January 2012 marks the sixth month of my third trip to South Korea.  Thanks to all my good friends, as well as long-time and new subscribers, for your emails and comments.

Several of you have been asking for months for more pics of my adventures in South Korea, so here you go: a massive photo post.  And by massive, I mean over 100 images, and this isn’t even all the places we’ve visited, nor are these all the pics I did take when I didn’t forget to bring my camera.

Life has been so sweet for us these past six months — happiness with no worries — and things will only continue to get better down the road with so many good opportunities open to us.  Debt-free with multiple assets?  Check.  Settled into a new home in an exotic country half-way across world?  Check.  Spontaneous trips at least once a week?  Check.  Dining at various restaurants and hofs at least once a week?  Check.  Affording new hobbies like model-building and spray-painting?  Check.

I also got to celebrate my best birthday yet, 24, with my amazing husband, and we’re about to celebrate ten years together since we started dating on February 12, 2002.  Yep, we both remember the day we got together and celebrate it every year.

I’ve changed some stuff on my blog, I’m always updating my About page with new info, and I’ll start posting pics more regularly so it doesn’t take me such a long time to get everything edited and set up for posting.

So grab a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy!

☠☠☠

.:Seoul – Coex Mall:.

Weird building near the Coex Mall in Seoul

Montana: Switzerland Alpenpub near the Coex. It’s interesting to find European- and American-influenced places like this in an Eastern country. One of our favorite restaurants is a tiny German place owned by a Korean lady who studied culinary arts in Germany and opened a renowned restaurant with her German husband in Seoul called Memories, but she retired to a small restaurant in her hometown after her husband died and continues to serve authentic, amazing German food.

Courtyard outside the Coex

Fountains outside the Coex

World Trade Center next to the Coex

Looking out from the World Trade Center in Seoul

Nintendo demo stand in the Coex; there’s also a Nintendo department store in the mall

Interactive touch-screen directory

A labyrinth of walkways and light fixtures wind between department, food, and specialty stores. The Coex also features an aquarium.

Sanrio/Hello Kitty department store

I <3 the Aniland store because it has so much cute merch, including tons of Studio Ghibli items

Studio Ghibli picture frames, snow globes, stationary, and other trinkets

Night outside the Coex

Fountains and sculptures with alternating color lights outside the Coex

This is where we park when we want to go to the Coex: a drive-in movie theater with two different movies playing next to a river

☠☠☠

.:Suwon:.

Suwon Station/AK Plaza. Subway stations in larger cities are underneath malls and food courts.

Billboard fail

Manhwa and manga galore for really cheap

Police station. Most I’ve seen are about this size, and these are tiny by American standards. Military and police are conscripted, and Korea has a low crime rate — if you don’t count how many people run red lights. Driving in Korea is a nightmare, and I can see why Asians have a bad driving stereotype in America; they are even more crazy over here and I don’t think they really enforce any traffic laws. Slower traffic in the right lane on a highway? Forget it.

Graffiti we found while Geocaching

Suwon World Cup Stadium

One of the courtyards around Suwon Stadium. Many people walk, jog, bike, and skate the trail around the stadium, and there’s even exercise equipment along the trail, just like in the mountain trails of Korea. I’m not sure what that old brick wall is from.

Acting like a dumb-dumb next to one of the art pieces around Suwon Stadium

You know those cicadas that make that annoying noise in Asian movies and anime? Yeah, they’re even more annoyingly loud in real life.

Summer cicada husk

Path leading up from Suwon Stadium to a large circle walkway above traffic. Larger cities will often have crosswalks above roads to keep traffic from stopping.

Circle walkway above traffic. Most apartment buildings in Korea are big like these or even taller since there are so many people in such a small country.

Inside Suwon Stadium

Suwon Blue Wings — probably the most loved football (soccer) team in Korea

Blue Wings warm-ups

All of the Suwon fans going crazy in the “hooligan” section of the stadium (behind the goal). All that smoke came from blazing red flares held by the people who coordinate cheering in front of the hooligan section.
My first football game was such an awesome experience — lots of clapping, jumping, drumming, flag waving, beer drinking, singing (thank goodness I can read Hangul even if I don’t know what I’m sounding out) and joining Koreans in yelling “Diego!” (I don’t know why, maybe they just like his name, but it was hilarious). We definitely want to get season passes this year.

☠☠☠

.:Seoul – Hongdae:.

Welcome to Hongdae, the “college area” of Seoul where all the young Koreans and foreigners come to date, eat, drink, sing, dance, and party all night long. Underground bands also play here every night. One of these buildings is a creamery where you can make your own flavors and combinations.

If you’re looking for any sort of alternative clothing in Korea — Goth, Punk, Lolita, etc. — Hongdae is the place to go. I’ve only seen one Korean outside of Hongdae wearing cool clothes, and she told me she got all her stuff from Korean sellers online, which seem to be based in this part of Seoul. Unfortunately, one needs a Korean identification number to do pretty much anything online, and a non-citizen does not easily get one. If they’d change this law and let anyone make purchases online, Korean companies would get a lot more business.

This badass building is called “Sang Sang Ma Dang,” but we’re not entirely sure what it actually is. As far as we could tell, it’s an art studio where visitors can make and interact with exhibits.

Hongdae has graffiti hidden throughout

This place was so packed, we could hardly walk without bumping into people. Then again, Koreans don’t really care about elbowing others, especially the ajumas (“elderly women”), so watch out. This area was cool because for some reason there were a lot of high-class restaurants and cafes with white pillars, men in tuxedos, and bubbles blowing on everyone in the street.

One of the few tattoo/piecing parlors in Korea because it’s still considered taboo, especially for females, and is still somewhat associated with mafia. There also aren’t any health regs in place for parlors so go under the needle at your own risk.

One of the outdoor performances we stumbled across just walking around. Another we say was traditional folk songs and dances performed by a college club. And by folk, I don’t mean something lame like American country music, I mean like beating drums and twirling around in garb from the ancient dynasties.

The coolest cafe I’ve ever seen so far — two floors with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves.

A kickass man-sized Gundam model outside a Japanese restaurant.

☠☠☠

.:Osan Air Power Day 2011 – Strength and Friendship between the U.S. and the ROK:.
I took tons of photos and videos, so this is just a fraction of the displays and demonstrations at the event.

America’s brand new F-35

ROKs standing near a Vulcan gatling gun

Korean kids sitting under some Hawk missiles.

Inside

AWACS/JSTARS

U.S. and ROK parajumpers with their country’s flag

HH-60G Pave Hawk

The helicopter the amazing Parajumpers use; tail reads “Rescue USAF”

A ROK helicopter

Artillery far across the runways, always pointed at North Korea

A ROK helicopter with two sets of rotary blades

MH-53E; side reads “Vanguard”

Apache Longbow; note all the cameras on the front

F-16 — fast and loud as hell

ROK MPs sitting inside a helicopter

Korean kids inside a helicopter

An F-16, being replaced by the F-35, next to a six-barreled M61 Vulcan gatling gun; tail reads “51st Fighter Wing”

Sign says:
“GBU-31 JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition)
Precision guided munition
Guided by GPS
Blu-109
Weight: 2118 lbs.
Length: 148 inches
Diameter: 14.5 inches”

Koreans crowded around some artillery displays during lunchtime

The awesome A-10 (in-flight photo below), unfortunately also being replaced by the F-35

An F-16 engine — quite massive

Get ready…

… for the main attraction of the Osan Air Power Show, the ROKAF Aerobatic Team: The Black Eagles!

One of the Black Eagles drawing the symbol from the Korean flag

The A-10 taking off

The A-10 showing off all its firepower

A-10

A-10

☠☠☠

.:Buraksan Trail:.

A traditional Korean post on Buraksan Trail with mushrooms growing all over it. I think posts with faces are meant to drive away evil spirits.

We came across these pretty, solitary grave sites during part of the trail.

Exercise machines on the mountain trail. Many trails, parks, and stadium areas in Korea have exercise machines, and it’s all free to enjoy.

A small, two-story traditional wooden Korean tower. I think architecture like this is beautiful, especially when it’s in the mountains surrounded by trees.

Animal paintings on the first floor ceiling of the tower.

Nature and spirit paintings on the second floor ceiling of the tower.

☠☠☠

.:Wandering Korea:.

F1 display at Yongsan Station in Seoul

Random cute fish mouse

Houses with solar panels

Apartments with solar panels; many apartments and large stores use solar panels

Seoul Olympic Stadium

Multiple bridges stretch over the Han River into Seoul; Seoul Tower in the background

Best birthday treat ever — a Korean Baskin Robbins ice cream cake with all ice cream and no cake, with chocolate, cookies, blackberries, vanilla and strawberry ice cream cubes, and a base made out of half berry ice cream, half pop-rock ice cream! Yes, pop-rocks!

Seoul Tower near the heart of Seoul

Sculpture on the side of a traffic tunnel leaving Seoul

Many holiday lights were hung up all around Seoul, especially in front of department stores

A cute Seoul cafe with a Disney theme with tons of holiday lights. You can see Snow White in front.

Unique buildings like this can be found all over Korea, especially Seoul. Buildings can be very tall in Seoul, but not skyscraper-tall like in New York or Atlanta. The reason for this is a simple yet ominous: the military needs clear line-of-sight in case it needs to fire artillery at North Korea.

A piece of Die Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall) on a street corner in Seoul.

Seoul Tower at night in Winter

The huge Shinsegae department store in Seoul. Christmas isn’t celebrated by that many people in Korea, but Koreans love to shop so they had holiday sales everywhere. The biggest holidays in Korea are New Year’s, just like the rest of the world, and something a lot of Asian countries celebrate called the Lunar New Year, which this year fell in mid-January. From what my Korean friend Hyun-Joo tells me and from what I can gather observing other Koreans, it’s a few days of spending time with your family, wearing traditional clothing, bowing to elders, receiving gifts, and eating traditional food. Family is an integral part of Korean life, I think much more so than in America.

I laughed so hard when I saw this little guy doing some hardcore napping with his head hanging completely backwards.

A sweet building we stumbled across in Seoul.

A taxi in Seoul that reads: “Foreigners only / English / International taxi.”

A better, daytime view of Shinsegae. A lot of Korean advertising features Caucasian people and English language (usually horrible English), not sure why. This place has several underground parking floors and I think ten shopping floors with apartments or office spaces on the uppermost floors.

Building near Shinsegae with tons of shimmering ornaments that are blinding in the sunlight and light up at night.

Buildings in Seoul with cool light displays. The pink outline of a man you see on the left is actually a moving light show projected onto the whole side of the building featuring a B-Boy break-dancing.

Funny urinal sign in the men’s bathroom. I can only imagine why they’d need a sign for the obvious…

More cool Gundam model displays at a mall near a hobby shop. This one shows two mechas fighting in the snow.

Skating rink on the first floor of one of the Metapolis mall buildings; English in Korea is quite awful, but aside from the name, this place was nice.

A fountain with changing color lights in another building of Metapolis. The escalators in this part of the mall went around in a triangle instead of just having two or four.

The same fountain with a different color light.

Nick and I at a cafe in Metapolis enjoying a caramel macchiato, Belgium waffle with blueberries and cream cheese, and my new favorite drink: Vin Chaud. I <3 those bookshelves; Nick's thinking about building something similar for our home.

I hope you enjoyed a little taste of Korea!

☠ Gally

Photos © Gally Lines 2011
Blog post © Gally Lines 01.31.12

http://lestismitethee.worpdress.com/2012/01/31/gally-in-south-korea-six-months-of-fun-and-exploration

Koreans in Seoul casually going about their day despite the uncertainty surrounding their northern neighbors.

First, I just have to say when I saw that scene above today, it cracked me up.  That little guy is just snoozing away, completely oblivious.

We took our delayed trip to Seoul today, and not surprisingly, nothing has changed — in fact, it’s as busy as ever.  You won’t find Koreans in Seoul talking about evacuating or anything drastic like that, although for years the more progressive political parties (yes, there are more than two political parties in South Korea)  have tried to move the capitol somewhere farther from the DMZ.

We only overheard one person talking about North Korea, an elderly woman (“ajuma”), but she was just commenting to her friends what times were like right after Kim Il-Sung died.  It took about a year before Kim Jong-Il officially took over for his father, and the same will probably happen with his son, Kim Jong-Un.  She said she thinks everything will go on being the same.

A Korean friend told me:

Oh I was just packing in my room til now after my classes and saw the news on the post while waiting shocking !
Hmm Well the news say that all citizens seem to be shocked and yeah military is on altert X(
Wow hmm but I don’t have a clue how this will effect our stituation.. some says war some says nothing will happen.. don’t know X(

This attitude of calm uncertainty is how most South Koreans are reacting, not panic like many Americans seem to be in their news comments and forum posts.  Again, it’s not surprising because like I said in my last blog entry, South Koreans just don’t think about North Korea; if they thought about it all the time, they’d go mad because no one knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, no one knows when North Korea will do something crazy next, no one knows if a peace treaty, reunification, or war is in their future.

What is surprising to me, however, is the lack of South Korean insight in the news.  Every American news article I’ve read so far are from journalists in the U.S. or Japan; they’re not even in South Korea interviewing average citizens.  Granted, they may not find many South Koreans willing to speak on the subject for fear of somehow provoking North Korea, but it’s their job to ask these questions.

I’ve only seen one South Korean interviewed on broadcast news, a professor from Yonsei University in Seoul who appeared on HLN and described Kim Jong-Il as “rational.”  Fox News interviewed Donald Trump for some strange reason, as if he has any real insight or contribution to politics and economics.  Laura Ling was interviewed on CNN because at least she’s had first-hand experience in North Korea, but she can’t tell people what South Koreans are thinking about all this.

That’s why I think it’s important for me to write about what things are like here in South Korea during this historic event.

A couple people have asked some good questions that I’d like to address here.

First, Kim Jong-Un is likely to succeed his father without a coup.  During the two or so years Kim Jong-Il has been grooming his son to be his heir, he has killed or imprisoned any officials who have expressed dislike or doubt about his son.  Fear is instilled in them, so we’ll see if Kim Jong-Un uses that to his advantage.

Second, South Korea will not break the cease fire; they will do anything to avoid war.  They’ve even saved $1 trillion over the years just in case they have to reunify.  South Koreans feel bad about what the North Koreans are going through, but many of them don’t want reunification because South Korea has finally become a major economic power in the world, and the cost of reunification would be astronomical.  It’d be like East and West Germany all over again; it’ll take decades to recover.  But they would still prefer this over war.

Third, if you want to know more about North and South Korea, here’s a short suggestions list.  Click on them to learn more (images courtesy of linked websites):

Documentaries:

I picked these two because they should still be in Netflix’s streaming library, so watch them after dinner tonight or something.  Seoul Train is about people trying to help North Koreans escape into China and contains a lot of raw footage of the event as it happens.  Kimjonilia breaks down the history of North Korea, and even has footage of the creepiest Communist T.V. shows you will ever see.  The History Channel will also air some good material.

_______________________________________________________

South Korean films:

A well-done, emotional, Saving Private Ryan style movie about two Korean brothers who end up on opposite sides of the Korean war.
An excellent modern-day film about the Joint Security Area and the lives of North and South Korean soldiers.  South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun gave this DVD to Kim Jong-Il during the Korean summit in October 2007.  He probably didn’t watch it.

_______________________________________________________

Books:

Written by a North Korean who now writes for one of South Korea’s largest news agencies, Chosunilbo (see websites below).

_______________________________________________________

Websites:

A reliable South Korean website where every article is written in Korean and English so people from all over the world can read it.

☠ Gally

Photo © Christine Lines 2011
Blog post © Christine Lines 12.20.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/gally-in-south-korea-one-day-after-kim-jong-ils-death

Seoul, photo by Christine Lines, © 2011

My husband and I were planning to go to Seoul today like we so often do.  We woke up late, lazily took a shower, talked about where we would hang out.  Carrying a bowl of chocolate Korean cereal to the living room, I flipped on the T.V. and immediately saw the headline.

Kim Jong-Il died of a heart attack on Dec. 17, but it looks like they waited until this Monday morning to announce it to the world.  Korean news channels like KBS and SBS are covering it all, the ROK military and government officials are on alert, but the South Korean president is urging citizens to go about their daily lives.  It’s 1:50 P.M. now and I still haven’t heard anything from the U.S. military over here, but I imagine they will soon follow suit.  So far, it doesn’t look like North Korea is ramping up their military.

We’re staying put at home today for reasons I can’t explain.  I’ve got Korean T.V. news and live streaming American news online in the background while I type this.  I’m not worried about North Korea doing anything nuts today; they’ve declared a 10-day mourning period.  But after that?  Only time will tell.  Kim’s youngest son, Kim Jong-Un, has been prepared to take over for some time now.  He’s young (20-something) and inexperienced, but has been allowed to study abroad and have exposure to the world, so I can only hope he’s not going to be as crazy and closed-minded as his father.

No one will celebrate in South Korea.  This won’t be like when Osama bin Laden died and Americans went out into the streets to celebrate.  Many South Koreans will be quiet, maybe not even talk about it.  It just doesn’t cross their minds on a daily basis that North Korea is right at their door, that they’ve had artillery within firing range of Seoul since the cease fire (Seoul is one of the world’s megacities, most of the South Korean population lives there); they would go mad if they thought about it all the time.  And even if anyone were to make a big scene out of it, no news channels would broadcast it here.  It’d be deemed disrespectful, and more importantly, provoking.  South Koreans as a whole are non-confrontational, and no one here wants war.

It surprises me how many people don’t know much about what’s going on between North and South Korea, so let me break it down like this.  The Koreas are still at war.  There was no peace treaty, only a cease fire.  To this day, some families are still separated between the two sides, only allowed to see each other through a fence when Kim Jong Il is in a generous mood, so really just once a year or so.

Kim Jong-Il was a diabolical bastard, a malicious tyrant, a modern-day Stalin.  Broadcasts out of North Korea look like a scene from the Olympics in China, but behind the lens, it’s essentially a Cold War gulag, a WWII concentration camp that spans the entire country.  Millions are starved, forced into harsh labor, tortured, raped, killed. Any aid that goes to the country goes straight to Kim and his top officials. Even adolescent North Korean girls are given to his officials as wives. Escape into China is a suicide mission; if you aren’t shot by North Korean soldiers, Chinese soldiers will try, and even if you make it past all of them, Chinese citizens are paid for turning in North Koreans and Chinese police will patrol in front of embassies to catch and return you to North Korea for execution.

People often ask why there’s never an uprising, especially now that movements like the “Arab Spring” and Occupy Wallstreet seem to erupt around the world.  When the government has a tendency to execute an entire family for the dissent of just one family member, especially for attempted or successful escape, people typically prefer complacency.  And when people are taught their leader is a god, required to have pictures of him and his father in every room, and to go against “Ju-chae” (basically the religion of Communism) is sin, you can imagine the brainwashing throughout the country.  North Koreans are taught that their country is a paradise, that the rest of the world is a diseased hell filled with cruelty and corruption like capitalism, and there’s no communication with the outside world except what some underground dissenters manage to get through the internet.

Japan has just expressed their “condolences.”  South Korea will probably do the same.  I’m eager to see Obama’s reaction to all this.  I hope he makes an address soon.

☠ Gally

Photo © Christine Lines 2011
Blog post © Christine Lines 12.19.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/gally-in-south-korea-kim-jong-il-dead

Enjoy.

HER: Demmé
Gally: 15-year-old whelp

Demmé, drawing by Christine Lines, © 2003

HER: Bernadette
Gally: 15-year-old shin-kicker

Bernadette, drawings by Christine Lines, © 2003

HER: Saile
Gally: 17-year-old fire-starter

Saile, drawings by Christine Lines, © 2005

HER: Gally
Gally: 17-year-old glaring metalhead

Self portrait, drawings by Christine Lines, © 2005

These drawings are based on photos either found somewhere online or taken by me and are mostly unfinished.

It’s been a long time since I’ve drawn anything.  Growing up, I used to draw all the time, but very little has been saved over the years in analog or digital form.  In fact, my most prized drawing — a charcoal still life I did in college — was never returned to me after it was submitted to an art show.  But hopefully you can get an idea from these drawings how my skills (or lack thereof) have progressed.  I’ve certainly gotten a lot better at drawing hair, at least….

Other than my novel, my latest project is a series of sprite drawings for my friend Jason’s video game.  And thanks to my friend Chris, who’s writing a series of reflections, I’m inspired to start a new art series while I’ve got all my art supplies lying around.

And yes, I’m also still working on my next photo dump post of all the pics I’ve taken in Korea since my last update.  So, so many….

Now, I’d like to accept an award given to me today by H. N. Sieverding:

The Award: The Liebster Blog Award is given to up coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

Liebster is German and means sweetest, kindest, nicest,dearest, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome.

The rules for the Liebster Blog Award are:

1. Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who awarded you.
3. Copy & paste the blog award on your blog
4. Reveal your 5 blog picks.
5. Let them know you choose them by leaving a comment on their blog.

In return, I’d like to give this award to the following five bloggers:

slpmartin ~ Mr. Mojo Risin ~ Words Worth Millions ~ Sandra ~ Thys Le Roux

As always, thanks to everyone for all your emails, comments, and tweets!

☠ Gally

Art © Christine Lines 2003, 2005
Blog post © Christine Lines 12.02.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/12/02/portraits-of-her-liebster-award

Business card by Christine Lines, © 2011

Inspired by one of my scribbles in Mind Scribe Volume 4.  It’s copyrighted, so you can’t claim it as your own… but, I hereby give permission for anyone and everyone to print out copies of this and deliver them to whoever needs to STFU.  Stick it in someone’s locker, briefcase, or cavernous mouth.

Better yet, hand ‘em out to the 1% at the Occupy Wall Street movement in your local area.  Tape it to their cars and front doors.  Let them know it’s their time to STFU.

☠ Gally

Art © Christine Lines 2011
Blog post © Christine Lines 11.11.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/beatface-stfu-business-card/

Based on a nightmare
and written in two hours
just for a little writing practice…
now I’m going to bed.

It was something they had planned for years.

Four college friends through four years of repetitive classes, late-night cramming, and booze-induced high-jinks, culminating in a mediocre graduation but a much-anticipated vacation. A month-long reward for all their efforts and hardships through college (or lack-thereof), and a brief escape before having to repay sky-high college loans.

They pooled their cash and got tickets to Germany, the hip hub of Europe. They had planned to roam the country relying on only what their backpacks could hold and their German classes had taught them, but vacations eventually induce laziness so when they found a place to crash after the absurdly long flight, they inevitably decided to make it their temporary home.

“Fuck hostels, look at this place!” Jerry said. He whipped his head back to get his messy brown hair out of his eyes.

It was a cottage just outside of Berlin. Close enough to ransack the city of its beer but far away enough to get some r-and-r when they needed it, which was usually just the mornings after an intensely insane night of drinking games.

“Hey, hey, do you think Germans know what ‘fuck’ means?” he snickered with his signature grin.

This triggered a face-palm from Clara. “Ugh, yes, they probably do.”

“You think that’ll make it easier for me to pick up chicks in a foreign country? I don’t remember how to say ‘Wanna go out’ in German, especially after some drinking, but I do know how to say fuck. I know how to say it all the time.” He stuffed his hands into his jean pockets and threw back his head in a hearty laugh.

Clara didn’t dignify him with a response, instead taking her bag into the cottage.

She was followed by Tom, who merely shook his head, and Annette, who was quiet but always smiled pleasantly.

Clara clambered up the stairs to the second floor with her over-packed backpack, attempting to keep her short black hair tucked behind her ears and out of her eyes with her pinky fingers while she carried bags of bottled water for the group. The cottage’s five second-floor rooms accommodated travelers and overlooked the first floor from a balcony. The kitchen, common area, dining area, and shared wash-closet were on the first floor. Past those was the master bedroom. The front and back door could be seen from the balcony on the left and right respectively.

Tom climbed the stairs next, the tallest of the group, with blonde hair and glasses, which also made him the smartest-looking of the group. This designated him as the one the group turned to when they needed to ask for directions because they thought he looked least likely to make a bad impression on the natives. “This place looks very old. Everything’s made of wood.”

“That’s okay, right? This place is supposed to be a good price.” Annette followed close behind, her long auburn hair waving behind her. She was as soft and girly as Clara was prickly and tomboyish. Clara envisioned having to fight her for bathroom time with all the preparation Annette’s hair and make-up probably took, but no vacation would be complete without her best friend. “It was nice of the convenience store owner to tell us about this place.”

“Hell yeah, hotels are too expensive.” Jerry casually strutted up the stairs with barely anything in his backpack. “Leaves more money for drinking,” he chuckled.

Clara rolled her eyes and set down the bags having reached the second floor. “Cmon, that’s all we did in college. We’re in another country now. We need a change of pace. Let’s do different things for a change.”

“I agree,” Tom input. “But tell the termites to eat Jerry first. I think I see little holes in the wood.”

“Ah… you have come.”

Long dark dress, waist-length black hair, deeply-set eyes. Her long, elegant fingers coiled open in greeting.

“He told me you would be here soon. Called to tell me. Wunderbar. Wonderful of you to come.”

Annette smiled. “Thank you for having us.”

“Which rooms should we take?” Clara asked.

“Oh yes, take any of them, they are all free.”

“Free, for real?” asked an astonished Jerry.

The landlady paused.

“Vacant.”

Jerry scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. “That store guy told us you charge less than the other places around here.”

“Yes, less. We will talk about price later. It is dinner time. Please put your things away and come to the dining area.”

It was a sweet deal. Just a small deviation from the plan.

☠☠☠

“Seriously, bro, I’ve had enough of this bitch!”

“Keep your voice down, Jerry, you stupid ass,” Clara hissed.

“L-let’s think about this, guys,” Annette murmured, unheard.

“Why, Jerry? What’s your reason for wanting to do this?” Tom asked calmly.

“We came here for a vacation, man, and we got suckered into this deal. Sure, yeah, this place is cheap, but I didn’t come here to be bullshitted by some landlady into cleaning her house for her.”

“She’s a widow,” Annette protested. “She makes her living by opening her home to outsiders, giving them a place to stay and cooking meals for them, and in return she just wants a little compensation and for us to keep things neat and tidy.”

“I cleaned her fucking clogged toilet! In her bedroom! It’s not even the shared bathroom, dude, it’s her own personal space. She forbids us from even going to her side of the house but when she’s got shit spilling all over the place, she calls me down there?”

Clara sighed heavily. “Look, I didn’t exactly think I’d be helping her sweep and mop the whole place every day, but pulling a prank isn’t the best image to make in another country. What if she kicks us out?”

“So fucking what? I’d rather empty my pockets staying in the city and getting trashed there than go out, get trashed, and get woken up to Morticia Addams down there telling me to do things I don’t wanna do on my vacation!”

They were quiet for a moment, letting their frustration subside.

“Okay,” Clara muttered, rubbing her eyes, “I’ll entertain your dumbass idea for a minute. What exactly are you planning to do?”

☠☠☠

Clara, Tom, and Annette hunched in the shadows of the second-floor balcony in the middle of the night, chuckling into each others ears with beer breath.

“N-n… ninja,” Clara blurted between snickers, blown away she didn’t think of the plan before stupid-ass Jerry.

“Shh-pfffft-hehe-huh-shh, here he comes,” Annette observed, and the three hushed their fits of giggling.

The back door inched open. A black-socked foot slid into view. Black pants, black jacket. Then an absurdly masked head.

Jerry had wrapped a black T-shirt over his head with his eyes peeking out of the neckhole, imitating a ninja hood.

“Scare her to death,” cheered Tom quietly.

Jerry ducked down and half-rolled, half-fell onto his back in the common area.

The trio tried desperately to contain bursts of laughter. “Kaaah-hah, ninja roll,” Clara whispered, her cheeks in pain from smiling so hard.

Jerry got up and casually stuck his hands into his pockets as a swaying figure suddenly appeared from the back of the common area.

The landlady shrieked and her plate of apple slices clattered to the floor.

Jerry, too drunk to realize what was happening, simply cried “Woah!” and looked around, trying to locate the source of the scream.

The landlady’s dark eyes bulged with shock as she tightly gripped her nightgown and fruit knife in fear.

And then her eyes changed entirely, as if an eclipse suddenly crossed her face.

As Jerry finally turned in her direction, she stabbed his neck.

His friends’ mouths fell open. They watched as blood quickly seeped through his clothes and pooled onto the floor.

Somehow, Jerry wasn’t crying for help. The only sounds he made were shallow, rasping breaths, as if he could not speak.

The landlady’s face contorted into a wild, crazed expression, her eyebrows arched high and her teeth bared. She clawed off his mask, grabbed his unkempt hair to hold his head still, and swept the knife across his cheek. The soft flesh landed on the floor with a distinct splat.

She smirked and kept slicing into his face, diced skin and facial muscle and gelatinous eye matter falling away in globs. She saved the nose for last, flicking the knife against the cartilage again and again until it tumbled off his face in a bloody mound.

The landlady’s restructure of Jerry’s face complete, she uncurled her bony fingers and let his body clump onto the cold floor.

The heat and intensity gradually disappeared from her porcelain face until only an unnerving ease graced her blood-dappled visage. She slowly lifted her dark gaze to the second floor.

The friends tensed with clenched fists and racing hearts, unsure if they were visible within the shadows. But the landlady slowly turned around and went back towards her room, as if no mutilated corpse was lying in the middle of her home.

They didn’t wait for her to return to her kill. They crawled back into their rooms as quietly as they could, locking the doors and cowering under the covers like frightened children until the fog of drunkenness blacked them out.

☠☠☠

A loud clank came from downstairs.

Clara woke up in a puddle of vomit. Tom shot up in bed as if coming out of a nightmare. Annette awoke with blurry, red eyes and salt trails running down her cheeks.

They quietly got dressed, not sure what had happened in the night, unsure if they had followed through with their plan after going out for drinks, if the disturbing images clawing in their minds were just clips from a movie they had watched or a bad dream. But the alarming sense of dread they felt clawing up their spines couldn’t be shaken off.

Clara slowly, quietly unlocked her door and cracked it open, chancing a peak outside. She didn’t see or hear anything else. She cautiously side-stepped to Tom’s room, trying not to be visible to anyone who may be downstairs. She lightly tapped on the door and whispered, “It’s me.”

Tom cracked open his door and eyed her, then quickly pulled her in. They looked at each other a moment, filled with questions but not daring to ask. Then they realized they didn’t need to. The look on their faces said it all, confirmed their worst nightmare.

“We have to leave,” Tom whispered.

“Now,” Clara agreed. “Get Annette.”

Clara quickly grabbed her things as quietly as she could while Tom checked on Annette. They met outside their rooms on the second floor. Then they gently lowered her gaze past the balcony down towards the common room.

Nothing. No blood, no body, no landlady.

Confused and deeply rattled, they rapidly descended the stairs, not caring who heard them now, desperate to get out. Clara reached the door first.

“You are leaving already?” came a voice behind them.

They stopped short, eyes wide, breaths caught in their throats. They slowly turned in unison.

“But I am making breakfast. You stay.”

She held a plate of cut red apples and a rope of fresh sausage links.

☠ Gally

Short Story © Christine Lines 2011
Blog post © Christine Lines 11.09.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/the-landlady/

I finally made it to The Land of the Morning Calm and I’ve got to much to share of my journey here, so strap in and enjoy the ride~

My final days in D.C. were a spent hanging out with badass people, like my good friend E Woo. We’re at a rooftop party in D.C. here — so much food and booze, so many people I didn’t know, but so much fun!

That badass in the middle of all that alcohol is my good friend Z. He loves the Bacon and the Bowie. Don’t try to tell him they’re creepy like I did :D

RAWRRRRGH!

Hot Asian girls with ass-kicking boots — god’s gift to humankind

\m/

When the food and booze rooms got too crowded with 80+ minglers, we went outside where there was a huge rooftop pool and a great view of the D.C. skyline.  That’s the Washington Monument back there.

Thanks so much for the awesome memories, E and Z!

Also check out E Woo’s film debut~

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I’m having so much fun in Korea!

In my first week, we explored Songtan, Osan, and Seoul.  We also went to Dynamic Korea 2011 — a special Geocaching event in Seoul for the unveiling of the Korea souvenir.

Songtan at night — bright lights guiding you to tons of places to eat and drink.  Korea has such a low crime rate, even school girls can walk home alone down alleys like this without being bothered.

We <3 Korean food, especially the freshly grilled kind! This cool little buffet is among the fantastic mom-and-pop shops with uber low prices all over Korea. One of our favorite local places to eat makes their own fresh mandu (dumplings). The Korean philosophy on food is to make everything as fresh as possible, so a lot places cook food in front of you and actually make everything from scratch with ingredients bought from local markets down the street, something that rarely happens in the States.

Super-duper-make-your-head-explode-with-candy-cute stuff for so cheap! All these metal earrings are $2.50 each; when I got cute earrings in the States, they were at least $5 for plastic ones. Nick got me that cat and fishies set in the middle =^_^=

I have a bunch of insanely adorable socks with poofy lips now XD  There’s also a crap-ton of Hello Kitty stuff everywhere; we even found a big vendor at the Dongdaemun Fashion District in Seoul who sold only Hello Kitty merchandise.

Ladies walking through the markets in Songtan with parasols. A lot of Korean women use parasols in the summer so they stay cool and keep a fair complexion. Tans aren’t considered attractive in Korea.

Cute/creepy bunnies at an indie cafe. There’s actually quite a few indie cafes around as an alternative to Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts. They sell everything from coffee, espressos, juice, smoothies, and milkshakes to little cakes and Belgian waffles. Want something stronger? You can add alcohol like Baileys to your drink for only 50 cents more!

Cute little figurunes at an indie cafe. I thought it was hilarious that they put the tiny pig in a toy wok in front of a Lego chef XD

Whenever you place an order in Korea, you can expect a large portion for a good price. Nick got a fancy caramel macchiato while I sipped on cherry lemonade. Places also do what’s called “service,” where they give you something for free to show appreciation for your patronage. In this case, we got free cookies. At our favorite mandu place, we get free extra mandu every time. At a pet store, we got free canned cat food.

Songtan Station. Our stuff won’t get here till September, but Korea has awesome, cheap public transportation. To ride the subway to pretty much anywhere in Korea is only 90 cents, and to ride a taxi to wherever we need to go in town is only around $2.30. Korea also has bullet trains, but I haven’t ridden one yet.

Here’s another example of the “service” I was talking about. They sell alcohol packaged with food like ramyun and chips here! How cool is that?! Korean beer is pretty good and it’s so cheap. You can buy the equivalent of a pitcher at a football game for $4. The only alcohol that’s not cheap here is the harder stuff imported from America, but why bother when you have…

… Soju! This stuff is harsh. It’s a little like sake, but the alcohol content is unregulated in Korea so you never know how strong it’ll be until you drink it. In fact, I haven’t seen labels on any drinks saying what the alcohol content is. Most people take shots of this then chase with beer. In this case, they give you a huge bottle of soju and water so you don’t get dehydrated as “service,” all for only $3.50.

Korea also has Germanic/European influences when it comes to alcohol. Heineken is popular here, and bars are called “hofs.”

A monument to the turtle ship in Osan. Korea and Japan have had strained relations for centuries, primarily from Japan’s numerous attempts to conquer Korea. In the late 1500s, Japan’s naval forces suffered heavy losses when they tried to invade, in part from Korea’s turtle ships. Invented by admiral Yi Sun-sin, the turtle ship boasts five different cannons, including a dragon head at the bow which launches flames, a covered deck which deflects cannon fire, and iron spikes to discourage boarding.

Riding the subway across the Han River into Seoul. Those tall buildings are apartments; most people live in these so they can be seen all throughout Korea. Whereas America tends to build out, Korea builds up, and I think this’s better because you can see nice tall buildings with lots of greenery inbetween. Some people actually keep vegetable gardens between apartments and railways.

One of the malls in the Yongsan Electronics District with everything computer-, appliance-, and game-related. These big buildings go underground too!

Awesome entrance inside an electronics mall. Yongsan is one of the coolest places on the planet for geeks. This mall boasts many floors of various electronics, as well as a theater.

A Razor mouse for all your gaming needs, and a cute seal mouse for the rest of the time ^^

We found an actual arcade! This is a machine I’ve never seen before. A couple stands in front of the machine and each of them places a hand on the metal pads. The machine will judge how compatible you are! I wonder if any dates have been ruined by this thing?

House of the Dead 4

Master Chief in front of a massive Xb360 specialty store

A giant Fallout 3 stand in front of the massive Xb360 specialty store

Gundam Base, an all-Gundam model store!

This entire store has HG, MG, PG, and RG models from all Gundam series!

1/100 scale Master Grades

A huge 1/60 scale Perfect Grade

Real Grade Gundams are built with a complete skeleton first, then the armor, weapons, and accessories are added over the frame.

They event had 1/100 scale gold-colored Gundams!

They also had Gundam golf bags XD

But wait! There’s another Gundam Base at a different store within walking distance. Yongsan is geek heaven!

And no Gundam store would be complete without little portable keychain Gundams :D

Dongdaemun, “Great East Gate,” in Seoul. Originally called Heunginjimun, or “Gate of Uplifting Mercy,” it was built in the 1390s by King Taejo as part of the wall that surrounded Seoul. It’s the first landmark you see stepping off the subway.  Namdaemun, “Great South Gate,” was chosen to be Korea’s Geocaching souvenir.

Welcome to Dongdaemun Fashion District — tall buildings and underground pathways with nothing but clothes! This particular skyscraper is Doota. Each above- and underground-floor is dedicated to clothing and accessories, with fancy food courts on the top floors selling tasty goods like coffee, fruit-cheesecake-and-ice-cream crepes, pasta bread bowls, a rotating sushi bar, and lots of Korean and Japanese food. Instead of department stores like you’d see in America, each floor has like 60 different vendors set up side-by-side.

The front section of Doota displays windows seats of the lower-level food courts and escalators going to the underground shopping areas.

The Maxstyle clothing mall across the street from Doota. I took this picture from one of the top floor food courts. All the buildings down that street sell clothes!

Maxstyle at night has rain made of light falling into glowing stars!

That colossal golden skyscraper far behind the apartment buildings is the 63 Building on an island in the Han River, so named because of its 63 floors. This was the world’s tallest building outside of North America when it was completed in 1985. Inside, you’ll find a shopping mall, restaurants, a world-famous aquarium, Imax theater, convention center, banquet hall, wax museum, and more. On the 59th floor is the world’s tallest art gallery.

Welcome to our new home! Our bathroom has been made badass with a bloody shower curtain and bath mat.

I made Devil’s Food cupcakes with my new NOMskulls cupcake molds ;D

Geek pride — George R. R. Martin’s fifth book in A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons; Nick’s Astray Gundam models and my Deathscythe Hell Custom model; and official Takara Tomy Arcanine, Absol, Empoleon, Raikou, and Entei Pokemon we got for cheap at a vendor in Seoul who had a ton of them XD

Next weekend, Nick and I are headed to Suwon for a Blue Wings football game.  In the meantime, we’re geeking out on Dungeon Siege 3, Trine, and The Guild season 5.

I hope you all enjoyed a taste of the Republic of Korea!

+X+ Gally

Photos © Christine Lines 2011
Blog post © Christine Lines 08.03.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/the-r-o-k/

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For Memorial Day 2010, I shared an amazing non-fiction book called WAR by Sebastian Junger.  Photojournalist Tim Hetherington went to Afghanistan with Junger and directed the documentary Restrepo, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2011.  Hetherington died in Libya on April 20, 2011.

Image from Amazon.com

This Memorial Day, I want to share another exceptional book called The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy SEAL by Eric Greitens.  If you’ve ever wanted to learn about the very personal, human side of worldwide humanitarian efforts, or detailed descriptions of brutal Navy SEAL training, this is for you.  You can also see Stephen Colbert’s interview with Greitens.

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Gally rock-climbing! Yes, I did make it to the top ;D

Despite more delays moving, things have been going a lot better for me lately.  I finally managed to pry out another chapter of Infectnation after months of not being able to focus on it, I’ve been working out and Geocaching more often, and I’ve been going to (American) football practice, clubbing, rock-climbing, and more with my friends Elaine, Z, Z’s sister Sarah, and others.  Thanks so much for the fun times, guys!

Special thanks also goes to Betsy and Tomasz for encouraging me to keep writing, Chris for being supportive even when he’s super busy, and my incredible husband Nick, who never ceases to astound me with his endless love, devotion, and sweetness.  Happy Anniversary!!!

And thanks to all my wonderful readers and fellow bloggers!

I know it’s been a long time since the last chapter, so please take your time reading through this and letting me know your thoughts.  Has your view of Jade, Beatrix, or Huxley changed from previous chapters?  Do you feel like you’re getting to know them?  Do the monsters freak you out? :D

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Infectnation
Story by Christine Lines, © 2010-2011

<<< <:/Log.07>
>>> <:/Log.09> (pending)

<:/Log.08>

Jade’s first thought was what bullshit it was to get attacked the one time she decided to sleep without her boots on.

In the red glow of the emergency lights, she shot up in bed, found Beatrix’s arm, and frantically shook her awake. “Bea, wake up! We gotta go, cmon, get your things!”

“Hmm-mmf, what–”

“Bea, open your eyes and get up!”

When alertness finally surfaced on Beatrix’s face, Jade vaulted out of bed, into the other room, and zipped up her boots. “What’s going on?!” she shouted over the rumbling at Huxley.

“We’re being attacked!” he called from the doorway. “Everyone’s gathering upstairs to fight! I came to get you two personally since you don’t know protocol, now hurry up so I can get back up there!”

Jade quickly stuffed her belongings into her bag while Beatrix did the same. Then they headed out with their backpacks strapped and nerves on end. Jade wasn’t expecting to remain here after tonight no matter how much Beatrix protested. It was obvious to her this place was a prime target for the infected with people venturing in and out all the time.

As they ran down the hallway towards the central stairwell, they were suddenly knocked from their feet as the whole structure trembled violently.

In the crimson silence, Jade whispered, “What’s up there?”

Huxley swallowed hard. “A shank.”

“What is that?”

“We’ve only ever had spitters come down here because they’re smaller than the others. But this… it’s like a giant tumor with spikes shooting out of it. I don’t know how it made its way so deep inside the building. It’s trying to impale us through the ceiling so we can’t even hurt it with our pulse weapons. We have to find a way to drive it off before the ceiling collapses or we’ll all be crushed.”

“Then why did you tell us to evacuate rather than fight?”

Huxley paused. As he lowered his face, dirty-blonde hair washed over his eyes. “Because I… don’t think we can save this place. I’ve already told the single parents to take the children and leave through the second stairwell. We haven’t had time to scout out a back-up home, so they just… they have to wait for someone to come up there and find them a new shelter and…”

Jade squinted, detecting doubt in his voice. He didn’t just think their home was about to be obliterated — he didn’t think anyone was getting out of this alive.

“I… want you two to escape with my sister. Things are getting really ugly really fast and I don’t know how much longer we can hold it off.” He unholstered the pulse pistol at his right leg and stood. Jade caught his arm.

“What the hell do you mean, take your sister? Where the fuck are you going to be?”

He turned to look at her, all that smug sarcasm gone from his hardened face. He suddenly seemed a lot older than she previously thought. “Cmon, we need to hurry.”

“Hey, I’m not going anywhere with you until you talk straight with me for once. Why aren’t you going after her?”

Huxley’s face contorted as if someone had just throttled his heart. He gritted his teeth as he spoke. “I’m in charge of security, I can’t just wander around looking for her. I have to go up there, I have to…”

He shook his head as if fighting away a terrible thought and took a deep breath. “Listen to me. You two are the first people I’ve seen who’re from outside of Bethune. I don’t know if you got by on pure survival skills or freakish damn luck, but if you made it here, you can make it far away with her.”

Jade opened her mouth to object, but Huxley grabbed her shoulders firmly and locked icy eyes with her.

“Promise me. Promise me you’ll look after her. There’s no one else. I have to go up there with everyone. Just follow me, take cover, then head down the corridor to the left. Last I heard of her, she was down that way doing maintenance. When you find her, take the hallway all the way down and you’ll see the door to the last stairwell.”

He released Jade from grasp and gaze then dashed down the hall to the central stairwell, gun in hand, hopes left behind. Jade and Beatrix exchanged uncertain glances then hesitantly followed him as if being ordered to go on a suicide mission.

Thock. Like fleshy lightning, a scarlet spear rained down from the ceiling and sunk into the first man they encountered, impaling him from clavicle to groin. A thick sucking sound echoed as the spike suddenly retracted from his body in a spurt of blood and tissue, and the man fell over slowly in a contorted stance, as if the bones and organs under his skin were completely severed into halves.

Huxley strafed past him as countless spikes pierced the ceiling, searching hungrily for victims to penetrate. He watched wide-eyed as men and women he only moments ago ate with and laughed with futilely fired their pulse weapons through holes in the ceiling, only to explode in a splash of organs as the creature relentlessly attacked. He took cover behind a colossal pillar then signaled for Beatrix and Jade to follow.

Jade couldn’t let herself hesitate. She sprinted towards him, dodging severed limbs and slippery pools of blood and urine. Just as she arrived at his side, she whipped her head back towards Beatrix.

She wasn’t moving. Beatrix was just standing there, frozen in fear, shaking in tears, staring blankly at all the blood, stuck in the middle of the massacre just like before.

Jade screamed out her name, but Beatrix wouldn’t budge. Huxley yelled for her too, but no one’s words could reach her. Huxley stepped forward to go after her, but it was too late. Jade rushed back first as large debris started to fall from above.

Another quake rippled through the building and flung Jade across the floor. She gasped as chunks of the ceiling came crashing down all around her. A woman screeched beside her as massive slab crunched her under its weight. Jade rolled and darted up again, weaving and slipping everywhere, too scared and out of breath to call out to Beatrix again.

A trio of fighters gathered beside Beatrix, shooting through the massive gap that the monster had created in the ceiling. Red flesh started to gorge through the canal like a sickening live birth. The pulses did nothing to stop its advance as the pocked skin stretched and throbbed through the hole, spikes flailing wildly. Its wide, clawed hands slipped through next, some shredding at the ceiling blocking its descent, some grasping for survivors below and popping them with an effortless squeaze.

Jade dodged a boulder-sized block of ceiling falling down and scraped her way under the fishing hands of the beast. She tried not to take her eyes off Beatrix, but as terrified as she was to watch the brutal slaying around her, she couldn’t pry them away. Her teeth and fists were clenched so tight and her legs were so numb she could barely tell how she was still moving.

A spear caught the woman in front of Beatrix in the arm, ripping it off and taking her pulse pistol with it. She collapsed as the man beside her took a spike to the face and a huge hand grabbed the other man. As he gurgled his final cries and erupted in splintered bone and ribbons of intestine, blood dotted Beatrix’s trembling porcelain skin.

As Jade somehow managed to stumble her way to Beatrix’s side, another bloody hand stretched from the ceiling towards them. Jade was too tense to unhinge her jaw and tell Beatrix to run. Jade grabbed her and slung her away, then dove just as the clawed hand slammed down on the floor inches away.

Jade gripped her friend and half-ran, half-dragged Beatrix through the blood and rubble. When the hand retreated empty and wriggling, Jade bent down and slapped Beatrix over and over until her eyes focused up at Jade.

Jade’s voice was eerily soft and shaken as she said, “Move, now, go, now.” Beatrix managed to get on her feet and shuffle along as Jade lead her back to Huxley.

But as Jade looked to Huxley beyond the growing mass protruding from the ceiling, she noticed he was standing there stunned and his eyes were intensely focused behind them towards the hidden door they had entered through the night before. Jade instinctively followed his gaze over her shoulder and regretted it when her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Out of nowhere, another abomination had come, so close it could spit on her.

She yelped and yanked Beatrix forward faster, scrambling to get away from this new creature. It crept behind them on all fours like an enormous toad with its back pulsating like something was moving around inside it. Even as the spikes from the shank sank into it, it kept crawling forward as if it didn’t feel anything, its twitching chameleon eyes focusing on the remaining survivors.

Huxley snapped himself out of it and laid down cover fire. As Jade and Beatrix reached Huxley, they couldn’t help but turn to see how far they’d gotten away from the monsters. The shank was tearing away at the ceiling, trying to twist its way through, almost ready to fall to the floor and devour all. The new terror had finally collapsed from its injuries, but its eyes still darted from person to person, as if targeting each and every one.

“GO!” Huxley shouted.

The smaller, lizard-like monster suddenly started squirming, both conical eyes pointing directly at Huxley. But its body couldn’t move forward anymore, impaled by the spikes like a live horse on a carousel pole.

Its mouth opened. Blood gushed forth. Then a voice, groaning at first, then growing into high-pitched wail of agony.

“huuuXLEEEY!”

The three of them stood stone cold, shocked, horrified as the dissonance of the infected’s voice stabbed their ears. Then its back burst with a maddening pop and out flew hundreds of tiny black buzzing creatures.

They swarmed everyone, biting, stinging, ripping, devastating. As each person fell, another one rose in its place, infected and spewing blood and acid.

The three of them turned and ran, dashing together down the only exit remaining to them: the left corridor. They careened around the corner and over-turned tables and scattered supplies. Huxley glanced back only to see the black mass of flying critters gaining on them.

And Camille hiding beside a crate far behind them.

“NO!” he shouted, “NO! NO!”

He turned but Jade and Beatrix grabbed his arms and kept moving forward, the stairwell exit just in sight.

“NO!”

Hearing his voice, Camille’s soft blue eyes met his, but it was too late.

“NO!”

The black wave overtook everything in its path. It swallowed the crate and engulfed Camille.

“NO!”

Through the haze, he saw her skull, little patches of skin and hair still clinging to it, fall to the floor, and a blue eye roll back up to meet his gaze one last time as acid spilled through her jaw.

Huxley suddenly slammed into a wall and a door slid shut before him. They had made it into the stairwell and sealed themselves away from the infected.

“SHIT, FUCK, NO!” Huxley yelled, punching and kicking the door. “Let me go, I need to get back out there!”

“Like hell!” Jade growled, blocking the door’s control panel from Huxley. She felt vibrations coming through the wall and knew it was from the wasp-like drones buzzing and feasting on the other side. “If you open that door, we all die. Now let’s go!”

“No! I can’t just leave everyone, I can’t leave her in there!”

Beatrix curled up against the wall, shaking and sobbing.

“Huxley,” Jade said slowly, deliberately, “they’re all dead. We’re alive. Let’s go before they break down the door.”

A primal, guttural cry erupted from Huxley as he charged for the control panel behind her. He was easily a foot taller than her and much stronger, but she stood her ground and round-house kicked him back, the recoil smashing her shoulder into the wall. But he quickly regained his footing and lunged again like a wild animal. As Jade turned back around to face him, she produced the knife from her belt. She didn’t want to use it, but she had to protect Beatrix no matter the cost.

She braced herself as he towered over her, then slashed. He evaded, caught her wrist, then pulled her forward and twisted, the pain forcing her to drop the blade but not enough to keep her from kicking the side of his knee, bringing him down with her. She somehow wiggled free of his grasp and tried to hop away, but he swept his leg and knocked her feet out from under her. As she landed on her back and coughed all the air out of her lungs at once, he got back on his feet and went for the control panel.

Beatrix stood in his way, weak and fragile, tears streaming down her face and turning pink as they slid past speckles of dried, crusted blood.

Huxley stopped. He could’ve just walked past her. He could’ve just reached out and pressed the button. He just looked down at her, hesitating. Then he looked back at Jade as she stood and retrieved her knife off the floor. He turned back to Beatrix, looking into her eyes, searching for an answer in all the confusion, despair, and fury gripping his body.

He covered his face with his hands and shamefully turned away. Then in one last outburst of defeat, he groaned and headbutted the door, slowly sliding to the floor, huffing, maybe weeping; Jade didn’t dare get close enough to know with someone in such a volatile state. Instead, she side-stepped to Beatrix, keeping her distance from Huxley, and checked her for wounds. After all this shit, they’d be fucked if one of them were infected after just managing to escape.

As Jade scanned herself too, Huxley finally spoke. His voice was low and bitter.

“I’ve always hated that coward. He was an inmate who escaped when a rampage of infected struck the prison. Park thought we could rehabilitate him to rejoin what was left of society, to earn his keep, to fight for his freedom. I was a soldier, that’s why they chose me as head of security; I know what it’s like to fight for freedom, but that bastard… One day I’d catch him stealing, another he’d be sneaking off by himself. He could’ve stolen the door codes for all I know. Park told me to be patient with him when I wanted to banish him for being a security risk. I knew when it came time to fight he’d show his true colors, he’d tuck his fucking tail between his legs and run like the coward he really is.

“But today, I was the one to turn and run.” Huxley banged his fist and grinded his forehead into the door. “He made me run away when I should’ve stayed and fought!”

“You mean stayed and died,” Jade retorted. “Dying isn’t fighting.”

“Dying is better than living like a fucking coward, living with the knowledge that I just watched my sister die and couldn’t do a damn thing about it!”

Beatrix suddenly spoke, softly and hesitantly. “What… what do you mean he made you?”

Huxley finally flipped over from his knees to his back, facing them with the most defeated look a man could have.

“Baxter. That was Baxter who just killed my sister, killed my friends, destroyed everything I fought to protect.”

Jade and Beatrix stared at him in disbelief.

“You heard him,” Huxley continued, wiping the sweat on the back of his gloved hand. “He called out for me. He was coming for me. Instead, he took her. I should’ve died in there, I should’ve died beside her…”

Huxley’s head fell forward and his hair rained over his face. Jade didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t blame a man for trying to protect someone close to him. She might’ve tried to do the same thing if she were in his place.

Beatrix stepped towards him and knelt. She picked up his pulse pistol and held it out to him. He looked up at her with ice blue eyes so mournful she teared up again.

“You’re where you should be. You’re with us now, fighting another day, not letting them get the best of you. If you’re an honorable man, you can’t give up now. You owe it to them to see this through.”

Huxley exhaled heavily. “To what? Where does this end?”

Beatrix’s lips parted to answer, but nothing came.

Jade stepped forward and offered her hand. “We’ll find out together.”

Huxley looked up at them both. He took the pistol from Beatrix, then took Jade’s hand and stood. Together, the three of them advanced back up the dim stairwell to whatever hell awaited them at the end.

+X+ Gally

Novel © Christine Lines 2010-2011
Photo © Christine Lines 2011
Blog post © Christine Lines 05.30.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/05/31/infectnation-chapter-8/

Photo part of Underground Tunnel series by Christine Lines, © 2009

Clad in Black She Comes
Poem by Christine Lines, © 2011

I make children
piss
their
britches.
I make maidens weep before me.
I freeze men in their steps
with a porcelain face so sweet,
like the frost of an early spring morning,
betrayed by the sharp Jack-o-Lantern grin
I wear like every day is Halloween.

I bust knee caps and splinter shins
with man-killer boots ribbed with buckles.
You know I’m coming when the organs blare
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor
or timpani drums and wailing violins
or double-kick drums and scream-singing men.
Beware of the steps in your wake
for the darkness hath birthed a daughter
and something sinister your way comes.

By day, you give me credit cards and attitude
received by black-nailed fingers and silent hexes.
By night, I haunt your filthy memory,
I lurk in ev’ry shadow and doubt,
I linger like a wraith in the cold moonlight,
I am the creak in the hinges of your door,
I am the unexplained prickle down your spine,
I am the frigid breath from which you shiver,
and as the bats return to my forlorn tower,
I am asleep by dawn.

Max Schreck as Nosferatu (Germany, 1922); image courtesy of MovieZeal.com

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It’s been a long time since I wrote spontaneous poetry in the middle of the night.  This quick little piece was inspired by one of my favorites, yes, Toccata and Fugure in D Minor.  I thought the famous image of Nosferatu also fit (oh, how I adore German expressionism).  They kindle a fire in my dark heart, as I hope this poem does for you.

+X+ Gally

Poem © Christine Lines 2011
Blog post © Christine Lines 05.13.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/clad-in-black-she-comes/

Steampunk Gally and Betsy at AnachroCon 2011; photo © Dim Horizons Studio 2011, all rights reserved, published with permission

Steampunk Gally and Betsy at AnachroCon 2011; photo © Dim Horizons Studio 2011, all rights reserved, published with permission

Steampunk Gally and Betsy at AnachroCon 2011, photographer unknown

_______________________________________________________

.: DIY Steampunk :.

Steampunk charm necklace featuring six bolts with “intrepidity” written on them; a hand holding a circle, representing taking hold of one’s destiny; a note from my friend Betsy in a bottle with sand and red glitter so I can have her support no matter where I go; a flying bird and bird cage, reminding me that I can choose whether to fly by my own will or feel trapped; and the promise ring my husband Nick gave me when we first started dating in 2002, part of a set of two in which he still has the other

DIY Steampunk Wristband featuring vintage watch faces and toothed gears (hot glue used at the time of this photo replaced with Goop adhesive)

Silver, bronze, and gold vintage watch faces with numbers, Roman numerals, and line counters respectively

Toothed gears inserted into the wristband holes (hot glue used at the time of this photo replaced with Goop adhesive)

_______________________________________________________

.: South Korea :.

As I mentioned in my posts about AnachroCon 2011, I’m moving again.  Those of you who read my blog last year are probably like, What, didn’t you just move to D.C. six months ago?  Yep.  So where am I off to this time?

My destination for move #15:  South Korea!

How awesome is that?!  I’m extremely excited.  My husband is already there waiting for me and has told me many amazing stories about the Land of the Morning Calm.  Here are just a couple pictures he sent me:

Songtan, South Korea

Suwon World Cup Stadium

Oh yes, there will be Engrish

Cute Engrish galore

In another week or two, the big move will commence and it’ll take some time to get completely settled in. Therefore, I may not post anything for the next few weeks.  But I’m adding a few new features to my blog to fill in the down-time.

If you click on “About Gally Lines” above, I do quick updates in it all the time with new info like where I’m visiting, what I’m reading, my Geocaching account, etc.  You’ll know when I last updated by looking at the date at the very top of that page.  Drop by sometime to leave me messages and I’ll write back when I get a chance.  I’ll continue to post regularly whenever I get settled in my new life, like more chapters of Infectnation and pictures so you can see the beauty and modernity of this little country.

And the high-jinks we commit ;D

Thanks to all my badass friends and readers for your support! I’ll be back soon <3

+X+ Gally

Photos © Christine Lines 2011
Jewelry/craft designs © Christine Lines 2011
Blog post © Christine Lines 04.29.11

http://lestismitethee.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/dim-horizons-photoshoot-diy-steampunk-south-korea/