Zombies Sound Safer Than My Family

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

173 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

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173 comments

Maya Wen
21:27 Dec 19, 2020

amazing!! thank you so much for writing this

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Victoria Brazil
16:59 Dec 08, 2020

great job on this story. the humor is impeccable 8 points

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Magdalene Lam
13:29 Nov 25, 2020

Heheheheh nice

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Jill Zhang
17:21 Oct 16, 2020

cool story, easy to read.

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Maya Jones
20:41 Oct 02, 2020

Hi! I'm your biggest fan! you're such an amazing writer! I had a tik tok fp all about you! You're my idol! You're stories are so funny and energetic! It always makes me want to read more!

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Zea Bowman
21:34 Oct 02, 2020

Wow! I don't know what to say....except is this true? I see that you just got on to Reedsy (welcome, by the way!) But did really read any stories...? Only one was funny :/

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10:27 Oct 02, 2020

This is amazing!

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Aafia Hanya
20:24 Oct 01, 2020

oh oh oh oh.. hahahha! this is👌👌😁😁👍👍

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Zea Bowman
23:53 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks!!!

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Elli Redd
14:47 Oct 01, 2020

I love your story. It's like you're just casually complaining about a zombie apocalypse while we are just eating dinner or something. Absolutely hilarious!

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Zea Bowman
23:53 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you! :)

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Metaxia Tzimouli
11:01 Oct 01, 2020

Ι really enjoyed your story. You told it well!

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Zea Bowman
23:53 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks so much!

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Anii ✨
01:54 Oct 01, 2020

AHHHH this is amazing! I just love Callie's internal monologue. It seems like she's writing in a diary or something, which I found really cool. I can tell a lot about her personality just by the way she talks. There are many things about her that reminded me of myself. For one, I am an AVID Percy Jackson geek and Potterhead. She also has a sketchbook, from which I can tell that she draws, and honestly, I draw too. I spend far too much of my time making Percy Jackson fan art, and basically other stuff as well. What I mean to say is that i...

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Zea Bowman
23:56 Oct 01, 2020

THANK YOU!!! And I would love to! You took time to read my story and probably even more time to write that chunk of positivity and encouragement. Always trying to help out fellow Potterhead! ;)

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Anii ✨
02:49 Oct 02, 2020

You're so welcome! To be honest, I had all the time in the world that day, and I really liked your story! ;D

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Cal Carson
04:08 Sep 30, 2020

Wow, really entertaining read, Zea! I found Callie really funny and I loved that detail of how she named each of her portals. Great touch! Would you mind checking my newest story out? Either way, thanks for giving me a laugh and a smile today!

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Zea Bowman
14:14 Sep 30, 2020

I would love to! I'm busy right now, but whenever I'm free I'll hop right on it! Also, I just uploaded a new story if you wouldn't mind reading that one, too. Thanks for the support and feedback! Stay safe.

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Cal Carson
15:26 Sep 30, 2020

Thanks, I'll check out your stories once I get the chance too.

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Zea Bowman
23:51 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks :)

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Keerththan 😀
09:27 Sep 28, 2020

This is wonderful, Zea. I loved the hilarious atmosphere and the concept is new. No body loves zombies, except Callie. It's very creative and I love this. One thing I have for critique, When you said Ben is male and I am female. I thought for a while and reread. Ben was a new name and you could have said that my best friends name is Ben. Its a slight confusion. But, as the story went on, I understood that her friend is Ben Other than that, great story. Keep writing. Would you mind reading my new story in the same prompt and give som...

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Zea Bowman
13:42 Sep 28, 2020

Of course! Thank you for your feedback!

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Keerththan 😀
13:43 Sep 28, 2020

Thanks! Welcome! Glad to help!

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Zea Bowman
23:51 Oct 01, 2020

:)

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Keerththan 😀
09:14 Oct 02, 2020

:)

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02:59 Sep 27, 2020

Super cool.

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Zea Bowman
23:57 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you :)

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Sjan Evardsson
00:42 Sep 27, 2020

Fun, light-hearted, and warm-spirited. I would call this recommended reading after my serious downer of a post-apocalypse story! Stay safe and keep writing!

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Zea Bowman
23:57 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks! You too.

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Rodney Owen
14:23 Sep 26, 2020

Hey, your story has a very clear voice. It felt like I was talking to a 17 year old. I also agree with previous comments about the structure and flow. It didn’t flow smoothly for me and could do with a clear structure. You set up that she wanted to kiss this guy, but it didn’t go anywhere, what happened? Did they hook up? I hope this helps

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10:54 Sep 26, 2020

It's funny especially the last lines. You've done something here. I didn't flow too well with the style you used. Yes, it was a funny tale told entirely through the nineteen-year-old nerd who caused a zombie apocalypse but the style felt rushed. I like the story, the plot. I like your stories, true. But maybe work on this kind of writing style.

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Zea Bowman
23:58 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you for your feedback. I'll work on it!

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Lyric Monroe
20:08 Sep 24, 2020

This was so funny! I love the way this comes across as just someone casually telling a hilarious story! I can't wait to read more of your work!

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Zea Bowman
23:58 Oct 01, 2020

Thank you!

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Michele Duess
16:22 Sep 22, 2020

That's funny. I'd like to hear about how she created the machine and what the fourth dimension actually looks like. Other than that I thought the concept was great.

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Zea Bowman
23:58 Oct 01, 2020

Thanks for the feedback :)

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Artemisia Pearl
14:29 Sep 22, 2020

I loved your story! I thought the name 'Mike' for the machine was hilarious! I think you should write more comedy stories. Keep up the amazing writing

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Zea Bowman
23:59 Oct 01, 2020

Haha thank you!!!

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Artemisia Pearl
01:33 Oct 02, 2020

You are welcome! Have a good night!

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Zea Bowman
02:15 Oct 02, 2020

You too!

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Artemisia Pearl
03:02 Oct 02, 2020

Thank you!

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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!

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Zea Bowman
13:49 Sep 22, 2020

Thank you! :)

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