Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[FireMaiden]

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Location: The Jordan Lodge
Interaction: Open
Mentioned: Dragonlord318 (David)
No matter what she did or tried to focus on, as the minutes passed it became clearer and clearer that Leliana wasn't going to win this time. And she felt like...god she felt so stupid. It's not like he had even said anything, but it was just the way he implied it that...god she knew exactly what he meant. The nurse was trying her best to finish up the inventory. Her handwriting was quickly changing from the neat little scrawl she was blessed with, to an almost illegible chicken scratch as Leliana was unable to keep her hands from shaking. For what seemed like no reason, her breathing had become unstable, tears threatened to well in her eyes as that almost suffocating lump formed in her throat. It took a minute before she even noticed she wasn't counting anymore and finally gave up.

The notebook and pencil fell from her lap as she stood from the floor, her task quickly forgotten as Leliana first started for the stairs. But something told her that she wouldn't make it upstairs. Or at least, she wouldn't make it to a room if she took the time to go up, so despite desperately wanting to be as far away from everyone she could be, Leliana slipped into the downstairs bathroom and quickly shut the door behind her. But she forgot that the generator wasn't working. Surrounded by darkness, with nothing but a small strip of light coming from underneath the bathroom door, Leliana fumbled with the small lock. The nurse was...well, not embarrassed, but this was something she didn't want anyone else knowing about. It was a struggle, an ugly struggle that not everyone needed to see.

No sooner had she, hopefully, locked the door, a wave of nausea washed over her. Her face felt hot as her head spun. One hand frantically felt around for the counter and edge of the sink, the blonde quickly leaned over the edge. She could feel tears on her cheeks as her body tried to violently reject her breakfast. A painful combination of coughing and sobs she was trying to keep silent tore through her throat, and echoed off the walls around her, though if anyone outside heard it, she had no idea. Leliana could only hope that Andy's uncle knew how to insulate.

What seemed like forever, but was in reality only a few minutes, of coughing and dry heaving that had produced nothing but tears and a dull ache in her temple, Leliana finally let go of the counter and stumbled back. Her back quickly found the wall, Leliana not fighting the fact her body wanted to fall to the floor. But she did fight in order to keep herself upright. If she were in a bedroom, the nurse would have let herself become a trembling ball on the floor. But this bathroom was...well, the floor was questionable in cleanliness. But that rational thought was quickly failing.

She couldn't stop shaking, her one hand clamped over her mouth to keep her sobs muffled, or at least, an attempt to. This was the stupidest thing, Leliana had no reason to be acting like this. And silently, she kept telling herself to can down. That she was overreacting. David meant well. But she also knew that wouldn't work. She wouldn't just magically calm down. The shaking wouldn't just stop, she couldn't just get her sobs to stop. It was really, really annoying actually. Her nails dug into her cheeks, eyes squeezing shut as her breath just seem to disappear.

That only sent her panic into overdrive as at first Leliana thought this might have been a more mild attack but...the hand fell away from her mouth as she desperately tried to take in oxygen, her chest rising and falling franticly. What she was doing, it was dangerous. Leliana had passed out before thanks to panic attacks like this...but this was something more. The darkness wasn't helping her, a dread had set in with the panic that she had unfortunately felt more than once in her life. Suddenly, she was back at Moe's, laying in that little storage closet. It was the only thing Leliana could think about, a terrifyingly consuming series of thoughts that wouldn't help her situation in the slightest. Her arms had tightly wrapped around her stomach by now, her legs pulled as close to her body as she could possibly get them. The only upside now was that her sobs had turned silent, so nobody would hear her.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Heading Home​

Maria's hands shook as she clutched the urn in both hands, wiping dust off it. Of course, this was something that Ralph noticed and the Doctor approached from behind.
"Who is that?" He asked
"My father. In a way."
"I lost my own dad a few months before all of this. Cancer." He sighed "You can lead a healthy lifestyle, and still...Something like that can catch up with you."
"Well, he was hardly healthy. Big smoker." She lightly chuckled "Rest of the family are back home. Half a feckin' world away and I'm just stuck in this godforsaken town."
"Yeah, I know the feeling." Ralph took another step forwards "Where do you want to scatter him?"
"I haven't a clue."
"May I suggest the roof of this place? I reckon the view is nice enough."
"I guess...I think he'd like that."

Ralph led the way as the two approached a set of stairs leading to the roof of the university. From where both of them stood, they could see a large chunk of Aurora. The once quiet town was a battleground. Occasion gunshots echoed through the air as the remnants of humanity took their last, defiant breaths. Ralph, of course wanted to go over and help but he watched as, a few miles away a horde of the infected approached the position of one of the gunmen. Plain and simple, it was a suicide mission.

All he could do was hope that the lone gunman could pull through. The infected weren't known for their intelligence, so as long as he kept in an elevated position perhaps he could hold out? There was nothing Fisher could do, so his focus moved back to Maria and she remained still, the urn clutched in her hands.
"Not really the view I'd been hopin' for, but...It'll do." She muttered to herself, her eyes staring out at the town "With that horde distracted, I should at least get back to the lodge in one piece..."
"Have to find silver linings where you can, I suppose." Ralph shrugged "Do you...Need any help with that?" He pointed at the urn
"No. This is somethin' I have to do, meslef." Maria approached the edge, carefully unscrewing the lid and tossing the ash over the side. The woman had never been one for words or speeches, that was for people like Ralph, or those that loved the sound of their own voice. She and Martin communicated a different way, normally using their fists instead of words when it came to situations some would try to talk their way out of.

Some would call it a language of violence, and Maria was inclined to agree with them. As such, she couldn't think of anything to see as the ashes were scattered to the wind. A mean left hook, or a roundhouse kick had no purpose in that moment. She took in a deep breath.
"Goodbye, Martin. And thanks." Those four words were all she could manage, but it would do.

She remained on the spot, her arms folded and Ralph approached. As he tried to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder, she spoke up.
"Take that off, or I'll break it off."
He threw his hands up and stepped back, a light chuckle escaping his lips. Instead, he sat down and watched the view. The world was on fire, hails of bullets raining down on the infected like blizzards all across the city. However, where some would find despair and perhaps even want to throw themselves off of the roof, Ralph saw hope.
The gunshots told him that others had survived this long. Between hordes of infected and trained death squads, some small clusters of citizens had pulled through. It had been over a month, and yet the city still had it's fair share. He'd assumed all life would've been snuffed out, but the view told him different.

Maria saw something different, her eyes focusing on the ashes as they were scattered to the wind. The rest of Aurora, it's hordes and the gunfire were almost invisible to her, at least for the seconds it took for the ashes to vanish from sight. She too sat down, her legs dangling over the side of the building.
"I should be headin' back."
"I'll help." He struggled to his feet, offering Maria a hand up

Within minutes, the two stood just outside of the university. Another car, one used by the group who had occupied the building mere minutes ago was untouched. The people carrier held together a lot better than the beaten up rental, but it reeked of death as Fisher finished coating the sides and front of the vehicle in infected blood.
Thankfully, after being covered in guts herself Maria was getting used to the smell as she watched the Doctor work. With the back coated too, he stepped away and removed the gloves.

Opening one of the back doors, he placed a duffel back inside.
"I had a look through their supplies. Food, firepower and even some spare walkie talkies, should the lodge need them."
"What about you?"
"I'm one man." He smiled "I don't need need to gorge myself. There was enough there to do me, at least for a while. It'll be a few weeks, maybe more before I have to go looking for anything."

Maria reached out a hand, and Ralph shook it firmly.
"Thank you for doing this. We will see each other again."
"Aye." A light smile grew on her face "We'd better."
"Don't text and drive." He chuckled

She climbed into the front seat, and was about to drive away when Ralph recalled something important. In all the excitement of the past day, he had almost forgotten.
"Maria...I have one more favour to ask." He reached into his coat pocket, producing a letter labelled Michael "A good friend of mine wrote a few letters for some inhabitants of that lodge, and tasked me with handing them out. I was saving this one for when the man pulled his weight, but given I'll be staying here now..."
"Alright...What's he look like?" She gently took the envelope from his grip
"Overweight, a beard on his neck. He sticks out like a sore thumb, so you can't miss him."

Placing the letter in the backseat, Maria nodded.
"Alright, Doc. I'll be seein' ya."
"Let me know when you get back to the lodge. Please."

Ralph waited for a few minutes as he watched the car drive off, using the cane to steady himself. After it was well out of view, he headed back inside.

****​

With the horde occupied by the gunfire, the drive back to the lodge took a lot less time than their drive to the university. Instead of hours, it was minutes before Maria pulled up on the forest road leading towards it. Wrapping the duffel bag over her shoulder, she reached for the walkie talkie.
"Doctor friendly, come in."
"Speaking. Did you get back safely?"
"Aye."
"I wrote this frequency down for the group, if they need me."
"I'll pass that on. How are ya findin' the place?"
"Well, the lab seems to have everything I need, and I'm hoping to get a look at the campus library when I get the chance. I just hope it's not too crowded."
"Who'd be hunkerin' down in a library durin' the end of the world?" Maria scoffed
"I mean, it's where I'd go."

She shook her head, a half-smile across her lips as she marched up to the doors of the lodge.

Interactions: Open

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between shadowz1995 , Rumble Fish , and FireMaiden ​

The oak wooden table was still stained with the little squares even after this time. Milly sat with the blanket around her shoulders where Leliana had plonked her down, but she hadn't turned to look at the jigsaw. Her stomach twisted anxiously. From her crow's nest view of Leliana's back, she knew something was wrong. The nurse never sounded like that, and she never simply left her somewhere.

"Gather everyone up for a staff meeting and be happy..." she mumbled as she went to the bathroom door she had seen the blonde go in. She raised a skinny fist to knock the door but stopped. Something felt wrong, but she did not know what. And did not know what to do. So all she could do was seek out the one solution she knew about. Find an adult and ask them for help. But who? Colt, Owen, and Andy were all out, and she did not want to upset Beth. Luca was a no-go and she hadn't seen Ralph. And given they were possibly the source of the nurse's upset, she was not going to seek out David or Shiona. There was only one option left. The strange dark-haired, one-eyed man she had seen but never spoke to.

Gulping slightly, she gingerly approached the door to his room and softly rapped her bony knuckles against the wood. "Um, Mist-Doctor Salazar?"

The doctor had barely gotten down the cellar steps before he heard the light knocks at the top. Far too light to be a full-grown adult's. The knuckles of a child made a different sound. He pulled a 180 at the bottom step and made his way back up.

Opening the door, he saw no one until he looked down and spied the little girl known as Milly. Hector didn't have much on her and it wasn't without reason. She wasn't one to do much of anything. Much like Bethany. So naturally, her knocking on his door was something of a phenomenon. "Do you need something, Niña?" His deep, gravelly voice questioned. She looked nervous and he wasn't sure if he was the cause or something else.

When the door opened and Milly was faced with the tall, gravelly-voiced, and seemingly tired man, her instinct was to abandon the whole thing and run away. But if she did that then nobody would help Leliana. Opting to look at his chest, since eye-contact usually did worse than good she cleared her throat slightly and pulled the fuzzy blanket closer around her in her small fists.

"I-I'm sorry to bother you." Her small, melodic voice started, rubbing the back of her neck. "But, um, I need help. Or, to get help." Already her vocabulary was freezing. Talking to the doctor defied everything that had been installed in the youngster since she was a child. He was a man, a man she did not know well at all outside his name. All men did was hurt, at least that was what had been told to her. But in her time at this Lodge she now reluctantly called home, she knew a different truth.

His gaze narrowed slightly for a moment before leaving her face and looking beyond her. The lodge seemed quiet. There was no sense of urgency moving through the halls or surprised voices.

The doctor then stepped out of the door frame and took a knee in front of the little girl. Hector was far from a pediatrician but that doesn't mean he never treated children before. If anything, because he was one of the last kids to be adopted back in Venezuela, the nuns had him help around as a pseudo elder sibling to the younger orphans.

Even on his knee, he was a bit taller than Milly was. But it made it easier for him to see her eye to eye. As much as it seemed to make her uncomfortable, being at eye level with someone instilled a certain amount of respect that encouraged honesty.

The doctor purposely pushed some of the graying waterfall that was his hair in front of his face. It effectively covered the mess of his left eye so it wouldn't intimidate quite so much. "Who did you need to get help for? Is someone hurt?" He asked, his tone much softer now.... or soft for Hector at least.

Milly did not move when the doctor knelt down, he was still above her but it did help to assure her. With a deep breath, she pushed the fringe from her eyes as she finally looked into his. She hated eye to eye contact but he was making an effort, so she had to.

"Kind of. It's Leliana." she coughed a little, "She... she seemed upset after talking to David and Shiona and locked herself in the bathroom. And, I-I don't know but, I'm worried. I-I heard what they said to her and I'm worried about her. But I don't know what to do... Just that she's upset. And I want to help." she admitted with a little throw of her arms and a sigh.

The large man hummed as his mind quickly raced through possible options. When he had spoken to her, she did seem a little worse for wear. As if something had been grinding on her nerves. Hector figured it was the same stresses that plagued everyone in the lodge. This suggests there may be a deeper issue. "Where is she?" The Latino asked, rising to his full height as he did so.

Milly scuttled a little out of the man’s way as he stood up. A small hand reached instinctively to grab his and lead him but managed to catch herself. After a second, she took a few steps down the hall. "In here, sir.” She finally answered him once they were outside the door. Milly pulled the blanket tighter around her small frame and stood to the side, figuring he would know what to do now.

Hector stepped forward and gently rapped the door three times. "Leliana? It's Dr. Salazar. The little girl came to get me." He paused and listened closely for any sounds. What he could vaguely hear didn't sound good. "I need you to tell me what's happening." The doctor said clearly.

In hindsight, the dark bathroom was not the best choice she could have made. But at least it was private, nobody tried barging into a locked bathroom. At least most of the time. So when Leliana heard what she knew was a voice, despite her difficulties, the nurse managed to shrug it off as someone passing by. Pulling her legs closer to her chest, her forehead coming to a rest on her knees as another few coughs left her, Leliana was hoping this would pass soon. Until she heard knocking. At first, she was going to try and manage a "Be out in a moment" type response, until she heard Hector.

Of course, it was him. Her head came up, eyes squeezing shut once more. Despite knowing she needed to answer, would she be able to? Fuck, this was....this was really embarrassing. He already thought she was a joke or something and now this? Her teeth dug into her lip, Leliana trying to choke back the sobs long enough to answer. "I-I'm fine!" Her voice was a little too loud, too hurried. It would be obvious to anyone she was lying. But Leliana didn't want anyone seeing her freaking out over something so stupid. She just needed a little more time.

"Go get a glass of water, Niña. Quickly." The large man pointedly looked at Milly before turning back to the door and grabbing the doorknob. "Go." He ushered.

The shake in Leliana’s voice sent her already anxious nerves into a frenzy. She kept to the side, one hand flapping aggressively in a stim. The “Go.” Was un-needed as there would have been a puff of smoke where the small girl once stood, straight into the kitchen.

Oh, she could hear him speaking. And Leliana was not happy about the idea of...of anyone trying to help. She could handle this on her own, it would pass, she just needed to be left alone. She always dealt with this stuff alone, it was about ten times easier that way. But she wasn't also in a position to stop them. Hell, she could barely form the words that had caused Hector's reaction. So for now, she would just have to hope that door was actually locked.

Milly swiftly returned with the glass in her shaking hands but stayed away from the door, a few paces or so as she allowed Hector to work. As much as she wanted to fly in there and hug Leliana until her arms broke, they were adults. And adults did not like it when kids interrupted them. All she could do was stand close, desperately trying to suppress the urge to stim which would send the glass flying and someone losing an eye. Or their other one.

"Don't be alarmed. I'm coming in. I sent the little girl away." An experimental turn of the handle revealed it was unlocked and the doctor quickly stepped in. He didn't close the door entirely behind him and opted for leaving it a crack open in case the young woman became violent. However, just one glance at her dark shape told him it would be wise to keep it open so she didn't feel trapped in here with him.

Hector took in the rather pitiful sight of Leliana studiously and sat as close to a respectful distance as he could manage in the small bathroom. He reached towards the wall and flicked the light on to get a good look at her and it was, thankfully, apparent that she had no injuries.

At least, not any that weren't self-inflicted by the looks of it.

Scratches in various spots, wild hair, splotchy face, and a lost, wild look in her eye. It was much like Vanessa was fairly recently. Hector's shoulder was still supporting the perfect bite mark from the harlequin.

To give the girl credit, she did seem more put together than Vanessa was and that was a good sign. Though she was obviously not happy with his presence.

Still, at the end of the day, Hector Salazar was a doctor. Which meant these are the kinds of things he handled more often than he cared to admit. "Anything in particular that caused it?" He asked, his voice soft and calm.

Forced by some instinct to try and look presentable, Leliana managed to raise a trembling hand to try and smooth out her hair or wipe her cheeks. But the end result was probably nothing more than...she didn't know. Some vain attempt to prove she was fine despite knowing Hector could see exactly what she looked like. Her legs were pulled as close to her chest as she could get them, her back up against the wall like she was trying to phase shift through it. Leliana couldn't even manage a smile. That always put her mom at ease.

Her hands moved, arms wrapping around her stomach with her nails gently digging into her arms to try and keep herself grounded, it took more than a few moments to process what Hector had said. And then a few more of Leliana trying to make the lump in her throat go away long enough to answer. It wasn't working so well. So, in response to him asking if something particular caused it, she managed a rather erratic shake of her head, before it came to a rest against the wall behind her again. "it was...it was s-something really stupid." She managed to choke out, one hand moving to wipe her face again, tears still rolling freely down her cheeks. "I'm-I'm fine!" He had better stuff to do than deal with her right now, she knew that. This was just a waste of time, Leliana shouldn't even be panicking in the first place.

"I'm aware that you will BE fine, Ms. James." He replied cooly. "That's not the issue."

Hector's eye wandered to where she had just dug into herself. Watching the skin quickly turn red from irritation. "The issue is your current state, the cause, and recovery."

His head turned enough to the right so he could see through the crack of the open door. The quicker Milly brought the water to him, the quicker Leliana would begin to recover. It was a psychological trick to get someone to calm down.

"So, let's start with honesty. At this moment, you are not feeling well. I understand that." He paused for a few seconds, making sure she heard and absorbed the information. "I'm aware there is no love lost between us on a personal level but I am a doctor, Ms. James. If you can confide in anything, it's my skill. So please, tell me what happened."

Her attempts to make him leave were just not working. But he had a point he was a doctor. A real one...hopefully patient confidentiality was still a real thing to him. It was to her. But she was unable to maintain eye contact, the constantly trembling and fidgeting playing into the fact her eyes just kept wandering around the bathroom. Leliana was still having a bit of trouble breathing, but, she probably wasn't going to pass out.

So a small bright side.

Him glancing out the door wasn't lost on her, Leliana briefly wondering why he was doing that but it didn't matter. In the long run, it really didn't matter. The problem was trying to tell him what had happened without telling him...the entire story. But then her reason wouldn't make sense and he could just label her as unstable. She wasn't. This was her first panic attack in a long time, at least...since that horde attacked the lodge, and Cletus died. She shook her head a little, trying to collect enough ideas to form a though, but her stupid limp noodle brain was working against her. Her nails dug a little deeper into her arms to try and help her focus but it wasn't helping.

Letting go of her arms, she put her hands back on the underside of her thighs so if she did need to scratch at something, it would be jeans and not her own flesh. "I-I-I guess panic...panic attacks are pretty common for you," Leliana said, an attempt at a joke. It didn't land very well. "David...David said something, and I know, I know he meant well but I just...I...it didn't, I don't know, I dont like being touched either and he touched me which is stupid. This whole thing is stupid!" Her voice got a little loud for a second, teeth once more digging into her bottom lip as she looked at the shower, it obvious she was chewing on the inside of her cheek.

Now that the door was open, Milly took a couple of careful steps closer and let out a soft cough before holding out the glass to Hector for him to take. She wanted to talk to Leliana, she wanted to help but Hector's aura and Leli's anxiety held her back. Milly barely understood her own feelings, but she could read people. Water, water was cold and tasty and good for the head. That was more important.

He stretched his neck to the side to remind her of the bite that was there from exactly what she joked about.

Then Milly finally returned. The doctor quickly reached a large arm through the door and took the water. He nodded his thanks to the little girl before turning and holding the cold liquid in front of the young woman. "Drink. It'll help." He ordered.

"The cause of anxiety or panic attacks is often irrational Ms. James." He replied softly. He didnt expect this one to be different. "Leliana, look at me." He said with a touch of firmness. He waited a moment until she complied, "Whether it was stupid or not isn't the issue. That will be a later topic. I just want you to tell me what he said that bothered you and why did he feel the need to touch you?"

When she saw the glass of water, Leliana knew that within a few minutes, she would at least be able to speak. She knew what trick this was, and her therapist used it pretty often. It worked, at least it did most of the time. Shaking hands stretched out to take it, Leliana shifting a bit so she was maybe sitting up straighter but hell if she knew. Raising the glass to her lips, she took a few sips, before lowering it to take a deep breath. She remained silent, taking another few sips after a moment or two. The tears seemed to be slowing down, but there was no real change in the trembling. But she managed to look at him, reaching up to wipe her cheeks again.

"We-we were talking about the food supply," She started off, her eyes leaving his face for a moment as she couldn't control the fidgeting. "And he, he me-mentioned something about how I deal with trauma. And I don't want to talk about it but he just...god, this sucks." The nurse had to pause, taking another few sips of water, before sitting it beside her.

"It was just a thing, ya know? He was just telling me that he gets it or or something. He uh...but he just seemed to know. Bad...Bad things happen to girls like me, and I hate talking about it, I hate talking about it and people knowing but he just pushed a little, he didn't drop even though I didn't want to talk about it and then touched my back. Which I guess maybe, maybe would have been fine but he knew! He made it clear he knew! I don't even know him! Why...why would he do that?" She was rambling a bit, but if he managed to keep up, Hector would have learned a lot about Leliana thanks to that. "I-I told you it was stupid, there's no fucking reason for me to be freaking out like this but it just happened."

All Milly could do was remain outside and listen. She wanted to vouch and tell Hector it was true but again, her tongue was stuck. What David had said and done hurt Leliana, somebody Milly loved almost like an older sister, and hearing her speak this way was too much for the youngster to take. Sliding down the wall next to the door, all she could do was listen.

The man listened quietly, maintaining a neutral expression, and taking mental notes. Some kind of past trauma afflicted the woman. There seemed to be a trend going around with women in their 20s and traumas in this lodge. It was both a strength and a weakness. It allowed them to handle what the outbreak had to bring but one wrong move and it could cause a total mental collapse.

"I see nothing stupid in your behavior." Hector began in reply, "A series of events caused a former trauma to rear its ugly head and cause a mental break."

The large man then paused, waiting for her to settle some before continuing. "I won't ask, Ms. James. I can put together a fairly clear picture of the cause of all this." Hector had treated a fair amount of women and men who were on constant medication due to past traumas. Things like breakdowns, chronic anxiety, PTSD flashbacks, and even addiction were not uncommon.

"What am I going to do is assist you in doing what you have, no doubt, gotten very good at doing over time."

It was a small comfort that he wasn't going to pry. A lot of people had some sort of morbid curiosity when it came to this sort of thing, pushing too hard with the wrong questions that caused this type of reaction or worse. In the rare cases, she managed to keep her cool, whoever tried figuring out her tragic backstory or whatever wound find themselves ghosted. By this point, she had calmed down enough that Leliana was able to relax a bit, though the trembling still hadn't ceased. "You don't have to help...this has been happening since I was six, it's not, not that big of a deal."

Leliana didn't want to come off as unstable. She wasn't, it was just...everyone had their issues right? Maybe since she hadn't had a panic attack for a while, it just had to be bad or something. With a small sigh, a hand moved to try and smooth her hair again, the nurse was unsure of what she wanted to say next. Revealing that she had been hiding medication from a majority of the lodge's population, would most likely not go over well. But then again, Zoloft couldn't help most of these people. At least, not at the moment. "Thank you, though, I'm sorry you have to deal with this. They just...I guess normally aren't this bad."

Hector raised an eyebrow for a moment and shook his head at the woman. "That's not what I was referring to."

He stood up from his spot and offered the young woman a hand for support, "I'm going to assist you in getting yourself back up again. I am aware you can do this on your own, Ms. James. But there isn't anything wrong in making it easier for yourself either."

The doctor gestured with his fingers for her to take his hand, "And obviously you don't have to thank me. It's my job to keep everyone functional. Medical staff included." He added.

Leliana didn't exactly know how to respond, eyeing him, and then his hand once he had stood up. See, she was still unsure of what to make of him exactly, but she knew he was trustworthy. And...he had a point.

After a few moments, a shaky hand outstretched and took his, the nurse using his hand and the wall to get herself up on her feet. Once she was sure she was stable, Leliana let go and loosely crossed her arms over her chest.

"It's just...not many people actually take the time to help, so it feels weird not thanking you, you know?" She mumbled, flashing him a quick smile before it dropped again. One hand moved to rub the back of her neck, Leliana sighing a bit as it then moved to rub her cheek. "The shaking takes a while to stop but hey, I'm okay now I think, that's something."

The doctor nodded his understanding, "Then you can thank me by continuing the good work you have been putting in."

He gestured to the sink with a quick flick of his single-eyed gaze, "Go ahead and get yourself cleaned up. If you have another episode, send for me. I'll be sure to warn the man against unwanted contact verbally. I will also assure him there won't be a second time."

With that, he opened the door just big enough to slide his large frame through, "Goodbye, Ms. James." He gave Leliana a final nod before stepping out and closing the door behind him. He then looked down at the little girl who had come to get him. She looked like a ball of anxiety herself but it didn't seem like anything to worry too much about. He reached down and patted the top of her head twice. A shockingly gentle touch for someone with large calloused hands like his own. "Well done, Niña. If she ever gets like that again, come find me."

The doctor turned to head down the stairs but paused for a moment, adding some advice for Milly, "She'll be okay. Just give her some time. Go get a glass of water or hot chocolate for yourself. It'll help you relax." With a nod, Dr. Salazar spirited himself away to the cellar once more.

Milly blinked softly as she listened to them speak. She did not dare interrupt. Don't speak when adults are talking. When the man turned to her, she winced as he raised his hand, but the surprisingly soft contact from his hand on the top of her head caused her body to relax. She did not want to worry about him, but still, he was large and mostly unknown to her. However, his praise for what she did caught her by surprise. She did the right thing? At his order to tell him if it were to happen again, she nodded rapidly.

"I-I will!" she squeaked as she watched him walk away, telling her to get a hot chocolate. That was something Milly would happily do, but still, the thought of leaving Leliana disturbed her. As he vanished, the small girl blinked softly before gently sitting back down. She wasn't going to go in, no, she knew better than to disobey. But maybe a couple of minutes would not hurt.

Leliana nodded, gently biting her lip again out of habit, teeth pulling at some of the slightly chapped skin before she turned to the sink after he left. Turning it on, she splashed a bit of water in her face, scrubbing her cheeks to maybe get the tear streaks to go away before she pulled away and dried her face with her shirt collar. Her hairbrush was upstairs, and for now, there was nothing she could do about the shaking, but Leliana felt put together enough, she felt comfortable opening the door and stepping out. Seeing Milly, she gave the young girl a brief smile. "Thanks for getting him...you did a very good thing." Leliana's voice was still a bit unsteady, but, exponentially more stable than when they had first arrived to help. "I'm going to find Beth, but if you need either one of us, don't be afraid to come looking, okay?" Leliana, after waiting a few moments more, began her search for the other blonde girl.

When Leli emerged, the small girl jumped up, wanting to ask if she was okay but was swiftly stopped by the woman's thanks. Her pale cheeks flushed slightly pink at her words. It had been a long time since someone had told her that, and she had just been told twice in the span of a couple of minutes that she had done something good. But she could not feel happy knowing Leli was still unhappy. As the nurse started to leave, saying she would find Beth, Milly desperately wanted to shadow. But Hector had told her not to. As she watched her leave, the small girl wrapped the blanket tighter around her.

"Be happy..." she mumbled under her breath too low to be heard, but could not bring herself to mimic the exaggerated laugh from the springy dog in response after what had happened. Maybe she could try and be happy for the three of them. That was what her mother would say she should do. She wanted to follow Leli, but from her words, it sounded like she didn't want to be. Instead, the youngster sighed, stimming her hands, and went to get that hot chocolate Hector told her to have. Chocolate made people happy, right?

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

​

Aaron took a breath as he steadied himself on the stand. These things hadn’t exactly been built to last, and given the months of wet cold weather, and the hordes shaking it below, the wooden structure was splintering and disintegrating around him. The plan was mad, insane even. But right now his whole world was insane, not to mention the fact that the pair were relying on him getting not only the Humvee running, but also to provide the assistance necessary, right now that big top was turning into a death trap, and he had his role to fill. With a final deep intake of breath, he moved into a sprint, his boots hammering against the wooden top of the shy, the whole thing shaking and groaning in a none too healthy way. He launched himself from the shy, his legs and arms windmilling as he momentarily soared over the grasping hands and clouded eyes of the beasts below him. The neighbouring shy rushed to meet him, and with a thud he collided with it. He’d misjudged the distance slightly, and his chest slammed into the edge of the roof, knocking the wind out of him. Despite this he managed to scramble for purchase, his fingers clawing at the gaps in the planks. He kicked out with his feet, just about feeling the tips of the outstretched fingers of the walkers below. After a dicey few moments, and with a grunt of exertion he pulled himself up. He stood with his hands on his hips, breathing heavily, his breath slowly coming back.

“Fuck me… one down,”

He looked up towards the Humvee and the tent. And about 10 more to go. He stared down once more at shambling figures below him. They’d clocked him now. Speed was of the utmost importance, if he was too pedestrian the whole lot of them would just match pace and he’d simply be moving along with them. He had to get ahead. He straightened up and shook out his legs.

“Right you sons of bitches, catch me if you can.”

Meanwhile

Her scream filled the darkness of the big top as Andy plummeted into the darkness. She felt the weightlessness as her body fell helplessly downward where she could only assume the grabby hands of the undead waited for her. Pressure from the fall ripped the scream from her lungs as if it was trying to steal her very breath, and then all at once everything stopped hard.

The sensation of a hand wrapped tightly around her wrist caused her body to stop with a jolt, her own weight causing her shoulder to pop in a way that would have been disheartening if it hadn’t been for the relief that flooded Andrea at the fact she hadn’t fallen to her doom. Emerald eyes looked up to see Nessa, clinging to the broken trapeze by her legs with enough strength to also keep hold of Andy. If the redhead hadn’t been so focused on desperately clinging to Nessa’s arm, the act would have been impressive. With the few brain cells that weren’t still trying to process the fact that she was not dead on the circus ground floor, she managed to swing her other arm up to grab Vanessa’s free hand and securing her safety.

The acrobat's muscles screamed in protest against the force of catching the plummeting huntress. Vanessa might have been trained on the trapeze, but she was by no means strong enough to hold the two of them there much longer. Multicolored eyes darted around wildly, looking for anywhere to safely land the redhead. As her spheres scanned the area, something caught her attention. The speaker system attached to the center pole had a red light on, indicating that it was still functional. If they could just get to the control platform above them…

"Oi Andy I've got an idea…" she said in a strained whisper. "But its damn feckin risky."

“Just do it,” the redhead growled. “I’d rather not debate strategy while I’m dangling above cannibals.”

At this, the acrobat's eyes searched frantically before landing on the tightrope below them. A twisted smile came over her visage as she looked back at Andy. "Don't miss the tightrope!" she said gleefully, letting go of the huntress. As she let go, Vanessa grabbed the bar she had been hanging from by her legs and pulled her legs from over it so that she dangled by her arms instead.

She can catch a rope.. right?
Maybe she will die.
Wouldn't that be nice?
It would be easier to explain away..

There was no way to keep the absolute horror from her tone as Andy fell down, thrown in the direction of the tightrope. She barely had time to reach out and grab it, the material rough against her calloused palms. It scrapped as the rope bounced under her weight, as the full force of her body weight was suddenly supported by nothing but her own finger strength.

"Crazy fucking…" Andy grunted through clenched teeth. It took some work to pull herself up, but eventually she was able to hoist herself up so that her legs grasped the rope. She felt a lot like a pig on a spit, arms and legs hanging for dear life to such a narrow surface, her torso swinging softly back and forth from the weight.

"Zakroy yazyk…" the dangling harlequin muttered to the voices in her head as she began to swing her feet back and forth, beginning to gain momentum. As her hands let go of the the wooden bar there was no time to reconsider as she flew towards the tents center support pole. She barely managed to grab on to one of the almost non existent handholds that had been gouged into the wooden poles surface, her left hand almost slipping out of place. As the acrobat regained her grip, she looked up. On the small platform above her, high above the arena below, was the main control panel. She didn't know much about how it worked, but surely she could at least figure out how to turn on the intercom, right?

Reaching the platform, Vanessa pulled herself up and looked at the dated control panel before her. There were so many switches, buttons, and dials that it made her head spin. Without hesitation the Harlequin joyfully set to flipping every switch she could reach, and as she did, bright lights began to flick to life all around the tent, perfectly illuminating the deathly gruesome scene below.

"What do you think you are doing, Malen'kiy?"

Nessa's eyes widened as she looked back up from the horde's ever hungry maws. There stood Yuri, not even an arms length away, staring sternly down at her. "You know this is no place for you to be. Teper' ty ne doberesh'sya do yest' segodnya vecherom." He scolded.

“Nessa!” Andy yelled from her position on the tightrope, she had been inching herself along and neared the platform on the other side. “Move your carnie ass!” How long did it take for one to turn on the sound system anyway?

The acrobat shook her head back and forth as if clearing a thought from her mind. That's right. She was here with the bitchy redhead, and her old ringmaster was no more."Yer not really there Yuri, so sod off." Replied the harlequin in an almost fed up tone. All she had to do was ignore it. Pretend she couldn't see him right there in front of her. Turning her attention back to the control panel she mumbled, "Focus Vanessa. You need te figure out wich one turns on the… Aha!" And with that, she mashed down a big green button with a speaker icon on it. A few moments went by before the first note played, and the speakers on the central pole crackled to life with an upbeat, albeit eerily off key, carnival tune.

As if the tent was filled with moths, and someone had just lit a rather large flame all the bodies turned at the sound of the music. If they had been dogs, all their ears would have perked in unison. The undead were dumb, that much could be counted on. Their groans seemed to almost harmonize with the carnival tune, the sound sent shivers straight down Andy’s spine. If this wasn’t something straight out of a horror movie, she wasn’t sure what was.

Finally upright and standing on her own two legs, she was surprised at how tired her arms were. Despite all her time pulling a rather heavily weighted bow, it seemed that the stress of moving her own body across the circus equipment was more of a work out than her body was accustomed to. She reached down and grabbed the radio from her belt, thankful that in all her acrobatics it hadn’t fallen into the sea of undead. Her eyes never left the hoard as she held down the button to call her companion.

“Aaron,” her voice came shakily and tired over the walkie. “Bring this fucking freakshow to the ground.” Her eyes scanned up to Nessa’s form standing at the crows nest above her.

“Come on Thumbelina, let’s get out of dodge.”

 

[Maj]

Part Three​

Owen let out a sharp gasp as the muscles in his shoulders strained, pulling on still healing wounds in his chest. Nothing short of a miracle had kept him from falling into the street below, but now he was scaling up the rusted metal of the broken fire escape and doing his best to ignore the ever creaking sound of the bolts in the brick threatening to break free.

Nile was still strapped securely to his back, and the redhead was grateful that he seemed to be trying to hold still. The occasional sway of his head, heavy from the drugs he had consumed would cause Owen to look back over his shoulder, but at least for the moment he was in no fear of falling off.

Nothing but the sheer strength of Owen’s large arms got them up and onto the grated metal. Owen went chest first, then awkwardly pulled his legs up, the combined weight of Nile and himself kept the center of balance working in the twin’s favor. With a final heavy breath, he got the rest of his body up and onto the safety of the fire escape.

“Well” Nile said, stock still against Owen’s back as they stared towards the alley below. “That was...easily the most terrifying experience of my life” Nile stated, now just staring idly into space. It was amazing just how calm you could be when high on Morphine.

“Same,” the redhead gasped through tense breath.

With some difficulty, the hulking man pulled himself up onto his shaking legs. Adrenaline still pumped through his body which both fueled him and almost made him feel sick. However, there would be time for that when a few loose screws weren’t the only thing between him and an untimely death.

The fire escape swayed slightingly under his weight, but he was able to climb up the stairs with ease. It seemed counter-productive, climbing higher but with the way down was even more broken than this piece, his only path now was to climb above the zombies, and use the rooftops to find a way down into the street as he and Colt had done weeks prior. Maybe then, he could at least let Nile down from the makeshift baby carrier.

“How you holding up buddy?” he called over his shoulder as he continued to climb.

“My dignity’s dead and buried, the Morphine’s wearing off just a tad bit, and I...I honestly just…” Nile began to list off before he found his eyes roving around the area in confusion. They looked genuinely lost as their short-circuited brain searched for an explanation. He drew a blank, of course. His head had felt full of air just a few seconds ago, but now it just sent a dull ache down his body. At least, he thought his head felt like air a few seconds ago. Maybe it had been minutes? He didn’t really have a clue.

“I have no idea how we got here,” Nile admitted to Owen, shrugging in defeat. His best guess was that drugs were involved, which was usually the case every single time. He was forgetting things fast, and he knew it. He just wasn’t sure what he was forgetting. With every passing second it just felt like he was getting more and more lost instead of less so.

“It’s okay little buddy,” the redhead gasped as he pulled himself from the fire escape and onto the top of the building. “We will be safe again soon enough. And I don’t care if you remember this or not, but I’m taking you to see Hector once we get back. The shit I grabbed for Luca from the pharmacy will help you out too. We have to get you right, okay?”

Nie’s eyebrows scrunched together, making him squint in confusion as he stared off into space. “Little buddy…?” Nile murmured in a mix of confusion, annoyance, and plain embarrassment. With no response, Owen continued walking across the rooftops in silence, only stopping when moving from one roof to the next became difficult.

Before long, the redhead found another fire escape down the side of a building that led down into the streets below. As far as he could see there were no undead to deal with once he reached the ground and so Owen began his descent. He didn’t try to converse with his companion any further and was left with only his thoughts and the creaking of the fire escape as their combined weight caused the metal to groan on his way down. Relief flooded through his veins as he planted his feet once again on the firm ground. Immediately, but carefully, Owen began untying the sheet from his waist to allow Nile down.

With a groan, Nile slid off Owen’s back and landed on his knees. Wincing at the impact, he began to stagger to his feet. Stumbling towards the alley wall to support himself, Groaning, Nile rubbed his forehead as he straightened up. “I can’t even come up with an analogy for this, I just feel like shit” Nile said, pushing himself off the wall. Reaching into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes, Nile, to his great confusion, instead pulled out a Glock 17.

Blinking in surprise, Nile reflexively flicked on the safety. He’d been drilled about that by Connie to know it was best just to do it. Looking to Owen, Nile hesitantly pointed the gun towards the man. For a few seconds the barrel stood aiming at him, before Nile let go of his grip on the handle and let the pistol twirl upside down on his finger on the trigger. He was too tired to talk, really. Now Nile was aiming the butt of the gun towards Owen, clearly offering it.

The guy behind Nile that just slammed a water pipe across the side of his head clearly didn’t see it that way though.

SMACK

Nile slumped lifelessly to the ground as Owen’s shocked eyes darted up from the gun that Nile had been trying to hand him moments before. Behind him was a brute of a man, taller and wider than even himself. Instinctually, Owen tightened his grip on the new bat, pulling it over his shoulder.

“Woah!” The newcomer put his hands up defensively. “Is this how you treat everyone who saves you from the barrel of a gun?”

“He wasn’t…” Owen started, but faltered. He supposed it was easy enough to see why he would think that. Slowly, the Jordan twin lowered the bat and finally took a moment to look at the new arrival. Scruffy copper-colored curls hung from his sweaty forehead, a beard of the same hue was unkempt around the square of his wide jaw. He had a gun on his hip that Owen was grateful that he hadn’t decided to use on Nile, who was now slumped on the pavement.

“He’s a friend of mine,” Owen finally finished. “He’s just a little out of sorts right now.” He kept his green eyes on the stranger as he reached down and picked up Nile’s small form with relative ease, only grunting as he felt the muscles in his chest tense around his injury. With as much care as he could muster one-handed, Owen threw Nile over his shoulder, making sure to keep his other hand tightly gripped around his bat. He wasn’t sure what use it would be to him against a gun, but it was better than being totally unarmed.

“Well that is embarrassing.” The man sheepishly scratched the back of his head before giving Owen an apologetic smile. “I just didn’t want you to get shot, I thought I was helping but I guess I caused more harm than good. Story of my life.”

The way he spoke seemed genuine and some of the tension in Owen’s shoulders lessened. It was entirely possible that he was just a good samaritan with misplaced good intentions. That was a trope that he was well familiar with. In fact, if the situation was flipped, Owen would likely have done the same.

“It’s fine,” Owen said after a moment of thought, returning the smile. “He could probably use some time to sleep it off. I’m Owen.” He placed the bat in his messenger bag and reached the hand out to shake. The man took it, obviously relieved that the boy held no ill will toward him.

“I’m Liam.”

 

[The Mad Queen]

Part One​

Smearing guts onto his clothing was starting to feel like a routine for Ralph. Thankfully, the lab had a few leftover disposable suits and he managed to throw one on, so as to not ruin his own clothing anymore. Well, anymore than they already were. Wear and tear from his time in Aurora, combined with the smears of infected blood on his coat had done a number on him.
The clean and collected Dr. Fisher who had marched into the Freeman Medical Centre certainly looked a little different. His leg injury, the rugged clothing and if he was being honest with himself, he couldn't remember the last time he'd shaved.

At least he was keeping hygiene where he could, he thought. His clothes may have stunk of infected guts, but the man was different. The halls outside the lab were a mess, one he'd have to tend to later. Bodies of infected and of Simon's followers alike lay in piles, and it was all he could do to avert his gaze. With most of them wearing masks, he didn't need to shut their eyes.

Clearing his mind, Ralph headed outside as his brown eyes moved towards the library. Thoughts of the bright boy he had brought into his home and what he had transformed into were things he just had to push aside. Distractions were dangerous as he wandered the grounds, catching sight of infected. Thankfully, for the most part they were scattered but he couldn't shake a feeling in his gut that a horde was just waiting around the corner. The university had it's fair share of students, after all and it seemed that while the previous group had left a dent in their numbers, there was no way they could've cleaned house.

Their focus had been on one area, and the rest of the university may as well have been a different planet. So long as they kept tabs on numbers and didn't make too much noise, even as they performed their barbaric experiments there wouldn't have been too much trouble.
Ralph, Maria and Caoimhe had just been a spanner in the works, and it hadn't taken long for the entire operation to fall apart.

Fisher wasn't about to let that happen to him. As he shuffled to the library, he kept his breathing low and all thoughts focused on the world around him, keeping his distance from the infected. They still had their eyes and ears, after all. A quick walk from point A to B felt like an eternity, but Ralph made it to the front doors of the library and tried them. As he expected, it was unlocked. The initial outbreak had happened during term time, so there would be no reason for the door to be sealed.

Glancing over his shoulders, he stepped inside and drew the machete he'd taken from the armoury. Noise could be fatal, so firing off his pistol was an idiotic move. A few windows on higher ground invited light into the room, as did light from the door he left open by just a crack. He needed a way out, after all. The light invited him towards bookshelves and empty tables, but the further he looked into the library the darker it got.

Searching behind bookcases, he only found a few scattered infected. He wasn't sure what else he was expecting. Day one, people were rushing to the school or trying to get home. Nobody had interest in library books. They were brought down quietly with the machete, their bodies he managed to catch as they fell so as to not make too much noise.

The feeling of the darkness he couldn't quite see everything through caused a few twists in his gut but he pressed onward anyway. There was little time to go shopping for books, but he at least made a few mental notes of the various sections. Mostly books on academic topics, interesting to be sure but the likes of Gender Studies or Political Sciences were not useful degrees in this situation.

As he passed by a section for English Literature, he didn't fancy the chances of somebody reciting All my Sons or The Crucible to boost the spirits of their fellow survivors, and given he already knew the ending to The Great Gatsby it was probably best avoided. Steinbeck, Shakespeare, Shelly. Names all familiar to him sat on shelves, untouched.

He made yet another mental note to return later and pick up a few things, and after taking down an infected seemingly browsing a section on Business Studies he peered into the darkness once more, it's contents becoming clearer with every step.
More bookshelves, more tables and even rows of computers. None of them were in working order, of course. No power to the library saw to that. His eyes scanned the room once more, finally finding what he'd been looking for.

Sections on practical skills. Woodworking and engineering of multiple kinds. Not his area, but he picked up quick. With a smile, he stepped forwards and almost jumped out of his skin as something moved across the floor a mere few meters before him. It wasn't long before the more logical parts of his brain too hold, and Ralph noted that not only was the shape was much too small to be an infected, but it's form was all wrong.

It was a Raccoon and all Ralph could do was smile. With no people around, the creature probably burrowed it's way through and was taking shelter. The standard infected weren't all that fast, or even that smart so as long as the animal played it right the library could be a safe haven.
It wasn't long before it scuttled into the darkness, and Ralph was left alone.

Another distraction came to mind, as the man wondered just how, if a certain friend of his had been here the girl would probably try to offer the animal some food. Or god forbid, try to pet it. With a sigh, he pushed that diversion aside and was just about ready to head out of the library when he heard something coming from the very back.

Where the building was darkest, he heard the sound of clattering. The raccoon? He peered into the darkness, watching as a stack of books and boxes lay on the floor. A stack much too large to be knocked over by a creature so small. There had to be another infected. Ralph sighed, and carefully began to step to the back, ready to finish off another creature as he turned the corner and saw....Nothing.

The pile hadn't fallen over on it's own, he was certain of it. There was something in the library with him, and whatever it was, it could move fast. Looking around each corner, he saw nothing out of the ordinary outside of the raccoon as it scuttled away. The creature grabbed a mouse and made short work of it and Ralph's eyes drifted as he saw movement.

From behind a bookshelf, a long and bony arm stretched out, it's hands shaped into claws as the raccoon was dragged behind the shelf at an alarming speed. There was a quick screech and then, silence. Ralph almost let out a scream, but covered his mouth and ducked behind a shelf.

He wasn't alone.

 

[Corgi]

Part 1
​

It had taken some doing, but Owen was finally on the road. The leather interior of the car felt like home, the steering wheel cold under the warmth of his palm as his eyes stayed focused forward on the road. As if the universe wanted to reward him for what was turning out to be a rather shitty day, the first working vehicle they found was one that was familiar to him. The old black, 98’ Camero was like home to the boy. How it was now working and on the side of the road was a mystery to him. Likely, the sweet Latina girl he had met on his way to the hospital had actually fixed it. He hoped that she and her little brother were safe.

The backseat space was limited, but it was roomy enough for Nile’s small form to be laid out, unconscious across the backseat. Their bags, mixed with the ones from the newcomer were squeezed into the floorboard underneath him. Liam rode shotgun, silently staring out the passenger window as Owen drove, the music from his radio the only sound among them. After the chaos of the day, the silence was welcomed.

After a quick pit stop back to the pharmacy to secure the medication Andy had asked for, the makeshift party was back on the road. Driving back to his house was like second nature even after a month of staying away. One hand on the steering wheel, one holding a half-burned cigarette the redhead nodded along to the music, ignoring the ache in his chest as he neared his own driveway.

He knew the girls were going to have questions for him and he wasn’t supplied with many answers. With the absolute aggression that Colt had been treating him with when it came to Nile, he couldn’t exactly be truthful with her when it came to his disappearance and he didn’t want to face Aubrey’s sweet, worried face when he explained he had been marched out of his own home at gunpoint. The newcomer proposed new problems as well. He seemed safe enough, just a man who got separated from his own people with limited supplies and no way to communicate back to his group. He, better than anyone, knew that being alone in the city was a surefire way to get yourself killed. It wasn’t in the Jordan Twin’s nature to leave anyone behind. The old car drove up the familiar driveway slowly. With a heavy sigh, he parked it behind the little car the four of them had drove here in and killed the ignition.

“You seem nervous,” Liam offered from the passenger side, a thick eyebrow rising in concern. “Should I be nervous too?”

“No,” Owen assured him. “My people are good, I just have some explaining to do.” The larger man looked onto the porch where he saw the girls waiting impatiently for them.

“Ah, girl problems,” Liam said knowingly. Owen laughed before putting his cigarette out in the rather used ashtray.

“Something like that.” He nodded for the man to follow him, and opened the driver side door.

It didn’t take Aubrey and Colt long to arrive back at Owen’s place and station themselves on the front porch. The blonde sat on the front steps, leg thumping against the wood and forefingers rubbing the edge of her cap while Colt sat in the rocking chair that Aubrey had oh so graciously (pushed her into) allowed her to sit in despite her protests. Her muscles twitched excessively in her seat, her skin like snow and a cold sweat slowly dripping from her forehead. She could not bring herself to look further into the small girl’s home. Despite her body’s near screaming to drop onto the ground and never get up, Colt knew she had to wait. Wait for Owen and for answers.

Even though the separated groups had communicated each was safe, Aubrey couldn’t help but worry. Owen said they were on their way back, but she thought they would’ve been back by now. She glanced nervously towards Colt, wondering if she should ask for the radio once more just to make sure nothing had gone awry, but the second she opened her mouth, a familiar crackle of tires against the concrete drew her attention to the sleek Camaro pulling into the driveway.

Immediately, Aubrey leaped up from the steps and charged towards the vehicle, the worry and exhaustion pent up to the point where she almost ran into the car as it came to a stop. She barely noticed the stranger in the car with them as the redhead climbed out, “Is everyone okay? Are you hurt?” She spat out, looking over the man for the second time in the past few days. Her throat tightened as her eyes scanned for any fresh blood on top of the dried brown muck from the day before.

Despite being withdrawal ridden and barely able to keep together, Colt’s sharp eye caught the stranger before anything else. When Aubrey charged to the car, Colt groaned onto her foot and limped after her, breathing hard and leaning on the fence’s post at the end of the yard despite the short distance. As Aubrey clucked all over Owen like a mother hen, she glanced at the stranger and, with a lowering of her brows, turned back to the red-headed hulk.

“And who the fuck is that?”

Owen chose to ignore Colt’s rather aggressive greeting at first, instead choosing to smile down at Aubrey, playfully booping her on the nose. It was good to see her, at least someone was relieved he was alive.

“We’re okay,” he assured her. “Nile is passed out in the backseat, he took a rather nasty hit to the head but seems to be well otherwise. It was as successful of a run as it could have been.”

Nile would have disagreed if he physically could.

Even though Owen assured her he was fine, relief decided to evade her grasp through the news of Nile’s injury. She didn’t quite understand how Owen could say it in such a playful tone, then she remembered that it was Owen. Worry slowly started morphing into an emotion Aubrey understood even less and her brows furrowed more, “What in the world were you two thinking? Sneaking off in the middle of the night like that- what if both of you got a head injury? Or if one of you died? You both should’ve waited till the morning or we all could’ve gone back together after Milly’s.” She could feel herself getting more and more worked up, her hand flying to her hat for comfort. Typically the woman would’ve saved the fiasco of her emotions for a one on one moment with the man, but she couldn’t stop it from all flooding out at once.

Nile wished he could point out that he could actually be dead.

Colt looked between them all and her eyes finally turned back to Owen as he brought up Nile. Her shaking fists clenched and she glanced away with a furious growl at being ignored. Nile was out cold. Good. Because if he hadn’t been, he would be after she had dealt with him. Folding her arms, the veteran stayed silently brooding while the happy reunion between the group took place. Besides, Aubrey was saying what she had wanted to, albeit with less flying fucks and throwing stuff.

“Well, I tried to wake you,” Owen teased, “but you were snoring so loud I couldn’t get you to answer me.”

Aubrey’s cheeks immediately reddened, brain sidetracked from a response she didn’t expect to get, “W... I- Wait.” She muttered, the blush deepening as she came to the realization that she definitely could be a snorer, “Are you making a joke right now?” She hesitantly asked, “Because I really can’t tell…”

“Yes, but we’re okay,” he assured her again. “It was just a quick errand for Andy, I didn’t want to hold us up. Plus I had assistance,” he finally turned to address Colt. “That’s Liam, he helped us out so I decided to help him out.” He said plainly. The change in his tone was drastic, from soft and playful to dry and irritated all remnants of his smile gone for stoic features. It was sort of jarring on the redhead’s freckled face. Most at the lodge had only seen him fighting zombies or smiling. It was suddenly clear that Andy’s resting bitch face was hereditary.

“He lost his group, so I told him he could tag along with us until he finds them. Is that alright with you?”

His stony face did not outwardly disturb Colt, but inward, it sent her frazzled nerves into a near frenzy. She looked the man over with a typically angry gaze. After all that shit the two men had put her through mentally, he expected her to accept a stranger with open arms? With an angry ‘Chh’ between her teeth, her glare turned to Owen specifically, “What the fuck actually happened, Owen?”

“I, too, would just love to know who KO’d me” Nile suddenly groaned from the backseat. Just by the sound of his voice you could tell that he was exhausted beyond belief, and by the audible wince at the end of his sentence, he had quite a few headache problems as well.

Aubrey slowly decided to stay on the back-burner for the remainder of the conversation. She knew Colt could take care of herself, so instead of engaging, she popped open the back door and climbed next to Nile to check and see if his injury was something they needed to seriously worry about.

“You KO’ed yourself dude,” Owen said, turning to the Camaro. “It was lucky Liam was there to help me carry you back to the car.”

“It’s kind of sad that I believe that so easily” Nile responded, not reacting with his body to Aubrey’s appearance at all. It was a bit too painful to make movements at the moment.

“Um, it’s nice to meet you ma’am.” Liam extended his arm to shake Colt’s hand, obviously feeling awkward by the argument that was threatening to break out in front of him.

“Nile! Ya fucking-!” The woman paused in her burning rope to dynamite as the stranger the cat had dragged in opted to introduce himself with the offer of a handshake. The veteran bristled at the gesture with raised shoulders. After a tense second of threatening with just eye contact, she slowly reciprocated his open hand, though the otherwise friendly gesture was tainted with the woman’s suspicions. “Hm.”

Liam slowly pulled his hand back, looking over to Owen obviously unsure if this was a good idea after all. Owen was bent over, reaching into the backseat to grab the bags from the floorboard. The redhead let out a heavy sigh dropping the bags on the ground next to the car.

“Leave him alone Colt,” Owen said, rolling his eyes and looking very much like his sister. “Why do you always blame Nile? He didn’t do anything.”

Colt’s eyes widened at this and took a heavy step forward, “Blame-? Wha- What?! Don’t play dumb with me, Owen!”

“I’m not playing dumb,” he said coldly, eyes narrowing. The constant beratement he had received since deciding to invite Nile along was gnawing at his thin nerves. It had been a rough day, rougher than anyone here knew. Even Nile didn’t seem to have any memory of the events that had unfolded and while kind, even the redheaded twin had his limits for how much he could take.

“Lay off of him.”

Collab: Rumble Fish (Colt), Togy (Nile), Maj (Owen & Liam)

 

[Togy]

​

Part 2​

“Why should I?! After all that bullshit that guy has put me through, why do ya expect me to just forget about that and act like it didn't happen?” Her chest puffed from her raising breath. No, the events of that last run were still vivid in her memory and he just expected her to ignore it?

“You don’t get to berate him like you are any better. I’m sick of it. You two may have different poisons, but you are no different than he is. Get off your high horse.” Owen growled. His shoulders tensed as he cleared some of the distance between the two of them, leaving Liam, Aubrey, and Nile behind him in an almost protective gesture.

Nile, if anyone had bothered to check, also looked towards Owen in a mix of confusion, bewilderment, and a little more confusion.

Aubrey glanced at Nile, then at Owen, then back at the injured man, “Are you dizzy at all? Dazed or confused about what’s happening around you?”

Nile, blinking back to the present, looked to Aubrey. He was halfway through his usual sarcastic reply that was really just a synonym for shut up before he lost the spirit. Head sinking into the leather, Nile said “Er, yeah, things are swaying, spinning, all that jazz when I turn my head. Not too great, 2/10 feeling”.

Owen’s words stung like a stake through Colt’s heart. For a second the veteran lost her bluster. Her jaw hung slightly ajar as he mentioned her own issues, and seemingly put the others behind him… like she was dangerous? A swirl of fear and fury twisted within the veteran.

“Ya think that is it?! Ya weren’t there! Don’t fucking tell me what I can think, okay!? He almost got Leliana killed! That, Owen, I can’t forget on a whim! Poison or not!” Her back arched, adrenaline overtaking her fatigue as she took a couple of steps closer, closing the gap further.

“I seem to remember a time not too long ago that I had to pick your drunk ass up off the bathroom floor on a run. It’s not fair to hold a grudge against someone for something you are also guilty of. Pot I’d like to introduce you to Kettle.” Owen’s freckled face was flushed as anger began to surge just under the surface. It was as if the firm set of his jaw was the dam keeping himself from losing his cool entirely. No one at the lodge except for Luca had experienced it first hand, but the man had always had a nasty temper and he was at his limit for being snapped at.

“Oh, so I’m just supposed to forget about all that shit because we are apparently the same?! I didn’t nearly get my group KILLED!” Colt threw her arms up, “So don’t you fucking dare!”

Aubrey frowned at Nile’s response, trying to ask Nile more questions but the yelling from outside distracted her before she could speak. Climbing out of the car, she walked towards the other two before raising her voice.

“Stop fighting!” She exasperated, calming her tone once she had gotten their attention, “Nile’s injured and dazed out of his mind to the point where he’s spouting nonsense and your bickering isn’t helping him. Save this until after we get inside. Please.” The girl felt that everything that could go wrong was going wrong, “Owen, can you carry Nile inside and sit him on the couch? He may have a concussion so he shouldn’t go to sleep for a couple of hours.”

“I’ll get him, lass,” Liam offered to Aubrey, grateful to have something to distract himself from the shitshow happening in front of them. The man was even taller than Owen and so picking Nile up was easy enough a task. “This sounds like something the two of them need to sort out.”

“Two red hulks? So...we’ve…” Nile began to say, searching for where he was going to go with the joke. After a few awkward seconds of contemplation, he gave up. “Yeah, I dunno. Definitely coulda done better”.

“Blame it on the head injury,” Liam suggested as he leaned down to grab the man from the backseat. “I’m sure your wit is better when you aren’t concussed.”

“Well, I like to think so at least” Nile grumbled, letting himself be picked up bodily. “Still trying to think up something for it, but I’m running that joke so far into the ground in my mind that I’ve planted and harvested enough food to last the winter. The farm is saved, I guess. Hip hip hooray!” Nile mumbled, trying to ignore just how easily Liam could pick him up. He’d blame it on the man being strong as hell, not the fact that he was 5 foot nothing.

Liam looked to the man and then back to the rather worried-looking blonde and shot her a charismatic smile.

“Oh yeah, he definitely has a concussion.”

Aubrey gave a small nod to the stranger before going back to help Nile and making sure the man didn’t drop him, “Yeah… I’ll show you to the living room. I’m Aubrey, by the way.” The woman extended her hand towards the man like she had done multiple times, but realized that he had his hands full, so she slowly lowered it and turned back to lead, trying to ignore her stagger in socializing.

“Liam. Sorry we are meeting under such bad terms.”

The blonde shook her head and shrugged, “It’s fine. Just glad you’re here to help.”

Owen glanced apologetically back at Aubrey before turning back to Colt, eyes steeling. His hands went into the pockets of his torn leather jacket. He wanted a cigarette, but his promise to the doctor held strong despite his anger. He felt guilty enough about the one he had in the car.

“I don’t expect you to forget anything,” his voice was growing colder as he struggled to remain calm. “I expect you to show some goddamn compassion Colt. We all have our own demons to deal with, you don’t get to judge someone for theirs until you’ve dealt with your own. You of all people should know what he’s going through.”

“Compassion?! If I had no fucking compassion I would’ve fucked off long ago!” Colt right hand shoved itself towards the holster of her gun simply to drum her fingers while the other compulsively reached behind her for the flask’s usual location, mostly so if it happened to be there she could throw it, “I don’t care! I care about keepin’ fucking people safe Owen!” She bellowed, her voice resonating harsher.

“Me too!” He finally snapped, voice raising. “But You. Aren’t. Responsible. For. Us. We aren’t soldiers, we aren’t your troop. Stop comparing us to them. We are just civilians trying to survive a fucking murder pandemic so maybe you could just this once, cut us some slack.”

“You weren’t there when the Things swarmed us! I kept those people alive even after Luca ruined their faith in me! And if I hadn’t come back when I did when the hazmats attacked, ya wouldn’t be standing in front of me!” She went to continue, but what he said next caused a pause. All the shouting and aggression was halted. All there was in its place was a tranquil fury.

“And Beth and Milly would be dead if I hadn’t gotten shot through the lung to save them. Are we having a dick measuring contest now?” The twin snarled, obviously past the point of caring if he came across too aggressively. He had enough. Enough of being Colt’s punching bag and enough of her stomping around with a bad attitude like everyone else was obligated to just accept it. Andy was the same way. It was exhausting, and frankly, Owen had dealt with it all long enough.

“Hey! I’m not the one who put myself in that position, okay?! Ya’ll put me there! Ya can’t resent me now for doing what fucking Luca wanted me to do! Or better still! You’d rather I said and did fuck all!? And just watch this genocide on the sidelines cause, by your logic! I’m in no position to do SHIT!”

“All I’m saying is that you keep reflecting your guilt onto others. You will never quit being miserable until you quit blaming yourself for what happened to Sasha. And in the meantime, maybe quit taking it out on people who don’t deserve it.”

“...Don’t you,” she took a dangerous step forward, voice dropping with newfound malice, “Dare bring Sasha into this!” The mention of her lost Lenore leaving her own lips was enough for her tone to lose its traction and waver.

“Don’t talk down to others if you don’t have skin thick enough to let others do it to you Colt.”

It was though he had taken a knife and sliced her from the chin down to the navel. She was halted. Her mouth was dry and her mind was blank. All that existed was flashes of her face. Her smile… Colt glanced away, her hard gaze not changing, but any hawkeyed viewer could see the hurt. The head stooped low. Owen, Owen Jordan, someone she had trusted enough to even tell him about her, just used her for ammo. And the worst part? He was right.

“...I…” the rucksack dropped from her shoulders, landing hard on the concrete of the sidewalk. She did not meet his gaze, “I… left something. Don’t wait.” With one swift motion, she had shoved the radio hard into the man’s broad chest and turned to begin limping away.

His face fell, knowing he had gone too far. The anger still swelled in his chest, but he felt more like a deflated balloon than righteous. He grabbed her wrist before she was out of range and put the radio back in her hand.

“Be safe.”

The woman audibly growled at being grabbed and spun around, ready to shriek a string of expletives, breathing heavily yet shallowly but was halted as he handed her the radio she had just thrown at him. Her hand gripped the small device to the point of it near breaking. Colt couldn’t bear to look at him. His words meant nothing. Nothing meant anything anymore. She snatched her hand free and slammed the radio in her pocket. She did not look at him, or any of them again. All she had was her colt.45 and assault rifle slung over her back. She didn’t need food, or warmth or even the radio. Not for what she was going to do. This was the one thing that had toppled her over the brink that she had been hanging onto by a finger, for too long. This was her waterloo. At a far enough distance, her limp broke into a jog, head shaking and the once strong barriers that held back the tears broke and they flowed free. What was the point? Nothing. All she wanted was to get far. Far enough that they wouldn’t know...

Collab: Rumble Fish (Colt) Maj (Owen/Liam) Corgi (Aubrey)

 

[The Mad Queen]

Part 2: Silence in the Library​

Ralph held his breath, the only sound filling his ears that of crunching bones as the creature in the library finished off the raccoon. Peering from around the corner, he only caught a glimpse of it's silhouette as it moved from bookcase to bookcase, sticking to the shadows. It was tall, as tall as Ralph and had long, bony arms. On the end, clawed hands.
The more he watched how the creature moved, the more he was telling himself to get out of the library. But it was fast, a lot faster than him even before taking a shot to the knee.

He breathed into his hand, cushioning any noise the Doctor could make as much as possible. There was no way he could outrun it and given the darkness, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to land a clean shot to finish it off. Another possibility crossed his mind as well. What if there was more than one? He hadn't managed to do a full headcount of the infected he'd found in the vents, but there had to be dozens of them at the very least.

As he reached for his gun holster, he slowly moved his hand away. He was a good shot, but he'd only have the one to put down the infected that stood between him and the light outside. Shaking his head, he told himself it was too great a risk. He'd have to find another way. As he moved along the bookshelf, his breath low a single copy of a book on woodworking fell from it's shelf, landing mere meters away from him.

His eyes, wide as dinner plates panned to see a rat crawl from behind a crack on the shelf and as Fisher stood, covering his mouth and freezing up he heard footsteps galloping across the library floor. The infected moved on all fours, grabbing the rat from in front of the Doctor and crushing it between it's hands. The rodent let out a screech in pain that was quickly silenced as the lips of the infected moved.

A hiss escaped it's lips.
"Shhhhhhhhhhhhh."

It stood a mere few meters from Ralph, and despite the shadows he managed a good look at it's form. It was smaller than him now, but only due to being hunched over as it tore the rat in half and ate it. He wanted to move, to turn on his heels and run right towards the door but his legs were frozen solid. It's skin was decayed, like most other infected but it was also incredibly wrinkled. Atop it's head was matted, grey hair that was falling out in clumps.

As both hands clasped over his mouth, the creature turned it's head towards him and crawled on all fours towards him.

Five meters.
His legs wouldn't move.

Four meters.
He reached for his gun. He'd only need one shot.

Three meters
He got a better look at the creature. On it's bony face were two grafts of skin covering it's eyes.

It's blind. Ralph thought to himself. The distance closed and it was a mere one meter away from his face. It hissed once more as it stood to it's full height. All the Doctor could do was hold his breath, as the smell escaping the infected's mouth assaulted his nostrils. It hovered there, almost as if goading him to make a single peep.

Thinking quickly, he reached into one of his pockets as quietly and slowly as he could, tossing a pen across the room. As it landed with a small clatter, striking a bookcase the infected snarled and dashed towards it on all fours. The pen, like the raccoon and the rat was torn apart within seconds but, as soon as the Librarian noticed it wasn't a creature, it snarled once more and went back to patrolling the bookcases.

With his hands still clasped over his throat, Ralph let out a breath and started to move again. Every step, every breath was monitored as he went between checking his surroundings and the Librarian as it moved. He glanced down at his gun once more, but shook his head.

No. what if there's another one, just waiting on an upper floor? I'm a dead man!
His heartbeat had to be going through the roof, but that didn't appear to be loud enough to attract it. Making a mental note, Ralph ducked down behind a bookcase and, as if playing the most important game of Jenga in his life slowly removed a book.

He didn't even take the time to examine the cover as he started to crawl towards the next bookshelf and waited. As the creature moved closer towards the front door, he tossed the book as hard as he could towards the very back of the library. It was only as the book flew through the air that Ralph got a quick look at the front cover. Enough to see the title, at least. In any other circumstance he'd scoff at a philosophy book being placed in the wrong section but as soon as the writings of Philippa Foot struck the wall, he made his move.

Keeping low, he moved towards the door.

Six meters.
He glanced back to see the Librarian searching around the impact zone, and kept going.

Four meters
The infected tore into a bookcase with one of her clawed hands, sending a scraping sound across the room.

It's acting less like an infected and more like a wild animal that lost it's prey. Does it possess a higher level of intelligence? He theorised, moving closer to the door
After leaving a few more claw marks, the Librarian hissed once more

"Shhhhhhhhhhh..."

And right as Fisher was three meters away from the door, he watched the head of the creature turn towards him. It was as it tilted it's head to the side and stared directly at him that the cogs turned inside the Doctor's mind.

Echolocation.

A shaky breath escaped his lips as it moved back onto all fours and prepared to charge. Ralph now had a split second decision to make. He could go for his gun and probably get off two shots before the gap was closed, or he could run for the door. Clenching his fists, he reached for the holster as he backed up towards the door. Flicking off the safety he fired.

The Librarian was too quick, and although the first shot struck it in the head, it tore through it's left cheek instead of striking the creature in the temple. Holding his breath, he lined up another shot as the gap closed.
Three meters.
Two meters.

As it prepared to lunge, the second shot went off and struck the Librarian in the forehead. It slumped to Ralph's feet, and for the first time since arriving in the library he was well and truly alone. There was nothing but the Doctor, books and shadows.
It would not be that way for long, for the gunshot was like ringing a dinner bell and he made his way towards the exit.

 

[Rumble Fish]

Music to set the tone

Time meant nothing and keeping track was futile. The veteran had ran too far to even care that she was isolated from it all. Seeing another living being was the last thing she wished for. Complete solitude, that's what she wanted. The argument between her and the Jordan man replayed over and over in her muddled head and every replay only dug her deeper and deeper down the spiral that was her mind. The nightmare she had experienced the night before continued to flash periodically, and there was no way to escape it. Nothing to drink, and now nobody to turn to. The one person she could had just made it clear that; No. He didn’t care either. For all their words and encouragement, it meant nothing. They did not mean any of it. Even everything Owen had said, he just took back in that one short argument. Everything he had said until then, it meant nothing. And if what he said held no weight, nobody else’s did either.

Finally, her tired and broken body gave up. It was only when she lifted her head that she realised that she had gone far out of the suburb and into the small woods behind. Panting deeply, she collapsed hard against a tree, causing a pain to rush through her coccyx and up her spine. She could not acknowledge it however. With everything rushing through her mind, the pain did not register. Nothing registered anymore. She hadn’t eaten since the morning and the water she had was in the rucksack she had thrusted onto the ground in her despair but she barely noticed. The agony in her chest over-rode every sense. With a heavy sigh, she looked up towards the sprawling branches that dominated the sky from her tiny position on this earth. In the first time in two months, she was truely alone. Back to where she had been prior to the world dying.

The woman sighed deeply, tears still streaking down her face. She just wanted to escape from it but she couldn’t. Nothing would help. Except for one thing. She reached into her holster, slowly pulling out the .45. As she gazed at the horse engraving branded on it. She could remember the day Sasha had first showed it off in the barracks, proud as punch and obsessively maintaining the firearm. She had always been envious of the gun, despite having her own .45, and even being in its presence was a blessing. And now it was in her possession. And she hated it. The only thing she had to remember her by was a stupid hunk of metal. Still, this hunk of metal was going to be useful for one thing. With a sigh, she cocked the gun.

It was strange, she thought, that just the day before she had lamented to Ralph about wanting to end it all. And now, that evil voice that would niggle within her head was back. It was not the first time she had contemplated it, though an exact number could not be traced. Even while at the Lodge, there had been times where the thought travelled through her head. But there would be little things that would cause them to eb away. But now there was an emptiness, nothing to keep the thoughts at bay. With a deep sigh, she took the gun and cocked it again, ensuring it was loaded before slowly raising it up to her temple, her blood running cold as she felt the freezing and metal nozzle against her skin. Her hand holding the gun shook, her finger resting on the trigger.

One squeeze, and it would be all over…

Over…

But over never came. Her eyes slid open as if in shock at her lack of action. The nozzle was pressed against her, all she had to do was squeeze! Why was it still so hard? This way they’d both get what they wanted. She’d be with Sasha and they wouldn’t have to put up with her worthless self. It was a win-win situation. What good was she to them anyway? If all they did was tolerate- then what was the point in staying? Surely they would prefer someone actually competent to be among them. Like Nile. It was not as if she was anything more than an addict in their eyes, and from Owen’s own words, and Aubrey's insistence that their argument halted for his sake, theirs mind had been made; he mattered more. Why else would he have said that stuff? So they had made their minds up.

But why couldn’t she?

With a distraught sigh, the gun was dropped with a soft thump into the grass and buried her head into her shaking hands. Now what? She couldn't go back to the Lodge, not after that. She could not even radio back. What would she say? She had a tantrum and now won't come back because of something stupid? She doubted the group were still at the Jordan house. Going back would be worthless, and if anything, the thought of entering the home of the twin's mother would've felt dirtier than ever. It was bad enough that she had been there in the first place, but going back after an argument with her son? No. Everything was worthless. What could she possibly do for them? She could not even commit to that. If she could not go through with that, what on earth was she thinking in believing she could protect them? She could barely protect herself. Or not protect herself. She did not know, nothing made sense anymore. Why couldn't she do it? It'd be better for all parties, surely. With a deep huff, smoke drifted from her nostrils. What could she do? That was the answer, so why was it so hard? Part of her "job" was to get rid of problems, so this should not be an issue. So why was it? Digging into her pocket, the veteran found something that would, temporarily, steady her thoughts. Her lighter and a small box of cigarettes. She still had them from yesterday morning; bless the pants with infinite pockets. Lighting the cig, she took a long drag from it before finally standing up, leaning on the hard and bumpy bark of the tree, looking out to the town from her point on the hill. Even now, with all the hell happening around them, there was something scenic about her view from this height. An eerie, silent reminder of what had once existed. If she squinted hard enough, maybe she could even see her own apartment.

Catching sight of the middle school, the veteran huffed smoke out her nose as she thought back to that day, pinching the end of her dented nose. The day the world collapsed and nothing would be the same. Perhaps that was what those if Afghanistan and Syria felt upon learning of the war that they never wanted. And with her being one of the monsters to be sent there to slaughter them like mere sheep. She was a murderer, even before the outbreak and she had known that since her first confirmed kill. And if her father's words were right, murder was the lowest a human being could stoop. Her hands would never be clean, not just of blood but the tears of those she had hurt by proxy. She always heard it. Not even the strongest liqour could drown those thoughts; they had learned how to swim long ago.

Her dark eyes finally travelled from the middle school, further along and into the woods... there was one other place. But a place she had never wanted to go to. The reason she chose that horrid complex over a nice home in the suburbs. A cozy house with good neighbours and support. None she had deserved. That foul smelling, dark flat, that was what someone such as herself deserved to have. Not after what had happened. Being so close to that place, it was something she could not cope with. But... if she was serious about ending it all, perhaps it would be something she should do, before it was too late. One more trip to make and one more duty to fulfil. Stamping out the cigarette, leaving nothing but a tiny burning ember in the damp leaves, the woman huffed and continued her walk...

Dusk had turned to twilight by the time she had reached her destination. White and faded fences as far as her bad eye could travel. The town of Aurora sat there, far enough away for her to not think of any Things, or anyone foolish enough to venture this far out of the relative safety of the barricaded houses. By now, the wind chill had become severe, causing a perpetual shiver through her unfed and sweating frame. All that kept her going now was the knowledge that, all of this, all of the pain, it would be over before daybreak. But not before she paid respects. With a gruff sigh, she turned up her collar and pulled her jacket closer around her frame for what little warmth it would provide and began her long trudge up the gravel road with a downed head and a heavy weight in her heart about even daring to be here, passing an old oak sign, that had once been proud was now whimpering the name of where she was heading. Oberon Ranch.

Mentions: Maj (Owen) Togy (Nile) The Mad Queen (Ralph) Corgi (Aubrey)

 

[Rumble Fish]

Music

Despite it all, she finally made it to the end of the path. It was only a short distance but it might as well have been a twenty mile hike from the ache in her legs and pumping heart, trying to continue despite running on empty by every capacity. She did not expect any life here, not even livestock. Any sane farmer would have released their animals during the initial panic. The open gates of the fields she trudged by conformed this. She never doubted their instincts. Their daughter had the sense to use her foresight to see her hindsight. Too bad the veteran herself was not blessed with such an ability. If she had been, things would have been completely different. The world would still have fallen, but she would have been with Sasha; and even that would have made the world less dark. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she pulled her assault rifle from around her back. She still had to be careful.

It felt wrong to be here. Like walking into a temple with shoes on, something felt almost blasphemous to even step onto the farm’s land. The vet paused to take in it all. The log house stood, nestled in a hug of the oak trees surrounding it with a barn to the side, it’s paint peeling and the walls mossy from time. A chicken-coop laid empty and the small pastures were barren. The only sign of life were the crows crying and flying overhead. Glancing up to the top windows, she almost expected to see her face looking down. Oh how she could almost see her expression lighting up, and the brief disappearance before bounding out the door, arms outstretched for a bear-hug. But no hug came. Her shoulders tingle at the desire, but she tried to avoid thinking too much about it. It was all she truly wanted right now. Her mind thought back to Memorial Day, when she had received not one but two embraces from Aubrey and Leliana. For a moment, she did not move until she reached into her pocket and bringing out the radio. For a moment, she thought of calling for Leliana. While she did not know much about her past, they had shared pain. She wanted to tell her everything, to vent, to cry and pray that none of what was going through her head was real. But... she had joined in with Luca's criticisms. It hadn't left her memory, even after all this time and they had apologised. If what Owen had said was untrue, was Leliana's also? Was it all a rouse to keep her around for protection? Within seconds of bringing it out, the radio was back in her pocket and sealed. With a deep sigh, she turned her attention back to the farm.

She wanted to call out, in a tiny hope that they would be alive, but she was stupid in believing they could possibly still be around during all of this. They were dead. How could they still be alive? It was impossible. The vet inwardly cursed herself for considering something so idiotic. Gun in her hands, she took some careful steps. All she hoped was to pay some kind of respect. She had never wanted be here or to move into the suburbs. It would have been too close for her to feel comfortable. The fear of encountering the in-laws she never had, whose daughter she had gotten killed was too much for the veteran to cope with. What was she supposed to say to them? But it was something that had to be done. It was…a duty, per say. How she was going to do such a thing, she did not know. But it was something she had to do. Even though they were deceased, perhaps paying some kind of respect would be enough. As the woman ventured further, something caught her eye. A mound in the earth with a makeshift cross nestled within some large stones. It was as if one of those rocks landed in her stomach at the implications.

“Oh fuck…” So her suspicions were confirmed. Well, she had come this far. With a heavy breath, she took a couple of steps towards it-

POW!

Her scream matched a similar pitch to the whistle of a bullet as there was an audible tear in her jacket before a stinging agony shot through her shoulder, like the bite of a rattlesnake. Gripping her shoulder, she scrambled against the tractor, back against the Owen-tall tyre, her assault rifle shaking in her white knuckled grip. Bandits? Hazmats? It could have been anything! Already, she could feel the rise of tightness in her chest. The rushing pain scorched her nerves and startled her nerves into a frenzy. Her already shaking and sweating body convulsed in a terrified frenzy.

“Oi!” A furious and rustic voice snarled, “Ya’d better state yer business or Imma come over there and give ya another asshole!” Another bullet fired past the tractor with a loud clap of the gun. She said nothing, state her business to a screaming mad man with a gun? Hell no! Her heart raced and everything began to spin out of control. “State yer name! Right! Now!” The rattling of a cocked gun accompanied heavy footsteps on the dirty gravel. The owner of that bray was clearly not bluffing from the heaviness of the steps and he clearly had some kind of pump action shotgun that would end her with one squeeze of the trigger. Still weak, she knew she had no chance against him. There was no point in trying to fight it. The closer his footsteps thundered, the more limp she became. If he was a Hazmat, he would not hesitate in simply shooting her. Not before torturing her for information, which at this time the veteran would have welcomed with opened arms. She'd simply stay silent until he got frustrated enough to simply kill her outright.

“Wait…” He trailed off, his grip on the firearm loosened and the gun was dropped into the dust as he fell to his knees. She felt him grab her, causing another surge of pain to race through her body. She let out an involuntary and uncharacteristically high cry of pain, causing the man to stop. She could not see him in her haze. He was shouting something, but it was if she had been dropped underwater with the inability to breathe and hear. Everything was spinning and blurry, she could not fixate on anything. Everything drifted into darkness as she only managed to catch one word before slipping into a void of unconsciousness. "Jane?"

Mentions: Maj (Owen) FireMaiden (Leli) Corgi (Aubrey)

 

[The Mad Queen]

Blowing Off Steam: Maria Kennedy​

Soon after arriving back at the lodge, Maria had climbed back into the car and sat in the passenger seat. With the engine shut off, her head rested on the steering wheel where she groaned. As much as Doctor Friendly had given her a job, she felt it could wait. It was just a letter, after all and whoever Michael was could wait a few minutes.

****​

She wasn't sure just how much time had passed, but Maria woke up with a start as her head hit the horn of the car. The beat up rental let out a cry like that of a dying animal. Immediately, she raised her firsts in a defensive stance and peered around. There were no opponents, living or dead at her side. Shaking her head, she stepped out and locked the door.
It had been a long day, and one she knew just how to forget.

Maria needed to punch something or someone. Hard. More often than not, that was followed by something sweet. She shook her head and groaned once more. How long had it been since she'd had a Twix? You couldn't beat a classic like that. In the old days, she had the bar after every victory. Making her way into the lodge, she retrieved her bag and searched through it. It did not take long to find her gloves, and although most of her supplies had already been donated to the lodge's food drive, some bits and pieces remained.

Placing her gloves on outside, she now just needed a target. She thought about looking for David. The man seemed to be able to fight, and an offer to spar couldn't be off the table. In fact, she was certain he'd hold back given what was between her legs. It was an idea that crossed her mind only for a moment, for the more she thought about the more she realised it was stupid. He'd caught on way too fast to her and Caoimhe and there were only four people in the world aware of them.
One was dead, the other was her mother who was not only half a world away but would never tell anyone. A secret like that could destroy Maria's career, so her lips were sealed. The third was Doctor Friendly, a man who had only known after David had revealed all. As much as he was a gigantic pain in the arse, she trusted him.

There was only one other individual on the planet who knew. As Maria connected the dots in her head, she struck blow after blow against the side of a tree. Her gloves cushioned the blow, but the pain still shot through her fingers. With every punch, her rage increased and she progressed with slight grunts to muffled shouts of anger.
Hazelle fucking Lecter. That hadn't been the woman's real name, of course. It was just what Caoimhe had dubbed her, a name the both of them adopted. Neither had trusted the look of her face, or even the way she spoke but what really took the cake was how she had wanted to eliminate one of them. Even though Maria had only been eleven at the time, she could still throw a mean left hook.

Things started to add up, a web of information connecting things in her mind. With Caoimhe being awake, and leaving the notebook empty for events leading up their fight against the Chinese thugs anything could've been said. She had nobody's word to go on but David's, and he wasn't to be trusted. The mountain knew far more than he was letting on, and his skills taught her something else. He had both time and possibly even resources on his side. Enough to find out secrets from washed up professionals?

It was a stretch, but there wasn't anything else that made sense. She had fame, and with it came stalkers. The biggest difference between her and somebody who starred in movies where they pretended to know how to fight was that she could at least beat any kind of weirdos like that into the dirt.
By the time the dots were connected, her knuckles were sore and red. Stepping away from the tree, she gave it a kick for good measure and took out the notebook.

Caoimhe
David knows too much. I'm going to find him and demand answers.
Depending on what he says, I might have to kill him.
If you wake up between now and then DO NOT TRUST HIM

Pocking the notebook, she picked up the baseball bat and headed deeper into the woods. She had a mountain to bring down.

Mentioned: Michael Hyped_Taco
David

 

[Rumble Fish]

Music

“Jane!" The woman’s eyes jumped open, but instead of one of the unfortunately typical terrifying nature of her mind's wanders, full of fire, pain and a desire to end it, everything was soft. There was a gentle aura of comfort, like a silent lullaby. There was a soft humming sound in the air like a mother hummingbird signing to her chicks as she looked around where she was. She was perched on a log in the middle of a field, with knee-high cyan grass and a violet sky with dancing stars and swirling galaxies like carefree children. They never remained still, the constellations soaring and flying like sentient beings. A gentle hum range through the plains, towards the mountains which were akin to the drawings she would do as a child; purple with a small cap of white for the snow. A soft mist hung low like a gentle cloud had lost its way below the sky. Looking below, she noticed figures. Her lost squad. Almost like children they were enjoying the simplicity of freedom in an open space. Becca and Lucy chased each other through the long grass, playfully shoving each other like they would have in life. Molly sat alongside Jessie, their heads nodding to each other as they presumably spoke about something. Rachel and Alex began to scale the closest mountain, walking side by side, hands in pockets as if it were nothing. And next to her on the log sat Sasha; beautiful and untouched just as she remembered her. It took everything in her fibre to not latch onto her and cry into the crook of her neck. Instead, she barely mustered a smirk. The red-head seemed to already understand everything racing through her head as she shimmied closer.

“Sorry, did I fall asleep?” she asked to which the read-head’s smirk widened. There was no point in asking her if she was really there. She wasn’t. None of them were.

“Yeah, and snoring.” She scooted closer, placing a hand on her knee with a gentle kiss on the cheek. The woman sighed and forced a chuckle to escape from her throat. She couldn’t even bring herself to wonder if this was a dream.

“I wouldn’t. It’s been a month since my last shower and I don’t want ya to catch something.” to which Sasha shook her wild locks with a scoff.

“I lived on Lt. Lorrie’s chile too, you know. I’ve smelled worse.” The woman sighed and looked towards the dancing sky that never sat still. She hadn’t seen a sky like that since she had left West Virginia. After a moment of quiet between them, Sasha sighed and turned to her with a sombre look. “What’s wrong?”

“Everything?” The woman sighed, resting her chin in her hand, “Just… everything. I… just want it to stop.” The woman growled lowly. Sasha’s tone was if the last two years had not happened and they were still together in life. It both bothered and did not bother her. “Ever since…” she paused, unable to talk about that day any longer, “Nothing’s been right.” The read-head sighed and drummed her fingers against the wooden log. Sasha hummed knowingly.

“I know. I’ve seen everything.” she sighed, looking back down to the rest of them, still frolicking like playful does, “Remember how much we would bitch about Afghan? Bet you’d prefer that over what’s going on now, hm?”

“Heh… maybe.” It was only now she noticed an oddity, her forehead was cold and damp, but not damp as in sweaty like it had been, it was a consistent coldness and weight, as if something was resting there. She touched her forehead and was confused to find her hand wet. Turning her head back to Sasha, she blinked, “Where are we?”

“Pfft hah- you haven’t changed at all. Remember it took you ten minutes to figure out where we were when we-?”

“Fucking Kabul, for God sake-!”

“Pffft, sorry darlin’ but we still laugh at that one.”

“Get to hell- Ya’ll are up in here fuckin’ laughin’ at me!?”

“Hell? Nah I think we’re pretty happy up here thanks.” That smile…

“...Fuck, I’m dead aren’t I?”

“I mean… I don’t know.” Sasha looked up to the sky, “I mean, it’s what you wanted isn’t it?” The veteran groaned and tucked her knee to her chest, resting her chin on it.

“I dunno what I want anymore.” She gave the red-head a sad glance, “I mean, except for you.” At that, Sasha leaned in, pulling her close under her arm, allowing her to rest her head on her shoulder as they just watched everything below. Sasha ran her fingers through her shaggy brown hair, causing everything to relax. “I miss you.”

“I know. I miss you too. We all do.”

“And, I," There was a shaky sigh, finding herself unable to go on. She wanted to say so much more but her words failed to register. Sasha seemed to know this, of course she would as she gently pulled her onto her feet by both hands, looking into her eyes, a gaze she never wanted to leave.

“I think you’re going to wake up soon.” she took her hand, “Wanna come with me on a walk first?” She could only nod weakly in response and grip her love’s hand tighter. She did not want to wake up. Everything was so tranquil and still, nothing like the chaos back on earth. Sensing this, Sasha smiled and gently led her from the hill, down into plains. The knee high and cyan grass stroked her like feathered silk. The lingering hum in the air was a comfort and the warm breeze brushed against her. But nothing could provide her more comfort than the presence of the one person she loved and missed more than anything living on the planet.

"I don't want to wake up." She finally squeaked, her voice quieter than it was thought to be ever possible.

"I know, I don't want you to either." Their joint hands swayed gently as they ambled, "But, it'll happen. One day. And you'll come back here. Dunno when it will happen, but it will and you will be with us again. I look forward to it. We miss you. Can't be Carrying Atlas without you... but you gotta live first."

"I've done enough." tears began to leak from her eyes, "I can't do it anymore! Please I don't want to wake up! Don't let me!" Sensing her distress, Sasha paused in her walk and wrapped her in a safe embrace, pulling her into her chest. All she could do was wrap her own arms around her and cling. She felt Sasha's fingers running through her hair and gently rubbing her back. She felt so real, almost as if she really had gone from earth, but the sudden thumping in her head and sharp pain her shot shoulder. Like a child desperate to keep her favourite teddy, she clung to Sasha as hard as she could. The redhead sighed softly before squeezing her tighter.

"It'll be okay, darlin'." she mused, "I'll be here when you come back. And well, don't freak out but I am kiiiinda always watching you, I do avert my eyes when you use a toilet though, I love ya but nobody wants to see that." Through her tears the veteran could not help but giggle slightly at that image. "I love you."

"I love you too, but-but I can't-!"

"I know... it'll be okay. I promise. It'll get better."

"It won't-!"

"It will. But... you need to wake up first. It can't get better unless you do."

"I don't want to-!"

"Shh...It'll be okay... I promise..."

Everything was still spinning from when she had been shot. Her throat was dry and parched and there was a perpetually dull ache of hunger in her gut. Tears stained her face and her heart sank upon realising that the thing she had been clinging so hard to, was not Sasha, but a large and soaking pillow that had once been under her head. She shuddered with a rush of cold, realising she was only in her flammable and stinking t-shirt and without her jacket. With a groan of pain and lament, she turned her head, only to jump as the damp cloth that had been perched preciously on her head dropped with a squish on the redwood floor. She could barely move anything other than her eyes. It was warm, a rustic living room with a wall decorated with the trophies of stags, wolves and, one that shocked the veteran, a black bear. Below the prized stag head sat a jolly and roaring fire, accompanied by two squashy and comfortable armchairs. Someone was here. Her attacker? After another tense moment of mental preparation, she finally sat up, only to release a sharp cry at the pain of her shoulder. But it was only through that pain she realised that the wound had been bandaged tightly with care. She kicked off the blanket and growled several expletives upon seeing the lack of anything below her left knee. So she had been shot and now her attacker had taken her prosthetic. It made no sense. They almost killed her, took the one thing she needed for survival (aside from a good whiskey which she would kill for right now!) but they had also tended to her wound. Why could they not have just let her bleed out? She had been too much of a coward to do it herself, and rather than just let her slip away after shooting, they decided to go against their actions and saved her?!

Grunting, she forced herself onto her foot. She had no idea what time it was but at this point she did not care. The woman knew she could not stay here. She had something to do. She had to find her prosthetic and get as far away as possible. But where was it? And where were her guns? And her jacket? It was as though she had been completely stripped! As the furious thoughts surged through her head, she heard something that the woman never thought she would ever experience again... The content nicker of a horse.

 

[Maj]

​

Part one:​

November 22, 2018
11:15 A.M.
Jordan Residence


Owen Jordan rarely felt great after losing his temper. There was the odd situation, like when he beat the hell out of some dude saying disgusting things about his sister, or when he punched Luca Brasi in the face. Those felt pretty good. But most of the time the aftermath of anger was regret, and this was no different. The redhead’s shoulders slumped as he watched Colt leave and soon he was left with nothing but the dull ache in his chest.

‘Coulda’ handled that better buddy,’ he chastised himself. It had been a rough day, his nerves were shot and while he felt that he had been in the right, there was a time and place for the conversation he and Colt had just shared. In front of the others, in his mother’s driveway was not it. There was nothing that could be done now except wait for her to cool off and come back. So with a heavy sigh, Owen turned to join the others inside.

The four walls of the home were no longer warmed by central air, but they did seem to warm the goose bumps that had built on his red and flushed skin. Maybe it was because the icy November wind could no longer reach him, or maybe it was the subconscious comfort of being back in the familiarity of his home.

Liam, true to his word, had carried Nile inside. He wasn’t sure how much of the conversation the group had heard. Most of it likely, due to the volume of the argument. Owen gave them all a half-hearted wave as he entered and sat down at the kitchen table, his tired bones sinking into the memory foam cushion.

Nile, having forced himself to stand up by himself, was leaning against the kitchen wall, chugging down a room temperature water bottle. It did nothing whatsoever to help with his headache, but he thought it would have. He was out of ideas then. It was best to just wait through it, he guessed. Looking over to the smaller of the two red hulks dwarfing the kitchen, Nile felt like he should say something. Thank you maybe? What the fuck was more like it really, because defending him kind of blindsided Nile. In the end, Nile tossed the water bottle to the trash can, missed, and resigned himself to silently leaning against the wall as he clutched his forehead. He didn’t feel like being put in the spotlight to break the silence.

Aubrey stood indignantly next to Nile, arms stretched out as if to catch him if he were to stumble. She would have definitely preferred for him to have been sitting and chugging water, but at least he was getting water in his system. After experiencing the yelling match held between Owen and Colt, the air felt tense. Sensing the uncomfortableness floating around the room, she took in a small breath, “Is Colt calming down outside?” She knew Owen came in alone, but she half expected it anyways. The veteran seemed to appreciate her alone time.

Nile winced a little at mention of the vet before he leaned toward Aubrey slightly and whispered “Not the best topic, dude”.

The woman’s cheeks flared up pink once again, glancing towards Nile and giving a small shrug. She felt that something needed to be said, and it wasn’t like she was bringing up the argument in its whole… though maybe starting with questions about Liam would’ve been a better gateway. Nonetheless, she let the question hang.

“I mean,” Owen started, running his hands up through his hair. “Technically, sure. I guess you could say that.” He looked up at Aubrey, defeat and exhaustion shining blatantly in his eyes.

“She stormed off. I made sure she had the radio and she said she’d be back later. I think she just wants to be alone for a little while.”

Nile cringed while making sure to avoid eye contact with the red head, all too aware that he had, somehow, been a defining influence in all of this.

Aubrey stared at Owen for a moment, the words sinking into her brain, and with a delayed reaction, her eyes widened, “Like… She’s going out on her own?” She asked, hoping he would deny her assumption, but without giving him a chance to respond, she headed for the door.

“She hasn’t been feeling well, running a fever and- and being clumsy. She can’t go by herself. Watch out for Nile, make sure he doesn’t fall asleep. If, um, if we have any anti inflammatory medicine, give some to him.” Rushing to grab her bag and crowbar, she felt like everything was slipping through her fingers. Colt got sick somehow while on the expedition, Nile has a concussion, one of the happiest people she knew just blew up on said sick person, and among them is a stranger that seems quite kind but looks could always be deceiving. She knows she has to make a decision but she also knows she can’t choose between Colt and the other two. Stuck in her own indecisiveness, her hand stops on the handle of the door before raising to her hat.

Nile, who had a front row seat to the amazing show Aubrey just put on, continued to lean against the wall, having no idea what to do. Should he stop them? He didn’t really know if they were an assistant managers at a Kinkos or if they were a Navy Seals vet that could open a can of whoop-ass on him whenever, so he wasn’t entirely sure on that front. Loathe as he was to admit, someone probably needed to get Colt, but again, he wasn’t really sure. Shrugging helplessly, he turned to the incredible Owen for confirmation.

“Aubrey, slow down,” Owen rose and winced as his muscles protested. “She’s fine. Colt is stronger than any of us, going through withdrawals or not. It’s a bad idea to go after her, she just needs to blow off some steam. She has the radio to call us if something happens and if you go after her you are only breaking up our group further.” He reached out and grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him and into a one armed hug.

“I’m sorry we keep worrying you. But Colt needs to be alone right now.”

Aubrey’s hand slowly dropped from her hat to her side before slowly wrapping it around Owen. She knew he didn’t see how careless she was at Milly’s, but she also knew that if she went after her, she’d be doing with Nile and Owen did. The blonde had seen Colt in action, she’s intelligent and wise in her movements. She can take care of herself, even if she’s ill. “I just… I wish you all understood the position I’m in.”

Stepping away from everyone, she ran her hands down her face, hoping to wipe off any fear she was showing, “I invited you all out here and what if someone got hurt? Or- or even died? And what if you didn’t really want to come along? You just felt like you had to.” Turning on her heels, she faced the group, more assertive than she has probably ever been in her life, “Owen wouldn’t have said no because he already made a promise. Same with Colt. Both of you would never go back on your word- and Nile may not have even wanted to go in the first place. I-I feel like I’m going crazy because I don’t know if any of you are going to die doing this favor for me. And then I’d have to go back and tell everyone that you died and that there’s nothing they, or I, can do about it.” Pacing back and forth, she felt her breathing start to speed up. She didn’t want to do this in front of everyone, not right now. Taking a few deep breaths, her ambition to keep her point rolling slowly started to dwindle.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Owen cooed, pulling Aubrey back into his chest. All remnants of exhaustion were now gone from his voice leaving nothing but calm low tones. He ran his dirty and calloused hands through her pony tail that stuck from the back of her hat in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. Her tense form seized for a moment before relaxing from the touch, confirming it calmed her at least a bit.

“I understand how you feel,” he began pulling back so he could look down and into her eyes. The brown-gold hues swimming with conflicting emotions glanced away, but he offered her a warm smile anyways. “However, nothing that happens to any of us out here is your fault. Not to take away from the adventure to find your sister, but we needed supplies anyway. This run would have happened with or without you. We are family now, all of us. For better or for worse and we have to do all we can to keep eachother safe. Past that, we are all adults capable of making our own decisions and you are not responsible for any bad ones we make on our own. Understand?”

The blonde gave a short nod. She's sure she would understand more once they were through this ordeal and back at the cabin. For now, she was tired, flustered from the closeness of the redhead, and a bit embarrassed from her outburst in front of the newcomer, “Thank you…” She mumbled, finding solace staring at the ground before setting her bag against the wall. The lamb plush’s head was still sticking out of the top, donating a stitched-in smile that Aubrey took as a sign- it’ll be okay.

After taking in one last long breath, she looked towards Nile, “I’ll try to find something for you to take... and I, uh, don’t want you to get dizzy and hurt your head even further so sit down, please.” She requested, heading into the kitchen, forgetting the fact Nile and Owen had just gone on a run to the pharmacy.

“Sure, will do” Nile said, trudging toward the table and pulling out a seat. The concern the blonde kept showing him was starting to weird Nile out, but he couldn’t bring himself to complain about it. When he thought about it though, he couldn’t really say that the concern was unwelcome.

Collab: Corgi Togy
Featuring: shadowz1995
Mentions: Rumble Fish

 

[Togy]

[/Font][/border][/BG]

Part 2:
​

When Aubrey pulled away and he was convinced she wasn’t going to bolt out the door for Colt, Owen collapsed once again into his chair. Exhausted didn’t begin to cover how he felt. His muscles ached, his back hurt, and he hadn’t eaten anything since he was rudely woken up at the crack of dawn with the barrel of a gun in his face. Still, at least for the moment things were peaceful. He worried that if he sat for too long he would sleep the day away and they would be delayed further. If he stayed out longer than he had intended, he would have Andy’s wrath to deal with when he returned. The distant fantasy of taking a nap on the couch quickly dissipated.

“Hector,” Owen had dialed the radio from the channel that his and Colt’s radios had been sharing, back to the one that was attached to the lodge. “Are you there?”

“Here.” the accented voice crackled in within a few seconds.

“I think Nile has a concussion,” The redhead said with a sigh. “And we have one more stop to make before we can head back home. Any ideas on what I can do to help him until we get back and you can check him out properly?”

“There isn’t much anyone can do about a concussion except monitor them. Make sure his condition doesn’t get any worse. How long has it been since he received the trauma?”

“An hour maybe?” Owen replied with uncertainty. “He was out for a bit, but he’s conscious now.”

There was a brief silence before the doctor’s voice came through the radio once more, “Then it's safe to say he doesn’t have any cerebral hemorrhaging. Just try to get him back as quickly as possible.”

“Will do.” With that the radio went silent. Owen reached down into the messenger bag by his feet and pulled a large white and red bottle of ibuprofen, tossing it to Nile. “Take a few of those dude, once the rest of what is swimming around in your system wears off, you are going to have one hell of a headache,” he instructed.

“You make it sound like I’m on something” Nile replied with a raised eyebrow as he caught the bottle. Uncapping it, Nile poured a few pills onto his palm as he looked through the label. How many was he supposed to take? It didn’t say anywhere on the bottle Eh, screw it. If Nile hadn’t died of an overdose yet, he sure as hell wasn’t now. With that, the man tossed every pill on his hand into his mouth.

“You seem tired kid,” Liam’s voice broke through Owen’s haze. To be honest, the twin had almost forgotten the man had existed. His head was still flooded with processing the days events. Between being kidnapped, fighting a hoard, the newcomer and now his fight with Colt the day felt like it had lasted weeks, and it wasn’t over yet. He nodded in confirmation.

“I am.”

“That conversation out there seemed pretty serious,” Liam observed. “Is that woman going to be alright?”

“Who Colt?” Owen asked with a sad smirk. “Of course she will be. I doubt she will keep us worrying too long.” He regretted that things had ended the way they did, but there was no sense dwelling on it now. Reaching back into his bag he grabbed a few granola bars and tossed one to Nile and the other to Liam, leaving two on the table in front of him for himself and Aubrey. It wasn’t anything close to a proper meal, but it would help stave off the shakes for a little while longer.

“That’s good, your girlfriend seemed pretty concerned.”

“My girl-” Owen paused, an obviously bewildered expression on his face. The contorted features were soon replaced with recognition as he realized that Liam had been talking about Aubrey. Rosy hues came to his freckled cheeks as he scratched the back of his head subconsciously. “She’s not my-”

“No, you just wish she was,” Liam teased, laughter consuming his tone. Someone as large as Owen had no right looking so childish and shy. In all honesty, it was quite humorous. The smaller of the two men sputtered defensively which only made Liam laugh harder in response.

“Honestly, she reminds me a bit of my wife.” There was a sadness to the elder man’s tone as he spoke. “She was the same, blonde and sweet and far too caring for her own good. You have to keep the ones like them around,” Liam advised. “When they are gone, you never quite get over it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Owen finally said after a few moments of contemplation, a smile plastered on his face.

Aubrey suddenly poked her head around the corner, “So, uh, I found some children’s Motrin? Do you think that’d work?” Looking up, she noticed the pill bottle in Nile’s hand and bit her lip, giving a small nod, “Well, never mind. But I, uhm, did find children’s Motrin, which is good I guess.” Rambling on, she entered the room farther and noticed Owen’s expression.

Her indifferent visage formed into confusion, “Is everything alright?”

The reddening in the twin’s cheeks began to exaggerate at Aubrey’s sudden appearance and he quickly stood from his chair. Any signs of his exhaustion seemed to dissipate at the desire to rid himself of any further romantic embarrassment. He took the motrin from the blonde and slipped it into his bag before beginning to usher her outside.

“What’re you doi-“

“We should let Nile rest for a bit before we hit the road again,” the redhead half-lied. “Why don’t we go knock out a game plan and give the poor guy a few moments of peace and quiet.” Owen led Aubrey through the living room and into the familiar walls of his own bedroom. It was obviously picked through, likely due to Nile sleeping there the night before. Which if nothing else, finally explained to Owen where the man had gotten the gun in the first place. He left the door open behind them as he sat on the end of his messy queen sized mattress, the blue and green sheets wrinkling beneath his weight.

“So we are finally going to your sisters house next,” Owen remembered, looking up to give Aubrey an encouraging smile. “Are you nervous?”

The blonde stood in the center of the room, glancing around and unsure of what to do with herself, “I-I mean, of course I am. Last time I spoke to her we didn’t exactly, uhm, speak kindly. I don’t know what her reaction will be, and I’m not sure what mine will be either.” She mumbled, fiddling with the crumpled granola bar. Recalling the memories was uncomfortable, anything that had to do with her family was shoved to the side in the past because she didn’t know how to deal with it. Now, she was diving head first into something she still doesn’t quite understand.

“Even besides the fact that I don’t know what’ll happen when we find her- I’m not even sure where to find her. The only thing she’s ever mentioned-“ cutting herself off, she took in a small breath before continuing, “the only thing I remember her mentioning is a red door and who knows how many there are in this town.”

"It's not a huge area," Owen began thoughtfully. One of his more useful aspects was that he knew Aurora like the back of his hand. Who knew that his time tracking down crackheads and slinging drugs would be invaluable during a Zombie outbreak? "I know of a few red doors in the area, it shouldn't be too hard to track down." The stubble on his chin was scratchy as he ran his hand thoughtfully over his face. Aubrey had mentioned that her sister was younger than she was, hadn't she? That ruled out the Davidson residence, an older woman with about a half dozen small dogs. It also ruled out Mr. Karchewski's house. It had been only him and his husband living there for several years. That left…

Owen winced as he looked up at Aubrey, suddenly recognizing certain aspects in her face. The curve of her nose, the soft corners of her mouth, even the shape of her eyes all looked suddenly familiar. This day literally couldn't get any worse.

"What did you say your sister's name was again?"

“Charlotte Mannox... Why?”

Owen groaned.

Collab: Maj Corgi
Featuring: shadowz1995
Mention: Rumble Fish

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between Maj and FireMaiden ​

A white knuckle grip on the stair railing wasn't necessary, but it was a small comfort that kept her unsteady stride from giving out as she climbed the stairs. Back at her home...no, what used to be her home, Leliana didn't have to worry about climbing stairs after an episode like this. The nurse never used her room anyway, and often just recovered outside. But it was too cold for that now. Even the chill had seeped through the walls, and Leli could feel it. So her shared bedroom with Beth would do.

As she entered, Leliana found herself both relieved and disappointed that Beth didn't seem to be inside. This gave Leliana a few minutes to smooth her hair. And perhaps deal with any remaining tear trails on her cheeks. Their room was almost just as cold as the rest of the lodge now. But that slight difference in degree felt like a comfort. So Leliana let out a sigh, her shoulders relaxing as she walked further in.

On the dresser, was her hairbrush. A flat paddle brush that was worn to hell. But it had lasted for this long, Leliana hadn't seen a need to replace it. Not that she had an extra ten bucks to spend on a good one. Delicate fingers wrapped around the handle, her other hand gathering half of her hair as she sat on their bed. Starting at the ends, an almost ripping sound filled her ears as she started brushing her hair, working through knots and the slight grease build-up. Leliana would try showering tonight, but someone almost always beat her to it.

After a few minutes, her hair was looking better. Not the mess Hector had seen, and now it would be easier to tie it up. If she could find a hair die that was, as it seemed like all of her's had disappeared. So now it was officially time to go and find Beth...or maybe Leliana could sit on the bed a little longer.

"There you are," Beth said from the doorway, worry obvious in her tone. She had her thin body against the door frame, hands wrapped around the wood as she looked at the back of Leliana's head. "Milly told me you weren't feeling well. Are you okay?" When her girlfriend didn't immediately react to her presence, the blonde's brow furrowed in concern. She cleared the distance between the two of them, sitting on the bed next to Leli and putting her arm around the small of her waist. A free hand came up to gently brush a stray strand of the nurse's blonde hair from her face and look into her eyes. Beth's sapphire hues scanned the woman's face and found nothing comforting.

"What happened?"

Hearing Beth's voice caused Leliana to sigh, smiling a little before she even saw the other woman. Though she didn't turn to look at her, fearing that her bloodshot eyes and tear streaks would give it away. But Leliana had learned there was very little she could hide from Beth. "Panic attack." She answered simply, her body moving so that Leliana was leaning on Beth gently. "He meant well but...you know how it is. Hector helped me out but..." She held up her hand, showing off the significant shake, "Still not entirely right yet."

"Hector's bedside manner is less than ideal," Beth said in agreement. Gently, she took both of Leliana's hands into her own to help keep them steady until the girl could find the strength to do so on her own. "Have you taken your meds?"

"He's not so bad." Leona managed a chuckle. Hector was actually really kind while helping her. Well, kind for him anyway. And honestly...he had never been outright rude to her just...closed off like he was with everyone else. "Yeah I have but the lodge doesn't actually have anything to deal with this particular issue."

"Some of the others are out on a run I think. Do you want me to see if we can have them pick you something up?" Beth chose not to tell Leli that she had her own encounter with Dr. Salazar only hours before and it went far less amicable than her own. She ran her fingers through Leliana's pony tail, letting her delicate fingers trail through the silken tresses like water. "Did anything cause it or was it just sort of out of the blue?"

"No it's okay...i don't have them too often any more. If it actually becomes a problem I can ask Owen or Andy at some point," Leliana replied, closing her eyes as Beth started to mess with her hair. It was relaxing, Beth always seemed to be able to do that. It was...weird. But much appreciated. "I...I think it was something David said or did...Hector said he would talk to him about it." She mumbled this time, just wanting to keep from thinking about it again. "How have you been today? Haven't seen you much."

“I’m fine,” the woman assured her. “Even if a little clumsy.” Beth rose her bandaged hand to show Leliana. “I had a little accident while I was making breakfast. But Hector says it’s okay. It seems he’s been working double time today.” The woman let out a small laugh. “Speaking of, have you eaten anything? It might help soothe your nerves. I could go get you some of the meat and eggs I made from downstairs.” Beth wasn’t a medical professional, and likely there was nothing she could do for Lelliana that Hector hadn’t already provided, but she would take care of her in the ways she knew that she could.

"I'm...I'm okay, I made some breakfast with Milly." Leliana smiled. She liked Milly a lot, that girl was so sweet. And Leliana couldn't help but feel for the girl, someone as young as her shouldn't have to deal with something like this. "I'd actually just like to sit in here with you for a while...if you don't mind?"

“Of course,” Beth replied. She shifted on the bed so she was braced against the headboard and opened her arms so that Leli could fall back into them. Once she was comfortable, Bethany wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and let her fingers trail idly through her hair. “Take all the time you need.”

Leliana sighed contently as she watched Beth move. Even in all the chaos they had to live in now, at least a few things would always stay the same. Once Beth was ready, Leliana moved up on the bed, resting closely beside her girlfriend now with her head on the other blonde's shoulder. "Thanks Beth," Leliana mumbled softly, her eyes closing again, the nurse focusing on the sound of her girlfriend's heartbeat. "I'm glad you're here."

"Oh sweetie," Beth said, breathing happily as she felt Leliana start to relax against her. "Wherever you are, is where I'll be."

 

[RayPurchase]

The Circus is hereby Closed​

Aaron landed on the muddy ground with a wet thump. A stab of pain shot up his left ankle as he rolled to a halt, with a hiss of pain he clutched at it. The boot had done a pretty good job of supporting his ankle, but the sodden ground had caused it to stick in the ground and twist. He flexed it out, rotating his foot. Not broken, but it was going to be sore for a few weeks, especially as he had no option of resting it in the immediate future. He pushed himself up off the ground, and half limped and stumbled towards the Humvee. The somewhat unconventional route had avoided the worst of the mob, and they were left a good distance behind. As he made his way the front of the vehicle a walker rounded the side, arms outstretched and its rotting mouth twisted open, revealing a row of rotten brown teeth. He swung his tire iron in a high arc, and it connected with the thing's jaw. With a wet thud the thing crumpled, its jaw and a good portion of its teeth flying in the opposite direction through the air.

He grabbed the winch and began running towards the tent. The time till those things swarmed could be counted in minutes if not seconds. The wet terrain and his throbbing ankle didn't make this the easiest exercise exactly. Finding the peg for the main guide rope he clipped the winch into place. To dig it out by hand would have taken far too long. He would be dead as would Nessa and Andy most likely. Speed was integral. As he turned back towards the Humvee there was already a steady stream emerging from the direction of the stalls. Looping his tire iron back through his belt he pulled out the radio.

"You two had better be quick, the mob is chewin' on our ankles and this tent is goin' to come down on your heads if you ain't careful."

Wrenching open the door he collapsed onto the driver's seat, letting out a sigh of relief as the pressure on his left foot was relieved. He turned the ignition and the engine growled into life. He stuck the radio on the dashboard.

"This is your last call, make your way to the exits in an orderly and fuckin' fast manner,"

He revved the engine, a stream of mud being kicked up by the rear tires as Aaron slipped the gear into reverse. For a moment the tires struggled for grip, before the thick threads found purchase. The vehicle flew back with a lurch, and then as soon as it started it came to a halt once more as the winching wire grew taught. Aaron bared his teeth and growled as the vehicle's tail swerved from left to right.

"Come on girl, give us all you've got!"

For a few seconds this battle continued, till the sound of wrenching metal and tearing fabric filled the air, and the Humvee went flying backwards unimpeded.

 

[Maj]

​

It was only seconds after Aaron’s call on the radio that Andy was sprinting through the stands of the circus, her hand clutched tightly around Nessa’s wrist to ensure they stayed together. It was impressive how quickly the two had managed to climb down from their respective perches. The music played loudly through speakers that seemed to pound into Andrea’s temples, the tune distorted like some sort of demented jack in the box. If she hadn’t been running for her life, it would be the stuff of nightmares.

However, there were real horrors behind her.

They were distracted by Vanessa’s rather brilliant use of the PA system, but it didn’t take away from the fact that there was a small army of cannibalistic undead just a few feet from them. When she pushed back the flap of fabric that functioned as the entryway to the tent, the redhead was blinking relieved into the early morning sunlight. Her appropriately dressed companion was just behind her, still looking like she waltzed off stage herself.

There was no need to put in another call. Andy could hear the roar of Aaron’s engine over the skipping trumpet music of the tent. For a horrifying second, the girl worried if the Humvee would be powerful enough to pull off her plan. If it didn’t, how long could the music realistically keep the hoard distracted? They would be hard enough to outmaneuver, but the one with the mechanical snapping jaw was still among them. She hoped his skull was still flesh and bone, because as far as she knew, that was about the only way to successfully put a monster down.

Her mind was reeling with a million back up plans as the crunch of wood was heard. The large lumber pole that was being used as the base of the tent cracked and gave and all at once, the disgusting display of neon colors collapsed in front of her. She quit running to turn back and watch, relief pouring over her features. The heavy beams and poles would be enough to put the monsters out of commission. If she and Nessa had still been inside, their bones and bodies would be crushed into the dirt alongside them.

“Where to next Thumbalina?” With one obstacle successfully overcome, they still had the generator to secure and the Harley-Quinn wanna be next to her was still the only guide she had. Andy released Vanessa’s wrist and turned to look at her, doing her best to conceal the shake in her hands.

Vanessa watched the only real home she had ever known toppled to the ground before her eyes. A conflicting mix of unintelligible emotions surged through her as she gazed upon the fallen tent.

They destroyed it.
Gone forever.
Good riddance!

As the redheaded huntress spoke, Vanessa's eyes snapped towards her. "Will ya stop feckin calling me that?!" She demanded, the venom in her voice by no means hidden. Perhaps if Andy had not explained how 'thumbelina' was an insult, the acrobat wouldn't have cared at all, but knowing that this woman was insulting her constantly was starting to wear on her nerves severely.

“Fine, Nessa. Would you kindly show me where the fuck to go? Or are we going to stand around here all day?” Andy sneered, exhaustion and sarcasm dripping from each syllable.

Vanessa opened her mouth as though she was about to quip back, but stopped herself.

Now is not the time Yuri's voice cautioned as it slithered yet again into her mind. The acrobat shivered visibly, then began to walk, silently motioning for Andy to follow. Her mismatched eyes scanned in front and around her as she walked, half looking out for more of the undead, half looking for something far more useful to the harlequin. It should be close to the generator anyway, unless it was torn down in the chaos of the outbreak. Moving past stalls and kiosks of different carnival games, they eventually came to an assortment of smaller tents in a circular formation. At the far end of the circle was a tin structure on wheels. Its white door firmly shut and boarded up. No windows could be seen on the structure. Near the top there thin ventilation grates, although too high up to look into. As they approached the tents, Vanessa stopped dead in her tracks.

"Would ya mind if I made a quick stop fer somethin before we get the generator?" She asked, unsure if Andy would even allow any further deviations to the plan.

Andy was reaching for her radio to tell Aaron where to meet up with them when the acrobat’s words broke through her consciousness. Green eyes scanned the woman’s face. Despite her rough exterior and the blatant disrespect she showed Vanessa on a continuous basis, Andrea wasn’t heartless. She understood the severity of all that had just happened for Vanessa, at least to an extent. They weren’t close and therefore Andy wasn’t going to pretend she knew the woman’s whole backstory, but the woman was still in the same costume she had been stranded in.

“Lead the way,” she instructed.

Nessa nodded and turned to her left, going to the third closest tent from where they stood, and, without hesitation, she entered. She didn't know if Andy would follow her into the tent or stay outside, but that mattered little.

In fact, Andy propped herself up against a tent pole and retrieved what looked like a hand-rolled cigarette from her jacket pocket. As she lit it, smoke trailed through the air in a scent that was obviously not tobacco. If this day got any worse, Andrea Jordan was going to cut her own braid off and hang herself with it. She grabbed the radio from her belt, giving Aaron a quick description of where she was waiting.

“Meet us over here. We need to talk anyway,” the redhead called over the static. She replaced the radio and waited for the familiar sound of the humvee to grow closer. When she saw Aaron exit the vehicle she flashed him a rare smile.

“Glad to see you are still kicking around,” Andy greeted.

Aaron returned the smile. She was a tough cookie, but they hadn’t expected any of this, it was supposed to be an easy run, no problems. That plan didn’t exactly last long.

“Will take more than a bunch of undead carnies to put me in the ground. Glad to see you got my transmission. I would have been beside myself if I’d buried you in there,”

His eyes narrowed slightly, it was only Andy here, which raised a few more queries.

“Everythin’ go down alright in there? No problems?”

"Well I'm not dead,' Andy said nonchalantly, taking another long drag from her joint. "So better than I expected." There had been that awful moment where she was free falling through the air that Vanessa could have just let her drop, but she didn't. It appeared the woman had moments of lucidity.

"She's definitely as crazy as we thought though." The red head was careful to keep her voice calm and low. "I heard her talking to someone who obviously wasn't there while she was fiddling with the PA system. And sometimes she gets this look in her eye when I'm talking to her." Andy involuntarily shuddered. "She wants to kill me Aaron, I can see it in her eyes. Look at them the next time I insult her, it's undeniable."

Aaron grimaced. It sounded bad, but what made it worse was that it wasn't surprising. His own run in with her in the kitchen had been brief, but it hadn't needed to have been longer. There had been that look, devoid of reason or logic. A dark madness within.

"Fuck. Talkin' to things that ain't there is bad enough. Even worse when those things are telling you to start killin' everyone around you. We're goin' to have to deal with her, with this horde alone we're up to our necks in it. Throw in a homicidal tight rope walker and we're at breakin' point,"

“We knew it might come to this.” Andy’s voice was almost a whisper now. “Don’t forget what we talked about.” She recalled their conversation the day before in the tool shed.

~~~~​

“Listen Aaron, I want us all to come back in one piece.” Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought hard about how to phrase her next warning. “However, if it comes down to her vs us?” Hard, pained eyes locked with his. “I need you to have my back. No matter what.”

“It’s a warzone out there. Normal rules don’t apply. Am I happy about what may happen, course I ain’t, but doesn’t mean I’ll shirk from it if the time comes,” He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Same for you. I’ll have you back, and you’ll have mine if it all goes south,”

~~~~​

Andy certainly hadn’t forgotten. Each time the acrobat looked at her with those wild murderous eyes it was all she could think about. She hadn’t known Aaron very long. Andy didn’t put her life in the hands of others if she could help it, but she wouldn’t be able to take Vanessa down alone. The redhead reached down into her boot and retrieved her trusty knife, right where she always left it. It was as if she suddenly had to do something with her hands, anything to distract her from the morbid conversation she was sharing with Aaron.

The handle was smooth and polished deer antler, the blade well sharpened and gleaming in the afternoon sun. She grabbed it by the blade and with a flick of her wrist threw it in the air so that it landed blade down into the thawing and squishy earth. Her eyes didn’t move up to meet Aarons again.

“Do you still have my back?” Andy asked coldly. “No matter what it comes to?”

Aaron nodded solemnly. At the end of the day they had their plan, and if it came to it, they would do what needed to be done.

"I said I had it then, I've still got it now. Whatever it comes to,"

Collab: TheMightyRedLemon RayPurchase

 

[The Mad Queen]

Fisher Video Journal #1​

After a close encounter in the library, Ralph had carefully made his way back to the lab. He'd done enough exploring for one day, and it was time for work. The bodies had to be moved. If this was to be the good doctor's home, they would have to go. Even if the infected had been brought down, simply leaving the bodies to rot was not only disrespectful but it would spread disease. Not only that, but the stench would attract something.

Despite finding a gurney for transport, the move had taken several hours, and sanitising the hallway took even longer. All that remained were the bodies of the Gremlin-like infected, that he moved into the lab. By the time he'd finished the autopsy on two of them, it was almost midday. Back in his CDC days, he used to have an entire time for disposal but now, Fisher was a one man army with a busted leg. Everything was a struggle now, but that didn't stop him from pushing forwards.

But, disposing of the Gremlin bodies could wait. In his search through the laboratory and it's surrounding rooms, he'd found his fair share of equipment. Nothing too special, of course. After all, the group that had come here before Simon had lifted whatever they could carry but there was enough to get by. Ralph wasn't even thinking about Simon as he examined what he could, how the young man had probably handled the same equipment he was currently using. Instead, he had a single drive and all thoughts of him were out of his mind.

Among other things, he found a video camera and tripod in one of the back rooms, and set it up. As the camera stated to roll, he sat in a chair and stared into the lens.
"This Doctor Ralph Fisher, CDC. Well, I suppose former CDC would be more accurate..." He began "Video entry one. The day is the 22nd of November. Thursday, the time is..." He glanced at his watch "Tweleve thirty, on the dot. Although I suppose this camera might keep track of that, too..."
He looked down "Stop it, Ralph. You're rambling." Muttering to himself, he looked back up and cleared his throat "The University of Aurora seems to be home to two special types of infected I have encountered. I hope for my sake, there aren't any more. So-far, I have only managed an autopsy on one type."

He stood up, pushing the camera towards a table where a body of one of the Gremlins was covered by a sheet.
"Now, if Sarah is watching this. If these tapes somehow find it back home...June, I need her out of the room. She doesn't need to see this." Shaking his head, he pulled back the sheet. The dissected Gremlin lay with it's mouth agape, a hole in it's skull where a bullet had gone in. Like most of it's counterparts, it was smaller than the average infected.

"Like the other autopsy I performed...A lifetime ago, I have found that the Aurora virus affected the brain the same way. A strong amount of decay around the hypothalamus, the parietal lobe and frontal lobe in particular. In fact, the frontal lobe experiences such a rapid decay that I almost didn't recognise it... While the rest of the brain remains relatively intact. Upon the death of the individual, the virus reanimates parts of the body it needs to survive and spread itself. Parts unnecessary shut down."

He pointed the camera down, showing the inside of the stomach "The digestive system no longer functions, but the creatures still eat. With certain parts of the brain shut off, it is driven by instinct. A hunger that never seems to stop. This draws hosts to kill the living. After all, while bites may not spread the infection they do cause eventual death. Sadly, the infection is airborne and everyone seems to be carrying a dormant form of it within their bloodstream, waiting to be activated upon our demise."

He looked down, sighing heavily "I managed to identify an anomaly in my own blood. Something I haven't seen before. I...I have it too. I assumed I did, given I have had close contact but I suppose seeing it up close is a different thing." His eyes still faced the ground "It means, if I die for whatever reason...Unless my brain is destroyed, I'll become one of those things. I do not intend to let that happen."

"Hold it together, Ralph." He muttered to himself, gripping the camera and facing it back towards the dissected body "This particular type is more agile than regular infected, and seems to be smarter too. From what I saw of them in action, they wait in high places such as ventilation shafts and leap down onto unsuspecting prey. It's not too dissimilar to a few predators in nature. The regal jumping spider came to mind. In general these...Gremlins are smarter and faster. It would seem that this virus, in it's evolution can single out particular traits in a host ideal for spreading itself. An athlete who performed the one hundred meter sprint would chase down prey in death at alarming speed, a bodybuilder would possess irregular strength and so on...These infected seemed to pick up on smaller hosts, using their bodies to be able to hide in wait for an ambush. At least, that is the only type of behaviour I observed from them while they were active. Picking up on more traits would require further tests, but...Said tests would be a little too dangerous."

The camera moved away once more, the body no longer in frame.
"I hope you're safe, June. I still have that watch you gave me. I'd like to think it's helped me get this far. As you know, I've never been one for believing in luck but, then again I also used to think that the dead stayed dead, so what do I know?" He lightly chuckled "Look, this situation is bad. I hope that, if you're looking at this then it means that it's blown over. That the infection never made it as far as New York, but...There's a high risk it could. Whenever it is you find this, whether I'm still standing or not...I want you to know that..."
He sighed, turning away "Oh, you already know. Even before I did. Smarty pants." He remained silent for a few moments, before his gaze once more faced the lens.

"It's safe to let Sarah back in the room. This next part isn't about experiments or infected or what happened in Aurora. I suppose it's just a message to her." His usual smile returned "Hello, patches. I'm, um...As you can see, I'm doing a lot of work right now, trying to save the world, as usual." He laughed "Sadly, I uh. I have to do it alone. Enough about that though. Listen to your mother, and be on your best behaviour until I get back. I know you will, of course. Be safe, and keep an eye on her for me, will you?"

He blew a kiss, caught it in his hands and carried it towards the lens were he gently placed a hand against it.
"I love you."
With that, he stopped the tape and sat in silence. His smile was nowhere to be seen.

 

[Rumble Fish]

​

"Um..." was all the youngster could mumble as she looked around the kitchen, hands wringing anxiously. This space not too long ago had an awkward aura from the talk between Leliana and David, and now Leli was not okay. Thankfully when she had tugged on Beth's shirt-sleeve and stammered out that something was wrong, she left almost instantly to take care of her. The youngster wanted to follow, but had ultimately decided against it. Don't meddle in adults' business, they don't want a nosy kid eavesdropping on them since kids were stupid and could not keep their mouths shut. Milly had learned that a long time ago. But even with that knowledge, adults were still confusing. They always said to tell the truth, but not everyone wanted that. The youngster thought back to her brief time at school. She had seen some kids chipping their names into one of the benches on the playground. So she did what her mother had told her and told a teacher about it. For her efforts, she got a thank-you from the teacher yet also received a reward in the form of a fortnight long black eye from one of the bigger kids for "snitching". So which was it? Truth or no truth? To tell or not to tell?

Milly looked to Snowy who was perched on the table, as if expecting the teddy bear to contribute to her navel gazing. All that happened was that the stuffing in the bear's head seemed to all collect towards the front as the bear tipped forward and her nose hit the wood. Milly giggled slightly before breathing hard through her slightly closed lips. In this situation- telling was a good thing. Hector had said so and Leliana had thanked her. And the doctor had told her to make hot chocolate. Well; he told her what to do, so she'd do it.

The small girl mumbles a few sentences from A Bug's Life as she begins to search the cupboards. The child had never cooked for herself. The closest her mother would allow her to partake in that activity was heating up leftovers in the microwave. But there were never leftovers here. While she herself ate thrice a day, many of the others only ate twice. Food was clearly in short supply often. But between Andy and Colt hunting, it seemed to be enough to sustain them... but you cannot hunt hot chocolate. Didn't Willy Wonka say something like that? No, he said a poached egg was not a poached egg unless the egg was taken from the woods in the middle of the night. Or that whipped cream could only come from cows who were whipped with whips. So where would hot chocolate come from? Wonka made an ice cream that would never melt, maybe he knew how to make a hot chocolate that never went cold?

Milly shook herself out of her tangent, spotting something she needed for it. A can of condensed milk. She was reaching into the depths of her mind trying to remember how her mother would make it. She used to watch all the time. But a lot had happened in a few months. Sighing deeply, trying hard to avoid picturing her mother, she pulled out the can and began fishing through a lower cupboard for a small pan. Among the worn pots, she spotted the one she wanted. With a happy chirp, she pulled it free but her sensitive ears were then assaulted with a boxing courtesy of the clutter of loose pans as they shot from the cupboard. Squeaking, all she could do was simply push them back before any of the adults saw. They had enough going on, they did not need to worry about this. Once she had the condensed milk and pan, she needed coco-powder, chocolate and coffee. Two of which were easy to find, but coco-powder? Not so much. Maybe they had longlife milk too?

After some more rooting and success, even finding a small amount of coco-powder in a cupboard that involved MacGyvering a ladder using a chair and the kitchen counter. Now for the tricky part. Actually making it. Milly shimmied closer to the fire, blanket still wrapped around her tiny and thin body. Already there was a near disaster as she dropped the tin of condensed milk in the pan while pouring it, though it could be salvaged thankfully. With a metal spoon, the youngster stirred it carefully. Her mind was wrestling with itself, bouncing between trying to remember a recipe and various Pixar quotes. This should not be hard, but then again her mother would make it look easy. After mixing it gingerly, she tried to pry open the tin of coco-powder. It was one of those annoying lids where you would need to get your fingernails under it. With a frustrated yip, she pried at the lid. Pop! Baby blue eyes blinked as the lid fired off like a rocket, landing with a light clatter elsewhere in the living room. A little puff of brown followed, but hopefully enough to not upset anyone. She already felt as though her presence was pushing it. Leliana had said that she was one of two people to get three meals. She could not help but worry about that; couldn't someone else benefit from an extra meal? The small girl sighed, hoping to distract herself as she slowly stirred the powder in with the milks.

It was almost hypnotic, a dark brown swirl soon consumed the white pot as she stirred it carefully. There were a few spits of molten milk from the heat, making her yelp and jump with a frustrated flap of her hands. Even the milk found her annoying enough to passive aggressively tell her to buzz off through spits. She decided to talk to Snowy to ease her anxieties. Eventually it culminated in a one-woman show of Brave. Anything to ease the swirling worry in her stomach. She added the pinch of instant coffee and the half of a chocolate bar she had in her rucksack and kept stirring it. If only there were marshmallows. Marshmallows made everything better.

Finally, it seemed to be ready. Her slow and ginger movements quickly switched to that of urgency as Milly scuttled from the living room into the kitchen with the now piping hot pot, squeaking a string of "Ow" until it was set on the defunct hob. "Nyeeh!" She squeaked, shaking both hands out to recover from the heat. After taking a moment to recover, she fished out three mugs. Hector had said to make hot chocolate for herself. But that would be selfish, right? Carefully, and by carefully, the sides of the mugs were stained brown from the trickles of the precious liquid escaping from the mugs, she poured all three. Hands shaking a little, she put them on a tray and, with the speed of a snail and tender-footedness of someone trying to avoid stepping on tacs, she got up the stairs and looked to the closed door of Leliana's room. She did not want to go in. But if she just left them with a knock, they would find them right? Her mother would always make her a hot chocolate when she came home crying from school or whenever she got upset, maybe it would help them too? Leliana and Beth meant a lot to her, the pair were the closest she would ever get to her mother. She did not want to tell them this though. Surely it would be too strange. They were unlike the others here, they listened to her, talked with her, took part in her games and play, they were the best thing she had outside of her toys and blanket. And she wanted them to be okay.

Placing the tray carefully on the floor, she grabbed her own mug before, with a moment of hesitation, knocked on her door before scuttling back a few steps. Not wanting to interrupt any further than she already had, she almost leapt down the stairs back to the living room. That jigsaw was not going to do itself, and Snowy would be getting impatient at being left alone to do it herself. The bear had never been good at puzzles anyway. She preferred to watch. Lazy bear.

Mentions: FireMaiden (Leliana) Maj (Beth/Andy)

 

[Maj]

​

November 22, 2018
12:55 P.M.
Charlotte Mannox’s House
The short drive through suburbia had happened mostly in silence. Owen’s mind was reeling and so he kept his eyes on the road, driving through the familiar streets with ease. Even with the roadblocks of stopped cars and the occasional workaround to avoid hoards of monsters, the redhead head took the turns with the confidence that only came with knowing the roads for all of his life.

He resisted the urge to glance over at Aubrey who was sitting in his passenger seat. How long had it been since her sister had sat in this very car? In that very seat? Owen knew she must have a million questions, but none of them could be answered here in the confines of the Camaro with listening ears. They would talk later, in private.

He sighed as his four wheels slowed as they turned into the familiar driveway. The house looked untouched, like it was plucked straight from his memory and placed back into the real world.

“We’re here,” he announced woefully. It was the last driveway Owen ever thought he would be in again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

October 12, 2016
8:12 P.M.
Downtown

Colorado had a specific smell as fall began to set in. It always reminded Owen of cold nights at the lodge with Andy and his uncle, or movie marathons with his mom on the couch. The air was damp, but the world seemed to come alive. As the trees turned from greens to vibrant hues of oranges and yellows the twin always felt himself feel more at home. And nothing felt more right than sitting in his beat-up Camaro with the windows down, hands wrapped around the warmth of a disposable, paper coffee cup.

His breath was visible in the chill of the air, evaporating as soon as it exited his lips and becoming one with the steam from his beverage. It would be warmer to roll up his windows, but then he wouldn’t be able to hear the conversations happening on the street. It was mostly white noise, the kind of mindless chatter that filled most spaces. People spoke about Christmas shopping, and holiday plans, some spoke about their days, telling their friends funny excerpts from what would otherwise be a dull story. None of this concerned the redhead. Owen was on the clock.

Bert and Ernie employed the male for any number of repo missions. Sometimes he was out peddling drugs, sometimes he was repossessing a car that was late on payments, and on the rare occasion, Owen was sent to smoke out someone who was trying not to be found. That was the case for his current mark. Micah Hancock had a tab with the pawnshop brothers that Owen did not envy. He wasn’t sure what Micah’s problem was. Maybe he was just bad at budgeting his cash, but between missed payday loans, overdue payments on advanced drugs, and even a few items that were in need of retrieving, it was no wonder the dude was trying to hide from him. Anyone with any sense would skip town before Bert and Ernie took their payment in the way of flesh.

Still, druggies were easy to predict. Owen had worked around them most of his young adult life. First with Luca, and now on his own. If he didn’t have money to appease Bert, he didn’t have money to skip town. Whatever money he had would be used on a fix, and this particular street corner was exactly the kind of place that the sleazeball would come to find it. Owen had lost track of how long he had been sitting parallel parked on the street corner, but his perseverance had paid off. The twin looked up from his cup of coffee just in time to see the top of Micah’s blonde head dip around the corner of the nearby Hallmark shop. Owen sat his cup in the holder, and let himself out of the car.

“Ah, you again.” Michah’s low voice purred as the figure emerged from the streets, taking a small glance behind him before approaching the woman, “How’s my baby girl been?”

Charlotte had been waiting here for what felt like all day. The typical deal meant she’d get there ten to fifteen minutes before the meet-up time, make sure there wasn’t going to be an ambush, and wait. The person would show up, exchange goods, then leave- simple and clean.

However, this asshole was supposed to show up thirty minutes ago. While Charlotte lacked patience, she understood not to question the majority of the clients. That didn’t stop her agitation from peaking through, but it did stop her from audibly gagging at the sleazeball’s advances.

“Just give me the money and you can go.” She grumbled, outstretching her hand.

“What’s the rush, sweetheart?” He asked. A devious smile took the expression of the man, clicking his tongue twice, the word’s condescending nature rearing it’s malicious head, “Why don’t we stay and chat a bit, hm?”

Her expression stayed the same, dull and annoyed, “Look, we’ve been through this, dude. Just give me the money and save yourself from the inevitable rejection. I’m in a rush because you decided to take your sweet time getting here.”

The smirk faltered on the man’s face, eyes narrowing as he studied her like a predator would its next meal, “I’m getting sick of this ‘holier-than-thou’ act. You know me, just give me a chance…” The tone went from indignant to sickly sweet- and Charlotte had gotten used to this. Druggies were amongst the most unpredictable people she’s had the displeasure of meeting, and mood-swings weren’t uncommon. She expected this kind of behavior anyhow.

What she didn’t expect was for him to reach out and try to cup her cheek. Her face contorted in disgust as she smacked the hand away, her already thin patience growing thinner, “The only thing I know about you is that you’re repulsive and need to give me the money. Do you want your fix or not?” She growled. Charlotte didn’t have the time or energy to deal with him. If she wanted to get hit on, she’d go to a bar or club and flirt with men, not deal out drugs to unstable jerks.

At no point during this had she been afraid, she had sold drugs to this guy several times now, and every time he was all bark, no bite… But the twisted look in his eye sent a chill down her spine. This time was different than before- more sinister. Of course, she would never show that his presence was affecting her. He wanted to feel in control and she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of reacting to his advances. Even as the man snatched her wrist and slammed her against the frigid brick, she maintained her hard stare.

“Listen here you little bitch-”

“Micah, Micah, Micah,” Owen cooed from the entrance of the alleyway. His shadow loomed over them, taking up what minimal light was left from the streetlights on the other side of his hulking form. His trusty bat was in his hands, slinging downward into his open palm with each syllable of the man’s name. The redhead’s eyes sparkled with mischievous energy as he cocked his head to the side, stretching.

“I know you aren’t stupid enough to be giving my money away to someone else.” His lips were pulled into a tight, controlled smile. He couldn’t see the girl in the shadows, but saving a damsel was really just icing on the cake. Owen was here to collect, and he wasn’t going to be able to do that if Micah gave away what little assets he had to another. Charlotte’s head snapped to the newcomer, irritated that there was one more person added to the list of people she had to deal with.

“Look, I don’t know who you think you are, but I can han-”

Micah let go of Charlotte, Owen’s voice like an electric shock. It was apparent by the widening of the druggies’ eyes that he had hoped to avoid this encounter. It only intensified the ginger’s smirk. The two stood staring at the other for a moment, waiting to see who would make the first move. The girl’s dark eyes darted between the two, confusion riddling her face. This guy barges in and now was having a staring contest with her client. The new guy didn’t seem like a druggie, but she could only see the silhouette as the lights behind his hulking form cascaded him, and the alley, in shadows.

“What the fu…”

Micah darted for the exit, which unfortunately for him, was mostly blocked by all six feet, four inches of Owen’s frame. They always tried to run, which was normally the right idea. Owen was more than a few cigarettes past his time as an athlete, but in this case, he ended up running right into the twin’s arms.

Owen reached down and grabbed Micah by the back of his shirt, yanking him backward and back into the alley. It was effortless. The dude couldn’t have weighed more than 100 pounds, likely all the drugs he was shooting into his system giving him the sickly, frail frame that Micah currently possessed.

“Come on now Micah,” Owen tutted. “Even with the two brain cells you have left you should have known that wasn’t going to work.” However, as he had pulled him back into the light Owen paled. The light glinted off of Micah’s gun that he had pulled from the waistband of his jeans and was pointed right between Owen’s emerald eyes.

“You’ll be lucky to have two brain cells left after I blow your fucking brains out,” the druggie retorted. His eyes were wild, as he stared down the tower of a man in front of him. Cracked and crooked teeth pulled into a disturbing smirk as he forced Owen to look down the barrel of his gun.

“Now, now.” Owen’s voice was cool and calm, despite the defensive nature of his body language. His hands were pulled upward in surrender, the bat still firmly grasped in his right hand. “Surely, you aren’t stupid enough to kill me. Bert will send someone better armed than me if I don’t make it back with all my freckles intact.” He was still joking, even as he looked death in the face. However, Owen knew that to keep the man talking was to bide time and normally that was all that he needed before the addict would make a fatal mistake and give him an opening.

A metallic click suddenly echoed through the alley, a cold pistol pressed into the steady hands of the girl that both men seemed to have forgotten. For a moment, it wasn’t clear who the victim may be, but as her piercing gaze landed on the armed man, it was crystal.

“Drop. The gun.” Harsh words only caused the tension in the alley to become denser, the already heavy air now almost suffocating as Charlotte’s hand gripped around a weapon that could end the man’s life in a second. Steady steps lead the girl into the light, her intention now clear. She would shoot if he gave her a reason to. The woman’s eyes didn’t diverge from the frightened man as she approached.

Charlotte?

Collab: Corgi
In the Area: Togy

 

[Corgi]

​

October 12, 2016
8:25 P.M.
Downtown

Owen wasn’t sure how or why the girl had come to be in the alleyway and he was even less sure about how she had come to associate with scum like Micah Hancock. The last time Owen had seen her was at her parents funeral. She had always been a sweet girl, the kind that smiled at him when he walked down the hallway in school, tucking hair behind her ear in a coy and cute sort of way. Now she seemed to be his guardian angel, and while he recognized her features, the coldness that distorted them was foreign to him as he watched her point the gun in Micah’s back.

His captor turned to look at the woman at the sound of her threat, and it was all the opportunity Owen needed. With a swift motion, the redhead brought the hilt of his bat hard into the side of Micah’s head. He dropped to the ground, slumping over as his vision blurred. Owen kicked the gun away from him, meeting him on the ground and pinning Micah between himself and the pavement. His knees were in the man’s shoulders, and all two hundred plus pounds of him sat on the man’s chest to keep him still.

“Charlotte fucking Mannox, what in the hell are you doing here?” Owen looked up at the girl. She was still holding the gun, but he was unfazed. Unless he had severely wronged her in the last few months without knowing about it, he doubted that the girl would shoot him.

As soon as the man was disposed of she finally took in the stranger. Or, who she presumed was a stranger. The instant her eyes laid on the fiery red hair and deep green eyes, she knew who it was. The woman chastised herself for being so careless with her identity. Someone who knew her, who she vaguely dated in high school, had recognized her- and that could be dangerous. Especially after the rather impressive performance he gave. Internally cursing, she flung her hood up.

“I don’t know who you think I am, but I assure you that’s not me.” She stated, walking over to the gun on the ground and picked it up, checking the ammo before letting out a laugh and tossing it to Owen, “Empty. Have fun with him.” Her words were rushed and movements shaky as she quickly turned to leave the alleyway, hoping he’d let her go and forget this moment even happened.

The hope was short-lived.
Owen stood, making sure to keep his boot pressed into Micah’s chest. The man seemed mostly out of consciousness, but he wasn’t about to have to explain to Bert how his mark had gotten away because he was talking to a pretty girl. Again.

“I never knew you to be so edgy,” Owen said with a smirk. “It’s too late chicka, you can drop the facade.” It was apparent that he was not going to just let her walk away. There were a million things he wanted to tell her. He wanted to lecture her about the danger of being in dark alleyways with druggies. Or furthermore, dudes like him. Not everyone was as charming as he was.

“So what?” He asked, crossing his arms over his chest with a bemused expression on his face. “Waitress by day, drug mule by night? What kind of reverse Clark Kent bullshit have you gotten yourself into?”

Charlotte stopped in her tracks, trying to bite her tongue. While she didn’t need him to step in, he did make the situation a bit easier, so he didn’t deserve to take on the onslaught of her frustration and anger. At least, that would’ve been the case if his teasing questions didn’t dig under her skin. Turning on her heels, she sent daggers in his direction.

“I don’t have time to deal with you right now. This shithead was late to the meet-up and I should’ve been home…” The girl quickly slid out her phone, “Ten minutes ago. So if you’ll excuse me, I have to get going. Nice seeing you again.” The bitter and sarcastic tone never left her voice as she turned her back towards the man and tried to leave once more.

Owen reached down and picked up Micah’s form off the ground. He groaned slightly as the giant ginger threw him over his shoulder. It looked almost effortless and he was able to keep the lifeless heap in place with one arm. The other reached down into the pocket of his leather jacket, retrieving his keys from it.

“Great.” Some things never changed. He was used to people talking to him in this manner. Andy for one, never missed an opportunity to spit venom his way. “Then you will have no problem with me giving you a ride home.” Owen walked up beside Charlotte and gestured to the familiar beat-up Camaro that was parked barely a block down.

The woman wanted to refuse, to snap out a witty remark and keep walking, but she had no real reason to say no other than he may annoy the shit out of her… but she would get home quicker. One out-weighed the other and she let out a defeated sigh. Trudging over to the passenger side door, she gave a sardonic smile of ‘appreciation’ before climbing in.

A sudden waft of Owen’s scent filled her senses as nostalgia hit her like a ton of bricks. It had been years since she glanced around the worn interior. Several memories came back to her of giggles and playful teasing- bright eyes and flirtatious remarks echoed through her mind as her hands traced the middle console. That was a different time, and she was a different girl. Her eyes were dulled now, the spark of life she once had in her snuffed under the weight of the world.

Owen used the valet key to unlock his trunk, throwing Micah’s form inside. He still had a job to do after all. His shakedown of the addict could wait the five minutes until Charlotte was safely back in her own home. Making sure his captor was secure, Owen rounded the car and got into the driver's seat.

“Don’t look so glum” Owen teased as he put his keys in the ignition. “If you need cheering up, I could always take us back to the drive-in.” He called back to the time that they had gone together in high school. Owen didn’t even remember what movie had been playing and was unsure if he could recall anything from that night beside the memories of him and Charlotte in the backseat of his car. Charlotte rolled her eyes at his statements.

“Don’t be gross.” She retaliated, crossing her arms over her chest as she avoided eye contact with the red-head, “You seemed surprised at my involvement with that guy, so imagine how I felt seeing you with a baseball bat ready to beat his head in.”

Owen shrugged nonchalantly. It shouldn’t have shocked her as much as it seemed to. He had always been a degenerate, it was part of his charm. Owen had always walked around with a leather jacket and a puffed out chest, the only difference now was there was more blood under his fingernails.

“You could have ended up with far worse than me in that alleyway. I’d count your blessings if I were you.” His tone was light, but the severity and honesty of his statement hung over them as he turned the key in the ignition. It took two tries before the engine roared into life.
“If you were me, you’d know I could’ve handled it. Trust me, I’ve already seen worse.” She mumbled, casting her eyes out the window. If it were any other person, she would’ve looked them right in the eyes and told them to fuck off… But it was Owen. She knew him when she was a bubbly and smart girl, and a part of herself was ashamed at what she’s turned out to be.

“I have no doubt,” Owen added with a chuckle. She had looked fierce, gun at the ready. But no matter how bad she thought she had seen it, there was far worse that she could have encountered. If she kept down this path she was going to end up dealing with a lot worse than some grabby druggies and being held at gunpoint. He was glad he had happened upon them when he did. Owen didn’t pretend to know everything about Charlotte’s situation, but he did know about her parent’s death. Taking care of yourself at her age wasn’t easy without serious cash flow. If she kept trying to dive into this lifestyle without some guidance though, she would end up one of Luca’s lackies before long.

It was only a few minutes before he was pulling into her driveway. The porch light was on, illuminating the familiar hue of the red door. Owen recognized it every time he drove down the streets of suburbia as Charlotte’s house, the unique color standing out amongst the other cookie-cutter houses. He wasn’t going to be able to convince her to stop. However, if he played his cards right, he might be able to ensure that the girl didn’t get in over her head.

“Listen,” Owen reached for a clean napkin out of the center console. He wrote down the number to his burner phone in scrawling characters across the bumpy surface. Emerald eyes locked on hers as he passed it to her.

“If you are serious about this, I have plenty of work that needs to be done. It pays better than waiting around in shady alleys. Give me a call.”

Charlotte glanced from his eyes to the extended napkin, slowly taking it from his grasp. She felt pathetic accepting it. She was never one to accept handouts, but at this point… whatever brought in more money was worth her damaged pride. She gave a silent nod as she climbed out of the car, closing the door before poking her head into the window once more, “Thanks.” She stated simply, tapping the side of the Camaro before disappearing into the building.

November 22, 2018
12:55 P.M.
Charlotte Mannox’s House

The sound of car doors opening and shutting snapped Owen back to reality. The memory faded as he realized he was the last one sitting in the interior of his vehicle. With a heavy heart and a chest full of anxiety, Owen opened the driver’s side door and exited into the chill of the November afternoon. No matter what they found within the four walls of this house meant nothing good for the redhead. He looked over at Aubrey, who looked about as rough as he felt. Pushing his own worries aside, he offered the girl a small smile.

“It’s going to be okay,” he assured her. “No matter what.” Rounding the side of the car, he reached for her hand, cupping his own around her palm and giving it a comforting squeeze.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Aubrey opened her mouth to reply- or maybe it was open to begin with? Regardless, a reply didn’t come as she stared at the red door. Seeing what was presumably her sister’s house had sent a shock through her system. A part of her hoped that Owen was wrong, that the search would continue and she wouldn’t have to confront her today, but she knew that hope couldn’t come true.

The gentle squeeze of the man’s hands drew her attention back to him. The words finally registered in her brain, “Oh, uhm, no… No, It’ll, uh, it’ll be okay.” She nodded, giving a half-hearted smile and his hand a squeeze back. Neither her smile, nor her words were convincing. She wasn’t even sure why she said no in the first place, but there was no turning back now, “You all can wait outside… if that’s okay with everyone?”

It didn’t surprise him that she wanted to venture forth alone, and so Owen nodded and sat down on the hood of his car. There was no telling what was waiting for her behind those walls. If it was Charlotte, then he figured they had a lot to talk about and his presence would not be helpful. However, any matter of things could have taken up residence here. Monsters, looters, the idea of letting her venture alone didn’t sit well on his already queasy stomach.

“Of course. However,” He pulled her hand so she faced him entirely, green eyes serious as they met with her gold ones. There was no smile on his features as he looked her dead in the face. “If there is trouble, no matter who causes it, call and I’ll come running.” He reached up and pushed a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, letting his hand linger on her face.

In their short time together, Aubrey and he had become close. It was only an hour before that she was giving him a speech about how much it would bother her if he got hurt on this run with her. What she didn’t realize was how deeply his need to get her home safe ran too.

“Promise me.”

The panic she felt in her gut dissipated into frazzled nerves as his calloused hand brushed her cheek. Eyes wide, she immediately brought her hand up to her hat and fiddled anxiously. The care in his voice wasn’t unusual for him, it was the sincerity in his tone that caught Aubrey off guard, “Y-Yeah. I promise.” She muttered, extending her free hand’s pinky.

Owen met her pinky with his own. The crooked thing had been broken more than a few times, but it seemed to wrap around hers all the same. He smiled before letting her go. Nodding toward the house he urged her on.

“Then I’ll be waiting.”

Collab: Maj (Owen)
Mention: Brax (Luca)

 

[Brax]

Luca​

There had been only a handful of moments in Luca’s life where he had experienced true fear. Whether it be from people who had attempted to turn on him, the police, or his adversaries, there were a handful of situations that the Italian had been prepared to face. However, in his youth it could be said that the young man was far less methodical in his approach to dealing with stressful events. Oftentimes he could depend on himself. That confidence was built organically throughout his life.

He couldn’t see a thing; his feet fell concrete, his skin fighting against the harsh breeze provided by the cold temperature. Luca had not been dressed properly to face the elements. Hail whipped at his skin as he ran for his life, providing a small amount of pain to the panic he had been experiencing. While the man had no idea where he was going, whatever the hell was chasing behind him was hot on his trail. If he stopped moving his feet, there was no telling what would happen.

A single streetlight in the distance broke through the dense fog and condensation. The man’s feet felt as though they were getting ready to collapse underneath his legs but it provided a space where at least he’d be able to see. While the harsh wind whipped through the alleyways and hit the various buildings that had been surrounding him, it generated an eerie melody. One that accompanied the man’s harsh breathing as he leaned over to catch his breath underneath that one bright light.

There was a heavy pain in his chest, one that felt as though some force had been attempting to pull him through the gutter and down into the Earth’s core. Luca closed his eyes as he gasped for air. Both of his hands reached up to his chest, slowly feeling inward until his fingers began feeling damp. Then his digits hit a foreign object. Light hues made a reappearance, fixating onto the knife that had been sticking out of his chest. He turned his palms over to see the color red staining his skin. Clearly in shock, the man slowly looked up to see who it was. It had been as if he was staring at a full-length mirror. A foot slammed abruptly into the hilt of the knife and his body fell backwards.

The Italian's extremities twitched as the Italian awoke with a start in Andy’s bed.

He quickly lifted himself up off of the mattress, breathing extremely heavily as a hand frantically searched for the knife in his chest. There was none. It was a dream. It had been a few years since the ex-capo had experienced such an intense visual. His skin felt clammy, no doubt a result of the excessive amount of sweating the man had been doing in the past few hours. His lips were as dry as his tongue and throat. When Luca got out of bed he felt a dull pain in his knees. He brought himself into the bathroom and ran the water to the sink, doing his best to catch his breath. A palm found itself reaching under the faucet to splash a bit onto his face.

 

[Hyped_Taco]

This is a collab between ya boy Hyped_Taco and Maj's Boyfriend shadowz1995 . Also, I guess Lopez was a part of this collab or something.

After David bade Shinoa goodbye and washed his dishes, he headed outside into the cool morning air for a workout. "Alright Shinoa. See you later." He stopped in the middle of the backyard and did some stretches. He thoroughly enjoyed the quiet breeze, the partly cloudy sky and noises of the forest, albeit quieter than normal thanks to a certain virus. It somewhat reminded him of home. He finished up his stretching and started doing jumping jacks, huffing and puffing as he controlled his breathing. After a minute or two, he switched to lunges across the grassy area.

Mere moments after having exited the RV in which he resided, Michael could feel the chilling breeze of November all through his body; luckily, the trench coat he always wore, which under the heat of the summer would as of now be frying him alive, actually showed itself to be useful in the colder months of the year, allowing him to enjoy the chilling weather of the day.

But as usual, the feeling did not last for long. With the freshly roasted chicken still in the cutting board that he was carrying, Michael knew that he would need to get the still steaming chicken inside the lodge as quickly as possible to avoid the food from freezing.

The neckbeard quickly checked his surroundings. On one side there was a swole man whom he had never seen before this moment, exercising in the cold of the morning instead of waiting till after the afternoon like a mad man. While on the other side, near the shack, he could see the now one-eyed doctor that had taken a bullet out of his ass, just coming out of the lodge's doors.

To enter the lodge he would be forced to pass near one of the two. Considering the fact that the doctor had previously taken a bullet out of his gluteus, having saved his ass metaphorically and quite literally. Michael chose to head in the direction of the bearded Venezuelan man.

​

Given that Dr. Salazar's lab was out of commission until Andy and co. Returned from their run, Hector had to be productive through some other means. There wasn't exactly anything to study or practice at the moment. So, the large, tan man had decided to add to the wood supply. It would also double as his workout for the day.

With the comfortable weight of a firearm on his waistband now, Hector was searching for the offender before the crunching of footsteps alerted the doctor to Michael's approach. He paused his search and watched as Michael came closer. The graying gentleman didn't really have an opinion on the young man. If anything, he seemed like the average, socially awkward twenty-something male that ate more than he should have. Far from anything new or out of the ordinary.

"Mr. Schmidt." Greeted the scientist. "Is there something you require of me? I believe the wound should have healed well."

“Wait… what?”, Michael said under his breath in a confused tone after having heard his surname come out of the doctor's mouth.

By this point, he had gotten used to being merely referred by either his first name or by very original nicknames, such as fatass.

​

“Oh, hi there Mr. … Hector” Michael replied nervously to the doctor, having been unable to remember the man’s surname.

“n-No, I don’t like, need anything as of now; and like, yeah the wound healed totally fine… left a small scar though.” The neckbeard answered both of the questions that the doctor had given him, opting to leave out the fact that while he had been unable to see the bullet scar, he had felt it while scratching his ass two days ago.

“a-Anyway, I decided to like, make some breakfast for the group, yo”, the 19 year old told Hector while showing the chicken he had cooked in the morning.

"Salazar." He offered. The boy's question was quite clear even if it wasn't verbally asked.

“y-Yes of course, Mr. Salazar… Had it on the tip of my tongue the entire time”, Michael lied as naturally as he breathed.

"Hm…" Hector's single eye glazed over the poultry and some measure of interest was reflected there. He liked to eat healthy and chicken was actually one of his preferred dishes.

"I would be interested in trying some when it is completed." He replied with a neutral tone. Michael's shifty nature and stutter caused the doctor's eyebrow to raise curiously but he didn't bother vocalizing the subject. It appeared to be social anxiety as opposed to a guilty conscience. Again, normal in someone his age. Especially in young adults of his generation.

“Oh, like, sure man, feel free to grab whenever you like yo” Michael replied to Hector moments after the Latino man had expressed interest in what he had cooked.

“Just uh, like, give me a few minutes, I still need to add some seasonings to add some flavor”, Michael told the man. He would have done it inside the RV, but due to the mess he had already made in the small bars of the vehicle by gutting the chicken, he realized that finishing it in the real kitchen would probably be for the better.

A shift of movement in the corner of his vision caught Dr. Salazar's attention and he turned his head to see a man with a similar build to himself or Owen doing a workout routine out in the cold…. Of his own volition as well, it seemed. No one in the lodge seemed alarmed by his presence. Unlike their previous "guest" that walked away with a new orifice for his "friendliness". This could be the man he was searching for.

"Another stray someone picked up?" The doctor asked Michael, his grey colored gaze locked on to the person in question.

Michael quickly turned his head around after being asked about a new person at the lodge. From his looks, he seemed to have quite a good build. Quickly making a mental note to not fight the man, the neckbeard returned his attention to Héctor.

"Uhhhh- yeah, probably just another stray haha" Michael said with a doubtful tone on his voice. At best he knew at least like half of the lodgers, and by name even less of them.

But he did remember that up until this point, the only bulky people he had seen thus far had been Owen and Hector; so chances were that the man currently exercising was new to the lodge.

Under normal circumstances, Hector actually wouldn't bother to approach this new stray and stick to his preferred methods of getting to know people. Through extensive research and bookkeeping. However, two things were prompting the doctor to start taking steps towards him. First was suspicion. Too many unknowns and the lodge had no one he deemed worthy of relying on at the moment when it came to strays. The second reason was the most prevalent one. Leliana. When someone has expressed a genuine concern for their well-being and the cause was potentially standing before him, he could not simply sit idle.


"Let's see who he is then. Until the leaders return, I was entrusted with holding down the fort here." Hector said coldly as he started his approach to the stranger. Michael could not see it as he walked off but an icy glint took over the doctor's gaze.

"And I don't like unknown variables like strangers."

"I-Uhh… Sure" Michael replied to Héctor, agreeing to accompany him to greet the new guy. Though by the tone of the Doc's voice, it would probably not be a friendly one.

The doctor didn't mask his approach, allowing his footsteps to be clear and audible. He stopped a respectful distance away from the martial artist, quickly taking in the details of his physicality, technique, and general air with cold critique. A lesser man could interpret it as being "sized up" but to the large hispanic, it was studying a potential threat. Something he did with a lot of people. Even people that have been with the lodge longer than he has.

"Dr. Salazar." He greeted with a neutral, authoritative tone. "You are?"

Accompanying Héctor up to meet the new guy made Michael nervous. The sound of the doc's footsteps, stopping at a far enough distance from the man, and him checking out the bulk of a man were troubling to him. He felt as if the Latino man was being passive-aggressive towards the new stray.

David heard the voices over the wind before he heard the footsteps. Based on Leliana's description of the numbers at the lodge, he expected to run into someone soon. It was one of the reasons he started exercising. He needed to stay fit, but he also wanted to introduce himself to the rest of the lodge through organic means. Seeing and hearing someone new was the best way to garner attention and curiosity, and he intended to capitalize on that as much as possible.

He turned his head to the newcomers in the middle of a squat. His fresh appearance suggested he showered regularly, and the faded bags under his eyes showed that he rarely slept. His tone held no quarter or compassion, and was very direct. He seemed to be protective of the lodge, which seemed to be a trait in over half of the lodge members. He'd rather have that than a bunch of wimps. It meant they cared, which was a trait in short supply in a crisis such as this.

"Hello, good Doctor." He got up from his squat and looked at the apprehensive man. "The name's David Listman." He extended a hand without moving from his spot, allowing the long-haired man to make the next move. "I just finished cleaning the chimney, and I left food on the back porch a few days ago, if you're wondering who I am. Leliana, Shinoa and Luca can all vouch for me."

Red flag.

By process of elimination, this was the man that had caused Leliana’s mental break and that meant he had to go. If it had been someone he knew, like Michael, Luca, or any of the lodge members, it would have been handled differently. But that was not the case and that meant this was going to be handled immediately and decisively. “So I assume you are the cause behind Ms. James.” He said without context. The light of recognition in David’s eyes appeared but only for a fleeting wisp of a moment before returning to normal.

The doctor stared at the big man’s extended hand in what could almost be described as disdain before refocusing his gaze on David’s face. “I will only give you one chance. Take whatever supplies you brought with you and leave. We don’t need your charity and most certainly the young women of this cabin do not need your “help”. Get out of here Mr. Listman. Far from these forests. You aren’t welcome here.”

"..."

"Did he just ignore me?" Michael thought after David had failed in making a good first impresión to the doctor, moments before Salazar had respectfully told him to fuck off.

​

“Last I was informed Luca was in charge here,” David responded coldly. “Since he is still here I don’t feel the need to take orders from you.”

Noticing the cold tone in which David replied to the man, Michael decided to slowly backed off behind Salazar.

Without missing a beat, Hector took a step back to put some distance between them and pulled his beretta free from his waistband. His grey eye reflected stone cold conviction that suggested unflinching resolve to do what he was threatening to do. “You were misinformed. Extensively.” He brought the handgun’s barrel level to David’s rather large center mass. “Leave. Final warning.”

Seeing David being defiant to Hector's order, and the Doc deciding to escalate the situation from 0 to 100 in less than a minute, assured Michael of 1 thing Only. That accompanying Héctor to Meet new people was probably a really bad idea, and to never do so again.

David recognized the immediate threat and knew he wouldn’t be able to close the distance fast enough to disarm the one-eyed man. It would be far too risky. He brought his hands up in a gesture of understanding and surrender, slowly taking steps back into the treeline. Hector followed, his aim never wavering, maintaining 5 or so feet of distance.

The former monk knew his opportunity to retaliate was coming when the treeline was practically upon them. It was a tried and tested maneuver that he had used against many a rapist and bandit alike. The moment the Hispanic doctor stopped his pursuit to allow David to walk freely back to his dwelling, he sprung into action.

David dove to the side into a roll to avoid the initial reaction shot of the sudden movement. His muscle memory taking over. His kung fu training allowed him to take off sprinting from his roll and almost in the blink of an eye, kick off one of the solid trees that surrounded the lodge into a graceful acrobatic spectacle. The man kicked off one tree and sprung towards the tree across from it. An intricate corkscrew twist in midair was added to narrowly avoid the hail of bullets that was coming his way. With a harsh turn, he planted his feet against the bark and pushed off once more.

The large man soared higher, managing a double backflip and planning to land just behind the gun-toting scientist and disabling him with his extensive knowledge of the human body's weaknesses and pressure points.

It was a flawless execution of strength, grace, and skill that would make any aspiring gymnast or martial artist green with envy.

If that was how real life worked.

The reality of the sudden display of speed and agility certainly did catch Dr. Salazar off guard. There was no way to predict that the man could just suddenly double vault off of two trees in rapid succession. Where David miscalculated was that Hector was not an absolute fucking moron like the deviants he was used to dealing with.

Hector’s aim never actually left the man’s body during this entire flash of movement. As David was doing his acrobatic display, leaping off the second tree and backflipping over him, the Venezuelan pulled the trigger five times. Five deafening cracks of bullets echoed through the frigid forest air. It almost sounded like lightning had struck just over the lodge five times. The 9mm rounds tore into the airborne male’s body without remorse or pity and while the entrance wounds were not significant, the exit wounds were a sight to behold.

Spurts and drops of crimson fell on Hector, Michael, and the chicken the young lad was holding. David’s body visibly flinched and contorted before soaring over them both and collapsing into a heap just a foot behind them. Two of the rounds had stuck center mass and ripped through the monk’s lungs, forcing any potential final words or grunts of pain out of his system against his will.

The doctor merely wiped the minor splatter of blood off of his left cheek and glanced at the shocked young male beside him with a cold stare before approaching the quickly reddening splotch of snow underneath David. Without so much as a flinch in his gait, expression, or body language, Hector leveled the gun sight towards the monk’s head and was a mere breath away from pulling the trigger before the idea occurred to him.

Hector had trouble really studying the effects of the “reanimation” because there was no way to collect cerebral samples of those that were in the process of “turning”. At least, not in a way that wouldn’t horrify all of the young ones in the lodge. But under these circumstances, the man at least had a good reason to study its effects under the guise of this being an enemy and to further his research.

The Lazarus plague was the bigger mystery of the two viruses and it couldn’t be solved by studying the long degenerated tissue of the long since infected.

“Mr. Schmidt. Grab his legs and help me bring him into my lab. I believe he might serve me well in understanding how the virus behaves when the host is dying.”

Seeing David's acrobátic display had been a sight to behold in front of his eyes, yet for the life of him, Michael could just not understand what the hell was the bulky man's plan at All. With a gun being pointed directly at him, wouldn't just rushing for the gun have been more likely to possibly succeed?.

But that didn’t matter by now. The man was now laying right in front of him, his own downfall having been his own autistic decisions in the end.

Still being shocked and utterly confused at the chain of events that had just happened in front of him, Michael replied to Héctor in a low voice "... Sure man"

With nothing more left to say, Michael left the cutting board with the chicken he was carrying on the ground, while he went to grab David’s legs to help Héctor carry him into his lab.

 

[The Mad Queen]

The Hunt: Maria Kennedy​

The woods were a maze of trees, each one near identical in Maria's eyes and far cry from the cities she was familiar with. Derry, New York, even Belfast. In it's own way, the forest was a different of ring, but her opponent was hidden away in it's corners. She reached the edge of the woods, uncovering the bodies of the gangsters that had been taken down. She sighed, opening the notebook. There was still nothing about that day, and Caoimhe hadn't been as active as of late. Ever since the university, there had been no notes, no blackouts. Nothing but silence. Something didn't feel right.

With her back against one of the trees, she sat down and held it close to her chest.
"Yer a pain in my arse, but...I'm actually startin to miss ya."
Had it been the university itself that had caused her to vanish, or was there something else? Before it, there had been even less notes. Ever since the encounter with David.
She clenched her fists, and growled. He had been the start of their troubles, and given that the mountain knew far too much what if he'd said something to frighten her? Caoimhe had always been a lot more sensitive, and it wasn't the first time Maria had woken up when she felt she was in danger. For a time, she believed it was simply due to the gangsters attack but what if things had started elsewhere?

She opened the notebook once more.
I'm going to get you back, get to the bottom of this.
-Maria

The supposed idiot had claimed to have lived in the woods. It was his hunting ground, and an ambush was likely. There was only one thing for it, she had to lure him out. Marching forwards, bat in hand she struck the side of a tree.
"David..." She called out, a half-smile growing on her face "David...We need to talk to you."
She struck the side of another tree, the sound of aluminium against wood echoing throughout the woods. A few animals scattered, her eyes catching a squirrel. "Come out, ya mountain...I just want to talk."

Another strike, but no response from the man. Just where was her? Her eyes darted around the forest, searching around every tree in sight and even up in their branches.
"You have a lot to answer fer ya big shite. Step out."
Again, nothing. At least for a moment, for Maria heard the snap of a twig coming from behind her and spun around, noticing a corpse standing right behind her with it's mouth agape. Letting out a growl, she struck it in the head with the bat and it fell. As it was down, she proceeded to bash it's skull in, her eyes filled with fire. It was not long before it's face was little more than mush, and she quickly moved on. With each strike, she imagined it being the face of David with his smug smile, pretending to be nice and comforting.

But it was a lie.
A gunshot went off, catching her attention. It was followed by four more, and seemed to be coming from the direction of the lodge.
"Oh God..." She muttered, darting back towards it. It was then that she saw it, David's body. Riddled with bullets, he had to be on death's door. Part of her wanted to run over, to demand answers from him but what was to stop him from keeping his mouth shut? Somebody dying had so little to lose.
No, Maria had to stay hidden. Ducked behind a tree she watched as a one-eyed man and a rather overweight man who had probably never been to the gym pick up the mountain and carry him inside.

In that moment, Doctor Friendly's words echoed in her mind. Was the fat shite Michael? There was only one way of finding out, but she still had to hang back. If David was still breathing, he'd reveal all. Waiting until he was brought in, she headed into the doors of the lodge and waited.

Mentioned: Michael/"fat shite" Hyped_Taco Hector/"the one-eyed man" shadowz1995
Also David, but he ain't getting a tag. He doesn't deserve it.