by Zombie Cliche Lookout: This Doesn’t Look Good
The zombie apocalypse – especially near the beginning – is going to be a loud, crazy time. We won’t find much in the way of quiet or solace, and when we do, it’s going to be a little unsettling. Things are going to seem much too quiet, as though the calm is nothing but a prelude to some unimaginable horror that awaits us in just a moment.
And when we’re trying to find a missing member of our party, complete silence is generally not going to be a good sign. Odds are they’re dead, or they’ve just had a complete mental breakdown. Either way, it’s not an ideal situation.
About this Episode:
We’ve had a lot of action in the last couple of episodes, so I wanted to take a little breather this time. Just a bit of calm before Clark and Barb step inside to find Ted, see what the prisoners did, and hide from the zombies outside. It’s nice to take a break every now and then.
Also, I hope everyone likes the way our characters are now packing heat.
Discussion Question: What Do You Call a Group of Zombies?
So here I go again, stealing another question from the comments. I thought this was a fun one, so I held off on responding on it so that I could use it for today’s discussion question: what do you call a group of zombies? A herd, a pack? A murder was a popular suggestion.
I don’t like “herd” because that sounds like a grouping of herbivores. A pack sounds much more on the mark.
For my taste, I like the term “horde”. A horde of zombies sounds appropriate. I’ve also heard people refer to it as a “shamble” before, which sounds kind of cool to me.
So what do you think? How do we refer to a group of zombies?
i like the term (swarm)
Good call; swarm is a great one too. I think it mostly applies to very large groups.
Lol swarm sounds too StarCraftish to me 😛
ive just uploaded some zombie vigenettes on flickr fresh from the camera
Swarm sounds good! One triggers there’s something to attacka nd they all go at it but there’s no organization or alpha Zombies as in a pack
i wonder if ted found his family?
Perhaps we’ll find out soon.
I like horde too. And I have no problem with our heroes packing heat, though as usual, I hope they know how to use their new toys.
People assuming they know how to use guns, but not actually knowing, is a trope I haven’t gotten to explore yet.
I often wonder just how well I would do personally if I was thrust into such a situation. I like to think I’d be able to handle myself OK, since I have shot a couple of times. I know enough to switch them to semi-auto to make them easier to handle, and I know what a charging handle is for. Given a minute or two I could probably find the magazine release too!
A decay of zombies?
Oh, I like it!
So here’s my dictionary:
Pack: Group of two to five zombies, try to sneak by or go loud if you really feel like it.
Swarm: A group of over 8 zombies that are storming for our current position.
Horde: 15+ zeds converging on your position, unless you have a nice amount of ammunition and space, go for it. Otherwise RUN FORREST, RUN!
Also, I share a common sentiment for herd, it’s not like a bunch of cows want to eat us alive.
I like the idea of different terms depending on scale of the group, but I’d swap “horde”and “swarm”. Swarm just seems bigger to me.
Brilliant!! Names for Different sized groups, Cuts down reaction time for Humans. “Hey, there is a Swam of Zed around the corner” Saves the question of how many are there off in those panic type situations.
Herd is a good word of description but Horde is my favorite, it even sounds creepy.
A group of zombies? We’ll call ’em a Bowl of Dumplins… So when your scouts yell
“BOWL OF DUMPLINS ON THE HILL!” everyone can have a heart chuckle.
“Heart chuckle”? Is that like some kind of hear palpitation?
Hah
Mmm… dumplings.
Call loose zombie ( 1 or 2 stragglers) Skittles?
Yeah, I meant to say Hearty.. Stragglers are Skittles (unless copy right issues in the zombie apocalypse, don’t want to get attacked by Zombie Lawyers who will be known as Chocolate Bars).
Mmm Chocolate side bar ….
i beleive the proper term for a group of zombies is a “lurch”
I like this one too. There are some awesome ideas here.
I’ve always preferred horde myself, but that’s probably due to hearing it the most.
It does seem to be the most common term.
I use horde, too.
Further proof.
me three.
1. A shrewdness of apes 12. An exaltation of larks
2. A battery of barracudas 13. A troop of monkeys
3. A kaleidoscope of butterflies 14. A parliament of owls
4. A quiver of cobras 15. An ostentation of peacocks
5. A murder of crows 16. A rookery of penguins
6. A convocation of eagles 17. A prickle of porcupines
7. A charm of finches 18. An unkindness of ravens
8. A skulk of foxes 19. A shiver of sharks
9. A troubling of goldfish 20. A pod of whales
10. A smack of jellyfish 21. A descent of woodpeckers
11. A mob of kangaroos 22. A zeal of zebras
The poor goldfish never get a break. Bad enough they have a 2 second memory now they are troubled. LOL Nice post, who knew!
The quiet would be disconcerting, yeah. One might think the cons would have taken care of any zombies in there, but it never pays to assume. CQB is a highly specialised mission too, I wonder how our pair of rookies here will cope with clearing the place?