Self Preservation
| Published on Creepypasta.com | July 2010 |
|---|---|
| Length | 828 words · about 4 minutes to read |
| Story level | Short |
| Reader rating | 8.7/10 from 670 votes |
| Category | Deaths, Murders, and Disappearances |
If you’re reading this, then I am hopefully long gone. It’s been… two months now since the meteor struck Mississippi. There was a lot of public interest in it, astrologers and the like all gathering around for a look. They took samples of the rock and shipped them all over the world to museums in every country. Hell, I almost made a trip to have a look myself, but I had an interview with a potential employer. If he hadn’t called me up the previous day, I’d be dead now. Three days later, after the initial hype died down, the news reported nothing on the meteor for a couple of days.
The next thing I heard about it was when I got home from the pub and turned on the late-night news. I was just in time to catch a breaking news article. The worried-looking reporter informed me that almost everyone who had been in the vicinity of Mississippi when the meteor went down had been hospitalised. Their symptoms were similar to those that a corpse experiences during decomposition. Ten people had already died, mostly the elderly and the very young. Scientists and geneticists from all over the globe were working frantically to try and find a cure. Being smarter than the average bear, I gathered some supplies and prepared for an epidemic. Years of being paranoid beyond reason was finally about to pay off.
The news the next day had a lighter tone. A Chinese scientist had worked out that the meteor had contained an alien strain of bacteria that slowly broke down flesh tissue. The scientist also remarked that the bacteria were only affecting humans. He had also worked out that if a victim consumed a living being, such as an insect, it would delay the progression of the bacteria, giving the scientists more time to figure out a permanent cure. Anyone who thought they may have contracted the infection was to eat as many live creatures as they could. The reporter also explained that the US Army was attempting to contain the infection.
They failed.
Anyone who has read Stephen King’s book, The Stand, will have an idea of how the bacteria made its way around the world. It passed through the air, but to catch it, you had to be near someone infected. Because the symptoms took between three to five days to kick in, people didn’t realise that they were infected. In a week, Victus Somes Disease, as it had been named, was global.
Also read: The Scuttler
I had barricaded myself in my house, with towels and blankets stuffed into every crack. I had the TV tuned to the news all day and night. The scientists had not predicted that the bacteria would adapt to the infected people’s efforts at trying to keep it at bay. Victims all over the world were claiming that the insects were no longer working. People were starting to catch small mammals and eat them.
As the days went by, people were slowly eating larger and larger animals. The first reported case of cannibalism was, ironically, the last broadcast made. The anchorman’s hair was falling out and he was missing three teeth. He nervously told America that there had been a reported case of cannibalism in Southern Europe. He also said that there would be no further broadcasts. All survivors were to lock themselves in their house and not let anyone in.
For the next week and a half, I watched the infected shamble up the street, knocking on doors. One of my neighbours, a couple of houses down from me, was stupid enough to open the door. Three people dragged him out and started biting his flesh. They started with his arms and legs, trying to keep him alive for as long as possible. They were crying as they ate. Their meal was shrieking in pain, and the three people eating him were apologising furiously through mouthfuls of his arm. I don’t think they were unable to control themselves; it looked more like they were disgusted by what they had to do to stay alive.
They tried to break into my house five or six days later, but my barricades held. They were outside, begging me to let them in. “Just one bite. Please, be generous.” I listened to their pleading all night, too scared to sleep.
I suppose I should explain why I’m writing this. I’m infected. Yesterday I coughed and lost a canine. I spent the night pulling out my teeth, easing them out one by one. It didn’t hurt; they just slid out, like pulling up carrots. Anyway, as I was saying, I’m infected. The bugs have stopped working, and all the wild animals have long since run away. I have decided to lure someone into my house and attack them. It sounds so wrong writing that out, but I don’t want to die. And I’m so hungry.
I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.
//
Credited to BananaCorn.
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I thought he was pulling out his teeth so he couldn’t eat anyone or something.
But vurrry nice! I think it was a neat twist that the infected people still had emotions and thoughts. Of course, when they get hungry they’ll probably abandon any sense they still had in them. People are always all about their own survival, and I suppose that is what you were trying to get into your story.
Anywho, sorry this is kind of long. Good job!
I was kind of hoping that the ending wasn’t going to be lol ima eat choo, but it was nice regardless and I apperciate the work the author put into this.
It’s not that bad, but I couldn’t take it seriously after that Yogi Bear reference.
And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night.
Without your teeth… are you going to gum them to death?
I liked it a lot. People will say dumb shit like “CONCEPT OVERUSED” but I’m pretty sure every concept in the world has been done at least once.
Giving ‘zombies’ a true sentience, now that’s scary.
7.5/10
Hey, OP here. I’m glad so many of you like it. I’ll admit off the bat that I didn’t really consider how the infected (Don’t really want to call them zombies, because, technically they aren’t dead) eat people without teeth. I suppose that they hadn’t lost all their teeth at once, like the narrator. I’m just stoked that it made it here, that’s enough for me.
Peace out
Expected ending was expected.
7/10
This wasn’t bad….pretty yummy pasta…the ending needs a little work though……8.5/10
Dude. Zombie concept used millions of times. Too unoriginal.
ooh, i always love a good cannibal story! but still, not as creepy as i would have thought it would be, still delicious but it has a weird consistancy, like dried coconut…O_o nevermind, 7/10
The whole thing was pretty bad =/
“two months now since the meteor struck Mississippi. There was a lot of public interest in it, astrologers and the like all gathering around for a look.”
Am I the only one that noticed he said astrologers? As in people who read/write horoscopes and not astronomers the scientists who study celestial bodies.
was any one else confused when he said he was a bear?
Zombies whos teeth fall out?
FAIL
I stopped reading after the first sentence.
Average pasta. Nice spin that they are aware of what’s happening, but it wasn’t really gripping…. Aside from the fact that the people are very self aware, nothing else is new. 6/10
I’m not really 100% sure on the concept…so the reader is reading this inside the writer’s house and he’s sneaking up on them as they’re reading it?
Otherwise…is this just a confession?
I don’t get the framing device 100% but overall while it’s a bit of an old theme (disease makes people act like zombies), it’s well written and entertaining. I’d give it a 8/10.
Oh and Funnyjunker: we’re not doing that lame ass “WHO WAS” crap anymore by the request of the site admin.
Good, good. An interesting new spin on the zombie genre with an impressive ending.
8.5/10
Wow, me and my friend were talking about this three days ago!
funny how things work out huh.
“First!” “First! “First!” Heh. People don’t seem to understand that the comments are not posted immediately….
Anyway. I posted my feedback on the forums, but I’ll say it here again: Two thumbs up.
What’s the storyteller going to do? Gnaw on the reader’s arm?
Wow, not bad. Kept me interested to the end but it woulda been cool to have some more details here and there.
Nice fresh pasta!
7/10
1st. Good story, i knew it would lead to cannibalism. Also, how did a meteor cause this? Radiation sickness? Space Virus? Also…
WHO WAS METEOR.
The meteor contained an alien strain which caused a body to decompose like a corpse.
I liked it^^
The fact that the infected didn’t turn into brainless and sadistic zombies but were aware of the things they did and felt bad about it but still had to do it was nice!
Also, FIRST!
Hm… Question. How is going to be able to eat the person with no teeth? Anyway, its an okay pasta.
thats the whole point, he wants to attack someone but with no teeth he cant.
You know, I thought the exact same thing. He could cut off chunks and swallow them whole, I suppose. If not, then I feel bad for the first person he’s going to gum to death. *shudder* It was a well written pasta, in my opinion, but a bit bland. There’s something lacking that I can’t quiet put my finger on. I like the aspect of the infection coming from outer space, since rare/mutated forms of known diseases seem to be a bit too overused. All in all, a more than decent pasta. 8/10
but it wouldn’t be part of a living creature if you it was cut off of the victim…
That makes it even more disturbing. To eat, he’ll have to gouge out eyes, rip out the poor victims tongue, and reach in through their mouth to pull out soft, vulnerable organs.
I had to reread the last paragraph to get it.
First post on an extremely well written story. 9/10
get out.
Not impressed. Concept reused way too many times. A rather bland story in general that reached no notable zenith. 5/10.
The concept of a virus that forces people to voluntarily consume live flesh from insects, and eventually humans has been used “way too many times” and is “bland”? Give me at least two examples.
Kickass.