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 Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 8:58 pm
Sasha leaned to the side, giving the girl room as she swung into the front. At her thanks, he seemed to soften a touch...a slight smile touching his eyes as he raised his chin in acknowledgement. "Is nothing."
His eyes narrowed, though, as he glanced down at Josh....a very clear mind your manners look upon his face. Scrubbing his fingers through his hair, wiping a few spots of blood from his brow, Saw took one last look at the newcomer before raising his eyes to the road.
Morgan. She was smart, that was obvious. Sasha hadn't followed but a third of what she'd mentioned. Seemed a bit rattled from the jump, though, but she held it in well. Tough, like your brother.
Nadya.
Sasha took a breath, chest expanding, and held it for a moment before sighing unheard over the engine. No time for sadness. One hand gripped the roll cage as the Jeep rumbled along, helping him keep his balance as he twisted for a check behind them.
No threats...but spots and streaks along the roadway. Turning to stare back over Josh's head, at the road ahead, Saw narrowed his eyes. Clean.
"Leaving...a trail. Hey." Had something in the undercarriage been punctured? Or was that....gore?
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 9:50 am
((Sorry about yesterday!))
Josh felt a flare of triumph as she moved from the backseat to the font. This was more like it, a pretty girl, open road an-
"What?" He scowled, distracted from his thoughts by Sasha. He glanced into his rear view mirror. "S'probably just some stuff left over, man. You know, after I squished em, probably got stuck to the car." s**t, he was going to have to clean that somehow. But more pressing matters were at hand, like chatting Morgan up.
"So... a techie, eh? That's cool, it takes all kinds, right?"
--
Closer, closer... the black things spun and kicked up flecks of dust and rock. There was no memory of the danger and trouble they could produce, so when leg swung beneath the track of the wheel it was a surprise. Decayed flesh and sinew quickly tore from his torso at the hip, but there was no pain, not even surprise.
The zombie worked his way to the side one hand reaching up over the carriage of the jeep to paw dully at the metal, searching for something to grab a hold of.
--
Josh grunted as the jeep thumped, as though he'd run over something. He frowned, distracted from his efforts to get the girl to warm up to him. He knew for a fact he hadn't run anything over, there was nothing in the road, and he doubted something could scurry beneath the jeep in time to cause the passenger side wheel to bounce.
"What was that?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 1:14 pm
Morgan wanted to answer Josh's question. She knew how to talk about the parts of engineering that sounded 'cool', how to impress people a bit without sounding boastful. However, in her current state of mind, Sasha's observation had a higher priority.
Morgan whipped her head around to confirm. The trail of streaks wasn't constant, which told her that it probably wasn't a leak of the car's fluid. This was a jeep...it was doubtful that something would have punctured back where Josh had jumped that curb. Josh was right. Some 'stuff', a limb or two, might have gotten stuck underneath.
BUMP. As she felt it she spun around. "Another streak, right on the tire's path," she blurted. Of course, she thought, how else would a limb stay stuck underneath...unless it was attached. "You sure we don't have company?" she stammered as she sunk down a bit in her seat.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 1:32 pm
Twisting to stare as well, Sasha narrowed his eyes...shovel ready, blade down. It could just be leftovers, as Josh had mentioned...but then, those leftovers could still be moving.
One hand still on the roll cage, he glanced out along the road...scanning the fields to each side. There was a quiet patch up ahead. They could stop for a few seconds, if they were fast.
"Up, by bend. Joo stop, I look." His accent grew thicker as he worried, like usual. Tapping himself right between the eyes as he looked at Morgan, Saw indicated one side of the Jeep. He'd watch the other.
There was no saying if the tvar understood language or not, but it wasn't something he wanted to risk. Over the roar of the transport, Sasha failed to hear the sound of fingers sliding haltingly across metal, fingernails catching and ripping in the grooves.
Reaching down slowly, eyes still drifting across the road and vehicle, Sasha pulled a heavy emergency issue blanket from the stock and passed it to the front. Meeting Morgan's eyes for a brief second, he spoke with a surprisingly mild tone as the blanket left his hand. "Joo see them, cover. Hard to chew."
Blue eyes smiled, but his face remained hard...hands sliding once more into position upon the weapon's shaft. With one last nod to Josh, the huge Russian tensed...ready to leap clear and do a little clean up. Couldn't drive, couldn't shoot...felt good to be useful when he could.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 8:40 pm
"Alright, but hurry up and be careful." Josh began to slow the jeep, heading toward the curb. "We can't afford to use the water in the back to clean a bite if you get one."
--
The movement slowed.. The black spinning disks less of a threat, he sensed, and moved in a slow shamble, hand-over-hand, until an arm extended further, groping along the metal. There, a dip. Hand slithered inside, along hard leather and...
Softness, warmth. Instantly the hand grabbed at Morgan's thigh, fingers pressing desperately against in a feverish attempt to gouge through both jeans, skin, and muscle with it's dull nails, only succeeding in tearing the rotten flesh from fingertips against the fabric. Groping further upward, fingers slid into a loop, instinctively grabbing a hold of it and pulling with every ounce of strength.
The meal was clearly his now, and the feverish lust for blood rose.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 9:11 pm
"Eeeekss!" She screamed as she felt something grab at her thigh. Morgan looked down just in time to to see a rotting hand grasp firmly to the loop of her carpenter jeans. Her fear peaked instantly, panic filled her mind. All she could do was act on instinct.
Immediately, she grasped Josh's arm with her right hand. She would try with all of her might to prevent herself from being pulled out. Her other hand attempted to pry the hand from her pants. The zombie's flesh was cold and nasty, the bones of it's fingers felt like an immovable clamp.
She held on for dear life still trying to part the fingers that had latched on to her jeans. "Help me, dammit!" she screamed desperately as it became apparent that the zombie was not about to let go...she was not about to let go either. She grasped Josh's arm more tightly and readied her foot for a kick if need be.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 9:48 pm
Sasha swung his shovel around at Morgan's shriek...bracing with one knee against the back of her seat. Cursing in his native language as he hefted his shovel, Saw waited for a clear strike. Something had been hanging on!
"Don't kick!" Calling out desperately as Morgan reflexively angled toward Josh, Sasha ground his teeth. It still had her, one good tug, and...they'd both be in trouble.
Lunging forward, Sasha tried to balance as Josh reacted, shoving downward with a scrape of metal on metal in an attempt to sever the offending limb along the edge of the Jeep. It was almost impossible to get a hit in without risking the girl. Growling, he chopped downward again and planted his weight, lashing out with one hand to grab her under one arm as she was yanked powerfully toward the road.
"Josh!" He couldn't fight holding her, and the beast was clawing its way in. The horrid fingers were still curled about the strap, grasping with impossible determination.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2005 10:38 pm
"********!" As soon as Morgan grabbed his arm he was forced to let go, the sudden weight too much and unexpected, swerving the car sharply away from the curb. He frantically tried to get the jeep back on track, refusing to stomp on the breaks.
If there was one lesson he had learnt from his short training period (they had needed men and needed them NOW, no time for training!) was that you never, ever turned off your vehicle. Not unless it was an extremely dire and urgent situation, and even THEN you probably shouldn't.
The jeep swerved from side to side as he worked to keep it straight, it's pace slow enough so that they didn't really risk damage if they fell, save a few road burns, growing more and more frustrated as they were yelling at him. But he was the soldier, this was his job, they were supposed to look to him right?
(The adults asking the kid for help.)
"Goddamnit, WHAT. I'm DRIVING."
--
More sounds and a wild veer to the side that was more helpful than harmful. The zombie found it couldn't hold onto the bottom of the jeep any longer, letting go. It's other leg caught violently beneath the wheel. This gave it the chance to reach up with it's other hand, however, grabbing the side of the vehicle to pull itself forward. Or it would if the tire wasn't currently spinning over his leg, kicking up shreds of flesh and muscle and dark, foul blood.
--
And then the wheel was spinning and that was it. As the zombie pulled harder on Morgan, and as Morgan simply REFUSED to let go of his arm, the wheel was jerked rather violently to the side, starting to tip up on two wheels on the passenger side.
Equilibrium shifted and he knew it was going to happen without being able to stop it. He let go of the wheel, and reached out to wrap an arm around Morgan's shoulders, pulling her towards him and angling his body to shield her as best he could.
He should have listened to his mother when she told him to wear his seat belt.
"Saw!"
It was all he could manage as a warning before the jeep tipped onto two wheels, moving forward still for a few paces before crashing onto it's side and skidding with a screech of metal and sparks. They hadn't been moving fast enough to completely flip, thank god, but now the supplies were scattering across the road and Josh was falling heavily forward, pushing Morgan upward over himself as best he could.
--
With a bubbling squelch it's chest caved in beneath the weight of the vehicle, letting go of Morgan in shock at the sudden impact of a jeep onto it's fragile ribs.
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Posted: Sun Jan 01, 2006 11:25 pm
As Morgan tumbled with the jeep in Josh's arms, time seemed to have slowed down to a crawl. It was a phenomenon she'd felt before...back in the states when she'd flipped her dad's Oldsmobile Cutlass SL after being cut off by a white van.
It wasn't like she could do anything as they were flying, she couldn't even guide her thoughts. It was simply a moment where events had been happening so fast and something even more drastic occured making the mind detatch. It just didn't seem real.
Thoughts flew through Morgan's head, each passing without time for contemplation. She thought about the zombies, her professors and classmates, her family back in the states. She thought about Josh who was trying his best to keep her from harm, about Sasha who she could only assume was being thrown from the back seat. Both wonder, and worry filled her mind as her over active thoughts flickered by in that instant.
The next thing Morgan felt was a sickening thud as the jeep landed on it's side. The supplies being tossed about as well as the passengers. If Josh hadn't cradled Morgan, things might have ended up differently. As it was, Morgan would have a few bruises but nothing serious at all.
As soon as the vehicle was still, she rose to her feet. Her attention immediately went to the two men who had rescued her from the wall earlier. One thought rang clearly in her mind as she rushed to see if they were alright...This is all my fault.
((Sorry about the delay. In case you hadn't already heard from Aki, power went down in our poor little county ;_;. Great post by the way Cassio ^^.))
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2006 12:29 am
Leaning desperately as the Jeep began to tilt, Sasha realized it was no use...it was going over, and there wasn't s**t he could do about it. Still clutching his only weapon, he jumped free...the back ledge catching him mid thigh as the Jeep began to slide, and sending him rolling.
The shovel went flying as well, spinning with him as he rolled. Slapping one hand down upon the pavement, ignoring the grate of rocks against flesh, Saw slowed himself till he could struggle to his feet. Morgan and Josh were pulling themselves free, and his mind was working overtime. Numb, no time for pause.
They might be down, but they weren't out. Growling as he reeled, shovel in hand once more, Saw wiped a trickle of blood from a scrape on his brow upon his shoulder and jogged for the Jeep. His dizzy gaze swept right and left, noting the figures that were beginning to pay attention.
They didn't have much time.
"Get boxes!" Bellowing to Morgan, trying to draw attention away from toppled transport, Sasha grabbed all he could in one pass as he tromped closer. One flashlight was shattered, useless...he didn't bother trying to salvage the batteries and skipped it completely.
Blankets, boxes, tools, food...dented, but still good. Shoving them under one arm as he jogged, weapon at the ready, Sasha finally spotted something that hadn't fared so well.
A water jug had caved in, the upper curve split and spreading in a pool upon the pavement. Cursing in his native tongue, Sasha snatched it up as well...turning it crack up to save what he could. Half full, that was better than nothing...but the puddle upon the pavement tightened his stomach.
As he approached, Sasha dumped the goods he'd salvaged in a pile, and thrust the remains of the water jug in Morgan's arms as she set down the rest of her findings. "Hold!" Giving her a firm nod, placing his hands on either side of her slender shoulders and lifting her easily aside, Saw made his way to Joshua's side. There was no time for talk, no time for plan...corpses shuffled closer, their moans almost unheard over the thump of blood in his ears. Bending, working his fingers into a groove of the fallen side of the Jeep, Saw tested his leverage and pulled.
Metal groaned and scraped, the Jeep rocking as he strained. Not enough, not quite. Bracing, not even thinking to ask for the needed help, the tips of Sasha's tattered 'hawk trembled as he tensed again.
They had to get moving.
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2006 12:48 am
His mind worked sluggishly, befuddled by a fog of pain. His shoulder... jesus christ, his shoulder. He could almost feel the dirt and grit that had ground into the wound, bits thread from the fabric that had ripped as he landed and skidded on his left shoulder.
And then as if on some crazy time warp things sped up to time again. Sasha was rushing around and the heavy sounds of dull movement were getting louder, closer.
Gritting his teeth he pushed himself up with his right hand, staggering forward slightly. He looked up to see Sasha heaving desperately at the jeep.
But ******** christ, his shoulder. Tears beaded at the corners of his eyes, how unmanly like. He stepped forward, mustering up all the machismo that he could and pressed his right shoulder against the hood of the jeep, grabbing onto a piece of jutting metal. "One, two, three..."
It was amazing how the human mind could so quickly jump onto the same wave-length with just a few key words. Sasha lifted and pushed at the same time as Josh. Metal groaned and Josh let out a rough yell as muscles strained, using his other hand as best he could to push as well. No time to pause and angst over the injury.
He wasn't going to die like this. Sure, it would be pretty impressive, but it'd be more impressive if he made it back alive with the girl and his friend.
He counted on Morgan to alert them if any of the shambling dead got too close as he put all his strength into tipping the jeep. With the dual effort it wasn't too much and the slightly smoking vehicle tipped onto it's wheels, bouncing once. He quickly got into the drivers seat and turned the key.
"Come on, come on, comeonecomeoncomeon." The engine turned and choked to life. "Yessssss."
He turned to Sasha and Morgan, eyeing the zombies that were ever drawing nigh. "Get in."
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2006 2:09 pm
Morgan watched the two men struggle to get the jeep upright. Feelings of helplessness made her desire to help even greater. However, watching the two use all their might on the task, she knew she'd only get in the way.
Instead, she collected what other supplies she could, as Sasha had instructed, while gauging the distance of the oncoming mob. If they appeared to be getting too close she'd have to do what she could to draw them away from her new allies.
Water and food seemed to be the most important. She prioritized the supplies to make the best use of what little time they had left, grabbing what she deemed most important.
As she arrived with the last load that she figured they had time for the jeep was already up and ready to go. The split water container was propped in the transport as best she could manage, saving what little of the water she could. She loaded what she had in her arms and proceeded to toss what Sasha had piled up as well. It wasn't much, but she'd try to help out in what ways she was able to.
"Not much time!" she shouted, still trying to keep tabs on the oncoming zombies as she loaded. She felt the roar of the engine as Josh brought the beast back to life.
Josh issued his command to get back into the jeep. "One more second," Morgan pleaded, and then turned to snag the last armful of goods.
As she turned she found herself being stared down. Only a few yards away, with bloodlust written across his expressionless face, a young man was stumbling toward her.
Fear struck her again, but this time she was able to keep it together. She'd caused the two men enough problems...she would deal with this herself. In one swift motion, she gathered what she could from the ground and threw herself into the back of the jeep. "When you're ready!" she roared as she landed on her back, protecting what supplies she could.
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2006 2:24 pm
The extra shove from Josh actually made a world of difference. By the time the Jeep rocked back into place, Morgan was already loading up the rest of the salvaged supplies.
They had to move, already the beasts were trundling closer, some moving a bit faster than others. Shaking his head, Sasha paused growl. "Kak muhi na govno." Like flies to s**t.
It wasn't until he was loading up the last of the goods that he noticed the bloodstains upon the ground. One old, one fresh...slowly, his gaze raised to Josh's shoulder. Wincing, Sasha stepped forward to see if his mate needed aid...withdrawing his foot as jaws snapped but a few inches from his boot.
The wreck of the hitchhiker writhed upon the pavement...limbless and crushed. It still moved, twitching and jerking. There wasn't much left of the side of its face, gouged bone showed clearly from temple to scalp. Much of the cheek was missing as well, showing teeth that looked surprisingly strong.
Heart pounding, Sasha lifted his shovel...staring at the abomination a moment longer before thrusting the blade though the forehead of the tvar.
Finally, it was still.
At Josh's order, he vaulted into the Jeep. "Clear!" He spared a glance back at the mess they'd left, stomach clutching at the wasted supplies. The remains of the flashlight crunched underfoot as a young man shambled closer, and moans echoed from each side.
Pulling Morgan in against him, knowing Josh would have to yank them around good to break through the sparse crowd, Sasha gave the girl a squeeze. She had done well, despite the accident...she listened and acted, rather than standing and screaming like so many seemed to do.
He leaned down to speak with her over the roar of the engine, not wanting to disturb the driver's concentration. "Take. Here, joo help." Few words, but his gestures made his intent clear. Pulling one of the green med kits from the pile of supplies, Sasha thrust it into Morgan's hands and pointed to the water can and Joshua's shoulder. He would do it himself, but he needed to have both hands free. They weren't out of the woods yet.
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Posted: Mon Jan 02, 2006 2:43 pm
Josh gritted his teeth and grabbed the wheel with his right, shifting gears with the left. The adrenaline of the moment had dulled the pain to a fraction of what it really should be. The wheels spun for a second before he could finally get it into gear and the vehicle lurched forward and swerved violently as he began his difficult task of weaving between the zombies.
All the while he was screaming, screaming, screaming in the back of his head.
He wasn't bitten, he hadn't gotten any blood in his mouth. But the road was filthy. Not only could he contract the zombie virus but other unsavoury things such as infection.
He wanted to get to the ******** church already. Either that or to some clear road, some area that wasn't ridden with these faux humans. He knew there were areas that were more clear, if he could get further out on the road heading toward the Church where there were less houses.
And how the hell was he supposed to explain the supplies? Even though he'd done it all while rescuing a civilian in peril - which was the only circumstance that they were demanded to take a civilian into the vehicle - he was going to get his a** chewed off by the higher ups.
That was it, his future was set.
A thousand push ups.
His mind snapped back to the present as he continued his maneuvering, managing to avoid the zombies for the most part, occasionally clipping one or two with the front as he began to speed up, heading toward that blessed open road just ahead. It was up to Sasha to make sure they were safe until they reached it.
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Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2006 12:23 am
Morgan took the med kit and scooted up behind Josh. She knew that Sasha would watch her back while she went to work on Josh's wound. She waited a few moments, for Josh to clear the immediate horde of undead.
"This might hurt a little. I'm no medic ya know," she spoke into his ear to make sure he heard her. "Just hang tough for a moment...and trust me."
She started cleaning the wound using the water as sparingly as possible. She scrubbed away the bits of gravel that had been embedded in Josh's shoulder as gently as she could. His hair whipped back into her face as he sped faster to avoid the shambling swarms of monsters. His hair was soft, it tickled her nose in the beating wind. She noticed again the bandage he had around his eye and wondered if there was some story behind it. Perhaps she'd gather the courage to ask him when this was all over.
Once the wound was sufficiently cleaned, she got back to business. She concentrated on her task diligently, using common sense to fill the gaps in her medical knowledge. After applying a moderate antiseptic, she bandaged his arm snugly thinking Better safe than sorry.
She patted him on the shoulder, the uninjured one, and then turned her attention back to the supplies that still lay scattered across the back of the jeep. She secured them trying to stay out of Sasha's way, just in case he needed to swing that shovel of his. She took special care to keep the damaged container of water from losing any more precious fluid.
She felt an overwhelming inclination to keep busy, she really didn't want to think about anything. She took up watch on the opposite side of Sasha, trying to keep her mind off the situation and the questions that nagged at her for answers. She was tired. It had been a trying day, but she wouldn't give in...not quite yet.
((Sorry 'bout the delay. Aki and I had company so we were a bit busy.))
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