They Hunger
A Survivors Tale

Many thanks to the following inspirations:
Neil Manke (for his amazing mod)
Magnus Jansen (for his amazing sound effects)
Kenneth Jackson (for helping me develop my story skillz)
Half-Life Novels/James Journals/They Hunger Novels (for showing what a creative story can be)
Valve (for giving me the game of my dreams, Half-Life)
PC Gamer (for supporting Neil and the rest of the gaming community)

The following is a creative take on the world of They Hunger. It is not accurate
to the They Hunger story. The following is written from a 3rd pearson view of Jack Cooper,
a resident of the town of Rivendale, the town They Hunger takes
place in. Jack is seen once in the game, he is the poor chap hiding in the outhouse.

Here is his tale...

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Prologue

Jack Cooper. He is an average, middle-age resident in the town of Rivendale, a calm, quiet
country town that sits nearly 40 miles from the nearest city. Jack lives in an old wooden cottage
back deep within the forest, and makes his life as a woodcutter. He lives by himself, and only
goes to town twice a week for supplies. Occationally villiagers, officers, and once-in-a-while
Sherrif Chester Rockwood would stop in asking about John Doe or how things was going. On this
piticular afternoon, Jack had just gotten back from town, having bought himself a shiny new
Sniper Rifle. See, Jack loves hunting, and so when he wasn't selling wood, he was huntin'. He
went out into the forrest after he got back to hunt some bear or wolf. That brings you to now...

Chapter 1:
Evening

Crunch, Crunch. Jacks boots crunched along through the forrest. "Man, today must not be my day,
I haven't seen a creature yet. What time is it? Man, 6:30, I got to get back home before Einar gets
there, I got good wood to sell him." Crunch, Crunch. "Man, it's getting dark, thank God for the moon.
Crunch, Crunch, Rustle. " What was that? Aw, probably just a squirril or somethin'." Crunch, Crunch.
"Man, the wind is picking up. Why is it getting so dark all of a sudden, I don't remember a cloudy night
on the raido weather report..." Crunch, Crunch.

"Awe nuts, my flashlights going dead, and I left my replacement batteries at the cottage."

Crunch,Crunch.

Howwwwwwlllll. The goosebumbs on Jacks skin began to crawl. Whoo-hoo. Although he was a native
of these parts, something about that night felt.....odd. Crunch, Crunch. "Man, something is definatly
not right here.......the house is only a couple more yards, Jack, keep going........kee-p going..............
kee--" snap "what the heck was that?????" Crunch, Crunch, Crunch, Crunch----Jack was running now toward
the direction of his cabin...he entered the tunnel that lead to it.Plop-Plop. Soft, moist, puddle-ridden
ground. Plop-Plop. All-around him the sound of water running and wind whistling....kerplunk,kerplunk.
ooooOOoooo.Plop-Plop-Plop, he was running full sprint now. He saw the mouth of the cave ahead, and
beyond that--his cabin. Plop-Plop-Plop. HUH-huh *gasp* HUH-huh. When suddenly a voice like none jack
had ever heard before eurupted from the caves mouth--

"FRESH MEAT!!!"

And it came.Shuffle,Shuffle, it black sillouiette alone had Jack frozen in place. And, in a fleeting instant,
raised his sniper rifle and blasted. The creature fell on impact, uttering cries of anguish and pain and brains.
Caw-caw. A Crow in the distance. Cricket, Cricket. Jack was shaking like mad now, as he flipped on his light.
There the beast lay, it's stomach half open, it's head mangled and twisted...........then Jack realized that the face
belonged to Mr. Caryle. "Good God!" Jack whispered, fear and dread enveloping him, pulsing in his blood,
his body, his brain. Whoo-hoo.The Owl woke Jack out of his nightmarish shock. "Must-get-home!"Plop.Plop.
Inching forward. Kerplunk, kerplunk. ooooOOoooo. Plop. Plop. Plo-------

"where are you...."

the eriee voice rang though the cave. Jack froze, in sweaty palms he held his sniper rifle........
Plop. Plop.Plop. ooooOOooooo. Plop.Plop.Plop. "Shoot, there went my flashlight".Dark. Alone in the Dark.
Plop,   Plop,   Plop,   Pl---

"found you"

at that instant a small being flew out of a dark niche in the cave wall upon Jack. He felt something like daggers or
claws sinking into his back and neck. Small fangs entered at the base of his neck......

"yuummmmm"

Jack spun and flung the being off of him. He caught sight of it's movement on the floor. He raised the butt of
his gun above his head----SMASH!!!! Gibs everywhere. Jack took no more time.......he bolted to the caves mouth.
Plop-Plop-Plop. Peeked outside.Plop-Plop-Skiiiddd. Nothing, but trees and bushes.

He made a mad dash for his house.He reached the front door. He placed his hand on the knob but it slid off.
Blood.

"HUUNNNGGER"

As the door swung open, another creature--a zombie--was hunched over on the dusty floor of the cabin.His
hands--claws--were busying themselves on something..........SMACK!! The Gun's base came down at
alarming speeds onto the creatures head. It raised itself.

"FFFOOODDD!!"

SMACK!! The Gun came down again, sending the creature to the floor. Quickly Jack turned and shut the door.
Whooooosh!! A sigh of relief eurupted from his eusophogus. He turned and moved toward the thing the zombie
had so intently been busy with. Clomp-Clomp.                 Einar.                 Having come for his wood, the
creature found him first. "Good God!" Half of Einar's belly was missing, and the cabin's floor was blood drenched.
"His brain has been removed." Jack quietly pushed the body out the door.

"What the %$#@ is going on??? I had better check the radio."

Click.

Music.

""We intterupt this program to bring you a special news bulletin. Several reports of stange happenings in the
local country side have been recieved here at the radio station. Sherriff Chester Rockwood insists that such reports
are just hersay and rumors. likely spread by his rivals in an attempt to undermine his position in the upcoming
election. Rumors or not, some of these reports are very disturbing, and until they can be dismissed, we are advising
people to be cautious and stay indoors. We now return you to our regular broadcasting."

Music.

"Well, at least I'm indoors.........." thought Jack.

"Why do we Hunger....."

to be continued

Chapter 2: Night