Marked: Chapter 2

[zelda_queen]

ZeldaQueen: Right then, after that first dose of fail, let's continue

Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

ZeldaQueen: Alright, so Zoey has spent enough time admiring her reflection in the bathroom and tries to sneak outside once more. This time, the parking lot is empty, save for "just some random kid wearing those seriously unattractive gang wanna-be baggy pants cutting across the far end of the lot". That's nice.

As she steps outside, she starts to notice that the sunlight is starting to cause her some pain. Well, one small point in favor of this world's vampires. At least the changes appear to have some sort of negative effects and downsides. Let's see how consistently they're kept around, though. Anyway, she holds up her hand to shield her eyes and starts running across the parking lot, only for Heath to show up in a truck. Oh yeah, I was really missing that guy who was mentioned exactly twice and has no characterization beyond being a boozehound. Zoey glances at him between the fingers of her outstretched hand, "like I was watching one of those stupid slasher movies" (and I'll admit, that was kind of a funny descriptor), and notices that, surprise surprise, Heath is drunk and all dopey because of it. Zoey forgets about the whole being Marked thing and starts yelling at what a dumbass Heath is for getting drunk at their school, and again I have to wonder why this kid hasn't gotten busted for his alcoholism by the principle or the coach. Clearly he's not doing it at home or in careful amounts or in a way that it isn't noticeable.

Heath continues to be very unlikable and starts doing the drunk-guy-hits-on-girl routine. Zoey starts putting her stuff in the car so he can't see her face and asks why he's not at football practice. Apparently they got the day off because they won the game last Friday. Blu wut? Does football practice really work like that? Anyway, Heath catches on that Zoey might not be happy with him and asks if Kayla has been spreading rumors about him, adding "You know I didn't really cheat on you". Kayla didn't say anything about cheating, so Zoey gets all pissed because he's bust-ed. She turns to glare at him and he sees the Mark and wigs out because "you can't be Marked. We're going out". *flatly* Wow, what stellar dialogue here. Truely, P.C. and Kristen Cast have perfectly captured the voice of the American teenager.

Zoey opts to get angry over the "we're going out bit" and starts screaming at him, before pitching over and having a coughing fit. There's two idiot guys in the car named Drew and Dustin, and I haven't mentioned them before now because thus far, they've contributed dick all to the scene besides wrestle in the backseat and be stereotypical dumb guys. They notice Zoey's coughing and tell her to lay off of the cigarettes. Heath, apparently totally serious and trying to help, says "Dude! Leave her alone. You know she don't smoke. She's a vampyre".

Okay, why was Zoey attracted to this idiot in the first place? He's apparently got all of the intelligence of a sack of hammers, the subtlety of an elephant farting the 1812 Overture, and drinks more than Bender. What's he got? He's hot and apparently he was sweet to Zoey earlier. I find it hard to believe though, since we've seen no evidence of this. I also find it hard to believe that this idiocy is all to blame on his inebriation, especially since he sounds more like Moose from Archie comics than a drunk guy. Plus, I'm sure a drunk guy shows more tact than this.

Anyway, Drew and Dustin start going on about how Zoey's a freak now. She gets fed up and screams at them to stop bother her, and I kind of don't blame her. These people are all annoying. What is it with everyone in these young adult novels being total dickheads? Anyway, she starts to feel all powerful and realizes that she enjoys terrorizing Drew and Dustin, and oh shit, please don't tell me we're going through this again.

The two idiots figure out that their days are numbered if they stick around much longer and promptly floor it, causing Heath to fall out of the open tailgate he was sitting on. He falls on his ass and skins his palms and Zoey suddenly notices how nummy he smells. Everything takes a turn for the...erm, sexy and she starts moaning about how she wants something from him and he keeps going on about how he loves her and wants her back and then Drew and Dustin drive back up and toss Heath in the truck and drive off. Apparently Zoey was all attracted to Heath's blood and is now all freaked out. She hurries home and starts trying to sort things out, and thus far I do have to give credit - it's made pretty clear that Zoey's desire for blood and power is not desirable and she's freaked out.

So she starts trying to figure out how to deal with her family, and yet again they're all described as being the biggest group of jerks to crawl out of a bog. Her sister is apparently at cheerleading practice and her brother (who she refers to as "the troll") will probably be busy playing Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. Incidentally, she acts like that game is the grossest and most violent thing ever. It's rated Teen.

That aside, Zoey actually has a brief moment where she breaks down and wants her mom to take care of her, and then goes inside. Her mom is reading and drinking coffee and we get a moment where Zoey remembers how her mom used to read exotic romances and wear makeup, but the stepfather won't allow that now. I have to wonder, why are all stepparents in books like these always so nasty? Do people in young adult literature just have universal bad taste in remarriages?

Anyway, Mrs. Redbird's Mom Senses start tingling and for the briefest moment she actually does act concerned and asks her daughter what's wrong. Then she sees the Mark and starts flipping out and wondering what her husband will say. Zoey starts getting upset and asks her to just not tell the stepdad for a little bit, while she packs up and heads off to the vampire school. Oh, and for the first time, we get some explanation for these coughing fits that she's been having - apparently when a person is Marked, they start getting sicker and sicker until they die, unless they go to the House of Night. Erm, except that she was coughing before being Marked. I don't even.

Zoey's mom quickly becomes really unlikeable, worrying about John-the-Stepfather's reaction instead of, oh I don't know, the fact that her daughter was turned into a vampire and will be forced to live in a strange, new place. That particular plot element, the whole vampire thing, has been put on hold, incidentally. Most of the rest of this chapter is devoted to Zoey and her mom bitching at each other about John and how he's ruined or not ruined the family. Zoey's mom argues that he is able to provide the family with a lot of money so they can live comfortably. Zoey believes that the "oldest daughter has turned into a sneaky, spoiled slut who's screwed half of the football team", the younger brother plays "nasty, bloody video games", and the mother will only "smile at them and pray for them and let them do whatever". That's all very interesting. Wasn't there something about vampires going on at some point? I mean God! This is why you set up this stuff before the potentially interesting stuff happens!

Incidentally, that "pray for them" bit? I've been told that the religious nature of the parents has been handled with "the subtlety of a sledgehammer attached to a fire axe". Oh boy, can't wait for this! *rolls eyes*

Also, I have to ask, if the parents are so ultra-conservative and whatnot, why are they apparently fine with one of their children being a total skank and the other playing games which we're supposed to believe are too bloody and violent for him?

Okay, whatever, we're nearly done. Zoey finishes screaming at her mother and for some reason, she wishes that they'd all drown. I have no idea why, since there's no mention of there being a pool or ocean or anything in the area. She storms off to her room to pack for her stay at this House of Night thing. Want to know what she brings?

"My two favorite pairs of jeans, besides what I had on. A couple of black T-shirts. I mean, what else do vampyres wear? Plus, they are slimming. I almost passed on my cute aqua-colored sparkly cami, but all that black was bound to make me more depressed…so I included it. Then I stuffed tons of bras and thongs and hair and makeup things into the side pouch. I almost left my stuffed animal, Otis the Shish (couldn't say fish when I was two), on my pillow, but…well…vampyre or not I didn't think I could sleep very well without him. So I tucked him gently into the damn backpack"

ZeldaQueen: You know, it's one of the odd things about this story - in the two chapters of it that I've done, Zoey has been weirdly fluctuating on my "Likability" meter. I mean, she's shallow and she's a hypocrite, but every so often there's the tiniest spot that is interesting and makes me smack my head, because it looks like Ms and Miss Cast can write. Take, for example, this bag scene. It's a perfect opportunity to show a bit of Zoey's character. After all, how better to show a person's personality than what they decide to take with them? So we get a few things that actually are kind of telling, things like her stuffed fish, or bringing the blue cami because all black is too depressing.

And then...well, there's the other stuff. Like, "I'm bringing black because it's slimming". I can understand needing bras, but a thong? No, thongs? And hair and makeup stuff, yeah. And yes, I know that having those things doesn't make one a shallow, spoiled teenager, but I find it rather hypocritical and stupid that her sister is bashed as being such a horrible and stereotypical slut, yet Zoey herself pretty much flaunts the same stereotypes.

In a way, I find myself wondering if this fluctuation is because PC can actually write and Kristen...less so? I don't know.

Anyway, the chapter ends with John coming home because I guess he can just ditch work at a moment's notice. Does one's stepchild turning into a vampire count as a medical emergency, maybe? So yeah, Zoey says to her stuffed fish "Otis, this sucks" and steps out of her room and it's done
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Onward to: Chapter 3

Back to: Chapter 1

Back to: Table of Contents

Comments

[yemi-hikari.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about the hypocracy when it comes to her sister. Everything seems brushed over too easily.

[hoppytoad79.livejournal.com]

The series is heavy with slut shaming and hypocricy. Cyna and Kayla at You're Killing Us (http://yourekilling.us/?page_id=1344)do a great job of reviewing/shredding this series as well (scroll down the list the link takes you to for each book) and take the authors to task for that crap.

[carmyn]

Hmm, I have a theory: I wonder if P.C Cast is not much more than a ghostwriter? Maybe not completely, but I wonder if Kristen (*cringe*) came up with the idea, figured she either couldn't write worth a shit, or she was the typical teenager who couldn't stick to something, so she got mommy to write it. (Which, I find ridiculous. I wrote a full novella when I was 15 that eventually morphed into the novel I'm writing now.) I mean, even look at the names. We get the daughter's full name yet the mother is reduced to initials. Granted, she could have wanted it that way, but I think P.C was the writer while Kristen was the storymaker. *shrugs* Could be me, I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

I don't know. I think "PC" is how she signs her name on everything (her full name is "Phyllis Christine", so yeah). If she did all of the writing though, I'd imagine that the characterization would be more consistent. I dunno...

[(Anonymous)]

Oh yeah, It's mostly Kristen's series (she write most in each book up until book 6) but her mother colaborates, as well.

[(Anonymous)]

That would be a good explanation, as her mother is older and has been writing longer than Kristen. Plus she has more books published, so...

[carmyn]

Hence why I think she was a bit more of a ghostwriter. I looked her up and she already has two YA series under her belt, and apparently more to the story of how the books came to be was that P.C's agent wanted her to cash in on the vampire boom that Meyer started so I guess she enlisted the help of her daughter. Kristen's name is together with her mother's, so I guess she had a lot of pull in how the book was written, hence the inconsistencies.

[mogseltof.livejournal.com]

I *think* the whole Marking/Tracker/Change thing works as:

Step 1 - Kid gets weird coughing fits symptomatic of vampyrisation. Step 2 - Trackers find which kids have symptoms and mark so they know/people know/know to get help. Step 3 - They go get help so they don't kick the bucket.

I think. There are still some bits that annoy me (like how they become vampires in the first place, and why Trackers aren't a full on agency if all they're doing is finding the ones already changing), but anymore thought down that road ends in dead ends for me. :S

I get what you mean about the fluctuating characterisation, and I think it's definitely the differences in the writing styles. Parts of it feel like my first writing attempts while others are quite good.

I'm glad she took the stuffed toy though. For some reason, people forget the stuffed toys.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"Step 1 - Kid gets weird coughing fits symptomatic of vampyrisation. Step 2 - Trackers find which kids have symptoms and mark so they know/people know/know to get help. Step 3 - They go get help so they don't kick the bucket.

I think. There are still some bits that annoy me (like how they become vampires in the first place, and why Trackers aren't a full on agency if all they're doing is finding the ones already changing), but anymore thought down that road ends in dead ends for me. :S"

Okay, that makes sense. I still don't get why people are afraid of the Trackers. I mean, I guess it could be a case of shoot the messenger, like "Oh shit, a Tracker's here, guess my cold was actually vampirism". The thing is, they act like the Tracker showing up and Marking you is the thing that starts the transformation. I mean, Zoey doesn't start to get hurt by sunlight or crave blood until after she's Marked.

Still, if it's how you think it is, I do have to admit that's a cool idea for vampirism. :)

And yes, the stuffed toy thing was something I liked, especially the thing about her calling it a "shish" because she couldn't say "fish". That was cute.

[(Anonymous)]

{And yes, the stuffed toy thing was something I liked, especially the thing about her calling it a "shish" because she couldn't say "fish". That was cute.}

Occasionally, there are tiny little bits like that that are something I sort of liked about this book. It added realism to Zoey, something as a teenager, I could relate to. On a tale beside my bed is four stacks of mangas next to an even larger group of Monsters Inc and Kidrobot Fatcap toys I've been collecting since I was 11. Bella Swan was never mentioned having any knick-knacks, no toys from childhood or pictures as memories and this made her extremely unrelatable. Even if you've moved out of your parents home there's probably a photo album or a necklace from ages ago you still have.

Trackers still confuse me. I never really got them, though the possibility of dying IS rather frightening.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

That is the one thing that I really do like about this book - we are given some life to Zoey outside of OMG VAMPYRES!!! I just wish that some of this would have been set up *before* the Mark thing, because I do like that she has her favorite toy and things like that, but I'm also wondering when the stupid vampires are coming into this.

[(Anonymous)]

Actully, some funny shit happens before the vampires come. *snickers* Well, I laughed at it.

[(Anonymous)]

Exactly! From that ONE paragraph or her packing we learn that Zoey has favourite clothing, tries to not make herself depressed, a stuffed toy from when she was little, she likes looking nice, does her hair and wears make-up. What did we learn from Bella Swan with the stuff she took to Forks? She wears clothes for the weather, had strawberry smelling shampoo, took Jane Austen and other such books and... um...

Had almost no personality what-so-ever? And it took over a chapter to learn just those three facts about her.

[anakinnotvader.livejournal.com]

Weird how she takes a couple of shirts and a few pairs of jeans, but "tons" of bras and thongs. Is she planning to parade around in her underwear?

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

*snerk* I guess so. I've heard she has a lot of boyfriends/hopefuls in this thing.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, no hopefuls. All boyfriends. Anyone can be with Zoey if they're hot! There's only one guy in the entire series I really like and he doesn't come in until book 4, damnit!.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Oh great, I can't wait for that. >_

[watson8888.livejournal.com]

I know. I take more clothes than that on a weekend visit. One of us is packing wrong. Plus, if you only bring, what, three shirts you are either going to smell, or you'll need to shower every day.

[(Anonymous)]

She probably packed more but it just wasn't mentioned. If she didn't then, well, don't know, lol. It's obvious she's planning to go to The Grand N' Scary House O' Night so maybe they have a uniform like regular high schools. Then again, that still doesn't solve weekends... Maybe she knows the students are allowed out to town on weekends and she's taking that as a shopping oppurtunity? Hell, I really have no clue.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Maybe she somehow thought that vampyres don't get BO?

[watson8888.livejournal.com]

Oops — I said "shower" when I meant "do laundry." Clearly I am a professional wordsmith.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Well she'd have to shower and do laundry a lot. XD If she didn't clean herself up, she couldn't reuse her clothes between laundry days.

[watson8888.livejournal.com]

What frustrates me is that making Zoey's family a bunch of self-centered, mean-spirited jerks is that it's lazy. If they're jerks, then she doesn't have to feel bad about abandoning them. She won't be sad, or homesick, or have to deal with the fact that she's turning into a vampire while the rest of her family stays human.

Of course, I will retract this all if Zoey actually has to deal with some of the negative stuff that comes from having a troll brother, slut sister, and mom who's more obsessed with what her husband thinks than what's going on with her children.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"She won't be sad, or homesick, or have to deal with the fact that she's turning into a vampire while the rest of her family stays human."

Yeah, she kind of has a revelation about that in a chapter or two. -_-

[watson8888.livejournal.com]

Aw, man. Usually I love being right, but not in this instance.

[(Anonymous)]

You know, I wouldn't mind Zoey being a judgmental, shallow, bitch; If it were a flaw. If the author/s made her that way on purpose, I'd say "Good on you guys for making a character with flaws!" But the thing is, they didn't. They're just basing Zoey on Kristen, when she was a teenager. They don't ever have her learn to over-come being a judgmental, shallow, bitch so it's not a flaw! It's just her personality. Zoey, therefore Kristen, judgemental, shallow, bitchiness never changes.

And that's really sad.

[(Anonymous)]

I know what you mean. I used to (key word: used) be horribly standoff-ish and cold. I was very anti-social and didn't like being around people my age, much less adults. Then I went to high school and met the three best friends you could ever have and I'm a little warmer now, not so shy of human contact. That was a huge flaw of mine, and it may have been very different and worse than stupid, shallow comments in someones head but the answer's still the same: You need to get over yourself.

[(Anonymous)]

[...it may have been very different and worse than stupid, shallow comments in someones head but the answer's still the same: You need to get over yourself.]

Agrees in spades.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Well dang, I was hoping for some character development. :(

[lurkythespork.livejournal.com]

Also, I have to ask, if the parents are so ultra-conservative and whatnot, why are they apparently fine with one of their children being a total skank and the other playing games which we're supposed to believe are too bloody and violent for him?

Spot on.

[tsukasabuddha.livejournal.com]

I'd actually rather like to have a protagonist just not care for their family. Harry Potter and most other stories kinda alienate people when there is too much emphasis on bio parent love. Of course, the author would have to show the negatives of that side as well, which I don't think this author will do.

But the reasons here are just silly things blown out of proportion. Her brother plays gory games, therefore he is not worthy of relating to She Who Packs Thongs (Her Quileute name),

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Now see, I'd find it interesting if Zoey and her family didn't get along, but over the course of the books they developed until they did understand each other at least. It seems like in most books as of late, relationships are pretty much the same when they start as when they end.

The thing is, her family is all black and white. It's rare to find unusual family units in stuff like this. That's one of the reasons I liked Juno, the family wasn't nuclear and they weren't perfect, but they still loved each other and got along.

[winki-pop.livejournal.com]

I'm curious: just how long are the chapters in these books? They seem kinda short and yet nothing still happens in the story :P (or just feels rushed - Zoey starts coughing, gets The Mark ™ and is now already pack for vamp school). Seriously, the plot and characterisation is so crap in this story it's like the worst sort of fanfic! I seriously feel like I'm reading bad fanfic, bad grammar and all. I think whoever had the theory that Kristen is not as big a contributor to the books as its made out is onto something there. That, or Kristen actually did write it and wrote it all typical teen fanfic-style and is just using her mother's name to gain some influence with the books in a way. Make sense?

And isn't that what all Mary Sues do anyway: point out everyone else's slutty behaviour, yet can parade around in thongs and be seen as 'provocative' instead or some shit? :D

Is Heath gonna be drunk throughout this whole story? I kinda hope so, because it'd be hilarious! Seriously, that's his whole character so far: That Drunk Guy. You'd probably have to be drunk to be entertained by this story :P

And that line: "you can't be Marked. We're going out," made me laugh, like THAT'S the thing to be most concerned with here, not the fact that Zoey could, y'know, die if she doesn’t go to Vamp Camp. He even sounds bored when he says it. Why does everyone have to be a blatant stereotype in this story?

Maybe if we wish hard enough, Zoey's ultra-conservative Fox News-watching parents might just smite her for us :D

I don't totally understand the whole concept of the story either. Why and how do Trackers go after these people destined to become vamps? Why do they get sent to a school? Why isn't there more of a furore over the situation? Why the symptoms? Why does it all happen so fast? I don’t think this idea was fully thought through. I think the publisher heard 'vamp(y)res' in the plotline and thought 'yeah, moneyspinner, y'all!' :P Or maybe Kristen stamped her feet hard enough and whined to Mum 'I wanna vampire story, too! You should've written Twilight instead, Mum!'

Delta Force? God kid, come back when you can play Wolfenstein or CoD :P

Great sporking, I'm enjoying this :D

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

"I'm curious: just how long are the chapters in these books?"

They're really short. It doesn't help that most of it is either Zoey giving pointless asides or the characters engaging in pointless "witty" banter.

"That, or Kristen actually did write it and wrote it all typical teen fanfic-style and is just using her mother's name to gain some influence with the books in a way. Make sense?"

I read that PC would write something and hand it off to Kristen to "edit" it to make it sound like it was from a teenage perspective...yeah.

"And isn't that what all Mary Sues do anyway: point out everyone else's slutty behaviour, yet can parade around in thongs and be seen as 'provocative' instead or some shit? :D"

Zoey really is bad about that. I understand she goes through men like socks and all her friends talk about are hot men.

"Is Heath gonna be drunk throughout this whole story? I kinda hope so, because it'd be hilarious! Seriously, that's his whole character so far: That Drunk Guy. You'd probably have to be drunk to be entertained by this story :P "

Yes, Heath is more or less drunk throughout the story. It's amazing he finds his way anywhere. XD

"Maybe if we wish hard enough, Zoey's ultra-conservative Fox News-watching parents might just smite her for us :D"

I wish they would to. It's hard to believe they're so horrible, when Zoey herself is a judgmental entitlement whore of a bitch.

It's weird that the entire thing is so laid back, because we learn some stuff about fledglings later which...would actually make for a scary and interesting vampire story. Keeping this future information in mind though, it makes no sense that people aren't more worried about their kids being turned into vampires.

And actually it was the other way around. PC's publisher went to her and told her to make a vampire story for teenagers. I think the Greek mythology tie-in was Kristen's doing, though. I know she wrote another vampire short story with Greek mythology in it.

I'm glad you like it! XD

[illyriasacolyte.livejournal.com]

PC Cast actually has other novels published outside of the House of the Night. They're in my library, and I wonder if they're any good.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, her Goddess Summoning series and others. They...aren't. Leastwise, not in my opinion. She writes Aphrodite (who she always calls "Venus", for whatever reason) as the Makeover Fairy, sets up plots that center around lonely women who hook up with various hot dudes via the efforts of the goddesses, and apparently blames the entire start of the Trojan war on "male egos" and has that the whole bit with the golden apple and the three goddesses was an evil lie told by men.

[illyriasacolyte.livejournal.com]

That might have been it, though I swear one was an anthology. That's... kind of insulting, and smacks of the "all vampire myths are lies except mine" mentality of Ms. Meyer.

[hoppytoad79.livejournal.com]

If her parents are all ultra-conservative, no way Zoe's little brother is going to be playing violent, bloody video games, and the only way they wouldn't have Zoe's sister locked away in an all-girl's private school is if they weren't aware she was sexually active.

[legal-assasin.livejournal.com]

Oh! Oh! I got a theory about the brother!

The parents are aware of the game and they don't find it that horrible (especially when compared to the likes of Mortal Kombat or Splatterhouse). Zoey, however, has zero experience with video games so it horrifies her.

[hoppytoad79.livejournal.com]

Any kinds of games with violence and gore would have ultra-conservatives building bonfires to throw those Satan-inspired forms of entertainment into, so I totally don't buy that her brother is allowed to play Delta Force: Black Hawk Down or anything like it--unless it was a video game like the Left Behind one, where you're a member of the Tribulation Force and you can kill any non-believer who refuses who accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. That's a simplification of what I remember reading a few years ago about one thing your character could do, and I know the character lost the equivalent of life points or whatever every time it killed, but that's the general gist of things. Killing in the name of God. *spits*

[bluekevlar16.livejournal.com]

Wait what? How could he get drunk at the school?

You know, based on what I've read about her, Zoey's a hypocrite in both the promiscuity and violence department.

Yeah, last chapter it was pretty much exclusively stupid, but this one was actually better. Zoey actually did get more likeable this chapter.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

I have no clue. You just have to accept that pretty much nothing in this series makes sense.

"You know, based on what I've read about her, Zoey's a hypocrite in both the promiscuity and violence department."

Dear God in heaven, is she! This isn't anywhere close to as bad as she'll be getting in both areas.

[bluekevlar16.livejournal.com]

Oh lawdy. Just one more Twilight similarity I guess.

Somebody typed out a part from one of the books where she uses her Cap'n Planet powers to blow these stereotypical black guys in front of truck, and she doesn't flinch when it hits them. They were major assholes but she could've don anything that was nearly lethal or lethal. I was dumfounded whenever I read that.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's pretty much completely forgotten. She just sort of goes "Well, there's a hospital down the road. I'm sure they'll make it." The graphic novel has her whooshing the Scary Sue into a water fountain, and she later sets a zombie girl on fire (yes said zombie girl might have attacked her, but it was also established that she used to be a normal person and had no control over what happened to her).

[bluekevlar16.livejournal.com]

Are the zombies fixable? If so, she pretty much just used lethal force when she didn't have to, which is considered murder.

[zelda-queen.livejournal.com]

Later we find out that yes, they are. Granted it's not a good situation (Zoey's trying to save someone from being killed) and no one knew it at the time, but there were plenty of other things she could have done, and she had JUST gotten over telling another of them how she thinks they're still human and can be saved.

[bluekevlar16.livejournal.com]

That's just horribly sad. She just got done telling them that they can be saved then kills one? That's just, what? Stupid bint.