Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

[The Mad Queen]

The night before- Part 2​

Caoimhe went in first, keeping low as she pushed the side door open. A dim light awaited the two on the other side and at first the woman wanted to step away, the threat of running into walking corpses in the dark being enough to push her away but then she glanced back at Doctor Friendly.
Darkness or not, he was going in and even if he was annoying, she wasn't about to have his death on her conscience.

Sighing heavily, she took one step inside.
"Ya know where we're goin'?" She whispered
"I have an idea, yes."

The man drew his pistol, watching Caoimhe's back as they began their ascent upstairs. Both walked at a slow pace, keeping low but as they climbed up every single step, Caoimhe couldn't shake a feeling in her gut. The basement level of the university had been clear, but they approached a door to the first floor her gut twisted once more.
"We could still turn back."
"The longer we wait, the more people will die because of the Aurora plague. I won't let that happen." Fisher sternly shook his head

Caoimhe clenched her fists her arms fell to her side. She had the strength to deck Doctor Friendly and just carry him out of the university, and she knew that full well. The man was lacking a knee, and it wasn't like brainiac types like him knew how to fight. A few quick blows and she could render him unconscious. Carrying him back to the car would be difficult, but not impossible.

She'd rather take her chances with the Doctor than with what was waiting on the other side of that door.
But what was to stop him from coming back here by himself? If she stopped him, here and now he'd just show up later and meet his end.
The woman rested her head in her hands, and groaned.

"Are you alright?"
"No. But let's go."
Taking in a few deep breaths, she kicked the door open and came face to face with...Nothing. No dead, no survivors. The university had been cleared, reduced to silence. A few bodies decorated the corridors, their heads marked and blood was smeared on the walls. Ralph followed behind, clutching down and inspecting the bodies.
"Straight to the skull. Whoever dispatched them knew what they were doing."

He was well aware that there had been a run to the university. It was how the other Doctor had gotten his private laboratory set up, after all but had they been the only ones to stake this place out?
"Stay close. The dead could be anywhere."

He kept his pistol out as the two proceeded down the hall, while Caoimhe stuck to the more traditional weapon of her bat. He wasn't going to admit it, but Ralph was a little bit jealous that he couldn't fight like some of the others. He had his wits about him, but the man struggled to throw a good left hook and that was even before his injury.
Taking their time did cause the pair to burn through the remaining daylight, but by the time they reached deeper into the university they had only encountered a few of the undead. They met swift ends at the swing of Caoimhe's bat.

However, the woman stopped in her tracks just outside of the gym. Photographs of students, faces of the past presented themselves to her behind a glass cabinet, as well as trophies. She wouldn't have given the display the time of day, but something caught her eye and although the woman had to squint a little, there was a face she recognised.

He didn't have his wrinkles but clear as day, a smiling Martin stared back at her with a full head of hair. Resting her hands against the glass, Caoimhe leaned in. He stood amongst a group of younger men, smiling brightly. She'd always regarded his grin as cheesy, the few times he did it that was. She could count on one hand the few times the man had actually grinned about something.
She hadn't seen all of them, but Maria made a few notes.

The first time she knocked him to the ground, when she rode a bike by herself, when she won her first fight, her first professional contract and finally, when the old man had slipped away.
Seeing it again, she got lost so lost in it that it took her a while to figure out just why.

The Aurora University boxing team had won the 1982 championship.

Her knees buckled as the reason for the stupid grin hit Caoimhe like a speeding train...It was pride. Her fists tightly clenched as she sank to her knees, unable to hold back. As her guard fell, the waterworks started and on the floor of the ransacked university, blood on the walls and surrounded by the dead outside the woman started to sob.

So focused on watching their backs, it took Ralph a while to notice Caoimhe. His own guard dropped as he lowered the pistol and he approached.
"Are you alright?"
"Could ya give me a minute?"
He slowly nodded. If there was one thing he'd learned from the inhabitants of the lodge it was that sometimes, less was more when it came to consoling.
"Of course. Take all the time you need."

He put his guard back up, his brown eyes alert for any of the dead. He wasn't going to let them disturb Caoimhe by any means.

 

[Hyped_Taco]

FLASHBACK (To like 1 hour ago in the RP)

It had been a while since Michael had gotten out of the RV; with his last interaction having been the one he had with Vanessa, the weird technologically impaired acrobat whom he had encountered twice by now. After the failed attempt at trying to flirt with the girl, the neckbeard had decided to isolate himself on “his” RV due to the chat he had had with Dr. Fisher a few days back, which had just started taking effect on him.

And after not having been able to sleep for an entire night due to it, Michael finally considered what had not once ever passed through his mind since he had gotten to the lodge. “Jeez, maybe he’s right… I’ve been kind of an asshole.”

​

While not taking into account the several times he had made uncomfortable or tried to flirt with his fellow female survivors, he did reflect on his impulsive stress eating sessions; which had more than probably put into jeopardy the food supply of the lodge… more than once.

Although now knowing that several of his actions could possibly have been major dick moves to his fellow survivors, the neckbeard now wished to do something that could be considered nice for a change.

Michael began walking around the room of his RV trying to think of what he could do that would be appreciated. While tiredly strolling around the recreational vehicle merely on his underwear, the Neckbeard finally got an idea.

“Chickens” Michael blurted out after remembering that Jenna, his now gone and beloved favorite streamer had brought many of the flightless birds to the lodge while being accompanied by his now Ex-roommate and Colt’s ex who seemingly nobody ever mentioned anymore. The plan which the neckbeard had made was a simple one yet possibly effective one, prepare breakfast for the lodgers before they woke up.

5:43 Am was the hour that the clock on the wall currently marked; and knowing that Leliana would beat his ass if she ever saw him grabbing food again, Michael knew that he would need to act quick.

Having no time to spare on putting pants or a t-shirt on, Michael speed-walked towards the house while only being covered by the blanket he managed to grab from his bed.

Once he had reached the front door, Michael, in the quietest way possible opened the front door only to find the person he least wanted to see at the moment… Leliana. Luckily for both of them, she was currently asleep with Milly on the lodge’s sofa. Michael then considered going back to the RV to put some jeans on, yet quickly decided against it since it would waste even more time for this operation.

Silently, Michael approached the kitchen of the lodge to get out the few vital items that he would require to follow the recipe his mother had taught him when he was younger.

As fast yet silently as possible, Michael looked all over the kitchen until he found the items that he would need: A large cooking pot, butter, pepper, salt, and to top it all of, a sharp knife, to help him… well, do all the work.

Putting everything inside of the pot to use the least amount of space needed, Michael speed-walked towards his RV to leave everything inside. While leaving everything on the small dining table of the vehicle, the Neckbeard checked the hour once more.

“5:54...”, he said. It probably wasn’t long before the early birds at the cabin woke up, so his time to find a chicken was quickly decreasing.

Michael then returned to the lodge, with the simple objective of grabbing a chicken. Since the chickens were held inside, it would merely be a matter of choosing the right one.

While most of the chickens looked good, varying slightly in colors, there was one that caught his attention right away; A black hen from head to toe, which seemed bigger than some of its peers, unknown to Michael if it was due to the bird either having fluffy feathers or being fatter than the rest. While there were a few similar chickens to it, Michael just knew that this was the right one.

Feeling too lazy to get out of the lodge by the front door once more, Michael choose to exit the cabin through the door near the kitchen. Unbeknownst to the fat man, he had made the right choice, since David, the muscular man whom he had seen before, would enter the lodge through the front door a few moments later.
Returning to his lair, Michael positioned the still resisting hen on the table, moments before he grabbed a knife and thought to himself

“Fuck… it's going to get messy.”

​

Interactions: Technically with Milly and Leli since he passed in front of them while they were asleep
Mentions: Milly Rumble Fish Professor Fisher The Mad Queen David Dragonlord318 That one blonde nurse at the lodge FireMaiden The circus freak TheMightyRedLemon

 

[The Mad Queen]

The night before- Part 3/3
​

Ralph had left Caoimhe to her own devices, his eyes peeled as he gave her the space she needed. He wasn't entirely sure about how much time had passed, only that after a few moments of sobbing she had fallen into silence, her hand still rested up against the display case. He watched as she picked herself up, dusted herself off and walked towards the Doctor.

"Are you alright?"
Her eyes were still moist, but that wasn't the first thing Ralph noticed on Caoimhe's face. The woman was smiling. It was a slight smile, but one nonetheless.
"I'll be fine. Hey...Would there be any chance we could get to the roof of this buildin'? After we're done searching for yer lab stuff, I mean?"
"Sure, but what for?"
"I got an idea is all."

He stepped in front of her. Something was rubbing Ralph the wrong way. He was fully aware that she could probably take him down with a single punch, but that wasn't about to stop him.
"What's going on?"
"It's somethin' I came to town to do. I just happened to arrive 'ere at the wrong time. A day earlier and I would've missed the mess outside."
"Well, I was right in the middle of it. I should've listened to my mother and taken that university job." Ralph offered the woman a smile of his own, and actually managed to get a chuckle from Caoimhe "I get it, you don't have to tell me but I just want you to know that I'm a good listener."
"I'll keep that in mind, Doctor but I'm good, really." She nodded "Worry about your experiments. Not about me."

The two continued on their journey, and as the halls of the university continued to darken their only companion became the moonlight reaching through the windows. Caoimhe's smile had faded, replaced with a grim look as the woman focused on their surroundings. The minutes ticked by but as the two made their way through corridor after corridor Ralph couldn't help but notice a feeling in his gut.

Where were all the infected?
"Are you pickin' up on that too, Doctor?" Caoimhe asked, stopping in her tracks "This place is too feckin' quiet."
She approached one of the walls and stuck her bat against it. The impact sent a wave of sound down the hall. The two waited for the dead on either side, but instead heard something coming from one of the classrooms.
She almost jumped back as the rotted hand of a corpse struck the window inside, the torn face of one of the infected showing themselves.
"Ah, ya feckin..." She snapped, glaring back at the creature "That room's full of 'em."
"How many?"
"I count about a dozen. I guess that answers why this place is givin' us the creeps, eh?"
"No."

She turned, raising an eyebrow at Fisher
"The outbreak occurred during term time. This place would've been full of people."
He leaned back against one of the walls as the pain in his knee returned, only to get spooked himself as the window into another classroom was struck. On the other side, another room full of infected.
"What on Earth?" He gasped, his eyes glaring into the room "Five. No wait, six."
The Doctor stepped back, his eyes widening as he made his way to the next classroom. It too had infected inside.
"This one too."
Fisher stroked under his chin, his eyes still wide.
"Do ya think it's possible whoever did this..."
"I'm not sure. The others would've run into them. This could be more recent. Outside of the laboratory equipment, some food and a Professor who worked here the group didn't come back with anything else." He sternly shook his head, his back still resting against one of the walls "Should we turn back?"
"Not on yer life. You're 'ere for mad science shite and I need on the roof." Caoimhe scolded "And I didn't get into a car stinkin' of guts for nothin'."

She marched to his side, her blue eyes meeting his brown.
"Let's just make it quick. Stay on yer toes or I'll break 'em, okay?"
Fisher slowly nodded.

Moving down the corridor, the two passed by more classrooms, each one containing infected but it did not take long for both of them to notice a trend. The closer they got to the labs, the less infected each room contained. Fisher's eyes met that of the last room, seeing that it was completely empty. It wasn't the empty room that concerned him though, it was the markings at the floor. A bloodstain led from the door and down a separate hallway.
His gut twisted once more.
"We close?"
"Just down this way."
"Alright..."
"Caoimhe." He cut her off "We should head back. I think someone else is here."

She glared back at the Doctor, folding one arm over the other.
"What kind of person keeps these things locked up instead of eliminating them? Surely taking infected out is easier than herding them into a room. If they thought they could help them, sure I could understand the herding part but why remove them then?" He pointed to the bloodstain "The only thing I can think of is..."
"What?"
"Taking them out one at a time. This person is either fulfilling a sick thrill, or...They're running tests."
"So we're either dealin' with a psycho or a scientist. Is that what yer sayin'?"
"I believe so."

"Shite..." Caoimhe's eyes widened, her blue marbles fixed on something standing behind Fisher. Standing in the hallway was a figure she at first mistook for one of the hazmat soldiers, but there was something different about the man's outfit. He may have worn protective gear and a gas mask, but there was not a patch of yellow in sight. As she readied herself, the figure drew a handgun.
"Drop it."

Ralph gulped, and slowly turned around with his hands raised.
"Who are you?"
He was so focused on the gunman that he almost didn't notice as Caoimhe froze up, her eyes going wide and her breathing became heavy.
"Is your friend bit?"
"No!" Ralph snapped, sharply turning to face his companion "Listen to me. Steady your breathing." He spoke in a soft tone "Breathe with me..."

He spun around as he heard footsteps approaching, and was met with a blow to the face as the gunman struck Ralph in the forehead with handle of his gun. As he toppled to the floor, he looked up and the last thing he saw before things went back was the boot of the gunman impacting against his face.

 

[Maj]

​

November 22, 2018
7:15 AM
Circus Grounds


Mismatched eyes darted back and forth nervously as the Harlequin tried to gain her bearings. The feeling of weightlessness and the pitch black of her surroundings was more than a little disorienting. Suddenly a bright spotlight flicked on, illuminating her surroundings.

Panic set in as the acrobat saw the ground rapidly approaching. She flailed wildly as she fell, a scream getting caught in her throat. Her left hand caught some familiar wooden rung and as if on instinct her fingers coiled around it. The force of stopping the fall straining her arm and making it feel as though the flesh at her shoulder might rip. Vaness quickly grabbed the rung with her other hand and scanned the area around her. There were other rungs suspended from the dark expanse above from which the light shone.

Heat began to lick at her fingers, causing the Harlequin to notice the flames that danced up and down the rope that was holding her rung. The blaze consumed the rope, swiftly singing and fraying the threads away. The acrobat knew she had to act quickly. Swinging her legs back and forth, she gained momentum as she attempted to move to the next rung. She launched herself forward through the air just as the ropes gave way.

Her hands outstretched, Vanessa grabbed the next rung with the ease afforded to a trained acrobat such as herself. As her fingers wrapped around the smooth, polished wood, a sickening snap echoed through the darkness. A feeling of weightlessness came over her once again as the ropes holding her up snapped without warning, sending her plummeting downward.

The acrobat landed heavily, knocking the breath out of her. A series of loud popping noises drowned out the sickening crunch of bone as the generator gave out below her broken form. She screamed in agony as searing, white hot pain shot through her body with each small move she attempted to make. The Harlequin's limbs were twisted at odd angles, twitching involuntarily and sending more pain through the ligaments.

As Vanessa looked up she saw a flash of red hair and a cold, venomous chuckle pounded within the acrobats head.

"Way to go, Thumbelina."
……………………………………………….

Nessa's eyes flung open in a panic. Everything was a blur, but the pain was gone. Her eyes flicked back and forth as a more familiar scene came into view around her. The rumbling of the trucks engine was quick to remind the acrobat of where she was. With a sigh of relief, she sat up, looking out of the window. A short distance off, she saw an archway sign that read: Romanoff's Circus Of Curious Wonders

"That's it up 'ere." Vanessa said, the trepidation clear in her voice.

“About fucking time,” Andy said, stretching her spine in the passenger seat.

"The generator should be in one of the utility trailers, near the actors trailers. They will be in the back, behind the main tent and attractions." Replied the heterocromic harlequin as she peered into the distance past the sing

"Kill the engine Aaron," the redhead commanded, reaching down for her bow. While they would likely need the vehicle to haul the generator, Andy wasn't sure what was awaiting them behind the tents. The stealthier they could be the better. As the vehicle pulled to a stop and turned off, Andy popped the door handle and jumped from the vehicle. Her boots plopped into the muddy ground, slinging her bag over her shoulder and waiting for the others to join her.

"Who knows what kind of weirdos are going to be here." The woman gave a pointed look at Nessa.

She is looking this way.
Weirdos?!
Does she mean us?
... don't want to be here…
What if He is here..?
Shhh. Focus. Don't be caught by surprise

Vanessa glared daggers at Andy as she climbed out of the backseat. It seemed she couldn't get a break from this woman's insults, even when sleeping. "Let's just get what we came fer." She said with no small amount of agitation in her voice.

“Aaron,” Andy called, ignoring Nessa entirely. “Watch our backs yeah? Stay by the car in case we need a clean getaway. I’ll call you up when I’m sure there isn’t anything that is going to sneak up on us.” The message between them was silent, but implied. She would go further with Vanessa and Aaron was to keep an eye on them in case the woman tried anything crazy. Andy finished strapping the quiver into place around her thigh before nodding forward in a silent command for the woman to lead the way.

The redhead was careful to keep her distance, never allowing her a chance to keep her back to the woman. Andy wasn’t an idiot. She saw the way that Vanessa looked at her sometimes, guilt and contempt churning beneath those multi colored eyes. It was impossible to ignore the glazed expression that took over when the woman looked at her, obviously falling deeper into whatever delusions that haunted her. Of course the woman had no way of knowing what exactly happened to Vanessa when she zonked out. Was she even looking at Andy for who she was? Or was Nessa imagining her as any of the carnies she had killed before Luca had found her? Did she hear voices that tempted her? Ultimately the woman had no way to know, and therefore despite the weird unnatural loyalty the performer had for Luca, Andrea knew she couldn’t count on it to carry over for her protection.

The grounds were abandoned. Receipts and grease stained funnel cake trays fluttered across the frozen ground as a reminder of the humans who once frequented here to empty their pockets on cheap deep fried goodies and rigged carnival games. The stands still remained, like ruins of a technicolor city. Emerald eyes scanned the scene, taking it in as quickly as she could. She tried to memorize hiding places, perches and escape routes but in reality most of the grounds were open.

The same eyes widened slightly at the soft sound of a snarl in the distance. Instinctually, Andy reached out to grab the Harlequin by the back of her jacket and she pulled her down to the ground, low beside what looked like a popcorn stand. When she was sure the woman was looking at her, and had enough sense not to yell out, the redhead put a single finger to her lips in a clear order to keep quiet. The monsters almost never traveled alone.

Even crouched, she had no issue reaching to the quiver at her hip and producing an arrow, fingers brushing through the fletching in an almost methodical, meditative way. The plastic knock fit perfectly against the string, taught and smelling of oil. She watched as the monster came out of hiding, stumbling dumbly out from behind one of the many carts that littered the grounds between them and the main tent.

Fluidly, like the woman’s limbs were made of water itself, the twin stood and pulled the string back to her cheek bone. She anchored her shot, feeling the feathers, plastic and cheap against her tender freckled flesh. The two fingers that held the string steady were tense and ready as she let her body lead the shot to it’s mark. As if it could sense her presence, the creature turned toward her, milky eyes searching for its prey. Andy loosed her arrow.

It spiraled through the air and she didn’t have to watch it to know that it would hit right where she knew it would. With calloused fingers, she pulled Nessa to her feet as the sickening thud sounded. The monster fell to the ground, arrow embedded deep between its eyes and inches into its squishy decaying skull.

"Impressive shot." Vanessa remarked. "You would've made a good act 'ere if ya could do that with yer feet." She chuckled quietly as her eyes scanned around the abandoned circus that once was her home. So many had died here that day, and it made the acrobat wonder as to where the rest of the undead circus-goers were. Surely they handle all wandered out of the front gate, and the fence still seemed to be standing. That they had only encountered one so far unsettled her greatly.

“Shut up,” Andy commanded. “I’m not interested in risking our safety for your empty compliments.”

The Harlequin glared at Andy for a moment, then began to walk again, leading the way quietly and slowly, fully aware of Andy's watchful gaze upon her.

don't let your guard down
she is watching still
as soon as we are out of sight of the truck
before she can attack us first

Andy’s eyes darted just past the woman, unease setting in over her form. Something about the yard just didn’t feel right. This place would have been swarming with people at the time of the outbreak. Why was it so abandoned now? The lone zombie in the yard wasn’t enough to convince her all was well. It was possible that the monsters had all wandered off in search for food, but in her experience they always seemed to sort of conjugate where they died, too dumb to move on.

“Wait,” The redhead hissed, grabbing the woman by the arm once more, straining her ears to hear. Something wasn’t right, she could feel that like a vibration in her chest, every alarm bell going off simultaneously. Another monster became visible from behind one of the trailers in the distance. Andy reached down for another arrow, but before she could knock it another undead followed the first and another. Fearful green eyes widened as she hissed curses under her breath. Her instincts had, unfortunately, been right.

It was a herd.

“Run.” She commanded firmly but softly in Nessa’s ear and pushed her in the direction of the tent. Having seen the hoard, the acrobat didn't hesitate to rush forward in the direction she had been lightly shoved towards. With light footsteps she nimbly avoided the bulk of the trash scattered on the ground so as to make less noise. Within mere moments she was in front of the entrance to the main tent, turning to look behind her and make sure Andy had followed safely. As things were now, Vanessa wasn't sure if the archer intended to kill her or not, even if the voices suggested such, but she knew Andy wasn't stupid. If they intended to survive till they found the generator, they needed to work together.

Collab: TheMightyRedLemon (Nessa)
Interactions: RayPurchase (Aaron)

 

[Corgi]

​

After returning to the group, Aubrey kept to herself and sat on the couch quietly. There wasn’t much for her to do, so she started taking in all that had happened during the day and all that was going to happen tomorrow. Leaving the comforts of the lodge, the anxiety that was building up in her chest, thinking that Owen was going to die, going to Milly’s place in the morning… Eventually going to her sister’s. It was a bit overwhelming to sort through the tsunami of emotions she felt during the day, but in little chunks, she was able to assemble it in her mind. In fact, she felt a bit better; like a weight had been lifted off her chest and she felt the slightest bit more relaxed.

Sitting and thinking soon shifted to lying on the couch, and before the sun had set she had drifted to sleep. It was one of the more rested nights she had had in awhile, no nightmares of horrifying creatures or flashing lights, just inky darkness. Something about dreaming of nothing was oddly comforting.

As Aubrey’s internal clock kicked in, she slowly opened her eyes to the stark ceiling, groaning and wiping away the night’s sleep. Her body felt heavy and begged her to stay in bed, but she pushed through her desires and she sat up, tired eyes landing on vibrant green walls, then an array of colors and sizes of books, and then finally forest print bed sheets. While it took her a second too long than she expected, panic shot through her spine. She had fallen asleep in the living room of Owen’s home and now she was somewhere else, alone. Questions sprung through her head as she felt the nape of her neck flare up; where was everyone else? Where was she?

Ever so slowly, the blonde peeled the sheets off her body and shifted out of bed. Thoughts of a possible kidnapping kept her from making too much noise despite her alarm bells screaming to run. If someone did take her, she didn’t want her captors to know she was awake. Looking about the room, she slowly felt her heart rate calm. On the door was a plaque clearly stating ‘Andy’s Room’. She felt silly that she freaked out once her vision started to widen and she noticed the smaller aspects of the room. An orange bow on the bedside table, sketchbooks set aside. A part of her wanted to take a peek at the books, maybe take one with her for Andy, but the same gut feeling set in from yesterday.

“DAMN YA TO FU-ugh no, shutupshutupshutup ya stupid bitch,” Scarred fingertips jabbed her forehead as she snarled, “Y’want a fuckin’ invasion!? Right… Owen… Owen,” Colt groaned at another wave of nausea as she reached for her radio. She had to focus on her hand as it shook with the device in her grip.

“Owen?” She snapped into the mic, “Owen! Where are ya!?”

The voice quickly caught her attention, the earlier adrenaline kicking back in. She had heard Colt yell before, but not quite like that. Aubrey swung open the door and peered into the hall, trying to figure out what conversation was happening behind closed doors.

“Oh uh Hi Colt,” the man called back over the radio. “Sorry to worry you! Me and Nile had to run off to do an…” he paused as if looking for the correct word. “Errand! Andy asked us to stop back by the pharmacy and it’s taking a little longer than anticipated.”

“Doncha fuckin’ give me that fuckin’ bullshit, Owen Jordan! Where the fuck did he take ya!? WHAT THE FUCK DOES HE WANT!?” Colt internally cursed herself for shouting again but the antsy and paranoid worry in her mind was relentless.

Aubrey continued down the hall, following Colt’s howling as she connected the dots between Owen and the woman’s conversation. She tried being as quiet as possible, not wanting to disturb or cause anything worse between the two, but the thrumming in her ears was deafening. She didn’t like hiding from Colt. She didn’t hide anything from Colt and it felt wrong trying to listen in on her conversation… But she was unsure of what was going on. Ear to the door, she hoped the woman would understand her reasoning.

“Collette, darling,” Owen cooed. “No no no, It’s just a quick errand! Honestly!” The radio went silent for a few moments before his voice reemerged. “Why don’t you and Aubrey head on into the suburbs and I’ll be right behind you. Apparently Vanessa needs medication so I’m going to grab that and I’ll meet up with you guys.”

“Don’t ya fuckin’ ‘Collette’ me, boy! I know he’s done something- why the fuck are ya protecting him!? And don’t fuckin’ give me that! I’ve had pink elephant stupors more straightforward than this bullshit!”

“You worry too much. Oh no…” he started making fake static noises on the other end of the radio. “I’m not-” more apparent hissing from Owen’s mouth. “Reception- bad-”

Colt was quiet with a simple expression of fury and disgust, before finally speaking in a quieter tone. “Alright...I can play along with yer lil game… but when I find that junkie I will personally cut off his cashews with a blunt knife, use ‘em t’wipe my UNMENTIONABLES AND SHOVE MY HAND DOWN SO FAR DOWN HIS GULLET I COULD WAVE TO MYSELF WHILE I GIVE HIM A SECOND HOLE T’SHIT FROM!!” and with that the radio was slammed to the table, with a force so hard it was a miracle it did not leave a dent.

Aubrey’s head was poked through the door at this point, brows sewn together as she tried to figure out what to say. After a moment, the blonde piped up, “Uhm...Is, uh, everything okay?” Her voice felt tight in her throat as she forced the sound out. This was a completely different Colt than what she’s used to seeing.

Sweaty hands had connected to a clammy face as Colt breathed hard into her palms, desperate to suppress the urge to charge straight to those apartments and go through with her threat. However, the creak of a door and the familiar and soft voice of Aubrey floated in and halted the woman’s murderous fantasies. The veteran looked to the younger woman and her cheeks puffed out in a cough.

“Just… stressed from a nightmare.” Came the scratchy response, her cords shredded with the sandpaper of her roars.

Aubrey gave a slow nod, cracking the door open further so she could get a better view of the room, her eyes darting to the radio scattered on the ground before flicking back to the distressed Colt. She was unsure if what the brunette was saying was true, because it’s completely possible that she had a nightmare, or that she believes she’s still dreaming and is in a nightmare, but the younger woman felt that it wasn’t the whole story.

“Are you sure?” She asked hesitantly, taking an uncertain step into the bedroom Colt had been staying in, “Be-Because it’s okay if things aren’t… okay.”

Colt sighed, running a hand down the back of her neck, searching for an adequacy response. “Yeah. Owen had t’go early. But we’ll meet him later. Best we can do is just… keep goin’.”

The beating in Aubrey’s ears immediately dropped into her stomach as she processed what Colt had just said, “Wait- Owen left the house?” She asked, her concerned visage slowly morphing into an upset expression. Her chest twisted as she thought about something happening to the man.

“Aw Jesus…” Colt mumbled as she turned to the girl, it had been too long since she had to talk down a rookie from panic, “He’s got Nile. Said they had to get somethin’ they forgot and I’m guessin’ it’d be easier to split up. And, well, if he woke us up to tell us we would’ve wanted to go too, right?”

Aubrey nodded again, the frown tugging at the edge of her lip, “I suppose you’re right…” She said, the tone in her voice lower than it was. Both of them were gone. She made a promise to one, and the other was a friend. The tangled web of emotions that were sorted through the previous night crept back into her gut. It wasn’t something she wanted to face right now, and Colt was stressed enough as it was, “Well, do you know when they’ll be back?” She asked, attempting to figure out their next move.

“No. But Owen should keep me posted.” The veteran lied through her teeth. Colt stood up with a sigh, inhaling deeply. She needed a drink. Badly. But she doubted there would be any here, and disrupting Owen and Andy’s home left her with a dirty feeling. Through the thorn bushes of her emotions, she had to keep calm. For Aubrey’s sake.

The blonde nodded for the third time. She trusted Colt in a situation more than she trusted herself. Colt had a power to her that the younger woman simply didn’t have. She commanded respect and authority, if Colt felt that things were fine, then they were. Something was bugging her about the situation, though. Something was severely bothering the brunette, but if she wasn’t going to talk about it, there was nothing she could do.

“Are you hungry?” Aubrey asked, attempting to distract from whatever problem she may be having.

The thought of eating was enough for the bile in her throat to rise again, but by the sheer will power that she was not going to throw up all over Aubrey, it was pushed back. Gulping it down, the woman gasped before she could respond.

“Ya can. I don’t have an appetite.” She took the water from the bedside table, “I’m fine with this.” She crinkled the bottle a little in her grip. The smell of vomit in the trash can wasn’t helping and all she could do was simply pretend it wasn’t there. Colt knew to put it outside before they left.

Aubrey slowly started to connect the dots. Colt was agitated, sweaty, and acting differently to how she typically acted. The blonde took more steps towards her, worried reforming as she reached out her hand to the woman’s forehead, “Are you sick? You don’t look so good.” She said, her cold hand reaching to Colt’s clammy skin. It would explain why the woman was behaving the way she was. If she didn’t feel well while in the middle of an apocalypse, Aubrey would probably be just as agitated as she was.

The realization of what she said hit her as she retracted her hand, “N-Not that you look bad or anything. You just look, uh, different… Is all…” She muttered, trying to cover the insulting sentence she said previously.

Colt could only respond with a glazed look in her pink eyes sitting above black bags. She had figured what the girl meant. But as she backpedaled, the veteran simply watched her hand fall before planting both hands on the bed and groaning as she slowly stood up. There was an ache in her bones and her muscles weighed her down.

“I’m okay.” She grunted, suppressing the question of if she happened to have any ethanol on her person. “Probably ate something dodgy. It’ll pass.” She groaned out as she reached for her bag.

The blonde quickly reached down and grabbed the bag for Colt, placing a hand on the woman’s shoulders, “Maybe we should rest for a bit longer, it’s still morning, after all. There’s plenty of sunlight left to do things.” Aubrey hoped she would agree, she didn’t want Colt to pass out while they were out pushing herself, because at this point, it kind of seemed like she would, “I’m tired myself.” She said, giving a fake small smile as she spoke monotonously, the lie hanging obviously from her lip.

Colt hummed thoughtfully, even standing was exhausting, causing her to drop with a click of her knees back onto the bed. She gave the woman a glance, her throat too sore to continue speaking. Instead, black lids closed over her eyes and within seconds, the woman seemed to drift... “Did y’remember the list fur Milly’s…?”

Collaboration: Rumble Fish (Colt) and Maj (Owen)

 

[Maj]

​

November 22, 2018
6:30 AM
Downtown Apartments


“Come on Man, if you trusted me enough to drive we would be making far better time.” Owen trudged ever forward, the always prominent feel of the gun pressed into the base of his spine. The complaint was moot now, the pair had somehow managed to trudge through the monster infested streets and were now standing at the familiar visage of the apartments. It felt like a lifetime ago that he and Colt were standing outside this same building, but in reality it had been a mere few months. They had run into a few staggering zombies and even came face to face with a few hoards, but thankfully due to Owen’s knowledge of the streets and their ability to move far more nimbly that the decaying bodies of the undead, they had gotten here without incident.

“I’m not going to run dude, put the gun down.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, that” Nile said as if just realizing they were pointing a gun at the guy. Standing a good 2 feet behind the Incredible Owen, Nile half heartedly aimed the gun at the man’s back. “Yeah, well, be in my position real quick, alright? I’m currently walking on some real thin fucking ice with the Red Hulk, and the only thing at hand is a pistol” Nile said, shrugging. “If it makes you feel any better, I only got trigger happy once” Nile said, trying to point out the light at the end of the tunnel. The problem, unbeknownst to him, was that the light was pretty dim.

“Nile, what in the world makes you think I’d hurt you? If anything I’m about the only friend you’ve got left man.” But Owen kept walking anyway. They made their way into the building, with the elevators down, they would have a long walk up many flights of stairs before they made it to Ernie’s apartment.

“The stash is on the tenth floor,” the redhead offered with a shrug. He glanced over sheepishly at the slumped corpse in the hallway. The sight was only lit by the trickling light from the window on the far end of the corridor. It was his handiwork from the last time they had been here. Brains splattered against the wall in an act of pure violence and perseverance. At least, after months and the cold it no longer smelled. Traveling further would be in limited light and it wasn’t like Nile let him walk with his bat. If they ran into trouble, he hoped Nile actually knew how to use that thing, or they would be royally fucked.

Giving the corpse a side eye, Nile stepped by without issue. Normally, Nile would be more than a tad bit disgusted, but as evident by his actions, Nile wasn’t really acting normal in the first place. Judging by his dazed stare, checked-outta-life expression, and the lazy way he was holding the gun, one thing was pretty evident.

Nile was drugged out of his mind.

How Nile had managed to get high off a minimal amount of random medication is a mystery, but it was having obvious effects. There was barely a thought going through the druggie’s head, just basic wants driving their actions.

In a distant, unheard of part of Nile’s mind, whatever was left of his reasoning wondered what the hell he was doing. What was he going to do once he got the drugs? Per usual, that thought process was soon forgotten.

Nile didn’t really know what he was going to do next, actually. Snort mountains of Cocaine? Light up so much Meth that people get contact high just by looking at him?

He wasn’t really sure. He wasn’t really sure his dazed mind cared either.

The druggie wasn’t really sure about what he was even doing at the moment. Nile’s mind and what little remained of his common sense had peaced out hours ago.

“Seriously man, what are you going to do if we get rushed?” Owen hadn’t quit talking except when necessary since their departure from his mother’s house. This was partly because he had a lot to complain about, but also it was a decent way to keep Nile talking to him and assess his mental state. As the morning had continued on the man had deteriorated quickly.

“Wouldn’t you rather have Red Hulk protecting you from the zombies?” As they went up the stairs, the tension growing in Owen’s chest only grew. With the dark narrow halls and the ever shaking barrel of a gun at the back of his head, the twin had little options if everything went to shit. There hadn’t been many people in the complex when he was here last time, but that wasn’t to say that there wouldn’t be now.

“You know, that’s actually a very good idea” Nile said thoughtfully. It seemed like a little bit of reason remained. It could almost give the idea that he could be talked down, but when he didn’t respond further, that idea was dashed away. Half a minute passed, then a whole one, then three. Nile didn’t elaborate or even show that he’d spoken. Of course, Nile had immediately lost the train of thought. A high as a kite mind could only focus on one thing, and currently, it focusing on getting higher.

Owen wasn’t sure how much longer his captor was going to be able to stand, let alone hold conversation. But at least now the gun wasn’t so tightly pressed into his neck. Both men were out of breath by the time they made it up to the tenth floor. On a few occasions, Nile had stumbled so badly that Owen had to turn and grab him by the shirt to keep him from tumbling back down. He wasn’t any threat to Owen anymore, that much was clear. But the twin didn’t have the heart to knock the poor man unconscious even if it felt like the best bet for his safety. And the gun was still an issue, even if Nile was barely standing it only took one ricocheting bullet to be game over for them in the narrow corridor.
He had left the door unlocked last time, and so the apartment door swung open easily as he braced himself against the wall and gulped in large breaths of the chilled air. He let Nile go in first.

Breezily pushing past Owen, Nile entered the room.

It was a winter wonderland.

Well, it was a Cocaine wonderland. And looking at it, there was very little “Wonder” to it if you didn’t go through Meth like Hershey bars. The room actually looked pretty nice, with new furniture and clean sheets. Figures. What was the point of making a fuck ton of money off drugs if you didn’t use it to improve your life?

Littered across the floor were packets, pill containers, and lunch baggies. Someone else must have been here, and left in a rush if the pills, crystal meth, and white cocaine scattered across the floor were any indication. Drugs crunched under Nile’s feet as he walked, staining the bottom of his shoe white with medicinal dust. Here and there there were torn open baggies and pill bottles, but just as many were intact as they were ripped open. Nile, of course, had no idea what any of the pills were for, but they looked good. Bending down, Nile grabbed a bottle of painkillers.

He was feeling woozy, so very light headed. It really felt like he barely had a head anymore, he couldn’t really feel anything up there. Swaying to the side, staggering a little, Nile caught himself before he could fall over. Pain killers helped get rid of feeling, right? He never really liked feeling his head anyway.

Yeah.

Well, bottoms up. With a quick motion, Nile upturned the contents of the bottle into his mouth. Stumbling a bit, Nile turned back to the rest as he unconsciously dropped the pill bottle.

Soundlessly, Owen followed Nile inside. He rolled his emerald eyes in a fashion that made him look remarkably like his sister as the man busied himself amongst the hoard of bottles and bags of illegal substances. With his eyes locked on the back of Nile’s head, the ginger reached down and grabbed the wooden handle of a cylindrical object that was propped by the armchair that Ernie often sat in. It was a well sanded wooden bat, heavy and custom made. Metal studs stuck out in meticulous, intentional patterns. Ernie had tried to give it to him on various occasions, but Owen had always felt more at home with the old aluminum one from his youth. This one felt too intentionally weaponized. However, in these desperate times, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

Nile still had his back to him and Owen stepped carefully to close the distance between them. The heavy wooden thing was pulled back over his shoulder, at the ready. He hoped to god that knocking him unconscious wouldn’t do too much damage, but in reality Nile was too much of a wild card to be trusted. He had a hard time swallowing that pill, he had asked him to come along in the first place after all. Guilt halted his movements.

Nile wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, he was a ridiculously intelligent guy, even kind at times. He had seen the shame and guilt that had consumed Nile’s eyes when Owen had awoken to find him stealing medication from his bedside table. Addiction was a hell of an illness. All of Nile’s shortcomings were not his alone. He may have chosen to go down this path but it was clear to Owen after years of working with men just like Nile, that the man was possessed by a demon and he wouldn’t be able to be free of it on his own.

“Sorry man,” the redhead muttered as the muscles in his arms tensed.

Before he could swing, the sound of groaning came from down the hall. It was a loud course of moans, not the single lonely cry of a stumbling dead one. There were no other exits from this place either. The fire escape had been damaged during their last escape.

“Fuck,” Owen hissed. “Nile man we have got to go.” He grabbed the druggie by the back of his shirt to drag him along. But before they could turn, the extended jaw and milky eyes of the monsters were already filling up the door.

Collab: Togy (Nile)

 

[Brax]

Leliana / Luca

Leliana watched as David walked inside, shaking her head a little as she sighed. He was certainly odd, but at least he wasn't a threat. The thought of him as hostile was rather unnerving given his skills, so she knew it was best to keep him on their good side. But with stress running high...it was hard to always keep her mouth under control. At least he didn't seem mad if she had accidentally offended him. The nurse stood in place for a moment longer, letting the cold air burn her lungs as she slowly inhaled, eyes watching the trees. Something felt wrong, but then again, something always felt wrong. It's how they lived now. Well, they were alive, but calling this living wasn't exactly right. They were surviving. Leliana couldn't help but miss the days before all this chaos, they seemed like a lifetime ago. In a sense of the word...they were. But she knew it had only been a few weeks. With a sigh, Leliana forced herself out of her thoughts, the chill getting worse each second she stayed out here, the nurse finally headed back in.

Milly was still asleep on the couch for the moment, but the chicken seemed to have wandered off. At least nobody had messed with Milly yet, so Leliana could keep the promise she made just a few minutes ago. Heading into the kitchen she grabbed two of the larger empty plastic bottles, noticing Micheal scurrying away thanks to the window. She shook her head, if he was doing something stupid, she'd deal with it later. Her attention quickly returned to the bottles, both filled in just a few minutes. She capped them, dried them off, and held them both in one arm before making her way over to the master bedroom. Gently knocking loud enough so he would hear, but not loud enough to disturb anyone else, Leliana cleared her throat. "Luca, can I come in?"

Luca had been sitting on a wooden chair in the dark. His torso had been completely bare, leaving the tattoo on his back and the various scarring open to view. The man’s right foot continuously tapped against the wooden floorboards beneath it with no discernible rhythm. His elbows rested against his thighs. He had been leaning forward, his hanging face hidden by the mop of hair that adorned his head. When he heard the knock alongside the young woman’s voice, it seemingly broke him from his trance. His eyes moved from the floor over to the door. In all honesty he had completely forgotten that the nurse had told him that she would bring him some water. It may have been the first time, aside from when she had stitched him up, that Leliana felt the need to tend to him. At the very least she didn’t mention it.

“Yes.” Luca responded calmly as he stared at the door. It had been quite a few days. He hadn’t seen very many people in that amount of time, nor was he in the condition to pretend to be social. With his supply low, the man was consistently using to keep above the line of dopesick. There was a clear inability to drug himself to another form of consciousness. Left to his own devices, Luca found himself extremely anxious, aggravated and lacking energy above all else. It was highly likely that the girl would catch on just within a few minutes of being in his general vicinity. Within the past few days, there had been a myriad of happenings despite Luca never leaving his room. He had been able to reflect on his time at the lodge and the people whom he’d met. Seen people come and leave just as quickly, whether it was by their own means or lives cut short. None of this was unusual but the reality of the future had broken through that oxycontin barrier - one that had protected Luca for so many years. Between his feet was a folded up piece of paper, resting on the ground. Various portions of it were dampened by water droplets.

It didn't take much for Leliana to know something was wrong. Luca had been hidden away in the master bedroom for the last few days. Andy was really the only one who saw him, and since she wasn't here, Leliana knew someone needed to check on him. He might be the reason she had a bad feeling, Leliana didn't know what was wrong, but she was worried. Her feelings were rather conflicted about the older man. Leliana liked him, he had always been kind to her when they actually interacted, unlike some of the others here she wasn't afraid of him. So when she heard his voice, she let out a small sigh and slowly opened the door. The nurse slipped into the darkroom quickly, shitting the door gently behind her as her eyes fell on Luca. He looked awful. And if there was more light in here, he'd probably look even worse. But she greeted him with a soft smile, moving to put one bottle of water on the nightstand closest to her before she approached Luca with the other.

She noticed a few more things as she got closer. Some scars she didn't see when she was stitching up his abdomen. A little bit of what looked like a tattoo. The fact he could probably use a shower, but Leliana wouldn't comment on that. She came to a stop in front of him, slowly looking him over fully. She didn't fair to notice the paper on the ground, but there were a lot of things that could wait to be mentioned. She extended her hand, offering him the water bottle. "Here, drink some. Might be a little better than that bathroom water."

The man lifted his eyebrows as the corners of his lips briefly turned upright. His fingers wrapped around the bottle that he had been offered before the opposite hand moved to uncap it. The first sip was refreshing and the second had been even better. Luca placed the water down beside his chair before he grasped the piece of paper off of the ground. There were very few events that had surprised the man since he got to the lodge and this was certainly no different. If anything, Luca could have seen what was coming from a mile away - especially in this case. He looked at it for a moment before extending his hand to the girl to pass it along. “Tre is gone. Slipped that underneath my door sometime last night.”

Luca,
Things outside the house is bad, but I ain’t feeln better stayn here. Don’t no wut i’m lookn 4 but i been alone long enuff. I ain’t givn shit people can’t already get and I don’t wanna keep pretendn like I got a place in dis lodge. Im out. Take care of yourself. Don’t come after me, Ill find u if I need u.
- 3

The man read it multiple times. Part of his response was definitely Luca’s fault but it was a part of Tre’s process. He needed to do what was right for him in the end and the Italian fully supported that. He felt empathy with the boy, considering the situation he had been born into. Luca hadn’t been able to honor the memory of his father by protecting Tre. He knew he didn’t have the mental capacity to properly do so. None of that really mattered now. The back of his head leaned against the top of the chair he had been sitting in, his eyes fixated on Leliana’s visage. “I am not sad. I’m just tired.”

Her soft smile grew a little as she watched him take a few sips of water. Part of her expected him to reject it, not that he had done anything to make her think throat, but the other lodgers had a track record of not listening to her when it came to advice on their health. He needed it, but it looked like he needed a lot of stuff at the moment. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped when he grabbed the price of paper on the ground and handed it to her. She took it, her brow's furrowed. Was Tre really gone? She hadn't noticed yet. But given he normally stayed up on watch duty, she tried to let him sleep undisturbed during the day. Her gaze shifted to the words on the page, her face softening again as she read it twice over. The water drops on the page...she had to wonder if they were from Tre or Luca.

She looked back up at Luca, watching as he leaned back in the chair, another soft smile greeting him. "He's a tough kid. He'll be okay." Her voice was soft, Leliana trying to comfort him because despite what he said, Leliana knew that likely wasn't the case. No matter how he processed it, Luca cared about Tre. And losing someone you care about was always hard. "You can be both by the way. But one is a little easier to fix. When was the last time you got any sleep?"

“Hmm.” That was a good question. Luca had drifted off to sleep quite a few times but these periods of rest were often interrupted. Be it not by other people, then just by himself for whatever reason. Without using it was much harder to go down for longer periods of time which ran an effect similar to dominoes; without sleep, he was tired. Looked like shit. He was functioning at a smaller percentage of capacity in general. It hadn’t been as though he was staying up without reason. Typically, Luca didn’t need to sleep all that much. However, more recently, rest had been the only thing on his mind. The pause in conversation lasted a few seconds as the man tried to respond appropriately.

“It’s been a few days since I had a good nights’ sleep. I just can’t seem to catch it. I should probably check in with Hector, or I should have checked in with you, but I am uninterested in taking away someone else’s medicine. They might actually need it.” That was if they even had anything to help with his insomnia issue in the first place. He leaned forward once more to cradle both sides of his head between his palms, rubbing them slowly as he closed his eyes. Then he hung his head down once more. In the coming weeks this was going to get far worse but Luca had no intention of vocalizing his issues to Leliana. She probably understood without him having to say anything more about it anyway.

Featuring: FireMaiden

 

[The Mad Queen]

Awakening​

Pain rung through Ralph's head as his eyes slowly opened, the back of his head feeling the worst of it.
The Doctor tried to reach for it, only to feel something tugging at his hands. His brown eyes moved down to see that he was handcuffed to a radiator.

Immediately, he tried to pull at the cuffs but all he managed to do was create a racket.
"Good grief." He muttered to himself, his eyes adjusting to the room surrounding him. He was in a dorm room,
decorated with an unmade bed, a computer that looked about half as old as he was and posters on the wall of a boyband he'd never heard of.

"You're awake." Ralph recognised the voice immediately as the man who had jumped him and Caoimhe, and he spun
around.
"Who the hell are you? And where's Caoimhe?"
"Safe. I don't intend on doing anything with her."

Ralph struggled once more, and managed little more than making the man sigh.
"Doctor Fisher, please stop. I'm sorry that I had to handcuff you but you're embarrassing yourself now."

He stopped, but not at the man's request.
"How do you know my name?"
The man stepped around, standing before Fisher as he pulled down his hood and removed his mask. Staring back
at him was a face he recognised, although it was disheveled and scarred.

The man's name was Simon, the youngest member of Ralph's team. Given his height, that was sometimes difficult to tell but the dead giveaway had been his face, youthful and clean shaven. There had hardly been any stubble on it. That was different now, for his young brown eyes were now nothing but tired, his clean face decorated with stubble and he even had a cut across his right cheek.

"S-Simon? I thought you were dead." Ralph's eyes widened, and quickly started to fill up.
"Thankfully I went out for a smoke before the hospital fell into chaos." He shrugged "You always said cigarettes killed people, but I suppose I'm the exception."

That managed a tearful chuckle out of Ralph, and Simon sat at the other side of the floor, his legs crossed "I won't lie, it's not been easy but I've managed to stay alive. From the looks of your knee, it looks like you haven't had an easy time of things either."
"I was just fortunate enough to find a surgeon. Those mercenaries did it."

Simon lowered his head, shaking it "Christ. What animals."
"Why did you knock me out?"
"Sorry, Doctor. I didn't know it was you, at first and honestly, when I heard your voice I couldn't quite believe it." He sharply looked up, but his gaze was still turned away from Ralph "I just hope you're not concussed. I'm going to need that brain of yours." He leaned forwards, his green eyes staring into Ralph's brown ones. "I'll uncuff you in just a minute. I want you to hear what I've got to stay first. If you don't like it, you can leave but if you like the sound of my proposal you can stay here as long as you want."
"You want me to help you run tests on this thing? I take it that's why you have infected locked up."
"How long did it take you to work that out?"
"After the first three classrooms coincidence went out the window. I knew somebody was keeping these things for something, and given you not only have access to a laboratory but you're trained in this I have to assume.."

"So I didn't give you a concussion? Thank God." Simon breathed a sigh in relief
"Simon...I'd rather not be handcuffed, and I'd like to know where Caoimhe is."
"She's tied up in the next room. Under guard."

Fisher glared, raising one eyebrow
"You I trust, but I have no idea who that woman is. I'll let her out when you've heard me out though.
"So, what are are proposing? You want us to work together on this?"
"Yes, of course! Well the thing is, I don't just want you to help me. I want you to lead us! Us two are the only people left in Aurora dedicated to understanding and fighting this thing with science! Everyone else thinks they can stop this pandemic with bullets. You'd have the best lab Aurora has to offer, and with myself
working under you we'd be unstoppable..." He stopped, glaring into Fisher's eyes "There's someone else, isn't there?"

"Salazar. He's been in that lab already and taken a few things."
"Oh for God's sake." Simon sighed, rolling his eyes "What's he doing in Aurora?"
"The same as us."
"Except there's a catch, isn't there? You wouldn't have come here otherwise."

Ralph leaned forwards, sighing heavily and shaking his head "He's wrapped up in a fantasy. I can't break him out of it, which means his lab is off limits because he
believes me to be mad."
"I mean, I think you're crazy but I'll still let you do what you're best at. What a moron! Denying a resource like you, I mean does that guy even know what the definition of virus is? I bet he struggles to wipe his own ass!" The younger man laughed
"Hey!" Ralph snapped "He may be stubborn, but that Doctor saved my leg and probably my life too. Show some respect."

Simon drew back, raising his hands "I meant no offence. I'm just amazed that he'd turn you away. Did he even give a reason?"
"Said it was because he doesn't think that this plague uses dead bodies to spread itself. I assume he thinks that the undead hosts are in a coma-like state, rather than clinically dead. I'll admit, it was difficult to accept that myself but after what happened at the hospital it was impossible to deny the facts laid out in front of me."
Simon nodded "I could see why he'd struggle to accept that, I just...Refusing to let you help or even listen to you? At all? I guess it's all the more reason why you should work with me."

Finally, the man leaned forwards and unlocked the handcuffs.
"I'm sorry if I hurt you, Doctor. I just..." He looked away "I thought you were dead. All this time." He sighed once more, resting his head in his hands
"It's okay, Simon." Ralph rested a hand on his shoulder "I can't quite believe it myself. But here we both are."

With his gaze still facing away the young man sighed again, fighting back tears.
"How did you make it?"
"I had help." Ralph smiled "And you?"
"I, um...I guess it was luck, or divine intervention or shit. Day one, I got covered in infected guts when a car hit one right next to me. I-I froze up, Doctor. I was so...Scared and yet they avoided me. After my panic wore off that's when I figured out I could hide from the infected if I had their scent and was just extra careful."

"Wow." Ralph retained his smile
"What?"
"You worked something out on day one that I only figured out about a week ago."
"Seriously?!"
"Well, after I left Aurora and was in hiding I didn't have much activity with the infected, at least none that allowed me to study such things. And, given what happened to my knee I haven't been moving around much."
"That's better. I was worried you might have gone mad."

Simon handed Ralph his cane and it did not take long for the Doctor to stand to his feet. He'd had time to practice, after all.
"I'll say to my man to release your friend. You head on over to the lab and I'll catch up, alright?"
Ralph smiled, making his way towards the door

"Simon?" He stopped in his tracks, calling back to his team member
"Yeah, Doctor?"
"It's really good to see you."

The young man smiled back, and as Ralph marched towards the laboratory, the two passed each other in the hallway of the empty university. It was still dark out, but Ralph couldn't tell if it was still nighttime or the morning. A look at the horizon might have told him, but the Doctor did not care enough to look. A giant smile on his face, and not even the pain in his knee was slowing him down as he approached the doors of the laboratory.

Finally, he stood a chance. The country stood a chance.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Maria's eyes opened slowly, and immediately she felt cold. When she tried to move her arms, she found they were tied and so were her legs. The room was dark, almost pitch black but she did make out a figure in the corner of the room. Just what kind of trouble had Caoimhe gotten them into? The last thing she remembered, the woman was still at the lodge but the room around her did not seem like anything the lodge had within it's walls. Had something happened? Perhaps the mercenaries had launched an attack, or even the gangsters David and her and fought off had ambushed them in the night.

She tried to steady her breathing. It did not seem as though the figure had noticed she was awake yet, but as Maria glanced up she noticed that it was walking towards her and that it wasn't one of the infected. It's movements were simply paced all wrong, closer to that of a marching soldier than a shambling corpse. She shut her eyes, and waited for the woman did nothing more than count the footsteps. She may have been tied up, but she could still do damage.

Maria felt a light on her skin.
"Still sleeping, eh?" A voice asked. There was a gruffness to it "You may not be able to hear me, but you are going to save the world..."

The bastard was just a little bit out of reach.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ralph wasn't sure just how much time had passed, perhaps an hour or maybe more but he had spent most of the morning going through the laboratory. Leftover equipment from the run and some jury rigged contraptions were all that remained, but it was miles better than poking a corpse in woods with a stick. There had been little talking between himself and Simon, for Ralph had never quite been talkative during his work. It was only when a question was asked or he discovered something that the man would open his mouth.

"How are you powering all of this?"
"One of my friends managed to hook most of this stuff up to a generator. We've been siphoning diesel from nearby cars and anything else we can find...It wasn't until a few days ago that we got this place up and running."
"Well, let's just hope it keeps working. Engineering has never really been my thing. I'm able to take some things apart and put them back together but that's really about it."
"So, overall thoughts?" Simon folded one arm over the other
"It's an impressive setup. I'll give you that much." He smiled "I would like to meet these colleagues of yours though."
"Oh, well they're not men of science like you or me, Doctor. They just handle security, engineering and uh, help me find infected." He explained "I'm sure you'll run into them at some point, but I'd rather we just got straight to work."

Ralph nodded "And what about my friend?"
"Um...I forgot to say, actually." Simon rested his head in one hand "She headed back to your group."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at that "Really?"
"Yeah."
"Well I suppose..." Ralph tutted "She did say she was only coming along so that I wasn't killed. If you've got your own security here she might not see a reason to stay."
"Yeah, well. She didn't say much, only that if she'd have said goodbye to you it might have made things more difficult."

Ralph sat down behind a desk, tutting to himself once more
"I'm sorry. I did try to talk her into staying."
"I'm sure you did your best. It's okay." Ralph offered him a smile
"I'm gonna head to the bathroom. I'll be back in a few, so you just sit tight and we'll begin. Alright?"

The Doctor was silent as Simon headed out.

-----------------------------------------------------------

The door into the cold room opened and a second figure walked in.
"How is she?"
"Still asleep. The sedative your gave her probably hasn't worn off yet...How's your friend doing?"
"Fine. He doesn't suspect a thing. Doctor Ralph Fisher may have the most brilliant mind in Aurora but I'm not sure if he'll do what needs to be done. He can't know of this. Not yet."
"Understood, sir." The first shape nodded
"Let me know when she wakes up. The sooner she does, the sooner we can begin phase one."

 

[Maj]

​

November 22, 2018
The Lodge
7:00 AM

When Beth looked at herself in the floor length mirror in her bedroom, she let out a hefty sigh. She had lost weight, which she supposed was to be expected amongst the apocalypse, food supplies were low and she had always had a problem keeping weight on. It had become increasingly more important in her old line of work. While men liked her slender form, if she lost too much she became scrawny looking and lost the rounded curve of her hips that so many seemed to like. The blue dress she had been wearing when she first got here was slipped down around her waist and thighs. It wasn’t as filled out as it normally was, but she supposed it still fit her alright. It hugged at her thin waist and was pulled tightly in all the areas that she would want to accent. In the new world, she couldn’t be choosy about what she wore.

The blonde made her way downstairs. It was still early and plenty of bodies were starting to stir. Beth busied herself with breakfast. There wasn’t much in the form of selection. However, with flour, eggs, and meat she could throw together breakfast burritos and that was better than nothing. Deer meat wasn’t exactly her first choice, but it was better than nothing. She was slicing the meat into thin chunks when she suddenly let out a low hiss.

On reflex, she pulled her hand to her chest, putting pressure on it. Warm sticky blood seeped between her fingers and shone from the blade of the knife, freshly sharpened. It had been a stupid mistake. Using her elbow to turn on the flow of water, Beth ran her fingers underneath the water, but the blood bubbled up as quickly as the water washed it away. She was no doctor, but it didn’t look good. Leliana was off doing something and couldn’t be found quickly and so the woman was left with no other choice.

“Dr. Salazar?” It was with a heavy heart the blonde opened the cellar door. She stood at the top and waited for a reply, but could hear the man working in the dim lights below.

The young woman's call was met with silence for a long moment before a large shadow seemed to poke its head around the corner. Wordlessly, the shadow retreated back from where it came and it was another ten or so seconds before dull footfalls could be heard coming up the steps. The large, tanned doctor emerged from the darkness of the cellar and leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed against his chest. "Do you need something?" He asked, his eye already having found the possible source of Bethany's summons. "How deep?"

“I’m not sure,” she admitted, holding her hand out, the other still wrapped tightly around the wound. “I was slicing up meat and must have slipped.” Slowly the woman unwrapped her grip , her pale fingers stained crimson from the blood as it began to flow freely from the cut.

"Mmm." The older gentleman grunted. "It is fairly deep but it looks worse than it is. Hand lacerations bleed a fair amount. Run into the kitchen and grab a towel to wrap it in while I grab first aid. I don't believe it'll need stitches but I need it to be clean first." He nodded towards the kitchen and the several hand towels that decorated its ambiance just across from them before turning around and disappearing back down into the cellar.

The girl did as told and Hector was actually already back up the stairs by the time she had successfully pulled the towel around her fingers. It was considerably faster than when she had initially knocked. "Sit." His gravelly voice ordered neutrally.

She obliged without hesitation, still holding the towel tightly around her hand. The chair creaked at the force of her thin frame plopping down in the kitchen chair. With trembling hands, she reached out her bleeding hand to him, feeling the wetness of the blood stick to the rough fibers of the hand towel. Her blue eyes hesitantly looked up to look into Hector’s single analytical one.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said after a moment. “You were right. It wasn’t my place to speak up.”

The doctor didn't offer a response to that. Not because he didn't have one but because he felt she wasn't deserving of one. From all accounts, both personal and indirect, this blonde lady in front of him wasn't one to stand out nor was she intrinsically altruistic like their red headed, resident muscle head. He simply set himself to work on the wound. Contrary to his rough appearance and calloused hands, the medic was as gentle as he was fluid in his examination. "You are going to need to keep this covered and if it were under normal circumstances, I would give you stitches. However, I don't want to waste suture kits on minor wounds like this. It will scar and you will have to cope with that."

Beth nodded in understanding. The doctor removed the towel gently to avoid the fibers pulling on the wet wound. Blood was still oozing out but at a slower rate. The body was doing it's normal procedure and coagulating the blood. Hector grabbed two 4 x 4 gauze pads, placed them against the lacerated fingers, and applied the appropriate amount of firm pressure. Despite the wince the young woman gave in response to it. He had clean gauze on standby and some medical tape to tie it down.

“I’m not sure anyone is going to get through this without their share of scars,” Beth offered, examining the doctor’s work. “At least mine seem to be fairly minimal.” As if to prove her point she looked up once more to Hector’s missing eye. She thought of Owen, who’s chest would always have the ugly pink proof of his act of heroism. In her time, she had seen plenty of fights, even some blood but the pure stench of death that had fallen on society was something totally foreign to the young woman.

“You were right to be suspicious.” Beth sighed, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “I did know that man, but not in the way you think. I didn’t even recognize him at first but there are many of my old clients I don’t recognize anymore.”

Salazar's eye stayed fixed on his work and the uncomfortable silence was maintained until Bethany's cut had stopped flowing freely and Hector could get to wrapping it properly. It was about 5 minutes of soundless tension before Hector finally spoke, "I'm fully aware I was correct to be suspicious. If that man had used your 'services' in the past, then even more so." His grey eye then turned up to survey her fully, studying every twitch she made under his gaze. Like a mouse stuck in a cage with a cobra. "What I fail to understand is why you would compromise your integrity with the lodge for a man who has used you in the past. You seem intelligent enough to know when to stay silent. Why risk it for scum who purchase a young lady's body as if they were produce?"

“Surely I’m not the first escort you’ve treated Dr. Salazar,” The woman offered with a knowing smile. She had seen her fair share of doctors over the years, and had been honest with all of them. Beth had once been told you were to never lie to your Doctor, Lawyer, or Therapist. “Not to mention,” her mouth parted as she smiled, showing off the sheen of her white and perfect teeth. “Owen has used my ‘services’ more times than I can count and you seem pretty chummy with him.”

"Do you think I trust Owen with women?" He asked with an arched brow. The woman let out a light, musical sounding laugh, raising her free hand up to cover her mouth.

“That’s probably fair.” Beth said through her chuckle. “He’s actually a really nice person. Not everyone who seeks me out is ‘scum.”

"Perspectives then." The doctor offered as a compromise, leaning back into a more relaxed posture. His work was done here and any follow up treatment, Leliana could easily handle. "But if we are going off what Ms. Jordan discovered, that man is potentially one of the reasons Ms. McUlann's mental state is the way it is. I find morality to be inhibiting but objectively, that is a far cry from "really nice."

The blonde’s face darkened at the information, shaking her head sadly. Beth tucked a stray strand of her straight hair behind her ear. Her gaze was forced down as she folded her hands in her lap, resting the now bandaged one over the healthy one as if to protect it from the pressure.

“I never would have expected that. He was always pretty gentle with me,” she spoke softly. “I was horrified to hear that. No one wants to find that someone they were that intimate with is capable of such violence.” Slowly the smile came back to her cheeks, polite and practiced as she looked back up to meet Hector’s gaze.

“You guys were right to do what you did. Forgive me, violence isn’t something I’m used to.”

The Hispanic's eye narrowed, searching for something he couldn't detect. "Is that a fact?" He asked with a frosty tone. In Hector's wide wealth experience, the men and women in the illegal sex trade seemed to think the exact opposite. Violence was part of the business. The people they "serviced" often held a side to them that could be considered malevolent. Sometimes downright evil. They often needed an influential figure to protect them from violent customers. That or personally "attend" to someone who could protect them free of charge.

The man Andrea had shot certainly seemed to fall perfectly within the malevolent category. Amicable on the surface, sure, but one look at Vanessa's reaction to him was enough to make Hector believe the man was scum not worthy of breathing the same air as the rest of them. Much like most people who indulged in such services. "You must have been very lucky to have such…. Well-mannered customers."

“Well I was a high end escort,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders. Beth gave the doctor a sheepish grin. “I wasn’t as unlucky as the girls who have to go around standing on street corners.” A sad laugh escaped her lips as she continued. “My clients were vetted, I had a manager. I made enough money that I was able to only take the clients I wanted to. Any violence that came due to the danger of my profession was handled behind closed doors. I was ‘sheltered’ for lack of a better word. You are right, I was lucky. Many women have it far worse than I do.”

Dr. Salazar's back straightened and even sitting, he towered over the little lady. He looked down his nose at her but ultimately decided against pursuing his suspicions. While he had evidence to suspect her words, there was nothing she was displaying for him to grasp onto. "Much worse." He said coldly. "But as long as you're aware that such altruism will get us robbed, raped, or killed. Possibly all three at the same time. So, even if you 'aren't used to it" he accentuated the phrase with air quotes, "You aren't in a position to be telling the enforcers how to handle intruders. Especially intruders that have a knack for carving up teenage girls, Ms. Richards."

“I’m agreeing with you,” she reminded him. “I just…” she sighed and shook her head. “Panicked I guess. I’m trying to apologize.” The woman reached her uninjured hand out and placed it on top of Hector’s on the table.

“We are lucky to have you here to help make those calls.”

The man's gaze shifted to stare at the point of contact as if he couldn't even begin to comprehend what was happening. As if it was an alien lifeform writhing about upon his extremity.

"Ms. Richards…" he said quietly.

“Dr. Salazar,” the woman responded with a coy smile.

"You have until the count of immediately to take your filthy hand off of me before I make sure you can never feel anything again." The man said as quiet and calm as before, eye never leaving her hand.

“Oh sorry!” Beth immediately withdrew, pink hues coming to her cheeks. “I’m desensitized to personal space so sometimes I forget that there are people who prefer there's intact. I didn’t mean to offend.” She laughed nervously, obviously embarrassed by the misunderstanding. “I’m retired Doctor, you have nothing to fear. I don’t know if you’ve met my girlfriend but I meant nothing by it.”

There was a cold edge in the older man's look and expression. It seems she couldn't understand that Hector knew a flirtatious move when he saw one. There was never any shortage of women trying get a piece of him when the title "Doctor" is in front of your name. Much less given the shape Hector was in. And once a quick google search showed his renown and accolades in the field of medical science… well…

"Try again, Ms. Richards."

“Nothing to try,” she said with a shrug. “It was a misunderstanding. Nothing more.”

"I'm twice your age, Niña." He retorted with a pointed glare. "You're 30 years too early if you think you can pull a fast one on me. Touch me with ulterior motives again, it will be the last thing you ever do."

Dr. Salazar then stood and glared at the blonde for a moment before adding, "Try not to misunderstand that."

He then disappeared down the cellar stairs without another word.

Collab: shadowz1995 (Hector)
Mentions: FireMaiden TheMightyRedLemon

 

[Hyped_Taco]

Flashforward into several minutes after my last post

In the middle of the room in the RV he currently resided, Michael Schmidt, the overweight fedora tipper, stood in silence while holding a bloodied knife, contemplating what he had just done. The neckbeard placed the knife down on the table, right next to the now-deceased chicken, before deciding to sit down for a moment.

For a few seconds, the fat man reflected on what had just happened, before speaking up to particularly no one.

“j-Jesus fucking christ. that was fucked up. I botched the damn thing!”

Feeling frustrated about having killed the bird in quite a messy way, Michael´s comforted himself a bit in the fact that he had at the very least done it quick enough for the chicken to not feel any pain at all.

But still, later he would need to clean up more than he had initially wanted too. Grabbing the chicken by its legs, the neckbeard dunked the corpse into the boiling water he had prepared on the large cooking pot for a few seconds. He repeated the same action several times so that removing the feathers would become something easy to do.

After having finished removing the feathers from the chicken, Michael began feeling nervous, knowing that he had finished the easy part of the process. Now, it would be time to degut it.

The neckbeard had never been good with that part of the process, no matter how many times he tried to do it, he had always been mediocre at best in that regard. His mother, on the other hand, had always been skilled when it came to knives and… well, gutting animals, to be precise. Of course, with most of his mother’s side of the family residing in the countryside, along with her having been raised there, she probably had a bit of an unfair advantage over him.

God, now that he had started to think about his mom, Michael started to question himself of why couldn’t he had put a bit more attention to the times his mother had tried to shown him the way to do it.

With no idea of how to do it himself; Michael sat down for a moment, to try and find any memory of his mother trying to teach him how to cook a “fresh” chicken, as she liked to call them back in the day.

“Come on mom… Don’t fail me now”.

 

[FireMaiden]

This is a collab between Rumble Fish , FireMaiden and Dragonlord318
​

David was stoking the fire he had just made after cleaning the fireplace of the creosote debris that had inevitably fallen down during his cleaning. He knew that the flue was about halfway cleaned and that a true cleaning would take hours, and that was something he was willing to do. On a day when it was warmer and the lodge members weren't in danger of freezing.

He heard something stirring next to him, and smiled softly when he spotted the auburn-haired child resting on the couch as she snuggled closer into the blanket wrapped over her sleeping form. He chuckled quietly at the sight as he turned back to ensure the fire stayed nice and warm for a while. He had been informed of her presence by Leliana and ensured to keep his noise to a minimum to let her sleep.

Some noise made itself known from behind the bedroom door that the nurse had gone into when he had come into the house a few minutes ago. He assumed she was getting ready for the day, and as such started planning his day here, since he believed he'd be staying for at least a few hours, maybe days.

Within Leli’s safe grip, Milly had slept soundly through the night, curled under the blanket with her arms around Snowy in front of the fire, it was the closest she had felt to being back home. Even as she was gently put down before when Leliana got up, she was still snugly asleep.

Leliana shut the master bedroom leaving Luca behind to hopefully follow her advice. They had talked a little long after he told her Tre left. And she was concerned, really she was. She wanted him to get some sleep, or at least get some rest before she brought him some food later or...it was hanging over her. She knew what was going on, and it wasn't exactly her place to say anything. Luca was going through a hard time right now whether the people of the lodge noticed or not. And until everyone got back, Leliana was determined to keep everything under control at least the best she could. Walking back into the main part of the living room, she gave David a polite smile. "Thanks for cleaning the chimney. And sorry for offending you if I did. Not many people are here right now and something always seems to happen when that's the case. It's always a little stressful." Leliana explained as she looked to Milly, moving to adjust the blanket a little for the young girl. "Our generator is out, so no hot water right now, but feel free to take a shower."

David looked back as he heard the door close. He saw her smile, but after she spoke it seemed the smile was more an obligatory display than a genuine communication of friendship. He turned back to the fire, examined it for a second, then added a log. Satisfied, he stood and turned to Leliana. He offered a hand, his face neutral. "I'm part of the group now. I should do my part. Also, you didn't offend me, Miss Leliana. I just don't know you yet. I'm not much of a talker to those I don't know well. I hope you understand." He too offered a small smile, to convey that he meant well.

The sensation of the blanket being touched caused the youngster to stir. Milly squeaked as she slowly sat up, black hair pressed against the side of her face that she slept on. As her eyes adjusted to the room around her, the shape of a tall and unfamiliar man sent a jolt through the youngster as she leapt back with a startled yelp. Who was he? Why was he here? How long had he been here?! "Leliana!" she squeaked, not knowing what else to do. Seeing the nurse there, she threw her skinny arms around her, burying her face into her shoulder. Having just woken up, the logic of "if I don't look, he'll go away" applied here. Who was this man and why was nobody else scared? She kept a tight grip and refused to move.

Leliana nodded, a brief genuine smile turning her lips upward. She didn't want to be on the bad side of a guy who looked like he could break in her half. Though he didn't seem to be a threat anyway. Leliana always found herself mildly uncomfortable being alone with men, which may be why she acted the way she did. It was worse when they had such an obvious physical advantage over her. Milly being in the room plus the others being awake was a small comfort that lessened the paranoia gripping the back of her mind. When he extended his hand, Leliana took it for a brief moment, before letting go. "Yeah, I understand. No worries." Another brief smile passed over her features before the small squeak hit her ears. She had just barely turned when Milly threw her arms around the nurse's shoulders. Leliana, taking by surprise, hesitated for a moment, before hugging back. One arm resting on the small girls back while the other moved to smooth out the dark auburn locks. "Good morning Milly," The nurse chuckled softly. "David surprised you a little didn't he?"

"Mhm..." Milly murmured from the woman's shoulder, refusing to relinquish her grip until Leli either told him to go away or somehow made him vanish. Such a large man sent a sick feeling to the youngster's stomach. Many of the Lodge's men were tall, but not like this. The last time she had encountered a man like this was... something she could barely remember, but what did stay in her mind were things she wished wouldn't. At this point, Milly had practically wrapped herself around the frame of the nurse. Arms around the neck and skinny legs wrapped like a pretzel around her torso. It was all too much.

"I'm glad," he said as he smiled back, also genuine. Then the blur of brown hair hit Leliana and wrapped itself around her. David raised an eyebrow at the sight, letting out a brief chuckle at the cuteness of the situation. Even though the nurse tried consoling her, it seemed that didn't help calm the little girl's fears at all. David had an idea. His tall, commanding visage usually made him stick out and make people avoid him.

He sat down cross-legged as to make himself less imposing and looked up. A corner of his lips turned up at the situation. The little girl was scared, and he hoped he could help her with that. "Leliana, I'm short now. I'm even shorter than her." He nodded at the bundle of trembling teenager clutched to her torso. He hoped that making himself shorter would help relieve the natural apprehension usually caused by his height.

Leliana winced just a little when Milly put her full weight on her. But the nurse realized quickly the young girl weighed a lot less than she must have previously. Even getting more food than the rest of them, it wasn't enough. A small detail that worried Leliana, saddened her even. But she shouldn't have been surprised. Her hands moved to the underside of Milly's thighs in order to support the young girl without having to sit down, a slight sway to her stand now. Not from Milly, but one she was adding herself to help soothe her. "It's okay, he's friendly," Leliana spoke softly, "Large men make me nervous too, but he's okay." When she heard his voice, Leliana had fo turn her whole body in order to look, a small chuckle passing over her lips at the sight of him sitting on the floor like that. "He's right! You're taller than him now, take a look," Leliana said, turning a bit against so Milly could see if she so chose to. "It's okay little one, he's not going to hurt you."

Milly refused to look for a good minute before she finally turned to glance at the man sitting on the ground. He did look less threatening when in that position. The small girl snuggled closer to Leliana before mumbling something softly under her breath before finally answering, “I just... don’t like... people appearing. And leaving. Without telling me.” She squeaked. She was alright upset by many of the Lodge’s own being away, but now there was a stranger who, while assured to be harmless, was still that; a stranger.

David waved softly with just as soft of a smile as Leliana helped the small teenager acclimate to his presence. It seemed the girl acted younger than she looked. Also, she seemed malnourished. His brow furrowed. With his meat supply, everyone should have been well fed for the last few days. Just what were Luca and Andy doing?

His heart broke at Milly's reasoning for not looking, and he stood slowly, albeit walking with a waddle as he crouched to make himself still shorter than the pair. "I promise not to leave without telling you, and you don't leave without telling Leliana or me." He looked at Leliana, his bleeding heart visible on his features. This was one of the few things that could soften the stone giant. "Deal?" He held up a hand in a fist bump, a few inches away from the both of them.

"You were asleep sweet pea, I'm sorry nobody told you," Leliana spoke, her voice still soft. She didn't want Milly to be scared. But the nurse also knew it was a little more complicated than just a case of being scared or not. Strangers were not the best company these days unless they proved themselves. David had, to the rest of them at least, but Milly was often out of the loop. While nobody seemed to mention it, it did seem like most of the adults did want to spare at least some of her innocence. Leliana was certainly among them. When David spoke again, Leliana moved her head a bit too look at him, a soft smile tugging at her like when he offered Milly a fistbump. "See, he can be your friend."

Once again it took Milly a moment to turn around, seeing the man’s outstretched fist. Large baby blue eyes looked back up to the nurse, like a child asking her mother for permission. At Leli’s pressing, she slowly raised her own bony fist, gently bopping his larger hand before quickly retracting and going back to baby-chimp-clinging to the nurse. She yawned softly before resting her chin on her chest, looking up at the nurse. “Did you sleep okay?” she asked gently. Despite talking to Leliana, her body had turned a little towards David. Even if she did not trust him, she knew Leliana would not willingly put her in danger.

Leliana's soft smile persisted as she watched Milly give David a fist bump. It was a small gesture, but she knew it meant a lot in the long run. Milly didn't need to be afraid of David, but the nurse couldn't blame her. For a moment, her head turned to observe the other people who were up, her attention coming back to Milly when she asked how the nurse slept. "I was going to ask you the same thing. I had a very nice little nap there on the couch. Are you feeling any better now?"

David blew his hand up in an imaginary explosion after the teenager bumped it, followed by another chuckle from the blonde titan. He saw how weak and frail the girl was, and smiled at how adorable she looked nestled on her protector's chest. His brow furrowed again as he thought of the vast food supply he'd given them. It looked like he was doing some investigation. He let the two converse before quipping, "Leliana, I'm going to do a perimeter check and get wood ready for the fire."

“A little better. I don’t like sleeping on my own. Mum and I would-“ the youngster paused. She could not bear to think of her. Not now, after a few seconds, she turned her Disney-esque eyes back to the nurse, “It’s better when you’re with someone.” Milly sighed, now warm from Leli’s own body heat and the insulation from the blanket. The small girl turned to look at David, her brows furrowing a little as he suddenly said he was leaving. Not knowing what to do, she looked back to Leliana, before trying to reach Snowy on the couch without letting go of the nurse. Despite the assurance from the two adults, she did not feel ready to let go yet. She was homesick, pining for her mother and still disturbed at the lack of people in the lodge along with everything that had happened in the last 24 hours.

"There's some...damn it, I can't point. There's some wood already cut outside on the porch, but I'm not sure how dry it is," Leliana said, turning just a little. She was afraid if she let go of Milly, the young girl would fall. And that would be the last thing she wanted to deal with. "If anything happens, tell me alright? Luca shouldn't be bothered right now." With that, she could put her full attention on the child in her arms. She realized pretty quickly what she was trying to do, so Leliana squatted slightly so Milly could reach Snowy. Once the girl grabbed him, she would straighten up. "David is just going to check around outside, he's not leaving."

David nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate it." He gave Milly a wave and a smile before saying, "That's right, little one. I'm going to make sure no bad guys mess with us and make sure we have enough wood to keep everyone warm for a long time." He smiled again, this time at the both of them, before heading outside. His smile fell as he closed the door behind him and went straight for the shed. Where was all that food? If Luca was over-rationing...he shook his head. Surviving and barely holding on were two completely different scenarios. He prayed to God that the people here weren't doing the latter. He'd have to help change that.

 

[The Mad Queen]

The Morning After- Part 1​

Ralph hadn't slept. As much as Simon had suggested that the Doctor try to lie down, Fisher refused. By the time the lab no longer needed the lights on the ceiling, he'd remained within it's walls as he read over every note Simon had made. It seemed that the two men had come to many of the same conclusions. The dead were driven by instinct, not needing to eat or sleep while the plague, one Simon had dubbed Osiris.

"Interesting." Ralph muttered
"Huh?" Simon was slumped over on one of the chairs, fighting to stay awake
"You called it Osiris, after the Egyptian God."
"Oh, well he was the God of the dead after all. Given this thing brings back the dead...You don't approve?"
"Osiris was a mixed bag God. He was both a God of life and death. He provided the ancient Egyptians with Agriculture, fertility, vegetation and resurrection."
"Since when were you interested in mythology?"
"Since my little girl got interested in it." Ralph smiled

The younger man sighed "I guess Osiris doesn't have that much of a ring to it. Did you come up with a name."
"The Aurora plague." He nodded
"Simple and to the point. I suppose it works."

The laboratory fell silent for a minute as Ralph continued, going over every single detail. A few notes had been made here and there while Fisher assumed Simon had been out in the city, judging by the quality of the pages and handwriting. The younger man had jotted things down in a hurry and he spotted the occasional dried up bloodstain.
However, once the laboratory had been set up things went at a rapid pace.

"Hey, Doctor Fisher."
"Ralph is fine. You've known me for long enough."
"Do you think this thing is outside of Aurora?"
He fell silent, a sigh escaping his lips.
"Yes. An outbreak of this nature, and on this scale there's no doubt in my mind it's already spread outside of the city. I also presume that the CIA have another mercenary army locking infected towns. They wouldn't want this thing to become a national pandemic. Neither do I, I just won't kill innocent people to prevent the spread."
"...What about New York?"
Ralph sighed once more, his thoughts turning to his family.
"It's just...I'm worried, Doctor. About my parents."

Ralph slowly turned around, seeing that Simon had his hands in his pockets and had turned away from him. His gut twisted, he'd hired Simon himself and now he was half a country away from home. This was on Ralph.
"It's not reached New York. This thing may be airborne but even so it would take time to reach the West coast, especially if the infected areas are on lockdown."
"I suppose." He shook his head "I wonder what they'd be up to right now...Do they think I'm dead?"
"Maybe, but only for now." Ralph tried to offer him a smile, but it became more difficult as thoughts turned towards his own family. Did they think the same? It was an idea that, no matter how hard he tried Fisher found impossible to push out of his mind. Both men went silent.

"Hey, Simon. These notes are really impressive."
"Really?" The man's eyes brightened up, a smile decorating his face
"Of course." He nodded, walking up to him and resting a hand on his shoulder "I'm proud."
This just caused him to smile more "Oh, um...Thanks...Ralph."
"Now, lets get to work."
"You should rest first. Even just take a power nap for goodness sake."

Ralph chuckled "Alright."

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Maria eventually had to sleep. She'd tried to stay awake, but she recalled the words said by the silhouettes. Whatever they had planned, they needed her awake for it. She slept in shifts, and even while she was awake she had her eyes shut, just in case they had been watching. Given the darkness, she couldn't tell if it was the early hours or the morning or the afternoon by the time the silhouettes entered again.

"How is she still asleep? She's been out for half a day."
"Are you sure you didn't cause brain damage or something?"
"I couldn't have hit her that hard..."

Her eyes still shut, Maria had her head down as the figure approached. Subtly, she clenched her fists as she listened for the footsteps, for breathing, any sign that he was close. He was just out of reach, and if Maria wasn't trying to put on an act the woman would've been swearing like a sailor. The silhouette made one more step and knelt down. As Maria felt his warm breath on her face, she made her move.

Jolting forwards, Maria headbutted the silhouette, hard and knocked him back. He fell towards her legs, and Maria placed her ankles around his throat. Her legs may have been bound, just as her arms had been but they'd made the mistake of not tying everything down. The second silhouette reached for a gun on his waist.

"Make one move and I'll break yer friend's neck." She hissed "Let's take this nice and slow."

 

[Rumble Fish]

Milly softly waved as the man left. Now it was only the nurse and herself left. The small girl's grip loosened a little before turning to the nurse. "I-I'm sorry," she mumbled quietly, "I...I've been scared." she added, chewing Snowy's ear with her gums. It was her right ear, which was significantly rattier than her left. She shimmied a little to get comfortable before tilting her head, "What are you doing today?" she asked the nurse softly.

"Hey don't apologize for being scared, it's okay Milly, " Leliana cooed softly, briefly lowering herself before quickly popping back up to get Milly's legs back up on her hips a little. The younger girl obviously didn't want to let go, and Leliana wasn't going to make her, so she was going to make sure Milly was comfortable. And Leliana was going to let her hang on for as long as she wanted. "I don't know about most of today, but how about we make some breakfast? Would you like to learn how to cook some venison?"

Milly felt her stomach grumble rather than hear it as the nurse mentioned breakfast. She did not seem to mind that she was hanging on which Milly was thankful for. She hummed and nuzzled the nurse, not too much as she realised that her nose was still very cold. As she asked about cooking venison, she took a moment to answer. Milly did not like meat. Up until a few months ago, she had been a vegetation. But now that was a luxury nobody could afford. The small girl finally nodded to Leliana. While it appeared that eating meat was not agreeing with her body, she was still hungry. And Leliana was a good cook. She was able to make it taste nice despite her dislike. She shut her eyes afterwards and settled.


"We can find something else to go with it, but you have to eat a little." They didn't have any other good sources of protein. Broccoli would have been great, but that was long gone. And the other canned veggies weren't nearly as good. Their entire food stock was low, but the chickens were laying eggs, and with Andy able to hunt they wouldn't starve. Maybe their diets would stagnate, but it was better than nothing. Which reminded her, she needed to get in touch with one of the groups out to see if they could get some vitamins. Those would help make up for the fact nobody in the lodge was getting the amount they were supposed to in their food. When Milly settled again, Leliana made her way into the kitchen, ignoring Shinoa for the moment though knowing she was awake was something Leliana would keep in mind. She should probably check and see how Valerie was doing. Anyway, she opened the freezer, happy to find that while some of the meat had thawed, none of it had gone bad. For now at least, if the generator wasn't fixed soon, they would seriously be in danger. "Hey Milly, make sure you hold on tight okay? I need my hand."

Milly silently did what Leliana had asked and tightened her grip. As the nurse did her thing, she looked around the room, glancing outside the window. Her body tensed as she did, expecting a half-rotted face with bulging white eyes and a jaw hung open and releasing an unholy bellow to be there. Thankfully there was nothing more than the early morning. The girl shimmied a little to get a better grip. "Venison is nice. Is it hard to... um, catch?" The thought of Leliana, Andy or even Colt killing what could be Bambi's mother was one the small girl hated to think. That movie was one of the few that would make her mother cry. They would snuggle under the weighted blanket and sob. Milly shuddered with a clear of her throat, refusing to think any further. Leliana had more to worry about; like getting the Lodge fed. "I mean-I-I probably wouldn't hunt, guns are still scary."

Leliana got out two of the larger pieces, that way there would be some leftover for lunch. Something most of the lodgers wouldn't normally get to eat. Leliana always made sure Milly got something. A knife, a pan, and a cutting board came next, Leliana walking back over into the living room to set them down before going back into the kitchen to find some spices. Salt and pepper preferably to keep it simple, but it was a little uncertain if they still had any. "It is. But Andy is really good at hunting, and only hints what we need. I don't really hunt much." If they cleared out the wildlife too quickly, they'd starve. When she found what she was looking for after a minute or two of searching she headed back over the living room and carefully sat down at the coffee table where everything was sitting. Now, Leliana was not the greatest at cooking meat over a fire. She didn't get to grill often, and most of the time it was brats or pork. So red meat was, while not a complete stranger, out of her comfort zone. But she knew how to make sure it didn't make anyone sick at least, so that wasn't a worry. Given Milly's small frame, Leliana could comfortably prep the meat while she girl was in her lap, so Milly wouldn't have to worry about moving just yet. "You wanna out the salt and pepper on these?"

"That's good." Milly nodded, "Andy's good at hunting." she added. The small girl went quiet as she allowed Leliana to do her chores, afraid to speak in case she distracted her. People hated being distracted, her mother did. She used to get angry when interrupted. When she asked for salt and pepper, the small girl obeyed and did what was requested. As much as she loved and trusted Leliana there was still a chance she could react badly to her not doing as she said. Milly could still hear her mother's angry tone at her not 'working fast enough' and other crimes. "Pull my string, the party's today?" she mumbled softly as she spiced the meat, still holding onto the woman tightly with her free hand and her feet tied like a belt around the nurse's torso. Maybe she should have stayed asleep.


Leliana watched Milly put salt and pepper on the meat with a soft smile, letting the younger girl take her time. It was a little odd to think about how Milly wasn't terribly younger than her. It made her a little sad sometimes knowing that something must have happened to cause her to act like this, autism aside. She could only wonder though, unable to bring herself to ask. Then, Milly started quoting Toy Story. Her smile grew, a soft chuckle rising from her throat. As a kid, Leliana watched a lot of Pixar and Disney movies, she loved them. Toy Story wasn't a favorite, but it was certainly memorable. "Okay everyone, coast is clear," The nurse replied, before coughing a little and putting out her best Mr.Potato Head voice. It wasn't very good mind you. "Ages three and up. It's on my box. Ages three and up! I'm not supposed to be babysitting Princess Drool."

Almost like a dog perking up at the mention of ‘walkies’ Milly lifted herself as the nurse responded to her words, even doing a proper impression of Mr. Potatohead. As much as she wanted to respond excitedly, beneath it all, Milly knew that response was bad. Don’t get excited. People wouldn’t like that, or her. Instead, she stayed quiet but chittered between her teeth like the little toys as they jumped onto their fire truck. “New-naw, new-naw... Hey Ham, look! I’m Picasso!”

Milly's excitement didn't go unnoticed by the nurse. It was cute, and Leliana was happy to see that the kid could still enjoy something so small. But the quick deflation caused Leliana to furrow her brows slightly. The nurse now moved to make sure the meat was covered before slicing them I to small pieces and putting them in the pan she had brought over. But she would wait a moment before moving. "I don't get it." Her Hamm impression was pretty much just as bad as her Mr.Potatohead impression was, but Milly seemed very excited about Leliana responding the way she did.

“You uncultured sw-oine! What are ya lookin’ at, ya hockey puck?” Milly could not suppress the fit of giggles that followed after saying it. Her impression of the grumpy potato was lacking but she could mimic the accent decently. That was one of her favourite lines in particular, especially the aforementioned hockey puck’s confusion at being dragged into the potato and the piggy bank's snips at each other. Once she was past her little giggling fit, she snuggled closer to the nurse, trying not to interfere too much.(edited)

"Let's press pause for just a second, we gotta move over to the fireplace." Leliana couldn't keep herself from smiling after the girl bust out in the fit of giggles. Leliana wrapped her arm around Milly, using the other to help boot them up off the ground so they could move closer to the fire. The way the wood was stacked, Leliana wouldn't have to move much in order to get the pan to sit right and the flames wouldn't be smothered. Another plus, it was a cast-iron pan, so it wouldn't burn the way a normal pan would. Once on her feet with Milly supported, she grabbed the pan and quickly sat it on the fire, and she settled on the floor again with Milly once she was sure it wouldn't fall. And of course, after she grabbed the thing she had to flip the pieces. "Uh, hey Sarge, have you seen Slinky?"

Milly obediently went quiet as Leli cooked the meat. The small girl blinked softly as she watched. The scent of the fire brought her back to her childhood in the winter. She could remember watching the snow outside while herself and her mother snuggled under the weighted blanket and watching a movie. While there was no movie right now, being held by Leliana while under a blanket was still a great comfort to the youngster. It would never replace her mother, but there was still the same warmth. When Leliana quoted again, Milly instantly became alert again. "Sir, naw sir!" She did not shout but there was a firm tone only interrupted by a impression of a Southern drawl not unlike Colt's. She just thought that it was appropriate, surely the veteran had said that at one point right?


Leliana poked the meat a little, watching it carefully since the fire would cook faster here than on the stove once the pan was nice and heated up. So it didn't take long for a pleasant sizzle and the scent of cooking meat filled the air. Leliana pulled Milly a little closer, wrapping both arms around the young girl in a nice warm hug. It had been a long time since Leliana was actually completely relaxed. And sitting here cooking some breakfast with Milly was certainly relaxing. She and her mother used to make breakfast together every Saturday, the only day Leliana normally had off work. Pancakes or cinnamon rolls were normally their top choices, though sometimes when Beth was over they would go all out. "Okay thank you, at ease," Leliana continued as Woody, turning her head to cough a little before looking back down at Milly. "Hey Slinky?"


"Right here, Woody!" Milly swayed a little but not too much as to unbalance the nurse, "And I'm bla-no." Her face momentarily blanked as she tried to remember what the line was. Despite her near encyclopaedic knowledge of Pixar, there were some lines she always flubbed, and this was one of them. "A-And I'm red this time!" she managed to finish it. That reminded her to ask either the nurse or Beth if they wanted to play checkers later on if they weren't busy. She always played with the black disks while her mother would use the red ones. That was true with other games. There was no reason, maybe she just preferred the black counters or she liked how they looked.

Leliana couldn't help but giggle a little as she watched Milly think about the next line. While she did, Leliana flipped the meat, knowing it was almost done and she would have to start getting things ready for people to eat. Which meant Milly would have to let go but if the girl wanted to, she could stick close to Leliana. Milly was actually pleasant company. "No Slink, " Leliana replied, knowing Milly would want to respond as Slinky, though the use tapped her on the shoulder. "Gotta press paused again, the meats done. We gotta move it into the kitchen, but you have to let go so I don't burn you okay? You can stick as close as you want to."

Milly was about to respond when the woman tapped her on the shoulder. When she said the word 'pause', Milly chirped "Boop!" in aknowledgement. However her content aura shifted as the nurse revealed that she would have to let go. The small girl looked down at the ground. She did not want to. She hadn't felt this content in too long. But she had invited her to still accompany her if she wanted. With a reluctant sigh, the small girl released her grip, her bare feet hitting the cold floor with a dull 'thump'. Once on the ground, the chill of the floor travelled upward, causing the girl to shudder and wrap the blanket around her skinny frame. "Oh well, alright," she continued, waddling in a little circle to warm her feet, the movement of her feet coupled with being burrito-wrapped in the blanket probably made her look like a pink penguin who hadn't had a hair-cut in a while, "You can be red if you want."

Once Milly had let go, Leliana moved the meat around one last time to make sure it was all done before she stood and grabbed the handle with both hands. "Oh damn this is hot," Leliana inhaled sharply, quickly moving from the living room to the kitchen, sitting the pan down on the stove. Because of how hot it was, the meat would continue to cook and finish up while she got some other things ready. She found some bread and figured it would be good for sandwiches before she moved to look through the cans and see if there were any vegetables left. "Not now Slink, I've got some bad news." Leliana couldn't help but smile a little still. "Milly you wanna climb on my back?"

"Bad news?!" Milly did not shout that line, she hated shouting and figured Leliana would too. She went quiet, knowing Leliana would want it to focus on her task. Her question of whether or not she wanted to climb onto her back was a surprise to the youngster. Her eyes darted a little before vigorously nodding at the nurse. Institutionally her fingers twitched together in a slight grabbing motion. She would just be as happy to be on the nurse's back as she would be being held. The small girl gave the nurse a smile, her eyes a little brighter.

Leliana smiled a little more when she saw the grabbing motion, turning around she lowered herself so Milly could climb up on her back. Once the young girl had climbed on, Leliana looped her hands under Milly's knees to help keep her up on her back. "Shhhhhh." The nurse was having fun going back and forth quoting the movie like this, Milly was just so cute. "Just gather everyone for a staff meeting and be happy!" There wasn't really anything else to put with the meat, at least nothing she wouldn't have to heat up, so for now, the lodgers would have to put up with just the venison. She stepped closer to the counter, grabbing a palate as she started to make a sandwich that she and Milly would split just to make sure there was enough for everyone else.

"Got it." She responded in the same blunt manner the springy dog had in the movie before happily hopping onto the woman's back, resting her head against the back of the nurse's neck. She released a happy sigh and shut her eyes. Even just the gentle rocking motion of Leliana moving around comforted the youngster greatly.

"Be happy!" Leliana replied, still doing her best impression of Woody as she made the sandwich, cutting it in half once she was done. The nurse then moved to grab a small pack of gummies that had been buried but was still within a safe date. "Staff meeting everybody. Snake, Robot, podium duty." Though Leliana paused again, grabbing another plat for Milly. She put half of the sandwich and the gummies on the plate, sitting it beside her own plate. "Can you reach the plate?" Leliana asked before she took a bite of her half of the sandwich.

Milly laughed in the same exaggerated manner as Slinky. At the woman's request of reaching a plate, she nodded and leaned in to grab it, as she did she continued the script. "Hey, etch... Draw!" before looking to her sandwich, giving it a little sniff before nibbling it. Instantly she was reminded of how venison tasted. It was not bad, quite a sweet meat. "D'oh! Got me again! Etch, you've been working on that draw." She spoke around the clump of meat and bread in her mouth, "Fastest knobs in the west."

Leliana chuckled. "You're really cute, ya know that Milly?" Something told her Milly hadn't been in the best of situations. Whether because of school or her parents, Leliana could tell that the girl really enjoyed quoting this movie but...Leliana was about to disappoint her a little. "And I've gotta be honest kiddo, I don't remember the next line. But I'll tell you something. Next time I get to go on a run, I'll go by my house. I have a bunch of Pixar and Disney movies that you can watch."

Milly, indeed was a little disappointed to hear that Leliana could not remember the next line, but it was quickly shattered when she offered to get her some movies on her next run, "Really?" she chirped after swallowing her bite "I...I would really like that, Leliana." She added. She did not mind them continuing, she could remember the rest of the lines. However, knowing that Leliana herself also liked the movies and even knew some of the dialogue delighted the girl. She let out a happy little hum as she snuggled closer against her.

Leliana smiled again, looking around at David and Shinoa who were downstairs with them before looking back at her plate. "Yep, I have a laptop with a bunch of movies on it." She chuckled, reaching up to tuck some free hair behind her ear, letting Milly snuggle her as much as she wanted as they ate. The small girl did just that, sighing gently and snuggling closer to the nurse. She was not leaving any time soon.

Featuring: FireMaiden (Leliana)
Mentions: Dragonlord318 (David) BloodLightning27 (Shiona) Maj (Andy)

 

[The Mad Queen]

Awakening: Part 1​

"Don't just stand there with yer dick in yer hands." Maria hissed "Gun on the floor, now! Nice and slow."
The second silhouette did as he was told, kneeling down and setting the gun next to his feet.
"Now. Kick it in one of the corners. Do it."
"I don't need my gun to end you." He sighed, still following the woman's orders.

While Maria's gaze was focused on the silhouette, she called to the man caught in her grip.
"Untie my legs. Now."
There was no response from him, for instead of turning to look at Maria the man's gaze seemed to be on his companion.
"Do it or die. Yer choice." She whispered, coldly.
"Alright, alright..."
"Take one step towards us, and I will do it." Her eyes, like daggers pointed at the silhouette.
"You'll still be tied up." Although she couldn't make out the features of his face, something told the woman that he was grinning.

She chuckled, lightly "Aye. I know. Ya can still get me after it, but yer friend will still be in the ground...Do ya want to take that chance?"
Her eyes moved down, watching as the man held within her grasp untied her legs.
"If you kill him, he'll just kill you. I know how this works. Either way, you're screwed."
She chuckled again "It doesn't matter. If I'm goin' down here, I at least want to take one of you bastards with me. That's all that matters."

He wasn't smiling anymore, and within moments her legs were free. She moved them around the man's throat.
"Now. Take this nice and easy. We're all gonna walk out of 'ere in one piece. I might rough ya up a little though...Move up and undo me arms. Any funny business and you'll regret it. Nod if ya understand."
He slowly moved his head
"Not much of a talker, are ya?"
"Even if I release you, you're not walking out of here alive. You're outnumbered and unarmed." He laughed
"Oh, you stupid bastard..." Maria scoffed "I'm never unarmed. Now, I have to pee so you need to hurry yer arse."
"I can't reach the damn ropes with holding me!" He snapped
"Fair." Maria shrugged, her eyes moving to the other silhouette "You then. Get to work."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph had found a sofa to rest on, keeping his war wound level using a pillow. He awoke with a yelp, finding that Simon was standing over him.

"Oh! I didn't realise that was you." He gasped "What are you doing? You scared me half to death."
"Oh, Doctor Fisher. Don't go that far." Simon chuckled "But I was seeing if you were really asleep."
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With the silhouette closer to Maria, she finally got a look at his face. He was a little older, but the buzz cut atop the man's head, combined with how he'd been holding his gun told her that he was ex-military...Was he part of the CIA squad she'd heard about? Neither one of them broke eye contact as he united her left arm first. The second he started to loosen the rope around her right arm she made her move.

Maria sprung into action, going in for a headbutt that struck the man's head. As he reeled back, she elbowed him in the jaw. The man she held with her legs tried to make his move, but she was ready for him. Releasing her grip, she kicked him in the back of the head and he was propelled forwards. She was only given a few seconds, but with both men disorientated Maria tore her right arm free.

The Beast of Derry was loose, and readied herself for a fight.
"You little shits are gonna hurt, a lot for locking me up. But if ya tell me where I am, I might let ya live."
The military man spat, rubbing his jaw and reaching for his belt. He withdrew a knife, clutching it in one hand while raising the other to defend himself.
"If you wanted to kill me you would've done it while I was still tied up. So why keep me alive?"
"Orders." He nodded "But all I have to do is keep you alive. He never specified you being in one piece...So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to ram this knife into your shoulder, then as my friend here holds you down we're going to shatter your kneecaps and then break your arms. Just to finish it off, we'll take your hands too. So long as you're breathing...None of it matters." He shook his head "Two of us, and one of you. You're fucked."

Maria cracked her head to the side, taking in a deep breath.
"So get some more guys, and it'll be a fair fight."
She watched as the second man readied himself, raising his fists.
"Alright ya little shits...Let's go."

 

[Corgi]

Part 1​

“Is this it, Colt?”

Staring at the unfolded drawing of Milly’s home, Aubrey compared it to the building they stood in front of. While the once pristine putting-green lawn was overgrown the grass seemed as fresh and green as the day it grew. The lily white walls were only disturbed by the settled dirt of time gone by. Despite the chaos, the little bungalow seemed virtually untouched. The question hung in the air for a moment, making the blonde feel a bit slow. It was obviously the house; Milly didn’t miss a single detail in her drawing. Nevertheless, Aubrey moved the image closer to Colt, readjusting the support she was providing the veteran.

After their last conversation, they decided to do as Owen asked and find Milly’s home. While Aubrey was uncomfortable with the idea, Colt sluggishly insisted. It wasn’t difficult to see the worry on the blonde’s face and the exhaustion on the vet’s, but they made due.

“Milly’s going to be excited when we come back.” Aubrey smiled slightly, attempting to lift the heavy mood around them. Though she was cheerful, she couldn’t help but feel concerned. Looking at the picture the child drew, the thought of the girl crying at the mention of drawing it twisted her heart in a way she couldn’t decipher. It bugged her that Milly wanted them to go to the house so badly, yet was so heartbroken about being reminded of the place.

“Huh?” The veteran was broken out of her stupor from the younger woman’s words. They were here? She could hardly remember. The older woman sighed through her nostrils and looked the house over. “Yeah… this is the one.” She finally answered. Her voice was still scratched from before but had turned even raspier with the time going by. Fishing into her pocket, she brought out the set of keys Milly had given the pair. Playing with them a little, Colt sighed as she glanced at the keychain. The small picture of Milly and her mother caught her eye.

“Doesn’t look like anyone’s been here. They all must’ve fled when it all went down.” The melancholy woman mused before gently pushing the little white gate open. Without maintenance, the potted plants ran free, sprouting taller than she thought would have been possible.

Aubrey instinctively reached out to Colt, her hand feeling small against the woman’s arm, “Wait!” She warned, pausing for a moment in hopes they hadn’t attracted the attention of anyone or anything. When no sound followed, she let out a relieved sigh, “We should still tread carefully.” It felt odd for the blonde to give advice to the veteran, no matter how simple it was. Typically it was the other way around- Aubrey was much less experienced than Colt so cautious comments came naturally.

The sudden grip on her arm caused a sudden surge in the veteran as she released a strangled gasp between a growl and a startled yelp and jumped back from the pressure. The force of the jump sent her into the white fence before she was able to rebalance herself. Through the pounding of the blood in her ears she could hear Aubrey talking but could barely make out what she was saying to respond. The very fact that she had almost walked right in without caution, something she never would have done was almost enough for her to cry. How could she be that stupid?

Hesitantly, Aubrey loosened her grip, stumbling through her words “I mean, you never know what could be in there. Things can get in and out… and stuff.” She mumbled, the hand with the picture slowly raising to her cap as embarrassment flooded her cheeks. Colt’s reaction wasn’t one she expected, and she felt a tad guilty for touching the woman without asking.

“Yeah… yer right. Dunno what’s in there…”

“I’m sure it’s fine but uhm… Let’s just get inside.” Aubrey said, offering an awkward smile before folding the picture and sticking it into her back pocket. The blonde knew something was wrong with Colt. She never just waltzed into places. Hell, Colt was the one who asked Aubrey to look for extra escape routes just in case, the vet was one of the most cautious people she knew.

The woman shook her head. Perhaps she was looking too far into things. She was already on edge by being outside of the lodge, then her sister, and then Owen and Nile leaving- it easily could be a build up of emotions causing her head to see things a different way.

Grabbing hold of her crowbar, Aubrey motioned for Colt to go first, seeing as she had the keys. The blonde had no doubt Colt could take care of herself, but it wouldn’t hurt them for Aubrey to watch out for the both of them.

Colt sighed, a hand running down her damp face before following Aubrey’s lead and walking to the front door. With a shaky hand, she pushed in the key and turned it slowly, stopping half way to listen. Nothing. Nothing but the building settling. But silence could be deceiving. Before turning the key the rest of the way, her hand hovered above her holstered colt.45. After a moment, she pushed open the door, gun raised.

The house was still, almost trapped by time. Rather than a hall, the pair were greeted with a large living room/kitchen space. The grey carpet was pristine and the white furniture only suffered from dust. At the side of the large television was a shelf full of Blue-Rays, and the other on the opposite side was creaking from books. It was so maintained it spooked the veteran. Nothing seemed to be disturbed. No sign of struggles, no blood nor evidence of any kind of carnage or combat.

“It’s like a fuckin’ show-room in here.” she breathed, lowering her weapon but not putting it away completely. She turned back to the girl, “Ya can eh… search Milly’s room. I’m gonna see what supplies we could maybe take from the kitchen.” She breathed, taking a long drink of water from the bottle she had taken from the house. She was unsure of Milly’s mother would have had any alcohol anywhere but at this point the woman was struggling. She had no idea how much longer she was going to keep this up. As long as possible was the longest she could cope.
Watching Colt shamble to the kitchen, Aubrey thought about stopping her, saying they need to do a full check of the house before they go off by themselves, but it was obvious no one had entered the house in ages. A layer of dust surrounding each unmoved object told her that, but the anxiety welled up in her chest nonetheless.

Gripping her crowbar, she made her way through the home. The stillness of the home crept up her back, but what bothered her even more was how perfectly placed everything was. Colt was right, it was like a showroom. The only thing to differentiate from a stage house were the picture frames on the wall. Milly took up most of the frames, though younger than she was now; round faces, smiles with missing teeth, dark blue eyes and long brown hair lined each image, and none of them were out of place. Something was unsettling about all of this. It was all too perfect.

“Fuck me…” Colt was hunched over the empty sink, gripping the sides tightly as the threat of vomiting was intense. She had only made it a few feet into the kitchen before it waved over her. “I think we’re in the clear. Anything that was here would’ve come out about now.” she sighed, turning to the hall to look at the younger woman.

Aubrey almost forgot Colt was in the house too and jumped at the sound of her retching. Brows furrowed, she glanced back to the vet, “Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked, completely going over the woman’s statement, “You can sit in the living room, I can take care of this. I made the promise anyway, not you. I wouldn’t want you to put yourself in harm's way for my responsibilities.”

“Naw,” Colt groaned, “I’m fine. Besides, I promised I’d do this with ya. Y’didn’t make me.” the Marine sighed. Despite her words, she did sit down. She was no doubt dirtying the white sofa’s leather with her lack of hygiene but at this point, she was relieved to just be off her foot. Despite feeling like she had been trampled by a herd of bison, she was trying.

“I’ll keep watch then.” she pulled the assault rifle from her back, resting it safely over her lap, “Just, gimme a moment…”

Aubrey gave a short nod. Colt was right, she didn’t make any of them come. Still, she felt some sort of accountability over them. If any of them got hurt, it’d be her fault. She asked two of them to come, it wasn’t completely their will. Shaking off the ever-present worry of impending doom, the blonde continued on her way, scanning the hall for any sign of a child’s room.

Collaboration: Rumble Fish (Colt)

 

[Rumble Fish]

Part 2​

Quickly, Aubrey came across a pristinely white door, little silver and blue stars scarcely covering the lower half of the door. A small smile found its way onto Aubrey’s lips as she thought of the amount of fun those stickers must’ve been for the child. Reaching out towards the door handle, she had to remind herself that Milly asked her to grab these things from her room and that she wouldn’t be trespassing into the kid’s personal life. Taking a small breath, she peeked into the room.

The only word that could be used to describe Milly’s room would be ‘soft’. The beautiful navy carpet complimented the ashy blue walls and white frames of her bed and chest of drawers. The A white throw blanket covered the foot of the sky-blue duvet. Just below the soft pillows was a large and fluffy, navy blue blanket neatly folded up, ready to be thrown over a sleeping body. In the corner of the room was a small assortment of stuffed animals. A yellow duck with an orange bill, a fat and brown bear, a fluffy chimpanzee with stiff and movable arms, currently outstretched to the door as if happy to see the person walk in and a pearl white lamb with a pink bow, stiff and with a wind-up handle. All the toys faced the door, as if they had been frolicing and playing and only just realised the door was open.

Staring at the stuffed animals, she felt the need to apologize for intruding, the glassy black beads boring into her soul as she entered the room. Aubrey immediately regretted her steps as the fishing boots sunk into the fluffy carpeting, getting who-knows-what on the flawless flooring. Groaning slightly, she backed out of the room, taking her shoes off and setting them outside the door before saying, “I found Milly’s room.”

Colt, in the few minutes she had been sitting, built up the strength to continue. Heavy boots clumped against the wooden floor as she looked into the small girl’s room upon Aubrey’s prompting. Poking her head in, she too was a little alarmed at all the toys looking at the door. “Jesus,” she grumbled, “That’s freaky… Anyway, what did she say she wanted?”

Aubrey chuckled at how different yet similar their reactions were before digging out the picture and turning it to the back. The blonde’s crude handwriting was scribbled in the corner, almost too small and too messy to make out, “Uhm… She wanted a weighted blanket, a few books, and a stuffed animal.” She stated before putting the picture back in her pocket and looking into the room, “I suppose we should start looking.” She said, now walking into the bedroom in her socks, “Which animal should we bring? I know she likes her one chicken friend, so maybe a duck…?” It was less of a genuine question and more her talking out loud as she attempted to make the decision herself.

Colt felt bad for being unable to remove her shoes to enter, but doing so would have left her lopsided and she was unaccustomed to walking on the prosthetic’s actual mould-foot rather than with it having the boot on it. She felt bad enough in general, being able to walk was one of the few things she had going for her right now. She looked around the room, picking up the blanket that Aubrey had mentioned. It was indeed heavier than your average blanket so must have been the one the small girl was talking about. At the mention of a duck, Colt grumbled in her throat, “...Think she’d want the lamb, it looks like it plays something. Let’s get them both.” the veteran sighed before looking around the room again. While it wouldn’t have suit her as a kid, she could understand why Milly missed it so much and wanted to go home so badly.

The blonde nodded at Colt’s insight. She wished that Milly elaborated on which ones, but bringing back two she may not have wanted out of the five were better odds than one. Grabbing the two plush animals, she tucked them into the backpack, but quickly realized that they were a bit large. She was able to zip it up halfway before the large lamb head and duck beak poked out of the top. If they ran into any other survivor while out, she figured it’d be an odd sight.

Throwing the pack back onto her shoulders, she curiously looked around the room. Aubrey couldn’t help but think how happy the child would’ve been if she was allowed to come along. Being able to see her home, smell the familiar scent of fabric softener and cleaning supplies, a simple relief in the chaos and horror the young girl was put through… but then there was the possibility she wouldn’t make it to the home, nor back to the lodge. The blonde wasn’t sure she could endure being the reason Milly, or any kid, died. Brows furrowed, she looked towards the veteran. Aubrey knew Colt had to take the lead with things back at the lodge a number of times, making hard decisions.

“Colt… When you’re in charge, how do you handle the, uh, pressure?” Her tone was unclear, a mixture of confusion and worry. She couldn’t help but fiddle with the straps on her bag as the question hung out in the open.

Colt had packed the weighted blanket into her rucksack and was currently looking through some of the girl’s book collection. She read Roald Dahl? And not just his children’s stories either, but his short stories. Perhaps she would only read those with her mother, she remembered being spooked by The Landlady when she was a kid, especially with Brookes’ vivid voices he would provide the characters. Even then she knew what the taste of almonds meant. And even now, she still sniffed her food/drinks in case of the toxic powder. She looked down further and snorted at another book. The Black Cat and other stories by Edgar Allen Poe.

“That one can fuck right off,” she grumbled, picking the book up, “Had to read this fur school and had nightmares about cats fur-” she was halted by Aubrey’s question. Instantly her aching body deflated. How was she supposed to answer that? The veteran shut her sore eyes with a sigh. “Well,” she took a moment, “With drink. Without it I’m pretty much worthless.” she shrugged heavily, feeling that way right now. However, she did not want to give the younger woman any ideas. With a cough, she continued looking through books to bring back to Milly.

“But, well, when I was still,” There was involuntary shudder as the previous night’s terror flashed through her mind, not wishing to elaborate much more into that time, “I was in charge of my squad. It was pretty hard. But… I always felt that, no matter what I did next, it had to keep’em safe. Everything’s t’keep ‘em safe and alive.”

“I think I understand…” Aubrey mumbled, eyes circling the ground before glancing up at the woman, “Theoretically speaking, if someone did get hurt while you were in charge, how would you handle that?” She hoped that the excursion they’re on now didn’t result in that, but there was no telling what may happen; she’d rather know how to cope before anything went wrong.

Colt sighed, her face becoming heavy at this question. She knew this question was coming and it still hurt to hear it. Slowly, she sat onto the bed, ignoring its creaks from the weight as it had sat undisturbed for months, her eyes straight ahead. Looking through Aubrey, the wall behind her and beyond.

“I, well,” she took a moment to continue, “I was in charge of twelve women. And when they got hurt, it hurt me. If they got shot from being in cover that I directed ‘em to, I had t’live with it. But then again, I had’t accept that it happened. I was very lucky though. They were smart. Nobody ever got hurt badly. Pull the bullet out, pour a beaker of chemicals into the wound, slap a bandage on it and send her back out. Still… I couldn’t…” The more the woman talked, the more her right leg jumped up and down and the resting hand twitched, already she was beginning to replay that day in her mind, and without her usual assistance, there was nothing she could do about it.

Aubrey felt her mouth immediately dry as Colt began to speak. She knew the woman was a veteran, it was common knowledge but it never occurred to her that something like that could have happened, “I-It’s okay. You answered my question.” She interjected, hoping to snap her out of the thousand yard stare. The blonde recognized the jittery-ness Colt showed, she did it herself when things got too much. After a moment, she dropped her hands to her side and took a few steps closer, “I, uh, didn’t…” Clearing her throat, she hoped it’d allow the words to escape as she wanted them to, “I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” Aubrey couldn’t bring herself to look up to the woman. The words definitely answer her question, at least.

Aubrey’s voice was a gift from God as, with a growl and shake of the head, she turned her attention to the girl. Focus. Focus. Focus on her, don’t think about it. Just answer what she said. Her body continued to jitter despite her diverted attention. “No. Y’didn’t. But that’s my fault.” The veteran answered huskily before breathing heavily, “Bein’ in charge is hard. It’s not fur everyone. I dunno if it’s even fur me sometimes.”

“If, uhm… If it’s any consolation, I think you’ve done a good job. You seem to handle yourself well in stressful situations and aren’t afraid to step in if matters get out of hand.” At this point, Aubrey moved and sat down on the bed next to Colt, attempting to alleviate the leaning of the mattress by lowering herself slowly, “It’s admirable really. I’m… uhm, I’m trying to be more like that.” She admitted, “We’ve only been outside of the lodge a day and I already feel like things have gotten out of hand far too quickly.”

“Ain’t enough though… But thanks you.” she looked to the girl, wanting to give the woman a smile but simply could not bring herself to do it. She sighed deeply at the younger girl’s words, “I know. Thing is, my girls weren’t idiots. They weren’t stupid. But they’re dead! We got stupid folk who, by all accounts should be dead. But they ain’t. And,” the woman shuddered with gritted teeth, “It frustrates me for makin’ no! Fuckin’ SENSE!” the woman put her head in a hand, “Nothin’ makes sense. And I hate it.”

The woman grumbled and sat up fully, “Sorry. I… I don’t really mean that.” She could not take it out on Aubrey. It was her own fault for expecting too much. Still, after being that world for so long, the idea of there still being people who don't properly think was unfathomable to her.

“No, you’re right. What you’re saying, I mean. It makes sense.” Aubrey had taken the red cap off her head at this point, rubbing the brim between her fingers, “I spent a majority of my life trying to figure myself out since no one else could. The only time I felt I made sense was when I was near the water, so I stayed there as much as I could. The water just… accepted me completely so I avoided people because I felt they could never understand.” The blonde shook her head, giving a small smile, “That probably sounds weird.” Glancing to Colt she let out a sigh, “The point I’m trying to make is I’m away from the one place I felt comfortable, and as scary and confusing as it is, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so understood.”

The blonde paused for a moment, readjusting the cap back onto her head, “The world doesn’t have to make sense for it to work out. It works in odd ways that we can’t really understand. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ll try to understand it but…” Aubrey shrugged, “What can you do.”

“No, I get it.” Colt sighed as she got up to continue looking through the room, “After I came here, I avoided people. And intended to keep avoiding people. And fishin’ huh? That’s a throwback. Haven’t bin fishin’ in years. Me’n my da would fish all the time. Fishin’, huntin’...” her nostalgic tone of voice trailed off a little before Aubrey spoke up.

“Yeah, I miss it. I’ve, uhm, never gone hunting but I haven’t been fishing in a few months. Well, since this whole thing started, really.” She mumbled, standing before glancing over to the vet. The last few minutes of conversation seeped into her conscious mind, allowing her to realize how much she had spoken in such a short amount of time. Embarrassment spread across her visage before she spoke, “Uhm, sorry for talking so much. That, uh, doesn’t happen often.” Clearing her throat, she looked around the area, “Do you think that’s all we need from this room? Did you get enough books?”

“Oh uh- didn’t know what she wanted so I just grabbed a few of every author. Don’t think she’d mind.” Colt sighed gently, looking at them. While she hadn’t interacted with the youngster much, she could not deny, it would warm her to hopefully see the younger girl happy to have some of her trinkets of the past. “Before we go… I kinda want to look in the kitchen again. See if there’s anything. Canned goods and the likes.”

“Sounds good to me.” Following Colt out the bedroom door, a bracelet-making kit caught her attention. Thinking quickly, she grabbed it and crammed it into the already full backpack as best as she could. Shortly after, she grabbed her boots and gripped her hat once more, “Thank you, by the way. I’m happy you shared what you did with me.”

Colt, ever the laconic, scratched the back of her neck at the thank you, a little lost on what to say. Finally she mumbled a “No worries.” before heading into the kitchen, “Talking helps, somebody told me.”

Collab: Corgi

 

[The Mad Queen]

Awakening: Part 2​

The knife-wielding man went in first, his companion behind him but with a wild look in her eyes Maria was quick, offering her first opponent an elbow to the jaw after she pushed his arm to the side. The second man got a roundhouse kick to the stomach for his troubles. Both were sent staggering back. She watched as the first man rubbed his jaw, her eyes darting between the two of them.

The darkness of the room might have made it a little bit more difficult to see, but so long as Maria could make out the silhouettes that was all the woman needed. Clenching her fists and taking a defensive stance she waited for them to make their move. Instead of rushing in, both men kept their distance, slowly approaching as they tried to encircle her.

As her eyes moved between each opponent, the second man dashed to her side, throwing in a right hook. Maria grabbed his arm, and threw the man over her shoulder. As he hit the ground, his companion stepped in with the knife and attempted to get Maria by the shoulder. However, she had seen the attack coming and managed to step back just in time. The knife missed her shoulder by mere inches.

The second attack was quicker, the knife going for her face and yet Maria stepped back. Her opponent was trying to push the beast back into a corner, but she saw right through him. The third slice aimed for her gut, but Maria darted to one side and followed up her move by kneeing her opponent in the arm. As her knee connected with his wrist, he let out a grunt in pain.

But he did not let go of the blade.
His companion was already on his feet, taking no time to dust himself off as he charged in. Both men attacked at once, one with nothing more than his fists while the other used his blade.

Maria could block one attack, but not the other. Thinking quickly, she grabbed a hold of the first man's wrist, stopping the knife before it made contact with her skin. She wasn't quite fast enough to block or dodge a left hook thrown by the second man, and his fist impacted against the side of her face. She remained steady, throwing up her leg to knock the man down while bringing her other leg around to strike the knife-wielding assailant just below the knee.

His companion, although staggered by a kick to the gut had his breath back, and was currently trying to dash at Maria again. Throwing in a roundhouse kick, he aimed for her head but the woman still had one arm free, and used it to defend her neck. Her eyes darted back to the first man as the two of them struggled for possession of the knife.

Maria didn't need it to win, but keeping it from his grasp would turn things in her favour. As they stared into each other's eyes, she kneed him in the gut and caused him to stagger back. It had been good timing too, for the second man was ready with another attack she just managed to block in time. However, as her attention darted back and fourth he was able to land a blow as his free hand connected with her gut in a heavy punch.

The wind was knocked out of Maria, and the woman staggered back. She was almost cornered, but managed to prepare herself for the next blow. Punch after punch was blocked, for unlike the man with the buzzcut this opponent attacked wildly, there was no strategy behind his blows that Maria could see. All she had to do was wait.

The knife-wielding man was closing in, but the second man gave Maria the opening she needed. She'd been blocking his attacks, never fighting back herself for the woman had been biding her time, waiting for him to make a mistake. Trying to kick her had left him open, and that was when the beast went in for the kill. As buzzcut was only inches away, Maria brought his companion down with a number of punches to the face, to the gut and to the throat. As he stood there, staggering and struggling to breathe after the punch to his throat she threw in a roundhouse kick for good measure and sent him collapsing to the floor.

A second or two sooner, and the woman wouldn't have been in trouble, the fight would've been a breeze but the kick had been a mistake. She might even have been stabbed, but Maria was quick and the knife only managed to graze her.

"Oh, screw these orders." He muttered "You hurt my friend..."
"You bastards tied me up. What the fuck were ya expectin'?" Maria snapped

He reached behind his back, and Maria took a gamble. If he'd been reaching for a gun and she did nothing, there was no doubt in her mind that he would've gunned her down. For her trouble, she took a knife to the shoulder as she dashed towards the man, elbowing him in the gut and following this up with an uppercut to the face. As he staggered, almost falling to the ground she finished him off with a hefty elbow to the jaw.

He collapsed, an unconscious heap on the ground while his companion, beaten and bloodied attempted to stand. Maria dashed over, placing a foot on his chest.
"Talk. Or I'll break yer ribs. Where am I?"
"The university." He coughed "You're still at the university!"

Just why had Caoimhe agreed to travel into town in the first place, let alone a university? They had both agreed to stay at the lodge unless it was an emergency. Perhaps there was something about it in the notebook?
With her eyes like daggers, Maria continued to stare down at her beaten opponent.
"Where the feck are my things?"
"The dumpster."

She applied pressure.
"We had to get rid of the evidence. Make it look like you never came here. Look, it's not even like it gets emptied anymore. I'm sure you can just get it back!"
She stomped on his chest. Hard.
"You threw my dad in a dumpster!?" She growled, pulling the man to his feet and grabbing him by the scruff of his neck "Oh, you are so fuckin' lucky that I need somethin' from ya, otherwise I'd beat ya to death."
He raised his hands "Just ask...I'll talk."
"I only got three questions left."
"Sure." He laughed nervously "I'd be happy to answer."
"Who did I come here with?"
"Doctor Fisher. Don't worry he's safe. He's needed to run tests."

Doctor fucking Friendly. It was starting to make to Maria now.
"Question two...What in the sweet name of Mary is goin' on here? Why was I tied up? Why did you need me alive?"
"Isn't that three questions?" He groaned. In response she kneed him in the stomach "Alright...We're trying to find a cure, or at least to study these things but that requires..."
"Was I meant to be a lab rat?" She growled once more
"Yeah."

She kneed him again, and loosened her grip. He fell to his knees, clutching his stomach.
"Just one more question then."
"Sure...As I said, I'm happy to answer anything!"
"How good are ya at begging?" Her face was devoid of emotion

He raised an eyebrow "Begging?"
"I want ya to beg. Do it well and I might not beat ya within an inch of yer life."
His eyes widened "I was only following orders. You have to understand that stopping this pandemic is more important than one person!" His hands were in front of his face, together as if he was in prayer "Look, I'm sorry. I had no idea things would get this bad! I'm sorry we tied you up! I'm sorry we tried to use you..." As he talked, all the while Maria just stared down at him, her face still emotionless "I thought I could be a part of saving millions of lives!"

Maria cracked her knuckles, and brought her fist into contact with the man's face. Punch after punch followed as her blue eyes transformed into daggers. His chest, gut and throat were hit too as the punches only got faster. His face was bloodied, and eventually the man was beaten into unconsciousness.
"Disgusting." She spat.

By the time Maria left the room, both men were tied to the same place she had been upon waking up, gags in their mouths. They were free of weapons, left with nothing but cuts and bruises from the battle. The woman even took one of their coats, a leather biker jacket that the man with the buzzcut had been wearing. As she pushed the door open, taking a breath in she quickly found herself staring down two more figures as they descended a staircase.

Each wore a gas mask and was carrying a gun.
"Oh, for feck's sake..." She groaned

 

[Dragonlord318]

NOT ALL WOUNDS ARE VISIBLE

Collab w/ BloodLightning27 , FireMaiden and myself.​

David was walking back in from the shed, as he hadn't been able to find his food stash yet. He was starting to get anxious, and hoped Luca and Andy weren't over-rationing and/or hiding the food. If they were hiding and micromanaging the rations, why? What purpose did they have for doing so? Was there a thief? Was someone stealing? With all these questions and more going through his head, he walked into the lodge once again.

His stomach had been rumbling recently, and he wanted to get something to eat. He'd seen some people moving about the lodge and grabbing plates here and there, so he assumed at least some of the lodge's food supply was in the kitchen. He was slightly surprised when he saw a slim blonde looking through the cupboards. Looked like she had the same idea as him.

"Good morning," he said from the living room entrance to the kitchen. He didn't want to be right up on her when he made himself known. He must've been a sight, a 6'2" 270lb dirty-blonde with soot marks on his clothes. He had made sure to clean off his arms and face using an outdoor water spicket during his food-searching trek, but some black highlights remained in his hair.



Thankfully for Shinoa, taking care of Valerie was not completely difficult. Finding food however, was. Usually she just took leftovers or whatever was available, but it was getting worse and worse. But at least she was able to get water every so often. Even though she's had zero interactions with him, she could only guess that Michael was consuming all of it, given that he was the biggest person in the Lodge compared to everyone else. It wasn't long until someone else entered the room and, being reasonably alert, she had heard their footsteps. When they greeted her, she turned around to the direction that she heard the voice. Before her was a tall, kinda overworked looking Blond guy. "Oh, morning to you as well. There isn't too much food left. Probably the fat-ass eating all of it." She said with a frown.

David's eyebrows furrowed. "Where do Luca and Andy keep the freezers?" He asked. The food supply shouldn't be this radically low as he had just literally restocked the lodge with most of his winter stores. And who was the fat guy she was talking about? It seemed that one of his theories was coming true. Someone was overeating and the lodge leaders kept the food under lock and key to preserve it from this person's greedy mouth. He extended a hand. "I'm David by the way. And just who is the fatso you're talking about, ma'am?"

"Not sure where the freezers are kept. I've just been scraping left-overs from the fridge if I get lucky." She answered upon turning to the taller blond male. Adjusting her shirt, she smiled a little, somewhat happy to see a friendly face. "Name's Shinoa. And his name is...Michael I think. He's been eating all the food and stealing it from the others here. The rest of us barely have anything to eat because of him from what I know." Sure, Shinoa didn't really interact or talk to Michael, not that she really had a reason to. However, with the constantly dwindling food supplies, she did wish that they could get rid of him, whether its taking care of him themselves, or leaving him at the mercy of the zombies, whichever came first. Either of them was better then starving to death because someone didn't wanna control their appetite.

David looked at Leliana as she helped Milly get some breakfast together, and nodded at her. "You wouldn't happen to know where the freezers are, would you?" He did notice where the nurse was getting her food, and followed suit, handing some of it to Shinoa.


"There's one there with the refrigerator and I think there's an ice chest around here somewhere. But..." Leliana paused, taking another bite of her sandwich as she helped Milly to keep from slipping off her back. "The generator is broken, anything in either is at risk of going bad. This was fine, but...I don't know. What are you looking for?"

"I just made some breakfast, and we have some stuff left around here, I haven't done inventory yet so I'm not sure how much." Her habit of doing inventory in the morning and at night to keep up with what they were eating and if someone was stealing still persisted. But it seemed like doing that was a good idea. "We aren't going to starve, but we can't go and treat ourselves. So keep the snacking at bay alright?"

As a plate was handed to her, Shinoa smiled a bit and simply accepted. Rationing food was important in the current circumstances, but not everyone understood that. "If we have to make another trip into town, we probably should look more into non-perishables since they have a lengthier shelf life and don't have to be frozen or refrigerated." She suggested, unsure if Leliana had spoken to Luca or Andy about it yet, since she hasn't really interacted with either of them. "If possible at all, I'd like to go with the next group that is going into town." She said allowed before quietly munching on the breakfast she received.

"No, Shinoa. You aren't doing do that," Leliana spoke firmly. "They know what kind of food lasts the longest, but we aren't the only survivors in Aurora. We can't be. So what food is left is all up for grabs in a city full of infected who want nothing more than to kill us. Another trip for food itself is inevitable but the people already out on runs will be bringing stuff back too," She continued, taking a bite of her sandwich before she looked back at Shinoa. "You and Milly are the only two here who are getting three meals a day. Or at least, you're supposed to. So you'll be taken care of no matter what happens."

Even though she was in good hands and well-taken care of, the reason why Shinoa even wanted to go into the whole scavenging thing was because she didn't feel like she was pulling her own weight at the lodge and Valerie wasn't a free pass. Not only that, but she wanted to find her Grandmother, who was still missing. While it was likely that the elderly woman was dead given the circumstances, Shinoa still wanted answers regardless. "Well I have to pull my weight somehow. Everyone's working their asses off. I should too." If anything, she certainly felt like a freeloader, something that she really hated. "And scavenging for supplies isn't the only reason I want to make a trip into town."

"You're not going into town, end of discussion," Leliana spoke firmly, her brows furrowed. "You want to help, you can do stuff around here. Chores, cook, help with inventory, but you're not going out. Andy, Luca, and Colt would never agree to it. Especially since you have Valerie. Whatever you want you can tell someone going out." Shinoa was a kid. And granted the age difference between the two was only two years, Leliana wanted to make sure that Shinoa was protected. So the nurse looked to David. "Breakfast okay?"

"I'm looking for my chest freezer I donated the other day. It was stock full of meat." He looked at Shinoa as she talked about pulling her own weight and didn't think much of it until Leliana responded. She had a child? David raised an eyebrow at that. He wasn't surprised at the nurse's response. He wouldn't let her out either. He stayed silent, letting the two women settle their dispute...if you could call either of them a woman. Both of them were much younger than David. Especially Shinoa. She just looked like a baby. When Leliana asked him if breakfast was ok, he nodded. "Yes, thanks. I'm just concerned because the little one-" he nodded at Milly "-seems a little thin. I donated a huge freezer full of meat that should've sustained ten people for a month no problem. I just hope there's no over-rationing. But, Michael, was it? The fatso you talked about may be a rational explanation for it."

"The problem is, there aren't ten people here, there's more." Leliana would then pause, trying to do the mental math in her head of just how many were there. "There's 18 of us, I think. At one point, there were thirty. So you giving us that food was a big help, but no matter what it's not going to last as long as you expected," Leliana explained with a sigh. "All of us have lost weight, it's not just Milly. And Micheal...look, he's certainly a problem but nobody has been stealing food. I do an inventory every morning and every night. We keep track of who eats what, with the exception of these two everyone gets to meals a day. A snack if you really need it. There's no over rationing just rationing. I wouldn't do that to the people here, I know how important it is."

Well, Lelianna wasn't wrong. She could still contribute by doing chores around the house. Cooking, Cleaning, Help with Inventory, the like. There was also the matter of her taking care of Valerie, who was still considered a newborn as she was only two weeks old. Shinoa did find herself a little shocked when Lelianna stated that there are eighteen people at the lodge currently. While the young nurse conversed with David, she went ahead and continued munching on her breakfast. Well, the thought of finding her Grandmother was kinda hanging in the air now. Even if Lelianna disagreed, Shinoa was probably gonna go anyway, its just that the woman before her was the wrong person to talk to about it. "I'm guessing there isn't a solution to Michael right now?" She asked, after using a paper towel to wipe her mouth.

David sighed. It was bittersweet, in that he was relieved that no-one was stealing, but concerned that there were 18 people here. He was glad that everyone was getting two meals a day, and Shinoa and Milly 3 meals. He nodded in approval. "That's good to hear, and also concerning. But, seeing that you all have kept everyone at least alive and mobile shows me that you are very well capable of handling yourselves. I'll contribute however I can. And, seeing as I've heard Andy and Colt's missions, I believe more resources are incoming soon. What we have here will sustain us until then." He stretched a little before responding to Shinoa. "Based on what Leliana said, he's a...tolerable problem right now. And that's probably the best we can get from someone who, from what I'm gathering, loves to eat." He turned back to Leli, "Plus, I can always forage, go on runs and hunt to help out."

"I'll talk to Luca later, but it may help if I house two of the lodge members at my place. I've still got winter reserves there that could more than sustain three until winter's end, and the woods will be ripe with life and greens come spring." He shook his head. "Winter is always hardest."

"David, please don't bother Luca. Talk to Andy when she gets back, but he doesn't need to be disturbed right now." Her voice was a lot softer this time, Leliana unable to hide the concerned light in her eyes. "Housing two people, I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not, but it's something Andy would want to talk about. So please, just...wait. Alright?"

David nodded. "Will do. And it seems that my meat was distributed around in the proper storage on site based on what you said." He shrugged. "One problem solved. Now, we work together to stay alive. That's gonna take awhile." He smiled a bitter smile at Leliana. "Seems that's become our life here, eh? This isn't really new to me, but having those used to the local economy thrust into survival mode is a wrench in the cogs. A workable wrench, but a wrench nonetheless." He crossed his arms. "Seems like you have experience dealing with trauma, so your survival chance was already up when all this hit." He waved his hand gesturing to the general situation.

"But you," he looked at Shinoa again. "I can only imagine the difficulty for you. Especially a new mother. But," he nodded once, "it's good to see others band together so the strong can protect the innocent. Protect the weak. Trample the oppressor. That was my temple's motto."

Leliana couldn't help but tense when he mentioned she must have experience with trauma. Her gaze shifted away from him, her jaw clenched. Delicate fingers balled into fists for a few seconds before her hands relaxed with a sigh. "Experience or not, it's not exactly the same as this mess we're in. I grew up downtown, worked at Moes, I just know how to act smart in dangerous situations. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go do inventory."

The tensing did not go unnoticed by the observant monk. David caught up to her as she walked away, standing in front of her. "Leliana, I apologize if I struck a nerve. I lost some monk brothers in fights with gangs, and they were closer to me than my own blood. I know trauma. Trust me. You are strong. I mean what I said in as much of a compliment as I can. You are a beast out here. A mother bear ready to tear apart anyone who'd hurt her family. And you have the experience to back it up. I am not digging, and I am not..." He looked for the right word, "diminishing what you've been through."

Leliana kept her eyes off him for a few moments, her focus anywhere but him. After a few moments of silence and then letting him speak, she looked up at his face. There was a very slight smile, a sigh passed over her lips. "I have...no idea what you're talking about David." Of course, she did, but Leliana didn't want to open this can of worms again. Colt already knew enough, and that woman...at the moment was probably the only one the nurse trusted to talk about it. If she could ever actually bring herself to do it again. "I'm serious though, I should go do inventory. It's always the first thing on my to-do list. So if you need me I'll be around."

David saw that knowing smile. Though she said she didn't know what he was talking about, the way she looked at him while she said it was more communication than a thousand words could express. "I'm glad," the blonde said, an equal smile on his face, "that it's nothing." His smile persisted and he gave a reassuring pat on her shoulder as he went back to the kitchen to finish his breakfast with Shinoa.

Shinoa quietly finished off her breakfast as David walked back in and kept to smaller bites, not wanting to eat too fast as it wasn't entirely all that healthy. Once Lelianna got up and left to do inventory, Shinoa just had the uneasy look. Her Grandmother was still on her mind and Shinoa wanted to go find her. Clearly Lelianna was the wrong person to ask about it. But in terms of who would be the right person to ask, the line was rather blurry. Colt seemed easy going about it, though she felt like either Andy or Owen would probably be the better people to talk to. She was intimidated by Luca, so asking him was probably a bad idea. Sighing, she collected the empty plates -including David's, after which he thanked her- and went ahead to go wash them in the sink, as she was probably going to go crazy if she spent one more day just cooped up in her room.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Awakening: Part 3​

The basement level only had ways out. There was the staircase leading down, there was a window off to Maria's right that was letting in the light and finally a fire escape. Her blue eyes darted between the armed figures, and back to the window. She thought about rushing them both, but there was no way she could close the distance in time for them to already have her at gunpoint. The fire door was also too far away.

As the figures noticed her, they slowly raised their guns.
"There's nowhere to run."
"Ya won't shoot. Ya need me alive."
"There's a lot of places you could shoot someone without killing them."

Maria smacked her lips, a smile coming across her face.
"Shite."

Before either figure could fire off a shot, she had already dashed for the window and jumped through it. Thinking quickly, she raised her arms to defend her face. Although the jacket protected her wrists and elbows, her hands were still uncovered and glass pierced into her left hand. She pulled herself to her feet, glancing back to see both making their way towards the fire door. She dashed through the university grounds, clutching her left hand and keeping her head low as a shot went off.

Maria felt no impact, and so looked back to see that one of the figures had grabbed the gun, forcing it upwards.
"She's needed alive! Don't aim for the head!"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph reached for the pistol on his belt, his brown eyes going alert.
"It's one of mine." Simon reassured "They probably just encountered an infected."
"Maybe, but something's wrong." Ralph shook his head
"What makes you say that?"

His brown eyes met Simon's
"Why would they fire only one shot? If they only encountered the one, a gunshot would just attract others."
"Could be they're trying to lure more out to kill them all off? Look, I'll see to it. You just wait here."
"No way in hell am I letting you go out there alone." He snapped. Simon's eyes widened, he had rarely seen Ralph be stern with members of his own team. "I'm sorry. I only just got you back. I don't want you in danger."
"You're forgetting one thing Doctor Fisher. I survived most of this time out there by myself." He offered his mentor a smile
"I'm still coming with."
"No, you stay here. Besides, there are people here anyway. They'll protect me."
"I'm still yet to meet them."
"All you need to know is that they're loyal to our cause."

With that, Simon departed the lab and made his way through the grounds. Fisher would only wait a minute or two before he followed after him.
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Still clutching her hand, Maria had more than a head start on the two figures. No more shots had been fired, but occasional glanced over her shoulder told her that they were still giving chase. She bolted to the right, searching for an exit only to find it blocked by a small number of infected. The gunshot had been a dinner bell, and it was only a matter of time before more of them arrived.

She reached for the knife she'd taken and continued to dash forwards. Her left hand was behind her back now, her right clutching the knife as she kicked one of the infected back and drove the knife through it's eye socket. As it's body dropped, she pushed it backwards and continued to run. They infected followed behind, but she managed to evade their grip.

Outside of the grounds now, she frantically searched around and spotted the beat up rental she'd seen a few times doing little but gathering dust outside of the lodge. Dashing towards it, she tried the door only to find that the car was locked. With the infected closing in, she slid along the hood of the car and kept moving.
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Fisher kept moving, his eyes briefly moving to one of the rooms filled with infected. As he locked eyes with one of the moving corpses, he found himself getting lost. Despite having eliminated so many he had lost count, there was an unshakeable feeling within the man's gut that reminded him of who the infected had once been. Husbands and wives, daughters and sons. Every body he put down had once been a living, breathing human. It remained in his gut, pulling at Fisher for a few moments before he swatted it away with logic.
The host bodies, upon resurrection were little different to the ants that had been taken over by the fungus he had studied. In fact, they were even further along than that.

"You're just letting his words get to you again." Fisher muttered to himself. Facing the alternative would have rendered Ralph a murderer, and such a possibility was not something the Doctor could accept. Thankfully for him, his near death experience courtesy of the morgue absolved him of guilt. His conscience was clean, his hands clean and that was just the way things had to remain for Ralph.

He snapped himself back to reality, and moved down the hallway as fast as he could. Within a few minutes, he'd caught up with Simon who was currently speaking to two masked figures at the bottom of a staircase, their faces hidden behind gas masks. Given their proportions however, Ralph was able to work out that one was male, the other female.

As Ralph poked his head around the corner, the more feminine figure moved to point her pistol at him. Simon quickly spun around, noticing Ralph's brown hair and immediately pushed the gun towards the ground.

"Wait! That's Fisher!" He cried
"What the hell is he doing snooping around?" She snapped. Despite her height being around the same as Simon's, she towered over the young man
"He's, um...He's following me. It's my fault, he probably thought I was in danger."
"Keep to your lab, and keep your friend to the lab too. I don't want anymore of this shit." She stood face to face with him now "Are we clear?"
"What's going on here? What was that gunshot?" Ralph approached, his hands raised
"None of your business, Doctor."
"It is my business if it concerns our safety. And lay off of Simon. The kid's done nothing wrong."

The woman approached him next
"If you know what's good for you, you'll keep that pointed Jew nose out of things here. Stick to the lab." She hissed, pressing a finger into Ralph's chest.
"Hey!" Simon snapped "You can do what you want with me! But don't you dare lay a hand on Doctor Fisher!"

In response, he took a punch to the gut and went down. Ralph dashed to his side "Simon!"
"Now, are we clear?"
He helped the younger man to his feet
"Back to the lab."

Fisher raised his hands once more "Okay, I get it. Can I just make one quick trip? I left a few vital notes in my car. They could very much aid in the research here."
She nodded to her companion "Go with him."

As the figure in the gas mask followed after Ralph, he made eye contact with Simon, still reeling from the blow and winked.

****​

The old rental was surrounded by bodies. That was the first thing Ralph noticed as he made his approach. The Doctor's hands were still raised, and occasionally he would glance back at the masked man behind him. Although a gun wasn't trained on Ralph, he could still see the pistol on his belt, clear as day.
"Did you do this?" He asked
"Not me, no."

Unlocking the car, Ralph searched inside. The Doctor searched under the seats first, but he was by no means searching for his notes. Those, he carried on his person at all times. There was something else in the car. It didn't take him long to find it, and as his hands gripped around the small handgun he hid took a deep breath, and spun around. The masked man had been keeping a lookout for infected, and wasn't expecting it. A gun was now trained on him, pointed directly at his head.

"Gun down." He commanded "Kick it over to me."
"You're not going to shoot me, Ralph." He scoffed "You're soft. You've never shot a real person before. Trust me, that pipsqueak has told me all about you."
"That was before the outbreak. I've changed a lot since then." He pulled back the hammer of the gun. "Is that really a gamble you want to take?"
In response, he took a few steps forward.
"I'm warning you."
He took another, slow step, putting himself a mere two meters away from Fisher. Ralph's hands started to shake, which brought nothing but a chuckle from the masked man. "I knew it."

With Ralph focused on the approaching man, and with him focused on Ralph neither of them noticed when a dumpster, parked a mere meter or two in front of the car opened it's lid and a woman moved into view. With a tackle, she brought the masked man to the ground, driving a knife into his throat. As he was pinned to the ground, the redhead withdrew the knife and drove it into his forehead.

"You didn't have to kill him."
"He was going for his gun. You're welcome." Maria sighed "Keys."
"We can't leave."
She stood to her feet, staring daggers into Ralph's eyes.
"We're getting the fuck out of 'ere. They're turnin' people into lab rats. I would've been one too, if I didn't get out."

Fisher's eyes widened "Oh God. Those infected we saw..." He leaned against the car, taking in a few deep breaths "My best guess would be they want to study the infection after somebody is bitten, or after they die but right before the resurrection occurs...They'd need live subjects." He rested his head in his hands "I knew this was too good to be true. But I got wrapped up in the possibility of..."
"What are ya talkin' about? Feck it, it can wait. We need to get out. Bring the lodge back here and wipe these bastards out before they kill anyone else."
"We can't leave." Ralph muttered
"What?"
"We can't go." He hit his fist against the roof of the car. "They have my friend in there! They could kill him!"

Her eyes went from staring daggers to a look of concern, watching as Ralph ran a hand down his face and stood to his feet.
"I counted only the one, outside of the man you just killed."
"Then there's three in total. Well, two and a half maybe."

He raised an eyebrow at that.
"I beat to of 'em to a pulp and left 'em tied up in the room I was locked up in."
"I'm sorry. I had no idea." He sighed, staring at the ground "I brought you into this mess. It's all my fault."
"I might be pissed at ya but..." She cracked her knuckles "It's those shites I want to beat the crap out of."

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

​

Andy wasn’t sure how much protection the thin layer of polyester tent was going to be between them and the hoard. Not to mention, she had essentially just left Aaron by the humvee to fend for himself. However, at least she knew that he could get the hell out of dodge if the waters got too rough. Even if that meant leaving her with Nessa and no escape. She had to trust the man wouldn’t do that unless he was backed into a corner. If nothing else, maybe the tent would help mask their scent and let them travel further into the fairgrounds undetected.

“How many were here when everything went to shit?” Andy hissed her question, barely a whisper as she turned to look at Nessa. She needed to know exactly how many she was feasibly up against. Her breath was in her chest, light and forcibly controlled from the run. Andy had faith in little, but her aim and her ability to run were two things she would bet on any day. Her time in Track and Field had served her well so far.

Vanessa considered her question for a moment before meeting Andy's gaze. "Well.." she whispered, "I was up on the trapeze when it happened, so it's hard te say. I can say the seats were all full, but there is no tellin how many were outside the tent." She finished, pushing the flap of the tents entrance aside and holding it up for the redhead to pass.

It was apparent that the quarantine call hadn’t hit everyone before the outbreak had started here. That was odd. It made Andy wonder what in the world could have caused this place to get hit so quickly. Did they force people to turn off their cellphones during the performance? Or it was possible that just by the sheer noise of the show people hadn’t heard the vibration from their pockets.

"Let's get inside before those mortverts catch up." Vanessa whispered, motioning with her hand. "We should be able te pass through the other side o the tent and get te the trailers easy enough."

Meanwhile, a few minutes ago outside...

Whilst the pair had been fighting for their lives, time had passed pretty steadily for Aaron back in the Humvee. The drive had been uneventful, almost drearily so, and now the two had disappeared out of sight he was left with only the music piping through the radio system. However despite the quiet, or perhaps because of it, he was on edge, his fingers drumming against the dashboard. There was nothing creepier than a deserted fairground, it was up there with graveyards and abandoned abattoirs, if this was a horror film he was definitely going to be killed by the titular slasher figure. His fingers tightened against the wheel, the drumming ceasing for a few moments. This was a necessity though, winter was fast rolling in, and without light and power the lodge was only a few weeks away from becoming uncomfortable bordering on unliveable, fires and torches would only get them so far. Combine that with the fact that the person he considered the most competent was now off with the most unhinged…
Aaron was shocked out of his musing by a series of low groans, wafting over the sound of his radio. He flicked it off, his eyes darting through the windows, coming to rest on a single walker shambling towards the Humvee. Just the one, Carnival worker by the look of it, wearing a rather dishevelled and blood stained denim overalls. By the looks of him he may have been like that before all of this kicked off. Aaron slowly opened the Humvee door, and let out a couple of low whistles, with a snarl, the cloudy eyes of the Walker locked onto him, and he began to shuffle towards him. He didn’t want this bugger sneaking up on Nessa and Andy if he could help it, even if it was just the one.

Slipping his tire iron out of his belt he gave it a few swings, the metal looping through the air, as the blue of his own eyes met the clouded white of the Walker’s. Allowing the Walker to close most of the distance, Aaron stepped forwards, bringing the iron in an upwards swing which connected with the Walker’s chin with the wet crunch of torn flesh and a shattered draw, sending it sprawling backwards onto the floor. Before it could rise once more he drove the bottom of the tire iron through its skull and it moved no more, dead for a second and more permanent time. Aaron let out a sigh as he wiped the worst of the gore off of his weapon of choice and got up off his haunches. His eyes narrowed, the noise was still growing, something of a cacophony. He glanced once more towards the Humvee and the tent that the Nessa and Andy had disappeared into. Still no movement there. He slowly made his way around the fairground, throwing a final glance towards the Humvee as he rounded a corner behind a stall. The noise was growing stronger now, yet still muffled and distorted as he walked down between rows of stalls, coconut shys, dusty rifle ranges and hoops. All abandoned, gathering dust and generally falling apart. The tire iron was fully grasped in his hands as he stalked down the pathway. At the end of the path was the exterior fencing. Nothing fancy, little more than a sheet of corrugated metal. The noise was coming from there, he was sure of it, his left hand momentarily grasped the radio on his belt. His index finger hovering over the transmitter. Not yet, the pair didn’t need disturbing yet, he could deal with this, no sense in crying wolf if it turned out to just be a couple of racoons or escaped circus animals. And so Aaron edged closer, his fingers tightening and adjusting against the tire iron, thankfully the gloves he was wearing kept his grip tight, even as the sweat pooled from his palms.

Aaron was some 10 metres away when the fence came crashing down, and the sight and noise that greeted him assaulted his senses, the teeming mass of the infected pouring through. He took a step back, his eyes widening in shock, a jolt of fear sped through his system, confronted by the teeming mass before him. Already adrenaline was pumping through his veins, the fight or flight response kicking in, and to fight this would mean death. As he turned to sprint back towards the Humvee, one of the stalls to his immediate left buckled and collapsed, more of the dead stumbling through the wreckage towards him. He lashed out the closest one, over its grasping clawing hands, and with a swift blow to the head gave him room to get past them. Ahead though he could see more of them emerging, too many, far too many. The route back was being swamped. Instead he jumped onto one of the coconut shys. His hands scrambling for purchase on the smooth wood. Finally he hauled himself up. Catching his breath he turned about. A Herd. A whole fucking Herd. They were in the middle of the damn thing. Ignoring the groans below him he looked towards the main tent. Already there were a few walkers there around it and the Humvee. He steadied himself as the wooden structure began to shake as the Walkers collided with it. He raised his radio.

“Andy, we’ve got ourselves a shit ton of company. I’m safe for now and goin’ to try and make my way back to the Humvee. We’re goin’ to have to call this, we’ve got a goddamn herd bearin’ down on us,”

“We can’t leave without the generator,” the redhead’s voice came over the radio, hushed and controlled. Andy reached out and grabbed Nessa by the arm to stop her in the darkness of the tent. The light shone through the vinyl material of the tent, but most of it was stopped by the thick fabric. The darkness was bathed in red and white tint, but her eyes were still adjusting.

“Can we out maneuver them? How close are they to us?” She wasn’t used to having to rely on someone else to be her eyes, in fact there were no ones eyes she trusted more than her own but Aaron was a good person to be forced to lean on.

“ ‘Fraid to say they’re like ticks on a hog. They’re all over you right now, it’s a miracle they haven’t stumbled in already. You’d best find that genny and get the hell out of there. Over and out,”

He slid the radio through his belt loop

"Zloy Ryzhiy, we have bigger problems…" the acrobat said as she peered deeper into the darkness of the tent. She couldn't see anything yet but across the other side of the darkness was an unmistakably familiar sound. A sound of rusting metal scraping repeatedly against more rusted metal in rapid succession.

"What the fuck is that?" Andy hissed. She reached instinctively into the worn fabric of her side bag, letting her coarse and calloused hand reach past the cold bite of the metal zipper. Soon, her warm palm was grubbed around the familiar chill of her flashlight.

Something stopped her from turning it on. There was some false security in the dark. A mix of fear of the unknown, but blissful ignorance of what other horrors awaited them. Andy could feel her breath catch in her throat as she slid the power switch forward, streaming white light into the darkness.

As the beam of light cut through the darkness, its rays cast upon a tall figure. As the light illuminated its form, its head turned, revealing the source of the scraping metal sound. In place of where its jaw should be clanged a metal contraption that had turned brown with rust. The mechanical jaw was violently snapping in rapid succession. Blood oozed out from the top of the jaw as it stumbled forward, dropping the mangled remains of what once might have been a leg.

The red head's eyes widened in surprise. The sounds of the herd from outside were growing ever louder. She was blocked in going forward, and there was no backtracking with the pile of corpses trying to stumble their way in. Going on a run without Luca was a mistake, he was wrong about her. She couldn't lead, she couldn't even choke down the anxiety that suddenly pulled on her lungs, hot and angry as her heart accelerated, keeping her mind from being able to do what it did best. A trembling hand reached for an arrow, but at the last second paused and grabbed the radio instead.

"Aaron, I have an idea."

Collab: Maj RayPurchase
Mentions: Brax

 

[The Mad Queen]

The Confrontation​

"I'm gonna need to know about yer friend. So I don't hurt 'im."
"Simon...He's a good kid. He'll be the only one not carrying a gun. Mixed race, brown eyes, tall and he's got a few scars on his face. A bit of a beard too."
Maria nodded
"Anyway, we can't just barge in."
"We should 'ead back to the lodge. Use that brain of yours, Doctor. If yer gone, Simon is more valuable to 'em. If anythin', knowin' these bastards they'll kill 'im if you stay. Why waste food, water and medicine on two mad scientists when ya only need one?"
Ralph's eyes widened, his jaw dropping.
"Oh my God" He gasped. Maria just shrugged in response "But if we leave, they'll take it out on him. I won't see my friend tortured. If all they need is his intellect, then Lord knows what they'll do to him."

She rolled her eyes "Am I goin' to have to drag ya back to the lodge?"
"Try it. Good luck getting across town."
Maria marched towards him, arms by her side as her blue eyes stared into his. "Don't test me, Doctor. I will knock ya the fuck out if I need to."
"So do it. I'm not leaving him. Not without a fight."
She tightly clenched her fists, still staring into his marbles and neither one said a word for a few moments.

"Fine." She sighed
"Wait, really?"
"Havin' ya in the car and puttin' up with ya whining at me all the way back to the lodge is honestly more painful than dealin' with this." She scoffed "Besides, I think I just got an idea and I'm not lettin' these shites away with what they tried to do ta me."

He reached out a hand "I'm sorry you had to go throu..."
"Don't touch me. I'm still pissed at ya."
Ralph withdrew, placing his hands in his pockets "So this idea..."

Maria knelt down over the corpse of the figure in the gas mask.
"He's about your height."
"He's covered in blood and I sound nothing like him."
"Well 'ave ya got any better ideas?" She snapped
"I do. How good are you with directions?"
"Alright I suppose, why?"
"You're going to have to sneak in. They want me alive, so I'll use that."

He clutched the gun tightly in his hands "Now, listen very carefully..."

****​

The figure in the gas mask, covered in smeared blood from his chest down to his knees and with a dent in his mask headed back through the grounds, making his way towards a door. His breathing was rapid, and there was a gun clutched in his hand. The door swung open, and the woman was there to greet him
"Rhodes?" The woman asked "What the hell happened to you? Where's Fisher?"

Rhodes raised the gun, but instead of pointing it towards the woman it rested against the side of his head. The mask was pulled away, and Rhodes was no more. In his place stood Fisher.
"What the hell are you doing?!" She snapped
"I'll be asking the questions, and you're going to answer or I will be pulling this trigger."
"Bullshit..."
"If I die, Simon is safe. But I also know that you need me a lot more than you need him."
"Put the gun down, idiot. You aren't capable of that."
"To save my friend, I'll do a lot of things. Like ending your friend, Rhodes. This is his blood."

Ralph had never been a good lair, but the outfit, caked in blood and the gun held against his head was more than enough to convince Simon's captor. To him, actions always spoke louder than words and although he could not see her face, he knew it was working for she froze up, staring back at him from behind her mask.
"Rhodes..." She sighed "He always was an idiot..."
"I want access to the lab, and I want to take Simon out of here. You can keep this place for all I care." He took a few steps forward, now standing a mere two meters away from the woman "No sudden movements, or I shoot. Stand aside."

She clenched her fists, her hands shaking in fury but said nothing as she stepped to the side. Ralph kept her in view, moving with his back against the wall. His brown eyes locked onto three more masked figures as he moved through the university. All followed after him.
"How do you think this ends, Ralph?" The woman scoffed
"Either I die and Simon stays alive, or we both walk out of here. Either way, he's safe."

All of the masked figures were on him now, as Ralph moved away from the wall, walking backwards through the corridor filled with test subjects. How many had there been? Was each and every single infected a person they had captured? He tried not to think about his, his mind focused on the mission but Ralph could not help but wonder, and reel in horror at the thought.

Each figure was armed, mostly with handguns but he spotted one carrying a shotgun, the other a hunting rifle. They had enough firepower to handle themselves, but Fisher hoped that his next gamble would pay off.
He approached one of the classrooms and wrapped against the glass. All of the infected within moved towards the glass, their jaws open and their hands tapping back as they tried to claw through.
Still keeping tabs on the captors, he began to step back and slowly lowered the gun.

"Are you surrendering?" The woman asked
"No."

He shot the lock off of the door and raised the gun to the side of his head.
"Doctor Fisher..."
Marching forwards, he opened the door and bolted for the laboratory. Half a dozen infected poured out and as the sound of gunfire filled the hallway, he shot another lock and swung the door open.

THEN​

"This plan sounds a bit risky."
"The scent works." Ralph stood over the body of an infected, his gloved hands covered in it's blood "So if I'm careful, they'll ignore me. I only need them to buy me time. That's when you come in."

NOW​

Every door was open now, the corridor filled with infected. Ralph looked back, watching as an infected caught his eye. It was slightly smaller than some of the others but that wasn't the thing that caught his attention for as one of the captors aimed a shot at it, the infected lunged towards him like an animal. It gripped his shoulders, it's jaws moving towards his throat.

Ralph lined up a shot, blowing a hole in the back of the creature's head before it could claim it's prey but he did not stop there, for he fired another shot that struck the same man in the shoulder as he was falling back. A few more shots went off, each striking the four captors in sight in non-lethal areas. For the closer Ralph got to the lab, the more the numbers of the test subjects began to dwindle against the firepower the captors possessed. The corridor was filled with thunder and lightning, but against his returning fire they were forced to withdraw, the infected still pursuing them.

As the corridor cleared and Ralph fired off a final shot, reloading the gun he bolted once more for the lab.
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Maria waited around a corner as the sounds of battle grew ever closer. She wore a long coat, smeared in blood. The smell was repulsive, and under other circumstances the beast would be fighting back the urge to gag. The captors hadn't noticed her, for not only had the halls been filled with their test subjects, but something was stirring above their heads. She would have missed it at first, if not for seeing the dent left by what was lurking above.

As one of the captors moved back to reload his gun, something dropped down from the vents onto his back. As it's mouth reached for his neck, he slammed his back against a wall and spun around, dragging it off and throwing it to the ground. With his gun still empty, he proceeded to bash in it's skull under his heel. However, his rage had gotten the better of him and as he finished off one, he didn't notice as another moved behind him and bit down into his ankle.

Letting out a yell in pain, he attempted to throw the thing off but another dropped down. As two of the infected gripped onto him, he was quickly overwhelmed and fell, his throat being torn out by one while another reached into his gut. A single shot went off from one of his companions, going through the eye of his gas mask and cutting off his choked screams.

One more would run towards the sounds of gunfire, finishing off the two infected that had claimed one of their own. Based on his build, Maria recognised him as one of the men who had kept her locked up. Gritting her teeth, she had to fight back the urge to run into battle. So long as they still had firepower on their side, it was not a fight she could win.

"Fall back! Get away from the vents!" The woman screamed "We're not losing this place! Not today!"
One of the crawlers dashed towards her but a quick round through it's forehead ensured it didn't get too close.
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The doors to the lab swung open and Ralph took a moment to catch his breath. One of the crawlers was dragged behind him, a hole in it's temple. It may have been slightly smaller than some of the infected but it still weighed quite a lot.
"Simon. We have to go." He called out
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The captors were fighting on two fronts as he crawlers descended from both sides of the vent and Maria watched as the next to fall was the figure wielding a hunting rifle. With the infected being too close, he resorted to hitting them back with the butt of his gun but as one was knocked back he had left himself open, and a crawler bit down into his wrist. He yelled, and drew back but continued to fight.

That was until the woman put a bullet in the back of his head and he fell, taking the rifle for herself and using it to bash in the skull of the infected that had claimed one of her comrades. Both sides were losing numbers, and fast but as the last of the test subjects and crawlers on one side fell, the captors gained their second wind and continued to fight, now only one front.

Thankfully for Maria it was the front that left their backs exposed to her. As the last infected fell, the corridors now filled with bodies she listened in.

"I thought we got rid of these things!" The military man snapped
"Must have been more. Former students of this place I'd say." Another added
"There could be even more. We need to be on guard." The woman reached for another clip "No more mistakes." The woman reached for her belt, taking out a walkie-talkie "Hey, I think we're clear. Be warned, Fisher is heading right for the lab. Bastard threw infected in front of us, so we lost him. On our way to you now.

Maria hadn't spotted the man she had beaten to a near-pulp in amongst the figures. Was it possible that he could've recovered already? That, or there was another she hadn't seen and the woman had just sent Ralph to his death.
"Understood. Leave him to me." A voice responded.

She didn't recognise it. There was another, and she'd missed it. Gritting her teeth once more, her firsts clenched as Maria dived from cover.

 

[FireMaiden]

​

Location: The Jordan Lodge
Interaction: Open
Mentioned: Rumble Fish (Milly/Colt) Dragonlord318 (David) BloodLightning27 (Shinoa) Maj (Beth)
If it was not clear by the way her shoulders had tensed and the way her jaw now sat, David had struck a nerve. A very sore nerve, one that Leliana would much rather keep buried behind her smiles and kind words. But the nurse couldn't keep her mind from wandering. Those thoughts swirling in the back of her mind was what forced her to sit Milly down at the couch with something fun to do. Not that they had much, but Leliana had found a 1000 piece puzzle of a cottage or some other forest setting after a few minutes of looking before she nurse left the young girl to her own devices. David and Shinoa were still downstairs as Leliana gathered the notebook and a pencil she would need for taking inventory, but she ignored them. It was obvious that the teenager was mad at her, disagreeing with what she had said. But nobody in this lodge, if they were truly good-hearted, would let a new mother out in that hell. No matter the reason Shinoa had.

And David...Leliana didn't want to acknowledge him for a while, let alone speak to him. Colt was obviously in a different boat than that man. Leliana trusted her, they knew exactly how to handle the other's situation. Colt and the nurse may have had different triggers, but it was the same disease. David was just intruding. At least that's how it felt like, but he didn't push it like some people might have. Though knowing that he might have at least an idea of what...what she had gone through was almost shameful. Leliana never talked about it because she wanted to avoid the pity that most people would look at her with. And unfortunately reality, she wasn't the only girl she knew who had been assaulted. Especially working at Moe's.

Leliana found herself not really paying attention as she counted through some of the dried goods. With a frustrated sigh as she realized for the third time, the notebook fell to the ground. One hand came up, slowly rubbing her face to try and bring herself out of whatever trance Leliana found herself in. Another sigh passed over her lips, she left the notebook on the ground, for now, standing up. Once again she would ignore Shinoa and David if they were still around as she headed upstairs to her shared bedroom with Beth.

To her relief, it was empty. Not that she didn't want to see Beth, her girlfriend would probably make her feel better after just a few minutes or talking or a nice hug. But for now, Leliana simply moved to the dresser. Opening one of the drawers, she pushed aside the extra clothing to reveal the boxes of Zoloft Jenna had gotten her not too long ago. As much as Leliana disliked the woman, that was a gesture she couldn't over look. Popping one of the pills out of the packet she was working on, Leliana quickly swallowed it and put the clothing back like it was. Nobody else but Beth and Colt knew about them now...and Leliana was determined to keep it that.

After a few minutes upstairs, Leliana headed back down. That break seemed to do enough to clear her head for her to form real cohesive thoughts that weren't hateful or threatening to force her into a panic. She found the notebook again, once more taking her seat on the floor to continue her daily chore. It didn't matter what she felt like, she had a job to do.

A small one, one that maybe went unnoticed, but she was going to do it anyway.

 

[The Mad Queen]

Simon
​

"Isn't he a little young?" Ralph, both legs intact and with his eyes less tired sat behind a desk, a bookshelf of colour coordinated binders
and books stood behind him, while his own name sat across the desk. Elaine stood before him, and before the Doctor was another binder.
"I was just out of university when the CDC recruited me."
"You were a special case."
"I caught the eye of someone higher up and I was taken on. How is this any different?"

Elaine sighed, sitting across from Ralph
"Honestly, Ralph?"
He nodded "You've never been anything but honest..."
"You may be tough when it comes to the job, but when it comes to people...You're soft."
"Soft?" He raised an eyebrow at that
"Don't tell me you can't see it."

Fisher leaned back in the chair "It's not his grades that catch my attention, Elaine. It's a date."
"October 12th, right?"
"His quick thinking at his university prevented a potential outbreak."
"You can't know that for sure." She firmly shook her head "And it was Robert's team that sorted things out. Not some kid."
"His quick thinking identified things earlier. That way Roberts was only dealing with one case, instead of potentially hundreds. Maybe more."

Elaine scoffed "You're not going to let this go, are you?"
"I'd still like your support on this. How about I make you a deal?"
"Go on..."
"Let's both talk to the kid. If you're still not willing to give him a chance after talking to him, I'll drop this."

NOW​

Maria went for one at the back first, baseball bat at the ready and struck him in the back of the head. As he was knocked forwards she ducked down, striking him once more in the back of his left leg. He fell, but his shouts of agony caught the attention of his comrades. As she locked eyes with the woman and the military man, she slowly lowered the bat until the weapon was on the floor.

"No. That'd be too quick. I wanna enjoy this." She muttered to herself
"You're really a glutton for punishment." The military man scoffed, shaking his head "Last time you only beat me because you caught me off guard, and I had to keep tabs on the idiot. You barely walked out of that room alive. What makes you think this time, you stand a chance?"
"'Cause this time I'm not gonna stop till yer just a greasy smear on me firsts..." She cracked her knuckles together "Let's go..."
"Can't you just shoot this bitch?" The military man asked "I'm out."
"Used up the last of my ammo taking out those fuckers from the vents. The rest is in the armoury, which is..."
"Which is that way." He sighed, rolling his eyes, his gaze still focused on Maria "Alright then. I guess we're killing her the old fashioned way."

Outside of the person still in the lab, Ralph's plan was working so far. Unknown to her former captors, Maria had a knife stashed away behind her back. She just need them to run a little bit closer towards her.

THEN​

Ralph offered the young man a handshake but instead, Simon drew back.
"Sorry...All sorts of stuff spreads that way. I prefer just waving." He let out a nervous laugh. While Fisher at first had a look of bewilderment, Elaine was smiling as the three of them sat inside of the office.

"I followed your work on the Disneyland outbreak, Doctor. It's..."
He raised a hand "Mr. Miller, please. The next few minutes are about you."
"Oh, just Simon is fine..."
"In that case you can call call me Ralph." He smiled "I see you're studying both infectious diseases and two languages...French and Spanish."
"Yeah...Yes sir."
"Can I ask, why those two?"
"Helps to broaden horizons." He cleared his throat "Plus, our neighbours speak them. If there was ever an outbreak where we were working together, it could make things easier. Communication is key. When you think about it, a virus communicates with all sorts of things when it spreads. It has a universal language. It
has an advantage we don't..."

He cleared his throat once more, glancing down at the desk.
"Sorry, I'm rambling..."

NOW​

Maria took a few steps forward before all three of them broke into a run. Both the military man and the masked woman closed in, the former armed with a knife of his own and the latter throwing a punch towards Maria's stomach. She stepped back, avoiding the blow while raising her arm to block the swing of the knife. As he was close, she brought her other arm out and attempted to jam the blade into his throat.

But he was too quick, drawing back himself and Maria realised her mistake when the woman punched her in the wrist. The blow struck hard, but Maria did not let go. She turned, the knife now aiming for the woman while still using her free arm to defend herself.

THEN​

The time on the digital clock read 3am as Fisher was pulled from a restful sleep at the sound of someone at the door. Glancing over to June, herself stirring he rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I'll get it. Go back to sleep." He spoke with his usual softness as he leaned in, kissing her gently on the forehead and making his way down the stairs. Approaching the door in nothing but his pyjamas and a pair of slippers, Ralph glanced through the peephole only to see a familiar face standing on the other side.

"Simon? It's..." The young man's eyes were tired, glancing towards the ground. "What's wrong?"
"I...I got kicked out."
"What?"
"I didn't know where else to go, Doc. I know it's late, and I didn't want trouble you..."
Ralph gently pushed the door open "Well, come inside. You'll catch something out here. We both know what New York is like in December."

Within moments, the young man sat at the kitchen table clutching a mug of tea while a blanket was wrapped around his shoulders. Ralph gently placed a hand on his shoulder as he moved towards the other side of the wooden table.
"I'll talk to your parents for you. I'm sure we can get this straightened out." He started to push numbers into his phone
"No. This isn't something you can fix with words."
Pocketing the mobile, Ralph sat across from him. "Simon?"
His hands were wrapped around the mug, his head glancing at the table "They hate me."
"Oh, I'm sure that's not true..."
"They do." His eyes slowly moved up, looking into Ralph's "I've been seeing someone. Well, I only did the once."

Ralph's worried look slowly shifted form into a smile
"Oh, who is she?"
"His name is Hans."
The smile faded and Ralph stood up from the table, his hands reaching into the pocket for his phone.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to give your parents a piece of my mind. I don't give a shit what time of the morning it is!"

His rage turned into horror, as his brown eyes moved to the kitchen door to see Sarah standing there.
"Shit." She repeated
"Oh, God no..."
"Oh, Sarah...We don't use that word. It's a grown-up word." Simon explained, his tone no longer as glum "Your daddy just, slipped up."
"What are you doing here?" She raised an eyebrow, yet a smile was still on her face
"Sweetie, it looks like Simon might be staying with us for a while." Ralph smiled "Go back to bed, okay?"

The young man had his eyes wide, his jaw open as Sarah walked back up the stairs.
"Doc...I couldn't ask you to..."
"You didn't ask me anything, I offered." Ralph smiled "Just for a few days. I'm sure, if given some space your parents might come around."

NOW​

The two knives clashed against each other, Maria and the military man locking eyes and gritting teeth. As both drew back, the masked woman ran in, a few punches being swung at Maria's neck, face and gut but the beast managed to dodge all of them. However, as she tried to block the a punch aimed for the neck, her other opponent jumped at an opportunity and managed to slice at Maria.

Thankfully, she'd seen it coming and so the blade only sliced part of her wrist as she drew away. She threw up a roundhouse kick, forcing him to draw back and brought both arms around to grab the masked woman, locking in her a hold with the knife held against her throat.
"Walk away or she dies." As her captor tried to struggle, Maria kicked her in the back of the leg and she was brought to her knees with two strikes. He glared for a few moments, and slowly approached
"I mean it now."

He sighed, then dashed forwards with the knife. He wasn't aiming for Maria though, as his blade went into the head of his comrade. Reeling from the action, Maria dropped the knife and was left open. Even if just for a few seconds, but that was all he needed to drive the knife towards her. It would've got straight into her gut, if not for the heavy coat she was wearing. She kicked his wrist, grabbing it and twisting the knife from his grasp.

As both stood, armed with nothing but their fists they locked eyes once more.
"Why would ya.."
"You can't use her against me if she's already dead" He shrugged, running towards her.

THEN​

With the handgun drawn, Ralph's eyes darted around the laboratory. Despite the sounds of gunfire that had been outside moments before, the lab was completely untouched.
"Hey, I think we're clear. Be warned, Fisher is heading right for the lab. Bastard threw infected in front of us, so we lost him. On our way to you now." A voice on the radio spoke, one he recognised.
"Understood. Leave him to me." Simon muttered, a walkie talkie clutched in hand.

Ralph slowly lowered the gun "Who were you talking to? That sounded like the woman that punched you."
With a heavy sigh, he slowly turned around. "Hey, Doc."
"What's going on?"
"The punch was just to convince you. She was a little bit harder than I'd hoped. I needed you to think I was in danger."
"But why?"
"Motivation. A doomsday plague is one thing, but seeing somebody you cared about in danger? I needed you at your best. And there was always the chance you could leave, go back to whatever group you're held up with."
"So these people..."
"We work together, yes." He nodded "I do experiments and they provide security and test subjects. I'm here because I wish to be here. And we're doing good work."
"Simon, these people are monsters! They've been abducting people and forcing them to be lab rats!"
"I-" He turned away
"They almost killed my friend!"

He said nothing in response and as the two men locked eyes, Fisher's pupils widened in horror.
"You...You knew about this?"
The younger man clenched his fists as they started to shake "Where else was I going to get subjects?! Do you know anybody willing to get bitten by one of these things? Even if the government hadn't have culled the city, I wouldn't have enough!"
"You knew..." The horror on his face had shifted into rage, his teeth gritting as he took a few steps towards Simon "I'm ending this experiment."
"No!" Simon yelled, drawing a pistol "This means too much to me! I won't let you take it away!"
"Not as much as it means, to me!" Ralph yelled, diving for the man and throwing both of them over a table before a shot could go off.

NOW​

Using her uninjured wrist, Maria blocked a blow while keeping her gut just far enough away that her opponent couldn't follow it up with a punch to the stomach. She remained on the defensive, as blow after blow was aimed at her vital areas. She was so focused in protecting her neck, stomach and face that she almost didn't see the blow aimed for her left hand coming.
It struck the palm, where the glass had previously pierced her and she noticed that her wound was starting to drip through the bandages.

She grunted in pain, but kept going. Her right hand was still untouched, and hopefully that was all she needed.
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Ralph and Simon stood to their feet. In the struggle, the gun had been thrown across the room and so both men were left with their fists. Both were, of course men of science and trading blows was not something either would be good at. When they swung for each other, there was little skill involved for both men were charged by their emotions.

Ralph had gone in first, a punch aimed for Simon's face but the younger man drew back
"Can't you see all the people you're hurting!?"
"I'm doing what's necessary to end this thing!" A punch struck Ralph in the shoulder as Simon yelled "You should be on my side!"
"I was!" Ralph yelled, a left hook striking Simon in the chest

He followed it up by grabbing Ralph by both wrists, attempting to knee him in the stomach. The knee impacted, knocking the wind out of Ralph.
"Please..." He coughed "Think of the man you were...It's not too late for you."
"You can't save me, Ralph. I know what I'm doing!"

As his grip tightened around the wrists, Fisher leaned in and headbutted the younger man. Both staggered back, with Simon letting go. He got his second wind back first, striking Fisher in the chest with one hand, and across the face with the other.
"You were my hero, but you're soft. Not willing to do what's needed to save this country!"

Ralph spat out a small mouthful of blood. He charged in, a blow aimed for the chest while using his good leg to deliver a kick to the stomach. While the punch impacted, Simon was too quick for the kick and drew back. His eyes welled up, his teeth still gritted in rage as he threw in a few more blows. He was struck with an uppercut that sent him staggering back

"You look tired, Fisher."
"Tired? No." He coughed "Hurt."

With a nod, Simon kicked Fisher to the ground with a blow to the stomach. Ralph tried to stand, using a table to steady himself "You and me, we were meant to change the world, for the better. The whole team was."
"They're all dead. And how many more will die? Ralph...I..." He sighed "I'm trying to save lives. Sacrificing a few dozen to save millions. Can you not see that?"

He helped him to his feet "You and I, we'd be unstoppable in this. But you just need to accept that sacrifices have to be made. We're at war, after all."
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The beast waited for her opportunity, dodging where she could and waiting for just the right attack for her to make her move. She couldn't worry about Ralph now, her mind was fixed in the ring as her opponent threw in blows.
"Fight back." He spat, aiming a punch towards her face.

One punch was all it took, leaving him open. Maria charged in, kneeing him in the gut and and as the two struggled, he was knocked to the ground. With the wind knocked out of him, she went on the assault and blow after blow was aimed for his face. Agony shot through her left hand, but that wasn't going to stop her.

"I'd go a little easier, but... Ya see, knockin' me on me arse would just piss me off a little, but ya hurt Caoimhe. A few years ago, I'd 'ave given less of a shit about that...But she's grown on me. So, this is gonna hurt..."
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"I won't." Ralph spat "I won't do it." Simon's expression shifted, disappointment plastered on his face "It's amoral, barbaric. We can't stoop to the same levels as our government has."
"Ralph, we're still part of the United States government."
"Not anymore. They tried to have us killed as part of the cover-up."

He raised a hand "I know. I know. But we still have a duty."
"Our duty is to protecting people. Not making them into lab rats."
"Sacrificing a few dozen to save millions?" He scoffed "How can you not see it? The numbers don't lie!"
"We're talking about human beings, not numbers." Ralph steadied himself, his brown eyes glaring into Simon "And the moment you start thinking of each human life as little more than a number, you've already gone too far..."
"Is there nothing I can do to convince you to work with me?"
"I'd rather die." Ralph spat

He sighed, reaching into his pocket to produce a scalpel. He marched up to Ralph, the blade still in hand. The two struggled, Fisher's hands gripped around Simon's wrists as the blade drew closer and closer to his chest.
"Work with me." He hissed "I know exactly where to strike."

Ralph said nothing, still putting up a fight even as the scalpel drew ever closer. Just as it was mere centimetres away from his heart, he let go and the blade went in. Simon reeled back in horror, his eyes wide.
"Oh God!"

It was all Ralph needed, striking him in the throat with a hard punch and following up up with another strike to the gut. Three more followed, aimed for the face. The young man had left himself open, and Ralph quickly dropped him. As Simon staggered back, Ralph knew in a final left hook and he was knocked to the ground.

He reached into his chest pocket, producing his notebook.
"Never leave without it."

Simon coughed, still choking from the attacks, but managed to reach out an arm towards Ralph and grab him by the wrist.
"Ralph..." The two men locked eyes "I saw you as a father, so I guess it was inevitable you'd turn on me too."
"Turn? Is that what you think this is?" His voice chocked up as his eyes welled "I brought you in because I saw something. Your mind...Wanting to help others."
"I was helping others." He hissed "Men like us, we have a duty to use our minds to help others. We have to do what's best. Even if we go down in the history books as madmen."

Ralph pulled away "No!" He snapped "We never cross that line!" He took in a few deep breaths, steadying himself "You were like a son to me...And you just threw it away, abandoned every lesson I ever taught you." He turned, walking towards the doors of the lab
His eyes widened, then narrowed "You know...I think you're right. I think I went too far. But we could still find another way of beating this thing."

Simon's words caught Ralph's attention, and he slowly turned around
"You're right. I see that now...I think...Believing that you and everyone I ever cared about was gone, I lost sight of what was important. But with you here, we can beat this thing. Together...If you'll help me."

He reached up a hand towards Ralph.
"I don't know if I can..." He turned again, walking towards the doors
"No!" Fisher turned back once more, his eyes heavy and filled with tears as he watched Simon reel in pain from their fight "If you walk away, then all of this will have been for nothing!" He took in a deep breath, wincing in pain "Please, Ralph...I just lost sight. That wasn't really me." Ralph took a step or two forwards, glancing down at the man "And you said you'd never abandon me, remember? You promised."

Ralph sighed heavily, a few tears rolling down his face. He stood, motionless for a few moments while he stared at Simon's outstretched hand and said nothing as he approached the doors.
"If you walk away, I'll just start this all over again."

He stooped in his tracks at those words, a mere step or two away from the door.
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Although the military man fought back hard, his knees digging into Maria's gut she remained in place, her hands slowly moving around his throat.
"You don't get to hurt anyone, anymore." She muttered. Her hands were held in place, and although he fought a good fight the beast already had him in her clutches and the struggling eventually came to an end. Once he stopped moving, she caved in his skull using the bat to make sure he didn't get back up. Spitting blood towards the corpse, she stood up straight and started to limp towards the lab.

Hopefully it wasn't too late for Ralph.

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He turned back around, standing over Simon.
"Do you honestly think the experiments you did here were justified? So much so that you'd just take it up again? Live subjects! Prisoners! Torture!"
"I can live with it, if it saves millions."
"What happened to..."
"You being right?" Simon scoffed "Please. I was just playing to your ego. The great Doctor Ralph Fisher. You must hate having Salazar of all people walk all over you."

The doors to the lab were pushed open and Maria stood there
"Doc." She called out, her eyes moving towards Simon "Christ, what did they do to him?"
"They didn't. He was in this willingly. I did this."
"You taught me to use what was at our disposal. That we had to do what was necessary to win this war."
"I never taught you this." Ralph shook his head

Maria limped to his side "Well, he clearly don't need rescuing. What do you want to do?"
"Simon. Do you mean what you're saying here? That you'll start up this...Atrocity all over again."
"Of course." He leaned on a desk, standing to his feet while letting out a groan in pain.

Ralph gave a sigh of defeat and walked across the room to pick up the gun, approaching Simon.
"If you won't change, then I have to do this..."

Simon's eyes widened, staring down the barrel of the gun. Fisher's hand shook at first, but after taking in a few deep breaths he managed to steady himself.
"Ralph, what are ya doin?"
"I took him in, I taught him. Everything he's done is on me. If I let him walk away, I'm condemning God knows how many people to the same fate you nearly had."
"So I was right...You're taking one life to save others. How is that any different than killing dozens to save millions?"
"Kid, shut the fuck up. You're not helpin'." Maria complained, taking a step forward "Ralph, you don't need to do this. You're not a murderer."
"You killed a man to save my life. How can you justify letting this monster live?"

She sighed "I'll be honest. I've taken one too many lives. Just there now I killed another person for the same reasons you want to kill him."
"So why try and stop me?" Fisher snapped
"Once you take a life, that's it. I took mine day one of all this. One of them hazmat types. It...It takes a toll, Ralph. You're not that kind of person. I may not know ya well, but there's so much good in ya. Don't throw that away. Not for him."

Taking in a few deep breaths to compose himself and shutting his eyes, Ralph lowered the gun.
"You're right. I'm not a killer. Thank you, Caoimhe."
"It's Maria. At least while I'm in charge."

He raised an eyebrow at that, facing her but his gaze quickly moved back towards Simon. He couldn't afford to get distracted
"I can't kill him, but how do I stop him from doing something like this all over again?"
"His lackeys are dead, Aurora is in ruins and he sure as shite can't get started by 'imself. You beat him in a fight for feck's sake. And who's goin' to help 'im get started? Most folks 'ere have lost their minds or would kill 'im for suggestin' the idea of live subjects."
"And where's he going to find a lab? Outside of the hospital, which is overrun and the lodge which he wouldn't get access to...All that's left is here."

He raised the gun back up "I'm going to let you live. This time. But if I ever see you again, I won't hesitate to kill you. Get out before I change my mind."
"Ralph...What am I meant to do?"
"Don't care. Just get out of my sight, or there's a bullet waiting her for you."

He started to limp towards the door "This pandemic has to end or it will be the death of us all..." The room was filled with nothing more than the sound of the door shutting behind Simon, and it fell into silence.
"I'm sorry, Maria. I misunderstood the situation."
"Hey, don't apologise. We put an end to this awful experiment. That's got to count for somethin'. Now, I'll keep an eye on 'im. Make sure he doesn't get up to any funny shite. You wait here."

****​

The beast had watched him like a hawk, ensuring that all Simon took was a rucksack full of food and basic medicine supplies. At one point, he did approach the armoury but she had quickly stepped in the way. Instead, all he was offered in the form of a weapon was a knife. She limped back to the lab, and while Ralph tended to the wound in her hand, wrapping it up once more after applying some small stitches the two fell back into silence for a few moments, both sitting on the laboratory floor.

"We'd best get back to the lodge, I suppose."
"I'm not going back."
"What?"
"I said it myself. There's three labs in Aurora, not counting if those mercenaries have one stashed away. One's guarded by the dead, one's guarded by...Everyone at the lodge and then there's this one. We can't just leave it unattended. What if someone gets a similar idea to Simon, hmm?"
"So you're just gonna hunker down 'ere, by yourself? You'd go mad."
"I won't be by myself." Ralph reached into his pocket, producing a walkie talkie "I'll keep in touch with these, in case I'm needed. These are good quality. Chances are they took it from the police, or maybe even the mercenaries. I've seen them before, and they should reach the lodge."
"You're takin' a bit of a gamble 'ere."
"I'm taking a gamble if we leave this place to rot." Ralph shrugged "Maria, from here I can learn about the plague in a way that's ethical. I don't think a cure is possible, but maybe a vaccine could be on the table. I won't know if I leave."
"Christ, I hate it but yer right."
"Well, Caoimhe did come with me because she thought it was worth a shot."
"Hardly." Maria scoffed "She likes you. Much more than I do. She doesn't like to show it, but she's a real softy."

Ralph managed a chuckle at that
"Well, if yer stayin' I might as well help ya clean up a little. And there's one more thing I have to do before I leave this place."

 

[Maj]

​

November 22, 2018
Ernie’s Apartment
7:45 AM

Owen growled as he tried to get the door to the apartment shut. It was moot. There were too many limbs trying to pile in the door and Owen couldn’t see past the wall of bodies to assess how many he would have to fight through to get them free.

“Nile man, check to see if there is anywhere we can climb down.” He knew that the words were falling on deaf ears though. Nile was essentially a limp noodle at this point, eyes bloodshot and streaked with evidence of his earlier escapades. Owen kept his arms outstretched, smacking back the limbs that threatened to force their way in the door.

Vaguely registering the request and situation, Nile’s thought process kicked into overdrive. As in, it worked at a quarter of what it normally did. Stumbling over to the window, completely calm, Nile looked out. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Nile leaned against the window. What was he doing? Right, fuck, look for a fire escape or something. Observing the outside, Nile shrugged nonchalantly.

“Yeah, so, looks like we’re up shit creek with neither a paddle or Canoe” Nile said, staggering over to Owen. Grabbing the top of a chair as he went, Nile dragged the sturdy looking wooden piece of furniture towards Owen. Ignoring both the writhing limbs and gargantuan ginger, Nile propped the chair up under the door knob. Taking a good 30 seconds to adjust the chair to get the angle just right, Nile made a pleased hum once he was finished. The chair legs were now practically digging into the floor rather than moving, a sign that the chair would break before it lost ground. Hopefully that made things easier for the incredible Owen.

What did he do next? He didn’t really know. He should probably get something with weight behind it and start pushing it towards the door. Just then, his eyes roved to the couch. Heading for the couch, he began to push it across the floor towards the red head.

“That…” Owen paused, looking down as he swung his heavy club down, snapping another arm of the undead. “Was actually helpful. Thanks.” The redhead did his best to keep the surprise from his tone. When he was able to get the last arm free of the door, he pushed his weight against it and slammed it shut. With the fire escape broken and the door flooded with hungry corpses it left him and his drugged out companion with no options left for escape.

He could feel his breath hitch in his throat as hopelessness settled in, thick and smothering around him. If they stayed silent for long enough would they leave? Would the door hold long enough for him to find out? There were too many questions and not enough answers. Owen didn’t even know how many were out there. He might be able to take five or six funneled in through the door, but if there were more he wasn’t sure he could fend them off. Not to mention, as he looked at Nile, swaying on his feet he wasn’t sure how much help he would have in the matter either.

“Can you climb?” he looked the man up and down, unsure if he could take his answer at face value. The only course of action was to try to get to another window, or maybe make some sort of makeshift rope and climb to the ground floor. The last thing he needed after keeping the man alive this long was to pick his splattered corpse up off the pavement outside.

“When we did rope climbing exercises in P.E., I lost my grip and split my head open on the tiles. And I wasn’t even high” Nile said, leaning against the window nonchalantly.

“So that’s a no then,” Owen grumbled. He did his best to ignore the ever pounding sound of the monsters just outside the door. Massive hands went up and clasped the sides of his head, as the twin tried desperately to think. The first idea that came to mind was so ridiculous that Owen almost let out an audible chuckle. That was crazy.

However, with the way the hinges on the door were beginning to creak and moan, there wasn’t much time to think of anything better. The larger man turned, giving Nile an apologetic smile.

“You aren’t going to like this.”

-----

a few minutes later

“This is dumb” Nile said, looking at the alley below them.

“You’re dumb. All of this is dumb. This is, like, dumber than me dude, and the highest grade I got in highschool was a B in Hepatitis” Nile said, twisting his head to talk to Owen.

“Noted.” Owen replied dully. It had taken him longer than he wanted to figure out how to fasten the sheet around his body. However, after several minutes of trial and error, and more than a few curses from Nile, he had finally managed to arrange the knots in such a fashion that it was now functioning as a giant baby carrier. His passenger? A very angry, very drugged, 5 foot 4 man.

“I once smoked like a pound of weed to try and cure a hangover, and that was still smarter than this” Nile grumbled, squinting as he aimed his head down towards the alley floor below them. Normally, Nile was terrified of heights, but now, he was only in slight abject horror. Drugs had a very good way of making a man ignore their livid subconscious.

"Stop squirming. This is for moot if you slip out of this sheet and splatter on the pavement." Owen did his best to control his breathing as his lanky legs hung out the window and dangled above the sidewalk below. he had one arm bracing himself in the now busted out window frame, and one reaching for the fire escape above him. Unfortunately the structure was only hanging by loose bolts in the brick.

The hinges that were holding back the hoard behind him whined and protested, becoming more audible by the second. He couldn't waste much time. Owen wasn't scared of heights, but as his body teetered on the landscape below he couldn't help but feel his head threaten to spin. They had been left with no other choice. Andy had always been the climber, and his bulky frame had always been strong, but lacking mobility. He tried to ignore the fact that, while his recovery had made a lot of progress, his lungs were still healing and one wrong stretch could send agonizing pain through his chest and send them falling to their doom.

The red head's breath quickened. Short breaths in rapid succession as he tried to hype himself up and ready himself to take the plunge.

3.

2.

1.

Owen pushed himself out of the window sill , reaching for the rusting bar of the fire escape above. At the last second, his self preservation instincts took over and his left arm refused to let go of the sill, forcing him to stop hard. Leaving him no other choice but to pull his large, shaking form back into the window.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck" he muttered under his breath, heart pounding in his ears.

Squinting down at the alley floor below them, then turning to look at Owen, Nile was easily able to connect Owen’s sudden stage fright to the long drop that awaited them. He’d probably acting the same if he were sober to be honest, which was why, to his great annoyance, Nile felt a twinge of sympathy worm it’s way into him.

“Okay, dude, as a guy with a fear of heights himself, it’s pretty easy to calm down and just do it, you know? Just stay up here as long as you need. Breathe, visualize success or something, wipe away any thought of falling, and take it slow and steady and you’ll be a-okay, comprende?” Nile said, still looking at the alley floor. “And if worse comes to worse you’ll probably be using me as a cushion anyway, so, y’know, don’t worry about it”.

“Nile buddy, I mean no disrespect,” Owen said through clenched teeth. “But could you kindly shut the fuck up?” The redhead was mildly aware that Nile was just trying to help, but the fact that he had to do this at all was ultimately the man’s fault, and his drug induced calm was doing nothing to put him at ease. However, he did have a point. There were no avenues left, Owen had to jump out of this window one way or the other.

“Okay. Alright,” the twin began to mutter, doing his best to relax, even though every instinct in his body wanted nothing but to tense up and cling to the sill of the window. He wanted desperately to just go back inside the apartment and find another course of action. Fighting a hoard was suddenly far more appealing.

SNAP

Owen spun his head back to see the wooden chair in front of the door fell to the floor, the hinges ripped from the wall, and the door no longer enough to hold back the flood of bodies. The male bounced as adrenaline coursed through his body and with no other options left, his body left the safety of the window.

He took the plunge, body weightless as he reached out for the fire escape, just out of reach.

Collab: Togy

 

[TheMightyRedLemon]

​

a few minutes later
The Circus Grounds

She could hear her heartbeat in her ears. It pounded loud and obnoxiously against her temples as the redhead sprinted through the darkness with nothing but the back of Vanessa’s head as her beacon. The continuous and ever present metallic clang was gaining pace behind her. Each time it sounded, Andy could feel her breath threaten to catch as she tried desperately to keep in control of her breath as she tried to remember her training from her days in track and field.

She watched as Nessa's thin frame made it to the trapeze perch, heading up the ladder with expert speed, hand over hand. Andy was right behind her. The harlequin reached the top of the perch in no time, and she turned to the redhead below her. Andy had been just barely fast enough, getting up the ladder just as a rotten hand reached up to grab her. "C'mon" Vanessa hissed harshly, extending an arm down to give assistance. "If that jaw can cut through metal, it can sure as fuck bring down this ladder!"

With no other choices, the redhead reached up to grab the performer’s arm at the elbow, latching her fingers around the slim appendage. Andy was able to bypass most of the ladder with the girl’s help, hoisting herself up by their combined upper body strength alone. The redhead was slender in stature, but pulling a bowstring for years didn’t come without payoff. Once she was able to get her free arm up on the platform, the woman pulled her frame up easily, rolling onto the untreated wood.

Just as Nessa had predicted, she could hear the metallic clanging of the monster’s jaw below, snapping the ladder into splinters. The cacophony of moans and the gurgled cries below wouldn’t let the rapid succession of the huntress’ breath cease. Sitting on her knees she looked down at the growing group of monsters with wide, doe like eyes. With the ladder gone, and with the two of them high above the ground they were cornered. Even if they could jump down without landing into the grabby hands of the undead, it would not be done without injury. If her years of being in the woods had taught her anything, it was that if the prey was limping it was already dead.

Her hand reached down to the radio that was hooked to her belt loop, trying to still the trembling nature of her fingers. The coolness of the plastic was soothing in the hot, sweaty palm of her hand. She went to click the button down to check to see how Aaron was progressing when something distracted her.

SNAP

CRACK

CLANG

Andy had to force herself to lean over the edge and look down into the darkness below her platform. The one with the metal jaw hadn’t stopped at the ladder, which was now laid about his feet in splintered pieces of wood. Shards of the cheap shit was sticking from the fleshy parts of his cheeks and face, left over from his never ceasing chomping. However, now that she had a second to breathe, Andy realized that he had never stopped biting. With the ladder out of the way, he now began his work on the large wooden pedestal that held the girls up. It was relatively large, but she wondered how long it would take until the base weakened enough that it buckled under their weight and sent them plummeting to a carnage filled death.

"We need te move" the Harlequin stated in a bit of a panic. "We'll take the trapeze." She said, pointing at one of the handles dangling down nearby.

“We will take the-” Andy let out a low sarcastic chuckle. “Oh fuck no. No. No. No.” Panic seeped into the redhead’s tone. Surely there was another option. Anything better than swinging freely through the air with nothing but ravenous monsters to break her fall.

“Aaron shouldn’t be long we will just wait and-”

CRACK.

Andy felt the platform warble from another bite of the monster below. Her green eyes darted up to Nesa’s multi colored ones in the dark, darting side to side in a clear sign of fear.

"You'd rather get close with tall, dark, and rusty down there then?" Vanessa retorted in a slightly sarcastic tone that was still tinged with slight panic. Honestly she wasn't sure if the redhead would be able to pull off the tightrope act with her, but the acrobat saw no other way. "I'll make sure we don't fall"

“Aaron?” Andy put the radio to her mouth, desperate for some good news. She let go of the button and waited for him to reply.

“Aaron, are you there?” She slowly looked up at the brunette, resignation consuming her features. The platform shuddered again and she nodded wordlessly in agreement. Andrea would have to hope that her upper body strength would be enough to keep her alive.

The acrobat began to stretch her arms and legs before turning away from the redhead and to the first trapeze rung. With a deep breath she ran forward and kept forth, grabbing onto the rung and spinning herself around to reposition herself upside down, grabbing the rung with her legs. She began to swing back and forth, arms outstretched towards Andy. "C'mon lass, jump and I'll catch ya."

“I’m going to fucking regret this,” Andy muttered under her breath. The woman secured her bow across her chest, and took a deep breath. She braced herself at the end of the platform, feeling it creak and moan as it was becoming weaker by the second. With her weight on her back foot, the girl bounced on her toes as she felt the adrenaline flood her veins through her rapidly beating heart. With a final exhale she launched herself forward, sprinting across the rocking platform and launched herself off of her toes just before the edge, easily closing the distance and grabbing each of Nessa’s arms with one of her own. True to her word, the acrobat caught her. The two swung back and forth a few times before Nessa addressed the redhead. "Yer gonna need te hook the next rung with yer legs…" she informed her. "Or I can toss ya and ye can grab the next rung."

The redhead resisted the urge to curse and instead just nodded, trying her best to avoid looking down into the darkness below. Andy released her grip from Nessa’s arm with her strong hand. It forced her to put a lot of trust in the woman, literally putting her life in Vanessa’s hands while she reached up to the rung with her free hand. It was difficult to turn her body, but Andy chose to focus on the feel of the polished wood in her hand, as she used the strength in her arms to support her weight as she contorted her legs upward, hooking them on the trapeze at the knees.

Once she was sure that her weight was well distributed, she let go of Vanessa’s arm. She did her best to ignore the blood as it rushed to her head as she let go of the wood, suspending herself by nothing by the strength in her thighs. Andy had never been more grateful for all of those hours she had to spend in track and field to retain her position as Archery captain.

“Okay, okay,” she muttered. “What do I do next-”

SNAP

All at once, the cord on Andy’s side broke free from the wooden pole holding her aloft. She reached up, heart in her throat as she desperately tried to grab on to the wood before her body slid from it entirely. Her hand slid down the wood, splinters slicing through the tender flesh on her palms. There wasn’t enough traction to keep her from sliding off and plummeting into the darkness. Her hand reached up to Nessa as her scream pierced the darkness.

Collab: Maj
Mentions: RayPurchase