Bits & Pieces
Page 39
CAPTION: UNLESS THEY HAVE PREY TO FOLLOW, ZOMS WON’T GO ANYWHERE. SOME OF THEM JUST STAND IN PLACE FOR YEARS. I USED TO THINK THAT WAS FREAKY. NOW I THINK IT’S JUST SAD.
PAGE 8:
* * *
1.
Benny stands on the other side of the garden fence as he sprinkles some liquid from a small jar onto his sleeve.
CAPTION: WE USE CADAVERINE. IT SMELLS LIKE ROTTING MEAT.
2.
The zombies look at him as he cautiously approaches.
CAPTION: ZOMS DON’T EAT THEIR OWN KIND.
3.
Benny sidles carefully past them toward the front door. The zombies are alert, but they still haven’t moved.
CAPTION: THE TRICK IS TO MOVE VERY SLOWLY. ZOMS REACT TO QUICK MOVEMENT, SOUND. THE SMELL OF LIVING FLESH.
4.
Inside the kitchen, Benny begins stuffing items into a satchel. Knives, a metal saucepan, a bar of soap.
CAPTION: SCAVENGING KEEPS US GOING. ALL THE FOOD’S TOO OLD, BUT THERE’S ALWAYS OTHER STUFF.
5.
In the bedroom, Benny takes underwear from a drawer. Men’s boxers now hang from his satchel, but he’s taking a bra and functional-looking panties, too.
CAPTION: CLEAN UNDERWEAR? WORTH A LOT MORE THAN GOLD.
PAGE 9:
* * *
1.
Benny walks away from the house. The zombies stare at him. Benny’s satchel is full.
2.
He walks down a weed-choked road. There are bones in the weeds and the burned-out shell of a Charlie Chu-Chu Chicken stand.
CAPTION: WE’RE CAMPED IN YOSEMITE. I CAME OUT TO DO SOME SEARCHING. PICK UP SOME STUFF.
3.
Benny crouches in the tall grass, eating a chicken drumstick. A pair of giraffes walk by.
CAPTION: THE WILDLIFE IS CRAZY. ALL THE ANIMALS THAT ESCAPED FROM ZOOS AND CIRCUSES ON FIRST NIGHT ARE BREEDING OUT HERE.
CAPTION: WE EVEN SAW A RHINO ONCE. WEIRD.
4.
Big panel. He stands on a rise above a small camp. We can see tiny figures in the distance.
CAPTION: LAST YEAR I LIVED IN A TOWN. LAST YEAR I DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT. LAST YEAR I HADN’T EVER KILLED A ZOM. OR A PERSON.
CAPTION: LAST YEAR WE HADN’T SEEN THE PLANE.
CAPTION: LAST YEAR TOM WAS ALIVE.
CAPTION: I NEVER KNEW SO MUCH COULD CHANGE IN A YEAR.
PAGE 10:
* * *
1.
Big panel. Benny walks toward camp. We see his three companions. All are about fifteen. NIX is short, curvy, freckled and has lots of wild wavy red hair. She has a scar across her forehead. She is very pretty. LILAH is taller, lean, athletic, sexy in a feral kind of way; with long blond hair so pale it looks white. She has honey-colored eyes, a good tan, and looks a bit aloof and strange. CHONG is Chinese-American. He’s a skinny, bony nerd with glasses. Highly intelligent face.
CAPTION: TOM TRAINED ALL OF US.
CAPTION: NIX RILEY. MY GIRLFRIEND. QUEEN OF FRECKLES. VERY COMPLICATED.
CAPTION: LOU CHONG. BEST FRIEND. SMARTEST PERSON I KNOW. TOTAL KLUTZ IN THE WOODS.
CAPTION: LILAH. CRAZY AND WAY DANGEROUS. SPENT FIVE YEARS LIVING IN A CAVE, KILLING ZOMS AND BOUNTY HUNTERS.
CAPTION: SHE AND CHONG ARE A THING. A VERY STRANGE, DYSFUNCTIONAL THING.
2.
On Nix, who holds Benny’s satchel and is removing a bra from it.
BENNY: I FOUND SOME GOOD STUFF.
NIX (reading a tag): WONDERBRA?
3.
On Lilah as she leans on her spear (a length of black pipe with a Marine Corps Ka-Bar attached to one end).
LILAH: YOU DIDN’T FIND ANYTHING USEFUL? AMMUNITION? WE’RE DOWN TO FOURTEEN BULLETS.
BENNY: NAH. THE PLACE HAD BEEN LOOTED ALREADY.
4.
On Chong as he holds up a folded map of Yosemite National Park.
CHONG: THERE’S A SMALL TOWN JUST OUTSIDE THE PARK. A HOSPITAL. POLICE STATION. LIKE THAT.
CHONG: WE MIGHT FIND SOME STUFF THERE.
PAGE 11:
* * *
1.
Benny and Nix are alone on a rock that’s half-submerged in a pretty forest stream. They sit together with their feet in the water. They lean their heads together. It’s a romantic and very personal moment.
NIX: YOU WERE GONE SO LONG I WAS STARTING TO WORRY.
NIX: THINKING ABOUT TOM?
BENNY: YEAH. STILL CAN’T BELIEVE HE’S GONE.
2.
On Nix, who smiles at him.
NIX: YOU’RE A LOT LIKE HIM.
BENNY: I WISH.
NIX: I’M SERIOUS. YOU ARE. YOU’RE STRONGER THAN YOU USED TO BE.
BENNY: YEAH, WELL—I NEED TO GET A WHOLE LOT STRONGER IF WE’RE GOING TO SURVIVE OUT HERE.
3.
Small panel. On Nix’s face, showing some concern as Benny speaks.
BENNY: WE CAN’T BE KIDS ANYMORE.
4.
Small panel. They sit in silence.
5.
They see Lilah and Chong in the distance. She has a couple of dead rabbits she’s caught.
BENNY: HOW ARE THE LOVEBIRDS?
NIX: SHE HASN’T THREATENED HIS LIFE YET TODAY.
BENNY: LET’S CALL THAT A WIN.
6.
Lilah squats next to Chong and is watching him skin a rabbit. Her expression is cold indifference. He is turning green and getting sick.
LILAH: YOU MAKE A CUT AT THE GROIN AND OPEN IT UP ALL THE WAY TO THE THROAT. HEY! ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION?
CHONG: URK.
PAGE 12:
* * *
1.
Cut to next morning. The four of them are packing up their camp.
BENNY: OKAY. IT’S TWELVE MILES TO THE HOSPITAL. WE CAN MAKE IT BY THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN CAMP IN THE WOODS OVERNIGHT.
BENNY: THEN WE HAVE A WHOLE DAY TO SEARCH THE PLACE.
LILAH: GOOD PLAN. FOR A CHANGE.
BENNY (small): THANKS.
2.
The four of them are walking down a deserted road.
CHONG: SO—JUST SO I’M CLEAR ON THE GREAT MASTER PLAN, WE’RE JUST GOING MORE OR LESS EAST IN THE HOPES OF SEEING THAT PLANE AGAIN. OR SOMEONE WHO SAW IT? OR . . . SOMETHING?
BENNY: PRETTY MUCH.
NIX: YOU HAVE A BETTER PLAN?
3.
Small panel. Chong waves his hands dismissively.
CHONG: NO. ALL MY PLANS WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE.
LILAH: STOP COMPLAINING.
4.
Big panel. Chong plods along with the others. Little word balloons seem to follow him, getting smaller and smaller.
CHONG: WHO’S COMPLAINING? I’M NOT COMPLAINING.
CHONG: WHAT’S TO COMPLAIN ABOUT?
CHONG: EXCEPT FOR FLEAS.
CHONG: NO TOILET PAPER.
CHONG: NO HOT SHOWERS.
CHONG: ZOMBIES.
CHONG: WILD ANIMALS.
CHONG: MORE ZOMBIES.
CHONG: AND NO TOILET PAPER.
CHONG: DID I MENTION THE COMPLETE LACK OF TOILET PAPER?
PAGE 13:
* * *
1.
Lilah freezes and blocks them all with one outstretched arm as she grips her spear with her other hand.
CHONG: WHAT THE—-?
LILAH: STOP.
2.
Another angle, looking past them, as a bear comes out of the woods.
3.
We then see that it is wounded and dying.
4.
Then we see why. A pack of zoms comes out of the woods. There are a lot of them. Many show marks from having been mauled or slashed by the bear. All of the zombies are in hospital gowns except for a few dressed as nurses or doctors.
BENNY: OH . . . CRAP.
PAGE 14:
* * *
1.
The zombies pile onto the bear.
2.
They begin tearing it to pieces as it howls its last. It’s all very messy. Blood, meat, and fur fly eve
rywhere.
3.
On the faces of the four kids. Benny looks sad; Nix winces; Chong turns away; Lilah’s face is cold.
4.
One of the zombies looks up from the chunk of meat it’s eating. We see its face.
ZOM: UH—?
5.
Reverse view and we see that it has noticed the four kids.
ALL FOUR KIDS: OH.
ALL FOUR KIDS: CRAP.
PAGE 15:
* * *
1.
The zombies all notice the kids now. They begin rising from the fallen bear.
CHONG: UM . . . ANYONE HAVE A PLAN THAT DOESN’T INVOLVE US DYING?
LILAH: YES. WE FIGHT LIKE WARRIORS, TOWN BOY.
CHONG: ANYONE HAVE A PLAN THAT INVOLVES RUNNING AWAY?
2.
The kids pull their weapons. Nix and Chong have wooden bokken. Lilah has her spear. Benny has the kami katana sword.
BENNY: I’M OKAY WITH THE RUNNING-AWAY PLAN.
NIX: WORKS FOR ME.
3.
They try to back away.
LILAH: THEN SHUT UP AND DO IT.
4.
Chong hears a sound, and turns.
CHONG: UM . . . GUYS . . . ?
5.
There are many more zombies behind them.
PAGES 16–17:
* * *
1.
Big two-page spread as the four kids fight a major battle. Lilah and Nix face one direction, and both girls are fierce. Lilah leaps upward, decapitating a zom with her spear; Nix does a lateral cut; Benny does a rising cut to take off the arm and head of a zom. Chong falls backward as a zom tackles him.
PAGE 18:
* * *
1.
A zom lunges close to bite Chong. He shoves his carpet-covered forearm in its mouth, though it’s clear he still feels the pain of the bite.
CHONG: AIIIEEE!
2.
Lilah spears the zom from behind so that the tip of her blade comes out of the zom’s mouth, inches from Chong’s face. He gets gore on his face but not in his mouth.
LILAH: STUPID TOWN BOY.
LILAH: ARE YOU TRYING TO GET YOURSELF KILLED?
CHONG (small): Wasn’t—gak—on my—gak—to-do list.
3.
Benny and Nix fight desperately back-to-back. Parts fly everywhere but it still doesn’t look like they’re winning.
NIX: THERE’S TOO MANY OF THEM!
BENNY: I KNOW. I KNOW.
BENNY: RUN!
4.
Benny shoves Nix though a gap in the zoms. Zoms pluck at their clothes, shredding them. One grabs Nix’s hair . . .
BENNY: GO—GO—GO!
5.
. . . and Benny slices through Nix’s hair with a sword.
6.
The four of them flee into the forest.
PAGE 19:
* * *
1.
They run down a tree-lined road. The zoms are pursuing. And more come out of the woods on either side of the road.
CHONG: THE MAP—PUFF—SAYS THAT THE—PUFF—HOSPITAL IS—RIGHT AHEAD.
NIX: IT COULD BE FULL OF ZOMS. WE’LL BE TRAPPED IN THERE.
LILAH: WE’LL DIE OUT HERE.
2.
Ahead they see the ruins of a hospital. Zoms all around it.
3.
They climb in through a window as decaying hands reach for them. Lilah stabs backward with her spear.
BENNY: HURRY!
4.
Exterior shot of a pile of zombies against the wall and the topmost climbing in through the windows.
LILAH: MAYBE THEY WON’T SEE OR SMELL US IN HERE.
BENNY: YEAH, I THINK WE’RE SAFE.
5.
Inside the hospital. Lilah and Nix fight the zoms as Chong points to a corridor.
CHONG: IT LOOKS CLEAR. THIS WAY!
6.
They push through a door. The grimy and hard-to-read sign says SPECIAL CARE NURSERY, but most of the last word is covered with old, dried blood and is hard to read.
CHONG: C’MON. WE CAN BARRICADE THE DOOR. WE’LL BE—
PAGE 20:
* * *
1.
They stand together in horrified silence. The room is the hospital nursery. There are dozens of small beds. On each is an infant zombie.
CHONG: —SAFE?
NIX (small): OH GOD.
TITLE CREDITS:
ROT & RUIN #1: WARRIOR SMART
Story by Jonathan Maberry
Pencils by Tony Vargas
Edited by David Hedgecock
Published by IDW 2014
Jonathan Maberry is a New York Times bestselling author, four-time Bram Stoker Award winner, and comic book writer. He writes horror, thrillers, mystery, fantasy, science fiction, and suspense for adults and teens. His novels include Predator One, Code Zero, Rot & Ruin, Fall of Night, Ghost Road Blues, The Wolfman, and many others. Several of Jonathan’s novels are in development for movies or TV including V-Wars, Extinction Machine, Rot & Ruin, and Dead of Night. He’s the editor and coauthor of V-Wars, a vampire-themed anthology; and is editor for a series of all-original X-Files anthologies, the YA anthology Scary Out There, and the dark fantasy anthology Out of Tune. His V-Wars books have been developed as a board game. He is a popular featured expert on History Channel shows like Zombies: A Living History and Monsters, Myth and Legend. Since 1978 he’s sold more than 1,200 magazine feature articles, 3,000 columns, two plays, greeting cards, song lyrics, and poetry. His comics include V-Wars, Rot & Ruin, Captain America: Hail Hydra, Bad Blood, Marvel Zombies Return, and Marvel Universe vs. the Avengers. He lives in Del Mar, California, with his wife, Sara Jo, and their dog, Rosie. Visit him at jonathanmaberry.com.
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
New material and compilation copyright © 2015 by Jonathan Maberry
“Sunset Hollow” reprinted with permission from John Joseph Adams & Hugh Howey, copyright © 2014 by Jonathan Maberry
“Jack and Jill” reprinted with permission from St. Martin’s Press, copyright © 2012 by Jonathan Maberry
“A Christmas Feast” reprinted with permission from WordFire Press, copyright © 2014 by Jonathan Maberry
“Overdue Books” reprinted with permission from Dark Moon Books, copyright © 2013 by Jonathan Maberry
“Dead & Gone” copyright © 2012 by Jonathan Maberry
“Tooth & Nail” copyright © 2013 by Jonathan Maberry
Rot & Ruin: Warrior Smart text reprinted with permission by IDW Publishing, copyright © 2015 by Jonathan Maberry
Jacket photograph copyright © 2015 by John E. Barrett
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Also available in a paperback edition
Book design by Laurent Linn
Endpaper art by Rob Sacchetto
The text for this book is set in Garamond.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Da
ta
Maberry, Jonathan.
[Short stories. Selections]
Bits & pieces / Jonathan Maberry. — 1st edition.
pages cm. — (Rot & ruin ; book five)
Summary: Twenty-two short stories, eleven of which were previously published, based on the Rot & Ruin series in which fifteen-year-old Benny Imura and his friends fight a zombie plague in a post-apocalyptic America. Includes a related comic book script.
ISBN 978-1-4814-4418-7 (hardcover) — ISBN 978-1-4814-4419-4 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-4814-4420-0 (eBook)
[1. Survival—Fiction. 2. Zombies—Fiction. 3. Bounty hunters—Fiction. 4. Brothers—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Title: Bits and pieces.
PZ7.M11164Bit 2015
[Fic]—dc23
2014047164