An Aldwych Tube Situation (Zombies, Run)
Feb. 27th, 2013 09:56 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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picfor1000Title: An Aldwych Tube Situation
Author: PercyByssheShelley
Fandom: Zombies, Run
Characters: Female Runner Five, Sam, Janine, Jack, Eugene, Runners 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
Rating: T
Word count: 1,000
Warnings: None
Summary: Aldwych Tube Station. It's a horror story for people who are already living in one.
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38181284@N06/8234719004/
"And finally, ladies and gentlemen, as of two am today the population of Abel Township has reached two hundred people," Evan paused to let the gathered runners have a moment. The morning gathering could be a grim affair at times, and they grabbed at any opportunity to celebrate a win.
When the scattering of applause and occasional whistles had died down, he continued. "Unfortunately, that means that until the hospital extension is completed, the Major is moving us to Stage Four restrictions on new residents. That means that if you meet a survivor in the wild, you can only inform them of Abel's whereabouts if they are medical professionals, engineers or military veterans."
The happy murmuring turned into grumbling. Everyone agreed that the restrictions were a good idea, until they actually met someone out there.
"What about children?" Sara asked.
"Case by case," Evan said. He held up a hand to silence the complaints. "I know that it's difficult, to leave someone out there when you're coming home to a hot meal and a safe bed. But the reason they're here waiting for you is because we only take in as many as we can protect. We don't want an Aldwych Tube situation on our hands."
Runner Five looked around in confusion at the reference, and saw that the others were nodding in agreement. "What's an Aldwych Tube situation?" she hissed to Jody.
"You really did fall out of the sky, didn't you Five?" Simon said, elbowing her in the side.
"Oh, it's a horrible story," Jody bit her lip. "You should ask Jack and Eugene, they were there."
...
"Well ladies and gentlemen, once again there's a rumour going around the township that Eugene and I were present at Aldwych Tube Station. How do this keep cropping up, Eugene?"
Runner Five had been focused on dabbing superglue onto the torn sole of her trainers, but she perked up at Jack's comment and leaned over to turn her radio up.
"I think you start these rumours yourself to seem more interesting."
"Are you implying that I'm not interesting?"
"Not implying, no."
There was a brief burst of scuffling and giggling on the radio, followed by several seconds of dead air and then an embarrassed cough. Five rolled her eyes, predicting that their future held another brisk chat from the Major, followed by two weeks of dry, formal public service announcements.
"Sorry about that folks. Technical difficulties," Jack said, his voice a little strained with the effort of not laughing. "Anyway. I'm sorry to disappoint you listeners, but we weren't there. Anyone who tells you they were is lying. Of the two thousand odd people living inside the station, five made it out alive. And the odds that any of those five will cross your path, or are even still alive, are pretty low."
"I will admit though, it's the reason why I was happier to brave the wilderness than settle in a fortress like New Canton," Eugene chimed in. "Even the idea of settling in Abel gave me pause."
"Absolutely. It's too easy to forget that with the zombies on the other side, walls protect us. Just one zombie on this side, and it's a tomb."
...
"Why do you want to talk about that?" Sam asked. When Five arrived at the Comms Station he'd been draped over his chair with one foot propped up on the desk, but he had scrambled upright at the word 'Aldwych'.
"Because everyone acts like I should know what it means," Five said.
"You don't..." Sam shook his head. "Aldwych was an abandoned station in the London Underground. When things first went pear shaped, the military used it for storage, but were forced to abandon it when they evacuated London. It was a fortress- concrete walls on every side, only one entrance, oodles of supplies. Of course people flocked to it. And kept flocking. Until one day, one of them was hiding a bite. Suddenly only one door was a bug, not a feature."
Runner Five grimaced. It was all too easy to imagine the chaos, people struggling to get to the door. Or worse, fleeing down the tunnels only to find them blocked, and more and more panicked survivors packing in after them.
...
"It's a myth," Chris said, not even looking up from the notepad he was scribbling in. "It's simple maths. It was a tube station, barely room for a newspaper stand and a vending machine. You can't get two thousand people, and all the supplies they need to survive, into a space that small. Not with enough room left over to build a functioning community."
"The supplies were a myth," Runner Six said. "There was no actual community there, just people flowing in and out because they'd heard there was. But the massacre happened."
...
"It never happened," Janine said, her voice muffled under the Comms desk. She stuck a hand out and clicked her fingers insistently until Five handed her a screwdriver. "It's a Just So story we tell each other because it's easier than facing the truth head on. That we need to turn people away, that it's better to protect some people for a long time, than all people for a short time."
...
By the time the sun set, Runner Five had polled most of the adult population of Abel. Roughly half insisted it was gospel truth. Seven people swore up and down that they knew someone who was there, and all seven told a completely different story. The other half waved it off as an urban legend or deliberate fabrication.
But everyone, whether they told the story with relish and elaborate gruesome detail, or dismissed it out of hand, finished their story the same conclusion: we do not want an Aldwych Tube Station situation here.
When Five turned and made her way across the common area to her warm, safe bed, she couldn't help sparing a glance at the high wall that marked Abel's perimeter.
She didn't sleep well.
Author: PercyByssheShelley
Fandom: Zombies, Run
Characters: Female Runner Five, Sam, Janine, Jack, Eugene, Runners 3, 4, 6, 8 and 10.
Rating: T
Word count: 1,000
Warnings: None
Summary: Aldwych Tube Station. It's a horror story for people who are already living in one.
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/38181284@N06/8234719004/
"And finally, ladies and gentlemen, as of two am today the population of Abel Township has reached two hundred people," Evan paused to let the gathered runners have a moment. The morning gathering could be a grim affair at times, and they grabbed at any opportunity to celebrate a win.
When the scattering of applause and occasional whistles had died down, he continued. "Unfortunately, that means that until the hospital extension is completed, the Major is moving us to Stage Four restrictions on new residents. That means that if you meet a survivor in the wild, you can only inform them of Abel's whereabouts if they are medical professionals, engineers or military veterans."
The happy murmuring turned into grumbling. Everyone agreed that the restrictions were a good idea, until they actually met someone out there.
"What about children?" Sara asked.
"Case by case," Evan said. He held up a hand to silence the complaints. "I know that it's difficult, to leave someone out there when you're coming home to a hot meal and a safe bed. But the reason they're here waiting for you is because we only take in as many as we can protect. We don't want an Aldwych Tube situation on our hands."
Runner Five looked around in confusion at the reference, and saw that the others were nodding in agreement. "What's an Aldwych Tube situation?" she hissed to Jody.
"You really did fall out of the sky, didn't you Five?" Simon said, elbowing her in the side.
"Oh, it's a horrible story," Jody bit her lip. "You should ask Jack and Eugene, they were there."
...
"Well ladies and gentlemen, once again there's a rumour going around the township that Eugene and I were present at Aldwych Tube Station. How do this keep cropping up, Eugene?"
Runner Five had been focused on dabbing superglue onto the torn sole of her trainers, but she perked up at Jack's comment and leaned over to turn her radio up.
"I think you start these rumours yourself to seem more interesting."
"Are you implying that I'm not interesting?"
"Not implying, no."
There was a brief burst of scuffling and giggling on the radio, followed by several seconds of dead air and then an embarrassed cough. Five rolled her eyes, predicting that their future held another brisk chat from the Major, followed by two weeks of dry, formal public service announcements.
"Sorry about that folks. Technical difficulties," Jack said, his voice a little strained with the effort of not laughing. "Anyway. I'm sorry to disappoint you listeners, but we weren't there. Anyone who tells you they were is lying. Of the two thousand odd people living inside the station, five made it out alive. And the odds that any of those five will cross your path, or are even still alive, are pretty low."
"I will admit though, it's the reason why I was happier to brave the wilderness than settle in a fortress like New Canton," Eugene chimed in. "Even the idea of settling in Abel gave me pause."
"Absolutely. It's too easy to forget that with the zombies on the other side, walls protect us. Just one zombie on this side, and it's a tomb."
...
"Why do you want to talk about that?" Sam asked. When Five arrived at the Comms Station he'd been draped over his chair with one foot propped up on the desk, but he had scrambled upright at the word 'Aldwych'.
"Because everyone acts like I should know what it means," Five said.
"You don't..." Sam shook his head. "Aldwych was an abandoned station in the London Underground. When things first went pear shaped, the military used it for storage, but were forced to abandon it when they evacuated London. It was a fortress- concrete walls on every side, only one entrance, oodles of supplies. Of course people flocked to it. And kept flocking. Until one day, one of them was hiding a bite. Suddenly only one door was a bug, not a feature."
Runner Five grimaced. It was all too easy to imagine the chaos, people struggling to get to the door. Or worse, fleeing down the tunnels only to find them blocked, and more and more panicked survivors packing in after them.
...
"It's a myth," Chris said, not even looking up from the notepad he was scribbling in. "It's simple maths. It was a tube station, barely room for a newspaper stand and a vending machine. You can't get two thousand people, and all the supplies they need to survive, into a space that small. Not with enough room left over to build a functioning community."
"The supplies were a myth," Runner Six said. "There was no actual community there, just people flowing in and out because they'd heard there was. But the massacre happened."
...
"It never happened," Janine said, her voice muffled under the Comms desk. She stuck a hand out and clicked her fingers insistently until Five handed her a screwdriver. "It's a Just So story we tell each other because it's easier than facing the truth head on. That we need to turn people away, that it's better to protect some people for a long time, than all people for a short time."
...
By the time the sun set, Runner Five had polled most of the adult population of Abel. Roughly half insisted it was gospel truth. Seven people swore up and down that they knew someone who was there, and all seven told a completely different story. The other half waved it off as an urban legend or deliberate fabrication.
But everyone, whether they told the story with relish and elaborate gruesome detail, or dismissed it out of hand, finished their story the same conclusion: we do not want an Aldwych Tube Station situation here.
When Five turned and made her way across the common area to her warm, safe bed, she couldn't help sparing a glance at the high wall that marked Abel's perimeter.
She didn't sleep well.
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