Gammy (DayZ)

Let me share a recent, intense experience with you guys. It was pretty dark, heading into night, with light rain coming down. I liked to play at night, considering the lack of bandits and murderers, as well as a feeling of slight safety from lurking in the shadows. I had only just started a new character, and on me I had an Enfield rifle with seven bullets ready to fire. I had food that would last me a decent amount of time, a handy water bottle, a blood bag and a chemlight - blue, to be thorough. I have only ever played alone, mainly because I find it more engaging and suspenseful, but I rarely feel completely safe - it makes for a very tense playing experience, as I'm sure you all know. I was on the outskirts of a small, unidentifiable hamlet, the kind you find out in the wilderness home to two of three zeds. However, something perked my curiosity: a light. A red, misty aura had enveloped the neighbouring buildings from what I assumed to be a road flare. I hesitated and zoomed in for a closer look, but the darkness and distance hindered my view. I began to approach the artificial light, my rifle itching to be fired by a nervous finger. I zoomed in once more, and stopped instantly as a sweeping silhouette moved across the naked window of a house. I weighed the possibilities, and decided the movement was too quick for a zed - I was in real danger here. I decided to close in on the building anyway, a fire-fight only too obvious as a consequence of my curiosity. Going prone, I crossed the road, and pressed myself up against the wall. People were talking on direct chat, quite heatedly from the sound of it. They were talking about how they saw a figure move by the woods, and were debating what to do. There were four of them, which was strange considering the small, baron location they decided to hole up in, but I just assumed they were travelling. Eventually they turned their speech outwards: "Whoever's out there, come inside, we're friendly - there are four of us and we don't want any harm." I was cautious, but I decided to go with my gut and trust the guy - normally groups of four don't even bother to warn the victim they are about to massacre. I slowly entered the door and all four strangers backed up with their guns pointed in my direction. I announced my friendliness, and the previous speaker simply replied: "Good." I noticed a guy crouching in the corner with blood pouring from his head, and queried the supposed 'leader' of the party. "Yeah, we found this guy in the woods, he's been bleeding for a while." I asked if none of them had bandages, and they said they were low and weren't going to waste it on a stranger. I didn't reply, and silently dropped a bandage by the wounded survivor's feet, and then presented him with a blood bag. The guy took the help without a reply, but I didn't do it for thanks - I play the game as I would in real life, and the fact I had just saved somebody's life was good enough. Before I could even turn to face the rest of the group, my recent patient jumped to his feet with his Makarov ready, and fired shots over my head. The bullets managed to penetrate all three survivors, and their bodies fell to the floor. I didn't think. I turned and ran out of the door, unable to escape a final bullet. I was hit, and bleeding out, but I just kept running. I turned to look behind me, and saw the armed madman sprinting after me. It was pitch black, and I knew I was heading towards some sort of woodland, but I couldn't tell exactly. I heard another shot, but disregarded the bullet's path and continued to run. Then I heard a screech. And then a growl. And then more footsteps. The zeds had heard the gunfire and had seen my sprinting body. They had now taken chase, the gunman close behind, I was running for my life. I continued down the dirt road, my wound still untreated, with what I assumed to be five zombies and a mad gunman on my tail. I had no time to equip my chemlight or bandage, and I wasn't going to disconnect - that's not how you play a simulator. I decided I needed to take action if I was going to survive - fast. It all seemed like slow motion. I turned swiftly, looked down my rifle's sight, and aimed for the silhouette with a baseball cap. I held my breath and fired as I back-pedalled. I heard a bullet puncture skin, and the figure went down. I had killed him. But then I heard them in the woodland to my right - the screeches, squeals, moans and growls. I had just alerted another herd with my shot. I was bleeding out, and saw shadows dart from the trees towards me. My blood was dangerously low, and I had no choice: I had to bandage. I turned to the nearest zeds and fired wildly. Bodies went down, but not enough. I managed to peg five before I fell unconscious, and the undead huddled round my body to tear me apart. The moral of the story, as I'm sure anyone who plays DayZ would know, is not to trust anyone. (I'm not moaning about PvP aspect, it made for an intense experience, and it's what makes the game what it is.)

Thanks for the compliments, beans and stories guys.

He must have been pretty lucky if he landed three headshots, I didn't really think about it, I got out of there pretty quickly. I think it was just the element of surprise that helped him.

Thanks, man. Just thought I like hearing stories of peoples' experiences in DayZ so I posted my own. Post any experiences you have, I'd love to read them.