Time seemed to slow down as I realized that I hadn't been spotted and I took a moment to consider my options. The man in the doorway was far enough away that I didn't like my chances of hitting him with pistol fire. I felt confident that he was looking for trouble; prowling the coastline for unsuspecting victims. It made me wonder what sort of person does that– killing and looting their fellow man with what could only be described as monsters roaming the countryside? Then again, what might I do if I were down to my last bullet and spotted someone else carrying the same gun as me?
I snapped back to attention. This was no time for a philosophical debate. Mr. Murderface seemed reluctant to leave the relative security of the gas station office as he continued to scan the tree line and I became aware that it would be very easy to simply back away into the forrest and disengage from the whole situation, so I did.
I have no idea what happened to Mr. Murderface. Perhaps he remained standing in that doorway until someone or something else did him in? More likely, he went his own way in search of greener pastures. In any case, I was rid of him and happier for it.
The forrest was oddly calm and quiet. There were the occasional sounds of bugs and birds that kept it from feeling totally sterile, but I soon realized that I wasn't going to get any answers or make any real progress taking a nature hike, so I opted to cautiously return to the tree line a little further in the direction I'd been headed; hoping to spy new signs of civilization.
Sure enough, when I reached the edge of the forrest, I spotted the road I'd been following and gazing along it I saw that an intersection with another road, which seemed to head into the tree line beyond me, wasn't far away.
I stuck to the trees and proceeded carefully. As I approached the perpendicular road, I saw that the trees thinned out beyond it almost immediately, but more importantly I identified a cluster a buildings across a field of tall grass just beyond that.
Excited to explore a new area, I picked up my pace slightly and in no time, I'd crossed the new road and made my way into the tall grass. I slowed down again, wary of what might come into view around the corners of the buildings and realized that the grass was tall enough to easily conceal a crouched man. At that thought, I crouched and crept forward toward the first cluster of buildings. The sea was much further away now, but these were the closest to it so I wanted to start with them to keep my bearings.
Suddenly, I heard them– not one but several zombies groaning and wheezing from behind the nearest building. I froze, trying to estimate their positions. There were what sounded like two moving along a dirt path that was in front of the house I was approaching and at least one more moving around the other side of it. Did they hear me? Could they somehow sense me? It seemed unlikely given my experience with Farmer Joe. Still, things were getting tense.
A few seconds later, two of them shambled into view as predicted. They seemed to be headed toward the shore so I looked left to try to spot the third. Turned out that there were three more rounding the far rear corner of the house and crossing the field toward the trees I'd vacated. One of these was hunched over and hopping around like some sort of ape. Despite being in such close proximity and making an awful lot of noise, they all seemed completely oblivious to each other.
Something compelled me to check the progress of the first two zombies and I turned just in time to see that they had both changed their trajectory and were now headed directly toward me. I pulled out the gun and sighted it on the closer of the two. He had been a man perhaps just shy of middle age and was wearing a surprisingly-clean and complete business suit. Had it not been for his mannerisms and the pallor in his face, he would have come across as a respectable gentleman, but snarling and twitching as he was, the suit was a simple dichotemy.
The other fellow, a more portly, grandfatherly type was less of an immediate threat; though I had no doubt that he would come running if I put a bullet into the snappy dresser. I backed off slightly, moving toward the rear of the house. Then I heard the most terrifying sound of the day. A man's voice whispered from behind an outhouse just a few feet away.
"Don't shoot! They will pass."
I almost did shoot– not at anything in particular but as a sheer reflex to being totally shocked. The man, who again looked an awful lot like me, was lying prone in the grass next to the outhouse. I realized immediately that he could have shot me at any time because the grass had totally concealed him at the distances I'd previously been.
As much as I wanted to keep an eye on him, I had to turn back to the zombies to ensure that they were in fact passing by without incident. As the snappy dresser continued on into the field, I heard the voice again.
"Good luck."
I turned again to find that the man was gone. He'd apparently slipped around the far corner of the house while my attention had been diverted. In retrospect, he had probably been as worried about what might happen once the zombies had passed as I was. I realized at that moment, just how dangerous and complicated this world and my life in it were going to be.
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I could go on but I think you folks get the idea. "DayZ" is one of the most amazing gaming experiences I've had in a long time. I know that it's E3 week and I know there are a lot of other games out there vying for your attention, but if this little story has peaked your interest, I would highly encourage you to check out the mod's homepage and give it a serious look.
If time allows, I will try to put together a little survival guide post to help folks get started with the game later this week, but I've got my own game to work on, so that's not a promise. :)
DayZ - http://www.dayzmod.com
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