Killing Days Side Story: Finn and Zoey

Finn and Zoey was the original story that I wrote back in 2014. They were the main characters of their own apocalypse, much like how Dani and Ruby are the main characters of this apocalypse. In the original story, Finn and Zoey solved the apocalypse within two weeks. Where as the ending of Killing Days, the apocalypse is still active a year later. The ending of this book will most likely be open ended, since I want to explore more of the two main characters later. I have ideas for a few situations to happen in the story, but at the moment, I have no real plot. So i’ll be outlining the characters and a bit of the setting in this book, as well as how characters have translated over from the original copy.

The story was much more of a fan story, using the same types of infected as Left 4 Dead. Rather than being a story about a journey to get evacuated, the story took place in only a handful of locations. A small town, The Leisure centre that I had the idea for the story, and finally London. The Apocalypse started pretty much instantly, The science didn’t make sense, but a giant explosion like substance turned most of the population into zombies. Writing this down knowing that people are going to read this is also fairly embarrassing.

Since the book is taking place is the same world as Killing Days, a lot of these elements are easy to transfer over. The start of the Apocalypse I’ve already defined in Killing Days, a sleeper virus that became active over night. The Leisure centre can easily be swapped out for a smaller safe zone, One that is much more practical. the inclusion of London could be swapped for another city in Osland. However, depending how this plot plays out, the City might not be needed.

Finn was originally fourteen years old and the main character along with Zoey. He was smart, logical, an expert shot with a pistol, Apocalypse survivor extraordinaire. A character without any real flaws or room for growth. To change him, I want to age him up to seventeen, While he might be smart and logical, he now lacks as much physical ability. He knows how to shoot a gun, but has never held a gun before. His growth through the story is going to be both physical and mental, learning to open up more to others and his journey to becoming a leader.

Zoey, was the original basis for Ruby in Killing Days. Shy, nervous, only has one parent, mostly athletic. I want her to keep this introverted personality. Ruby expresses herself mostly through her Gymnastics. I want Zoey to express herself more through the medium of art. Like Finn, Zoey is also going to open up more, not constantly relying on others for help.

The Mentor is an important role of any story. in Killing Days, several people can be seen as Mentors; Graham, Nick, Ruby’s dad, Ruby’s Neighbour Joe, among other people. Because this story is going to be set in one location, I want to make sure there’s only one mentor. I want the Mentor to be someone similar to Graham, a high ranking member of the Army. The name I’ve decided on, for now, is William. William will be commander of the safe zone, he sees potential in Finn and Zoey. This also means he also acts as “The Herald” Archetype, calling the main duo to adventure. William was a character in the first book, however he was unnamed, being called the nickname “Host” He was the one who explained the situation in the original book, acted as The Herald but was mostly unseen. I want him to play a bigger role in the book this time.

A character type I’ve referenced before in Killing Days, are the over confident ones. These are the types of people who “know what they’re doing” They think they can be the lone wolf, know the ins and outs of a zombie apocalypse. These characters are referenced to be the ones who died first. Dani and Ruby spent their first two weeks of the Apocalypse running, and without each other, they wouldn’t have made it. I want to add an antagonist that acts as a minor antagonist, who thinks he’s the best, but throws a spanner into the works. I believe the closest archetype for this characters is “The Trickster” In this case, they are called Sam. In the original book, this character’s ego kept growing, thinking they were the reason why everyone was surviving and that they were the hero of the story.

Now I’ve got the characters and base setting out the way, I need to move onto the hardest part, the plot. I’ll have the next update for this side story ready for Wednesday the 19th. By then, I will have plot points worked out and probably started writing my first draft of the story. Keep an eye out for future updates! Also, you can follow my blog page to receive notifications when I upload them, or follow my twitter, I tweet whenever I add a post! https://twitter.com/RinCrowe Thank you for following me on this Journey!