Haven’t had a chance to jump into my 4k yet, but 28 Days Later is in my top 3 favourite movies and this is one of my favourite shots in the film, alongside Mailor and the infected activist at the start it’s the scariest part of the movie for me, how did they forget to include this

Which Is Best?

We've seen them dormant/resting. I wonder if they are at peace in that state, and if they are able to dream. And if so if they are uninfected in their dreams and experiencing a glimpse of what/who they were before. If that's the case then waking up would be the true nightmare. Perhaps it explains the behavior of the church infected in Days, where upon waking they immediately looked dazed and appeared stunned. Like maybe upon waking from dreams of being uninfected, it takes a few moments for the rage to set back in. Like becoming infected all over again.

Part 1 here.

Part 2 here.

3

Bendford’s town meeting was open to anyone, and anyone showed up to hear about the strangers. After hours of answering questions - some awkward, some painful - the meeting finally voted to let them stay, but not for more than one night.

“Los Angeles?” Emiliana asked Scott, taking a seat next to him. They’d been led to what had once been a restaurant below what had once been a hotel with rooms for them - although at this restaurant, the only thing on the menu was local black bread, eternal soup, and the beginnings of a local ale that was served warm and weak.

“Koreatown, Los Angeles,” Scott replied proudly. “Born and raised - and you heard, I’d be back here from time to time.”

“Yeah, your father, you said?”

“Yes, he always said he was as English an Englishman as you can get - right down to immigrating to America,” he said. That brought a chuckle; his father was proud of making that exact joke.

They let the moment pass. A new social taboo had formed around talking about pre-infection days, and lost connections to families; fortunately for Scott, both of his parents were firmly in California when the infection began, even there on 9/12 when he first talked to them about enlisting, and so proud of him that he was going back to merry old England to serve both countries, and then…

“Do you have family here?” Scott asked.

“Mum and a brother. Dad was Italian; he named me after his grandmother then wrapped his car around a tree, isn’t that as Italian as Italian can get?”

That brought a smile to them both despite the macabre humor.

“Mum’s side has family going back generations, first attested to after William the Conqueror.”

“Wow, that’s… a thousand years ago?”

“Near enough.”

“Any relation to the people who stayed in the keep?”

“None. That we know of. Although one of them helped set the stones in it.”

“That’s got to be something - “build me a tower so that I can collect taxes from you to support this tower,”” Scott said.

“That’s how it is everywhere, isn’t it?”

“I suppose you’re right.”

The conversation lulled for a moment.

“Why one night?” Scott asked.

“What?”

“Just curious. Why the town meeting agreed to let us stay for one night.”

A shadow passed behind Emiliana’s eyes for a moment.

“I think that’s all we can spare,” she said.

It plainly wasn’t, from what Scott could see. The wall - palisade, they called it - was three quarters of a kilometer long and enclosed all kinds of crop plots and animal pens, and from what he could figure out there were orchards and berry bushes between the palisade and the river that they could easily gather from.

John took a sip of the weak ale to fill the silence.

“Can I see it?”

“See what?”

“The keep - sounds cool.”

“Really?” Emiliana said, puzzled.

“Yeah, knights and lords are cool as shit, I just read this book about, well, dragons coming back to this medieval world, and there are these… people made of ice, but it’s all in like a medieval fantasy world and…”

Scott realized he was talking too fast and Emiliana was losing interest.

“Yes.”

“Yes what?”

“You can see it.”

“When?”

She glanced around conspiratorially; the sun had set, and many people had already gone to sleep.

“Tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Now,” Emiliana said. Scott goggled at her. “I’ll leave first, say goodnight to everyone - not too long after, you tell people you’re going out for fresh air.”

“Okay!” Scott said, barely believing what he was hearing.

*****

A few minutes later Scott was trying to look as casual as he could while walking down the narrow street.

“I’m here,” Emiliana said from a shadow, conscious of the trauma everyone in this world now had of people unexpectedly lunging from shadows.

“I’m here,” he replied. It was dark and no one else was out; she linked her arm in his and matched his casual walk, guiding him through the narrow streets, up the slowly rising hill, to the square-walled keep that sat glowering over Bendford.

If anyone had seen them they would assume them to be just another couple out at night, not Emiliana and one of the strangers, and with the restrictions on lights at night it would take a close, discerning look to figure that out.

Scott could see the path leading to the bridge over the keep’s dry moat, but Emilana led them past it, slowly picking their way around chicken coops and tool sheds until they came to the sloping edge of the dry moat itself.

There she led them down - Scott hesitated but after blinking in the almost full moon light he could see a path between upthrust fingers of stone and other obstacles placed in the moat to foul would-be attackers.

On the other side she climbed back up, and looked back just in time to catch him staring at her rump.

“Come on,” she said, throwing a clod of dirt in his face. He laughed and followed.

They had to shimmy sideways along the outer edge of the keep’s wall until they reached the keep’s gate, where she took him by the hand and led him inside.

Down in the basement Emiliana lit a candle.

Weapon and armor racks stood mostly empty along the sides.

“The Baron here commissioned a suit of armor just before he ran out of money - and as was the fashion of the time, it was a statement piece, too small for him to actually wear.”

The suit stood along one side of the wall, not more than five feet tall.

“He had a… sense of humor.”

The base color of the armor was white, which had faded to a pinkish-yellow after how many years, and all of the ornate work around the suit was still bright red.

Most of it took the look of vines, such as the ones that covered the eye slits, but red dots showed on the beaked front of the face, painting the edges of air holes.

Red vinework flowed down the shoulders, arms, pecs of the suit, spreading out onto the hands before ending in five red fingernails as detail on each hand.

It all added up to a haunting similarity to any of the hundreds of infected English bodies Scott had seen, and that evidently wasn’t lost on the Bendforders either.

Something in his demeanor must have changed.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have taken you here,” Emiliana said. “I shouldn’t have shown you this.”

“It’s okay,” Scott said. She had sat on a table, hopped off it and turned to leave.

“No, it’s not that, it’s,” she said. Scott took her arm.

She turned to him, looking into his face.

They were close together.

She looked at his lips again, and he looked at hers.

She went for it.

They kissed for a long time, and their hands moved and held gripped each other’s bodies.

Emiliana suddenly pulled back, her face holding the beginnings of panic in it.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” she said.

“Yes you should have.”

“No, you don’t understand, I-”

“I would have if you didn’t.”

Emiliana looked at Scott and smiled. Her smile made Scott weak, want to hold her again, touch her…

She touched his cheek, stared deeply in his eyes.

Reached for the candle, held it up, and examined his eyes.

“What?” he asked.

She said nothing.

“Let’s go,” she said.

“Now?” It had been a long time since Scott had been in this situation, and he was utterly lost in it. “But we’ve barely… started.”

“Maybe… tomorrow. We’ll see. It’s just not safe here–” Scott bristled “--not like that!”

“It will be safer somewhere else,” Emiliana finished.

*****

Scott was having the same dream he’d had for years.

He was 12 again, and all alone at home - and outside, the world had gone crazy.

People streamed passed his family’s home, but this time his mom and dad weren’t home - and this time, he was there the whole time, they didn’t hurriedly pack up and leave after the first day.

The people outside kept coming in his dream, a steady slow march.

In reality it wasn’t like that; in 1992, he’d heard people talking, even laughing, as they went by.

Now they were almost noiseless, just walking past.

This time the dream lasted for days, and he crawled on his belly around the house to stare out tiny holes in the windows, wondering when it would end, sunrise to sunset to sunrise, day after day.

Until one day they started walking to his house.

Walking until they were just outside it - and they stood there, staring.

Staring at him the way he’d been staring at them.

Their eyes started to change color, slowly, slower then an infected person’s eyes changed, but inevitably they get redder, and redder, and redder, until it seemed like everything in the world was red, the sky, the shadows in his house, his hands, his fingernails - his own eyes, everything red and wrong and it made him want to scream and tear it all apart…

*****

Morning in Bendford was idyllic, even bucolic, and the nicest awakening Scott had experienced in a long time. The featherbed he woke on didn’t feel real, neither did the pillow after long months of grass and deteriorating sleeping bags. Somewhere out there a rooster cried the dawn.

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant was oat porridge and an egg for Scott and each of his companions, all of them looking as refreshed as he felt.

Scott stood, gathered the dishes, utensils, and mug he’d been using, and thought he looked casual as he took them to a big tub in the kitchen to be cleaned, glancing around inconspicuously. He kept questions about Bendford’s access to fresh hot water to the minimum, just enough to sound curious about it, but not so curious that he might want to stay to keep the system himself, or carry it away with him when he left.

“I think I’ll take a stroll now,” Scott said, drying a plate, again trying to sound disinterested.

“I’ll join you,” one of the Bendforders said. In quiet private moments, Scott’s companions had noted that the Bendforders always had someone escorting them - even, Scott realized, last night, when he and Emiliana had snuck out together, he was only able to do so because she was covering for him.

“Oh, that’s quite all right,” Scott said, trying an English phrase with his American accent.

“It truly is,” the Bendforder replied, standing.

Scott reached for the door, turned the handle and opened it.

“I’ll just be a moment,” Scott said reassuringly.

“So will I,” the Bendforder was now rounding the table he where he’d been seated, extending a long leg.

“I–” Scott stopped, mentally stuttering.

Emiliana was six steps from the door he was about to exit.

“You don’t need to chaperone me, I have her.”

Emiliana and the Bendforder reached the door at the same time and Scott smiled innocently at both.

“Shall we?” he asked. Emiliana led him out.

After the door had closed and they were comfortably away Emiliana spoke to him.

“What was that?”

Scott thought about telling the truth.

*I wanted to see how hard he would follow me.*

*I was looking for an excuse to talk to you again.*

“Hm?”

“It was nothing, I wanted to get out, he wanted to join me.”

Emiliana stopped, turning her whole body to face him.

“You should know why.”

Scott stared at the cobbled sidewalk between their feet, his American wit failing him. He had seen the infected dozens of times by now, their terrified red eyes fixed on him, wailing, gabbling screams out of gaping red mouths.

“I’m sorry,” he said with finality, then was able to look her in the eyes. “I wanted to see you, and I didn’t want to be seen by… him, anymore. By anyone but you.”

Her mouth was closed, thin lips pressed together, resolute. She turned to walk, hooking her arm through his elbow to bring him along.

“Thank you,” she said.

A few steps later she stopped again.

“I know how you feel.”

Scott’s eyebrows moved together in question.

“Ever since… the outbreak, it’s felt like we’ve been watched.”

Emiliana pointed with her chin at the wall; Scott followed with his eyes.

“It feels like part of the reason we built that was to have some privacy. We sometimes see them, the infected, out there; I’ve seen them myself with binoculars, they just stand plain as day among the trees and *stare*. We have scouts, too, that go out, they even saw you.”

Scott raised his eyes at that; they hadn’t been covering their tracks, since the infected never followed them, but he figured he’d have some idea if scouts were watching him.

Emiliana laughed at him, a soothing sound even though it was at his own expense.

“You’re not the only army boy around here, boyo,” she said. “But yes, the ones that don’t plunge into the river and drown, or don’t throw themselves on spikes, they watch and wait.”

*Do they drop supplies in helicopters, circle a couple of times, and leave because nothing down here moved?*

Scott wouldn’t mention the report that was safely hidden in their camp outside Bendfords walls.

“What’s in here?” Scott said, desperate to change the subject.

Emiliana smiled; Scott felt good seeing her lips move into that inviting bow.

“Let me show you.”

She opened the door by lifting it free from a hole cut in the floor, sliding it back, then lowering it until the pins connected on the inside - apparently a move too complicated for the infected to do, which made the door a solid barrier.

Inside the high-celiinged room was lit by high windows that allowed light to flood in, showing off the centerpiece, what looked like a massive piston engine to Scott.

Emiliana secured the door behind them then walked to the metal monstrosity.

“The river is diverted through here - see, under the grating? - and it drives the shaft and wheel. We can use the motion to saw logs, grind grain, or, *oh,*” she said.

Scott had walked up behind her, put his hands on her hips, and nuzzled her neck. She turned her face to meet his.

*****

I was originally going to make one post per Monday for five weeks but that feels too long to sit on a completed story.

I'll be posting the fourth and final part on Wednesday.

My own shots from the house where Jamie and Spike escape from the Alpha. The prop rope from the hanging infected is still tied to the ceiling beam

My shots from the derelict farmhouse used as the survivor base where the Jimmys torture the residents in the barn. As you can see in the 6th pic, there was no actual barn, just the breeze blocks on the outer walls

Index

https://www.reddit.com/u/maizematt/s/CuBIzfLEPW

Day 1 if you missed it and this is the first youve heard of the series.

https://www.reddit.com/r/28dayslater/s/dZxSxP1an5

Day 24

https://www.reddit.com/r/28dayslater/s/KjUIEyVrYb

Day 25

John

“Keep your foot to the floor!” John shouted as the infected ran out at them from every direction. The motorway was full of them, hundreds… No thousands. Thousands of men, women and children descended from Bristol's outer edge. Fires could be seen far beyond the crowds, thick smoke like fog hung over the road.

Bristol was burning and the locals fled, both infected and uninfected alike ran into the surrounding countryside and roads.

Ember pulled the van right to avoid a group of infected running down the M4. “We should go back!” Sunel shouted as he looked out the back window, to the crowds chasing them and to the green land rover following in their wake.

John looked on in horror as a woman screamed for them to stop, screamed as the crowd surged around her. Their bodies blackened and charred their eyes blood red. They dragged her down, her arm reaching out and John forced himself to look away.

“Ember look out!” John grit his teeth as hundreds of abandoned vehicles came into view. The brakes squealed, screaming out.

Earlier that day.

They had slept on the road, choosing a small lay-by just north of Tetbury. Sunel had opted to cover the night watch, giving John and Ember a much needed rest.

John walked outside the campervan, finding Sunel stood watching the green fields and birds flying across a bright blue sky. “Nature just carries on doesn't it” Sunel said as he stood next to John. John nodded his agreement, watching a small Robin land on a branch, it tilted its head at him then set off.

John breathed in the fresh morning air, allowing it to fill his lungs and just listened to the world. Until he heard a familiar set of footsteps and looked to Roxy as she stepped out of the campervan, she smiled at John as she approached.

Roxy stopped before John, her curious eyes meeting his own as she held out a hand.

John returned her smile and knelt down. She handed him a half eaten bounty bar, he didn't like bounty chocolate and couldn't stand the coconut taste but he accepted the gift. Roxy stood expectantly, her eyes wide, so John took a bite swallowing his distaste and thanked Roxy. Roxy grinned and moved next to Sunel.

“Is that my bounty bar?” John froze and remembered the grin on Roxy's face, his eyes shot to her and he found Roxy to be absolutely beaming with delight. Her face had the look of barely contained laughter, even Sunel was sniggering, his snorts covered by a hand as he wisely turned away.

Ember's eyes were one of fury as she walked up to John. “Seriously?”

John tried to answer but his mouth was full, he tried to keep a straight face but even he found himself half choking, half laughing as Roxy finally cracked.

Roxy fell into hysterics as Sunel joined the open laughter, John coughed, trying in vain to contain his own laughter as Ember's frown turned upside down and her laugh joined the chorus.

Gabi

Stevens was cracking, Gabi could sense it. His incessant tapping of the steering wheel, the snappy attitude and how he constantly seemed to be grinding his teeth. The calm collected soldier was gone.

“We should take a break, you've been driving non stop for days” Gabi kept her voice, calm and kind. Steven’s didn't respond, he continued tapping the steering wheel. His breathing became erratic and short. “I can drive for a little while, just tell me where to go”.

Stevens snapped, his loud voice cracked as he shouted “Where to go!”, “Where to go! I don't know!” his fist hit the dash. “I'm trying to keep us safe but I can't. I couldn't save them, not in Boston! and not in fucking Harehills”.

“Harehills wasn't your fault” Gabi kept her voice calm, as Stevens exploded. “Of course it was, I wasn't there. I should have extended the barricade, doubled the watch” His words spilled out faster than Gabi could comprehend as he named the men he lost.

Gabi felt fear gripping creeping in as Stevens accelerated the car. “Steven's, slow down”.

“If I didnt go out on that fucking supply run, they'd all still be alive” Stevens took a corner sharply, barely keeping the car on the road. Gabi's eyes manically went between Stevens shaking arms and the road quickly passing in front of them.

“STOP!” She roared.

John

It all happened so quickly, first Sunel held up a hand demanding silence and that they all listened. Then the roar of an engine being pushed to breaking point, accelerating so quickly around the corner it nearly left the road.

The squeals from the smoking tyres stung John's ears as Ember pulled Roxy behind her. The green range rover stopped with barely 5 metres to spare. A long black line of rubber stretched out behind its now still form.

Sunel drew his knife, John stood unarmed and Ember moved Roxy towards the campervan. A tense silence fell as the dust kicked up slowly cleared. A man and woman stared back, bewilderment and mistrust in their eyes. John raised a hand in greeting, the driver didn't react, he simply stared John down but the passenger, a young woman no more than 25 held her hand up in return.

“Good morning” John quietly said

Gabi

Gabi couldn't believe it, for the first time since Harehills, the first time since they started their long drive south they had found people, uninfected people and she blinked. There's a child with them.

Steven's reached for his pistol, cocking it as Gabi said “Wait”. The pair observed as a small child peeked out from behind the legs of woman Gabi could only describe as beautiful.

Her beauty was beyond compare, her flaming locks of auburn hair, with ivory skin and eyes of emerald green.

They stood in contrast against the green bushes and grey tarmac road.

Gabi opened the door as Steven's grabbed her arm “Wait, you don't know if it's safe, they could be infected or a trap”. Gabi felt anger threatening to boil over, she almost snapped but found genuine fear and overwhelming tiredness in his eyes. She gently placed her hand on his, reassuring him then stepped out.

Ember

Sunel and John both tensed when they saw the pistol. Ember nearly picked up Roxy to run when she noticed the woman shouting something from inside. She was short, shorter than Ember and blonde. The man who stepped out was her polar opposite, he was tall and had a muscular build. Ember just felt like something was off with him, his eyes were darting around, he shifted not nervously but like a guitar string pulled too tight.

Waiting to snap.

The first to speak was John, his voice breaking through the tense moment. “Hello”. All eyes shot to John, he awkwardly shifted as the blonde woman replied “Hello”. Her smile was genuine, Ember thought. The wind blew a small cloud of dust through as the group just stared at each other.

“I'm Gabi” The blonde girl tapped her chest, like she was introducing herself to the natives “And this is find Rob Stevens”. She pointed to the man now moving to stand in front of the range rover, his hand still holding a pistol. Ember couldn't help but notice his hand was shaking. “Sergeant Steven's, Steelbacks”. He corrected, crossing his arms.

“I'm Ember”, all eyes moved to her as she introduced their group “That's John, Sunel and.” Ember's hand comforted Roxy as she said “and this is Roxy”. Roxy nervously hid behind Ember's leg, peeking out to the strange pair.

“Hello” Gabi's voice came out kind and inviting as she greeted Roxy.

“Sergeant?” Sunel stepped forward, meeting Stevens' eyes. “Is there still an army left to be calling yourself that?” Stevens remained quiet as he thought for a moment, Ember counted the breaths until he replied. “No, not that I've seen or heard.” Sunel nodded, his eyes lingering on Steven's shaking hand. When he noticed Sunel's lingering stare, he made an effort to hide it.

“Where have you come from?” Ember hoped for news, that maybe it was better somewhere else.

“Leeds” Gabi replied, her voice held sorrow as she continued. “Our home” She took a deep breath, sorrow hit her eyes as the man next to her cut in. “We were overrun”. Ember looked between the pair, noticing their clothes and tired eyes. Whatever they had been through, neither had taken it well.

“We're from London”, Ember gestured at her and Roxy. Ember then turned to John as he replied “Guildford” and finally to Sunel who spoke frankly “Aldershot”.

“What are you doing this far south?” Ember continued, “Is it any better up north?”. Gabi's eyes hit the floor as she quietly replied “No”.

“Where are you headed?” John's voice seemed deeper, Ember cocked her head at him as he corrected himself sounding more natural “We were thinking Wales”

Ember fought the urge to poke him, way to tell them everything John. Her glare told him exactly what she was thinking as Gabi spoke up “We were heading that way too” It was Stevens turn to shoot her a glare.

*Trust not the stranger*

Lockwood

“Is there any sign of it?” Lockwood stood on the bridge, his binoculars scanning the horizon as men scurried to their posts, watching and reporting every dot on the radar. “No sir, nothing yet, just fishing boats and ghost ships”. During the evacuation, many ships had sunk, sunk under the weight of being overloaded with survivors. Others had been abandoned on coastlines, dragged back out to sea with the tides.

In the first days of the quarantine, Nato jets had bombed dozens of vessels. The debris and floating hulls would be an issue for weeks if not months. Not to mention the environmental impact of thousands of tons of oil, fuel and other such chemicals now washing up on coasts across western Europe.

Every part of the French coastline was now heavily militarised. Europe stood ready to throw back the infection should it wash up to their shores.

Lockwood lowered his binoculars and swallowed the lump in his throat.

The Irish coastline.

John

How had it come to this, John thought. The infected were the threat, not people or so he thought. The farmhouse has proved as much, some people could be trusted, Sunel for example but these two. John didn't know, he couldn't verify their stories, where they had come from or who they were.

Circumstance and luck had brought Him, Ember, Roxy and now Sunel together. Luck had made him look out the window, luck had made him notice the van that Ember and Roxy hid in.

Sunel he met by Circumstance, the man captured and tied up the same as him. Their alliance born of survival and mutual respect.

These two though, chance had brought them together. Neither group was sure of the other, neither trusted the other but John sensed that they wanted to

“You guys hungry?” Gabi's voice gave a thrill like John's father calling to him on Christmas morning. “We've got these MRE packs, they aren't very good but it's food”. John looked to Ember who returned his wary stare, Sunel's expression read only as Whatever choice you make, ill stand by it.

“We have our own food” John's reply came out flatter than he meant it, he quickly coughed and said “We could exchange some though”.

“Do you have any chocolate?” Gabi asked Steven's smiled for the first time in days as Gabi's face lit up, her eyes glowing with hope.

John could feel Ember's feral glare at him as she said “No, we don't”.

Lockwood

Lockwood watched the fires rage, the crew stood on deck watching as faint sounds of screaming and gunfire echoed out over the water.

He didn't realise he was screaming, screaming down the relay set up by Nato, screaming for them to pass on the message as quickly as possible.

The infection has reached Ireland.

John

John wished he had chosen a different MRE, looking over the 24 hour ration supply box sitting open beside him. He had been excited to try it but found himself poking it around with his fork. “These aren't very good are they?” John asked, finding Sunel spooning it at speed into his mouth. Roxy and Ember had claimed everything sweet in the ration box. Leaving him with something that looked suspiciously like dog food.

“It's snowing” John looked up, finding Ember, Gabi and Roxy glancing at the sky. Something not quite snow but similar fell around them, Sunel picked a piece off the bonnet of the campervan and remarked “Its ash, must be a fire nearby… must be a big one”

They all looked south, their food lay untouched, smoke rose over the horizon, a great black cloud threatening to block out the sun. John swallowed the lump in his throat and stared in awe at the nightmare unfolding. A city burned, an entire city, a great fire storm from which all would flee.

“We're not going near that are we?” Gabi asked, there was a clear distance between her, Stevens and the Guildford three.

Sunel had stood, “We need to move now. That fire will spread and there's nothing or no one who will put it out”

“We'll follow you” Gabi paused, waiting for a reply hoping beyond hope. “Okay, not too close though”, came Ember's reply. They headed for their vehicles as John entered last. He looked out to the green fields surrounding them, to the light clouds of ash now slowly settling around them. “It's going to be a long day,” he whispered.

The roads, skies and the very air was full of smoke as they got closer to the river Severn Bridge. Sunel had made sure Ember put the vehicle lights on just in case visibility got any worse.

“God it looks like Silent Hill out there” John said. He was met with confused glances and replied “The PlayStation game, you know the one with… never mind”

The plan was simple: head west towards the Severn, avoiding villages and towns like Dursley, Slimbridge and others. Then cut south towards the M4 and the northern most edge of Bristol. “Trust me when I say, you do not want to go into a city” was all Steven's had to say when they discussed their route.

“The problem is the M4 and getting onto it” Ember said as they drove past green rolling hills and open fields. The smoke became thicker still the further south they went. It had been 60 years since the cities of England last burned, those brave men who fought the fires now lost to time.

They had to go into the outer edge of Bristol, skirt the edge and pray their transgressions went unnoticed.

Woodhouse down

The sun was gone, that was the only thing any of them could think as they watched the rising flames. Great towers of yellow orange, billowing over the top of the deadly blaze. In John's deepest nightmares he couldn't have imagined something like this, the fields surrounding Woodhouse Down were on fire, sparked by the red embers of ash falling like snow.

The parched land is a perfect tinderbox.

Ember

Almondsbury was burning, the houses, bushes and trees on each side of the road burned. She thought she saw blackened charred bodies splayed out on the pathways but blocked the forming image in her mind. The image of forms too small to be adults, too small to be on this funeral fire.

“Roxy close your eyes and John, find something to cover her mouth”. Ember was thankful there were no cars blocking the roads, thankful she could stay to the centre as the fires raged on either side. Sunel muttered something in Nepalese and Ember asked “What does that mean?”

“Hell is empty and all the devils are here” was Sunel's grim reply

John

John noticed the movement before Ember could react, he screamed out as someone crashed into the side of the campervan. Their body being completely covered in flame, their hoarse inhuman screams echoing in his mind as John shouted “Speed up, speed up now!”.

The engine growled as it picked up speed, the infected were everywhere. Running through deadly plumes of flame, some only partially burning as the flame ate their clothes and melted their skin. Others collapsed mid stride, the flames all consuming.

John looked back, the headlights of the range rover barely visible, his heart now racing in his chest and threatened to explode through his ribcage. “Next left Ember” Sunel coughed holding a rag to his mouth as Roxy couched low.

Ember

Roundabout, join motorway and next left. Roundabout, join motorway and next left.

Roundabout, join motorway and next left.

Straight to the bridge

The directions seemed simple enough when they looked at the map earlier. In reality though, she was weaving between cars, some freshly burnt out, others slowly surrendering to the flames that melted their tyres and licked at their metal husks. More and more people appeared, sprinting at their two vehicle convoy with murderous intent.

“Keep going keep going” John shouted as a man slammed into the side of the campervan. Ember glanced into the mirror to see him bounce off the side of the range rover following closely behind.

If there is a hell, then this is it.

30, 40, 50mph they accelerated up the M4 and onto the M48, Ember could have cried when she saw the top of the Severn bridge through the thinning smog. “Keep your foot to the floor!” John shouted, Ember focused on pushing the vehicle to its very limits, her eyes saw a woman, uninfected, her screams for help and waving arms distracted Ember for just a moment and a moment was all it took. “Ember look out!”. She slammed on the brakes and pulled left the campervan impacting and shredding on the guardrail.

Ember threaded the needle through the gap in the cars as the range rover followed through, sparks flying off its side.

Gabi

“They're braking!” She screamed as the campervans lights lit up and swerved left the sound of metal on metal pained her ears as Steven's pushed into the gap.

They were on the bridge now, traffic blocked both sides, all cars facing West. Gabi's mind raced, why were there so many cars here, why is it so blocked up. The answer became clear as metal barricades could be seen in the middle of the bridge.

During the retreat west away from the infected, the Welsh guards had set up barricades on the River Severn bridge in hopes of delaying or a fools hope in stopping the spread of infection at the mighty rivers edge. They were ordered to destroy the bridge if the infected began to cross but most abandoned their posts, choosing to find their families and make a run for Ireland. The men left were simply overrun.

John

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!!” John shouted as they pushed through gaps in traffic, he felt like he was being thrown around like a rag doll as Ember floored it. “There's a military barricade ahead” Sunel called out, “We won't get through with the campervan, the gates closed!”.

“Then we open them” The campervan slowed as the road ahead was blocked, Ember accelerated and impacted a line of cars as she used brute force to move them.

At a painful crawl they moved forward until Stevens rammed the rear of the campervan, pressing the powerful engine into overdrive.

Ember

She was glad she wore a seat belt, her foot felt numb from the continuous pressure. The smog of Bristol's grand pyre had faded as they crossed over the river. Ember glanced to the mirror, seeing the infected far behind them, a great army of half starved, rage filled poor souls. They had time she told herself, they had time.

John

John kicked open the door as soon as came before the gates of the barricade. Hastily erected out of scaffolding poles, metal sheets and anything else the military could liberate. He limped towards the gate, Sunel on his tail as Stevens beeped his horn. The message was clear *Hurry*

They had no time for caution as he tried to push the oversized gates open. A chain held them firm, peeking through the gap. He could see the rest of the bridge was completely clear, he tried to ignore the dozens of bodies at his foot or the clear signs of battle. Sunel pressed in next to him, attempting to push the gates open but with that chain they could only fit through on foot.

“It's no use we have to go on foot” his voice drowned out as John looked to the coming crowd. They climbed over the tightly packed cars, ran between them and now up the convenient pathway. Embers driving had opened. “We won't make it on foot!” Sunel shouted as he ran back towards the campervan. “They'll run us down!” John ignored him, again reaching the doors of the campervan. Roxy looked petrified as she held onto Ember.

“It's chained shut, we have to go on foot” Ember's eyes held the panic that echoed in John's own chest. They both knew, being on foot was suicide.

John flinched as Gabi appeared next to him, her eyes wide and full of worry. Before she could speak, the range rover scraped down the side of the campervan barely squeezing past as it launched itself forward ramming through the gates.

The chain snapped, giving way as the range rover impacted a small concrete barrier, flipping over and landing with a sickening crunch.

“What are you waiting for a fucking invitation get in!” Sunel, John and Gabi scrambled inside as Ember continued shouting “Hold on!”. One of the gates drifted backwards, only to be thrown out of the way again as Ember pushed through. She slammed on the brakes next to the now upside down range rover and Sunel stepped out, John following closely behind.

Ember

“Come on, come on” Ember watched the mirror as John and Sunel limped to the car, they tried to open the door but it was wedged shut. Ember looked through the reflection and to the space beyond the gates. They were closer, much closer. She held the horn, they had to go, they had to go now.

John

John kicked at the window, trying to break it, trying to get Steven's free. He wasn't conscious, he didn't respond to their calls of the sound of the glass breaking. It was good in a way he had not worn a seat belt or dragging his surprisingly heavy bulk would have taken all the longer.

John made the mistake of glancing towards the open gates, to the Unholy hoard now approaching its entrance. Steven's voice caught John off guard as did his shove. “Get out of here!” Steven's shouted, drawing his pistol.

John was awestruck, as Steven's found his feet and slowly walked towards the open gates. Sunel turned to John, handed him his brother's Kurki and smiled. “I'll see you again my friend”.

There wasn't time to think, to protest and the infected would not wait for the heroes to finish their motivational speech or their monologue about a just cause. John ran for the campervan, following the sound of the horn which Ember held down indicating them all to get in now.

“Wheres Sunel?” Ember shouted as Gabi also said “Steven's?”. John shook his head and said “Get us out of here, they aren't coming”.

The Gurkha and The Steelback.

Sergeant Steven's had run from Boston, Chelmsford and Harehills. Each retreat meaning loss, each retreat taking a piece of Sergeant Steven's soul.

No more, not a single step backwards.

He was Sunel Gurung, he was the last Gurkha, he had won his place in the mountains of Nepal and trained to be a fierce warrior.

Sunel picked up a discarded SA80, finding a full magazine and bayonet fixed. He smiled, a warrior's death awaited. Sunel closed his eyes, thought of those mountains, the crisp air in the spring and the sweet smell of summer. Then began to fire.

Sunel marched forward, every shot precise and on target. He roared as he met the hoard straight on, grinning with insanity.

Steven's limped to the line of sandbags, he knew what he was looking for. He had played out this very moment on other bridges in battles passed. A large green box greeted him, wires stretching out in every direction. He gave Sunel one final look and found him smiling. Smiling as he fired single shot rounds into the approaching crowd. They were metres away now and getting closer.

Steven's flicked the open switch and a green light indicated the explosives were ready, primed to do their final duty.

“Put the kettle on lads, I'm on my way”.

Please indicate which you would like next.

Day 25 Part 2

Or

The fall of Ireland special

https://buymeacoffee.com/maizematt

I'm sorry for delay. Thank you for the supporting messages, it means so much to me reading your kind words ❤️

What’s your favourite steelbook of the series? Days for me.

Okay, hear me out. I might not have read the comics, but as far as i know from the movies or at the very least from what i remember. Jones was scared as hell hiding from the infected, when he finally made it to escape, he was pierced by bayonet from Jim's stolen L85. Private Bell was just seen cowering in the corner of a room shouting "I got no ammo!"

They did nothing wrong afaik and i don't think they deserved it, although yes, Jones got pretty lightly out of it, not turning nor being beaten to death by the infected. But Bell? Come on..

So... I’ve just received this after a very long pre-order, more than a year, I think! lol

Anyway, it finally arrives and, to my horror, the cover only says 1080p. Where is the 2160p?

There’s absolutely no mention of 2160p anywhere, yet it has a big 4K label across the top.

What’s going on here? Was this never actually meant to be a proper 4K release? Is the “4K” label just some kind of marketing gimmick?

Every 4K Blu-ray I own clearly states 2160p for the UHD disc, and if there’s a standard Blu-ray included, that’s listed as 1080p.

After waiting this long, I’m pretty disappointed if this has turned out to just be a standard 1080p Blu-ray dressed up as a 4K release.

Anyone know what’s going on?

Which 28 series actors have you met in real life? I work in TV/Filming, so I have met;

Cillian Murphy (Jim 28 Days Later/Bone Temple)

A little quiet, but nice enough to let on to everyone.

Robert Carlyle (Don 28 weeks)

He was really nice and would take pictures with fans.

Idris Elba (General Stone 28 weeks)

Cool, as always, nothing more to say, really

Jodie Comer (Isla 28 years)

She was nice and talkative to most people.

For those following maizematts fan fiction stories,just made a sort of idea in my head for the day where that creepy ass farther who keeps his “flock” in the church and later gets infected/beaten to death. We later see Jim come across the church where multiple infected are sleeping and or dead and we come across an infected priest. Makes no sense what I’m talking about but is that a reference or purely imagined ?

Will be released by Mutant (the OG gang that ran the vinyl department at Mondo and then created their own company). Pre-orders here: https://madebymutant.com/products/28-years-later-the-bone-temple-original-soundtrack.

​

We know Manchester burned to the ground, no firefighters to put it out. I can only imagine dozens more cities and towns burned.

That petrol station blown up in London.

Not to mention potential for stored chemicals, oil and petrol stations.

Then theres pets, dogs, cats etc. They aren't in the films, presumably the infected killed them, they starved or adapted to become wild again.

Countless landfills, recycling centres, gas storage/ pipes etc. All would release deadly toxins into the soil, water and air around them.

The UK would become a haven in some places, nature reclaiming vast sums of land and have scenes like in chernobyl.

Other areas would become a wasteland, nothing being able to grow and becoming desolate.

For those following the fanfiction. Day 25 is coming soon. Trying to get time to write at the moment has been a challenge.

Id say:

Jimmy

Elsa

Frank

and Kelson to a degree.

One aspect which I loved about Years which I felt Bone was lacking was an emotional respunding quality, which I do hope returns within the next movie as well. It will have some potential for sure with father-son/ daughter dynamics at play.

The brilliance shown in this film is beyond words. I like how it is a think piece and doesn’t give you the answers to the test. While MANY movies let you flow down stream Boyle has us fight against the current and fight for the answers. Absolutely brilliant.

We hear Erik say "It's a fucking zombie baby!" while pointing his rifle at the pregnant Infected, thus confirming the international community has somehow adapted the term to call the Infected as zombies despite them being not undead. It is most likely a generic term in this alternate history world, because the living Infected act like the zombies seen in films.

Sir Jimmy Crytal even says it during his conversation with Kelson: "all this zombie shite was caused by science and bugs and whatnot"

The Dr. Ian Kelson sees the Infected as sick and not monsters, hence why he built the bone temple as a memorial to the dead. He treats the same, human beings with stories to tells, dreams, hopes, and memories, all shattered due to the virus that turns them into homicidal humans thanks to the psychosis. I think Kelson finds the term offensive and dehumanizing, because he knows these Infected are just victim to a disease.

Now it brings up the discussion about what will happen if the Infected gets cured of the psychosis. Samson is not reinfected after being attacked by the pack because he is already infected to begin with. That would put him as an asymptomatic carrier, similar to Alice Harris and Andy Harris in 28 Weeks Later. That would mean he and perhaps other Infected are still walking timebombs that could spread the virus with their saliva and bodily fluids.

Not only will they be called as "zombies", but they'll probably be outcasts like the hibakusha in Japan after World War II, since the Japanese feared that radiation sickness is contagious. It also reminds me of the Raccoon City survivors as revealed in Resident Evil 9: Requiem, wherein they are suffering a long-term terminal illness known as the Raccoon City syndrome. A newspaper in-game mentions about how Raccoon City survivors are treated as outcasts and are heavily discrinminated. Even worse, I think the recovered Infected might be relegated to some sort of secure facility or an island under heavy guard.

What do you guys think?

Previous discussion on the topic about the Z-word:

https://www.reddit.com/r/28dayslater/comments/1qja1iu/the_z_word_bone_temple/

https://www.reddit.com/r/28dayslater/comments/1qe1tjt/are_they_zombies_or_infected/

https://www.reddit.com/r/28dayslater/comments/1sdgf1m/the_bone_temple_jimmy_said_the_thing/

I admit the context of Lowly hit me and how it really can illustrate Spikes major dilemma throughout the film as well.

Seriously, they just appear out of nowhere and start scrambling up the stairs as if Jim and Selena are carrying an infected homing beacon. There's no indication leading up to this scene that they alerted any infected, or that there were even any nearby. They were also being fairly quiet so it's not like a couple of them were passing and just happened to hear some footsteps halfway up a London tower block.

I don’t know if anyone else has talked about this but presuming the third 28 years later film will be set immediately after bone temple, how are garland and boyle going to work around the fact alfie williams has noticeably aged a bit since they last filmed?

i know they addressed this by shooting the first and second films back to back, but it doesn’t seem like they’ve really thought ahead that much considering filming for the third is expected to start next year and alfie will be 16 by then.

unless there’s a time skip spike appearing to having aged 4-5 years in the space of 10 mins will be a bit hard to ignore