beautiful words! 3. Awesome ending!! 4. Poor Ophelia the portal hehe Wooooo I loved this!! Like and follow deserved!!

Reply

Zea Bowman
00:00 Oct 02, 2020

Haha thanks so much!

Reply

<inactive> .
06:39 Oct 02, 2020

uwu lots of love <3 :D

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Sampada Sharma
04:27 Sep 22, 2020

I always have trouble with internal dialogues and thought process and I loved how your flowed so naturally. It wasn't forced and the internal monologue was so on point of we usually talk with ourselves inside our head. All in all, it was nicely put together though I would have loved it if Ben and the Callie had gotten a kiss in. ;)

Reply

Zea Bowman
00:00 Oct 02, 2020

Thank youuuu!

Reply

Zea Bowman
00:00 Oct 02, 2020

Maybe in the Part 2...

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
01:21 Sep 22, 2020

What a fun story! The informal tone worked really well here, and it was fun to have such a boldly characterized protagonist. Your lore for the zombies in this story was interesting, too. Thanks for asking me to check out your stories, and keep writing!

Reply

Zea Bowman
00:00 Oct 02, 2020

Of course! Thanks so much!!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
JASON PARKER
00:10 Sep 22, 2020

Great story, Zea. Your writing-voice is extremely well developed and your protagonist is witty and engaging. A clever and well-written piece. Loved it! : )

Reply

Zea Bowman
00:01 Oct 02, 2020

I love to hear it! Thanks for stopping by :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Ava F
20:00 Sep 21, 2020

good job! i loved it!!

Reply

Zea Bowman
00:00 Oct 02, 2020

Thanks!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
B Easton
15:28 Sep 21, 2020

This story is really good. You definitely have a talent for comedy, and I really like the inner voice of Callie. She was a very good narrator.

Reply

Zea Bowman
00:00 Oct 02, 2020

Thank you!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
14:18 Sep 21, 2020

I love the way you fleshed out her character through her voice and the way you gave us the backstory of what happened, and I also really liked the tone of the whole piece. Amazing read.

Reply

Zea Bowman
00:00 Oct 02, 2020

Thanks!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
P. Jean
13:44 Sep 21, 2020

Not sure what to say....well written...light...funny...yes all of those things...you did make the Zombies sound less threatening than family. I wish your portal doors sounded more spacey and less human names. Confusing for a second or two. I am not familiar with zombies so may not be able to write this prompt. The one constant in this writing. Or the most prominent feeling.....upbeat, confident and undaunted your main character. I suspect you are that type person to transmit this so well.

Reply

Zea Bowman
13:51 Sep 21, 2020

Thank you!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Zea Bowman
13:52 Sep 21, 2020

Please like the story!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 2 replies
10:04 Sep 21, 2020

Hey, Zea would you be kind to watch the first video it's on Harry potter. https://youtu.be/KxfnREWgN14 Sorry for asking your time, I would ready your story

Reply

Zea Bowman
23:52 Oct 01, 2020

Sure!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Miles Gatling
04:38 Sep 21, 2020

Nice touch with the sunlight killing zombies. Great work

Reply

Zea Bowman
21:13 Sep 22, 2020

Thank you :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Meggy House
20:39 Sep 20, 2020

Ha! This was such a funny story! I love how casually Callie's internal monologue went, like "Hmmm, people are really mean, oh by the way should I time-travel or should I not because there are literal zombies in my town!" You managed to balance the apocalypse and it's direness with Callie's more dire immediate-danger. I especially love how Callie ultimately decides that the zombies might have been nice to use to her benefit, and the humans are the ones she doesn't really like. Way to switch the dynamic! Ultimately, this was a pretty awesome s...

Reply

Zea Bowman
21:14 Sep 22, 2020

Thank you! That means a lot!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Amany Sayed
16:49 Sep 20, 2020

This was AWESOME! I absolutely adore the ending. I was just thinking about how I don't think I could pull off a completely funny story, and this was the definition of pulling it off. I love it. Keep writing!

Reply

Zea Bowman
20:04 Sep 20, 2020

Thank you for the kind words! I think you should definitely try it :)

Reply

Amany Sayed
20:07 Sep 20, 2020

You are very welcome! Maybe :)

Reply

Zea Bowman
20:10 Sep 20, 2020

If you do, please let me know so I can come check it out. Looking forward to your maybe-soon-existing story! Haha that made no sense. I crack myself up.

Reply

Amany Sayed
20:11 Sep 20, 2020

I'll be sure to! :D Ha, I can see how a funny person like you could do so ;)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Amany Sayed
15:46 Sep 22, 2020

Ooo I wrote it if you wanna take a look!

Reply

Zea Bowman
23:52 Oct 01, 2020

SO GOOD

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 2 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
D. Shikha
09:49 Sep 20, 2020

A very entertaining read!! Loved it!! I don't have anything for critique, just never stop writing!! Good job👍

Reply

Zea Bowman
21:12 Sep 22, 2020

Thank you!

Reply

D. Shikha
16:47 Sep 23, 2020

You're welcome!!!😊 And would you mind having a look at my story?

Reply

Zea Bowman
23:50 Oct 01, 2020

Of course!

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Show 1 reply
Writer Maniac
02:05 Sep 20, 2020

Wow! I love how your writing just flows with no inhibition, it's really wonderful to read! Your character is really funny and awkward, so you nailed it! Looking forward to reading more of your stories!

Reply

Zea Bowman
21:14 Sep 22, 2020

Thank you :)

Reply

Show 0 replies
Show 1 reply
Coco Longstaff
07:36 Jan 01, 2021

Love how you took a common “Zombies” thing and turned it into a funny, understanding story. I like the main character’s personality, she’s unique. Thanks fro the great storyyyy

Reply

Show 0 replies
Reedsy | Default — Editors with Marker | 2024-05

Bring your publishing dreams to life

The world's best editors, designers, and marketers are on Reedsy. Come meet them.