Futuristic BioGenesis: Surviving the Post Apocalypse

[Ashmorne]

"A competent host usually doesn't leave trash lying around for guests to trip over."


Lena rested her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing as she regarded the stranger coolly with pursed lips. “Well, a competent guest usually says thank you when the host saves them from certain death. That Infected could have been fully alive. It may have been half-assed. But congratulations to you on being a total ass.”


Her words tumbled out before she could stop them. A quick glance at the young girl that was clinging to his leg made her pause. “I’m sorry you had to hear that,” she said mechanically to the child.


Before answering the bearded man’s question, she turned to Chris and Carter. “You're going East? Okay. I can check out the west wing. We can meet back here. I don’t mind going by myself,”


Turning back to the intruder, she crossed her arms and scrutinized him.





He might be handsome if not for how fucking annoying he is. If you like the dark and brooding type.


She glanced down the west corridor, which was shadowed and dark. In the back of her mind, she wondered if there was a generator somewhere. Her gaze swung back to the man.


“If you’re done being a jerk, I have a question for you. Back in the day, you ever hear about a safe house?” she almost smiled. “Well, Whiskers. I’m pretty sure this is it,”

 

[TheMadIceCreamMan]

"I won't have to use the gun again less I have to." he thought of saying to Lena but thought better of it. He was about to move off to start his inspection of the corpses when the scream of a young girl followed but a harsh cracking sound of bone broke the silence of the house. Looking towards the sound he saw a large man who seemed to be the perpetrator of the sound. Clinging to the hulking structure of a man was a young girl who he could assume was his daughter at the moment. "How rare to see family together anymore." he thought to himself. His thoughts were interrupted when Lena yelled out to the man about who he was. The man seemed to be quite brash in his words as he tossed the Com across the floor like a ball to prove a point. "Interesting he has a mouth just like Lena." he thought. Shrugging he moved away from the scene into the house thinking about how nice it was that someone barked at her nonsense. As he walked there was always the occasional cracking sound of bone under his boots. Still within ear shot of the conversation of the group he crouched down to inspect one of the Compromised. Black ooze poured form her chest. He simple glanced up and down the body. She was wearing a thick leather coat over her jeans and a now blood stained shirt. "Nothing to distinctive about her attire." he thought. He moved his hands about the body inspecting any pockets and distinctive protrusions taking in all the details like it were a good book. In one pocket he pulled out a crumbled paper. Opening it up he found it to be hastily written as if the author was in panic or rage.


It read "Johnson you idiot. Why did you send her to capture one of them? She is bit do you understand that? I know you are looking for a cure but it won't help if everyone is dead already. This is the second time this occurred. After reading this note come to the back room. You are putting her down and you will bury her. Not experiments!" it read.


After reading the note he knew it was written while enraged. So many questions formed in his mind. Cure? Experiments? "Is this Johnson or did the note not reach the person at all?" he question furiously in his mind. "Johnson was keeping Coms it seems for experimenting on a cure..." he thought. He sparked his head up looking around at the carnage of the scene like a puzzle and the corpses the pieces to it. "There must be a lab. I need to see it." he thought syntactically.


Looking back at the group it seemed Lena was wrapping up her talk with the hulking man. He took the paper and slid it into his notebook. He had a new goal in mind now. He wanted to see the lab before they could contaminate it. Standing up he dusted some grime off himself and continued down the large hallway.

 

[Saturnity]

Derek could sense the others watching him before the ragtag group began to spread out and explore the abandoned university. The woman's words were biting, and he knew that it was his fault in the first place for taking his eyes off Macie, but he still didn't like her attitude.


"The only thing you saved me from is having to clean a little blood from my clothes." A smirk spread across his face, "You lot aren't doing much good for yourselves by waking up the whole neighborhood by the way."


He noted how the woman addressed the others, and how they seemed to report to her before breaking off and perusing the building. A man younger than he had addressed her by the name 'Lena'.


"In any case," he continued, "I'm guessing you're supposed to be the leader around here?"


Derek felt a tug on his jeans pocket, and glancing down, he could see Macie gazing up at him. She looked likely to pass out from exhaustion at any moment. He sighed.


"Truth is, we're pretty beat. We've been moving almost continuously for over a full day now. This city is crawling with coms." His eyes wandered around the room. "There is a higher concentration of them than I've ever seen before."

 

[Ashmorne]

His comment about her being the leader caught her a little off guard. Not dwelling on it, she listened as he spoke about having little rest. A pang of sadness went through her. Not so much for the man, but for the child. She knew the struggle of having a kid with you during these times. Even so, it caused her to miss Asher even more.


Ignoring the stab of emotion, she looked back at the man. "Okay, Captain Blackbeard. Bitch about it all you want. At least I'm doing something besides kicking the remains of dead people around like a soccer ball. Let's move on from that. Either way, I noticed it too. I think it's because we're near the ocean. The Coms wouldn't want to be here, so they stay concentrated in the city. Just a theory," she glanced at the smaller girl. "Have you two eaten anything?"


She began rummaging through her bag, searching for jerky and berries she'd dried a few days prior.

 

[Princess Ktyria]

Carter looked at Chris and smiled wider in delight. "Yeah! Of course!" She said happily. "Okay, good plan. Warning you, I run fast though. I usually vpeed my way through but I'll slow down I suppose." Carter said, starting off in that direction. She was jogging but still went surprisingly fast than the normal person. It was easy to see that she had been practicing running. Carter looked where she was going. 'I wonder what people talk about when running. Usually, I don't talk at all... I just run. Occasionally I hum a song but I forget the words and get bord with it.' Carter thought, realizing that she was supposed to be running with sombody and stopped. 'It might be easier to not run with a cloak on. I only use it to conceal where I am at night.' She thought, putting the hood down and sheathing her machete for a few seconds so that she can take off her cloak. Carter folded the cloak neatly and stuffed it in her backpack before putting the straps back onto her shoulders and unsheathing her machete.

 

[Glasswing]

At the mention of the knife, Sinikka promptly exited the building to retrieve it. "That's right! Her knife! I completely forgot about it." She wandered a minute outside, trying to find precisely where the on com she killed was. Wherever it is, the knife is. It wasn't long until she found it, but she was reluctant to pick it up. It was bloody; dirty. Sinikka pinched the knife at the very end of the handle and dragged the tip of the knife on the ground, trying to remove the few drops of liquid blood. She then proceeded back to the facility, still only pinching the handle of the knife.


Upon re-entry, Sinikka stood in front of the door, scanning the foyer, trying to find a good place to put the knife. "There isn't much space to put this knife. I mean... There is space, but I don't think I should be counting the floor." Sinikka was over thinking her next action. Eventually, she settled on placing it onto a small table in the corner of the room that had been knocked over. That is, she re-erected the table before setting the knife on it. While picking the table up, she noticed that it seemed to have been holding a flower vase, judging by some shards of ceramic and some decrepit plant matter. It was insignificant, but it reminded her of how long the world had been in such a sad state. It made her feel melancholic, appreciating the very fact she managed to live this long.

 

[Gabe]

"Hey, wait up!" Chris said to the now running girl. Man, she's energetic. "There's no need to run, the place ain't going nowhere. Besides, the footsteps are going to attract possible Coms, and I don't want to be ambushed, y'know." He said, catching up to her. "Let's walk, nice and slow. In the meanwhile, let's try to know each other. If we gonna stay here for a while, best we know who sleeps next door, right? And I haven't talked to people in a while." he said, walking alongside Carter. "So, where are you from?" Chris was somewhat anxious. Havaing a conversation like this wasn't something he was used to do, especially after the outbreak. He was never really sociable, but he learned to grasp at any chance of normality he could. "I'm from Frontier, a town 150 km from here. Yeah, weird name, right. It's called so because it's exactly on the frontier to another state. If you ask me, it's total laziness. It was a nice rural town, but very populous." Chris stopped talking, waiting for Carter's turn on speaking.

 

[Saturnity]

Blackbeard eh... I suppose that's accurate, though I'm not much of a pirate.


The more the woman spoke, the more Derek yearned to gag her mouth. She wasn't stupid, that much he could tell, but she was still naive.


"How did you 'scalawags' all find each other?" He mocked, keep in the theme of her previous attempt at insult, "Some sort of signal?"


Normally it would take a lot of time and effort to bring together a group of survivors this large without any tools. Derek hadn't seen her signal flare since he had been indoors. What really bothered him, however, was the surprising lack of compromised. As he reached the campus, they seemed to disappear, despite how many had swarmed in this direction.


"And we're fine on food and water. You might need it more than we do, judging by how skinny you are."


In fact, if there was anything they weren't lacking, it was nourishment. Derek had made a good point to scrounge for anything and everything he could find, even boiling sea water and collecting the condensation into bottles to drink. He'd also lucked out several days prior and found an evacuation outpost that hadn't been picked clean, making off with around thirty MRE's. The more precious commodity was medicine, which he had a hard time finding in large quantities. He had the knowledge to make his own, but without the proper ingredients, that knowledge was useless. Even a mild cold could become deadly at the drop of a hat with the world in its current state. Derek didn't intend to tell anyone, but having attended this school before the apocalypse, he knew where the administration had kept the supplies for its faculty and students.


Tossing that thought to the side for the moment, he returned his attention to the younger woman.


"So, now that you raided this place, what are your plans?"

 

[Princess Ktyria]

"Hey, wait up!" Chris said to the now running girl. Man, she's energetic. "There's no need to run, the place ain't going nowhere. Besides, the footsteps are going to attract possible Coms, and I don't want to be ambushed, y'know." He said, catching up to her. "Let's walk, nice and slow. In the meanwhile, let's try to know each other. If we gonna stay here for a while, best we know who sleeps next door, right? And I haven't talked to people in a while." he said, walking alongside Carter. "So, where are you from?" Chris was somewhat anxious. Havaing a conversation like this wasn't something he was used to do, especially after the outbreak. He was never really sociable, but he learned to grasp at any chance of normality he could. "I'm from Frontier, a town 150 km from here. Yeah, weird name, right. It's called so because it's exactly on the frontier to another state. If you ask me, it's total laziness. It was a nice rural town, but very populous." Chris stopped talking, waiting for Carter's turn on speaking.

Carter looked back at him as he caught up. "Okay." She said, slightly dissapointed but not showing it. "Neither have it. It's been about a year. That might be why I'm so surprised to see people in one area." Carter said, her happiness showing through. "Oh, nice! I've eard about it. I don't really remember where I was from. It was a small town and that's as muc as I remember." Carter said before glancing over at him. "This may be a weird question," She started to say, "but can I touch your arm and face?" Carter asks before lauging at how dumb that sounds. Her face turned a light pink after asking it but she conitnued to explain. "Just to make sure it isn't a dream. Plus, I haven't felt anybody elses skin other than my own in forever." Carter said, looking over at him to get his reaction.

 

[TheMadIceCreamMan]

He wasn't so much walking as he was rushing raising dirt as he went along. The hardwood floor creaked after being stepped on after so long. He looked back to see the man who tackled him down and girl jumping around the Compromised before coming in his direction. He took in his surroundings in for a moment seeing three splitting paths. The corridor to his left seemed to lead to different part of the structure, but had a door against the side wall. The corridor to his right seemed to trail of to a different part of the structure as well, but had two doors instead against its side wall before leading out. The path in front of him he wasn't sure about due the darkness. "It is too dark in here." he mumbled out loud. Quickly he grabbed a small light source from his pocket that would perhaps normally be attached to a key chain. "It'll do the job." he thought. Shining the small light down the front path showed that it only continued on but the light failed to pierce the darkness much. Shrugging he thought it best to check the right corridor considering it had two doors and thus two rooms for inspection. He quickened his pace to the first door of the two hoping the two coming up behind wouldn't disturb him. As he closed in on the door a familiar smell crawled up into his nose. Gritting his teeth he muttered "Bleach...".

 

[Ashmorne]

How are you even still alive?


Bristling at his comment about her size, she crossed her arms defiantly.


This idiot had no idea what he was spouting. She bit back a snide remark. Instead, she turned and began to move towards the corridor opposite to the one that Chris and Carter had gone down. Her mind swam with all the potential that the shadowed halls held. She thought about finally settling down, about being able to get healthier, about being able to search for Asher. She moved slowly, pausing to slip one of her knives back in her boot.


“I want to look around. If this is what I think it is, we could set up camp. But we should make a map of rooms, and also clean it out of any remaining Coms. I want to get started now though. You can help if you want,” she looked over her shoulder as she got up and strode towards the inner corridor, allowing this first small grin to creep on her face. It was both mocking and excited and rare. “If you can keep up, Cap.”

 

[FootlongOak]

As the black bearded newcomer joined, it seemed everyone was in a hurry to scout out the building. A few of the group stood and talked while others scouted the hallways. The newcomer had a little girl which seemed to innocent and young to be surrounded by a room of corpses. Although, Frank felt that a lot of the group didn't deserve to see at as well. He decided it would be best to deal with relocating of the corpses inside the shelter before they started to smell any worse then they already did.


Setting his bag and ax down in the corner he leaned over one of the recent kills. He examined the corpse and confirmed that it was truly non-living. It was just like being a butcher again, carrying around large chunks of meat again. Maybe if the meat wasn't a rotting and decaying dead human. Which he had no intention of cutting up the meat as well. So perhaps it wasn't like being a butcher. Maybe he was thinking of the military.


Carrying one corpse over his shoulder, he leaned down and examined another motionless body. This one was dead as well. He grabbed it by the wrist and dragging it out as well. Good thing about these infected humans was they didn't have a whole lot of weight to them. Carrying one and dragging one was an easy task for a man of Franks size. Tossing the two deceased in the open courtyard, he returned to safe house to grab another.


Seeing he was the only one dragging corpses out, must mean Frank was the new grave digger. Or house cleaner depending on how you look at it. He bent down once in the room again to confirm another was dead. This one looked to have a little life left in it still. He softly spoke, "Faker". He wrapped his massive hands around the bloody head of the infected and grabbed a knife with his other hand. Quickly he stabbed it in the eye giving it a swift death.

 

[Gabe]

Chris looked at Carter with a... Well, it's hard to tell what kind of face Chris made. It wasn't happy or angry, more like... concerned? "What? Why? What do you mean? I-I...What?" Chris stopped after a while. What the hell? Touching my face? Is she suggesting... No, of course not, Jeez, but... Aagh, this took a turn to the weird faster than I expected! Chris stared at the girl for a while, his arms covered by some strapped up cloth. "Well... I seriously think that's really fucking weird, but... okay. Don't mind my arm, though." He unstrapped his left arm, letting the skin show. "Here, go ahead." He extended his arm. There was a significant amount of burn scars on it, from various sizes. The worst one was almost all black, save from few red spots on it. Looking at it, he winced and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see that.

 

[Saturnity]

Derek had already turned away from the woman as she began pacing toward the the far hallway.


"You can go play war with the other children. I have enough to worry about right here."


He was running on fumes, and grew tired of talking, but more importantly, he had to let Macie get some sleep. An adult could handle lack of rest, but it was impossible for a child. Lifting the small girl into his arms, he made his way toward a bench in the corner of the lobby. He sat after removing his pack and blackjack with a free hand, then leaned back against the cracked wall.


"Get some rest Macie," he spoke softly, watching her eyelids fall closed.


Reaching into the large backpack next to him, he retrieved one of the MREs and a bottle of water. Opening the MRE, Derek retrieved the small packet of instant coffee, drink baggie, and heating pack. After pouring the coffee and about a cup of water into the bag, he sealed it and shook it up, then placed the mixture inside the other bag containing the heating pouch. In a few minutes, he had a steaming bag of coffee.


This should keep me awake for a bit longer, he thought quietly to himself as he took several sips, watching one of the men in the group haul infected bodies out the front door , I can't go to sleep until I know they can be trusted. And if not... we'll just have to go somewhere else.

 

[TheMadIceCreamMan]

He took his time to regain his composure hoping he wasn't right. He looked back to see the two of them trailing into the opposite corridor though the lack of light made their figure fade away. He didn't bother to check if anyone else was coming. He gripped the door handle and attempted to give it a turn. It refused to budge for him. This ticked him off a bit as he continued to jiggle the handle in some false hope. "It must be here." he screamed in his mind. Refusing to give up he kicked the door which gave a loud thud but nothing further then some loose dust. He crouched down rubbing his ankle regretting what he did. He put down his backpack and looked through its contents. He yanked out a pipe of the bag that he had found to be optimal for breaking what he needed. It was rusted but solid. Perhaps if he hadn't spent days walking becoming fatigued he would have thought better about the fact that what ever was inside couldn't get out just like he couldn't get in. With a swing he smashed the handle off the door which created a loud ping that he assumed most of them heard. "That wasn't very optimal" he thought with regret. "No matter I'll be able to see what's inside first" he thought to himself as if that solved the issue. With that he cranked open the door which released the scent of bleach in the surrounding air. He frowned at this fact and prepared to enter encase anyone came.

 

[Ashmorne]

Lena shrugged, rolling her eyes at him. “Talk all you want, deny it all you want. But in the end, all of us are players in this damn game.”


She was just about to move on, when the hulking man moving bodies caught her eye. He was taking his time, dragging them outside and making sure they were dead. She pushed down the urge to leave and explore. A safe camp required team work. She couldn’t always be by herself. Cracking her knuckles, she moved to the big, older man. Slowly, she began moving corpses along side him.


“Moving dead bodies alone is fucking terrible,” she said in a dry voice, glancing at him. “But moving dead bodies with other people is just tons of fun. Thanks for moving these. What’s your name?”


She waited patiently for him to answer as she crouched down to inspect one of the fallen Compromised. Shivering, she noticed the glassy look in his dead eyes. Closing its eyelids, she began moving the body.

 

[Plushie]

「 “All is vanity, the only thing you can do is survive.” 」

​

The sky was tainted with a orange hue as the sun was setting behind the skyscrapers to welcome the night. The scenery of the sun setting was strikingly beautiful as Iria stared in awe but it was dusk and wasn't a good time to stay out any longer. Fixing the bag thrown over her shoulder, she tried to make her way out of the city towards somewhere safer where the Infected would likely not come by. Her apparel was nothing more but some combat pants she stole from a corpse, a worn jacket, combat boots and some fingerless gloves. Her hair was thrown back in a messy ponytail and was covered by her hood. Around her waist, was a belt with her gun and ammo sheathed in a pouch. She only had three bullets in her pistol and two other barrels left.


In her bag were the necessary supplies she needed to survive with some canned foods to keep her energy up. She didn't have much food left to keep herself up for long though. At most, she had only some to last her at least a few days unless she could grab a few more somewhere but she didn't want to take the risk to get herself in another fight as earlier, she had already ran into one Infected, luckily surviving with a few cuts in her left arm. The blood had already dried up but the smell could have attracted some Infected. Quickening her pace, she made sure to get out of there fast but then within the dim-lit sky, she could see a flare brighten the sky, her eyes widen at the signal,"A survivor!" She thought and wasting no time at all, she ran after the light where she saw it as it wasn't far from where she was.


The first thing she noticed was the cold, salty air hitting her, breathing in the scent of the ocean as it been a long time since she been to the beach. Memories slowly crept it's way into her mind but she quickly dismissed the thoughts, not wanting to get distracted. Continuing her search for the survivors, she came across a gate which was left open. Stopping in her tracks, she stared at the building behind the gates in awe as it hit her like a brick. This could be the safe house she had heard from other survivors she met during her journey. She never thought she would ever find it but here it was before her, a building covered in moss but still seemed to be in tact with maybe even the survivors, the one who set off the flare, inside.


Taking in a deep breath, she walked over to the gate and quietly enter the place while locking the gate behind her. Turning around, she was about to make another step until she saw a figure hauling around bodies out of the building. Out of instinct, she hid into the shadows where they couldn't see her. As one hand was hovering over her pistol and the other stayed at her side.


She didn't want to stay out here any longer but she didn't want to get shot either. The decisions she needed to make was hard but she didn't have a choice but to trust her luck in trying to maybe befriend or negotiate with whoever was in the safe house. With careful procedures, she casually walked up to the building but was cautious of the strangers she would meet. Holding her breath, she tried not to take in too much of the smell of the corpses as she held the urge to vomit. When she felt she was close enough with a safe distance, she lightly knocked on the door frame to signal her arrival,"H-hello." She stuttered though she didn't mean to sound so nervous.


Trying to keep her cool, she let out a shaky breath, her eyes reflecting fear and her right hand held behind her back just inches away from pistol. Her heartbeat was running wild as if she ran a marathon and she felt she could faint right there on the spot. She wasn't good with strangers and to be around so many made her conditions worsen.

SUMMARY: Airiana comes into the scene but only to be a nervous wreck in front of the door.

 

[FootlongOak]

Pulling the blade from the eye socket of the yellow skinned corpse, Frank used a piece of cloth to clean the black blood off his blade. Shortly after he sheathed the dagger and looked over to notice the lady who helped clear out the safe house was offering assistance in moving the remaining bodies. She spoke humorously of the dead. Moving dead bodies was the same amount of fun regardless of how many people helped. Although, every person deals with death differently. Some with humor, some with sadness, and some with a death wish. To each their own.


He gave small smile and offered his hand to the lady while speaking, "The name's Frank. And how about you?" After speaking and extending his hand, Frank had realized his hands were covered in grime and blood from moving the previous bodies. He puled his hand back slightly embarrassed. "Oh sorry, didn't realize how filthy they were."





Hearing a 'Hello' from the door, Frank looked over. It seemed he would be interrupted once again. There was hardly time to talk with all the events and newcomers arriving. And of course all the bodies to move around. He spoke softly looking back to his new found corpse moving friend, "Looks like another found the way."

 

[Glasswing]

Sinikka's mind had strayed from the important things at hand. New people had just joined the group while she was distracted. Not only that, there was an entire university to scout out. Sinikka stood, turning 180 away from the table. She scanned the main hall, she noticed the two new members. One, a man who seemed to be sipping a hot drink. It was hard to tell what it was, the scent was overpowered by death. The other was a young girl sleeping on the bench. Perhaps it would be in her best interest to find the dormitory. That is, if this particular university had a dormitory.


Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock. She heard what sounded to be a bit of a nervous "Hello" coming from the entrance. Sinikka turned her head to face Airiana, but didn't respond. She couldn't think of an effective verbal response. The new girl looked pale and a little gaunt. Kneeling down, Sinikka popped open her briefcase and removed her box of crackers. There was not much left. With out a word, Sinikka casually made her way to the entrance, and extended her arm, offering the remainder of the crackers. "It surely isn't much, but it looks like you could use it." Normally, giving one's food away wouldn't be considered the best of actions, but Sinikka doubted that this girl had really anywhere to go. It seemed likely that she, too, would follow this group. If this was the case, it would be best to start out on good terms.

 

[Plushie]

Airiana had thought that she would quickly be rejected by the group but they seemed calm of her arrival despite being a stranger who could have shot them but Airiana didn't have any kind of insane thought for that kind of massacre. A few seemed edgy and suspicious of her, a large man whispering to a woman next to him. The small gesture made her anxious of what they were talking among themselves, her feet closed tightly together. Many images came into mind at what they could be talking. Maybe they were planning to kill her. Maybe they were planning to make use of her. So many 'maybes' and 'what ifs' ideas came into as her anxiety increased until one of them went up to her with a box of crackers already open indicating it was what was left of it.


The kind gesture made Airiana puzzled at first but eased her stress. The woman before her was stunningly beautiful -- besides some of the dirt -- with blond tresses and striking grey irises which was a rare sight for Airiana to see. The woman was slightly taller than her and held a stolid composure. Glancing down at the offering and back at the woman, she mustered up some of the courage in her to accept the snack, giving her a small smile,"I-... Thank you kindly." She said showing her appreciation. Sadly, she didn't know what else to give back in return as she felt guilty for taking without being able to return the kind offering.

 

[Ashmorne]

The sudden influx of people was beginning to overwhelm Lena. The concept of being around people constantly was something she would have to get used to. Standing up, she allowed a smile towards Frank. She nodded her goodbye, but he was already looking at the newcomer. Normally, she would stay and say hello. But now, she just needed out.


The hallway beckoned her, so she strode slowly in that direction. The hardwood flooring creaked under her boots. Faded walls bore water damaged paintings, warped with age. The corridor widened more until she came upon a sliding door. Taking a breath, she eased it open. Within it was a large warehouse-type atrium. It had tall vaulted ceilings, and high windows that let in the weak light outside.


It was a clinic, she realized with a start. Rows and rows of cots filled this space, curtain dividers pulled back to reveal the vastness of it all. There were cabinets, what she hoped was still stocked. It took her breath away slightly, the bigness of it all. She wandered in, taken by how brimming with possibilities this clinic was. Hope began to fill her. So much so that she didn’t notice the lone Compromised lunge at her from behind.


When she turned, it was too late. She began to reach for her knife, but he barrelled into her. He pinned her to the floor, screeching in her face. His eyes were wild and ill with disease. Wincing, she struggled to reach for her knife. Her body jerked and squirmed. Bring her head back, she slammed her forehead into his face. With a scream, he covered his face and teetered back. Lena seized the opportunity to push him back, taking her knife and plunging it into his neck. He gargled, grasping his throat, and fell backwards. Lena pulled her knife out, snatching the rag from her belt and cleaning it off. She was breathing heavily, gasping for air. It had caught her so much by surprise.


She stood up, and moved to the large windows. A storm was collecting over the horizon, sending spattered drops of rain against the glass. She removed her leather jacket and lifted the hem of her shirt. The angry scar she had over her abdomen just peeked out from under the fabric. It was puckered and twisted, making her wince. Over it now was a fresh line of torn up flesh. The Com man had managed to scratch open her stomach when he tackled her. She looked closely, but there was no infected blood.





I’m not infected.


A sigh of relief escaped her lips. Pulling out a fresh rag from her pack, she pressed it against the open wound on her stomach. She placed her other hand on the cool glass of the window as she watched the rain. Moving closer, she rested her forehead against the window as well, allowing to chill her warm face.


I'll patch it up in a second...but now...I just. I need to stop for a moment. It'll probably do me some good to just wait a minute.


She stood there unmoving, a hand on her stomach and a hand on the glass. The adrenaline was wearing off, and she could feel the biting pain on her abdomen. In that moment, all she could think about was every moment of her past that finally brought her here.

 

[TheMadIceCreamMan]

Grabbing the edge of his shirt he covered his mouth and nose to avoid breathing in the surrounding air to much. He walked through the door to find darkness. He expected as much and shined the small light to reveal the secrets of the room. The room was fairly big but it seemed to be frozen in time. Papers were scattered all over the floor along side shattered glass. As he probed his light around his suspicions were confirmed. There were several prop up tables room room though only one was standing now. He walked towards it and looked at the petri dishes on the table alongside some test tubes with a few knocked over. He could no longer tell what the contents were as everything was bleached on the table, but he had his suspicions. Shining his light around the room he saw much of the base residue on around the room. "God darn it everything is ruined." he said in a disgruntled fashion. The only reason a room would be coated in bleach would be to kill off any bacterial or viral dangers inside. He had to do the same procedure a few times himself. "All the samples... ruined but why?" he wondered. He shined his light around the room in hope of finding something perhaps notes. He couldn't distinct any large shapes due to the small radius of light. Then he saw it. He quickly motioned his to gun to grab it but stopped. "Why isn't it moving.." he thought. Sitting on a chair in a white coat sat an odd sight. The flesh was soggy and a ghostly white with open sores with dried black blood that once leaked from them. Walking closer he looked at the face. The gums had reseeded making it look like he was baring his fangs to me. The skin was puffy and swollen with black specks here and there. He looked at the eyes and jumped back almost falling. The eyes were white with the pupils faded out almost but what startled him is that they followed. It was a Compromised doused in bleach for so long that it melded into the flesh. He went in close again curious and move the light to and fro watching the eyes chase it like it was a final hope. "What the hell happened here.." was the only think he could think. He had dissected many bodied but none so damaged as this. He wasn't able to think for long when he heard a screech echo from somewhere in the building. He pulled out his gun ready to shoot. He exited the room stinking of bleach to look for the sound. He wondered why there was still more of those things.

 

[Saturnity]

Even more survivors. This is starting to look more like a colony, rather than a group of stragglers.


Derek humored the thought for a moment before downing the last sip of coffee. The new girl was quickly approached by one of the others he had seen briefly earlier, and was offered some food.


Pretty quick to trust, that one... that's like asking for a death sentence. But that's none of my business anyway.


Tucking away the remaining contents of the MRE into his backpack, Derek glanced downward at the small girl who's head rested on his lap. Macie shivered slightly in the cool and humid evening air. He'd been taking care of her ever since her mother, his foster sister, had passed away. While he cared for the child, he found it difficult to accept, even to this day, that she was all he had left. It was the same the other way around. He hadn't planned on having children if he were to get married, before the Apocalypse, but now that there was no one else who could take care of her, he understood that special feeling of being a parent, of being responsible for another life more fragile than his own.


Even if, of course, Macie wasn't really HIS child. Regardless of the circumstances, she had become his reason for living, and that was all he cared about.


Macie stirred, then opened her eyes, wincing while gazing up at Derek.


"Dee... the bench hurts... and I'm cold." Her voice was slightly whiny, but not annoyingly so.


"Alright," he replied softly, running the back of his large hand across her cold forehead, "Let's go find something softer for you to lie down on."


Kneeling down with his back toward her, Derek had her climb on piggyback, then slung the strap of his backpack over his head so it hung in front of his body, it was heavy, but he'd gotten used to doing it after so long on the move. He slowly trudged forward, already knowing the direction of the clinic, which he'd figured would be a bit safer than the narrow corridors of the dorm facilities. Out of the blue, he discerned the wail of a compromised echo from the direction of the clinic, along with the sound of a scuffle. Hastening his pace, he finally reached the entrance and peered inside, only to find an infected body dead on the floor of the massive room. At the far end, peering out the large windows overlooking the courtyard outside, was the ill-tempered woman he'd met earlier.


"Everything alright in here?" Derek called to her, taking a glance at the compromised on the floor and noting the stab wound in its neck. "Sounded like this one just got rejected."

 

[Ashmorne]

A voice called out to Lena. She recognized it as the voice of the sour man from earlier. The one that reminded her of a cartoon pirate. She kept one arm wrapped around her stomach as she turned slightly to meet his gaze. The warm pain she felt dulled the edge she felt earlier. In slew of all the recent events, all Lena did was give him a weak smile.


"Yeah. Total pig. Didn't offer..to buy me dinner...first," she breathed. The words were hard to say, as the sharpness on her abdomen ebbed stronger.


She pulled her hand away, seeking it slick with blood. A sigh escaped from her lips. She didn't want to ask for help. In fact, besides being attacked, it was probably her absolute most least favorite thing. But blinking down at the dark crimson that stained her hands, she was toying with the idea. The old scar on her abdomen felt larger than life. Her most obvious secret. The new cut on her belly only added to it. Using all her strength, she lowered herself to the floor with her back leaning against the window. She adjusted herself with a slight cringe, and looked back at the man. Giving a strained smile, she gestured to her abdomen and let her eyes flutter close for a moment as she forced words out.





"I'm in a bit of...a predicament, Cap..."

 

[Saturnity]

"Shit..." The only word Derek could manage as he witnessed the woman slump to the floor, blood spilling down her shirt and between her fingers as her hands clutched her stomach.


His body moved on his own in a flash, rushing to a nearby cot and laying Macie down gently. She had already passed out once again, allowing Derek to move quickly, setting down his pack and positioning himself beside Lena.


"The hell were you thinking, wandering off on your own?" He scolded her, gripping her wrists firmly and pulling them aside to reveal the gash beneath her clothing. He had the urge to comment on how stupid it was for her to explore the unknown without a partner, but remembered that she invited him to join her earlier on. With a frown, Derek retrieved the medical supplies from his bag and lined them up beside him on a clean towel. Taking a wad of gauze and coating it with peroxide, he tore away the bloody sections of her shirt and cleaned around the wound. Derek noted the awful scars but thought better than to comment on them.


"So, Lena right?" He mouthed steadily, mentally calling back on his medical training from school. He wasn't a doctor, but first aid was something required to be common knowledge in this world. Keep the patient focused on something aside from the pain, or they might go into shock.


"Where are you from?"


Judging from the size of the cut, Derek determined he'd need a stronger antiseptic, so he placed the gauze over the wound and quickly searched a nearby cabinet.