Realistic or Modern The Beginning of the End

[DrTrollinski]

".. I don't know... He's one to give second chances." He said, still poking at the tin in front of him. ".. Me and him got into punch-ups after this started. He always gave me second chances, and let everyone in because he believes in good will and all of that." He murmured in addition. (@Soul OMU)

 

[StarrySkyofLostSouls]

(Well he said nice and funny. Probably about a silly scarecrow whos trying to find his hat but can't seem to find it and goes round looking for it.)

 

[amended]

Somehow Jared kept a clean shave throughout all his time, he never told anyone his secret. Jared strolls into the pizza parlor to see Tom and one of the other people from the other group there,

"Eating some food?" Jared asks as he walks over and sits next to them.​

 

[DrCompton]

"There are cans behind the counter." Tom smiled at Jared, then looked at Eric. "You need to be willing to kill. Not everyone, just the right people. No matter who they are. I'll teach you who to kill. And how. But you need to promise me you'll man up, quit this babying about bullshit. Or I'll leave you to Rot on that mattress."

 

[DrTrollinski]

Eric completely blanked Jared and continued poking at the can of beans. He didn't seem to be a trusting kid, why he trusted Tom so quickly was unknown to everyone else. ".. Most the people who I've cared for or who have cared for me are now dead." He finally scooped some food into his mouth. ".. I don't have anything to baby about any more... I promise you I'll try." He murmured under his breath, his head bowed a little. (@Stew, @Soul OMU)

 

[StarrySkyofLostSouls]

Riley smiles a bit and ruffles his hair. "I hope that was a good enough story for you." She said softly while getting up and stretching. Hunter currently getting something to eat in one of the places when she notices Eric and the new guys but says nothing as she keeps walking.

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. I did, yeah! Can you tell me a story tonight when I gotta' go to sleep, too?" He asked her with big puppy-dog eyes after he sat up. (@Soul OMU)

 

[amended]

Jared walks over to the counter and grabs a can of beans, he sits with the two and continues to open the can with a fork he got,

"Hey, have you guys seen Dawn of the Dead?" He asks with a smile.​

 

[StarrySkyofLostSouls]

Riley smiles and strokes his hair. "Of course Carl... Now go on, let's go meet the new people." She said softly while standing up.

 

[DrTrollinski]

Carl jumped up without hesitation but then hugged her tight. "Don't be sad no more." He instructed, but he meant well. He smiled thoughtfully up at her and then dashed out of the room to head to the pizza place. (@Soul OMU)


--


"No." Eric mumbled, spooning a small amount of food into his mouth again. Carl dashed halfway into the restaurant but then slowed his pace as he began to walk up to the table where the three guys were sitting; he shyly placed his hands on the edge of the table and leaned onto it a little, shyly smiling at the two new men that had joined the group.


"Hiiii..." He said, a shy grin stretching across his face; his dark brown hair flicked over his eyes and he quickly brushed them away with one hand. (@Stew, @DrCompton)

 

[amended]

Jared raises his eyebrows, they had children,

"Hey there, kiddo." He says in a friendly tone,

"Well what's your name?" He says as he leans forward, smiling at the child.​

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. I'm Carl!" He said happily, smiling at him. Carl didn't appear to be any older than five, and Eric no older than fourteen. "What's your name?" He asked him, his cheeks blushing in the slightest. (@Stew)

 

[amended]

Jared chuckles at how spry the child is,

"I'm Jared." He says,

"Hey, Carl, you wouldn't happen to have a piano would you?" Jared asks with a sudden idea.​

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Uh..." He pauses for a moment. ".. Well... there's a store downstairs that has instruments, and stuff." He smiled mindlessly. "Eric plays guitar." He pointed at Eric, who kept his head bowed and said nothing. (@Stew)

 

[amended]

Jared gets up and scoops most of the beans from the can into his mouth, after a couple of seconds of chewing and swallowing he points out the door and says,

"I know a couple of songs, hey Eric, want to play with me?" He says before turning to Eric.​

 

[DrTrollinski]

".. Maybe in a bit." Eric muttered, slowly eating some more food. (I'm going to bed. Night, everyone!) (@Stew)

 

[DrCompton]

"We'll talk later Eric." Tom got up and rustled carls hair as he left the pizza shop, still eating his beans. He found other survivors. They all looked young and helpless, he frowned. He didnt want to get attached here, but he already felt something with Eric.

 

[amended]

(OK, nighty night.) Jared shrugs and turns back to the door,

"Alright, suit yourself. You can come see me when you want." He says to everyone as he walks out. Jared then heads down to the music shop and starts tidying up the place, preparing for his show.​

 

[StarrySkyofLostSouls]

Carl jumped up without hesitation but then hugged her tight. "Don't be sad no more." He instructed, but he meant well. He smiled thoughtfully up at her and then dashed out of the room to head to the pizza place. (@Soul OMU)
--


"No." Eric mumbled, spooning a small amount of food into his mouth again. Carl dashed halfway into the restaurant but then slowed his pace as he began to walk up to the table where the three guys were sitting; he shyly placed his hands on the edge of the table and leaned onto it a little, shyly smiling at the two new men that had joined the group.


"Hiiii..." He said, a shy grin stretching across his face; his dark brown hair flicked over his eyes and he quickly brushed them away with one hand. (@Stew, @DrCompton)

Riley smiles a bit as she hugged him back. "I'll try..." She said before going off to find Hunter who was off eating by herself.

 

[Aryn Harris]

(I... Am so sorry.... I've been busy with school work, Homecoming is coming up, and I've been spending time with my boyfriend.... From now on I will try my hardest to reply at least twice a day, but I need someone to catch me up...)

 

[Soviet Panda]

"Well then go pester your dad to let you come with me on a trip." Connor replied, giving his trade marked shooing motion. That motion had gotten on the nerves of a few people, but they got over it as far as he was concerned. "And if he'll let you, remember that I'm in charge when we are out there and that you do as I say."


(@DrTrollinski)

 

[DrTrollinski]

One Month Later.



A month went by and they came into early February - the snow was showing no signs of clearing up just yet, sadly. It was still cold and bitter outside, and Alex had now moved everyone to the mall where they ended up meeting Neva - they didn't have much to spare, but they gave her some food and water and decided to let her stick around. Much to Eric's displeasure - speaking of Eric, he'd only gotten worse as the month went on - he had little to no interaction with anyone, that includes Alex and Carl, and instead locked himself away in his room or stayed at the back of the group whenever they went out - when it came to clearing out the mall they were now staying in, Eric broke himself away to go off to a store on his own - it was a gun store. No one actually noticed that he was gone until he came back with a gun of his own, silenced, locked and loaded - he'd cleared the place out alone, but there was only a couple of the undead in there.


It took almost two weeks to fully clear out the bodies from the mall as well as making sure that it was actually worth staying there. It was indeed. They had enough there to survive for at least a year - in terms of food, at least. There were numerous food stores around, all having canned foods there. Alex made the call to have all entrances heavily fortified until they needed to get out of there - this stopped any other people or the dead from getting in without making too much noise to let everyone know about it. Alex kept to himself but was still engaged with everyone over the month - he was sort of the guy that was the emotional cart-hauler. People were welcome to dump emotion on him and he'd help them out the best he could. As for Eric, it was blatantly obvious that he had fallen into depression, especially when they actually found him passed out in the liquor store downstairs from where they were staying. Carl was caught in the middle of it all and couldn't really stay happy, but he started spending more time with everyone else so that his mood changed again - it did just that, and he was a lot happier in general, and more outgoing, seeing as he had to introduce himself and meet everyone alone while the lives of his brothers pretty much fell to pieces.


Where were they staying? They were staying in a store within the mall, upstairs, not too far from the main entrance/exit, that specialized in selling beds and mattresses and other bedding items. They had everything they needed there, but strangely, half-way into the month, despite the power and gas supplies dying out long ago, the water and sewer systems were still functional - obviously no one was going to take the chance of drinking the water, but they still had cold water to wash with as well as working toilets, which was always a good sign. The question was... Why? Why did it all still work like that? What was the mystery behind it? Who knew, but regardless, it made life that little bit more enjoyable, so all they could really do was go with it. They all stayed in one store, all together on either double mattresses (for those that were close, like Matty and Caitlyn), or alone on single mattresses. Every store had metal shutter-doors that could be brought down and locked, so every night, Alex made sure that the main stores they had use for were locked down, including the one they slept in - safe and sound.


-


It was the morning of February 3rd. It was cold, but they were surviving seeing as the store they were in allowed them to have mattresses, space, pillows, and nice warm blankets to wrap themselves in. Alex was the first to awake at about seven o'clock in the morning - or at least he thought he was - he, Eric, and Carl all stayed in the far right corner of the store by the counters with the cash register - it was a snug little spot that was mostly chosen for Carl's benefit. Alex looked to his right and saw Eric fast asleep on the far mattress that was against the wall, but the mattress between them both was empty. Where had Carl gone? Alex sat up and slowly climbed out of bed - he was only in his underwear, so the cold hit him pretty quick. He looked off at the entrance to the store and the shutter was still down and locked, so there was no way Carl had left - he looked over everyone else's beds to check to see if Carl had snuck in to sleep with anyone after a bad nightmare, or something - he wasn't. Alex sighed in light panic and walked off to the back room where the storage for the store was, as well as the staff bathroom; he pressed his ear against the wooden door of the small little 2x4 bathroom and gave a relieved smile when he heard Carl within. He was curious, though, mostly because Carl was singing 'Country Roads' by John Denver. Alex shook his head with a soft chuckle and pushed the door open, raising his eyebrows in surprise when he saw Carl sitting on the toilet.


"Heeey..." Carl said in sudden shock, but his frown turned to a soft smile.


"What are you doing?" Alex asked. "Are you... Are you singing on the toilet?" He added, Carl giggled and nodded.


"Yeah!"


"Why, does it help you go better, or something?


"Uh-huh." He grinned, Alex shook his head and turned to walk out the door.


"Okay... I'll keep that in mind... See you in a few minutes, pal..." He said, he closed the door over and Carl instantly started singing again. Alex sighed and walked back out into the main room to sit on the chair behind the counter. (@Soul OMU, @DryPunishment, @october_rain)


---


Brad had himself and Delaney continue heading North like he said. With sickness and health they'd finally managed to make it to the small town of Paynesville in Minnesota. It took them two weeks to get there, and for the final two weeks of the month they'd been staying in the apartment above a general store/pharmacy - it was safe, decently fortified, and better yet - the whole town was dead. It was almost as if they were the first living people to actually touch the place. Since the previous incident at the service station, as well as the sickness during the first two weeks, Brad found himself getting closer to Delaney now that they knew more about each other and had spent the most part of the month caring for each other more than anything.


At seven o'clock Brad slowly awoke and rolled over to check and see if Delaney was alright. His mattress that was dragged off of one of the beds was now only half a foot away from her own - it was safer if they slept in the same room and close to each other in case of an emergency anyway. He rubbed his head and brushed his hair aside that seemed to be getting longer by the minute and then took a yawn, stretching before settling back down under the blanket. (@Stew, @Fallen from Heaven - You still in on this or not? You're not following this any more, so... I assumed you're not, but let me know nonetheless.)


(If I've missed anyone, let me know!)

(@Stew, @DrCompton)
---


"Thanks, Conner!" He sprung up in excitement and dashed out of the apartment, almost slipping as he jumped out onto the snow; he sprinted across to the doctor's office where his father worked and ran upstairs. He tugged wildly on his jacket, hopping on the spot. "Dad! Dad! Dad!" He called, grinning. Dominic was startled but turned his head to look down at him.


"Yes, son?"


"Can I go on a hunting trip with Conner? He said he could teach me stuff about hunting, I'll listen to him, I promise!" He begged, now tugging on his jacket with both hands. Dominic's expression slowly tugged into a smile and he nodded.


"Sure, why not." He replied, Daniel squealed in excitement and relief and tightly hugged him.


"Thank you!" He yelled, he then pulled away before he had the chance to respond and shot off out of the building again; he went back to Conner's place and dropped himself onto the armchair again, excitedly but quietly tapping his feet on the ground. "He said I can!" He told him, taking a few deep breaths to recuperate himself after the running. (@Beowulf)

 

[DrCompton]

Tom looked around, he wasnt sure who he should approach first. So he went back to Alex, "So who is everyone and what are the relationships. I've met your two brothers, but who else is family? It might be easier if you show me around. Jared is better at making introductions than I am." He nodded to his friend, who was heading toward a piano store.

 

[Aldur]

Matty noticed Jared go into the instrument shop. When they first arrived at the mall Matty's eyes were glimmering and his face lightened up almost immediately. He even found a saxophone there ,which he played between working time for the rest of the day.


After he ate some beans and peaches with Caitlyn he heard Jared hit some notes on the piano.


Matty jumped and rushed to get the sax. After he got it he sneaked into the instrument shop without anyone noticing. He left Caitlyn upstairs with the rest of the group. As soon as he saw Jared he started playing relaxing blues.


[media]



[/media]
@Stew

 

[DrTrollinski]

"Well. Follow me..." He said, leading Tom back to the store where everyone was eating. He pointed at the two girls, both of them sitting alone. "Those two are Hunter, and Riley." He said, "They're twins. Been here since last month." He said, turning on one heel to look over at Caitlyn - she only appeared to be near the age of four. "That there's Caitlyn. She's the youngest here..." He started whispering. "Matty's sort of like her father, but not her real one - They've only got each other, and I don't think she knows about what happened to her parents, so keep that quiet." He said, looking around again. There was no one left in here to introduce - He turned back out of the store and pointed off at a late-teen girl and a young boy who was around age ten. "That's Elizabeth and Brian. Brother and sister." He said, smiling. "That's all the families we've got here... Anything else you'd like to know?" Alex asked.


Carl hopped up from the table and ran out of the store to look at Tom and Alex. He walked to Tom's left side - the opposite side of where Alex was standing - and gently tugged on the sleeve of his lower shirt, looking up towards him with a gentle smile. (@DrCompton)