Parental Madness

[Faith Eliza Cord]

(lmao, no, please keep Hunter, we need someone adding humor to this, lol)


Jared smiles back at Rai as she reenters with Kurt, relieved to see that she has managed to calm him, though it looks like Kurt's hand is injured. Probably from all the noises they'd heard him making in the hallway- it looked like he'd been punching something. He included Kurt in a brief smile, as though to show the boy he had no hard feelings towards him. Certainly, he currently had less hard feelings towards Kurt, yelling or not, than he did towards the kid sitting there practically groping his sister in front of his eyes.


Okay, so maybe Max wasn't GROPING Leigh...but he had his arm around her, and that was the same thing, sort of. Well, it was much more than Jared was okay with seeing. Especially with the way Leigh was reacting to it. Did she HAVE to snuggle up against him like that? Did she have to put her arms around him too and have her chest full out TOUCHING the guy's side?


And then, to Jared's growing irritation, bordering on anger, Leigh actually slipped herself into Max's lap and repositioned his arms around her, leaning her head back against him. It was like she thought she was Angelina's age or something, and she could just walk around climbing on everyone's lap and no one would think anything of it. Didn't she realize that she wasn't six years old, that she couldn't just go around DOING that?!


But then he realized, as he watched Leigh slip her fingers through Max's and shift herself back closer against him, that yes, she did realize that, and that actually, she wasn't acting six at all...she was acting like she thought she was sixteen. Like Max was.


Jared turned towards her sharply, with every intention of reaching out and yanking her back down to the seat between himself and Max, Angelina in his lap an obstacle or not. But then Leigh was looking towards Rai and Kurt, distracted, and her questions distracted him too.


"What happened to your hand...did you HIT her? Rai, did he hit you? Where's Jillian?"


It was a good question...where WAS Jillian?


"Maybe we should check on...Jillian," Jared said, looking towards Rai as he spoke. He still felt uncomfortable saying a gender for him aloud. "Should I, or..."


Rai's dog is very close to him now, standing between him and Max, and looking at them both oddly. Jared tries to ignore it, but Angelina watches Hunter, her serious expression not wavering, before, still remaining in his lap, she reaches down, running her fingers through his fur at the neck. She pets him in continued serious silence for several moments before looking up at Rai, asking in a voice more hoarse than usual, "What's his name?"


At this, Jared can't help the smile that comes. He hopes now that nothing will happen to this dog, that it will stick close, because it looks like this will be what keeps Angelina grounded- maybe what even helps her to come back to herself.

 

[Reviour]

Kurt takes another glances at the group once more, noticing Jareds reaction to him. It's a bit reassuring, but there seems to be more going on that of himself having a fit in the hallway. The presence of Max and Leighs minor PDA makes him turn away, he'd rather not have his mind stray on anymore topics. As Rai helps him to the kitchen, he begins to chuckle lightly at her question. "Wall? No... Just a Locker" If he were to punch those reinforced concrete walls, he probably woulld have shattered his hand. So far it's only bruised and swollen, possibly fractured. Still, he wouldn't be able to use it for a few days, but his left hand was still pretty strong.


"No I can wrap it myself. Thanks, though." He begins finding it easier to be nicer to the girl, Rai. There was probably ice in the freezers, and he needed to cool his hand down. Kurt's been through numerous injuries before due to gymnastics, climbing trees, free-running, and many other physical activities. He heals rather quickly, or at least knows a few ways to treat himself to do as such. He takes out a large gauze roll and starts wrapping it around his hand tightly. He winces at the pain, but he thinks to himself 'it could've been worse.'


As he gets gets at least the first layer on, he hears Leigh blurting questions in a single motion. "No, no! Of course I didn't hit her." Even if he did, no matter how strong he was, he wasn't going to last against someone with a gun and a protective dog by himself. "I just... I got scared. That's all. And Rai came, and we talked." Being abrupt about ending it, and continues to wrap his hand a bit more. At the same time he grabs some disposable gloves, and puts a small layer of ice, and wraps that around his hand. It looks like a giant mitten, but worked, and he cut off an sealed the Gauze.


Then the question of Jillian comes up. He looks to Rai, knowing that she was probably going to look for her, too, or at least she'd mention it before. Kurt takes a look around at everyone, and realized they barely touched their food. This was all probably because of him, so he decides he should eat, though his appetite was very low. He twirled some pasta, and meatballs, but neglected the sauce. He sat quietly, not wanting to be a hinderance anymore, and only ate.

 

[xJobozx]

Rai ignores the odd, unfamilar yet beautifully warm feeling that grows inside her as Jared smiles back. She was sure this was a horror video game, not a romance one.


She had to stop thinking like that though. This wasn't a game, this was real life. She couldn't shoot her teammates when they pissed her off. She wouldn't respawn. This hit her like a flash grenade. She couldn't respawn. None of them could. Tightening her grip on her gun she decided the next thing to do was barricade the entrances. She couldn't respawn.


Ignoring her dark thoughts - like anyone needed more of those - she grinned at Kurt. "A locker? As long as it wasn't mine. I was thinking of keeping some supplies in there temporarily." She nods as he tells her he can handle it himself, but still sticks close, just in case he does need her help after all. She had noticed him seeming to loosen up a bit, and this makes her smile. She wouldn't want to be disliked by anyone in this mini-group she had seemed to stumble upon.


She noticed the way Jared moved, like he was going to punch Max, and she could tell he wanted to. But before she could do anything or say anything to stop a fight breaking out, Leigh had thrown a question at her and Kurt and her eyes widened before she shook her head, "Of course not!" She smirked, "Hunter would have freaked out on Kurt if he had hit me." She waggled her gun lightly, "Plus, I would have smacked him back with my little friend right here." She wasn't sure if she was joking or not.


Then Jared was speaking again, and Rai found her ears almost straining to hear every single word that came out of his mouth, as though that was the most mesmerizing thing to her ear drums. Maybe it was. "Jillian?" She nodded, "I'll go look for him in a second." Yeah she had spotted Jillian's whole girly appearance, the dressing as a girl and even some stereotypically girly actions he had shown. But he was clearly a guy, what with the adam's apple and the masculine features.


Then a little hoarse voice spoke and Rai looked to see their youngest group member - Angelina - had asked for Hunter's name. She smiled kindly at the little girl, "His name is Hunter. Ironic really if you think about it." She offered the younger a grin, trying to lighten the mood as she walked over to drop down beside Angelina and Hunter, petting her dog, "I actually named him after a zombie from a game called Left 4 Dead. But's he's nothing like a zombie, so don't worry." She smiled at Angelina again as Hunter nuzzled his face into Angelina's petting hand and even shuffling himself closer to her as his tail wagged at almost impossible speeds, "I think he likes you Angie, can I call you Angie?" She of course doesn't know this is already the little girl's nickname.


When the little human had begun to pet his coat, Hunter had immediently forgotten about the two dominant males fighting over - maybe - his Rai. His tail had started to swish back and forth and he moved a bit closer to the tiny hand; he liked this small being. He still though, as she pets him, gives Max a stare, vowing to stop the boy if he made a leap for the other male while the tiny one stroked him.


He heard footsteps and looks over to see Rai heading his way; his tail wags a bit faster and he makes a sound of content in his throat as she pets him aswell. Yes, he defiently liked this place. There was at least two people here willing to stroke his coat and there was no older female human to call him a 'stupid mutt' and steal his spot on the sofa. He finds himself moving closer to the little one and tries to encourage her to pet him some more by rubbing his face into her hand. Human's seemed to like that for some reason.


He smells food once more, coming from the male who had been speaking to his Rai and he looks at his owner, whining lightly as ducks his head for a moment and pretends to bite the floor. His mistress seems to understand, for she gets up with a speaking of, "Oh right, one sec Hunter." and goes over to where the food smell is coming from. His tail wags even faster as comes back with a plastic blue plate that has got food on it and puts it infront of Hunter. He sits and waits until she says it's okay to eat, then digs in.


Rai's surprised Hunter hasn't wagged his tail right off yet as he begins to eat the spaghetti, she looks up to the others, "Figured I'd give him the same food as us." She grins, "The school cafeteria doesn't keep dog food around handy, though with the 'hamburgers' they used to make, I'm genuinely shocked they don't."

 

[Nivrad00]

Through the window, the boy left in the car could clearly see Will slowly approaching his father, his shoes crushing the loose gravel on the parking lot. Anthony's gaze was still concerned, his mind racing through different scenarios; was there another adult? Did Will's father have a gun? What happened if he shot and missed? What happened if he shot and killed? Could he shift positions quickly enough to drive the car? Could he aid Will? He glanced into the backseat; how did Anthros play into this? Could he- what was that?


The boy saw movement in the corner of his vision, a small flash of color that disappeared behind the brick building; worried, he looked back to where Will was progressing over the cement and decided he should warn him. He was just about to open his door, when a noise sounded; a body came into view from behind the building, and then suddenly, there were gunshots.


Will had just been opening his mouth to speak to his dad- he wasn't quite sure what he had been planning to say- when the gun sounded. The word trap! echoed in his mind as he immediately scuttled backwards, spraying gravel from the ground. He was up to dash back to the van in a rush, adrenaline shooting through him, when he noticed his father- collapsing, blood staining his front.


After that Will had no idea what to do. The rush of panic slowly ebbed as there were no more loud sounds, only footsteps making their way towards him and the car. Anthony had, by now, opened his door and was standing near the front of the Subaru, glaring watchfully at the person who was now walking towards them with a shotgun held to his side and a grim expression on his face. The teen had noticed by now the corpse of the other adult, visible around the corner of the brick building. So it had been a trap?


Will was only staring at his dead father.


“I don’t know just how much intel you have, but it’s all of them. You can’t trust any of the older ones,” the newcomer was saying. Will barely lifted his eyes to look at him, blinking softly. “Name’s Grey, and we should search the area quickly for supplies- then get the hell out of here.”


Anthony gave him a wary look. Grey looked old enough to have been affected along with the adults.... but then, why would he have shot down his comrades? He had some questions in mind, but for now, he decided it would be better to go along with the newcomer's plans; Anthony could always inquire further in the car. It would be definitely a good thing to befriend this Grey. He looked worn and injured, but he also definitely looked like he knew what he was doing.


He stole a look at Will, who, having finished examined their savior, was still silently staring at his father. Anthony had never really liked his own dad, but he knew Mr. Blotter very well- they'd lived in the same apartment, after all. Seeing the new corpse and the blood beginning to stain the parking lot, he had to swallow and look away to keep himself composed. Carefully putting aside all thoughts of death, he nodded at Grey. "Right," he started, trying to keep his voice straight. Glancing one last time at Mr. Blotter, he said, a little quieter "That... was his dad. Better leave him there for now if we go look for supplies. Uh, I'm Anthony, that's Will. In the car's Anthros." After a second of silence, he turned and began to walk to the brick building, trusting Grey to come along.


After a little, he added, "Thanks." He didn't want to think of what could have happened if Grey hadn't showed up.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Jared watches as Kurt sits down and begins to eat, albeit without much enthusiasm, and glances around at the others before returning some of his attention towards his own nearly untouched plate, taking a few bites. Still, he is looking frequently around at the others, observing them even as he eats. There is Rai, tough, competent Rai, who seems to be doing her best to be helpful towards everyone, now volunteering to go get Jillian. Kurt, now composed, even embarrassed. Angelina, now focused on the dog, having spoken her first sentence in nearly an hour, only her third of the past several hours. And of course, Leigh, huddled in Max's lap like she owned it...and Max, doing absolutely nothing to boot her out of it.


Yeah, he had plenty to be keeping his eye on.


"Him? Jillian's a GIRL," Leigh corrected Rai with some scorn, and then, with her first sign of doubt, added, looking up at Max for confirmation, "Isn't she? I mean, she's wearing girl stuff...even if she's not all that pretty..."


Jared doesn't bother to answer her, deciding to let someone else sort out that sticky topic. Instead he tears his eyes from his first sister to look at the younger one, who is still intently concentrating on Hunter. Angelina continues to run her fingers through his fur, and Jared is almost amazed when her lips briefly twitch into a smile. She doesn't answer when Rai asks calling her Angie, just nods slightly; but as this is more communication by far than she's done for a while, Jared's pretty happy with that too. Leigh, of course, speaks up for her.


"We already call her Angie. She's too little for Angelina," she informed Rai. "Lydia used to say that name's bigger than she is."


She bit her lip then and tightened both hands around Max's left arm, lowering her eyes and taking in a slow breath, as if by mentioning her sister's name, she was reawakening the pain and memory of her loss. Jared kept his eyes on her, ever watchful of one inappropriate touch from Max...not that he wasn't ALREADY inappropriately touching her, in his book.


But he is distracted frequently from watching Leigh to watch Rai. The way she is talking with both of his sisters, but especially Angie, the way she is knelt over her and addressing her with such warmth and understanding...she was good with her, empathetic with her, in a way that still was not entirely natural for Jared. Was there anything this girl couldn't do?


"We should eat," he said finally, tearing his eyes from her again. "Leigh, Angie...Angie, you can sit with the dog. Do you want me to cook your food for you?"


Angie shook her head, and was slow to sit beside him again, looking back to make sure the dog was still there.


It was still a few minutes later before another thought struck him....Grey. Grey was his best friend, really one of the only people Jared felt close to- as much as a guy could be close to another guy friend, anyway. Grey didn't know the full extent of how things were for Jared and his family, even before now, and Grey had been out of school for a year, while Jared was still- or had been, anyway- a senior- but they still hung out as often as Jared's job and family responsibilities would allow him to, and Grey was one of his few genuine friends. How was Grey making out in all of this...had he survived? What if he hadn't? What if his body was lying somewhere back with all the others?


No, that couldn't be. Grey had no reason to be at school...and yet, he could have been killed as well. He could have had anything happen....


No...no, he wouldn't think about it. He couldn't know, not for sure...even if he called Grey, what would his not answering prove? Jared had left a phone, and Grey could very well be alive and not have answered. But if his younger sisters could still be alive...if someone as gentle as Kurt or Jillian seemed to be...if Jared himself...


There was no point in hoping. Jared knew the odds...it was better not to think of him at all. He had his sisters, two of them, anyway...that was what he needed to focus on.


And yet the more he thought about it, the harder it was to swallow until he couldn't eat. Until eventually he stood up abruptly, muttering that he would be back. He had seen a phone in the kitchen earlier, probably for deliveries or emergencies, and he headed straight to it, lifting the receiver in his hand. Staring at it for several seconds, he finally punched Grey's cell number in rapid succession, almost holding his breath. When someone picks up the receiver, his heart leaps into his throat in near joy.


"Grey?! Grey, is this- this is Jared! Are you...you're okay?"

 

[xJobozx]

Rai had decided that she would shovel her own food down - needing to eat aswell and unable to stand the way her stomach was paining her for food - and then go find Jillian.


She picked up her plate, and after getting a few mouthful's in, Leigh spoke up, her voice layered with scorn, and Rai let her eyes slide over to the younger girl. She reminded her a lot of Jennifer. That wasn't a good thing.


She swallowed the food she had in her mouth before she spoke, slightly slowly like she thought Leigh wouldn't listen if she spoke too fast for her liking. "Nope. He's a dude. Check the adam apple on his neck, plus, he's got the features of a guy." She paused, taking another bite before swallowing and speaking again, her eyes now on her dog.


"Just because someone dresses like a girl doesn't mean they are one. People can dress how they wish. If he prefers to dress as a girl then I think we should let him and welcome his decision." Rai then looked to the younger girl thoughtfully. Sure she may be well headed on her way to bit*h city. But maybe Rai could help her. Surely the whole apocalypse thing they had going on right now plus some good old Rai advice would stop the girl becoming a mini Jennifer. Right?


Hunter finished his food in seconds, and after deciding that since Rai seemed safe right now, he decided to double check this place for adults. Trotting out of the cafeteria, he headed down corridors, his nose picking up the scent of distress, he followed it to find a closed door and the smell on the other side. He managed to push open the first door, looking around to see a few of those things that human go toilet in and also a few of those other things that they sometimes clean their paws in. He heard a small sobbing sound - the sign of a human whining - and trotted over to where it was coming from, a closed door once again being in his way. Noticing that he couldn't simply push this one open with his nose, he whined lightly and scratched at the door with his paw.


Who was on the other side and why were they so upset?


(Jillian didn't want any human to see him like this, so I thought I'd send Hunter in instead xD )

 

[AlwaysChaos]

Anthros glanced to the shaken up Will, feeling just as messed up on the inside, but she pushed past it enough to seem at least somewhat stable on the surface. Alas her shaking hands might be a sign to the contrary. She hadn’t seen what had happened, but the young adult coming to them with a gun after the old man had been shot, yeah she could piece it together some. She felt bad for Will, but a voice in the back of her head reminded her that it had to of been done, that he was just like the others. Peering out the window at the one in close proximity with a weapon she would wonder just why this one wasn’t. Was it seriously only parents killing and not all adults? If that was so, they had no chance telling them apart. The thought was alarming, yet the one with the gun beckoning her outside was more so.


Grey glanced at his new so called comrades. The one barely looked eighteen and the other two had to be years younger. They were all kids, and barely hanging on from what he could see of them. The younger one kept looking to the man Grey had shot down, was this his first view of a corpse, or perhaps another killed in front of him? It seemed like more than shock, but like hell was Grey going to stand around playing twenty questions when they should get out of there stat.


The oldest spoke up, only to quietly inform Grey of the younger’s heritage. It clicked in his head like an aha moment, and Grey solemnly nodded. Adjusting his newly acquired shot got, wishing for a damned strap he would grip the youths shoulder and try to give an encouraging nod. Telling him that he had to kill his own father didn’t seem like the best way to help him come to terms so Grey remained silent. Noticing the other had it in him to take charge if the need arises as he started off to what needed to be done, Grey would turn to the shaken girl and nod his head to get her to follow as well.


Injuries allotted, Grey would catch up to and match pace with the one that had introduced himself as Anthony. The walk to the cabins was silent, but uneventful so you wouldn’t hear Grey complain. Trying to be systematic so that they got through the places efficiently yet still kept a lookout for danger Grey took charge and began to tell the two what to do. Noticing how the girl, Anthros such an odd name, was still shaking and clenching her hands he would leave her for guard duty. “Watch through the windows and call to us if you see anything.”


Dividing the rooms evenly between himself and Anthony, Grey would list off tools and necessities, but making sure to give himself the bathroom and kitchen area so that he could look through the prescriptions and other products himself. In the midst of shoving medical supplies into his newfound pack a familiar tune would go off.


♫It's always cold, it's always day you’re always here, you always say I'm alright I'll be ok- ♫


Stumbling once Grey realizes his forgotten cellphone is going off he reaches for it in his pocket and unsure, presses a button and holds the phone to the side of his face. “…hello?” a familiar voice would say his name and Grey almost dropped the phone then and there. “Jared, you’re-it’s really you?” a relief would flood through him. When he had lost Sara… he never would have thought that Jared would be able to make it safely, not when he was so loyal and had three sisters to look after. “I, yeah I’m good, it’s me here” Grey tried to brush off his good friends concern with a lighthearted reply. Honestly who could go through this ordeal and not be messed up?


Wanting to ask of the girls, Grey would think of his own precious Sara and swallow his words. If he was unable to speak of what happened to Sara over the phone, then how could he ask Jared after his sisters? If one of them were hurt… Grey shook his head at the thought, only to remember just what situation they were in, and that he had to keep working. “Dude, where are you?” he would ask, shoving supplies in the bag as he worked his way through the cabinet. “McKinley?” a chuckle would come from his lips “Of all the places how’d you end up there?” Moving through the cabin once more he would check on Anthros and Anthony while listening. The girl was glued to the window and it seemed Anthony was doing as he was told.


“You’ve met up with others?”


“Yeah I somehow met up with three kids myself”


“You know, now that I think of it, the school can be a good stronghold… yeah, we should get there within the hour… just take care until then” Grey did his best to keep the worry from his voice.


Saying his goodbyes and looking to the pair he would nod to them. “We got a safe place, there’s others, but we really need to get out of here before dark” Waiting for the teenagers to finish up Grey would shove blankets into Anthros’ arms before adjusting his newly acquired strapped gun while getting used to the uneven weight now on his person. Wishful for his gun holster Grey would know it was futile and nodded to the others that it was time to go. Their short walk to the vehicle was uneventful, Grey made sure of that with a watchful eye, hand at the ready. Too bad that he didn’t realize until after he unloaded the supplies and started the car that the one named Will might pose a problem for them all.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Still leaned back against Max, though her posture is more relaxed now, Leigh looks up at Rai with some disbelief, frowning. She's never personally encountered a crossdresser, transvestite, or transsexual, nor has she, to her knowledge, even known someone who was openly gay before, and in her middle school environment, such people were looked at as strange, even scary. Her shock and confusion is reflected in her tone and expression as she replies to her.


"But his name is Jillian...did he lie about his name? Or did his parents name him that because he already wanted to be a girl...no, that's silly, you can't know that when people are just BABIES," she dismisses that as soon as she says that, wrinkling her nose. But her questions are sincere again, if awkwardly put, when she looks back at Rai. "Why would someone want to do that if they're really a boy? I would never want to dress like a boy or be like a boy. I"m a girl, that's what I'm supposed to be."


Angelina's face falls when Hunter leaves the room, and she stands still, though her head turns repeatedly, looking for Jared. Not seeing him, she then looks between her sister and Rai, measuring out the two. Although Leigh is her sister, and she is most familiar with her, she carries the memories of their arguments and bickering in the past, and of Leigh's less than patience and kindness to her the majority of the time. The fact that Leigh is also currently sitting in the lap of a male Angelina neither knows nor trusts is also off putting to her. Rai she does not know, but the girl has been nice to her. Cautiously Angelina edges towards her.


As Jared hangs up the phone, he is smiling, an odd rush of adrenaline flowing through him with his relief, even joy at the recently ended conversation. Grey is alive...Grey is okay. Grey is headed their way, and will be bringing other survivors. Knowing Grey, he'll have weapons. Grey can help with the others, Grey can help seal the place up...just having Grey with him, a close friend, a capable guy who can help take charge, someone who knows of his sisters and can help with them, knowing their personalities...it's much more than Jared could have hoped for. He's so glad he swallowed his fear and made that call.


"Guys, my friend Grey is on his way with three more kids, he'll be here soon," he called out to the others as he returned to the eating area of the cafeteria. "He'll be a lot of help and protection."


He didn't think yet of how he would be able to tell Grey about Lydia, and of what Grey might have to share with him. Now, he would concentrate only on happiness...he would take what little happiness he could get right now.

 

[Kagura]

Leigh reacted immediately, and it was like the two were alone again, in another place, in a time where his father hadn’t tried to kill him. The girl always made Max feel safe, safe from the name calling, the bitterness of puberty and the pointing and staring he got. Despite what they’ve been through, he knew he liked this feeling, the feeling of being accepted into somebody’s arms. She nuzzles against him and he smiles, although she can’t see it, blatantly ignoring the fact that Jared’s eyes are on them.


Kurt and Rai return, the latter being followed by her loyal hound and the former nursing a bruised hand. They seem to set about dealing with his bruises first, as she hands him his bag with the first aid kit in it, and asks if he needs help. Kurt doesn’t need it though, starting to wrap his hand by himself.


His focus is pulled away when Leigh slips into his lap and repositions his arms around her; he rubs her arms slightly when she’s done and she leans back in response. It was a moment of content, despite the piercing stare that he felt besides him; he let her hand slip into his and gave it a gentle squeeze in response. The girl was so small, so young, but they seemed to fit together like peas in a pod...


Leigh directs a question to Kurt next, distracting Jared from whatever he was about to do from the two of them. Rai and Kurt are quick to deny it though, and Max takes the moment to notice Rai’s dog, sitting between Jared and him and looking wearily in between the two. The topic of Jillian comes up, and while he is up to looking for his friend, Leigh was currently in his lap and he knew if they moved, he wouldn’t be able to get back into this position. Rai was willing to look for Jillian after she ate though, which he now noticed Kurt had started doing.


Angie’s hand reaches out, and he looks back, watching as she pets the dog behind them and idly asks for his name. Hunter was the response she got, the dog seemed to like the youngest family member, and she seemed to like him right back. At his whine though, Rai seemed to understand what he wanted and delivered a plate of food.


Max looked at his own plate of food, then down at Leigh, not expecting what came out of her mouth next. He withdrew slightly, Jillian was not a girl, but the boy had also told him he wasn’t a cross dresser, so Rai’s argument seemed wrong too. Maxwell wasn’t completely sure what Jillian preferred to be called, but at Leigh’s next questions, he spoke.


“Leigh…” he notes, “Imagine if you were forced into a boy’s body” he starts, “I think that’s how Jillian feels. He was supposed to be a girl, and…-and he’s stuck” he tries to explain. Jillian was probably not the name his parents gave him when he was born, but if he wanted to be Jillian, then that’s what he was. “I’m not really sure of it myself, and I don’t think he is either…but. That really shouldn’t be the main issue.” He tries, valiantly, to get them back on track.


The dog is gone now, and Jared returns from where ever he ran off to, stating that someone named Grey was coming.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Leigh frowns at Max's explanation, seeming to be trying to accept it but still carrying a somewhat doubtful expression. She shrugs, settling her head back against him again as she replies, her voice somewhat dismissive now, as though she has decided that it's not something terribly important for her to worry about.


"That would suck...it just seems really weird. I"m not being mean or anything, it just is." As an afterthought, she adds, "Well are we supposed to call him a boy or girl? Or are we supposed to ask? Because it seems weird to ask."


Glancing towards Angelina, seeing that her sister is moving very slowly towards Rai, she sits up a little, saying to her, "What are you doing, Angie?"


Angelina glances over at her but doesn't say anything, nor does she return closer to Leigh. Her eyes are on Max before Jared comes in, speaking of Grey's approach with the others. Some interest comes to her eyes then, because Angelina has always liked Grey. Leigh too sits up straighter, her eyes brightening, and says with some excitement, "Grey's okay? Really?! What about other people? What about my friend Mackenzie, or Heather, or Olivia, can I call them? Can we get them to come here? Maybe someone should go and look for people and tell them to come here!"


Jared hesitates, then slowly shakes his head. He highly doubts that a lot of other eleven and twelve year old girls have survived...not to mention that most would not have cell phones, and he doubts that the surviving ones would be hanging around the house. And if Leigh keeps not getting answers and starts getting upset, it wouldn't exactly be productive.


It would get her off Max's lap, though.


"I'd rather people stay together, where we can see them," he said instead, and Leigh scowled at that, saying with some challenge to her tone, "JILLIAN didn't. Where's Jillian? And the dog just left..."


"We're going to look for he- him," Jared caught himself, glancing towards Rai, as though for her agreement. "We do need to stay together. Starting now, especially with new people coming. Just until we can get this place secured."

 

[Reviour]

He made sure to keep his hurt hand leveled up to his head. It was finally numbed. Kurt watched at as Jared walks right into the kitchen, far enough to where he was out of sight. The guy seemed to have been deep in thought for a minute before he excused himself. He looked at his bowl once more, until he got stuck between Jillian's sex. She wasn't a girl, she was a he, which confirmed his suspicions before. This was all cleared up, thank's to Rai's unforgiving bluntness. He sat there, dumfounded, but he was still exhausted, so he blanked for a moment, mindlessly filing his stomach.


When Jared came back, Kurt wondered why he was so excited for, until he mentions his friend named Grey. Jared wasn't familiar, then he wondered about the new comer and the people he was bringing. But again, he felt too tired to think or talk about it. The food made him feel better though, almost as thought it was the cure to his headache.


As soon as he knew it, the siblings began to argue for a bit, or rather Leigh was being defiant to her brother. It was an odd show, since Kurt didn't have siblings. It was a bit awkward, so the one thing that came up was maybe it was time to lighten the mood. He announces with a forced enthusiasm, "Anyone want dessert?" Knowing there were some cookies and ice cream around. He could involve everyone in making ice cream sandwiches, and this would make him feel better his previous fiasco. "I'll need someone to help, though." He raised his injured hand with a smile. The question was targeted mostly at the kids for help. He knew children loved participating in simple cooking, at least the younger kids who went to gymnastics camp loved it. Anyone was free to help, though.


"Wait here!" Kurt walks into the kitchen, looking for a premade box of cookies. It wasn't that hard to find, and he opened the box making sure they were hard enough for ice cream sandwiches. They were a little soft, but they seem very chewy. They were good enough, and he searched the freezer for any ice cream. Luckily there was a large barrel of mint chocolate chip ice cream. He glowed in happiness. He was able to lift it with one hand, managing to wrap his arm around it. The barrel wasn't too heavy for him, just awkwardly cold pressed against his body. He laid the ice cream barrel down in the cafeteria. He went back to get a cup of water, a few scoops, and the cookies.


As he was about to grab the scoops, he took note of what was in the kitchen, planning to come back to pack all these things. He filled a cannister with warm water, and put it on top of the box of cookies. He was able to carry 2 scoops under his other arm (with the bad hand), pressed the cannister of water between his chest and the same arm, and held the box of cookies with his good hand. He carefully walked out with all the items as he set them on the table. Pretending to forget the bad things that just happened, he announced in a melodic tone, "Ice cream sandwiches time!" He was easily able to pull the facade, but he was hopeful they would enjoy this. .

 

[Legendless]

Jillian stopped crying for a moment to hear a noise on the door. At first he tensed, wondering if it was someone who was coming to check on him, but then he realize no one would knock like that. Not that it really sounded like knocking.


He wiped his face, instantly feeling shameful for sobbing in the bathroom. The girl's bathroom as well. It wasn't his first time in here. Jillian had shifted between them both, though he was usually forced to use the boy's even when he did not want to. He moved to the door and unlocked it, then opened it to see the dog standing there. He was surprised by Hunter's appearance outside the stall door and he looked around for either his owner or someone else. He saw no human here and then looked down at Hunter.


He kneeled, coming to eye level with the dog and then smiled a little. He petted Hunter. "Who's a good dog? Coming to check on me, huh? Thank you."


(Will post again with Summer and Mels soon. Thinking of what to do with them.)

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

(AlwaysChaos currently does not have internet and it will be an undetermined amount of time before she does, so for now, work around her, guys)


Leigh might be twelve years old, and she was very often concerned with appearing "cool" or "sexy", adjectives which could not be used to describe making ice cream sandwiches. But at the moment neither term was a thought in her head to apply towards herself and her behavior, and she almost immediately jumped off Max's lap at Kurt's suggestion, eager for the distraction of having something to do more than the ice cream itself.


"Yeah, I'll help...Max, you want to?" she turns towards the boy, still wanting him near her and preferably touching her as much as possible.


Angelina too nods, though silently; with the dog gone, she is not inclined to speak for the moment. She goes to the table where Kurt had laid the food and utensils as needed and looked up at him as if for instructions.


Jared smiled at Kurt, thankful for his inventive distractions. The other guy had been considerable help already, regardless of his breakdown in the hall. He had cooked for them, was now organizing another distraction, and for the most part he'd been very patient and positive with everyone. Jared was glad he was around...now if only Grey could get here too, it would be even better. Grey could help with everything, including the girls...and it would make Jared feel that much better and...well, secure...to know that his best friend was there too, that he still had most of the important people in his life.


For the hundredth time he shoved aside the thoughts of Lydia always lingering in the foreground of his mind before he sat beside Angelina, ruffling her hair, and began to show her how to make the sandwich. For now things were peaceful...for now, things were about as okay as could be expected.


For now.

 

[xJobozx]

Rai watches Leigh as she responds, she is going to reply, but Max beats her to it. All she adds on, in a thoughtful tone, is, "Maybe his Mum wanted him to be a girl. So she named him Jillian." She shrugs, "Could have been his dad, but more likely that it was his mum." She looks to Leigh, "Sometimes parent's shove ideas onto their children, the younger they are the easier it is to influence them." She then looks to where Jillian went, "Maybe his Mum dressed him as a girl when he was young and it stuck."


Of course this is all a guess, mostly stuff she had read in books when she was younger and before she got into video games, and she has no idea whether this is true or not. She does notice Angelina edging closer to her, rather than Leigh, and she smiles, looking back to Leigh as the girl asks whether they should call Jillian a boy or a girl, she speaks simply, as if it's obvious, "We should call him Jillian." She doesn't want to ask the boy, because it's obvious to her and probably uncomfortable for Jillian himself.


When Leigh speaks of the dog leaving, Rai's eyes seem to show some panic and she looks around hurriedly, "Hunter?" She bites her lip lightly and looks to Jared, "Did he go with you?" Her tone has worry to it, and she looks at Jared as she barely notices he is making ice cream sandwiches. Hunter was like a brother to her, he was her family. He was more a family to her than her Mother ever was and he was - in her eyes - all she had left. He was her only family.


--------


Hunter wagged his tail as the sad human opened the door and petted him, he nuzzled slightly against the male. Appearances didn't matter to Hunter - why would they? In his eyes, the human smelt like a male, had the scent of a male and was therefore a male. No questions about it. Though he certainly wasn't an alpha male - like the two boys back at the food area.


Hunter recognized the words good dog and nuzzled his body against the human, he then turned and headed to the door to exit the bathroom, looking back at Jillian as if to say. 'you coming?'


There was one thing Border Collie's like Hunter knew how to do extremely well - besides kicking adult butt of course - and that was herding sheep. Or in Hunter's case, herding humans back to the group.

 

[Legendless]

Jillian looked at the dog as he nuzzled against him. It was comforting to the boy. He didn't have a pet back at his home and the comfort of even an animal made him happy. But Jillian wondered if he would only ever he comforted by the dog. He admitted to Max some of his backstory about his gender and appearance, but in the end he still wasn't sure and he didn't want anyone to assume.


He watched the dog go and realize he was either bored with Jillian or he wanted him to follow. But Jillian didn't know if he wanted to go back. He wasn't good with a large group of people and besides he had just been crying. He was surely going to be considered a child amongst the group and it kind of hurt him. He had killed someone and now he was crying like a baby. Well sure he had reasons to do so, but he wish he was stronger than this.


Jillian sighed, knowing he would follow. He followed Hunter, just wishing everyone would ignore him on his return.


----


Summer looked down at her cousin who had decided to take a nap on the counter. She didn't like this idea very much. Mels was in plain sight of the widows, which Summer was beginning to hate. She looked at her cousin though and felt she couldn't wake the young girl just yet.


Summer already knew they couldn't stay here for that long. She knew they had to keep on moving, but for now they were in a good place. They had food and drinks which was good. She also grabbed a bunch of bags and stuffed things in it. Luckily the store had a lot of non-perishable items. Sure not all that healthy of in a variety, but it was something. They wouldn't strave or thrist. They'd be okay which was something Summer hoped for. She just wanted her and little Mels to survive until.... Well Summer wasn't sure until what. They had to survive and Summer would be sure they would, but what was the purpose? Survive until all the murdering adults were dead or came out of it? Whatever happened in the end, it would not be pleasant and Summer didn't really want to be around for that.


Mels shifted in her sleep and Summer moved across the conviencant store. She was almost ready to take Mels and leave. They could go...somewhere. Maybe find people who wouldn't try and kill them.


"That would be nice," Summer muttered to herself.


"What would be nice?"


Mels looked at her older cousin as she turned. She obviously thought she was asleep and she was until a minute ago. Summer's nerves were beginning to effect her and Mels felt uncertian. She trusted Summer, she really did. She knew that she would take care of them, but she was still so afraid anyways.


"Nothing. I am all ready. We need to go."


Mels nodded and the pair headed out of the store. Summer took the lead, keeping her cousin close to her. She held her hand tightly. She wasn't going to loose Mels. She would not let that happen. Not after loosing...


Summer shook that thought away. She smiled as they came upon a vehicle. "Excellent." The doors were unlocked and the key was in. The only problems was the blood stains which Summer wasn't sure about. Still it was a means of transportation and she couldn't let it pass up, now could she?


She slid in, making sure Mels was in as well and seatbelted, before taking off. She decided on a destination and she planned to head there now.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Looking up from her ice cream sandwich making, Leigh's eyes grew big, and she shook her head in seeming incredulity at Rai's attempt to explain to her why a person might be the way that Jillian is. Licking one of her fingers that has gotten drippy with ice cream, she says with some disdain, for Jillian's parents now rather than him, "That's really screwy. If his mom did that she must be nuts, and mean too. He can't help it if he's a boy. She should still name him Jack instead of Jill. And not make him wear DRESSES....I mean, I know we should call him Jillian. It's not like he has another name, but...like if I'm talking about him when he's around, am I supposed to say he or she? I can't just point at him. Can't we just ask him?"


As another thought strikes her, her eyes widen still more, and she huffs, looking over at Jared now to include him in this conversation. "Jared! Vicky named me LEIGH! That could be a boy name! I mean, boys don't spell it my way usually, they spell it Lee, but it's STILL a boy name and it's not like Angelina or Ly-Lydia-" she stumbled over her older sister's name, biting her lip briefly, but pressed on, though with less steam than before. "It's a boy name...do you think she wanted me to be a boy?"


Jared shook his head; one thing he could be sure of was that Vicky hadn't cared what gender any of her kids was. To her, all kids were the same; she hadn't done much to raise them anyway.


"No, I'm pretty sure she named you after Janet Leigh," he informed her, which of course made the girl look at him blankly.


"Who's that?"


"The actress who played the woman in Psycho...you know, the one who got killed in the shower," Jared told her, smirking a little in spite of himself, and in spite of the fact that it was perfectly true. Each of them had been named after a pop culture figure. Himself after Jared Leto from some show called My So-Called Life, which had come out the year he was born, Lydia after a character in the movie Beetlejuice, and Angelina after what she claimed was Leigh's favorite tv show at the time, Angelina Ballerina, but as she owned a fair number of Angelina Jolie movies, he suspected that was the actual inspiration.


Of course, this response did not make Leigh happy. "I was named after a person who died NAKED?!"


Jared chose to leave this response well enough alone, turning to Rai and beginning to reassure her about her dog. "He probably just went into the hall..."


Almost as if on cue, Hunter returned only a few moments later, with Jillian shuffling behind. Jared smiled at Jillian briefly but made no comment about his reappearance, only hoping that Leigh would follow suit. Angelina, seeing Hunter, actually smiled, and after licking her messy fingers, held them out as though for Hunter to lick too.

 

[Legendless]

Jillian had heard some of the comments from the hall before he had come in. He smiled weakly at Jared, not sure what to say or do now. Should he speak up about his gender and clear some of the confusion? Or should he wait to be asked. He felt a little annoyed deep down. Jillian could be any gender he wanted to be and this was his choice now. He had chosen to dress like this because he liked it.


But then came the question of what gender was he? Sure his sex was male. That was clear. But gender? He wasn't sure of that one. Jillian moved, taking a seat a little away from the group, not speaking and not meeting eye contact.


"Sorry," he said, not sure why or to who. It just felt like it needed saying.

 

[xJobozx]

Rai nodded simply as Leigh claimed it was wrong and 'screwy' to do that to your child. She, thinking of her own name, didn't have the same reaction Leigh had about her name. She knew Rai was also a boy's name - spelt Ray and short for Raymond - aswell as Leigh's name. But she had the same view as Jared; her mum didn't care for Rai's gender, Rai was an accident anyway - as her mum had told her once before - so her gender and her in general didn't matter to her recently deceased Mother.


Rai then shook her head, "No, we can't just ask him. That would be rude. We should just call him Jillian." She quickly added on, knowing Leigh probably wouldn't understand that, "Like, for instance, we'd say: I'm sure Jillian can handle it. Or: Jillian's just cutting the vegetables" She gave her a smile, "See?"


Then, as Jared spoke up about Hunter, she nodded, worry still in her eyes, "Yeah, I'm just worried about him...." As she spoke this sentence, Hunter bounded back into the room - Jillian in tow.


Rai smiled and leapt up from her seat, "Hey Hunter." He ran over and wagged his tail at his mistress, nuzzling against her as she stroked him for a moment before looking up and giving Jillian a warm smile. He then apologized and she frowned, "What are you sorry for?" In her eyes, he had done nothing wrong, so his apology confused her.


Hunter, once he had gotten a stroke from his Rai, looked around and spotted his other favourite human, the little one, and noticed she seemed to be offering him something. He pratically sprinted over to the little one and sniffed her fingers, then - after looking up at her for permission - began to lick them eagerly, tasting the ice cream on her fingers.


Yes, he definitely liked this little being.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Rai is still explaining to Leigh as Jillian is coming through the door, which prevents the girl from being able to drag out the questions about Jillian for any longer. Shrugging, she returns her attention to her ice cream before turning to Max, giving him a quick, flirty smile, and licks the ice cream sticking out of the cookies slowly. She sticks out her tongue, then asks, holding up the cookie, "Want a bite?"


Jared, of course, is less than pleased by that performance. Does Leigh KNOW that what she had just done could be thought of as sexy, and if she did, why was she DOING it? He watched Max's reaction closely, even fully turning towards them to be sure he had a good view as he said to Leigh sharply, "Cut it out."


As Hunter licks Angelina's fingers, her slight smile grows, and after a few moments she gives a short giggle. Jared actually looks over at her then, startled to hear her laugh, and he is briefly distracted enough from Leigh to smile as she says out loud, "Tickles."


He is still looking at Leigh,but speaks to Rai as he says in a lower volume, "Glad Hunter's here...he's good to have around, looks like. You too, of course."


He no sooner has said it then he wishes he could take it back. Here he was scolding Leigh and look at the stupid things coming out his mouth...what would she think of THAT?


He hopes Grey and the others with him will get here soon, because about now more distraction, as long as it wasn't of the killing variety, would be welcome.


([MENTION=1503]Nivrad00[/MENTION] please post soon? lol)

 

[xJobozx]

Rai smiles as she watches Hunter interact with Angelina, it seems like Hunter may be good for the little girl - what was she saying, of course Hunter would be good for Angie. In Rai's eyes, Hunter truly was an amazing dog, the smartest, bravest and most understanding dog she had ever known. She adored the border collie.


It seemed like Jared thought so too, and she looked up at him with the smile still in place as he spoke, noticing how he was watching Leigh and Max, not failing to notice how he looked like he very much wanted to tear the younger boy's head off.


Rai likes that Jared seems to like Hunter, because for some reason his opinion on her pet matters much to her, and it also seems his opinion on her matters a lot to her aswell, because as he includes her in the 'good to be around' her smile grows and she feels herself heat up slightly, though she is sure her cheeks haven't reddened.


"Uh, thanks." She manages to murmur back in response, "Glad I'm here too." She smiles at him, her eyes softening.


Hunter wags his tail as the tiny human makes a sound of contentment and he licks more eagerly, then, once the taste is gone, he nuzzles against her, trying to get onto her lap.

 

[Kagura]

As Max’s girlfriend settled back against him, he rested his head on the top of hers, barely tall enough to do it. Leigh kept talking about Jillian but he let Rai answer the question instead focusing on the fact that Angie was slowly moving away from them. When asked what she was doing by her sister, Max was surprised he got a look from the little girl. It seemed even she was on his case for being with Leigh…


It seemed Leigh and Angie both new this ‘Grey’ character as recognition flashed in both their eyes at the mention of his name. Leigh even went so far as to excitedly ask about the friends that he only knew by name; although he had seen their faces many times, he wasn’t quite sure which name applied to which of the girls. Mostly because they did the same thing that the girls in high school did, cup their hands and whisper to each other, laughing at him.


Kurt asking about desserts brought him out of the memory, and he quirked a brow at the boy; probably trying to rid them of the tension, they had agreed to stay together in the end, though. As he once again asks for help, Leigh is quick to volunteer and he shakes his head in response to the question of whether he wished to help. It didn’t seem to matter what he would’ve answered as the girl readily jumped up to help the boy, reminding him of the fact that Kurt was a jerk.


The final consensus was to call the boy Jillian, and he nodded, Maxwell had never called him a she I the first place though, and Jillian didn’t seem to mind. Leigh doesn’t quite understand how they were supposed to do it, and Rai tries to explain again, after the panic of the missing dog. It seemed to have another effect on poor Leigh though, as she starts questioning her own name; Jared responds by telling her where exactly her name is from and she seems rather angry over the fact.


Maxwell squeezes her slightly, “I like your name…” he murmurs this against her hair, still very nervous of what he says.


Hunter re-entered the room after Jared noted the fact he was probably out in the hall, almost on cue. Jillian followed behind the dog, and he gave his friend a slight smile, happy that he came back after all. It was a little surprising when he apologized, and he agreed with Rai, Jillian had nothing to worry about. Angie seems the next happiest for Hunter’s arrival, readily offering him her hand to which he responds by licking her fingers. The girl giggles and says something again; in the little time that they spent together Angie had been really quiet. It was nothing like what Leigh complained about…


Speaking of Leigh, she’s now slightly turned towards him, and after giving him a flirty smile, she licks at the ice cream in between her cookies. His face fills with color at what she’s doing, but she’s too young to understand the implications, sticking her ice-creamed tongue out at him before asking if he wanted a bite. There was something inside him telling him he wanted more than that, but Jared told her to cut it out, and he was actually relieved that the brother had stopped them this time.


He lets out a sigh behind her, returning Jared’s suspicious glance nervously and listening to the shared comments between Jared and Rai. Then he looks between the two very slowly, and shakes his head, he was probably just crazy…

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

As Rai meets his eyes, a slight flush coming to her cheeks, Jared tears his gaze away, clearing his throat. There were a million things wrong with this picture- and the not-so-welcome, yet not-so-terrible images having to do with her that crept into his mind. They were in the middle of what appeared to be a children's Holocaust of sorts, and all he could wonder was what Rai's hair felt like, and what she looked like in a dress? What the hell was his problem?


The last thing he needed to be worrying about right now was how attractive ANYONE he was around right now was, or how he hadn't had the time or opportunity to date a girl for over a year now. For one thing, survival was sort of an issue at the moment, and should trump any possibility of romance every time. For another, Rai was sixteen, Lydia's age...wasn't that a little young? For another, his sister had died today, been murdered. His mother was a psycho killer, and so was, oh, the majority of the world. Leigh was practically tongue-wrestling a guy who was practically in kindergarten when she was born, and Angelina was speaking only if she was touching a dog at the same time. How could ANYONE'S looks or weird badass attraction enter his mind at all?


He turned his attention back to his sisters quickly, seeing that Angelina had pulled the dog onto her lap and was petting him with a continued smile, even saying out loud, "He likes me." Leigh, looking slightly confused and resentful of Jared's snapping at her, had resumed her seat on Max's lap in silence. Restless, Jared stood, giving an off hand gesture for whoever chose to follow.


"We should figure out where would be best to sleep tonight, and gather things we can use for covers or bedding. Also, we need to start barricading doorways even before Grey and the rest get here...which hopefully will be soon. Anyone want to help me? Angie, you stay here with Hunter."


He doubted Leigh would really be strong or effective enough to be useful, but if it got her away from Max and ice cream, fine by him.

 

[Nivrad00]

Will's mind had slowed down. His dad was dead? It was impossible to grasp, like trying to imagine the size of the universe. An entire lifetime had been shot down in front of his eyes.


Will had always been an optimistic sort; he'd dealt with most everything in life, and just moved on. His old dog had died, and so had his grandfather- it hadn't kept him down for too long. But this was different. His dad had been shot, right in front of him, while trying to kill his only son. It was just wrong. It was impossible.


Will was startled by the newcomer's hand on his shoulder, giving a start as he looked up. Oh, right. They had stuff to do.


But Gray seemed content to leave him there as the other teens started towards the brick building; just him and the corpse. Will looked down once again, blinking at his dad's frozen expression. He didn't really need to- it was already etched into his mind. But looking away so soon... It seemed disrespectful.


Should he close his father's eyes? They always did in the movies.


Will shifted, swallowing, but couldn't walk closer.


Anthony continued to walk towards the cabin, eyes fixated. The sound of footsteps from behind suggested that Gray was following. Thinking of the other made him conscious of his safety; tearing his eyes off the building, the boy started looking around for any movements in the woods. He'd have to be vigilant.


He held his injured arm gingerly as they entered the building, the unlocked door swinging open easily. The oldest one of them began giving out instructions; Anthony, glad that someone else- someone capable was in charge, only nodded and shouldered through another door to begin scavenging.


The boy had found a good bag and begun taking supplies, moving slowly with one arm, when he heard conversation from the other side of the cabin. Curious, he went to see; Gray was talking on his phone while still gathering items. Anthros was nearby, listening.


The young adult hung up his phone. "We've got a safe place. There's others."


Anthony grinned, and hurried back to finish scavenging.


When they returned to the Subaru, Will was squatted down by the car's side, looking out at the woods. Staring at his father would do him no good, he figured. As Gray went to load the car, Anthony approached the younger teen; he usually wasn't the type to comfort others- or, really, even talk to them- but they were all in the same boat, now.


"Do you... Think we could bury him?" asked Will quietly, looking up at Anthony.


The boy hesitated. "I don't know. Gray's found a safe place- with others- and he wants us to hurry. It's too dangerous outside, anyways."


Will was silent for a moment, then shakily stood up. "Alright." Anthony nodded in response and tossed his bag into a door that had been left open.


Gray had already gotten in, starting up the car. Anthony climbed into the drivers seat and tugged the door closed with his good arm; Will was left standing outside for a moment, giving his dad a last glance, before clambering into the backseat.


He looked out the back as the Subaru left the parking lot. David Blotter's eyes were still open.


l-l-l-l-l-l


They were all very quiet on the trip, trying not to really look at anything. They were all hoping the best for their destination, however; a safe haven, with other people? It sounded too good to be true.


Anthony was rummaging through some of their new supplies when it was announced; "We're here."


Eyes all turned to look out the window at once. There it was, the high school. Will swallowed as he caught glimpses of bodies around the area; of course this would be a murder zone. Hopefully, though, Gray was right, and the place was now safe. After the car stopped, Anthony hopped out, and the others followed- but it was quickly found that the front door was locked, like it always was after school hours.


"Are there any side doors?" asked Anthony, turning away from the front door. He was unfamiliar with the building.


"The cafeteria," said Will, still rather quietly.


Soon, they found themselves gathered at the small door. With a breath, Anthony stepped forward, and, using his good arm, opened the entryway.

 

[Serano]

“Oh!”


Awakened by the sounds of groaning coming from the opposite side of the room, Katya took the pillow from under her head and pressed it against her face. She had never wanted to have a roommate in college. Especially not one with a lifestyle full of debauchery as Angie seemed to prefer. Angie was a party hard senior she had been unlucky enough to be paired up with. Every night she was out late partying, and in the morning she would some “lucky” soul to bring home to cap off the party.


Katya saw the flavor of the month when the two woke her up as they stumbled through the door. The young man was somewhere in his late teens; no doubt some frat guy that was looking for a good time and found Angie who was more than eager enough to oblige. He seemed reasonably attractive compared to the others she brought home; tall, reasonably well built, and a decent tan.


All of these things couldn't matter at the moment to Katya, who was just trying to steal a few more winks before having to get up and dress for the day. She heard as the other bed creaked and someone stood up from it. No doubt the man finished one last romp and had to be off to his frat brothers, Katya thought.


Suddenly, Katya felt two hands wrap around her throat. She gasped, in both shock and a futile attempt to take in a breathe as a heavy weight came down upon her chest. Her survival instincts kicked in; she rolled her hips and brought her legs up under the assailants arms and hooked onto their shoulder. to wrap around the assailants neck. In one quick movement, she had curled her ankles behind their neck and rolled to the side. This had the advantage of turning the table on the opposition and bringing them to the ground with Katya on top of them.


Katya's eyes widened the moment she realized that the attacker wasn't Angie's new beau, but Angie herself. As Katya was recovering from the shock, Angie reached upwards and gripped tight to Katya's neck in one last attempt to squeeze the life out of her foe. Reacting swiftly, Katya brought her palm back and then surged it forward, connecting with her chin for a hard strike that knocked Angie out cold.


Still reeling from the totality of the events, it took Katya a moment to turn and check on the guy Angie was with. She rushed over and toss the pillow, that was pressed against the boy's face, off the bed and checked for a pulse. “No pulse... shit!”


Katya stepped back from the dead body and turned to look over at the unconscious Angie. She couldn't fathom what possessed her to kill the guy. At first, she reasoned it might have been self-defense. “But then, why would she then turn and try to kill me,” she asked herself.


A gunshot reverberated down the hallway and caused Katya to jolt in shock. The sound seemed to come from down towards the opposite end of the hallway. Katya looked around the room for something to use as a weapon. She found a baton leaning up against Angie's dresser from her brief foray into cheer leading just as another gunshot echoed through the corridor.


Quickly she hugged the wall next to the door as she heard someone approaching it.


“Next on the list is... Katya Ray, should be in the room right here...” a female voice stated.


“Alright, this should be the last one as the rest are off to classes,” a male voice added.


The nob jostled free and the door slowly opened. One of the two figures stepped forward and started to move towards the unconscious body. This was just the opening that Katya had hoped for, as with one hand she slammed the baton down onto the back of the neck before flinging the door forward with the other.


The baton connected with the back of the neck of the woman, and she collapsed to the ground. The other attacker was hit directly in the face by the door, breaking the man's nose and causing him to stumble backwards. Katya leap around the door, and aimed her foot directly at the center of the man's neck. His Adam’s apple was popped into his throat, restricting to man airway. The man dropped to knees and took hold of it, and looked up into Katya's eyes as she took hold of his chin and with a sharp twist, snapped his neck.


It was only after the adrenaline of the situation had passed that she became aware of the identity of the attackers... they were cops! Her breathing became quicker and more labored, and she rushed back in the room and grabbed her inhaler from on top of her cabinet to take a deep puff on it. Just as she was exhaling the medicine, she heard the door on the opposite side of the hall open.


Katya dropped down onto one knee, reached down and took the gun that was laying next to the limp officer who came in to investigate the body, and pivoted around before leveling the barrel at the door.


“Holy shit!” She heard the voice just outside her room and immediately recognized it as her best friend, Bruce England. Just in case on this wacky day he decided to go crazy, She kept the barrel leveled at the doorway as he stepped into it.


Quickly he threw up his hands and barked out, “Katya! What the hell is going on?”


“You going to try and kill me?” She asked hesitantly.


He responded evenly, trying to calm down from his initial shock of the dead bodies. “No! Of course not, why do you ask?”


Katya lowered the pistol and took another puff of the inhaler before answering, “You'd be the first today.”

 

[Legendless]

Jillian shrugged as Rai asked him why he was sorry. He tried his best to ignore the others. They all seemed to be getting along well and Jillian felt like an outsider. He knew he shouldn't think this way. He should try to do better and get along with them all better. After all, it seemed they were all stuck together for now. Jillian certainly didn't want to go back om his own. He was afraid of the adults and of killing again.


"For running off," Jillian said weakly. "I mean...I don't know. I'm sorry I am such a mess. Just ignore me," Jillian said, waving a dismissive hand. He didn't have to really get to know any of them or anything, he thought. He could just be like a shadow. But he felt that would be lonely.


Jillian also wanted to talk to someone as well. He was not left alone to figure out everything and besides the continuing growing number of teens and kids and the threat of the adults, Jillian felt his problem did not matter. So maybe he didn't matter right now either.


He looked up though when the doors opened to show more people arriving. "Is this just the place to be right now," Jillian asked, not expecting a response.