Lʌsт Lιvιɴ' Soυʟs

[Shiintzu]

Nothin to see here, folks. Now sod off before I sic my zombies on ya
...unless you're AgentKaz or me.

[AgentKaz]

tonight i think i'll walk alone
i'll find my soul as i go home

___________________________________

A tall blue-haired man trudged down an empty street, carrying a slightly bloodstained baseball bat, a keyboard strapped to his back. He had just spent the last half-hour running for his life, and now he had no idea where he was. His clothes were dirty, his jeans were ripped, and he was ******** terrified.

He had been so sure he'd be prepared for this. After all, he who sought out every form of zombie media ever made was certainly the most prepared for a zombie apocalypse, right? Wrong, apparently. So wrong. No amount of tv or movies could prepare anyone for the actual reality.

He was so completely unprepared that he didn't have time to take anything with him other than what he had in his pockets (his keys, his wallet, a stick of gum), and his beloved instrument. He swung the bat a few times, scanning the area for anything he might have to hit. So far he'd only had to use it once, but it was the most terrifying time of his life.

This wasn't like the movies. The movies weren't real. The movies didn't try to kill you.

He was really tired of things trying to kill him.

As he walked, somewhat lost in thought, he realized there was a noise coming from behind him. No way. It couldn't be. He wasn't that unobservant. He took a deep breath and turned around to find himself face to face with a zombie.

"Oh, ********."

[Shiintzu]

Ｎ Ｏ Ｏ Ｄ Ｌ Ｅ__________
graphix and layout by shiintzu
════════════════════════════______
In a dream of old I called you________________________
But the signal's gone away...__________________

Beneath the cloudy skies, a figure was perched atop a three-story apartment building. She wore an odd long-sleeved shirt spattered with blood, and a pair of black shorts. Beneath her purple fringe, almond eyes watched vigilantly at the empty streets below. They were quiet and empty. Sometimes a good thing, but in this case it was bad. In fact, it was horrible, and it had been nothing but horror in the past few days.

She never thought it would happen. Sure she had seen a few zombie flicks, and had even read crackpot theories about it online and sometimes on the news when they ran out of things to report. This virus had been cause by a scientist who created it "just because he could". She always knew the world was going to s**t. Society was falling apart day by day, and now a single ******** who had failed to properly put away and contain the virus has caused society to unravel by the seams.

Deeming a zombie apocalypse as likely as getting bitten in half by a polar bear in the Bahamas, she was never quite prepared for the shock of undead mobs relentlessly mauling their prey. However, she was prepared to fight. Her military father had taken it upon to make sure that his daughter was capable of protecting herself. She was brought up in martial arts, and had learned to use firearms, though she hadn’t found any to use on the creatures. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to.

Hearing an ominous moan in the background, she turned around. She had recently escaped a hoard of zombies within the building, and she knew she didn't have much time before the bodies piled up and knocked the door down. However, that wasn't the problem. She ran to the other side of the roof to see a zombie...maybe two? She squinted. No, the other was fighting back, and judging by his movement, he was very much alive. Probably not for long, though. She looked further down the street to see a larger group of undead ambling in his direction. Not a good sign, but she was sure she could still save him.

Without hesitation, she slid down the emergency escape and headed towards the blue-haired victim. With ease, she unsheathed her katana, and sliced the head off the attacking zombie. In one swift movement, she kicked the decomposing creature away, and grabbed the man's wrist.

"C'mon" she said, running in the opposite direction of the impending horde. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to figure out soon.

[AgentKaz]

tonight i think i'll walk alone
i'll find my soul as i go home

___________________________________

"Er, get back," the man said, hitting the approaching zombie with his bat. It stopped for a moment, looked at him, and then kept going towards him. This was stupid. There was no way he was going to be able to fight. The last one he'd gotten rid of was just a fluke. Had to be. He was going to die. He kept swinging the bat at the zombie, trying to keep it away. Maybe he could knock it back enough for him to take off running again.

But no, that wouldn't work. He'd already run away from another zombie and he was tired. He wouldn't make it very far, probably. He'd just delay the inevitable. What a bummer.

He didn't even know why he was here. Zombies weren't real, and he was supposed to be having practice with his new band for the first time today (he somehow managed to go through at least one a year, and only one ever did anything remotely productive). This was not even remotely in the plan. This wasn't good.

Just when he'd practically resigned himself to his fate (being a zombie wouldn't be too terrible, would it?) the zombie's head just sort of fell off. He blinked. That was unusual. They didn't usually do that on their own. Then when the zombie got kicked away and he felt a hand on his wrist, he realized what was going on.

He wasn't dead. This mystical magical superhero girl who had to have shown up out of nowhere had saved his life. It was a freakin' miracle.

"You saved my life!" he said, stating the obvious and staring at the newcomer, trying to keep up with her as she ran. "Oh man, I really owe you one..." He was still trying to take in the fact that he wasn't dead. It was surprising.

[Shiintzu]

Ｎ Ｏ Ｏ Ｄ Ｌ Ｅ__________
graphix and layout by shiintzu
════════════════════════════______
In a dream of old I called you________________________
But the signal's gone away...__________________

"Not yet..." she snapped. This wasn't the time for apologies or thank-you’s. There had to be somewhere they could hide, even for a moment. They couldn't keep at this pace forever. He definitely couldn't. She looked left and right...there had to be somewhere at least slightly safe in the city where they could at least take a rest. Alleys were hardly the answer, though there were quite a lot of them. Higher ground seemed to be their best escape. If she could find two buildings close together, they might have an easy temporary escape. As far as she knew, zombies couldn't jump. She hoped not.

"There!" she said, spotting a cluster of apartment buildings. She made the stupid mistake of looking back to discover the mob had thickened, and they were most likely pouring in from the alleyways they passed. Not good. When they reached the building, she thought about entering through the front door, but the last time that happened, she was greeted by gaping maws eager to eat her brains. She was going to have to use another stupid fire escape. The problem with that was that it was in the alley.

"Blue hair," she called, looking back at him briefly, "go ahead up the fire escape. I will cover you!" She looked into the darkened area and pushed him in front of her. "Go!"

[AgentKaz]

tonight i think i'll walk alone
i'll find my soul as i go home

___________________________________

"Uh, okay..." He kept running behind her, trying not to look at what was going on behind them. He was sure it wasn't good. And dammit, he was getting tired again. He was not cut out for the whole running for his life thing. Maybe he should've spent time actually preparing for zombies instead of watching zombie movies. But who expected this? He sure didn't.

He looked over at the buildings she was referring to. Well, those were nice. Probably somewhat safe, and at least safer than it was out here.

"You sure you'll be okay?" he asked, but then remembered the whole slicing a zombie's head off thing. She'd be fine. He nodded, ran over to the fire escape, and climbed up as fast as he could. As long as there weren't any zombies partying up there, they'd probably be fine. He could rest, and then they'd probably have time to exchange pleasantries.

Probably.

[Shiintzu]

Ｎ Ｏ Ｏ Ｄ Ｌ Ｅ__________
graphix and layout by shiintzu
════════════════════════════______
In a dream of old I called you________________________
But the signal's gone away...__________________

"I will be fine" she said, her eyes not leaving the entry to the narrow alley. She gripped the hilt of the sword firmly in her hands and took a deep breath. The groaning was getting louder as the zombies approached. She wasn't quite sure what made her look behind her, but she was both glad and greatly frightened at what she had found. A group of zombies had leaked out the side of the building and were stumbling towards her as they filled the narrow space. She had let her guard down. She took a quick glance upwards to see how far up the ladder the man was. He was fairly far up, but not quite far enough for her to consider him safe.

Returning her thoughts to the task ahead, she sliced through a few more of the decomposing creepers, and double-checked behind her to avoid any casualties. Approaching shadows. Not good. She didn't expect to clear through all the zombies, but she just needed space. The purple-haired girl sheathed her katana and proceeded to climb the ladder.

"Is it all clear up there?" she called.

[AgentKaz]

tonight i think i'll walk alone
i'll find my soul as i go home

___________________________________

"Yeah, so far!" he called down to her. There weren't any zombies showing up on the fire escape, at least, and all of the noise seemed to be coming from below. They were probably pretty safe for now. Unless there were masses of zombies up top and they were just being quiet. That would especially suck.

He kept climbing, baseball bat tucked under his arm, trying to make sure none of his stuff fell. "I'm thinking it's probably safe around here," he said, nearing the top. Or maybe he just hoped it was so. Who knew?

He finally reached the top of the fire escape and held out the bat, ready to hit anything that might jump out at him. "Anyone there?" he asked, looking around for anything suspicious. No answer. Seemed everything was currently okay. "I think it's clear," he called down.

[Shiintzu]

Ｎ Ｏ Ｏ Ｄ Ｌ Ｅ__________
graphix and layout by shiintzu
════════════════════════════______
In a dream of old I called you________________________
But the signal's gone away...__________________

The undead began to crowd around the bottom of the ladder, groaning and reaching with gnarled bony fingers, and they got further and further away as she acended the ladder. A moment like this made her regret that she had chosen to wear shorts today. Not even a pair of denim capris. Once one of those ******** got her leg, she would be a dead girl...well, undead. She may have been confident in her ability to fight them off, but she considered that she would need clothes better suited for the current situation.

She looked back upwards to the top of the ladder. "Good." she commented. When she reached the top rung of the ladder, she looked left and right just to make sure, and then climbed to the top of the roof. Exhausted, she sat down, unhitching the strap of her guitar case.

[AgentKaz]

tonight i think i'll walk alone
i'll find my soul as i go home

___________________________________

He stood there for a moment and watched her climb up. He then took a peek over the side of the roof and then sighed. Zombies everywhere. He couldn't exactly tell from up so high, but it seemed they were bummed out about the fact they'd lost a good meal. Good thing they hadn't managed to get up here. "Today sucks," he said, shaking his head.

"Anyway, thanks again for that. I thought I was dead for sure." He sat down, pulling the keyboard strap up over his head, and then set it down gently. He set the bat next to it and then looked over at his rescuer. "Like I said earlier, I owe you one. Heh, I swear everything's trying to kill me." He grinned. In the relative safety of the roof, things seemed a little better. A little.

"Oh, you play?" he asked, pointing at the guitar case. As if that wasn't obvious. He really needed to think before he said stupid s**t, he thought. Oh well.

[Shiintzu]

Ｎ Ｏ Ｏ Ｄ Ｌ Ｅ__________
graphix and layout by shiintzu
════════════════════════════______
In a dream of old I called you________________________
But the signal's gone away...__________________

"...Everything has been pretty bad since the plague started." she said quietly, wishing she had a cloth or something to clean off the blade, "My name is Noodle, by the way."

"Uhm...you're welcome. Being eaten alive does not look particularly enjoyable. Neither is watching it." She shrugged. He was sure he would have done the same. Then again, he had a perfectly good bat, and had difficulty keeping a single undead. He seemed more like the type to let her be a distraction while he escaped with his life. It was still hard to trust people during the apocalypse.

"Yes, I play. Not very recently, however. Noise seems to attract the undead..." the girl said with a frown. There had been numerous moments where she considered getting rid of the instrument altogether. It was extra weight and in her current situation, she would not be using it for anything else besides possibly beating a zombie's skull. Despite these factors, she could not find it in herself to part with the guitar. She had had it for a while.

"I assume you play guitar..?" she asked, finally getting a good look at him. He was a rather lanky guy with a startling spiky mop of azure hair. The one feature she could not ignore were his eyes...There were none. Just two hollow endless sockets. Like the zombies had stolen them from him. How could he see? He looked completely fine otherwise. He wasn't sickly looking or anything, but she couldn't get over such a strange sight.

"...what happened to your eyes..?"

[AgentKaz]

tonight i think i'll walk alone
i'll find my soul as i go home

___________________________________

"The name's 2D," he said. "Bit of a stupid nickname, really, but it's what they call me. Nice to meet you." He nodded.

"I don't really mind watching it," he said. "Actually sometimes it looks less real than the movie effects." He laughed. "Funny how reality's a bit less real than films sometimes, huh? Er, but when you're watching it on a screen nothing can get you, so... yeah, it's bad." He frowned.

"A bit," he said. "Keys are my real forte, though. That and I guess people say I've got a good voice. Haven't done much singing lately, usually I'm just synthing it up, you know?" He grinned.

"My eyes?" He blinked and put his hand up to his eye, then laughed. "Oh, right, right! Er, they're still there, if that's what you were wondering. Fractured. I didn't know that was a thing, but I guess it is." He shrugged. "See, I was minding my own business when suddenly POW, some arse drives right through the window. Right through, like it wasn't even there. I was in a coma for a while. Don't think they ever caught the b*****d, either. Must've run away, and been really good at it." It was a story he'd told ten thousand times before, but he didn't really mind telling it again.

"But I'm still alive, so I guess everything's okay."

[Shiintzu]

Ｎ Ｏ Ｏ Ｄ Ｌ Ｅ__________
graphix and layout by shiintzu
════════════════════════════______
In a dream of old I called you________________________
But the signal's gone away...__________________

"The name 2D does not sound stupid to me. I am sure it means something." she suggested. It had to, didn't it? It wasn't like people gave nicknames for no reason, and something short like that had to have something behind it..

"It is...not so much that I mind, but if it came down to watching it happen in front of me and moving on, I would rather keep going." It wasn't as if the scene made her sick, but it wasn't as if she was completely desensitised, either. In the movies it was easy to watch because everybody knew it was acting, and sometimes it was even a bit comical. In real life it was sad to watch. These people had lives and people that loved them. They had thoughts and ideas and memories like she did. It was harsh seeing someone go out and return as mindless creature with the single drive to eat and spread its virus.

"I see.." she said, glancing at the small keyboard with a small smile, "Singing is not particularly my thing, but I will admit I am rather good with many instruments. I just happen to be a lot better with the guitar." She patted the case as she said so. Thinking back on it, she might have to open it and check up on the guitar. She remembered banging it up a few times as she tried to escape.

Noodle frowned. This 2D guy sounded like a rather unfortunate cat. He was hit by a car, put into a coma and awoke with literally black eyes and still able to see. Then he managed to avoid getting bitten, and she even saved him from becoming a zombie. The thing is, even a cat's lives ran out.

"So what happened back there? You have a perfectly good bat. I am sure you could have knocked that zombie's head off." Noodle inquired with a curious tilt to her head.

[AgentKaz]

tonight i think i'll walk alone
i'll find my soul as i go home

___________________________________

2D shrugged. "I don't know, people just started calling me that. Maybe there's a reason, maybe there isn't. Maybe the idea came to 'em when I was out. Never thought to ask. I kind of like it, anyway. It's good enough."

He sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's just really... strange, you know? Feels like none of this is real, except it is."

He nodded. "That's cool. I've tried a few things, but I end up just going back to the usual. If it's got a keyboard, I probably have one." He looked over at his keyboard. "I'm glad I didn't drag my big synth out today. That would've been impossible to carry around." He winced. He left so much stuff at home. What if the zombies got to it? That would be terrible.

"Er, well, I w asn't exactly paying attention, and then woah, there's a zombie behind me. Caught me off guard. And, er, I'm not exactly Mr. Muscular over here." He laughed. "I managed to smash this one guy, though. But he was missing half a leg and wasn't exactly getting very far, so I wouldn't sing my praises yet." He grinned. "Ran for it, and hey, guess I managed to survive anyway."

[Shiintzu]

Ｎ Ｏ Ｏ Ｄ Ｌ Ｅ__________
graphix and layout by shiintzu
════════════════════════════______
In a dream of old I called you________________________
But the signal's gone away...__________________

"Sometimes the most unreal things are reality...life is strange like that." she said quietly. She shook her head. This wasn't the time for that; they were on top of a building surrounded by zombies who might eventually shamble their way upstairs. This was not the time to be getting all deep and preachy.

"We all have something that we gravitate to a bit more. So... you would be able to play an accordion? Those have a keyboard." she offered with an intrigued smirk.

"It is a problem if you cannot use that bat effectively. We might have to find you something else better suited for you..." She wasn't quite sure what that would be. If he couldn't wield something as basic as a bat, it was hard to imagine what he could use. Guns were a questionable option. He had to know how to use one, first of all, and even if he did know how to use one, firearms were noisy and had the tendency to attract more than they could kill. Her katana was off limits, though she doubted he would even know how to use it. He would probably end up slicing himself instead of taking down an undead. Maybe something like a machete? All he had to do was swing it. The only problem was, he wasn't sure how she would find something like that.