Zombie Apocalypse: Take a Bite (IC Thread)

Madi was distracted, looking at Cam, but she twirled around quickly at the sound of running water. A bright smile broke out on her face. "I can't believe it," she said happily, trying to restrain herself from jumping up and down. Even Cam seemed to brighten at the sight. Madi nodded. "That sounds great. It's been a while since we had any actual food," she said, trying to think of the last time they actually cooked. Trying to push Dayes from her mind, Madi busied herself with trying to clean the new pots and pans from the back. "What should we make?" she asked, looking to Jo. She was fine when she had a recipe to follow but she couldn't just look at a pile of ingredients and think of something to make.


Jo, though she looked nothing like her mother, still made her feel safe like she was with her. Madi, in her subconscious, knew that she shouldn't get so attached to people that quickly. She couldn't really help that right now, though.


Cam was slowly growing to like Jo. She was nice and happy and didn't have sarcastic tendencies like Dayes did. Not that Cam would have wished Dayes' fate on anyone: Jo was just a better fit for the two of them. They were young and in need of some guidance. Cam wandered over to the window and watched the street. There were a few walkers limping around. There was really no escaping them.


Cam had never been to the town before but he could almost see what it was like once before: perhaps a few people walking the sidewalk and cars driving by. It was a cleaner town then, of course. He started blockading the door, getting ready for the night. Maybe they could have a peaceful night tonight. That would be the first time in a while. They hadn't gotten to stay anywhere this safe in a long time. "It'll be nice to stay somewhere safe for a while. We could have a pretty nice set-up if we scavenge a bit. I might go out and look through the buildings across the road," he said, looking towards his companions. Madi looked at him, worry in her eyes, but simply nodded.


--


River, standing by the fire, heard the boy making noises in his sleep. Her blue eyes were trained on the tent as she carefully poured some of the make-shift soup in a bowl for their visitor. She stepped to the tent, carefully opening it and peeking in, blonde hair falling over her shoulder. She smiled at the sight of the boy sitting up. His head was on his knees but he was awake at least. "You should get more sleep. You look positively exhausted," River said, stepping into the small tent and sitting next to the boy, holding the bowl in her palms. "Hungry?" she asked, a slight accent evident in her voice as she offered the bowl to the boy.


An idea suddenly struck her and she tilted her head, looking at him, a but confused. "Why were you here?" she questioned, eyebrows knitting together. Her blue eyes stayed focused on him. Had he followed her or just stumbled upon their camp? What did he want? To rob them? Or did he actually want help? River frowned. She was generally suspicious of people and their motives but she still liked to help. River was fascinated by this guy: he was the first live person she had seen since her and her father left.


As if summoned by her thoughts, her father poked his head in the tent, looking at River before turning his attention towards the boy. "Ah, you're up. Good," was all her muttered before withdrawing. He walked to the fire where a pot of water sat on the ground. He had collected quite a bit from a nearby stream. They wouldn't be staying here any longer than the night so they needed to get what they could. His aged face stared at the fire as he held the pot, trying to get the water to boil. He noticed a soup-like substance in two metal cups and picked one up, taking a sip. It was bland but warm dinner wasn't something they normally got. Rich didn't like the idea of this boy: he felt like he was trouble. He wouldn't allow him to go along if he posed a threat. Rich's concern was his daughter and that was it. Rich glared at the tent before removing the boiling water from the fire and pouring it into the canteens and bottles.


 
Jo was immediately busying herself with observing the ingredients they possessed, and it wasn't much. But it was enough, she began putting things together; being careful as to spare as much food as she possibly could. The two young adults watched her in a state of awe and observation. She hummed a bit to fill the silence, then responded to their questions as she stirred the mixture of beans, sauce, and spices. "I'm gonna make some of my mama's makeshift chili, for when we were all out campin' and such." She smiled at the memory, that seemed so long ago; as she had only been a little girl at the time. Jo recalled the family outings, venturing far off to camp out; laying in a pillow of blue-bonnets, under a blanket of beautiful stars. She could almost taste the earth, and the rustling wind soothed her like a lullaby. Josephine could've laughed at herself, reminiscing on memories like that during this time of such dire hopelessness. But then again, sentiment was one of the only things that kept her grounded to her human morals. When Cam planned on going out she turned and said "Good grief. Now, Cam, honey, you best be careful. I don't want you traveling out and about in a new town at night, I suggest you stay here." She brought three bowls of makeshift chili to the diner table, pulling a ziplock bag of cornbread from her pack; which they had to eat within the next week, or it'd mold. "Treat yourself, and have a warm meal. I really tried to work with what... Few supplies.." She attempted to put it kindly "I was given." Then Josephine watched as the two eyed their bowls hungrily, a certain childlike longing in their eyes; like she had been at the age of 8 when she saw a fresh batch of unsupervised cookies. "Go ahead, it should be at least half-decent." She joked, her eyes wrinkling in the corners when she chortled heartily afterwards.


--


Finn's eyes screwed shut, then opened wide and near-popping out at the sound of River's voice ringing through the tent. He found himself parched, and was certain that the membrane of his throat would crack if he even tried to make a sound; so he numbly coughed, a feeble one at that. He raised his head from its buried placement on his knees, and rested it on his arms as he watched her move towards him; a bowl of soup in her hands. How strange, he'd think that in a zombie apocalypse people would be anything but generous; he knew he was like that. He hadn't felt hungry, not until food was waved under his nose; and the slight aroma of steamed carrots and potatoes filled him up. Finn felt his stomach clench and nodded, still confused and attempting to figure out exactly what happened; the memory was still fuzzy in his somewhat delirious, tired mind. The blonde girl stared at him as though he had three-heads, she seemed excited and eager for him to speak. When she asked why he'd come here, he felt his heart drop. He wouldn't dare tell her the truth, that he'd planned on robbing them of everything he could grab so he could get his way; he may have ended up killing someone if he had to. But upon seeing River wasn't alone, and that big burly father of hers; he was too intimidated to even try to put that plan into action, also he wasn't anywhere near at his strongest. The boy cleared his throat, only to be cut off by Rich emerging into the tent; which immediately caused him to clam up. He didn't really want to see that man, that hardened tough man, come near him. He wasn't scared of him, but there was something about the way he carried himself that reminded Finn of his own father. Finn heaved a quiet sigh. His voice came out raspy and gruff, very wheezy and whispery as well "Mind your own business... B!tch." He didn't necessarily think any sound would even come out, but he realized that speaking as he was used to speaking wasn't the best plan. Having been on the streets for quite some time, just furthermore fueled his bad language habits; He hardly noticed he used cusses so frequently anymore. As if to make up for it, realizing he was in a compromising situation, Finn swallowed "Sorry." It was a false apology, but he put on one of his most pitiful expressions to back up his fake-sympathy. He cleared his throat again and added "It's been... a rough night." He hoped that excuse would pardon his rudeness, not that he really cared if it did. He just wanted that bowl of soup, each second causing his stomach to turn flips and ravenously rumble.
 
Cam, stubborn as he was, had turned to tell Jo he didn't necessarily need her permission but he caught sight of the bowl and his stomach growled immediately. He couldn't really remember the last time he had eaten or the last time he had made Madi eat. She had a terrible habit of getting so hungry she didn't feel it anymore. Before the infection broke out, he had constantly made sure she ate three meals a day, otherwise she ended up eating a late lunch and that was it for the day. Now, he couldn't make sure she ate three times daily but, looking to his friend, he realized he should have been doing more. She looked much skinnier now, her clothes not fitting like they once had. He felt guilty for not watching her eating habits more closely. Yes, he had more immediate worries, but he didn't want Madi to die from starvation when that was preventable. He sat at the table and, once Madi had taken her seat, he dug in.


Madi's mouth watered at the smell of the warm chili. She took a seat and scooped a spoonful into her mouth. It was most likely the best thing she had ever tasted. "This is great," she said, smiling at Jo.


"Yeah, thank you," Cam added, his frustration at being told to stay in the diner lost. He took a bite of cornbread and continued to eat his chili, glancing at Madi every once in a while to make sure she was eating enough. He felt warm and content. They had a place to stay for the night, good food, and friends. Sighing contentedly as he dropped his spoon in his now clean bowl. "That was amazing. Haven't had food like that in who knows how long," he said, looking gratefully to Jo.


Madi finished her bowl as well, pulling apart a piece of cornbread and popping a few pieces in her mouth. She collected her bowl and Cam's and then walked to the sink. Carefully wetting a cloth she had in her bag, she cleaned the bowls. She felt like she needed to contribute in some way. Setting the clean bowls on the counter, she yawned, her full stomach and exhaustion from the day catching up to her. "I'm gonna get some sleep," she announced, feeling silly for going to sleep so early. Her body demanded it now, though, so she grabbed the blankets from her bag and spread it out on the floor away from the windows. "Goodnight," she said, laying down and finding no trouble drifting into sleep.


Cam looked to Jo. "I'm glad she invited you in. Thank you. I just need you to know something, though. It's my job to make sure she lives longer than I do. I need you to take care of her if I can't," he said, eyes downcast, thinking of how painful it would be without Madi. "If... if I turn you have to kill me," he said, finally looking into the woman's eyes. He knew Madi wouldn't be able to do it. He knew this was a lot to drop on this poor woman since she had just gotten here but he figured a chance to talk to her alone wouldn't come around much.


--


River handed the bowl to the boy and stood swiftly, exiting the tent without a word. Her walls had gone up, shocked at the boy's reaction to her father. He wasn't the best father ever but she still cared for him. Walking to the fire that her father was trying to put out, River caught her father's eye. "You should talk to that boy. He seems to have some kind of problem," she muttered, keeping her voice low enough so, hopefully, the boy wouldn't hear. "He worries me," she added, sitting cross legged in the dirt next to the smoking bones of the fire.


Rich sighed and shook his head. He walked to the tent and stuck his head in, looking to the scrawny boy. "Listen here, boy. Now, my daughter was kind enough to take you in and now you're making her uncomfortable and I don't like that," Rich drawled, his voice deep and booming. He stepped into the tent, crouching slightly to fit inside. "Now, you can stay here and and act normally or you can try your luck alone," he said, glaring at the boy and crossing his arms. He thought the choice to stay would be obvious but, then again, the kid didn't seem stable. "I'll let you think about it," he finished, turning and leaving the tent.


"Is he staying?" River asked as her father reappeared. Her father answered with a shrug. It wouldn't matter much to Rich if he stayed. He seemed like trouble and Rich definitely didn't need that. River definitely didn't need that. The boy needed to learn quickly that Rich was stubborn and didn't let anyone tell him anything. It was Rich's way or the highway.
 
In the woods, walked a lost Ellis. Turdging quietly, he wondered, Maybe I should've taken that left at albercrombe. Or whatever the hell that damn rabbit said. He was awkwardly kicking up dead leaves on the forest floor; looking around, stepping around in a circle on the spot, wondering which way was the best way to go. He listened carefully, trying to drown out the birds and bees making their noises. Could he hear voices? Or was he finally going off the deep end? Hopefully he'd know where the edge was when he fell off it, realizing with a bone dry realism that, oh, the edge was a little further out than I thought it would be. No, voices, definitely voices, they had to be real. So, with his best impersonation of the various commandos he had taken pictures of, interviewed and even followed into combat, he approached the far off voices. Knees creaking and cracking semi-audibly. If they are bandits, hey, at least I'd have an exciting gun-fighting death!
 
She had just managed to get past the last of the nails when she heard a commotion from around the building. Carefully, she knelt down and quietly walked along the wall of the building to peer down the road to see that was all the sound. Her back firmly to the wall, she made one quick check of her surroundings before looking at the source of the sound.


Down the road, there was a large gathering of walkers that were moving on a car and what appeared to be a couple of live people in it. Normally, Jinx was one to just ignore the large rabble of people. After all, they served as a good distraction which allowed her to move around more easily. But it had been quite a long time since she had found herself with others, and it had gotten quite lonely.


Begrudgingly, she decided to help. She reached into her back pack and pulled out one of her home-made noisemakers. It was something that she had created sometime ago to help her out when she got stuck in a sticky situation. The noisemaker was a jerry rigged car alarm with a 9 volt battery hook up, all tapped up and put into container to both magnify and secure the device.


Opening the container up, she flipped the switch and the blaring started immediately. She tossed it to the opposite side of the street. This would serve to draw off some of the zombie horde as she moved began to move towards the group, moving from cover to cover with her nail gun up, alert and ready to take down any zombies that noticed her.
 
Everything happened so fast for CJ. Dayes dying, Cam and Madi going. He had to kill a few walkers during that brush off. Cam offered an invitation but he had to refuse his terms. He couldn't have himself taking other people's orders especially if they were more likely gonna get him killed. So there he was, waiting for them to leave. He couldn't associate with them any further.


After the pair went off, he returned to his motorcycle and drove into town. He knew what he had to do. Gather more supplies, weapons, and look for things he could use. He didn't have his brother to rely on anymore. He had to do things to the best of his abilities. After a short drive into town, he went to inspect one of the buildings. Majority of the walkers would've been gone but there would still be a group of stragglers left. That much was proved minutes ago. He had his bag with him. He held his flashlight with his left hand and his crowbar on his right in a way that he was ready to swing or stab anything that came at him. He steadily inspected each room keeping his guard up.
 
Ellis was still in the woods. Through the trees he could see a town, goddamn, he thought, the zombies haven't destroyed all the buildings yet. Creeping he exits the forest and enters someone's back yard, climbing over the fence, loosing his grip and landing with a quiet thump and oof.


Getting up slowly he decides to walk up to the backdoor of the house. Thinking it's an open door, Ellis walks straight into a screen door, shattering it. Shaking bits of broken glass off of himself he calls "Hi, I'm an independent journalist, would you like to give me your opinion on the dead rising?" getting no answer he gets up and explores the house.
 
Zodiac looked around in surprise as a woman got out of the car and began to draw the walkers away. She told him to get in the car, but he couldn't do that. 'No, You can't fight them on your own.' He said, hacking his way through the hoarde, his katana slicing through flesh and bone with a little more difficulty. His weapon wasn't designed to decapitate after all. He'd need to sharpen it later, he thought to himself, ducking under the arm of a walker and doing an uppercut slice. The walkers seemed to be dwindling in numbers, he and lee being able to fight them off easily as a team. He wanted to ask her what her name was, where she'd come from, but now was not the time for talking.


~


Carmen held a hand over her pregnant belly, the other holding her back as she tried to steady herself and calm her breathing. The highway seemed to stretch forever and she wondered if anyone was even alive out there. She doubted anyone would come along and help her. She was all alone. It scared her. She didn't want to have their child in the midst of this war. She slumped back in her seat, exhausted and alone. Was there anyone out there? Closing her eyes she felt the cover of night cool her warm flesh, the sweat cooling slowly and providing a small reprieve. She sighed a little, hearing the clydesdales whinny and shift about, causing her wagon to wobble a little. She opened her eyes again and flicked the reigns. 'Come on, we have to keep going.' She told them as they neighed in argument, but obediently walked on. They were exhausted too. That last hoarde had them running for hours after, making sure they escaped. She could only hope they could survive a few more days to find somewhere to rest.
 
Clair moved back into the front seat quickly, watching from her window as Lee and the stranger took care of the walkers, she covered her ears as a loud sound started, she looked around frantically. She noticed that some of them shambled off toward the sound, though it wasn't many since most of them were already after a living food source. She watched as Lee hit a walker, taking it down.


After a while, working with the stranger they took out the rest of the walkers that were still around. "Are you alright?" she asked the stranger, she was breathing heavily, killing walkers randomly wasn't exactly something that she had been expecting to have to do all of a sudden, but if this stranger was alright because she got out and helped, then at least she could feel alright because of that. She reached up and wiped some sweat off of her forehead, leaving a streak of blood, she leaned against the car for a moment, then she looked around, trying to determine where the sound of the car alarm was coming from. "We should get into the car... before more walkers come." she said, she would keep an eye out for whoever started up the sound, in case they needed help as well. She headed around to the driver's side of the car quickly.


(If the person that was hanging around Jax doesn't post soon, I will post for Jax and have him find Carmen, or more like she would find him, since he's walking, but yeah.)
 
(alrighty)


Zodiac looked over to the woman, giving a small, sharp nod, a little breathless. He climbed into the back seat of the car, setting his sword on the seat beside him. 'I'm fine, thank you for your assistance. I'm Zodiac. Who are you?' He asked in that accented, disjointed manner he had sometimes. His english was a little less fluid when he was recovering from strain of some kind. He looked to the younger girl in the front seat, tilting his head a little to look at her. She was so young, he thought to himself in surprise, glad that she had made it but surprised that she had. Of course, she'd probably been with this woman for a while, and if that were the case then he shouldn't be surprised at all should he? She could handle a weapon well, he thought, a little admirable. 'Could you tell me... what town are we in? I'm looking for someone, my sister.. I don't know if she'd be here, but I don't know my way around this country. I came with a group of five other students.. but sadly, I lost them. Where are we?'
 
Lee got into the car and closed the door quickly, though she did keep an eye out for whoever had started up the sound of the car alarm, hoping that they weren't getting themselves into trouble as well. "I'm glad that you're alright." she said, she closed her eyes for a moment, then glanced into the rear view mirror at him, "I'm Anna Lee, Though I prefer Lee. This is Clair." she said as she gestured toward the young girl. She had noticed the accent and how he seemed to have a bit of trouble speaking clearly, but she could understand him at least. "We're in Bakersville, if you're looking for your sister, then it would be best to keep moving, we were planning to move on soon, just stopped here for supplies, you can come with us if you want."


Clair watched the stranger who introduced himself as Zodiac, she smiled, seeming to have a little more life in her than she had after Tyler's death, "That's a strange name, you have a strange accent, where are you from?" she asked, she was turned around in her seat and watching him with large eyes that still held the innocence of childhood despite what she had been through. "I'm looking for someone too, Lee is helping me find my mom, I'm sure that she's alive somewhere out there, but we have to make it to where she lives first." she said, she still held firmly to the belief that her mother had to be alive and that Lee would make sure she found her, she couldn't let herself believe otherwise. "I'm sure you'll find your sister too." she said with a firm nod.


She frowned a little because of the comment about his friends, "I'm sorry you lost your friends, my daddy became a walker and I had to kill him, we lost a friend recently, he ran off on his own." she said, sounding a little sad at those that had been lost.


Lee gently patted Clair's shoulder, "I agree, you will probably find your sister, it's just a matter of time. And I'm sure that she will be fine when we find her." she said, then she looked back out the window, it seemed that she was tired, but she wanted to stay awake and make sure that everything was alright. Though she thought that they probably would be able to trust Zodiac, she wanted to be sure, and didn't want to take any chances that they didn't have to.
 
Zodiac nodded at Lee's offer. 'I would like that. I do not know my way around enough to even attempt to go on my own.' He looked out the window to see Nanahara flying low around the corpses. He wondered if she would follow the vehicle if they left. She would remain in place on a branch for most of the night, He knew that. She was a well trained creature. He'd had her since she was a hatchling. Her nest had fallen through his window in a storm and by some miracle, the egg had been unharmed. He still remembered when she had hatched. He'd been so surprised, after being told by many of his other classmates that the egg was a dud. But he had kept it warm and nurtured it, with help of his sensei, and as a result, she had hatched. Looking over at the little girl, Zodiac smiled.


'It is the name my sensei gave me when I joined the dojo. I use it in respect of him. I am from Japan.' He found it strange that such a child could survive this long, thinking about it once again. She seemed very sweet.


'I'm not sure if I will find her, but I do not lose hope. If I were to give up and she were out here by herself then it wouldn't be worth it. For all I know she is already one of them, but nonetheless, I must find out the truth.' He ran an absent hand over the sheath of his katana and smiled folornly. 'You'll find your mother, I'm sure. I'm sorry about your friends. I'm glad to have run into you today though. I was in a spot of trouble for a moment there.' He gave that brief smile again, his thoughts far away, to the last time he'd seen his sister.
 
Lee smiled a little, "Well, we would be glad to help you." she said with a small nod, she would also be glad to have someone else with them again, it would make it to where she could rest easier instead of feeling like she always had to stay awake. Lee looked out the window as she listened to what Clair and Zodiac were talking about, after a short while her eyelids began to droop and soon she had fallen into a doze, she hadn't meant to, she was just so tired, the short naps she had been taking lately weren't really enough to see her through.


Clair watched Zodiac with wide eyes, "Wow, Japan? Really?" she asked, sounding excited, she smiled at him, then she glanced at Lee and noticed that she seemed to be asleep, she bit her lip lightly and brought her finger up to her lips, "We have to try to talk quietly now. Lee doesn't get much sleep, she's very tired." she said in a matter of fact voice, she looked at Lee with a small smile, it was a look that you would imagine a little sister giving her older sister who she admires. It was obvious that the two had been through a lot since the start of all of this, and that they had been together through most of it.


"I'm sure you'll find your sister, Lee will try to make sure of that, just as she's going to make sure I find my mom, Lee takes very good care of me, I hope that she'll stay with me when I find my mom, and you and your sister too." she said with a nod as she looked at Zodiac again, "Even with everything that's going on, I'm sure we can find a way to be happy, all of us together." she said, it seemed that she had everything all figured out.


***


Jax had started walking again after watching the other woman get back on her bike and drive off, he shook his head a little, he knew that eventually he would have to join up with someone, but he wasn't sure who that would be. He figured that he would just keep going until something presented itself to him, until then, he was quite capable of being on his own. As he continued to walk he tilted his head as he thought he heard the sound of hooves in the distance, he stopped, thinking that he must be going crazy. Though after a few moments of listening he decided that he was right, he heard hooves, and they seemed to be getting closer, he moved over to the side of the highway, figuring that it would be best to be off to the side in the gathering dark, he didn't want to get ran over by a horse, that would be a terrible way to end his life.
 
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