Zombie Reign: A Fake Zombie Story

by Tim Miller

Chapter 9

  Clarence snuck into his house and to his room. Thankfully his mom hadn’t heard him come in. He told her he was looking for jobs today until his film gets made. Once in his room, he pulled up the day’s footage on the tablet and pushed it to the TV. On the screen there was Chloe and himself doing their love scene.

  As he watched the footage, he undid the front of his pants, and slid his hand inside. He was already hard as he pulled his dick out and began stroking to Chloe’s image on the big screen. He loved hearing her moans as they kissed and as he felt her beautiful body. There was no way she was acting, she was into it. That’s why she stopped. She was hot for him and didn’t want to admit it.

  He kept replaying it over and over, even pausing it, freezing on her naked breasts as he continued stroking himself. Something else he found arousing was how good he looked on camera. His arms and chest looked massive on film. Chloe looked tiny and frail in his arms. Had he wanted, he could have just taken her right then and there. Part of him was tempted, but he thought better of it.

  He knew he’d have to call her later. He couldn’t have his leading lady quitting at this point in the game. No, he’d talk her down. That was his gift. You couldn’t build a production like this without being able to lead people. He was a born leader, through and through.

  He grew harder as he continued to stroke himself, watching Chloe’s full and firm breasts bounce around on screen. They’d felt so good in his hands. He’d wanted to suck them too, not sure why he hadn’t. Harder and harder he stroked, as he was getting close to climax. Chloe began yelling at him on the video as his mother began screaming from the other room.

  “Clarence! Is that you? Why are you home so early?” she yelled.

  Fuck! He was so close! He stroked his dick harder and faster, trying to hurry up and finish.

  “Clarence! I know you’re in there! Answer me!”

  “I am, mom, just hang on.”

  “What are you doing in there? And what’s that noise? You watching some porno?”

  “No mom! I told you hang on!”

  “Answer my question! Why are you home so early?” she yelled again.

  By now, his hard on had sagged into a limp piece of flesh. He tucked it back into his pants, turned off the TV, and opened the door.

  “What is the problem?” he asked. “I’m really busy.”

  “With what? Why are you wearing Army clothes?” she asked looking him up and down. “Are you doing paintball again? Is that where you were this morning? I thought you quit that after you got that bad rash?”

  “No mom, I wasn’t doing paintball. I’m wearing this for some movie stuff I had to do earlier.”

  “What about a job? You weren’t looking for jobs?”

  “I was going to, but I just got busy.”

  She threw her arms up in the air as she rolled her eyes.

  “My God Clarence.” She looked in his room just over his shoulder. “Where did that TV come from?”

  “Someone gave it to me?”

  “Gave it to you? Who would just give you a forty-two inch TV? Did that girlfriend of yours buy it for you?”

  “Yeah she did. As a present, ok?”

  “Is there anyone you don’t mooch off of? You’re a grown man.”

  “Look, this is just for now. I’m this close to getting our budget for the film.”

  “From who?” she asked.

  “From the investors.”

  “What investors? You can’t even make a home movie. Who is going to give you millions of dollars to make some zombie movie?”

  “I can’t tell you who, but soon, real soon.”

  “You’ve been saying that for years now.”

  “I know, but it’s true. I’m getting so close. Once I get the money, I’ll buy you your own house. Free and clear. You can stop working as a greeter and enjoy life.”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it.” She turned and walked away. “You need to grow up Clarence. You’re not fifteen anymore. Time to be a man!”

  “I know mom! You’ll see!” he called to her as she turned the corner. Clarence stepped back into his room and closed the door. He changed out of his fatigues and into jeans and a t-shirt. It was barely one and he’d felt like he’d put in a full day already. Once he was dressed he looked out in the hall to see if his mom was still there. She was in the other room watching TV.

  Carefully he crept down the hall. His mom was in the kitchen getting something out of the refrigerator. He slipped by and quietly opened the door and tiptoed outside. He felt weird sneaking out like that, but didn’t want to answer more questions from his mother. It had been a busy day and he was headed to Juggernauts for some hot wings and to stare at some boobs. He wasn’t sure who came up with the idea of bikini clad waitresses, but he wanted to shake their hand.

  As he drove, he thought of when or what they should start filming next. He still needed to call Chloe and straighten things out. Maybe he’ll have Lisa do it. Lisa wouldn’t believe her if Chloe mentioned him taking his dick out. She trusted him fully. That was a good idea. He’d call Lisa later and have her meet with Chloe and sort this out.

  He had some other ideas for the next time they filmed. At some point he will have to actually write a script. He’d started one, but screenwriting is hard. Oh well, for now things were moving along. Maybe it was time to do another casting call since a few of the cast had quit already. People have no patience these days.

  Chapter 10

  Chloe couldn’t figure out why she was in the coffee shop. Lisa had called her, begging to meet with her. She wanted to tell her what Lisa’s so called boyfriend had been up to, but Lisa told her to wait until they were in person. So for some reason she agreed to it. Lisa said to meet there at three and it was almost four. She had texted her a half hour ago and Lisa said “Almost there.” So she had no idea what that was about.

  Just as she started to get up and leave, Lisa came through the door smiling.

  “Hey Chloe! I’m so sorry I’m late!” Lisa hugged her and sat down. She’d always been nice to Chloe, but after the shoot earlier, she had to know what was going on.

  “So Clarence said you were upset after the shoot this morning. I understand it was your first kissing scene. So it’s natural to be a little nervous,” Lisa began.

  “Kissing scene? Did he tell you what happened?”

  “Yeah. He said you did a few takes kissing and you freaked out and ran off.”

  Chloe put her hand on her forehead.

  “Oh my God. Are you serious? That’s what he said?”

  “Yes. Isn’t that what happened?”

  “No! He took my clothes off! He told me it had been changed to a love scene and that my pay would double over it. So we were going at it; he made me take all of my clothes off. Then he takes his dick out.”

  Lisa looked at her as if she were speaking Arabic.

  “Did you hear me? He tried to put his dick inside me. That wasn’t part of the scene.”

  “I don’t believe you,” Lisa said.

  “What do you mean you don’t believe me?”

  “Why would he take his dick out? On camera of all things? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard.”

  “It’s not ridiculous. It happened. It’s on the footage. Go look for yourself.”

  “I don’t need to Chloe. I had no idea you were one of those kinds of women.”

  Chloe crossed her arms, trying to keep from coming across the table.

  “One of what kind of women?”

  “Clarence is a handsome, talented, and powerful filmmaker. You’re a young and attractive actress. So it’s natural you’d be attracted to him. I’m not sure what all this is you’re talking about. It sounds to me like you got upset that you were doing the kissing scene and he was only acting while you wanted more.”

  “Are you out of your fucking mind? That guy could be my dad. He’s not handsome at all.”

  “Look. Clarence likes you and believes in you. He’d like you to stay
on.”

  “You all haven’t even paid me yet.”

  “I know but we will. Since you are the lead actress, I’m going to tell you this in confidence, do not tell anyone else this on the cast,” Lisa said.

  “Tell them what?”

  “He spoke to the investors this morning after the shoot. A new one just jumped on board. So our budget is now $20 million. Which means your pay for the lead will be $200,000.”

  Chloe looked at her for a minute to see if she was kidding.

  “$200,000? Are you kidding me? This has to be bullshit.”

  “It’s not Chloe. Everything about Clarence and this production is the real deal.”

  “So are we still getting checks next month?” Chloe asked.

  “With the new investor there is a slight delay. So we are looking at checks in about six weeks.”

  Chloe shook her head as she sighed.

  “God, you’re serious? I’ve been on this production four, almost four months now. Nude scenes, which you say didn’t happen and then there’s all the meetings and these workshops.”

  “We just need you all to be patient ok? You’ve never been in a big production before,;these things take time.”

  “I know, but you guys keep making us do this stuff with no contract or checks.”

  “Yes, it’s all part of the sacrifice. Clarence has given up more than any of us. He had a good paying job for years. Instead of staying there for the money, he quit so he could focus on bringing this dream to life. Clarence has been at this for years. So you can wait a few more weeks for the payoff and opportunity of a lifetime.”

  Chloe sat and thought about it. After the shoot earlier, she had gone home and cried her eyes out. She didn’t tell anyone about what had happened. Partly because of the supposed confidentiality agreement, but also out of embarrassment. If he uses any of that footage, the world will see her naked body. That part didn’t sink in until later. Either way, this was a huge decision. As wrong as things felt, $200,000 was a lot of money. It wouldn’t hurt to stay on board a few weeks longer. If nothing happened, then she’d just quit.

  “All right,” Chloe said. “I’ll stay. No more kissing or nude scenes until I get paid.”

  “Fair enough,” Lisa said. “Clarence will be so happy you stayed. He sees a lot of potential in you. I do too. You’re perfect for this role.”

  “Have you read the script or anything about my character?”

  “Well, no. But Clarence has told me all about it. This is going to be great. This movie will be epic. Oh, I’ll even tell you one more thing, but keep this quiet.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Robert Rodriguez saw part of the script. Clarence knows him from working with him on something before. Anyway, Robert loved it! He wanted to buy it from Clarence and make it himself. Clarence turned it down though. He also turned down a huge offer from Lionsgate. So yeah, this is a big, big deal.”

  “Wow. I had no idea,” Chloe said, not sure what to think. These were all heavy hitters.

  “I know; it’s amazing. Once again, that stays between us. I have to run. I’m so happy you stayed though.” Lisa walked around the table and hugged Chloe again. “Talk to you soon. You made the right decision.”

  “Thanks,” Chloe said. “I sure hope so.”

  Chapter 11

  Ten months after auditions

  Clarence stood behind Brody watching the makeup artists apply zombie makeup. His water bottle long empty; he longed for a drink. Today was another shoot, the first one since the “love scene” with Chloe several months ago. Sure there had been some delays, but those happen in a production like this. The location was an empty field behind a closed down factory. The Texas heat was relentless. They said mid-nineties on the forecast, but he had no doubt it was triple digits.

  Makeup had been taking much longer than he had planned. They had started makeup at 5:00 a.m. It was just past noon and they were still doing makeup. Lisa was a total perfectionist, so she’d double check everyone’s zombie makeup and touch it up as needed. The only problem was in the heat the makeup would end up melting off and have to be reapplied.

  It was an endless cycle they’d been at for almost seven hours and everyone was getting frustrated, mostly the cast. The makeup artists were getting tired of reapplying shit over and over. One of them came up to Clarence after a while.

  “I have to leave,” she said. “My mom has to work and she has my son.”

  “Ok, that’s no problem. Thank you for coming out.”

  She stood looking at him.

  “Was there something else?” he asked.

  “Yeah, um. Were you going to pay me today or...”

  “Oh right. Yeah I don’t have the money today. I’ll send you a check.”

  “Do you know when?”

  “Soon.”

  “Like how soon?” she asked.

  “Real soon. Don’t worry. I got this.”

  “I’m sure you do, but I spent a lot on gas coming out here. Then I brought my own supplies and there’s the heat for seven hours.”

  “Hey, I said I got this ok? Trust me. Don’t be so selfish. You see what’s happening around you?” He pointed at the actors wearing thrown together military garb and holding airsoft weapons and the dozen or so “zombies” standing around fanning themselves or searching for more water. “We’re making history here. And you get to be a part of it.”

  “Yeah. Just make sure I get my money by the end of the week,” she said as she walked off. He shook his head as she went. It would seem very few people in this world had any sense of vision. They didn’t want to be great or legendary. They just wanted their money right now. It was that kind of greed and selfishness that was killing the film industry.

  “Ok!” he called out. “Let’s get started everyone! Listen to Brody here. He’ll tell you where to go and get into position.”

  The zombies and Marines milled about as Brody showed everyone where to stand and explained the scene. The “camera man” stood by holding a smart phone he would use for filming. They couldn’t afford a real camera just yet. Another actor, Carl Carlisle who was playing the character Uncle Buck, roamed around. Carl looked like a Sons of Anarchy reject with his leather vest, coon skin cap, and a long, gray, beard that hung past his chest. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail making it hard to tell where the coon skin cap ended and his head began.

  “What in the hell is goin’ on around here? These punks is movin’ too slow! Get a move on!” Carl hollered. He didn’t always talk like that, but he fancied himself a method actor. For the past few months leading up to filming this scene, he walked around dressed as and acting like Uncle Buck. He said that had been the secret to his successful film career. Even though his only film credits were as an old man warning kids of a cursed campground in “Nazi Biker Strippers from Hell.” That was his only speaking role. He was an extra in some action film the past summer. If you pause it about halfway through you can see the back of his head in the background.

  Regardless, Carl had decided he was the most seasoned actor on the cast, which wasn’t far from the truth. So he took it upon himself to take up the mantle as Uncle Buck and use it to whip the cast into shape.

  “All right everyone. Are we ready?” Brody called out. Clarence picked up his airsoft rifle and ran over to join the rest of the fake Marines. “Action!”

  The Marines walked through the field as zombies approached. Uncle Buck started shooting with his pistol, though it only made a clicking sound. They were going to have to add in little things like sound effects, muzzle flashes, and blood splatters later. Some of the zombies fell as they ran through. They did several takes. On the last one, the zombies were falling much quicker. A few of them really looked good with their heads bouncing off the ground. It wasn’t the soft fall like they’d practiced.

  “Cut!” Brody called. “Thank you everyone. That’s a wrap for today!”

  The Marines gathered their things together as the camera guy watched the fo
otage play back on the phone. He handed it back to Clarence as Brody pointed at the zombies lying on the ground. Five of them never got back up after the shot.

  “Are they ok?” Brody asked.

  “I’m sure they’re fine,” Clarence said. He had no idea, but he also had no insurance.

  “They don’t look fine,” Brody said as he walked over to them and knelt down. The other actors had already cleared out. “Jesus! Clarence! They’re dead!”

  “What?” Clarence ran over to them.

  “They’re dead! Look!”

  All of the zombie actors’ mouths were hanging open and their heads were turned to the side.

  “What happened? They just fell over dead?” Clarence asked.

  “Fuck. Probably heat stroke. I told you it was too hot. We ran out of water hours ago. We should have gotten more or just quit for the day,” Brody said.

  “We needed to get these shots. You know, the show must go on.”

  “Shit,” Brody took out his phone and began dialing.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Calling 9-1-1.”

  “No you’re not,” Clarence said and took the phone away.”

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “We have no insurance. You’re the assistant director and you were the one running the shots. So all of this will come back on you.”

  “No, no, no. I told you hours ago it was too hot and we were out of water.”

  “Yeah? Tell that to the cops. Or better yet, their families’ lawyers. No, we can’t call the cops.”

  “So what do you suggest?”

  “Well. May as well make it work for us. Go and get the Marines back here and the zombies. We’ll do a couple more shots.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it or you’re fired and I will call the cops on you.”

  Brody turned and walked down the trail. Once he was out of sight, Clarence pulled out a pocket knife and thrust it into the stomach of a female actress. Blood oozed out as he sliced from the stomach to sternum and pulled the flesh apart. He reached inside and pulled out a handful of intestines and strung them out across the ground.

  He moved to the next body and cut each open in the same way. With one of them, he cut the heart out and sat it next to the body. This would make such an amazing shot. And the beauty of it is no money was needed for special effects. It would be badass. When he got to the last body, he saw it was an older man. He thrust the knife in, but this time the man screamed and sat up. Clarence jumped back and screamed himself.