Plagued

[CelticSol]

She wanted to curse everything when Carl burst into tears, but she was too shaken to even think of comforting words, much less explain them. Jackie turned to Walter, her eyes wide and wild. "Walter, they're attracted to sound. If it was running that fast in that much of a hurry, something's happened."


Just then, both Jackie and Walter could see the figure, broken and twisted, stand back up, though it seemed unable to stand up straight. Jack noticed and went very still, her knuckles so white it looked like they'd break out of the skin. "Walter... Look behind you..."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Then you need to keep moving." Walter said, and then leaned forward and placed a hand on Carl's shoulder. "It's okay, son... Don't cry..." He said, softly. "It's--.. It's just one of those monsters, okay?" He said, and then gave his hair a gentle ruffle. Carl kept on crying but nodded in confirmation, and then Walter leaned back in his seat and looked over his shoulder at the body that had now stammered back to its feet. He was silent as it began to stagger towards them, but then quickly gulped and patted Jackie's shoulder.


"Keep going. We're not far out now, just drive. Let's not stick around to see what that thing was running to." He said.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie sighed, shifting the car back into gear before she hit the gas, the zombie brokenly stumbling after the much, much faster car. It was visible that if Jackie didn't hold the wheel very tightly, her hands would be shaking uncontrollably. She swallowed, then breathed out in a long breath. She turned the opposite way the zombie came. "It might be dangerous switching drivers right now, so just give me directions. Which way?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Just keep going straight and take the first exit off of the highway; you'll want to follow that road down West of our location, and then we should come into the town before you know it." He explained, and then reached up and rubbed the back of his head. "I'll direct you from there. He lives in quite a big house, Cul De Sac property, real nice one." He said, and then leaned back to give Daniel a hug. Carl was still sobbing in the front seat, so he quickly reached over and tapped on his shoulder. "You climb back here, buddy. Nice and quick." He said, and Carl was quick to unbuckle his seatbelt and fly out of his seat, straight into the back, and then down on the opposite side of his dad - He got a big hug from him, and then just resorted to leaving his face rested in his chest.


Carl was terrified.


"We're fine... Everyone just take a deep breath, and we'll be okay. We're fine, okay?" He said.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie mumbled something unintelligible to herself as she followed Walter's directions. She had already gotten off the highway and was already going down the road, so she just kept going. There were some houses, few and far between, that looked vacated. There was that one that had been consumed by flames. Guess they had been cooking when they had escaped.


Jackie looked up, catching a too brief image of the sign welcoming her to town. "We're here. Kids, you might want to cover your eyes or duck your heads."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Why? What's wrong?" Daniel asked out of worry, but Walter quickly took his hand and then pulled him close to himself; he hugged him, his head against his chest, and then he got Carl to do the same thing, and suddenly he felt a little more comfortable because he was happy that his boys were there by his side - It was good to be holding them close again. During the time that he was asleep, he wasn't even hugging them, and even after that, Carl was in the front of the car.


"Just do it." Walter said. "I'll tell you when it's okay to look again, okay?" He smiled at them both. "You just sit there... Think happy thoughts. Think about that time a couple of years ago when we all went down to Florida, remember?" He said, and they both nodded and just held onto him. "Jackie... He lives on the quiet Eastern part of town. It's a private Cul De Sac, so they should be safe." He explained.

 

[DrTrollinski]

@CelticSol

 

[CelticSol]

(Sorry, I had exams. Been super busy studying.)


"Okay," She follows his instructions and drives in the general direction he offered, taking the back roads. What she did see of the main roads had many abandoned or crashed cars, and she knew for a fact there would be undead wandering main roads, or there might be a pile up of crashed cars. This was just a safer, faster route to do it this way. She keeps driving until she finds the Cul de Sac, and she swallows. "We're here."


She looks out to the house. It was nice enough, but it look uninhabited. All the other houses did as well, with no lights on. Maybe the power died here.

 

[DrTrollinski]

(No problem )

​

That was the house they arrived at. It was a nice big house, well, big enough, at least. It was pretty good, though, that went without denial. For someone who was divorced, he definitely wasn't doing too bad for himself, was he? So, he had three boys - this was going to be a fun experience with them all cramped into the house, wasn't it? Yeah, most definitely. Oh well, they were just going to have to deal with it. This could be their little base of operations from now on, for sure - Walter was wondering if his brother in-law and the children were still all inside. God, if something terrible had happened to them, he wasn't really sure if he wanted to stick around.


Sure, the lights seemed to be out, but didn't big houses like this have generators, or something? He was sure that they did. Well, not directly, but they would have had private generators, surely... You know, just in case of emergencies and whatnot. Regardless of that, why were they sitting around doing nothing? They had to go up and see if anyone was home... Right?


".. So... Shall we?" Walter asked awkwardly.

 

[CelticSol]

"Yeah," Jackie said, pulling into the driveway, the bumper nearly touching the door to the garage. She looked up to the house, pursing her lips tightly. She grabbed her baseball bat and her bag, then popped open her door. "Alright guys, let's go. Grab your gun, Walter."


Then, Jackie stepped out of the car, all nerves and anxiety. She gripped the bat tight in one hand, and swung her bag over her shoulder with the other. She looked to the house as she waited for the others to get out of the car.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Walter did indeed grab his gun, and then hopped out of the car and checked it was loaded. He helped the boys out of the back of the car and then looked off at the house once again. He wasn't liking the look of this, not one bit. He didn't want to walk in to dead bodies - the youngest child there was only going to be about six years old. The second-eldest was the same age as the two boys, and Chris was about thirteen - Uncle Rob... Walter didn't even know how old he was now, probably around the same age him. He slowly approached the door, the gun at the ready, and then gave a gentle knock after finding out that it was indeed locked. That was a good sign.


In that instant, the door flew open and knocked him right down the steps and onto his back. A man stepped out, a bolt-action rifle aimed right down at him. It was him. It was Rob. Walter looked into his eyes, and soon enough, Rob's glare turned into a stare of disbelief. He tossed the rifle aside and then ran down to him - he pulled him up, hugged him, and then ran to both the boys and pulled them into a massive hug, as well.


"Oh, thank god you're all okay..." He whispered, keeping the boys close. ".. Where's Colette?" He asked, this time speaking a little louder. He turned to look at Walter, whom of which said nothing for a good twenty seconds.


"She left the house last night... She didn't come back."


".. My god." He gulped, and then hugged the boys even tighter again. They didn't say anything to him, but they did indeed hug him back - It had just been a long time since they last saw him, that's all. They didn't really know what to say, seeing as the shyness had swept over them. "You should come inside. Quickly. It's not safe out here." He said, and then released the boys and nodded towards the door. "Go on..." He looked up at Jackie and gave her the best smile he could. "We'll introduce ourselves inside." He said.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie watched the loving reunion with a heavy heart. They were okay, thank god, but she could only hope the same had happened with her family. She looked at all the kids, and tried to avert her gaze from them. She felt awkward, the one stranger in the midst of the close family. She crossed her arms and stood back a little, keeping watch so they could have their moment of reunion. She was also glad they had ended up alive. Being the only person on the earth with Walter and the boys was a little disheartening.


When Rob smiled and reassured her, she smiled best she could. "Yeah." She walked inside, fitting her bat into her bag as much as she could manage. Waving a bloodied bat around wasn't exactly the best way to inspire a friendly atmosphere. She took off her shoes for the sake of politeness, even though she knew that doing that as soon as we walked into the door wasn't really an American thing, as most her friends had reminded her every time she came to their house.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Rob walked them into the house and into the foyer itself - it was a nice house, a little old-fashioned, but it was really quite modern in general. Once they were all inside, Rob closed the door over and quickly locked it. The door had several different locks - that's what happens when you have a single father with three children combined with paranoia. With Rob's work hours, he has to leave his eldest son to look after the other two, so you can imagine that he worries about them quite a lot when he's not at home.


Of course, he'll call up every couple of hours or send a text message to make sure that they're okay, and that everything's alright. Other than that, he stays at work and wells up in paranoia. Sucks, right? Still, it's better to be safe than sorry.


"I'm Robert. Friends call me Rob, though." He turned to Jackie and took a deep breath, but then held out a hand to her. "You'll meet my boys soon enough... They stay upstairs most the time, where it's more safe." He said, simply.

 

[CelticSol]

Though she didn't want him to think she was creepy by staring, she couldn't help but relate to all the different locks barring his door shut. When she had started school, she'd been incredibly paranoid at a) living in the city and b) living off campus. So she had gotten six different locks and always lock three so no one could get in. In the end, once she was more comfortable, she had removed most of them, but because of that, the zombie had broken into her house.


She looked up to him when he extended his hand, blinking. She took his hand, giving it a firm shake. "Jacqueline. My friends call me Jackie." She smiles then, though it was a little rueful. "I'm the resident stowaway of this sinking ship."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Jackie." He said, and then lead them all through to the kitchen of the house. The house itself was very nice - that impression could be gained just by walking through the doorway that lead down to the kitchen.

​

"Please, take a seat." He said, and then walked over to the cupboard and reached inside, pulling out a few bottles of water. "Do you want a drink?" He asked them. "You look like you've been on the road for a long time, especially if you've traveled from New York." He said, and then shrugged. "I've been trying to get the generator in the basement working, but it's not got enough fuel. If one of you are up for it, we could go out tomorrow and fetch some for it." He explained.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie thankfully took the offered drink in her hands, muttering a low, "Thank you," Before she began to sip it. She took a seat at the counter, trying to not to chug down the water. She had always been taught not to take too big of a drink when dehydrated or gorge herself on food when she's been hungry for a while. It also helped that she tried it a few times in the past, and she ended up throwing up everywhere, which wasn't the best experience she's ever had.


When Rob mentioned that he needed gasoline, she frowned. Going back out there wasn't an appealing idea, but something about seeing how the rest of the town was faring might not be that too bad of an idea. Without even knowing she had said it outloud, she said, "I'll go." She blinked, then looked to Walter, then back to Rob. "It'd be better that way. The things are attracted to sound, so it would be better, since I've got my bat. I could also scavenge some food while we're out, and while we're gone, Walter'll have the gun and be able to protect the kids. Win, win, right?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

"That could work." He gave a little nod and then smiled as he went over and sat down opposite them all. "The waterworks are still all good, but the power's out. I don't know how long the waterworks are going to be up and running for, but we may as well take advantage of it while we can." He said, and then shrugged a little. "I recommend you use the bathroom that's just outside the kitchen if you need to go - It seems to make the least amount of noise in the house, only because it's covered by all the walls and other rooms, and so on." He explained, and then reached up and rubbed the back of his head. Carl and Daniel were just sitting there sipping on their drinks - they weren't really saying much.


"If you've got nothing else to talk about, I can show you the rooms you can stay in." He said. "Would the boys be alright with sharing with Chris? He's the same age as them, I think." He said. "Eight years old, right, guys?" He asked. Daniel and Carl simply nodded. "Good, you guys alright with sharing a room with him?" He asked. Once again, they both nodded. "Awesome... What about you two?" He asked. "We'll only have one room left, are you guys okay with sharing a room? There's separate beds, and I'd rather have everyone upstairs." He said.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie thought a second, putting her elbows on the counter and bringing her woven hands to rest against her lip. Though the idea of a bed was a very attractive idea, she couldn't help a feeling in her gut that told it wasn't the best plan.


She tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear. "I don't know if that's the best idea. I mean, it would probably be safer if we had one adult downstairs to make sure nothing breaks into the house while the others were asleep and have a bit of a watch going on in case anything pops up in the night."

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Sounds fair enough to me." He said. "In that case... I'll stay downstairs. I'm the one with the rifle, and if anything happens, I'll be able to stop it a lot faster, worst-case scenario." He said, and then slowly rose up from the table. He went over to the two boys and ruffled their hair, and then made his way to the exit of the kitchen. "You guys wait here... I'll see if I can get any of the boys to come downstairs. We'll wait and see." He chuckled a little and then made his way out, followed by slowly climbing the stairs at the end of the hallway.


".. Hopefully we'll be safe here. We should camp it out in this area while we've got the chance." Walter said simply, and then took a deep breath. "We might just be able to camp it out here for quite a long time. The Cul De Sac's private and gated, so we should be just fine." He shrugged. "Obviously, the gate's going to have to be opened by hand, seeing as the power's all out, but that's not a major problem. If it stops those things from getting in during the night, I'll take it." He smiled a little, and then reached over to ruffle the boys' hair like Rob did.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie nodded. 'Fine' wasn't a word she would use to describe their situation. It was too secure, too safe, and knowing the area did nothing to make her feel better. She sighed, rubbing her hands over her face, but leaving them to rest against her lips. She didn't know what Rob and Walter had seen so far of the corpses, but as far as she knew, she had the most experience in seeing what these things could do to a large amount of people in a very short amount of time. She had watched a horde destroy a very full street, leaving nothing but more of them, along with some who had been too injured to get back up like the rest of them. Men, women, children, all chewed on like a dog toy.


Running her hand through her hair, she closed her eyes. She felt exhausted, mentally and physically. Her body was tired of the constant stress of not knowing if a situation was safe or hostile and from the knowledge that there would countless situations like that in the near future, and her mind for seeing the bloodshed and knowing the capabilities of these things first hand. Her hands fell limply to the counter, her nail polish - once a very well-done job of black courtesy of Evelyn - was chipping off, the filed shape breaking off into jagged lines across the edge of her nails. She hadn't been very picky on the appearance of her nails, since she knew she could go redo them whenever she liked. She missed that she didn't really have that choice anymore. Her palms were in no better shape. Her hands were scarred from calloused received in her childhood and teenage years, and had returned once she started to play baseball. She supposed she would need to start developing scars.


Turning to the boys, she tried to smile. "Hey. You guys glad to be here?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

Carl and Daniel looked at her and gave a little nod." Uh-huh." Daniel said. "It's cool here. It's been a really long time since we've been here, but it's still kinda' the same, just different furniture." He chuckled a little and then looked at Walter, whom of which reached out and ruffled his hair. "I like it here, though... I hope we can stay here." He said, and then sipped on the water that he'd been given once again. Walter was curious to why the waterworks were still up, yet, all the power was down - He didn't like that, not one bit. It was too fucking fishy to actually think about - Why were they still working? Was it the same everywhere? Was the whole country dead yet?


"Dad?" Carl said, and then leaned over to get a little closer to him. "What bathroom did Uncle Rob say to use?" He asked, Walter smiled and then pointed off in the direction of the door just outside the kitchen, and then gave a nod. Carl looked at it, nodded a few times, and then got up and wandered off into the bathroom there. It was a little half-bathroom, but it was enough. A toilet and a sink - what else did you need? He went inside, and then closed the door. He sort of had to use his hands to feel around for what he needed, seeing as the lights didn't work and it was pitch black in here. Still, better than nothing.


Soon enough, a boy came wandering down the stairs and through the kitchen entrance. He was... thirteen, or so. Dark brown hair, which was medium and shaggy like Carl and Daniel's - This must have been Andrew.


"Hey..." Andrew said, and then walked up to Walter and gave him a smile, followed by instantly flying into a hug with him. Walter wrapped his arms around the boy's body, and one hand laid against the back of his head. Andrew just sat there for a moment. It was nice to see Walter again, that was for sure - they were never really close to each other, but they were family, and he and Walter had some history. Walter had already told Jackie the story of how he supported him after his parents' divorce.


"Jackie... This is Andrew. My oldest nephew." He smiled, and then patted Andrew's back.


 
(Sorry it took so long. I got absolutely swamped with school work and couldn't keep up with all my RP's)

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie swallowed the lump in her throat. Though they looked nothing alike, she couldn't help but think of Joe when she looked at Andrew. Joe was taller than him by an inch or so, and Joe was a lot more lanky and awkward, growing faster than he could put on weight. Jackie didn't go for a hug or a handshake, she felt like she would either cry and scare the poor kid, or Andrew wouldn't appreciate it. Jackie smiled, though it didn't look very sincere.


"Hi, Andrew. As you heard from your uncle, my name is Jackie. Pleasure to meet you, though I wish we had all met under... ah, better circumstances." She shrugs. "Well, what are you gonna do, right?"


 
(It's completely fine! If it's school, than that's more important than an RP.)

 

[DrTrollinski]

They both had to take a minute to get over the emotion of seeing each other again - The last time Walter saw him, he was ten years old, a scrawny child with a sheltered personality and a lot of problems. He'd bloomed into a young man, it seemed. He needed to see more of him before he made a final verdict, though, but still... He looked like he'd grown up quite a lot, both in terms of height and maturity. Once they were done with the hug, Walter released him and gave him a pat on the back whilst watching him wipe his eyes. Tough times.


Andrew looked over at Jackie and greeted her with a little smile. "Hey, nice to meet you, too." He said, and then gave her a nod. ".. Better circumstances or not... It's still nice to met you, all the same." He laughed a little and then looked down at Daniel, followed by ducking down and giving him a hug. It had been so long since he'd seen the two brothers, too. That was really something, to see them again - They'd got taller, their face wasn't as soft and gentle as it was three years ago.


"God... Daniel." He said. He remembered them, even though they were twins - He was always great and telling who was who. "You've grown up so much since I last saw you. You were down here when I last met you." He said, holding a hand out down low at his side. "How you doing, man? You okay?" He asked.


"Uh-huh... It's nice to see you again, Andrew..." Daniel squeaked, but smiled as he rested his head on Andrew's shoulder. Andrew smiled and closed his eyes while gently rubbing Daniel's back, but then something clicked into his mind. Oh god. Where was Carl? Andrew was quick (but gentle) to pull away from Daniel and frantically scan around - Carl was famous to him for being the crazy one, the one that did whatever he wanted, and acted before he asked questions - He didn't care, and that's why Andrew thought he was such an amazing kid.


".. Where's Carl?"


"In the bathroom." Walter said, and Andrew instantly took a sigh of relief and rubbed the back of his head.


"What about Colette?"


Walter was silent for a moment. "Come here, Andrew..." He said, Andrew gulped and walked over to his side. Walter took hold of one of his hands. ".. She left during the night, she--.. She didn't come back. We don't know where she is." He said, Andrew's jaw dropped a little and he slowly shook his head, but Walter only nodded his own to counter that. Andrew fell down sideways to sit on his lap, and then went forward and buried his face in Walter's shoulder. Walter hugged him yet again. "Jackie... Could you go and check on Rob and see if everything's okay up there? You can take Daniel with you, if you want." He said.

 

[CelticSol]

Jackie immediately caught his drift on wanting to talk to Andrew, so she hopped off her seat, patting Daniel's shoulder with a smile. "C'mon, kiddo, let's go see your uncle. I think your dad and Andrew gotta talk some stuff over."


She walked up the stairs, taking out the ponytail she had in her hair and putting the elastic on her wrist for later. At the top step, she wandered around the upstairs until she found Rob in one of the rooms. "Hey, Rob, is there anything I can help you out with? Dinner, getting the rest of us settled in?"

 

[DrTrollinski]

Walter waited for them to leave, and then he started to talk to Andrew - It started off quite depressing, and it even resulted in a few tears coming from Andrew's side. I mean, come on, it was his aunt that they were talking about. Colette was always good to Andrew and his brothers, so hearing that she was pretty much dead was very upsetting news. The conversation eventually went on, though, and lead into something where they were just talking about stuff in general and how they'd been over the years. Carl spent quite a while in the bathroom (I mean, come on, he was fumbling around for the toilet paper in pure darkness) but he soon came out and joined them both again. Thankfully, he joined them at the more... hopeful side of their conversation.


When Jackie and Daniel got upstairs, a boy came zooming out of a room, right by Rob. Rob had to slow him down, but still, he ran. "Daniel!" He called in delight, and then ran up to him and gave him a big hug. Daniel grinned back and hugged him as tight as he could - Ah, his cousin Chris. Wonderful to see him again. Chris was the same age as the two boys, and he had shaggy dark brown hair a lot like his older brother - He had a cute little look to his face, too.