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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He could kill the person, cut them up, and then swallow them piece by piece, or does he need teeth to swallow cut up parts?
I found this Pasta nice, but not perfect. 8/10
A well cooked pasta, but it could\’ve used a bit more sauce. The idea that the victims of the disease are actually self aware was very interesting and I would\’ve like to see more exploration into what could force someone into consuming another person.
It would\’ve been ten times creepier if you\’d used the self awareness thing to it full effect instead of giving it a few one time mentions.
I’m not normally one to say “not creepy, 0/10” or whatever, but this pasta was pretty bad.
1. It’s literally identical to about five other zombie apocalypse pastas I’ve read here in terms of basic story setup. Strange thing happens; zombies appear and kill narrator’s dumbfuck neighbor; narrator turns into zombie. I’d like to see a zombie apocalypse pasta (zombie apastalypse?) written differently for once.
2. All sorts of flawed logic going on here. The thing that stuck out most to me is that the zombies have no teeth. Do they gum through human flesh? And why would an alien virus only infect humans, or infect anything on Earth at all?
It has promise to it, though. The people apologizing to the man they’re cannibalizing was pretty freaky. I give you a 2/10 for effort. Work on some more original concepts and your pastas could be winners.
The creepiest thing about this is that the same behavior (eating teh peoplez) would be exhibited IRL by infected people, and you can bet your ass they wouldn’t apologize. Other than that… meh
1 out of 10
pasta is generic and stale knock off with flawed logic
1 point for at least being about something that would be scary if it wasn’t overused
He pulled out his teeth, how the fuck does he expect to eat someone? and WHO WAS NEIGHBOUR?
Holy crap. This was pretty good. Then I got the ending. Like, it hit me. Flying Fridge Logic. Wow.
I liked this one. It gave a good explanation of how something such as zombism could occur.
I think this must’ve been posted like a doezen times, but why would infected people eat other infected people?
good thing had some humanity in them. i guess thats why they pulled their teeth out, they tried to prevent themselves from eaching each other.
Wow! That was amazing! 100000000000000/10
There were so many flaws in this. If it was air born, and you couldn\’t get it unless you were near someone infected, then how did the people get infected to begin with? Also, the elaboration of why only eating living beings would delay the process was desperately needed.
I liked this pasta a lot.
I knew from the start that there was going to be some zombie-like tendencies in it, but I was excited to see that they did not become zombies and still had humanity.
I would like to know how the POV character is going to attack his victims without any teeth though. Is he just going to cut them apart with a knife or something?
Also, I would like to know if an infected person eats another infected person, will that work? Because, technically, they are still living.
9/10
Murrrr. I didn’t migrate to creepypasta to read alien stories ;x
The writing isn’t great, but seeing descriptions of conflict between emotions and physiological needs in the infected was really creepy. (Basically, I agree with vespa. lol)
I dunno, I didn’t care for the writing here. The virus is not particularly convincing; there’s no reason, even for storytelling purposes, that it should only target humans. Why would the news quit broadcasting? And why would you pull out your teeth if you know you’ve got to eat someone alive?
Also, I’d lose the reference to The Stand; we’re already struggling with derivation without referring directly to other works.
it\’s a good story but theres a whole in the ending. if you\’re pulling you\’re teeth out how are you going to eat the guy?
Disturbing story. 10/10
I really love the idea, but then, I’ve always been a fan of that sort of thing. Amazing story!
I don’t really think this was so great, it was alright but it somehow just didn’t seem creepy or even make much sense. (I know creepypastas don’t need to actually make much realistic sense but they should make sense in their own way)
Eh, it was alright.
Hmmmm. Interesting.
Nice twist at the end:
“I’m so, so sorry”
I LIKE IT!
This pasta wasn’t really creepy, BUT WHO CARES, IMA LIKE IT!
Unoriginality was kind of a down, but the story was put out to well. I just don’t understand the no teeth part.
RAWR IMA DROOL ON U WIT MAH RADIOACTIVE SPITTLE. BLORPABLORP.
Other than that pretty nice.
9.5/10
One more question-
BUT WHO WAS BACTERIA?!?!
I Am Legend + Zombieland. No originality, bad POV. Sucked.
Ngl, the idea of people sobbing and apologizing while cannibalizing someone creeps me the fuck out. Needs some proofreading and corrections, but nice job nevertheless.
“Anyone in the vicinity of Mississippi was hospitalized”, I don’t think the author has any sort of concept of the scope of an entire US state if he thinks everyone living in and near one can be hospitalized in unison.
Honestly, if it wasn’t for the whole “disease doesn’t infect animals” thing, then it would have been an interesting twist if it turned out the writer was actually a Bear.
I thought he was pulling his teeth out so he wouldn’t eat people or something, personally. Also, the astrologers part threw me for a loop. Some slight errors here and there, but overall, quite enjoyable :)
dammit, that was great pasta!
I understand your pain.
Meh. Won’t boast about this one, but not gonna complain about it either. 5/10.
Though, I’m surprised no one else has mentioned the “flesh tissue” part. I feel like that’s a little repetitive.
The idea of apologetic cannibalism is interesting, but this could use a LOT of revision. One part that struck out at me in particular was when the narrator directly cite The Stand. That form of allusion completely alienates the people who haven’t read the book, and furthermore, if you’re telling your audience to go read another book to explain a plot device instead of explaining it yourself, you’ve failed as a writer.
Overall, there are a lot of plot discrepancies and problems, but the idea at the heart of the story there’s definite potential.