Short Take: “Last Resort”, K.R. Griffiths

Pros: Chilling
Cons: Short, and it all seems too one-sided
Rating: 3 out of 5

K.R. Griffiths’ Last Resort is a novella that takes place in the world of Griffiths’ Wildfire Chronicles. it’s a short read, but interesting. Shane and his wife Kelly have gone on vacation, a chance to re-connect. But when she confesses to infidelity, Shane hates everything having to do with her. He tries to drive them home through the storm, but an eagle smashes their windshield and they’re trapped at the lodge.

It’s crazy-time, as eyeless grizzly bears chase them and devour anyone that they find. Very gradually Shane and Kelly’s problems seem more and more irrelevant in the face of almost certain danger. The phones have all gone out. There’s no internet or electrical power or television. The lodge is in the middle of whiteout conditions, where you can’t even see the danger until it’s right on top of you. If it weren’t for occasional screams and shots. Shane and Kelly wouldn’t have even known something terrible was going on until it was too late.

The ‘zombies’ of this tale aren’t standard zombies. They’re still mortal and you can still kill them in the normal ways. They’re alive, they just appear to have had portions of their brains turned off.

A few details are off. They know the creatures hunt at least partially by sound, yet the characters compromise their hiding place in a noisy fashion.

It’s an interesting tale in which someone out in the middle of nowhere, without the news, could be caught out in the zombie apocalypse.