Practice, Practice, Practice. An impromptu writing exercise.

I noticed, dear readers, that many of you prefer gorey Vampires to Victorian stories. Hopefully you will like today's offering.
As today is my 100th blog post (partying will ensue later)... I give you a full story.

Yesterday, my friend Alonya and I were chatting away online.. I was supposed to be writing; she was supposed to be studying. She proposed some fun and started off a story. Some of you will probably recognise it as a form of writing exercise. Each person writes a sentence or paragraph and the next person is left to take up the story. Here is the result, published with permsission: My words are marked by 'K' and Alonya's with 'A'. 

Kitty versus the Zombies.(named post-writing)

A:  High on the seventh floor in an apartment on the other side of the country...

K: a cat pushed its way through the cat flap to find its owner lying face down in a pool of blood most inconveniently having had knocked over the food bowl.

A: On her neck was 3 claw marks...

K: suprisingly large for the small cats that frequented the abode.

A: But she had been researching claw marks for her writing and had discovered that cats have 5 claws on each front paw and 4 on each back foot.

K: Hmmm... thought the cat. I must really find a new residence. This one is getting too crowded.

A: However that cat upon trying to leave the residence found that the unusual sized door was in fact locked, thus trapping it inside alone with the dead owner.
K: There was a murmuring behind her. She turned to see her owner staring at her with blank eyes, clawing her way slowly along the floor towards where she sat.

A: Thought the cat. Here we could have some fun.

K: Maybe I should point out that it was sheep's brains in the food bowl.

A: As she nimbly jumped over the slow moving owner to a vantage point high above the shambling mound that once fed her...

K: ... she knocked over the candle that had been carelessly left alight.

A: As the wax dripped onto the floor the owner realised that the fire from the candle was something to be feared. The cat also was fearful of fire as had all animals been since the dawn of time.

K: Luckily, the owner had a habit of leaving the window open. Now if only she could guarantee landing on her feet, from the seventh floor!

A: The cat leaped out of the window in a single graceful movement to discover that the window lead to the balcony overlooking the river.

K: She glanced behind her. She would miss being fed and cuddled but there were many more (less-Zombiefied) owners in the world. That is what crazy cat ladies were for.

A: Scanning the area from the vantage point, the cat saw there was another balcony, just a short jump from her own balcony. Knowing that the other balcony was owned by another feeder that liked cats and would provide a sunny spot for sleeping and a full food bowl.

K: She could now smell the faint odour of burning flesh and hoped she could insinuate herself into the new household before the flames really took hold.

A: Upon landing on the wall of the balcony, she was immediately confronted by a large figure dressed in a shiny set of clothing unlike she had ever seen before. Kicking up her haunches ready to pounce, the shiny figure started to slowly move towards her.

Clank, clank, clank.

K: The cat, having led a relatively sheltered life until now, had never seen medieval (oid) armour before. Mind you, she had never encountered a zombie before either. This would really be something to tell the grand kids!

"Kitty!" cooed the metal encased stranger.

A:The armoured hand reached out towards the cat, hand opened. As the hand came closer she heard her name coming from the other seventh floor apartment.

K:  The cat blinked sweetly at the helmeted face. Hi, I am Kitty it thought. I don't know who that strange non-person is calling.

A: Kitty launched herself at the figure, all claws unsheathed ready to catch on as she landed.

K: As she glided through the doorway, into the new apartment, the figure lifted it's visor to reveal blank staring eyes and a drooling grin. 

Oh, f...! thought Kitty, as she twisted to avoid the armoured figure and landed inside the apartment. She looked up to see a sea of zombified faces looking at her....

A: Letting out a screeching yelp she launched herself in an all out panic streaking through the slow moving legs of the gathered zombies.

K: By chance, the last zombie to arrive to the gathering had left the front door open. Kitty barreled towards the door, sliding into the hallway and towards the lift. Smoke was starting to seep out of her old apartment, a thin layer collecting in the hallway. The door rattled and then opened. 

Flaming zombies! Kitty screeched as her ex-owner and her new friends shuffled through the smoke towards her.

A: At that moment, the lift door opened.

K: Kitty headed to the lift, the zombie hoarde following determinedly. She jumped into the lift. After what seemed several lifetimes, the doors slid shut, severing one of the probing zombie hands as it left the rest behind.

A: But Kitty realised she had a problem. With the doors closed behind her, she had no idea how to make the magical box work.

K: She could hear the scraping on the door of the box as it sat there for a few minutes. There was a sudden shudder as the lights on the wall lit up and flickered. The box started moving...

A: Down. Kitty realised that the box was falling. Crouched into the corner of the box she waited. With her ears flat, tail all fluffy, she waited. For the impact of the box. Suddenly the dropping stopped and the doors opened with a woosh. She could feel fresh air on her sensitive nose.

K:

She turned back towards the apartment building, now engulfed in flames. She decided apartment living was not for her; too many zombies. She walked off with her dignity intact, to find a crazy cat lady, preferably one that was very much alive.

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It was a fun afternoon. This sort of writing exercise keeps me on my toes, not knowing where the story will lead. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks Alonya!

(My first zombie story)