"Night Surf" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in 1978 in the compilation Night Shift.
Setting
"Night Surf" is set in an American town, and the action largely takes place on a beach.
Plot summary
Loosely related to the author's highly regarded novel The Stand, the brief story follows one evening with a group of austere teens, survivors of a catastrophic virus called A6, or "Captain Trips", that has wiped out virtually the entire population. A reference is made to a previous virus called A2, which the teens had all survived, leading them to think they were immune to A6's lethal effect. Toward the end of the story, some of them begin to show symptoms of A6, and they realize that perhaps their exposure to A2 did not in fact grant them immunity to this deadlier virus.
In this story, the origin of the virus is said to be from Southeast Asia, which differs from The Stand's origin from a government laboratory in California, USA, though this can be explained away by the natural confusion and the cover-up taken by the government in the novel.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
"Night Surf" was adapted into a short film in 2001 by writer-director Peter Sullivan. The film continues to play at numerous festivals and has been well-received by King fans and general audiences alike. Optioned from King for a dollar, the film is part of the Dollar Baby collection of similar short films.
External links
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