How my DeviantDead would have ended

I was talking to a friend on Skype about how I had been thinking about DeviantDead recently and it occured to me no one really knows how I planned to end the whole thing. Everytime I tried to go back and wrap things up, I always stopped because the whole thing frusterated me. The reason I had to stop was that it felt completely out of control and it would've been incredibly long, filled mostly with stuff I wasn't even interested in. There were so many plot threads to resolve, most of which I didn't even want to begin. Here are some of the bare bones of the plans I had, whittled down to the character threads and their conclusions, which was mostly the point of that comic anyway.

Zombies - I was originally going to have a side comic that explained what the zombies were and how the infection started, but never got around to it, even though I wrote the script. Really the whole point of it was that it was a bad reaction to a virus that was on a fallen meteor, so in the end, it really was "aliens".

Michael and Sara - The young guy Brian was with and the policewoman that showed up were trying to get Brian out of town. Sara was looking for her son and husband, Kaleb and Raul from the first round. She had convinced her friends to give her a vehicle and keep part of the barricade open for her to escape once she found them. She found Mike instead and even though it was a bit beyond his nature, he decided to tell Brian about the opportunity. He and Brian had been "living together" for about 2 weeks at this point, and Brian had basically completely deteriorated. He still had trouble sleeping and was haunted by the rejection of his family, as well as his own failures. Mike had begun to give up on Brian as an act of self preservation, but felt indebted to him since he 'saved his life', as well as the fact that Mike was always taught to respect his father growing up. Brian finally says he will join them, but does not want to be seen like he is by a lady (you may remember he also cleaned himself up for Izzy in round 2). So he goes into the bathroom to shave and cut his hair, take a shower etc, but has an identity crisis instead. He doesn't end up going with them (more on that in his part) and Mike and Sara get out of town safely. Mike convinces Sara to accept that she will not find Kaleb and Raul, and that she was his only hope for survival, so her motherly instinct kicks in and him drive away as the explosion hits the city.

Brian - When Brian is in the bathroom, he is confronted with his image in the mirror. He sees how much he has changed and contemplates whether this situation had changed him or brought out his true colors. He wallows in the fact that he has failed both his sons, and obsesses about his short-comings. He has Major Depressive Disorder, which has been long untreated. This is exacerbated by sleepless night and physical strain, and well as emotional trauma from seeing his son die. Earlier he had murdered the two girls Mike was with in order to feed them to Joshua (it would've been a great scene-- never got to draw it :C ) but then one of them was still alive and began to attack Joshua. In a panic at seeing his son physically attacked, Brian began brutally bludgeoning the woman, and as he got close, Joshua tried to attack him as well. In self defense, Brian struck Joshua and then ran away with Mike. When he found the new home with Mike, he lamented that Joshua was dead and realized he couldn't go back to him anymore, and that it was pointless to hold onto him. He hallucinates that he's telling this to Charlie, which was not a larger point rather than to show he was losing his grip on reality. (Sleeplessness will indeed make you hallucinate).

So as Brian is looking at the mirror, he feels hopeless, and he doesn't see any future for himself. His marriage is in rocky waters, his youngest (and most loved) is dead, and Charlie hates him, and could also be dead as far as he knows. He fantasizes about nothingness, about all the hatred for himself, and all the pain and failure just disappearing and not having to feel anything. He looks closely at the razor he was going to use to shave and is encouraged by his inner monologue to kill himself and let it all go, which characterized by the young blonde girl Jestin (which if you were wondering why he's grasped on the Jestin of all the people he's killed, Brian obviously has a thing for pretty girls. Sadly, his hallucinating of Jestin is somewhat perverted). So Brian begins to slit his throat, but becomes scared and stops. He doesn't have the courage to kill himself that way, and is scared of dying, even though he wants his pain to end so badly. He tries a few times to cut himself in a way that would be deadly, but his cowardice gets in the way, to the point where he is covered in blood and crying hysterically. He becomes faint from the blood loss (it is too much, but combined with other things it is taxing) and falls to the floor, sobbing into his own blood and hating how pathetic he is. He waits there for a few hours, sitting quietly and feeling empty. By this time Mike and Sara were long gone. With a newfound calm, he finds a rope and hangs himself without saying or thinking another thought.

Charlie and Aaron part 1 - When they get to the military base, they are checked for bites again. Since they have none, there's no problem. They are asked to sign in by giving their names, whereafter they'll be given a designated spot in the barracks to rest. They are assured that the base will not be in the blast zone and everyone there will be safe. After signing, Aaron asks is a Kaylee Woodward had signed in, to which the answer is no. Aaron is disheartened, but seems to have expected as much. Charlie asks if there were any children that came in that didn't know or say their name, to which the answer is yes. Aaron is given the name of who was taking care of the girl and he runs off ahead. When Charlie is asked to sign, he writes 'Allan Woodward'. The implication is that he wants his mother to think he died in the city, and to start a new life living with Aaron as a brother or somesuch (obviously he didn't ask permission yet, wow). Aaron goes to where he was told, where he find Simon and Saby. Saby had found and been taking care of Kaylee. When Aaron sees he he is speechless and his eyes fill with tears. When Kaylee sees him, her face lights up in surprise and she says, "Aaron!". Aaron loses his shit and hugs the hell out of Kaylee, bawling like a baby.

After a while, Charlie catches up and keeps his distance. He is obviously a bit uncomfortable while Aaron is in his element. He's smiling, at ease, and making friendly conversation with Simon and Saby. Charlie broods, much like when Aaron was talking with Ned and folk. Charlie is a bit awkward when people aren't paying attention to him. He can't straight forwardly say it, but can't simply enter a conversation or interact with strangers in a casual way. In reality he's very insecure and can only hold his own in a conversation if its 1-on-1 and feels a bit ridiculous in a group. At the same time, he has enough tact in this case not to go off the handle again. He tries to be obvious as he sulks outside to be on his own. Aaron notices and is a bit saddened and starts talking about Charlie. He says that he recognizes that Charlie has a lot of emotional issue, and realizes that while generally selfish, he had actually been helping Aaron out a lot, and hadn't even talked about himself or his troubles at all. He's about to go out and talk to Charlie, but Simon decides he shouldn't, and goes out instead.

Simon lights up a cigarette outside where Charlie is sulking and Charlie asks for one. The two banter to each other sarcastically, eventually making Charlie smile. He thinks Simon is a loser, but he genuinely missed being talked to on the same level. Brian always talked to him like he was a child, and Aaron had always been in emotional distress. Charlie starts to feel a little better about returning to normalcy, and begins to feel a great comfort in leaving his family behind and starting a new life. He feels that his struggle to make it through the disaster earned him a new start, and felt little to no remorse for what he had done to achieve it. His family was not the worst, but they made him feel little, stupid, and helpless. He has already grieved for Joshua, and tried to distance himself emotionally from the rest.

Birdie - Meanwhile on patrol at the main gate, Birdie kills a few guards that overlook the entrance. He mutters something about things being too simple and easy, and destroys the main gates, making it impossible to close them and keep the zombies out. He sabotages some of the trucks to the best of his ability and watches from afar to see what becomes of his actions. It is unknown what becomes of him, but most likely he dies in the ensuing explosion, since he would prefer to watch the events unfold rather than ensure his own safety.

Aaron and Charlie part 2 - While Simon and Charlie are out, Aaron bonds with Saby, thanking her eternally for finding and helping Kaylee. They talk a bit about Kaylee, and Aaron mentions how Charlie helped him. He mentions that he would also be interested in continuing to be with Charlie, even though there was a lot about him that disgusted Aaron (disregard for human life, pompous attitude etc). Saby encourages Aaron, and through their conversation it's implied that Charlie has feelings for Aaron, who isn't sure what to make of that, but isn't bothered by it either.

A loud alarm begins to blare and an announcement talks about the gates and suggests everyone lock themselves inside the barracks, since there is a horde coming and the army that is left there can not hold them back with what they have. Charlie and Simon return and Charlie sternly suggests that they all have to leave immediately, since it is obvious that the base will become a target of the bomb now that it has been compromised. They are panicked, but agree. When they leave the barrack they see that basically everyone had the same idea and there is general pandemonium. People are everywhere, soldiers are trying to direct them back to the barracks and the vans are being swarmed. More panic sets in as a few zombies are seen within the crowd and shots are fired. People are running everywhere and it is difficult to tell where any zombies may be, and other are being trampled and no one knows what to do.

Just as hopelessness is really starting to set in, Charlie grabs Aaron by the hand and leads him (as the others follow) towards where shots are being fired. Aaron contests, but as they get there they see that Luis is there and has just killed someone. The person appears to have not been infected. Aaron tries to talk him down, but Luis is in a panic and a bit hysterical. As the argument culminates, Luis desperately points his hangun to his head (Luis is not an army man, but a member of homeland security, he was not able to cope with taking an innocent life. He is an sympathetic person and took it very hard). Before he an shoot himself, Charlie grabs the gun's nozzle and shoves it away, making the shot fire into the sky. Charlie's hand is burned from the contact, but he shakes it off and demands that Luis tell them where to find a car or a bunker. Luis knows of a bunker, and begins to lead them to it.

On the way, they are constantly being shoved and see glimpses of zombies dispersed amoungst the crowd. Saby screams as she and Kaylee and pulled undertow by the crowd, and they are quickly retrieved by the group. It turns out Saby was grabbed by a zombie when she was pulled under, and reveals that she was also bitten. Without much discussion, Simon tells the others to go ahead. Aaron is distraught and doesn't want to leave them, but Charlie pulls him back, for once looking a bit sympathetic, but still stern. Once Aaron is convinced to go, Luis takes Charlie, Aaron and Kaylee to the bunker which is on the outside of the base where there is less people.

Simon and Saby - Simon takes Saby to the nearest barrack where there are a few other people who obviously did not want to be a part of the outside panic, who have a look of defeat on their face as they wait to die. Simon lays Saby down on one of the beds and sits next to her. She assures him that she wouldn't be mad if he went on without her, and Simon assures her there is no reason to, and lies down beside her in embrace as they wait for the end.

Charlie and Aaron part 3 - Luis shows them the bunker. He gives them his gun "just in case" and says he is going to go back for more people as he runs off. Charlie and Aaron sit down in the bunker nervously as they wait for what will happen next. Not much noise can be heard form outside, so it is eerily quiet. Neither can think of anything to say, so Aaron thinks about Charlie's insecurities and holds his hand while they wait for Luis to return. He knows Charlie will be uncomfortable with other people around, so he wants to show him that he will be there to pay attention to him. This works, and Charlie gets less tense.

Outside you see that Luis tries to round up other children and their parents, but is overcome by zombies, and he and the children are eaten alive.

Inside the bunker Kaylee is fiddling with her hair and making noises of discomfort. Aaron goes over to check on her and Charlie becomes suspicious. When Aaron asks what's wrong, Kaylee reveals that she was bitten on the neck when she and Saby were pulled under. Aaron has a mixed reaction of intense fear and panic, and Charlie comes over and points Luis' handgun at Kaylee's head. Aaron begin to shout in confusion, but it interrupted as Charlie shoots Kaylee. Aaron is covered in Kaylee's blood and completely blank, he says and does nothing. Charlie begins to explain that Kaylee was already dead, and that he's sorry, but she would have killed them. He begins to talk about how Joshua was also bitten and he understands how Aaron feels. Aaron looks over at Charlie in disbelief, saying nothing. Charlie continues to explain himself, but is grabbed by the throat as Aaron attacks him. Full of unbridled, blinding rage, Aaron is overcome with emotion and hatred, and violently strangles Charlie to the ground. Charlie cries uncontrollably and begs for his life over and over again, grabbing at Aaron's arms and face to try to make him stop. Aaron is silent and unstoppable and grips harder and harder until Charlie dies.

As Charlie goes limp in death, Aaron realizes the consequences of his actions and realizes just how terribly alone he is. Jestin, Taylor, Saby, Kaylee and Charlie are all dead and his heart fills with cold dread as it occurs to him that everyone he loves is gone. He feels hollow and soulless, unable to grasp the concept of how alone he is, and how he'll never get to be with Kaylee ever again. He lies down on the cold ground,resting his head on Charlie's chest and gives up completely. The bombs fall, killing everyone in the city and Aaron stays put until he dies of exhaustion and hunger.