Apocalyptic dreams
Okay, to start with, there were zombies. I found myself in a shopping mall (isn't it always) where some humans had sought refuge. However, not all of the zombies were enemies. It seemed there was a small chance that a victim of zombification would retain their awareness, and these people coexisted with the living, although they kept their distance as they were contagious. The enemy dead, left alone for a time, would go into a sort of trance, although they could be wakened by loud noise or other obvious sign of human activity, so people lived nervous but reasonably healthy lives within the complex.
Then there was an earthquake, and all hell broke loose.
Skipping forward, I had left that area and was searching, for new shelter or possibly a cure for zombiism. I had to navigate my way through flooded neighborhoods which were shark-infested. The sharks came in all sizes, and all were bent on attacking me, but I had little difficulty in fending them off. Even with the great whites I could hold their jaw apart with my arms and lift them from the water to deposit them somewhere else. It's possible I had been zombified at this point and had enhanced strength.
Later, in the same search, I crawled among skyscrapers and aerial vehicles, and here I was at risk from flying dolphins. They would attack any human in sight unless a special song was played, and if this was done in the right place it caused magical illusory dolphins to appear, who would interact with the real ones to some unguessed purpose.
I seem to recall other creatures posing threats of their own: wolves most probably, and a few others.
From the details of the dream, I have extrapolated certain aspects of the zombification process. The majority of those infected become mindless enemies, with only chance allowing some to preserve their minds. Regardless, all zombies had enhanced strength and senses not dependent on their organs; thus, the removal of eyes would not prevent sight, and so on. Even destroying the brain was not sufficient to kill these, and they could only be stopped by destroying completely every part of their body. Still, it seems their consciousness would remain, trapped and helpless forever. Their bodies did not decompose, and so with care they could be maintained almost indefinitely.
Then there was an earthquake, and all hell broke loose.
Skipping forward, I had left that area and was searching, for new shelter or possibly a cure for zombiism. I had to navigate my way through flooded neighborhoods which were shark-infested. The sharks came in all sizes, and all were bent on attacking me, but I had little difficulty in fending them off. Even with the great whites I could hold their jaw apart with my arms and lift them from the water to deposit them somewhere else. It's possible I had been zombified at this point and had enhanced strength.
Later, in the same search, I crawled among skyscrapers and aerial vehicles, and here I was at risk from flying dolphins. They would attack any human in sight unless a special song was played, and if this was done in the right place it caused magical illusory dolphins to appear, who would interact with the real ones to some unguessed purpose.
I seem to recall other creatures posing threats of their own: wolves most probably, and a few others.
From the details of the dream, I have extrapolated certain aspects of the zombification process. The majority of those infected become mindless enemies, with only chance allowing some to preserve their minds. Regardless, all zombies had enhanced strength and senses not dependent on their organs; thus, the removal of eyes would not prevent sight, and so on. Even destroying the brain was not sufficient to kill these, and they could only be stopped by destroying completely every part of their body. Still, it seems their consciousness would remain, trapped and helpless forever. Their bodies did not decompose, and so with care they could be maintained almost indefinitely.