The Day of Reckoning

Creator: Adrian D Ceranowicz
Genre: Horror
Age rating: Everyone
After a Zombie outbreak erupts, a devout Street Preacher finds himself in a struggle to make it home and save his pregnant wife and young son while determined to keep God's Commandments--especially Thou Shalt Not Kill.
Project collaboration: By Permission
Full synopsis
Synopsis: After losing a son in an accident, Paramedic Burt feels that this is God's way of punishing him for straying off the path.

A year later, Burt has rededicated himself to Christ--which has driven him further from his pregnant wife, Betty, and his remaining son, Isaac.

That morning, despite Betty's pleas, Burt takes off with his father and brother John to preach at a Kentucky University.

There, a student asks him if killing is wrong; Burt replies that all killing is wrong—and that he wouldn't even kill to save his family. And that's when a zombie bites Burt's dad and all hell breaks loose.

Burt and John race to get their dad to the hospital as carnage plays out around them. Soon they surmise that this is the biblical Day of Reckoning.

After crashing into a gas station, Burt gets a call from Betty; she says she's trying to get into their bunker, but can't find the keys. Burt realizes he has the keys—and tells her he's coming home immediately.

Burt and John soon find themselves dodging a zombie horde, when suddenly they're gunned down in a drive-by. Burt escapes uninjured, but John gets badly wounded.

Burt carries John along, as another group of zombies nears them. John eventually collapses and asks Burt to kill him because he doesn't want to get eaten alive—but then John repents and tells Burt to go home.

Back at Burt's home, the family dog comes back from the dead and bites Betty. Soon after, Betty becomes a zombie and goes after Isaac.

And just as Zombie Betty is about to bite Isaac, Burt saves him and they escape into the bunker.

But there Burt realizes he's been infected. And so he faces the ultimate decision: kill himself, saving his son, but damning himself to Hell—or do as God wills.

Burt decides that, contrary to what he had been preaching in the beginning, some things are worth going to Hell for. So Burt puts the gun to his head and pulls the trigger.

Burt's life flashes before his eyes, with the final flash showing him at the University, preaching a biblical verse that stated, when the day of judgment comes, men will seek death, but will not find it.

Burt suddenly finds himself back in the present moment. He's not dead. He pulls the trigger—again and again—but the gun is empty. Frenzied, Burt loses consciousness.

A moment later, as Isaac approaches Burt to see if he's okay, Burt's eyes pop open, revealing the dead, grey eyes of a zombie.

Latest Work

  • Script 1 - Adrian's Original Draft
    06/02/12
    Creative Notes:
    The idea of someone so religious they wouldn't kill to save their own family really fascinated me. What would make a person become so devout so as to think this way? And could they really hold back their instincts? And what if a zombie outbreak suddenly broke out? I just found the subject matter and the scenario to be rather interesting.
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