RUN! [Zombie/Survival] {O/A}

[Lieutenant Colonel Hughes]

...

Wally

Ben had made a good point. They weren’t that far from the prison, there was a good chance that they were still on the same water system. “Yeah, you're right.” He took a deep breath trying to calm down. “Do you want me to stop freaking out over everything now? I can try to do that.” He gave Ben a smile, indicating an unspoken apology.

Wally spent the night in one of Ben’s sister's rooms. Though he didn’t sleep. The fact was that there were several people actively trying to get into the house. He didn’t know if they were zombies exactly, or more likely just very sick people, but he spent that night awake, with the bedroom door open watching the front door, and the windows near it. It wasn’t so much that he was keeping watch. It was more that he was scared shitless by what was happening, and he kind of wished that him and ben had slept in the same room and locked up the door. Though he was a bit too embarrassed to come into Ben’s room and tell him that he was too afraid to sleep alone, Which was a bit hypocritical, If ben had tried that too male to admit fear thing with Wally, he would have been super annoyed.

In the morning they prepared to set out again. Ben carried all of the supplies, which Wally was honestly grateful for. There seemed to be more zombies on the streets than there had been the day before. Wally figured that was because they were traveling at a slower pace. It eventually got to the point where although Wally was exhausted from staring at a door all night, jumping every time there was a noise. It was clear that traveling at a casual pace wouldn’t fly. The things would just keep accumulating and eventually catch them. They would have to run the distance again. Wally was not mentally or physically prepared to do this again. However until they found a car they had no choice. It actually annoyed him a little how rested Ben looked. He looked as if he had slept like a baby assumably not remotely afraid that the zombies would get in and kill him in his sleep.

After they ran for quite a few miles Wally began to speak,
“So, There are a primitive people called the Tarahumara.” He started,” They live to this day in the harsh environment of the the Copper Canyon, in the north west of Mexico .” He was huffing as he spoke, leaving long gaps in between sentences. “To survive they practice a something called endurance hunting. See, humans can be outrun by almost every animal every animal” He stopped mid-sentence to draw in a deep breath. “Every animal we would normally eat. But before we had bows or arrows, our primitive ancestors still needed to catch food. So the human body evolved to outrun it’s prey, Not to run faster than the animal’s but to run further than them. When other animals have exhausted their energy, and need to rest, humans can just keep running. Were like little energizer bunnies. The Tarahumara people have been known to run for hundreds of miles. Far longer of than any marathon, even further than scientists knew that humans could run. And It’s not because that are special superhumans with special powers. It’s just because their circumstances require it of them.
That and humans are built for it. We are the only animal that drenches themselves with their own body fluids to ensure temperature control. We walk bipedally, supporting our weight on our spine and hips. conserving energy.
Even the tendons in our legs literally bend in order to spring us forward into the next step, putting 20 percent of our energy back into our stride, with no extra work.”

Wally’s rant had been good in theory, but within a few miles it wasn’t holding up anymore. He had no choice but to stop and catch his breath. “Hold up Ben,” Wally said through a hard shaky breath, gesturing an open palm for stop. He leaned his back against a wooden fence they had been passing along the way.

Wally was in decent shape, but it wasn’t like he had been training for a marathon. He couldn’t push himself any further without at least a short break. He struggled to catch his breath for another five minutes before he started to even remotely feel like he could push on. “I feel like this process would go a lot more quickly if I wasn’t putting all of my energy into panting. Thought that thought may be a bit counterintuitive.” He wiped the sweat from around his eyes with his recently clean shirt, that was now just as sweaty as his last. He tilted his head back staring up at the overcast sky, trying to mentally prepare himself to move again. However when it came time to move, his body did it all on it’s own, without any prompting from him.

He leapt forward, His body responding to a sudden thud jarring the wood against his back. “Damn it” he bellowed. “That scared the s**t out of me.”

The Zombie that had just thrown itself against the back of the fence, was now pressing up It’s face up against the wooden boards desperately trying to get through. but she was unable to do so.
Wally stood for a time and observed her effort. Her foggy eyes were fixed on Wally. She was running her hands over the planks, taking time at each seam, as if she was trying to figure out where it opened. This act alone, put her at least at the intelligence level of a 12 month old child. She made low moaning sounds as her exerted effort, with the clear goal of making her way to Wally. “She is moaning,” he observed loud, putting his face close close to the gaps in the fance. “That means that she is breathing. If she is breathing that means her body is still delivering oxygen to her brain cells. She is conscious, breathing, her muscles still require oxygen from air, nutrients from food. To state the stupidly obvious, she fulfills every requirement of being a living organism. But that is about all she has going for her. Her skin is ice cold,” he said touching fingers that she was sticking through a gap she had found. “The skin is also rotting. I am guessing both those things are an affect of her blood pressure being too low to bring needed things to all parts of the body.” He was holding onto her hand trying unsuccessfully to find her pulse. “But I’m not a doctor, so I can’t really…say”

After miles more of travel, they reached the Yomachi Medicial Private Laboratory. He could see with one glance at it that it was overrun with the infected.

.

Location: Yomachi Medicial Private Laboratory
Company: Ben Holtz

[Soda Pressing]

You can find me upstairs, in Emily's room with Anna.
This is my wonderful bag of helpful items.

He shook his hands out by his sides as Emily was goaded out of the room, trying to get the blood circulating again. And then the other feisty blonde was leaving too. This left Anna and himself to talk alone. What he heard was nothing he liked. How wrong he had been. All hell had broken loose downstairs and he had been standing there thinking people were just arguing again. He cursed himself for being foolish. If Darcy had been hurt it would have been on him. Next time he would check on her right away or she might not be as lucky. He had to keep her safe.

It didn't surprise Evan in the least that the Mike fellow was in the middle of it all again. He was glad that his baby sister hadn't seen what happened. Moving to the window that the blonde had looked out of he saw a large group of people digging a hole, including little Emily. It was a sad day when a child helped dig a grave. Slowly he moved away from the window, having seen more than enough of the depressing sight.

"I should go check on her," he stated, making for the hallway. Sure, she was twenty--an adult--but he still thought of her as the little girl with braided pig-tails who'd come to him in the middle of the night when she had a bad dream. "She'll appreciate that" he said in way of a thank you. Without a second look back he was out the door and heading at a quick pace for the stairs. Heading down the hallway he heard her, "Looks like a war went on here." 'It looks like that everywhere,' he thought glumly before making his way down the stairs and toward the living room.


ooc

[Soda Pressing]

You can find me in the living room with Dave and Dawn.
Check out my bag of goodies.

Watching Dave poke and prod at Dawn's wrist and hand, watched closely. Knowing how to do that sort of stuff could come in really handy. She was eager to learn as much as she could. Her brain soaked up what he was doing and saying like a sponge. She was a little surprised when she finally realized he was asking her a question. She knew immediately that there was nothing like that in her bag but she did meet up with Evan at the pharmacy. He could have some helpful stuff in his bag. "Evan, my brother, may have gotten something helpful from the pharmacy," she told him.

She opened her brother's new bag and began looking through it wondering if he would want his old bag back. She frowned at her train of thought, she was supposed to be looking for muscle ointment. Searching, she found a large first-aid kit near the bottom along with a few pill bottles and a couple other things. She had just found some Absorbine Jr, still in its packaging when Dawn spoke up. Leaving the item in the bag, she pulled her hand out and pulled the tie, closing the bag. It was better that she didn't use up her brother's supplies on strangers. He probably would have gotten angry.

Before leaning back in the couch, Darcy pushed the two bags together between her feet to keep them safe. Now comfy again, she looked from Dawn's wrist to Dave. She was interested to learn more.


ooc Darcy, Dave, and Dawn. The three Ds. I should not find that so amusing...

[FrankPanda]

D`A`V`E`~ R`Y`D`E`R

The wrist was possibly sprained or maybe the muscle was just pulled. He looked up at Dawn when she exclaimed she had some of the thing he was asking for.

"This will do" He told Darcy who seemed worry she did not have what he asked for. Dave took the tube from Dawn and ripped off the plastic not bothering to pick it off the floor. Unscrewing the cap he pushed the tube and the opaque gel squeezed out onto the wrist.

"Try not strain the hand but don't stop moving it." He said massaging the ointment in gently. He reached into his own bag and retrieved a small bandage wrap, pulling it apart he wrapped her hand semi-tight. "You'll have to do with that for support." His voice was non-amused and irritated.

"Does anything else feel broken?" He asked Dawn and then turned to Darcy. "are you taking good notes?"

It was not a snap. He just wasn't used to being around so many people, especially women. Annoying women. They were nice to stare at and it was nice to know there was still pretty girls left in the world not trying to rip him apart piece by piece but honestly he still preferred his magazines. Their loss had brought upon Dave an irritation that he would have to suffer through silently.

Overly Obsessed Cat: I didn't notice that smile

[TexicanCookie]

✘ Victoria✘

【ℒocation: Rundown Townhome Apartment】
【ℋanging ωith: ???? 】

✘...Idiots. I'm completely surrounded by idiots.

Nobody said anything, except for the person she wouldn't have expected. For all the trouble Mike had caused he was echoing something she had told herself millions of time. If I didn't do it I would have been lined up, then Leslie wouldn't have had someone there for her.

But now that seemed moot. Leslie had done alright on her own, she had survived long enough for Victoria to find her. It made her wonder if she should have found her to begin with. What good had it done her to find Leslie? In fact maybe Leslie would have done even better without her. Maybe she would be alive. She should have just said no. Let them line her up against the wall.

There was a bottle being thrust in her direction. Liquor she hadn't ever really drunk any, on social occasions mostly but she tended to stay away.Vicky's hand took the bottle like she didn't know what it was, and cradled it sighing. The others were still quiet and she didn't expect them to say anything about her story. They were the ones that wanted to know how she was doing so she told them. It wouldn't matter to keep things away from people any longer. She was a monster now and everyone would know. Know the type of things she was willing to do to keep alive.

She took a drink and the hot liquid burned down her throat, she gripped the bottle by the neck and with the other hand took Clarice's gun and looked at it. The feel of the metal under her palm, the shape of the trigger, it brought her back down to earth a bit.

"Yeah. She was right. You're dangerous enough with that damned bow" Vicky replied looking up at him. It was supposed to be a jest but she wasn't smiling. She was trying though. This was the most Mike had ever said since the y had met and even then there had been problems with him. His problematic nature didn't irk her as much as it did the others, it just made her wonder what sort of man he was before and what man he was forced to become. She wondered that about everyone. Who they were before, and what they became. Like it mattered. The woman stood up and stared around her. She didn't know these people, and they now knew her. They could stick around or go away. It wouldn't change her either way.

Without much to say the woman started to make her way towards the back fence. She had noticed the next door neighbor's house and she wanted to take a look. Vicky pushed herself up easily jumping over the fence, she found herself in the other neighbor's yard.





【ⓄⓄⒸ: 】





There is no such thing as love...only bitter disappointment and fake people...✘

[.N.o.i.r.]

✖ !

Mike Halden
Location:Town house
Company:Victoria and her crew
Mood:

Mike watched as the blonde vaulted over the fence and rolling his eyes grabbed his bag, fastened it and slinging it over his shoulders followed by the bow did the same. Clearing the fence in a single fluid movement he landed next to the blonde. "You took my bottle" he stated as he reached into his jacket and pulling out the cigarette packet he had been smoking from and lit a fresh one up. "Besides I need to find somewhere for the night, I get the feeling I'm not welcome back in the house" He snatched the bottle from Vicky and took a swig and handed it back. "on top of that, I've already dug one grave today" He started off towards the neighbor's back door.

[TexicanCookie]

✘ Victoria✘

【ℒocation: Anna's Neighbor's House】
【ℋanging ωith: Mike 】

✘...Idiots. I'm completely surrounded by idiots.

She wasn't expecting anyone to follow much less Mike but he did. She looked down at the bottle she was still holding on to and took one last swig before handing it back, cap off. So he didn't feel like digging another grave? That was awfully sweet of him. Really.

"I wonder why..." She replied to him when he talked about finding a place to stay and not being welcome in Anna's. As much as Vicky would have been welcomed in Anna's house and with the others, at the moment she didn't feel very social. More so than usual. In her mind securing the adjacent house which was taller and overlooked most of the neighborhood would be a good fall back plan. After all, there was talk of a bigger horde and scavengers that weren't very nice. Having a back up plan where they could escape through would be a good idea. Or maybe she was making excuses because she wanted to be alone.

The backyard was a simple middle-classed backyard. Your tool shed, your plastic playground. A sandbox. And the backdoor was closed. She pulled Clarice's gun and put it away, instead pulling out her knife.

"Be quiet. Can you do that?" Vicky looked over her shoulder at MIke. Again she was jesting. She knew he could be very quiet...she just didn't like the silence. It was like she felt obliged to talk.





【ⓄⓄⒸ: 】





There is no such thing as love...only bitter disappointment and fake people...✘

[Soda Pressing]

You can find us in Anna's living room with Dave and Dawn.

Darcy had been watching closely, trying to catch every little detail. So it didn't seem broken. That was good. The amount of goo and where Dave spread it was what she paid closest attention to now. And then her total concentration was broken when she was spoken to. She wished she could have been taking notes. That would have been much better than trying to keep it all locked up in her memory. Catching nothing wrong with Dave's tone she spoke, "I think so...but...how can you tell the difference between a sprain or something else just by touch?" The world was running short on doctors so learning what she could while she could would be very beneficial. She was about to start spouting off more questions when she heard a pair of tell-tale footsteps clunking into the room. She turned her head to see Evan staring at her. Not amused.

"Stop bothering the guy, Darce," he scolded like a parent. Now that he knew she was fine--as if the girl being butchered in the other room had never happened--he could relax a little. At least about her safety. Her butting into other peoples business and bothering them with questions was another matter entirely. "Anna said you can go use the upstairs shower. It's off the master bedroom. Beware the child toys." As he spoke, he entered the room to grab the two bags. He plopped them down on the couch next to Darcy and stared. The stare he was giving her seemed to mean business but she was having none of it.

"I'm trying to learn. This could save your life one day!" The look she got said he had heard most of their conversation and didn't believe squat. "Come on." Again she received a cold stare. She was not winning this battle. Finally she resigned to her fate and turned to the two who had to sit through their sibling squabble. "I'll be back soon," she threatened with a sweet smile. This was not over for poor Dave. With her parting words she turned on her heel and started off in search of the master bath.

This left Evan alone with the two Darcy had been so entranced with. He didn't seem to care about either of them. He took the place his sister had been sitting in. The bags toppling onto his side and leg at the weight shift. His arm wrapped protectively around the bags. He wouldn't let anyone get their grubby hands on his treasure trove. He might need it for Darcy.


ooc I alphabetize the names so I notice that weird stuff. //is a crazy person

[Soda Pressing]

You can find me in Anna's house, upstairs with Anna.
Check out my bag of goodies.

Now that she had been banished from the living room, Darcy tried to store all her questions for Dave in her mind but every time she thought of a new one an old one would seep out. She just hoped by the time she went back downstairs she would be able to remember some of them. For now, she was just going to focus on the wonderful moment that was to come. A shower. With actual water pressure. And heat. An exited smile broke out over her face as she thought about it.

As she moved through the upstairs floor she spotted Anna in a child's room. Her eyes widened. It looked recently played in and the mention of toys in the bathroom clicked. Anna had a kid running around this place. Her daughter most likely. It would have been nice if Evan had told her. She would have to remember to tell him so later. But right now...Shower. Leaning into the doorway she announced her presence. "Hey, Anna," It was always better to let people know you were there or you could get projectiles flung at you. "Sorry to ask even more but do you have any spare towels or anything?" All she had was the clothes on her back. Her bag--the one left in her brother's house when she was forced to take his more helpful one--had all the clothes. Mostly stuff for her but a couple pairs of clothes for Evan too. He always made her carry the light stuff.


ooc

[Mlecakes]

Dawn watched carefully as Dave wrapped her hand up with some gauze. It was still painful, but the pain had settled a little more now that she had relaxed.
"No! I think you've done all that needs to be done. I appreciate it so much." Dawn smiled holding her hand lightly. She got up from the couch thanking him again. Dawn walked to the kitchen of the house they were in.

☣ Equipment - Dull Machete ☣ Location - The house ☣ Company - Herself ☣ Outfit - Regular clothes ☣ Mood - Relaxed ☣

[Brigetta Sandra]

Anna & Emily Valek

New to the Party

My body's numb.

I fade away.

Yet my heart keeps beating.

Anna turned to face Darcy, smiling. "Of course." she walked into her bedroom, sidestepping laundry baskets filled with various types of clothes. Entering the bathroom she crossed to the linen cabinet, opening the door to reveal a plethora of towels in varying colours. She had obviously been scavenging for a while. Pulling out two of them she handed them off to Darcy, withdrawing a washcloth as an after thought and adding it to the pile. "The water heater's small, but you should be able to get a decent hot shower out of it." she began to leave but she stopped in the doorway, turning to the young girl. "Do you need anything? We'll eat in a while, but if you need something in the meantime, I know I have snacks downstairs." she smiled warmly, the mom in her showing.

[The Dark Side of Desire]

кєαgєη ανєяу
x+o+x+o+x+o
R.I.P BLAKE
~~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~~

Keagen gasped violently for air, her lungs burning, her legs shuddering with every step as they propelled her body forward at an almost insane rate. 'Don't look back, don't look back!' her mind screamed. She wasn't sure how long she had been running for. Maybe 20 minutes? And with every abandoned neighborhood she passed, the garbled, mindless shrieks and growls of the dead seemed to grow louder. 'I can't... I can't keep going...!'
"Dammit!" she gasped, feeling her legs begin to give out. How long could these things run for? Not one of them has tripped, broken a bone, ANYTHING? It seemed unrealistic. But then, what about this situation was very realistic? The dead had risen, like out of a bad movie, and there were not at least 10 rampaging after her.

If only Blake were here. Keagen had been the brains, Blake the muscle. Keagen the doctor, the distraction, the planner, the runner... the weakling. Without her tank, she was nothing but an egghead on the battlefield. Blake... her sweet sweet Blake. If it wasn't for her, Blake would still be here. Blake was more capable of surviving in this kind of world. But now... all she had left of him were memories, extra rations, and a refusal to waste his efforts to keep her alive, even at the cost of his life.

A sharp tug at her arm pulled Keagen from her woes, and she instinctively threw an elbow, knocking out the teeth and dislocating the law of her rotting attacker, who didn't release its grip. It tried to pull her to its broken mouth, but she swept her legs, knocking her attacker's from under it, and they fell to the ground, her fist coming down on it's face, jamming the nose up into the skull, in an attempt to destroy the brain. She couldn't tell, in that brief moment if she had killed it, but it released her. However, two more replaced him, reaching for her. She drew her gun, shooting both of them between the eyes, more than likely attracting any of the zombies in the city that weren't ALREADY after her. Letting out a frustrated grunt, she got to her feet and took off again at an inhuman pace. There was an elementary school nearby, and with that, there HAD to be some sort of access ladder to the roof. For now, that would have to do.

Within minutes, she was grasping at the bottom rungs of the ladder, and pulling herself up with what seemed to be the last of her strength. Her horde was close behind, grasping at her feet, but she kicked them away, continuing her climb. When she reached the top, she rolled onto the safety of the roof, gasping for much deserved air, groaning at her own physical exhaustion. Hell. This had to be hell.

~~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~~

[Sherlock Homeslice]

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KATJAA INDIA KNOWLES

❝ ◟❣ The soles of black Doc Martens burned against Katjaa's heels. Walkers. Five of them. They were shambling too close together to take head-on, not with the big one lurking behind them like he was. He was a large, black, musclebound man...or rather, zombie. Every article of his clothing was too small for him. His pants didn't go past his calves. His shoes didn't cover his ankles. His shirt looked like it was desperately waiting for him to exhale. Katjaa really couldn't afford to keep looking back at him and snickering, but he looked like he was one sneeze away from being naked. He completely dwarfed the other zombies that shuffled in front of him like lapdogs. He was still almost completely preserved, save for the large bite on his right bicep and some tissue damage around the mouth. The others were clearly worse for wear. The center zombie, an unfortunate teenaged girl, had her intestines trailing her like the train of of a dress. The two on the left kept colliding with each other and snarling. One was missing an arm, the other an ear and an eye. The one on the left was an adult, but stumbled so often that he risked snapping his other leg.

Katjaa was lucky enough to have been caught on the job, where her tools were all close by. On her back was a canvas bag filled with weapons. Some of them had been looted, but the majority of them had been from her shop. Katjaa was a local artisan who provided handmade weapons--lethal and novelty--to organizations and discerning patrons. For the town's longest-married couple, an old Irish pair that met during the way, she fashioned a shillelagh for them to mount on their wall. Most of her patrons were either blade fetishists or cosplayers, when the town didn't need some novelty cutlasses to give the pirates for Mardi Gras. Katjaa's Knives sold everything from custom cutlery to rapiers, longswords, and claymores. The artisan made a hefty paycheck thanks to her skill and her loyal clientele, but now that they were dead, she ended up with a store full of weapons and materials to make more. In her hand she held a shillelagh--meant for the grandson of the Irish couple, now dead--and in her back were two bolo machetes, a kukri machete, and an assortment of other blades.

However, they were useless to her in that moment. Sure, the shillelagh could break a skull, but the others would grab her on the uptake. Katjaa scrambled into an alley and kicked a metal trashcan into the opposite side of the forked path and chose. The zombies followed the noise, thankfully too slow to get close enough to see Katjaa round the next few corners. For now, at least, she'd lost them. Her dark brown eyes looked above the squat buildings around her and focused on the prize: Yomachi Medicial Private Laboratory. Kat had been traveling for two days to get to the Lab. Her father worked there. He was a doctor, he had medicine, and most of all, she had visited enough times to know the layout. That was what she cared most about, and there was a better chance she'd find medical supplies there than at some pharmacy. Katjaa adjusted the duct tape that she'd wrapped over her forearms to offer a buffer between teeth and skin and started onward.

Sweat made the fabric of her clothes stick to her. Katjaa had been wearing an old jacket of hers that her father had ordered special for her work. It was flame-retardant, but it was fitted and a charcoal grey. As much as she wanted to roll up the sleeves, she had to keep them down. The beeswax she'd treated them with to help wicker the fabric was still curing in the heat. Luckily, the jacket was light, but no one liked being hot when they could do something about it. Her pants were canvas cargoes, to prevent errant embers from scorching her legs. The drawstrings were tied up against her boots. Katjaa was dressed properly for the unfortunate occasion, and even had her hair braided and stuffed under a forest green schoolboy cap. She'd seen enough movies and read enough books to know that long hair was a curse in the apocalypse--but Katjaa figured she shouldn't have to shear herself yet if she could just hide it. For all terms and purposes, if it weren't for her unmistakably feminine face--even with all of the dirt and soot smeared on her cheeks--and her lack of a better sports bra, Katjaa was clearly a woman as she approached the Yomachi Medicial Private Laboratory. What she didn't expect was to find someone already there.

Actually, make that two.

An older man and a younger one, both white, were in front of the lab. From the looks of things, they didn't seem bad-natured. As she'd done with most every person that hadn't tried to rape, eat, or shoot her, Katjaa approached slowly and addressed them in a hushed tone. There was no reason to be loud in front of a building that was clearly teeming with infected. "Hey! Hey you two! I know this is gonna sound shady, but..." Katjaa pulled out a kukri machete and a comically large but still noticeably sharp cleaver. "Do you guys need any weapons? I used to make weapons before all this went down, and now I'm overencumbered. I need to free up some bag space." The woman made herself look as unthreatening as she possibly could, knives way above her head, trying not to look like a psychopath. She hung her shillelagh in the side pocket of her canvas bag and added, "If you're scared I'm gonna murderize you, I can just kick them over. I just want to get rid of some of these things." With each pause, she glanced over to the lab. Katjaa prided herself on being optimistic, but there was probably no chance her dad got out of there. The shock alone would've sent his heart beyond the aide of his nitroglycerin tablets.

ғιɴd мe: Yomachi Medicial Private Laboratory wιтн: Wally & Ben wнιle тнιɴĸιɴɢ: Please don't shoot me, dammit.αɴd ғeelιɴɢ: Nervous



foreveralone↻EVEN☆ US CROOKS ❥⋮⋮HAFTAPAY 」 ⇡ THE◦-RENT! &&WE TOOK
ALLWE'COULD'CARRY↯ BUT-WETRIEDTOCARRYMO☂RE! ☍ 〉
AND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUESKYAND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUE AND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUESKYAND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG
AND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUESKYAND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUEAND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUESKYAND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG
AND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUESKYAND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUEAND YOU KNOW SWANYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WENT WRONG BLUESKYAND YOU KNOW BLUEYOU KNOW YOU KNOW - IT ALL WAS WRONG

[The Dark Side of Desire]

кєαgєη ανєяу
x+o+x+o+x+o
R.I.P BLAKE
~~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~~


The heat was becoming overwhelming as the sun beat down on her, the black tar roof of the school building soaking up any drop of sunlight it could, creating a sweltering desert atmosphere. Keagen was parched, and at this point, had lost all track of time for how long she'd been trapped on the building, trying not to move. The dead didn't seem to be bothered by the time or the heat, as they stayed, wandering around the pavement outside, seemingly having forgotten about her, yet they stayed nearby, as if something in their minds reminded them every once in a while that there was a meal nearby. Every so often, she wondered if they could smell her.

Keagen was sitting in the shade of the air ducts, savoring what little shelter it provided her, her pack laying open by her side. She had briefly rummaged through her inventory, every so often running her hands over her meager water supply in her canteen, before deciding to try and hold out just a bit longer. She didn't know how long she was going to be up there, and she was still debating making a run for it at nightfall under the low visibility, and weighing the danger of such an advantage. Her food supply was a little less meager, and she had already consumed a small can of beans in an attempt to keep her energy up after her exercise. There was an access door leading into the school building, to her right, but she had already attempted to open it, and it proved to be a useless endeavor, as the door opened inwards, and seemed to be blocked by something large and heavy. No access through the access door for her, it seemed.

The night was probably the optimal time to try and escape her open prison. Granted, if there was a silent straggler hiding behind anything, she would be caught, so she planned to venture only in open spaces if possible. Hopefully there were no "bandits" around, stalking the school building at night, looking for something to scavenge from the abandoned school building. The last thing she wanted right now was to fight something intelligent.

Yes, while the night was a good time to escape, for now, the sun was beating down on her, and the humidity was beginning to dizzy her. She looked over at the access door to the building. If she could get inside, what a lucky break that would be! ... Maybe just one more try....


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[The Dark Side of Desire]

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รค๓ยร ןคς๏๒ร
Hopeless Optimist
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Samus always kept the rooms he was in dark, save for a few "emergency" glow sticks to keep the room slightly illuminated, without any excess lighting shining under doors, or through the windows. It wasn't necessarily the dead he was worried about. It was the living. Too often, raiders came into the building, hoping to find some sort of provisioning for themselves. And while Samus understood their efforts, there was no way he was sharing, and he had basically collected everything the building had to offer and hoarded it away somewhere. It wasn't much. Just the basics that the center could offer. Simple first aid, dry food, water from the toilets (as disgusting as it was, when he would stop to think about it), and a 22 caliber hunting rifle, which he most certainly did not find here.

Samus was a master of cowardice, exceptional at avoiding confrontation. A sneaky little trickster, he had managed to successfully bunker down and avoid any kind of contact with another life for quite some time now, save a few... accidents. Accidents he clearly took care of.

Today though, Samus was nervous about the dead. As he snuck a peek out of the mostly boarded up window, he couldn't help but notice there were a lot more zombies wandering about recently. It was definitely nothing he had done, right? He was always as quiet as a mouse. For the longest time, his only enemy had been boredom. So what changed? It seemed like it was definitely something he would have needed to know about. And he could swear he had heard gunshots a few hours ago. Like... six hours ago.

BANG! BANG!

Samus's head snapped from the window, and he stared down the hallway, dead silent, alert, and quite honestly, more than a little nervous. Bang bang? Where did that come from? He gripped his rifle, with white knuckles, waiting silently, trying to listen, to place the sound. But nothing. Nothing but nothing. And then BANG!!

The roof? Again? A few weeks ago, some raiders tried to get smart and break in through the roof, which he had locked, assuming it would be secure enough. It most certainly was not. They had broken the lock and practically ripped the place apart. And it had taken the longest 2 hours of his life to clear the building of them, before dragging desk after desk to block the forever unlocked door from opening again.

BANG! BANG! SKREEEEEEEEEEEE!

The desks were being moved. Oh Jesus, not again! He had to do something, and fast. And as there was no time to hide his bag of "goodies", he slung the bag over his shoulder, and moved towards the stairway to the roof, opening the bottom door, slowly, looking up. He could see the shadow of someone trying to peek through the door at the top of the stairs, and then after a long while, an arm try to reach in and feel what was blocking the entry. He lifted the rifle up to his shoulder, and shouted out a warning. "Don't you dare!" he hollared, his voice as confident and controlled as he could manage. "There's more of us in here than you think!" A straight lie, but for now, there was no way the other party could prove it.

The arm stiffened at his first word, and slowly drew back. There was a long drawn out silence, which made Samus a little nervous. Were they leaving? Did it scare them away? Were... were they arming themselves? Samus didn't lower his weapon, aiming it at the doorway, listening.
Until

".....Sam...?" a woman's voice echoed in the stairway.

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