The city's creed and only warning is carved on the town hall in simple words: "At the sound of the trumpet the dead will rise." and rise they did. Now this didn't happen too often, maybe once or twice a month. Enough to keep the locals constantly listening for the all too familiar roar of the ancient and unseen horn welcoming the dead back to life briefly.
Over the years the city dwellers had come to categorise the dead, create a set of rules and memorised them. It meant the thin line between surviving or joining the dead grew a little thicker, meant they would live to hear the next call if they chose to remain in the city still. Some took the call as a challenge, a way of proving to themselves that they deserved to live, others saw it as punishment while most feared it as a sign that their end was fast coming.
You can't avoid death forever, but you can at least try.
The rules were simple enough: find a group that you KNOW are alive and stick with them. If you have doubts about any of them, any reason to suspect they might have died since you last saw them then head to the police station instead. Never go to the hospital, never get in an ambulance or any kind of vehicle - they will always be dead. Always. And they will want you to join them. Always.
The trumpet's effects didn't last for long, usually eight or nine hours at most. The end was signalled by the sky lighting up in something akin to the aurora borealis flowing all around the dead to drag them back to whatever state of afterlife they had been in (as the living who survived a conversation with the dead often found they experienced it utterly differently each time they were returned from the call).
In terms of categorising the dead the main ones you watched out for were Movers. As the name suggests they were the most mobile, not always the most vocal but the clingiest creatures imaginable. Once a Mover had a grip on you they were impossible to remove until they were returned. If you weren't dragged back with them it was considered a miracle and a sign you should leave the city immediately.
Aside from Movers you also had Screamers, Burners, Drowners, Downers, Shooters, Youths and Kin.
Fairly self explanatory really.
Screamers were like an Irish banshee only formerly human and fairly translucent, hard to see them until you were almost on top of them then BAM they shriek and your eardrums burst like squeezing overcooked peas. Apart from that the whole unhinging jaw on a regular human thing looks unbelievably disturbing. Nightmares guaranteed.
Burners are said to be people who died in some way involving fire, be in a car crash, arson prank gone wrong or even the odd witch trial victim. they're a little similar to Movers in that they like to share their warmth, always calling out about how cold they are. Never offer them a blanket or any sign of open arms. Just run but not for water.
Never head for large bodies of water like ponds, pools or bathtubs, don't meet the Drowners. They'll only try to take you with them and they don't even mean it maliciously. They're just really lonely and forget that the living need to breathe.
Downers, on the other hand, know what they're doing. They're out to spread their pain and convince you to join the Downer legions, as it were. Their arsonal is as varied as the entirety of human suffering put into a person can possibly be, that is to say if you meet one you have about an eighty percent chance of joining them. Best option is to run away laughing.
Remember to duck occasionally too, Shooters love moving targets but their aim is awful. they're generally riddled with smoking bullet holes and trail gore behind them like a long skirt. If they are left long enough they'll often end up shooting themselves some more or the other dead. Makes for an interesting quarrel for sure.
Youths and Kin are often in the same boat in that they can be any of the other types in addition. The only differences really are that Youths are harder to run from in general - something about their little faces stained and their chubby little cheeks incites pity and compassion wherever they go. And then they strike, of course. Kin work on a similar basis but they are always someone you knew. Makes it harder to run from them I suppose, all those tears obscure your vision and the next thing you know you've walked right into a Screamer.
Any inhabitant of the city will tell you all this - some even hand out free pamphlets at their shops. Some don't, even going so far as to lie and say it's all a tourist gimmick. More ignorant people running about only makes it easier for the veterans to survive another night, wouldn't you agree?
Over the years the city dwellers had come to categorise the dead, create a set of rules and memorised them. It meant the thin line between surviving or joining the dead grew a little thicker, meant they would live to hear the next call if they chose to remain in the city still. Some took the call as a challenge, a way of proving to themselves that they deserved to live, others saw it as punishment while most feared it as a sign that their end was fast coming.
You can't avoid death forever, but you can at least try.
The rules were simple enough: find a group that you KNOW are alive and stick with them. If you have doubts about any of them, any reason to suspect they might have died since you last saw them then head to the police station instead. Never go to the hospital, never get in an ambulance or any kind of vehicle - they will always be dead. Always. And they will want you to join them. Always.
The trumpet's effects didn't last for long, usually eight or nine hours at most. The end was signalled by the sky lighting up in something akin to the aurora borealis flowing all around the dead to drag them back to whatever state of afterlife they had been in (as the living who survived a conversation with the dead often found they experienced it utterly differently each time they were returned from the call).
In terms of categorising the dead the main ones you watched out for were Movers. As the name suggests they were the most mobile, not always the most vocal but the clingiest creatures imaginable. Once a Mover had a grip on you they were impossible to remove until they were returned. If you weren't dragged back with them it was considered a miracle and a sign you should leave the city immediately.
Aside from Movers you also had Screamers, Burners, Drowners, Downers, Shooters, Youths and Kin.
Fairly self explanatory really.
Screamers were like an Irish banshee only formerly human and fairly translucent, hard to see them until you were almost on top of them then BAM they shriek and your eardrums burst like squeezing overcooked peas. Apart from that the whole unhinging jaw on a regular human thing looks unbelievably disturbing. Nightmares guaranteed.
Burners are said to be people who died in some way involving fire, be in a car crash, arson prank gone wrong or even the odd witch trial victim. they're a little similar to Movers in that they like to share their warmth, always calling out about how cold they are. Never offer them a blanket or any sign of open arms. Just run but not for water.
Never head for large bodies of water like ponds, pools or bathtubs, don't meet the Drowners. They'll only try to take you with them and they don't even mean it maliciously. They're just really lonely and forget that the living need to breathe.
Downers, on the other hand, know what they're doing. They're out to spread their pain and convince you to join the Downer legions, as it were. Their arsonal is as varied as the entirety of human suffering put into a person can possibly be, that is to say if you meet one you have about an eighty percent chance of joining them. Best option is to run away laughing.
Remember to duck occasionally too, Shooters love moving targets but their aim is awful. they're generally riddled with smoking bullet holes and trail gore behind them like a long skirt. If they are left long enough they'll often end up shooting themselves some more or the other dead. Makes for an interesting quarrel for sure.
Youths and Kin are often in the same boat in that they can be any of the other types in addition. The only differences really are that Youths are harder to run from in general - something about their little faces stained and their chubby little cheeks incites pity and compassion wherever they go. And then they strike, of course. Kin work on a similar basis but they are always someone you knew. Makes it harder to run from them I suppose, all those tears obscure your vision and the next thing you know you've walked right into a Screamer.
Any inhabitant of the city will tell you all this - some even hand out free pamphlets at their shops. Some don't, even going so far as to lie and say it's all a tourist gimmick. More ignorant people running about only makes it easier for the veterans to survive another night, wouldn't you agree?
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