[Shadow's Scrapbook] It all begins with this.

[Shadow Nane]

I was bored so I decided to make this scrapbook. That and I was curious about how I could make a fantasy scrapbook all my own. Then I thought...ZOMBIES!!



Expect more stuff like this. I shall also be using this to show everyone some short stories [my short stories are very long ]

[Shadow Nane]

An Island Story

I don't know whether I'm dreaming or not, but I can't describe this any better than a simple dream. Any moment now, I'll probably wake up and go back to laughing at the antics of Ginger, my pet dog. That's how I thought at first anyway. But now, as I stare at the eyes of the devil, I know that this is all too real. I'm sure you're wondering what it is I'm talking about. Allow me to enlighten you about the nightmare that is my life.

It was two days ago, in the little town called Jefferson, which was actually on an island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. In our little town, life was governed by a nice little president since no one really knew we existed. We were in our own little world on an unmapped island. Likewise, we had to get everything from the island and the waters that surrounded it.

To meet each person's needs, it was decided long ago that we'd live in one area and the food in the other. Whenever we needed anything, we'd go to the forest part and hunt everything. To keep us from killing and harvesting everything, we mostly eat different types of fish for food. This may not sound like the best diet, but it was a good one which we all loved.

Now that we've got past the history, let's get back to the story of my life. At the time, I was attending Jefferson High, the only high school in the entire town. It was the middle of the day and I was waiting impatiently for the bell to ring to signal the end of the day. As I sat back in my hard chair, I tried to pass the time by reading, as I often did. However, a voice speaking in my ear would draw me from the novel I was so much enjoying.

"Get up Nate," it would say as I felt a hand pushing at my shoulder. "It's time to go." The voice had come from my best friend, Jay, who was a young brunette girl with light brown hair and a pale skin tone that was a bit darker than mine. She was wearing a white, long sleeved, collared, buttoned down shirt as always and a pair of black dress pants that were covered at the top by a purple skirt. I never understood why she always dressed like that, but she claimed it was because she didn't like to show skin. Jay was an even bigger nerd than me.

Looking up and around, I saw that students were quickly exiting the room. Within moments, the place was empty besides us two. That's when I realized, I'd missed the bell yet again. "That's the third time this week," I said as I closed my book. "Maybe I should stop reading ten minutes before the bell."

Shrugging, I stuffed the novel into my dark black book bag and heaved it onto my shoulders. I was happy it was a Friday so my bag was five times lighter. That was good considering my skinny body couldn't put up with too much weight. It was no wonder I had a bit of a hunchback with all the books we had to carry sometimes. Unlike other places, we didn't really use lockers. We just kept everything at home and brought it when needed.

"So Nate," Jay began, "do you have any plans for the break?" I already knew where this was going. Everytime there was a Spring Break, Summer Vacation, or some other long break from school, Jay and her family spent that time away from home. Last Spring Break, they all took a cruise to California. When Summer came around, they took a plane to Japan from California. The only time they didn't travel was during the Winter Break, where they just stayed on the island like the rest of us. By the way they were always moving away, one would think that Jay and her family don't even like Jefferson. However, that couldn't be the case because it was Jay's ancestors that found and built a community on the island long ago.

"What is it this time?" I asked boredly. Jay asked me time and time again to come with her on their trips and I always refused because I didn't really like to travel. I was always afraid we'd crash or be bombed like in the movies. That and I was afraid of both heights & sea sickness. However, I was a bit interested in going when the words "Mexico" came through her lips. That was Nate's favorite country besides China. He heard the food there was great and that there were animals there he'd never seen in his life. Nate had been learning Spanish for a while just because of that, and now he finally had an opportunity to use it.

"Course I'm going," I said, trying and failing to keep the excitement out of my voice. "When is it?" Jay perked up at this, reaching in her small pink purse. "I thought you might say that," she said as her hand came out with a small blue flyer. "We can meet up at my house Saturday before the cruise starts." Taking the flyer, I looked over it with all the curiosity of a young boy seeing snow for the first time.

It was basically talking about how good Mexico was, though I didn't pay to much attention to that writing. I was simply flipped over to the back to see the times. The flyer said that the cruise started at 3:00 p.m., so I planned to be at Jay's by 2:00. Before I gave her back the flyer, I checked the pricing out of curiosity. Jay's family always went on these really expensive "field trips" despite the fact that they lived in a shack. Maybe they blow all their money on the trips so they have to get everything else cheaply.

Just as I'd expected, the cruise was over $500 dollars. It was a good thing Jay's father was a doctor and her mother was a teacher. Otherwise, they would have all become homeless long ago. "You guys should really stop going on these expensive trips," Nate said, giving back the flyer. "You're gonna run out of money sooner or later."

"Not as long as Franklin doesn't ruin us like in the 70s," Jay replied. She was of course talking about the Great Depression of 1973. Back then, the island was getting money from one of the islands in Hawaii, which was getting money from the official U.S. president. However, when President Thomson decided to cut ties with Hawaii, everything went downhill from there. People stopped getting paid, many lost their jobs, they almost killed all the plants, and the animals almost became extinct.

Luckily, thanks to contributions from Hawaii, Jefferson was able to get back on top. The government began to print their own paper money and the food became plentiful again. However, despite all this, Hawaii was still cut off and Jefferson became an "invisible world." That was over 30 years ago and yet everyone remembered the cursed years. I'm sure President Franklin wouldn't make the same mistakes as Thomson.

"If that happens we're all screwed," I joked. "At least you guys could always leave if you wanted to." Jay smiled at this, but said nothing. By now we'd already made our way through the white bricked hallways and were stepping through the clear double doors onto the front steps. Walking past rows of people waiting for their parents, we would make our way to the far away streets and begin our short walk home. One of the benefits of living close by was that it took only five minutes to get home.

"Here's my stop," Jay said. We had come to her shack which stood between two large oak trees that separated it from the other shacks on each side. Waving goodbye to Jay, I would make my way home to my little white house a short distance from Jay's. Walking down the stone pathway, I would step through my glass door and immediately be attacked by a furry brown and white creature that nearly knocked me over.

Catching the beast, I quickly identified her as Ginger, my pet Beagle. Her breath smelled of liver so I knew she'd just finished eating. "You've got to stop doing this Ginger," I said, giving the dog of few pets. She simply panted like she always did, not knowing a word I even said. Putting her down, I'd make my way through the hallway and through a small doorway that led into the kitchen. Ginger of course followed me because she wanted food too, though she wouldn't get any.

Rummaging through the gray appliance, I'd come out with a half eaten salmon patty on a white saucer- leftovers from yesterday. Taking it over to my microwave, I'd slam the food inside and set it for a full minute. "I'm home!" I shouted as I made my way to a chair to sit down. After my food was done, I sat at the glass table and began to eat while Ginger watched enviously. I forced myself not to look at her because she was giving me "the look." If I'd seen her begging face, I would have given her food right then and there.

My mother came in about the time that Ginger got brave enough to jump in my lap to try to get the burger. She was a short woman, though she was a bit taller than me, with long dark blue hair that reached down to her waist. I got most of my looks from my mother because we both shared the blue hair and big blue eyes. The only difference between us was our personalities. I mostly took after my father in that area.

"Bad dog," mom shouted, making us me and Ginger both jump. We hadn't even heard her coming so we of course were surprised. Ginger immediately hopped off me and scurried away into the hallway. Turning to mom, I acknowledged her with a wave. "Hey mom," I greeted. "Is it o.k. if I go with Jay's family on a cruise?"

"But you never leave the island," mom replied skeptically. "I thought you got sea-sick." I hadn't even thought of that. Dreams of Mexico had made me forget all about my weakness. "It's to Mexico though," I replied. "I've always wanted to go to Mexico. Even if I do get sea sick, Jay knows how to get rid of it."


She was still skeptical so I told her that I'd bring Ginger. Even if the flyer said "no dogs allowed," it would have still reassured her. "Fine," she finally said, walking towards the fridge. It was time to prepare dinner. Tightening her apron, which was cleanly wrapped around her white dress, she'd turn on the stove as she prepared the food.

My father would arrive late at night while I was asleep and mother was close to it. He heaved a long sigh as he always did before going to the living room and slumping on the couch. Life as an accountant brought dad home late on a regular basis. It was a good thing mom was there to bring the food to him or he'd just fall asleep starving. As Dad sat there and shoveled food down his throat, mom would go to the bedroom to get to sleep.

It was midnight by the time Dad finally finished and fell asleep on the couch. All was quiet in the house except for me, since I'd woken up to use the bathroom. I was right in the middle of washing my hands when I heard a loud crash coming from the hallway. Instinctively, I rushed out of the bathroom to see what had happened. As soon as I did, I knew I should have stayed in the bathroom

The moment I step outside, I found myself staring into a pair of small white eyes. It was a large creature, almost as big as a horse with a row of sharp fangs and a long tail. However, what really took me by surprise was the fact that it actually had skin and flesh missing. Its feet were nothing but flesh, which were dripping blood onto their three sharp claws. For some reason, its spine was protruding from the creature's back like a stegosaurus. Its red underbelly was only visible under its tail, for it split apart when it reached its stomach, revealing its ribs for all to see.

Seeing the hideous creature and its many fleshy part made me immediately feel nauseous, but its white eyes analyzing me kept me still. I'd read enough books to know that all you could do when a wild animal was in your house was stand there and hope for the best. If I ran, it would give chase and if I attacked I'd get mauled. All I could do was stand and look on. This creature was strong enough to break through our glass door and survive with its ribs & flesh exposed, so anything I did would be useless.

The stare down lasted only seconds before the creature began to move. Steadily putting one foot in front of the other, it came towards me like a lion getting ready to feast. Gulping, I looked around to see what I could do. There was nothing I could use to protect myself and everyone was probably still asleep. If I tried to escape, it was already game over. There was only one thing I could do...try to hide in the bathroom and scream for dad. Seeing the creature preparing to pounce, I'd know it was time to make my move.

As soon as its feet were off the ground, I would jump fearfully into the bathroom. I was seconds away from being hit and I unfortunately peed myself, but I was able to get inside and shut the door behind me. However, it wasn't over with just that. I heard a strange growl coming from the creature that I couldn't clearly identify before I felt the door being slammed against. Even though I'd locked the door, the creature was still raging and savagely clawing at the door. "Mom!" I screamed at the top of my lunges, which unfortunately made me sound like a fearful little girl.

They must have been woken up already because I could hear screaming coming from outside. It hadn't even occurred to me that they'd be at as big a loss as I was. We had no guns, bats, or any other weapons in the house because we never had burglars or anyone else invade us. The only "weapons" we could possibly use were the knives in the kitchen and I doubt the creature would allow them to get to them. We were all as good as dead.

Looking around, I decided to make a break for the exit. There were no weapons, but I might be able to throw things at the creature outside to distract or slow it down. I went for the toilet and took off the tank's lid, deciding to use it for the distraction. It might be just big enough to cause some damage to stop the creature dead. Going for the door, I froze when I realized the screams outside had stopped. It was all just an eerie silence.

That spooked me enough to put the tank back and wait in the bathroom a little longer. Before I knew it, I was asleep with a wet spot on my pants sitting on the toilet. It was morning by the time I woke up, yawning like I didn't have a care in the world. Getting up sleepily, I would look into the bathroom's mirror and all at once remember the situation at hand. Looking at the door, I saw that it was covered in claw marks. That creature must have had some sharp claws to be able to cut cleanly through the door, though it wasn't able to get all the way through.

Curiously and cautiously, I made my way to the door and slowly opened it. When I did, I immediately became aware of the scent of blood. Stepping outside, I found myself looking onto the scene of a brutal murder. The walls were covered in blood, there was furniture and other items turned over, and their was no life here whatsoever. "Mom!" I called, half-knowing what I'd hear. "Dad!" There was nothing. I checked the bedrooms, but they were empty. The living room and kitchen were both a mess, but there was nobody there either.

Finally, I decided to check my room, though I doubted there was anyone there. Just as I'd expected, there was no sign of life. However, there was the strange scent of blood even in there. Walking over to my dresser, I picked up my black lined glasses and put them on so I could see everything clearer. That's when I saw a trail of blood on the floor. It led all the way around my bed before turning towards the door.

I couldn't figure out who's footsteps they were, but they didn't look human. It didn't take long for me to realize that the creature was in my room. That led me to another question...where was Ginger? She always slept in my room, and if that thing was here...

"Ginger!" I called. "Here girl!" There was no answer. I was ready to call again when I heard whimpering coming from under my bed. Squatting down, I'd see nothing but a blue blanket. However, upon closer inspections, I realized that it was moving. There was something under it. Reaching out, I'd remove the blanket and find Ginger resting underneath.


I breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to the whimpering puppy. As I took her in my arms, I could easily tell that she had a great deal of fear. Just what had happened last night? "It's o.k. Ginger," I said, trying to calm her down. Putting her down, I'd head towards the closet to get dressed. Something told me I'd better get out of here, but I couldn't do that in my pajamas.

I'd come out with an all black ensemble of a t-shirt, jeans, sneakers, and a zippable hooded sweatshirt. Picking up Ginger, I'd put her in the sweatshirt and zip it up so I could hide her away. She was still shaking, but she was calming down. Walking out of the room, I would make my way past the bloody walls and through the broken glass door. Looking around, I saw bloody footprints all around. That creature from before must have been busy while I was sleeping.

"What now?" I asked Ginger. She said nothing, simply shaking in fear. Maybe it was because I had nowhere else to go, but I decided to head towards Jay's. The Mexico trip was still on despite the fact that a monster had just attacked. As I made my way through the streets I'd notice that they were strangely crowded. People were up and about despite the fact that it was six in the morning.

They all seemed to go in one direction, as if they were running from something. I was going the opposite way, which made me a bit nervous. By the time I finally got to Jay's shack, I could already tell it was empty. The glass was shattered, there was a bloody trail, and the scent of death was in the air. Maybe that's why Ginger became even more fearful as I stepped inside.

Jay's shack was just like mine on the inside. With the blood and destruction I could easily guess that the beast had been here. So did that mean that Jay suffered the same fate as my parents? I had to know for sure. "Jay!" I called as walked cautiously through each room. "Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson!"

There was no answer, but I didn't give up and kept looking around. I checked every hiding place I could think of and still found nothing. Ginger wasn't any help either, simply whimpering as she desperately wanted to get out. "O.k. girl," I said in disappointment. "Let's get out of here."

Turning, I headed towards the door, but stopped when I heard footsteps from behind. Moments later, I'd feel arms being wrapped around my neck. Her hands were trembling and covered in blood, but I quickly recognized this as Jay. As I looked at her, I'd see tears rolling down her eyes and blood covering parts of her body. There were spots on her white shirt, her yellow lined glasses, her purse, her dress, everything.

"Jay," I said, hugging her back. I was filled with relief to know that at least Jay had survived, but I was sad that nobody else did. When we both finally let go was when I saw the blood on Jay's clothing for the first time. "You saw it too?" I asked, knowing the answer. She was surprised I'd seen it, but nodded somberly. "What happened?" I asked, curious about the blood.

I could tell by the look on her face that this was a touchy subject. "It was in my house to," I said, surprising Jay. "Me and Ginger survived...but..." I couldn't quite bring myself to finish. Now I looked to Jay for her story, though she was still reluctant.

"So you know what that thing is," Jay said. "I was reading when the beast came through the window. It caught me completely off guard, especially since it didn't hesitate to pounce on me. I was so scared it would kill me, but my parents came in around that time. Dad was able to get it off me with a few hits from his bat, but was in turn attacked in my stead. Mom sent me to the secret basement to hide, but...she didn't make it inside with me."

All the time Jay was telling her story, she'd been trying and failing to keep back the tears. I tried to comfort her with an embrace, but she just kept sobbing. It seemed that the tears wouldn't stop, but they eventually did. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the best of situations. She was still crying when I saw someone through the window.

It looked like a sick man, wobbling helplessly and limping about. He looked like a homeless man, covered by the standard clothing of a skull cap, fingerless gloves, a jacket, and a stained pair of pants. When he noticed me, the man turned so that I could get a good look at him. My mouth flew open when I realized that this man was actually bleeding from the mouth. In fact, the bone of his jaw was actually visible.

"Jay," I said, trying to get her attention. However, she was still sobbing so she didn't notice. Looking back to the man, I saw that he was coming towards us. His dragging leg slowed him down, but he was still coming as fast as he could. "Jay!" I called a little louder. "I think we better leave!"

She finally stopped now, hearing the fear in my voice. We both got up, and began to make our way for the backdoor, since the man was coming through the front. He wasn't that fast and he was spilling blood on the floor, but he kept coming anyway. Making our way through the back door, we'd be greatly surprised to see a familiar pair of white eyes staring at us. We both froze as we realized that the creature from before was back.

Its large mouth, which was covered in blood, parted in what looked like a smile when it saw us. I on the other hand was shivering like Ginger and keeping myself from peeing again. "Nate?" Jay asked, just as fearful as I was. We had only two options: run or stay put. Either way, would probably lead to our deaths. Even so, I new that we had a better chance of survival if we ran.

"Run," I said, taking a hold of Jay's hand. "Run!" Without waiting for a reply, I'd take off for the streets, pulling Jay behind me. The moment the creature saw us running, it took off like a cheetah to catch us. Right behind it the bloody man slowly limped as he tried to catch up. Just what had we gotten ourselves into?

The two chased right into the streets where I hoped we'd be able to loose them in a crowd. However, the place was empty. They must have all left. Remembering how everyone was heading in one direction, I decided to go their for some kind of help. Turning I was about to go when I saw the creature make a jump for us, swinging one of its claws to try to knock us over or even kill us. I was able to get Jay out of the way, but the creature still was able to rake his claws across my back.

I let out a screech of pain as felt blood sliding down my back. It was a deep gash, but I was alive. Even so, the attack had knocked both me and Ginger over. Jay turned to help us despite the fact that I told her not to. The creature and the limping man were coming even faster now that they'd seen blood. We wouldn't make it in time, so I looked for something I could use as a distraction.

There was a broom, but that would have been useless because the creature would chew it in half. I thought about using a lawn mower, but it was too far away to get to. That left only a leaf blower, which I knew was useless, and...a brick. I had no idea how it had gotten in the street when it should have been with the other bricks next to the unfinished wall. However, there was no time to think like that because the creature was coming in fast.

Grabbing the brick, I swung it as hard as I could at the beast's skull as it leaped with outstretched claws. Jay had pulled me off to the side so I wouldn't be caught under it and was still able to whack the creature. Immediately after making contact, the brick shattered into a tiny pieces. However, it must have did some damage because the beast was slow to get up. Taking advantage of this, we both made a dash down the street. We'd have no idea we were actually going deeper into the nightmare.

"We can't keep running forever," Jay said, looking back at our pursuers. "We need to find some kind of cover." I looked around for something we could use and the first thing that caught my eye was a tree. However, it would take far to long to climb one and their was no guarantee we wouldn't be followed. If we were to find shelter, we had to get rid of our pursuers.

"Let's hide in their," I said, gesturing towards a nearby brick house. It looked quiet and pleasant so maybe it would be useful. Jay agreed, following me as I made my way inside. The building was broken just like ours, but the bloody scene wasn't as violent. Closing the door, I locked it to try to keep the creature and bloody man, who was far behind, out. However, by the way the creature violently rammed and clawed at the door, I knew it was only a matter of time before he got through.

"We have to get out," Jay said, gesturing to the back door. I agreed, but we had to get something first. Running into the kitchen, I dug through the cabinets until I found a sharp butcher knife. Jay gave me a worried look and Ginger whimpered at the sight of it, not that she wasn't already freaking out, so I explained that I was going to take out the creature. "We won't get anywhere with that thing breathing down our neck," I said, gulping. "If not kill, we could at least scare it away."

Jay was reluctant, but she agreed with the plan. If that thing kept running around, nobody was safe. Still, she thought it would be better if I used something that didn't make me get so close up. However, there were no guns in the house as far as I knew. Walking in the backyard, I did find something that was useful nonetheless. "Use this instead," Jay said, gesturing towards a shovel sticking out of the ground.

Picking it up, I found that the shovel was a bit heavy but I could still carry it in each hand. Doing a few practice swings, I was ready to test it out on the beast. Good thing too, because the beast had already gotten through the front door and was racing towards us. "Get back," I said, readying the shovel. As the beast jumped, I did my best to avoid its claws as I swung the shovel as hard as I could.

The shovel hit the creature right in its head before snapping off and flying off to the side. This did some damage to the creature, but it still let out a roar as it tried to claw us. Dodging the attacks, I would take a few steps backwards as I prepared to try the shovel again. I waited until it jumped again before I got down on the ground and lifted the broken shovel up like a spear. Striking inside its rib cage and up to its back, I felt the broken shovel go right through the heavy creature.

It's weak point was the actually on the inside because its powerful skin was harder than steel. Letting out a wail of pain, the creature just laid still on top of me. I tried to keep myself from puking as I scooted from under him. The broken shovel was stuck in its chest, pierced through its still beating heart and back, but I wouldn't need it again anyway. Getting up, I dusted myself off before looking around for Jay.


When I did, I'd notice the bloody hobo was standing in front of me close enough to reach out and grab me. He'd made the trip all the way behind me while I was distracted. Opening his mouth, he let out a strange noise like something out of a horror movie. Reaching out, he'd take a hold of my shoulders and open his bloody mouth, leaning in as if he was about to suck my blood. It was lucky Jay was there or I would have died right there.

Grabbing the butcher knife, she'd bring the blade straight down on the man's head where it got stuck there. Letting go of me, the limp body would slide down and hit the floor. "What did you do?" I shouted, looking from Jay to the dead man. However, she gave me a glare that told me to stop pretending. We'd both seen enough movies to tell what was wrong with this guy. The evidence was as clear as day that he and this creature were already dead. I didn't want to think of it because that would mean...

Now I knew why Ginger was so afraid. "How?" I asked, kicking the unmoving body. "Who would do this?" Jay thought for a second, but shrugged. "No one on this island would be that stupid," she explained. "At least I think they wouldn't." Looking at the unmoving creatures, I was at a loss two.

There was a possibility they came from somewhere else, but it was more likely they were from the island. Maybe the monster, which left trails everywhere, had been the original cause of all this. In that case, we would have just ended it there. Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. Walking back towards the streets, we'd be surprised to see another one of them.

It was a female this time, a trashy looking woman covered in blood who had a whole part of her chin missing. "Run," Jay said, pulling me away this time. The dead female, who'd noticed us when Jay spoke, didn't hesitate to give chase. Strangely, unlike the hobo from before, she actually came sprinting for us. However, we were still able to loose her, or we would have if I didn't suddenly fall on my hands and knees. It wasn't that I tripped, but I fell because of pain. There was a sharp pain in my back that I couldn't recognize.

I looked up at Jay and saw that she was backing up with a fearful expression. Ginger started freaking out to the point I had to let her out. Looking back, I at first thought the dead woman was right behind me. That's when I realized...there were what looked like brown tentacles growing out of my back. No...they were growing out of the claw marks in my back!

"Nate," Jay said, looking at the horrible scene with fear. Ginger backed up so that she was behind Jay, whimpering like before. "Just Run!" I shouted, remembering the zombie chasing us. After saying this, I opened my mouth as I spat out a pool of blood. I was dying because of that dead monster. Jay started crying now, but picked up Ginger and took off down the street. Passing by them, the dead female gave chase as if I wasn't even there. She knew what my fate was going to be, so something in her had told her to leave me be.

Falling on my face, I felt the tentacles in my back slowly wrap around me. As I blacked out the last thing I remembered was seeing a pair of white eyes in the distance.
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OOCI told you my short stories were long.

[Shadow Nane]

Inspiration for something else