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Fast

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I will never forget the first time I saw a Zombie. I had left the sanctuary of my bedroom to make a quick escape for the toilet, unable to hold it in any longer. The reason for my hesitation? There was a Zombie outside, I knew it!

I was about twelve and my older brother, my cousin and the Philippine girl from up the road had just discovered a Play Station game called "Resident Evil". Curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to watch them play. As horrified as I was, I could not tear my eyes away. The story line demanded to be respected, I thought so anyway, it was so believable!

For weeks I couldn't sleep, so sure that there was a Zombie waiting to get me outside my door. However, there was some comfort that touched the trembling portions of my mind ... I was fast! I could always outrun them. In the game, when you got tired of wasting your ammo, you'd just push right on past the horrific, out-stretched arms, leaving them far behind, still dragging their paralyzed limbs.

I'll never forget sitting in the movie cinema as I watched the movie for the first time. Biting my nails in anticipation of seeing those Zombies, this time actually real. In the game, the first Zombie you see is on his own, feeding off some poor soul who is beyond dead. Your heart threatens to burst out of your chest as it slowly creeps towards you, moaning loudly. The director seemed not to appreciate this fine art, modernizing the movie so much that the hero's were so well trained and armed that they would never have to worry about such a slow, pathetic Zombie. So he made hundreds, all moaning and decaying in one big group all bunched together. Disappointing to say the least.

Only with the release of "Resident Evil: Code Veronica" did I have that fantastic feeling of fear spread over me once again. This time, it was so much more.

I entered a room I had been in before, there was a dead body on the floor, I remembered that, but it was no longer there. The corridors were narrow, hard to navigate, difficult to see around the net corner. Then it happened. I don't think I have ever been so scared in all my life. A Zombie came rushing at me from around the corner, latching onto my head and sucking on as much brain as it could get from a digital character. I screamed so loud my brother came rushing in the room, a wicked smile plastered on his face when he saw the words "You Died!" come up on the screen. "Guess you met the fast Zombie," he said to me as I clutched at my heart, hands shaking the controller I still latched onto for dear life.

Never will I forget that day and it seems that modern Zombie movies have learned a lot from that reaction. Fast Zombies will forever scare the pants off me, haunted by that memory, knowing I can't simply out run them or brush them aside. It was so real to me, so exhilarating, exactly what a real horror movie should be like.

Learn more about this author, Megan Donnelly.
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