A rabbit was the first to go. Enraptured by the sight of the tiny purple meteorite, which had just crashed into its enclosure, the bunny took a bite. It wasn’t long before the once adorable critter transformed into a fanged, gummy-like zombie. And with one bite with those sharp teeth, other animals at Colepepper Zoo transformed, too.

The chicks and sheep went next.

Down went the goats.

Then, they came for the monkeys.

Pretty soon, the whole zoo was gone—save for a wolf, mountain lion, capybara, ostrich, lemur and proboscis monkey.

But the gummy zombies are coming for them, too.

The post Night of the Zoopocalypse appeared first on Plugged In.

Why?

Who knows? It’s the future. And in this future, there lives a powerful witch that seemingly everyone wants dead. But this witch, Gray Alys, lives on.

Part of her longevity is because of her magical ability to make eye contact and force anything—man, zombie or feral beast—to see what she wishes them to see. Her other saving grace is the requirement that she must grant any and every wish that someone asks of her.

“I refuse no one,” she will murmur when asked. And people always ask, even though her expression immediately conveys a bitter truth: wishes always lead to one cataclysmic disaster or another.

So, when the city’s Queen approaches with a request to gain the shapeshifting ability of a werewolf, Alys dutifully replies, “I refuse no one.”

But why would the Queen want such an ability? Who knows? And when the Queen’s captain and secret lover later asks that Alys fail in that request, Alys once again declares that she cannot refuse him.

Somehow Gray Alys is required to fulfill requests that even might oppose one another. While in a magic trance, she sees a man who will guide her to that resolution. He’s a large and gnarly gunslinger named Boyce.

This massive mercenary will lead her into the Lost Lands. They will find a werewolf there. And they must also keep one step ahead of the foul crusader-like churchmen that want Gray Alys’ skin.

Oh, and Alys isn’t aware (or is she?) that Boyce also happens to be one of the Queen’s many lovers. He might even be the sire of the child that’s newly growing in her womb.

Oh, what a twisted web this witch now clings to.

But it leads to a conclusion that Gray Alys cannot refuse. Why? Only she knows for sure.

The post In The Lost Lands appeared first on Plugged In.

He’s a hooded dude who’s been stalking loving couples on Valentine’s Day for the last few years. Then he butchers them (mid-hug, kiss or proposal) in the most brutally “romantic” ways: He might carve out their loving hearts with a machete. Or pin the lovebirds together with a razor-sharp cupid’s arrow. Or some other bloody atrocity.

That’s terrible and all. But frankly, Ally couldn’t care less.

While others are quivering on this hearts-and-flowers holiday, Ally has no fear of the killer in the least. You see, she just broke up with her ex-boyfriend. Then that louse instantly ran out and found someone else he could cuddle up with and plastered it all over his social media for crying out loud!

So, let’s just say that Ally is currently as stone-cold averse to all things lovey-dovey as she can be. If anything, she’s kinda thinking about the benefits of putting on a mask with cartoon hearts for eyes and doing a little beat-down on a few people herself.

Oh, and to top all that off, she just met this walking embodiment of a Hallmark card named Jay. He was brought in by her boss to prop up a failing advertising campaign that Ally had come up with. (Which kinda ticked Ally off, truth be told.)

Anyway, this guy just oozes “handsome” and “romantically sincere.” In fact, everything about Jay seems completely geared for some meet-cute rom-com scene. (Which makes Ally all the more angry.) And while she’s more than happy to turn her back on this gorgeous-looking lug, she has to meet him for a meal and discussions about the campaign. Argh!

But here’s the real issue.

From the outside-looking-in, the very pretty Ally and the strikingly handsome Jay make for a really adorbs couple. If you were an insane killer out scoping out a Valentine’s Day symbol to slaughter, this gorgeous couple might seem to be wearing the perfect heart-shaped bulls-eye.

Yup, I think it’s safe to say that Ally is having … a really bad Valentine’s Day!

The post Heart Eyes appeared first on Plugged In.

It’s a realtor. Despite your presence, she’s selling the place to a family of four.

Then painters come in and coat your bedroom in a new color. The family unpacks their things. They begin living there.

They don’t notice you, because you’re dead. There’s no physical part of you that they could notice.

Until the daughter, Chloe, starts to sense you nearby. Her brother, Tyler, thinks she’s finally starting to lose it—what with the recent death of her best friend and all. And the mother and father haven’t sensed you at all, either.

But you’re here. You’re watching. You’re listening.

And sooner or later, they’ll all know it.

The post Presence appeared first on Plugged In.

Well, maybe you can if you especially hate trips to the dentist. But for the most part, the disasters in our lives don’t follow much of a schedule. We do not pencil in “lose beloved Aunt Edna in fishing accident” between “parent/teacher conference” and “Take Tatiana to bowling lesson.”

But, at least, we can hope and pray that those sorts of tragedies don’t visit us too often, right?

Enter the Monkey.

Twin brothers Bill and Hal Shelburn dig the box literally out of a family closet—the closet where their mother stuffs all the gifts that their long-lost father sent home over the years. “Like life!” the box promises, which Hal figures is just a misprint. When he and Bill lift the lid off the box, they uncover what appears to be a toy monkey straddling a drum, two drumsticks in its hairy little hands.

“Turn the key and see what happens!” So the boys turn the key in the back of the Monkey.

The plush critter forms a toothy grin, raises its furry paw, a drumstick mechanically twirls in its fingers and … that’s it. Broken, the boys decide.

But that evening, when their babysitter takes the kids to a local Japanese joint, they take the Monkey with them. They leave it in the car. And as the chef flings knives and preps food tableside, the Monkey begins to drum.

Seconds later, the boys are in need of a new babysitter.

Bill and Hal suspect the Monkey had something to do with the crazy tableside disaster that befell them. It becomes an object of fear, of wonder and, perhaps, of possibility.

Even though Hal and Bill are twin brothers, Bill has always been a jerk to his three-minute-younger sibling, calling him all sorts of unprintable names and turning Hal into a target for a bevy of bullying middle school girls. Hal has long wished his brother would just, um, go away. And now, perhaps, is his chance to make it happen.

Turn the key and see what happens!

So Hal turns the key—asking the Monkey to turn his horrific talents on Bill, his brother.

But the Monkey is not interested in making Hal happy. He follows the beat of his own diabolical drum. The disaster he will dole out follows his plan, and his alone.

The post The Monkey appeared first on Plugged In.

In fact, when she and Josh first met, it was as rom-com, meet-cute adorable as possible. It was, in a sense, the right way someone like Iris might meet a guy and quickly fall in love.

Their meeting was an awkward, funny, and oh-so-sweet moment at the supermarket. A memory worth holding on to. In fact, Iris and Josh’s first accidental meeting was one of those clear-the-grey-cloud moments.

Iris has always thought that people tend to stumble through life in a sort of fog: They see the world around them but don’t really see it. And then some special happening clears that cloud. It lets the sun in, and it helps them recognize that life can be filled with hope and happiness.

Meeting Josh was the first time one of those special moments ever happened to Iris. Their relationship has been loving and supportive. They fit. They work. He makes her feel good about herself and good about the world.

Truth be told, one of the only drawbacks to their relationship is Iris’ doubts about herself. The two of them are heading up to a weekend retreat with some of Josh’s friends, for example. And Iris is feeling a bit weird about it.

Iris knows that Kat, the girlfriend of the getaway estate’s owner, doesn’t like her. Maybe it’s because Iris is kind of plain next to Kat and the others. Maybe it’s because she’s awkward or too openly sincere about things like love and devotion. She isn’t sure.

But when Kat and some of the others look at her, Iris feels self-conscious. Which in turn makes her want to cling more to Josh. And that can be a problem, too.

What Iris doesn’t know is that there are bad things being planned for that weekend. Cruel and hurtful things are about to happen. And in the process of it all, Iris is about to learn something very important about herself. She’s going to understand more about how she’s, uh, programmed, if you will.

People sometimes have those clear-the-grey-cloud moments in life. The first one for Iris was when she met Josh.

The second of those moments will be … when she kills him.

[Note: The following sections contain spoilers.]

The post Companion appeared first on Plugged In.

The retired Marine sniper has no connections, no relationships. No one will miss him if he “vanishes” for a year to monitor a secret so big that not even the president knows about it.

And what is that secret?

Well, no one really knows. But the monitoring station there is made entirely of concrete. And the cliffside is covered in suspended mines, automatic sentries and “cloakers” that prevent satellites from finding the location. And deep in the fog below, Levi can hear unworldly screeches. The soldier whom Levi is set to relieve from the duty, J.D., tells him the task: to restock the mines and ammo every day, and prevent whatever creatures make those sounds from getting out.

With that simple task explained, J.D. leaves Levi to his own devices.

Except, he’s not fully alone. Because across the gorge, there’s another tower like his own, similarly equipped with sentries, mines and a lone guardsman. And despite being told not to communicate, it’s not long before the two sentries start talking.

Her name is Drasa. She’s from Lithuania. And she, like him, is an expert killer.

Despite being separated by a gorge full of ominous fog and screeching unknowns, she makes Levi feel a little less alone in the world.

Especially when she warns him that something is crawling up his tower.

The post The Gorge appeared first on Plugged In.

So Blake Lovell tells his go-getter wife, Charlotte, when he suggests they leave the city and spend a summer in Oregon.

They’ve had a rough time of it lately. Blake, a writer, is between jobs right now—and that means he’s been a full-time dad to their daughter, Ginger. That’s been great; the two of them have never been closer.

But that also makes Charlotte, an ambitious journalist with an eye on deadlines and a hunger for the front page, a familial third wheel.

While Blake makes dinner, Charlotte’s arguing with her editor. While Blake takes Ginger out for ice cream, Charlotte runs after the latest scandal. And while that’s great for Charlotte’s career and all, Charlotte feels less like Ginger’s mom and more like a houseguest—and not an always welcome one at that. She and Blake are arguing more than ever. And if the couple keeps following this trajectory, they won’t be a couple much longer.

A trip to Oregon might be just the ticket, Blake feels, to heal these long-festering issues.

After all, he’ll need to go to Oregon anyway. His long-missing father has finally been officially declared dead by the state. Blake needs to pack up the old family house and tie up loose ends.

So he thinks, why don’t they all go? Spend some time together? After all, Charlotte can work from anywhere. Or, hey, she could even take a vacation for once. No harm getting reacquainted with your husband and daughter, right? Plus, it’s beautiful there. The views never get old.

Sure, Blake might’ve downplayed just how remote this corner of Oregon was. Internet? You’ll be lucky to have power. And he never even thinks to dredge up some less-idyllic childhood memories; ones that left his granite-tough father trembling. Ones about a monster in the woods.

Blake had long waved away such legends. Monster? Pish.

But then, as he drives a moving van carrying his small family, someone—something—appears in the headlights. The van careens off the road and tumbles through trees, precariously coming to a stop in the branches of one of them. Charlotte and Ginger scamper to relative safety. But the thing swipes at Blake before he can do the same. The attack takes less time than an eye blink—so fast that when Blake sees the blood on his arm, he assumes he must’ve suffered a cut from the glass.

Charlotte looks at the jagged wound, and she knows it’s not a simple cut. Nope, that thing took a chunk out of Blake’s arm. And who knows what sort of bacteria that creature was carrying. Rabies? Tetanus? Best get Blake to a doctor, pronto.

She’s right to be worried. Blake is infected—but not by something a doctor can treat with a shot or antibiotics.

The trip to Oregon? It’ll be good for us, Blake promised.

But that might not be a promise that Blake can keep.

The post Wolf Man appeared first on Plugged In.

He’s fine with small dinosaurs, though! Both he and Ellie have spent their whole lives in pursuit of the fossilized remains of those splendid creatures.

Cue the entrance of eccentric multimillionaire John Hammond.

The man’s been building a theme park on a Costa Rican island. It’s something a little different. A little dangerous. And he needs some specialists like Grant and Sattler to give their thumbs-up to the park and put his anxious investors’ minds to rest.

You see, the ambitious entrepreneur has built a dinosaur park. That’s right, his scientists figured out how to harvest dino DNA from prehistoric insects. And he’s filled an entire island with Brachiosaurs and Triceratops, Dilophosaurs and even a Tyrannosaurus rex.

So he wants Alan and Ellie to join him, his grandchildren and a cynical mathematician named Ian Malcolm for a weekend tour of this marvelous park. After they all see how wonderful the place is and give it their stamp of approval, the investors and lawyers and insurance people will all calm down and stop worrying.

It’s a theme park, for crying out loud! A fabulous place with all the latest technological advancements and security. They’ll see that it’s really quite a miracle too. And with their help, millions of people will share in the excitement.

After all, what could possibly go wrong on an island brimming with enormous, bloodthirsty monsters … in a Steven Spielberg film?

The post Jurassic Park appeared first on Plugged In.

For years, spirits in the Big Apple have groaned and moaned and rattled their chains relatively unrestrained. After all, they’re not setting up illegal hedge funds or mugging people in Central Park. Most ghosts just want to be left alone to haunt their favorite haunts.

But then some flunky parapsychologists set up shop in a dilapidated fire station and market themselves as spectral exterminators who’ll catch and store restless spirits. “Our courteous and efficient staff is on call to serve all your supernatural elimination needs,” one of them declares in a television commercial.

So let’s say this straight, for the ghosts’ sake: In a country proud of being a global melting pot and founded on the idea of intrinsic liberty, these Ghostbusters are rounding up innocuous spooks simply because they’re dead! And then they’re going to incarcerate them in a red metal box without so much as a trial—for all eternity or until the power goes out, whichever comes first. How is this permissible in this day and age? How is this ethical? How is it—

Um, they’re also eradicating extradimensional demons, you say?

The post Ghostbusters appeared first on Plugged In.