The demise of chinese new year

Is CNY really relevant to today's modern family unit? based on my own family's situation i'd like to argue that CNY has degenerated into nothing more than a commercial money-making opportunity.

1. internatonal standards all use the solar calendar, so what's the point of celebrating the lunar new year? ok so let's say it is chinese new year, not lunar new year.

2. ancient superstitions like making loud noises with firecrackers have been exposed as primitive mindsets. furthermore, firecrackers are not allowed in our strict nation. fireworks will have to do, and given the dismal display at the river hong bao, it's quite evident that fireworks displayed too often will make people immune to its "entertaining effects".

3. the river hong bao. every year, it gets more n more boring, displaying the same old things, 12 signs of the zodiac, with so-called fortune telling with bad english (your luck is bad and your enemies is surrounding you) and people standing under a big statue with upside down umbrellas. the large rides which entertain young people like me are gone, replaced with kiddy rides. the only source of real entertainment is the rows n rows of food stalls which are ridiculously over-priced. ($5 for a bowl of ice with colouring.)

4. family gatherings. the most painful of all. there's basically 2 kinds. the sit-down-gamble-play-mahjong-drink-beer kind, and then there's the large-scale-ktv kind. either one is just as boring and torturous. uncles and aunties u hardly know asking stupid questions like "have u grown taller? where's your gf/bf?" year after year after year, the same old lame questions. (here the only plus point is that i get to meet my cousins n complain about how stupid the gathering is, at least we have a common enemy that binds us. hahaha)

i'd write more, but i'm off to meet a friend for lunch.

2006.. the year of the dog. what a boring CNY.

dear God

what a totally boring and uneventful CNY. really. i know i should be giving thanks for all the hongbao money that i'm gonna get this year, but i really felt so bored. its like, every year me n my cousins all have to go thru this ridiculously boring routine, of trying to act nice and greet all the relatives, many of whom we only see once a year on CNY and can't even remember their name. truly, friends are more important than relatives. the only reason why i looked forward to chinese new year is being able to meet up with cousins whom i seldom see.. but now a few of my couins are overseas, and the rest are married and moved on to their in-law's houses.

anyway yesterday before the reunion dinner (which was totally terrible by the way, the restaurant was rushing us by serving dishes so quickly i haven't had time to digest my food before the next dish came, there was no crab, the dessert was totally horrible tasting and nobody knew what it was or wanted to touch it, n each person paid a totally cut-throat price of $45) i went out with her. we had a good time shopping at far east, n had a good meal at mos burger before she had to go home for reunion dinner. honestly, i think her dinner was better even though it was home-cooked. i really miss her n wish she can come with me visiting relatives and stuff, but i know that'll have to wait till 2007.. no wait, actually by 2007 i'm still on vow until i finish my studies around may. oh God thats an awful long time, but i guess a promise is a promise.

Lord i'm really having trouble finishing my building fund. i know i pledged a certain amount and finished half of it really quickly, but then i had so many overseas trips toward the end of the year, and so few tuition cos of chingay practices. i honestly don't feel like i can finish paying it. but i will. even if it takes me 2 or 3 more months, i will finish what i began. yeah i know i've been unfaithful in tithing n paying building fund. but sometimes i just forget whether or not i've already paid my tithe or not. not that its not important, but it get so routine until it becomes just another part of my life.. perhaps i am getting careless and complacent. sigh. it seems that no matter how hard i try, things don't seem to get better. no matter how i decide to read the bible, to pray, to quit certain sins, to stop leading myself into temptation, to be a better person, it always ends up in disaster. well not in disaster all the time, but i don't get the results i wanna see.

up till now i still haven't set any goals for myself this year. been too busy with everything. being under satan's yoke. hahaha what a joke, how lame is that. but the ironic thing is that i'm being doing stuff for You. don't i get some sort of break from all the serving? haiz.. i don't feel passion for the course i'm studying anymore. i don't feel motivated to pursue a good education anymore. maybe it cos i see how my friends achieved better resutls than me. or maybe its cos i don't have any friends in school. thats why i hate it so much, going to sch n not being able to talk to anyone cos i literally have zero friends in school cos i spent too much time with church friends i did not have enough time to fellowship with law friends. its hard to get into their "group" now. they've all found their cliques.

i'm tired and bored and there's so much work to be done. i'm so sick and tired of everything, i need a break from everything. maybe i'll ask from a break from strikeforce n choir.. nah. i love those ministries cos that's where my friends are. God, please help me make more friends in school.. or at least grow closer to the few pple that i know in law sch.

in Jesus name.
Amen.

End of Days 11 - New levels, new devils

zzzzz-BLAMMMM!!!

Before Turtle could notice what was happening, a giant blue fireball flew out of nowhere and struck the lizard-like creature, burning it up into ashes almost immediately-but it didn't stop there, the blue fireball blazed on, killing more monsters behind the first monstrousity, until there were about 5 huge piles of ash in the corridor, and one big melted chunk of solid brick wall. Who knows how much more power was in the blast!

"Doh! You interfering !@#$!! I was just about to kill the thing!! Don't steal my frags!" A confident Turtle didn't show the least bit of thanks, but he knew that Bourne Kiatz had saved his life with his Big Fat Gun!

"Glad we got here just in the nic of time!" Swen King grinned as Bourne lowered his smoking weapon. "But what the heck was that thing?!? How did it get here and what was it after??"

Vash wiped the beads of perspiration of his forehead. "I don't know, but I think I may know who has the answers... Come on, we've got to get back to base.. oh and thanks. Sorry for being such an arrogant fool earlier. We do need to stick together.."

"Hey don't sweat it. Just covering your back, like you did for me many times." Swen turned the jeep around and drove off, the mech-warrior marching just behind it.

*******

Meanwhile, Jiacholate and Wolfwood were faced with a problem. Shoot the zombies and wait till later to rescue the survivors and support the unstable structures? Or keep working on stabilizing the support and let the zombies get closer to them? Afterall, they were just mindless freaks with zero intelligence.. or were they?

Wolfwood decided. "Jiacholate, keep working on building a support and removing the rubble. I'll guard your back and keep those pesky things away."

"No problem. Just make sure they don't come too close.."

WWhhhrrrrll.... Ratatatatatatattt!!! RATATATATAtATATTTT!!!!

The chain machine guns kicked into gear and Wolfwood began to decapitate and destroy without a moment's hesitation. Bullets razed the surrounding, killing zombies, blasting up trees and eliminating all forms of resistance. Unfortunately, Shashi, Mikki and Small Ken did not have the luxury of heavy fire power in the dark corridors of the basements.

*******

"AAARRRRGGHHHHH!!" "Get away from meeee!!!"

The screams and cries grew even louder as Shashi led Mikki and Small Ken through a series of dark passageways. Since the new HDB flats began to have underground units, people assumed they were bomb shelters in war time as well. The smart ones quickly ran in the moment the great power surge occured. But now, they were faced with worse problems than bad wiring..

The 3 rescuers walked close together, only 2 of them having a flashlight fixed to their weapon. Shashi held in both hands sub-machine guns, Mac-10, but he was smart enough to use a L-torch clipped to his vest.

"THERE!!" yelled Shashi as he opened fire simultaneously. Bright flashes of light filled the passageway as Shashi gunned down 2 zombies which were clambering up the stairs. They seemed not to be attacking him, but running from something.

ROARrrrRR!! Apparently there was something bigger than zombies down there.

Nevertheless, the brave trio charged down into the unknown darkness, the cries of human survivors edging them on. Blasting zombies was easy enough. But now, turning a corner in the direction of the terrified screams, they came face to face with a huge lizard-like creature which almost devoured Turtle just seconds earlier. The greenish eyes of the monster looked at them with contempt, and it showed its rows of huge sharp teeth while growling in a low pitch, getting ready to attack!

"Split up!" Mikki yelled, pumping two shots into the thick hide of the monster, as Small Ken ran to her left, spraying a few bullets at the beast, and Shashi ran to the right, firing in short bursts. Mikki bravely ran forward, charging the monster on her own! Huge jaws opened up ready to make a Mikki-meal, when she suddenly lunged to the left, and fired a big fat pellet into the monster's eye!

RROOOAAARRRR!!!! The monster was now enraged and snapped its jaws around blindly, its huge tail thumping from side to side, knocking furniture and brick walls aside!

"Yeah open up wide and say cheese!!" Small Ken found the weak spot of the monster - its fleshy mouth. As the beast roared again, he lobbed a grenade into its mouth and jumped for cover.

Boom! A muted explosion could be heard and the body of the monster was deflated, as thousands of ball bearings pierced through it.

"Oh wow!" The survivors had actually stopped screaming and stared in awe at their rescuers. It must've been a proud moment for the trio. But it was short-lived as their walkie-talkie crackled. "Guys! We're surrounding by zombies! Get up here and hurry!!" bbzzzt!

Geisha isn't very nice... scolded for skipping SF prac.. argued with her a few times today... totally broke... oh man!!

dear God,

things can really change from left to right, from calmness to storm, from day to night, in a split second.

one day i was like "praise God! its a good day!" n the next day things change into a thunderstorm once again.

well that won't stop me from praising You! i still praise You in the midst of whatever's happening. i must learn to be more stable n not be swayed by mere circumstances. don't wana be the "unstable reed" anymore.

Monday was definitely a bad day. tuesday was slightly better cos i managed to spend some time with her watching Geisha, but it turned out to be quite boring, with lousy acting n lousy english. as a lawyer-wannabe, i really can't tolerate pple with bad english. not bad accents, but bad english. no wonder the newspapers slammed the movie. anyway.. not really in the mood to talk about it. only the 9 year old little girl seemed to light up the otherwise draggy movie..

Lord tml is CNY service. i'll be singing, eventhough i'm really so tired of serving week in week out. yes i still enjoy praising n worshipping You, but rushing here n there, not getting the chance to speak to pple i really want to fellowship with, is really hurting me.

getting scolded by someone for skipping prac, n that person not understanding me, is really annoying as well.. but i forgive her, she doesn't know about my situation. i don't blame her for telling me off..

yesterday night i was dead broke with only $9 in my bank account. God i really pray that You help me find some way to fulfil my building fund. i don't care about my luxuries or whatever, i'm gonna skip every movie n not take cab n not waste money until i pay You back every single cent that i promised n pledged. i refuse to think that i will fail to fulfil my building fund.

oh well at least tml janice is coming for service, thats one thing i can be thankful for.

jeremiah's grandma wake today was also not in my schedule, but i guess sometimes its more important to be with friends in such times than to stick to my rigid timetable. yeah true, i'm not close to jeremiah or yvonne, i don't even know i made much of a difference, being so poor i can't even give a bit of money for the funeral. nevertheless, i pray that both of them get thru this time strong in the Lord, esp for Jeremiah.

also i pray for Surlina. she is a good friend of mine n i really like her strong love for You no matter she is, her conviction to maintain a good relationship with You and her christian friends. bless her n encourage her, give her family the love and peace of God, send Your Holy Spirit n angels to protect them always, in this time of need, show Yourself to be so real to them. take care of Surlina Lord, she is Your beloved child.

take care of me too Lord.. i'm not exactly the most befitting christian who is deserving of Your love.. but nevertheless, i still want to love You and serve You, though i'm so unworthy.. thank You for what Jesus did on the cross, thank You for continuing to pray for me, bless me, protect me n love me.

in Jesus name,
Amen

Great service, great fellowship, great dreams n visions for God in 2006!

dear God

thanks for another great day! too bad i have a headache n can't really type too much tonight. this morning woke up with serious running nose all the way to church until BS with yujie. but thankfully it cleared up before i went on stage!

today's praise was quite bad, can't really put a finger on it, but i guess the drums were out of time, plus the choir wasn't on "hyper" mode cos i think bro Poh was trying something new with "Free", singing the bridge twice n it didn't really kick. Rain down was a little bit too fast in tempo, the choir couldn't jump at that speed, so praise was really not good.. but worship made up for it. the moment the song Glorious Redeemer was sung, Your presence came down at expo. n when the second worship song was sung, i forgot what it was i was singing, but all i remember is Your presence coming down so strong, i was tearing.

then after svc my choir IC had a little prep talk with me, to prepare for the coming year, what i want to do with the choir team n how to foster good working relationships with my members n fellow helpers n ICs. i really need to visualize improving on the team, bringing each member in the choir to a new level, challenging them, giving them chances to have breakthrus. tell me Lord where You want me to lead them.

then had a good time at Bible study.. i wonder if boonkiat really is coming for the right reason, but he does seem to get the point of the whole BS. but nevertheless i shall give him the benefit of the doubt.

Great concert at esplanade, great seafood at the dinner, n a great time with that special someone. yeah, skipped SF but i really felt the need to spend time with my family too, been out almost everyday. tonight was the 1st meal i had with them all week!

tml i think i need to see a doctor about my skin problem. pls heal me Lord, if i can save more money i'll definitely be super thankful, n give it to the building fund.

In Jesus name,
Amen!

Chingay full run.. in the RAIN!

dear God

thank You for protecting us, the strikeforce throughout the entire practice today!

i must admit that for the 1st time i actually felt scared in a thunderstorm! it was raining so heavily n yet we were still having practice, there was thunder and lightning in the distance, and i was about 4 meters high on the tower suspended on a harness! a typical lightning conductor! oh God, it was like i kept praying in tongues thru out the whole thing, as the rain beat on my body, soaking me thru, i kept praying for Your protection over me n the SF, to give us strength, n to prevent us from falling sick! i think many pple will definitely fall sick after that soaked practice, but i believe the SF will walk in divine health! cos we're not doing it to showcase ourselves, but we're doing all this to glorify Your name! that when pple hear City Harvest Church, they won't think negatively, but that we're hyper energetic, vibrant, youthful, contemporary Christians, who by the way outshine every other drumming act! Hahaha...!

talk about creativity when all other groups just simply copy plain drumming. duh.. that is like, so passe. thank God for bro boon with all his power ideas n brain storming sessions!

also Lord, i was really quite touched n happy to find that im in 2 pple's list of the 5 best friends they hand around with - namely Joan n Mikki! well for joan it was kind of expected cos she n i r really close, as friends can get. hehz.. sometimes a little too close for liking, but we all try our best to stay our course n stick to our vow. it isn't easy, but if its for You, its gonna be worth it. but for Mikki, i was honestly surprised that she'd treat me as a close friend. yeah its true, i treat her like a close friend, but more like a daughter or a sister that i never had. hehz.. she's just one year younger than my brother, i still remember how i thought she'd make a good gf for him last time! hahah.. of yes, God i pray for my bro's salvation this year! help me spend more quality time with him, its amazing how we can both still laugh n joke n flow n sing together n yet i'm saved by Your grace n he doesn't believe yet. i don't know how, but i pray You help me to reach out to him more, esp when he gets a gf, things r gonna be really different..

Lord i just wanna say how amazed i am at pple in the strikeforce. alvin n ian n the rest of the guys, not caring about getting drenched n wet, protecting God's property n the church's property. truly like what we learn at cell group, responsibility is in taking care of what is another man's.becos if i can't take care of my friend's things, what makes me think i'm able to handle the things of God? how can You trust me with Your sheep if i can't even take care of my friend's material things? its so true wat the Bible says, Your Word never ceases to amaze me.

Also special mention to Liting. the cuts n bruises on her arms n legs, all from doing up the curtains for the towers. i mean, this girl puts guys to shame! not afraid of pain, enduring evrything for a good performance, still smiling n maintaining a good attitude at all times.. oh man! She totally blows me away. (not in the sense that i like her of cos, but her deep passion for the strikeforce!) n she knows n she knows, that everything she does in this ministry, her God shall acknowledge n see her effort, her pain n sweat, n will reward her accordingly! God i want that sort of assurance from You, that even as i study hard n serve You everyweek in ministry, let it not be a vain effort to "secure" my salvation, but rather an indication of how much I love You, how much i read Your Word shows how much i really love You. thats what pastor says n it really makes sense. kong zi n ghandhi have been dead for years n pple still quote them religiously n read their books with much zest.. n these are mere dead mortals.

Tml i'm going to really disciple BK. God give me wisdom n strength to do this, its something that i don't do by nature, to be harsh on someone. yet i know that if i don't do it, he will never learn to be serious with You n just keep coming to church just for the fellowship...

Yes, bring all those backsliders back too! janice, jaric, jessie.. hah, all begin with Js! Lord i pray that N280 will really grow this year, not just in quantity but more importantly, in quality, in spiritual maturity. for we are all called to be mature sons and daughters of God!

Thank You for all the blessings in 2006, its been a better year after all!

In Jesus name,
Amen!

a good day for the me! thanks God

dear Lord,

thank You so much for a good day! i think its been a really long time since i began a prayer with thanksgiving cos lately things haven't been looking good, but who knows, praying does make a difference, You are a God who answers prayers fast! Amen!

today i really enjoyed the lesson! the teacher was good, i had my friends sitting around me, i felt much better than last year. n i actually understood most of the lesson! Hallelujah!

also had a good talk with SK n KK in the evening. yeah, SK isn't really going thru the best times in his life right now, but i pray that he still finds his way in You eventually. i made the mistake of getting into a "secret" relationship many times, n never once did any good come out o f it. i only pray that he doesn't learn this lesson the hard way..

also the 4 hour tuition with janice was really draining on me! i'm surprised that she is actually so willing to study. really pray that she comes back to You this year n this time its forever! she really needs You in her life so much, pls draw her back to Your kingdom..

when i was bathing earlier i sort of prayed to You that i felt that 2006 is the year for me to really concentrate on cg stuff. maybe not the admin, but the discipling, the praying, the Bible-reading, the example-setting, the counselling parts. i'm not good at admin cos i really am quite careless n forgetful sometimes. thank God for mikki who's doing a much better job than me! yes i'm not afraid to say that someone younger than me is doing a better job than me. n its good, even if she rises up before me. its not a competition of who's doing more things for You, but rather its about who is walking in Your will.

also anoint me to play my best for cell group tml! i haven't been playing guitar for a long time, or at least play for cell group, been playing more on the keyboard recently, i love composing music for You. but i pray that tml the atmosphere would be better, that You touch everyone's heart during worship, that the 1st cell group of the year will be a great one, an unforgetable one!

tml's gonna be another great day living for You! help me walk in Your will every single day, praying, reading Your Word, getting revelations, discipling my flesh, bowing to Your will, leaning on Your Holy Spirit!!

In Jesus name
Amen!

How could this happen to me? I've made my mistakes.. Life goes on... - Simple Plan

Dear God,

i know i started off 2006 with a lousy beginning. ended 2005 with a lousy ending as well.

what, with my results going down the drain, with my building fund outstanding amount, with my parents starting to nag at me for this n that, for failing to achieve probably not even half my goals in the 2005 goal card. this year, 1st week of sch i already skipped almost every single lesson, sort of resumed a forbidden relationship, overslept for service day, didn't finish reading the Bible, didn't even pray at all last week, becoming addicted to a computer game (see previous post!) and wasting money on cab fares rushing to sch n to SF again (after deciding not to take cab last year during the BF period). and to top it all off, that girl i like is always being chased by guys. guys at her work place, her poly friends, whatever. i can't stand it. her boss just asked her to be his gf. oh man, if she doesn't quit her job i'm sure he'll be nicer to her again.

just proves huimin's theory right. at first i used to be against it, but now, i think she's right. men cannot be trusted. men in general are trash. why are guys good to a girl? simply cos he has some ulterior motive. well, of cos i'm not condemning all guys and not all the guys i know are like that, but basically guys who haven't received Christ yet. maybe i can't blame them, afterall, they haven't had a change of mindset yet.. but still, i tend to think most guys r scum, esp those kind out there in the world who think they're all so rich n handsome n popular.

God i know i'm being a bit biased n over-reacting a little, but why does it seem that the girl i like always has other guys chasing them?

the same with phoebe, the same with jessie, the same with joan.

but You know what the difference is? i know that with the previous 2, they were making an effort to flirt around, they were doing it on purpose to gain attention or to feel secure or whatever lame childish reason. but with joan, she's just being too naive, too friendly, too nice n too loving, and i can't fault her for that. only person i can blame is myself, for being another one of her "victims".

God, You were right to have me go on this vow. honestly, the girl i love in the future, i don't want any of this nonsense. i want her to be like those CGLs in church, whereby guys know from one look that they're off-limits, that the presence of God is so strong, any ulterior motive will be crushed into sand.

of cos, i'm not saying i'm Mr Perfect either. no way. i've sinned again n again in the same area of my life so many times i think You're a bit sick of hearing me apologise n try to repent again. but i will still keep trying to break that habit, until i succeed n by Your grace I will be able to do it!! i can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me.

i can complete my vow n remain faithful to You. faithfulness has always been one of my strong points. now i need to improve on it, not just being "normal" faithful, but to be of a "strong" faith, the mountain-moving faith, God-fearing faith, to be full of faith not just for the moment but always.

i'm tired of heartbreaks n useless negative emotions that don't bring me any closer to my destiny in You. i'm tired of worrying what if i don't end up with the one i like, tired of worrying if i do something wrong n hurt her.

God, i'm honestly stuck in a spot n don't know what to do.

i haven't set any goals for this year, i just run around n try to stick to my rigid schedule of school, ministry, tuition, church and cell group. i don't have time to pray, don't have time to relax, don't have time to read the Bible, don't have time to spend with You, don't have time to think thru what i'm doing.

i've written half a song n the begining of a worship song.. but the moment i begin something, it seems like i can't finish it. You are the author n finisher of my faith. if i can't finish things i start, then maybe its becos i started off well in my Christian walk with You, but now things are falling apart cos I'm drifting further from You... Oh help me love You n experience You more, God.

In Jesus name,
Amen

just started RO

oh man..

can't believe it.. watched The Heirloom on thurs n it was a super boring, waste of money, lame movie! oh my goodness, i can't believe i wasted money on that show! thats TWO lousy shows in a row, the chinese tall story n now the heirloom! thats it, NO MORE chinese movies for me!

dunno why but chinese movies can never appeal to me. the acting n costumes n special effects suck so bad. they should just have a warning label on chinese movies: watch only if u have money to waste n time to kill.

RO is strangely addictive. hahaha.. can make friends with other gamers, party with strangers, even start dating n get married online, as far as i've heard! got announcement of who n who is getting married every now n then! lolz! now level 51 liao, i wonder how high can i get... probably get till around 60 then stop playing liao, time to get serious about school n strikeforce n other more important stuffz.. lolz.

End of Days 10 - Tribute to RE and House of Dead

"Over there!" Shashi pointed to a block of flats in the vicinity, half of it collasped onto the bottom half, which was cracked and crumbling even as he spoke. A few smaller flats around it were also destroyed, the remaining ones on fire, as thick black smoke filled the air, making it difficult to breathe.

"Put on your gas masks!" Samuel Wolfwood instructed. Mikki, Jiacholate and Small Ken obeyed, scurrying to put on their masks. They tried to stay calm, because panicking would only make their breaths come in short bursts, making it even more difficult to filter out the air.

The powerful arms of the mechs quickly removed large chunks of plaster and bricks, while Shashi, Small Ken and Mikki jumped onto the ground to search for survivors trapped beneath the rubble. Soon, they heard the sounds of people crying out for help, trapped beneath layers of concrete. "Shashi was right! There are actually people down there!" Mikki cried out excitedly.

Something screeched, a horrifying high pitched sound which pierced the smoke and flames, causing chills to tremor down their spines.

"Yeah and there's obviously more than trapped people down there!" Ka-chuk!! Small Ken disabled the "safety" button on his carbine and switched on the torch light. Mikki preferred something a little more close combat, and took out an automatic shotgun.

"Don't move in yet! We can't see a thing through the smoke!" Wolfwood commanded. Another terrifying scream echoed out of the rubble. Then, more human screams followed, screams of terror. The survivors were facing more trouble than just collasping concrete walls!

Shashi couldn't wait a moment more and disappeared, moving with agility and speed, down an opening in the rubble, intent on rescuing the survivors. "Ah heck!" Small Ken and Mikki dashed in after him.

"NO!!" Wolfwood yelled, but to no avail. Jiacholate just shook her head and continued removing large chunks of concrete, hoping that her good friends would come to no harm, facing whatever was down there. Suddenly, she noticed that many figures were surrounding the mechs, moving slowly and sluggishly, but some were carrying weapons! At first only a few could be seen, dragging their feet toward the mechs, but soon as the smoke cleared when the eat wind blew, dozens more appeared. And then dozens and dozens more...

*******

Ka-POW!! Blam blam!!

Jordan and Yangshuo took down 3 more zombies as they raced toward Pioneer Mall. Gloria had already crushed half a dozen zombies and opened the doors of the landrover, Jeremiah, George and Shilpa had jumped out. George and Shilpa had standard M-16s equipped with M203 grenade launchers, while Jeremiah had his double-barreled shotgun and 2 magnum dessert eagles at his side. Gloria preferred to remain in her vehicle, and drove around to recce the area for anymore threats.

Jordan simply drove his bike straight through the shattered glass doors of the shopping mall, smashing more pieces of glass and creating a ruckus. He whipped out his own shotgun, looking for anything to shoot. Nothing. The remaining 4 troopers ran in and took up defensive positions. Gloria had already parked the landrover on the roof with one solid leap, and was setting up her AWP rifle to snipe any intruders.

"Alright, let's see if there's anyone home." Jeremiah took out a hand-held heat-tracker. Any living thing had a temperature of around 37 degrees, distinctively higher than the surroundings. "There!! On the second storey. There's a strong heat signal from there. Let's move!"

"Woah!! Watch out!" Rat-tatatatatatt!! Shilpa opened fire at a couple of zombies sneaking up on Jeremiah from behind!

"Oh crap! We're surrounded!!" Jordan fire two rounds, sending 4 zombies splattering all over the wall, but seeing 8 more emerge from other shops in the mall.

"Should we head for the exits??" George asked, while shooting the heads off another 2 zombies.

Blam blam blam!!! "No! We're here for a reason! Let's rescue those civilians!" Yangshuo headed for the escalator, pistols blazing.

RRroooaarrrrRR!!! Zombies cried out in anguish as their food blew parts of their bodies off as they ran past the slow lumbering undead. There were more making their way, drawn by the sound of gun fire and the smell of fresh meat.

"Out of my way!" Yangshuo was an unstoppable battering ram as he charged up the escalators, blasting anything in his path, occasionally punching and throwing a writhing zombie off the escalators onto the concrete ground. The rest followed closely behind, shooting in all directions. None noticed the swarm of zombies entering through the front doors, salivating and panting hungrily, driven by only one factor - the urge to feed.

"More of them!!" Rat-atatatatatatatttt!!! Blam blam blam!! Ka-POW!!

"Eat hot lead you freaks!!" George unslung his GPMG with its 7.62 mm bullets and positioned it at the escalator. He only had about 100 rounds, the rest of the ammunition was back in the landrover. "I'll cover this area. Get the survivors and let's get out of here!!" Rat-atatatatattt!!

"We'll come back for you, buddy!" Jeremiah yelled and the remaining 4 ran toward the heat signal. Only to come across a huge obstacle. Somehow the smart humans had piled tons of furniture and barbed wired across the hall, blocking off attackers, but unfortunately blocking off their rescuers as well.

"Anyone there??!" yelled Yangshuo.

"Oh thank God!! We're here!!" a female voice shouted back from behind the barricade. "There's about 12 of us here, a few of us are injured quite badly. Quick get us out of here!!!"

"How do we get past this barricade!" Yangshuo asked in frustration.

"Just use the stairs by the side of the building to come up to where we are! The zombies are too dumb to use the narrow stairway.. At least they haven't tried to up till now. Half of the people here can't walk without help, otherwise we'd have run off long ago..." the woman replied.

"And thank God you didn't! Its worse than hell out there. Just wait there! We'll go to you in a few minutes!" Yangshuo faced his team. "You guys heard her, the only way to reach them is to go up by the stair ways.." "Not unless there's another way! Look, we can go up to the roof and enter the stairs from the roof! I'm not going to risk going out through the front doors again! take a good look down there!!" Shilpa pointed to the mass of zombies struggling up the escalator. George was taking down more than 4-5 with every shot, but still the undead pressed on. Blood ran down the steps of the escalator like a river, drawing even more zombies by the scent of it.

"Good idea Shilpa.. first, we gotta take out that escalator! George, stand back!!" Shilpa loaded a round into the M203 launcher. George ran back, and Shilpa squeezed the trigger. With a gentle "pop!" sound, the grenade flew toward the escalator, causing an explosion which crumbled the top of the escalator, sending dozens of zombies crashing to the ground level.

"Right! Now they can't get us from behind!" Jordan strode ahead confidently.

They ran toward the 3rd level escalator, with little resistance, since most of the zombies were only on the 1st level. Once they got to the roof, however, they were in for a nasty surprise.

Yangshuo kicked the door open. "Gloria! We've got to... oh my goodness, no way!!"

Gloria fired her AWP, punching a melon sized whole in 3 zombies in a row, while dozens more moved toward her. Beads of sweat could be seem dripping down her forehead as she changed to her hand gun, aiming only for the heads of the nearest zombies. Blam! Blam!

"Gloria get down!!" Jordan yelled as the 5 of them opened fire just in the nick of time, blasting the zombies into smithereens. The last one took a bullet between the eyes and in its throat as Gloria fired her last 2 rounds. "Whew! Thanks guys! I couldn't have held out much longer!"

"Where did those zombies come from??" Jeremiah wondered and somehow instinctively looked up and got his answer.

Dozens of zombies were jumping off the 5th storey of the nearest HDB block, trying to get to the roof of the mall. Most didn't make it, turning into mush on the solid concrete below, but the few that did, even with broken bones, limped and crawled their way toward Gloria in hunger.

"Gloria, you stay here with Shilpa. The rest of us will get the survivors back on the second storey." George shouted, and ran down the other stairway. It seemed that this mission was almost a success, with zero casualty rate.

*******

The giant feet of the mech warrior wheezed and clinked their way toward the science lab. Not a single zombie or enemy in sight. So far so good. No bothering to open the door, Vash simply crashed through the lab doors, as security alarms went off. No matter, there wasn't a single security personnel available within a 1000 meters.

After visiting several rooms and taking a lot of equipment, (some still in experimental stage too) Vash felt they had no room for more and decided to head back. it was beginning to get slightly dark, as the sun had began to set. long shadows skated along the walls, forming eerie shapes. No matter, these tough guys don't scare easily, and they turned around to head back. that was when things started to get a little difficult.

Growl!

"What was that?" Turtle asked. More growls followed. He turned his gun from side to side looking for a target.

"I don't know and I'm not about to find out!" Vash pushed a few buttons to increase the speed of the mech, and slowly it began to speed up, taking great strides across the lab, crushing concrete slabs on the floor, sending minor shockwaves in all directions. And it was a good decision to speed up too.

Suddenly, huge monstrous scaly creatures with horrible growls and roars came thundering out from the back of the corridor! Vash could not see his adversaries at all, and could only pray to make it out of the lab into the open space, as Turtle fired his turret guns at the beasts, trying to hit a sensitive spot! RATATATATATATTTTT!!! RRRAATTTATATATATT!! The bullets seemed to bounce off the thick hide of those beasts! And at this moment, the gun jams.

"Oh NO!! Not now!!" Turtle almost screams in desperation, as the nearest lizard notices the weapon not firing anymore, and lunges toward the mech warrior, mouth sprang open showing possibly hundreds of sharp teeth!

End of Days 9 - The Emergence of the Three

*bbzzzzzztt*

"... urge all Singaporeans to stay in their homes with their doors locked and barricaded. Do not go out onto the streets until further notice. The Singapore Armed Forces are effectively dealing with the situation. Adults above 21 who are without signs of infection of the disease, and fighting fit are advised to arm themselves with any kind of weapon and proceed to the nearest military camp to be enlisted.."

*bbzzzztttttt* *flicker*

"... reporting live from Ang Mo Kio central, where hundreds of infected people have attacked local police, who are unable to stop them... even the police dogs released have seemed to become infected with the deadly disease..."

*bbzzzzttt!*

"... United Nations Committee are frantically discussing evacuation plans for all Heads of States... possibly authorizing the use of the world's nuclear bombs to wipe out resistence in areas where the disease has raged totally out of control, like North Korean and Afganistan.."

*bbbzzzzzzztttt!!* *flicker!*

"... the gun fire is deafening, soldiers are shooting anything in sight that moves.. oh no, looks like that one got through the line! he's biting onto that soldier! cameraman, get a shot of that!! oh my !@#$$% this is one hundred percent live, a soldier is getting his arm chewed off by an attacker! this is incredible folks! oh no.. wait.. NO!! back OFF!! run, damn it!!!... run faster!!! AAARRGGHHH"

*******

"Rachel!! What in heaven's name was that??" Pst Charmaine yelled into the microphone.

Rachel could only drop her jaw in shock at the terrible creature that clambered over the electrified fence, ignoring the hundreds of volts of electricity that zapped through its scaly body!

She had watched many monster movies before. Jurasic Park with its T-Rex and dinosaurs. Godzilla, with a giant lizard with radioactive breath. But this was real life. And she had to blink her eyes twice to make sure it wasn't an optical illusion.

The thing in front of her was as real as the trigger her trembling finger tried to squeeze.

"What're you waiting for??! Open fire!!" Meryl fired her machine gun at the creature, trying to deal some major damage to it.

Lionhartz and Shawn's mech warrior came running from the front of the church to see if Rachel and Meryl needed any help. And their jaws dropped almost as wide as Rachel's.

The thing towered over them, its tremendous jaws displaying huge, sharp, jagged teeth.

"EAT LEAD!!" Shawn quickly aimed his dual guns and blasted the hell out of the beast, and Rachel, when hearing his familiar voice, snapped out of her shock and joined him in blasting the monster with bullets.

The creature gave a deafening cry of anguish, as bullets pierced its hide and penetrated its body. Its claws lashed out in self-defence, knocking Rachel's mech warrior aside, sending it crashing into the fountain. Next, it roared ferociously and charged toward Shawn's machine!

"COME ON!!" Shawn and Lionhartz squeezed their triggers as hard as they could, preparing for the impact!

KABOOM!!!

The creature was hit in the side and was thrown some 10 meters into the air, splattering blood and guts all over the compound, before smacking against the nearby HDB block and landed with a splat on the floor.

Charmaine threw down the empty anti-tank launcher. "Shawn, reload this.. and keep an eye out for more of them!" Then she calmly walked back into Dead Reckoning, as the others merely starred at her in awe. Truly a woman with style.

*******

Team Alpha had plowed through a sea of zombies and had reached the NTU's medical lab without any serious incidents. Swen King and Bourne Kiatz were rumaging through the medical labs for medicine, while Vash and Kenneth secured the perimeter, patrolling in the mech warriors. Clarence and Turtle were gathering canned food, biscuits and drinks in the nearby canteen.

The intercom buzzed. "Team Alpha! Come in!"

Vash replied, "Loud and clear, over."

"Team Beta has rounded up a number of survivors and is headed back to base. How's things on your side?"

"Couldn't be better. Walk in the park." grinned Vash.

"Watch out for surprises! A giant lizard thingy just attacked the base. I killed it with a rocket, but it was awfully big and damaged the building's defensive structures. We've got to get an aerial view, or some radar or visual of the surrounding areas. There could be more of them, or other weird creatures around!" Charmaine commanded.

"Hmm.. I guess we could venture into the science labs to search for infra-red goggles or something.. its worth a shot. Over and out."

Clarence and Turtle returned with some supplies, dumped it into the mech warrior's compartments and saddled up for action once again.

"Look what we found!" Bourne yelled from the carpark. Apparently he had hotwired a jeep and Swen was already inside in the passenger seat, medical supplies in the back seats.

"Alright. Turtle and I will move over to the science lab for some equipment, you guys return to base first. " Vash moved the machine upwards and it strode powerfully toward the science lab.

"But we shouldn't split up, it's better if we stick together!" Swen objected.

Vash hardly took notice. "Do your job and I'll do mine." He replied, and the mech warrior leapt into the air, jet packs boosting it as it jumped over the soccer field toward the science lab.

*******

"Its good to have more soldiers in the team!" Wolfwood clasped the hands of his new alliances.

Though tired and battered-looking, Shashi and Yangshuo were sharp and active in the spirit. They eagerly reloaded their weapons and grabbed more guns from Jordan's bike and clambered onto the Mech-warrior.

Shashi pointed in the direction of the food court. "There's some people trapped in that collasped building over there. We've got to go help them!"

Yangshuo shook his head. "Those people have surely been crushed to death by now. Further down the road, I heard people yelling for help at the Pioneer Shopping Center, I think they've been cornered by zombies. We need to rescue them!"

Before they could begin to argue, Mikki stepped in and said, "Why don't we split into teams? Obviously the people at both parts need help. The mechs will go with Shashi to help them."

"Right! Yangshuo, hop in, we'll drive over to help those poor guys at Pioneer Mall!" Gloria volunteered.

"Its alright, i'll rather ride shotgun at the back of Jordan's bike." Yangshuo hopped onto the Harley Davidson and took out his 2 hand guns for easy shooting.

"Okay teams, let's move out! Rendezvous at base at exactly 7 pm, no later! use the coms link if necessary!" Wolfwood and Mikki stomped their mechs toward the collasp site, as the bike and landrover headed to Pioneer Mall.

*******

Meanwhile, deep within the pits of hell...

"They did what?! Destroy my minion with some man-made weapon?? Impossible!!" The figure angrily slammed his fist on a huge rock, splitting it into pieces. His other hand held onto a rod, much like the one held by Moses when crossing the red sea, but this one was different. It glowed an eerie hellish red, and bore the mark of the Beast.

"We need to go down and kill all of them the proper way!" A second figure spoke, sharp rows of teeth showing his fury. His black hood hid his hideous face, and his deathly black mantle trailed along the ground.

"GGggggrrr... I do believe it is time... GGGGGrrreat things will happen... Time to RRrrrise up and let chaos RRRRrrrulee once again!" This 3rd person, no, more of a Beast, roared and its fiery breath burnt the ground in front of it into soot.

"No." The first figure spoke again, this time in a cold voice. "Let the master speak."

A fourth figure, shrouded in smokes of flames, thundered in an inhuman voice, "They killed but one of my minions. Let's see how they fare against more of them... Perhaps a hundred? Or two? Hahahaha... No.. A hundred will be more than enough to destroy those foolish humans.. We will have our revenge against them! How could they win His love?? We were the best angels of all heaven!!... No.. We will show Him that humans are weak and corrupt. Then maybe He will realise what a big mistake He's made!! I will still be the Morning Star!! Hahahaha...!!"

1st post of 2006!

Happy New Year!!!