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After finally getting across the mountains Dominick was glad to be out of the desert, but with the boon's came the bane. The Carriers were becoming more plentiful. It was becoming markedly harder to remain shadowed and unseen. But he was getting closer to the school, according to the map he picked up at a gas station a while back, it was only 10 miles away. He had to keep moving, he had given up hope of finding his friends, but he would never give up hope of finding her.

About an hour and a half later he finally made it to the City, only one problem. It had started growing darker out. He knew that no matter how good of a shot one is their chances of surviving grew extremely thin at night without a place to sleep. Dominick swung his head slowly to take in his surroundings. Damn it, should have been faster he said. then I wouldn't have to worry about all this . I wonder, and with that he darted off in the direction of the school. If he could make it to the school before nightfall surely they would let him in, but if it was dark he doubted that they would open their doors for anything.

It was steadily growing darker and Dominick knew he had less than 15 minutes of daylight left as he approached the rear of the school. after dodging all the carriers he had taken much more time than he had wanted. He had not seen anyone on op of the school during his approach and all the windows appeared boarded up. H knew that to get in before night e would have to get their attention. But how? Any noise would attract the attention of the Carriers and if the people in the school didn't open up for him it would mean his night would be very short.

Hmmm... I do have that Magnesium Flare though, I wonder if that would get their attention...?

There was no time to think, Arya knew this. He gripped his shotgun close, thinking of his friend who had died to get it to him. Just for a gun, just to survive. But there was no time! The streets were swarming, they were chasing behind him and he had to make a choice, left, or right?

He decided left, even though he had no knowledge of the streets around the area. He'd just moved into the area because his mother had died, now living with his temper-mental father. But so was his mother, a drunk. But it had made him strong, physically and mentally stronger than he'd been as a young man. Now he knew, that he was ready.

He acted on instinct, or maybe, he acted on pure stupidity. He started sprinting, faster than he'd thought he could have ever done before, jumping over a body that was having spasms in it's death. He readied the gun, which he'd named Elle, after his friend, and then held it parallel with an infected's head.

The blast from the barrel was so fast and so hard that he didn't even realize it until the enemy's head was now a fine red mist that made his face cold. He ignored the feeling that it gave him and kept going, reminding himself not to look back. He never would, the last time he;d looked back a bunch of infecteds grabbed his leg and tore him off of his feet. Thank mother it was daytime and he'd gotten away with but a scare.

But now it was midnight, and it was much different. It had seemed that the infecteds possessed a power, that was only active during the long, cold nights. The worst time to fight. Their strength was very potent, and very dangerous when you could only see the gun infront of you, and nothing more. Now all he could focus on was the little light above the door of an unknown building, and getting inside.

Arya leaps again, this time over a fallen telephone pole. Another infected notices him, letting out a cry of endless hunger. The cry reaches Arya's ears and he shivers slightly, but never wavers. He'd been trained for this, from his childhood, from his mother, trying her hardest to make him cry, but he knew he wouldn't. He'd never quit this now, especially now that his life was in the delicate balance of ending.

Finally he'd reached the building, a restaurant with a dead neon sign in the window. Smashing the glass of the door with his padded elbow, he flings open the door and runs inside, closing the door. Those things always had problems with doors, it seemed.

Making his way around to the back, he notices another door, leading to the other street. Immediately he goes to open it, not thinking of the dangers that could lie behind it. He flings it open much like the door previously, but with a hint of hope. Behind the door is a clear street, the first one he'd seen in ages. He stops to stare for a moment, and as he goes to move, a long dead arm grabs his hair from behind and yanks on it.

Suddenly he loses it. Ripping the last of his molotovs from his belt, he lights it with his gas lighter, struggles out of the opposer's grip, and throws. The room bursts into orange fire, spreading to the other bottles of alcohol located on the bar. By then, Arya is already outside, running again. It seemed like he was always running.

And then, something amazing catches his eye, a room, with a barred door and a light inside. His legs carry him faster until he reaches it, opening it with no hesitation. He quickly bars the door with his crowbar, making sure nothing can come in, and then sinks to the ground, falling onto his knees in sheer exhaustion.

He was safe, for now.

---

The next morning came earlier then he'd wanted it to. Sleep deprivation, he decided, was his worst enemy when it came to traveling alone. He hated being tired, especially weak. It left him vulnerable and confused, like living in a cloud of tear gas. Without the burn.

Today would be another long day without food, without conversation, and hopefully without zombies too.He had hoped. But the city was now infested, overrun with those things. There was no avoiding them, which was no problem during the day, but at night it was like they could smell you from miles away, they just knew.

Holstering his shotgun, he pushes open the room's heavy door, closing it behind him and looking around cautiously. The road was clear, just like before, but now it was daytime. The sky was slightly cloudy, it's bottom hung thin gray sheets over the atmosphere. The ground beneath was wet, a small puddle sitting idly next to a parked car that was covered in debris. The air smelled like rain and blood, the worst combination.

Nonetheless, he trudged onwards through an empty road. Not even corpses would accompany him this time. Even they avoided him. He hadn't see a single living soul since the plague started, but he didn't really miss it. His so-called friends all ignored him, and he'd rather be far far away from his family.


((My keyboard is wigging out on me today, this was extremely hard to type. If I've made any errors, feel free to correct them if you can edit my posts.))

((OH GOD THE SILENT HILL SIREN JUST WENT OFF ON THIS SHOW. WHAT ******** MAN. -backflips-))

Again, there was no time to think. Arya ran over to the other with an increasing pace, almost smashing into him as he did. He looked at him for a moment, his eyes changing color from their dark brown to a golden hue. His pupils shrank and the other one stared at him with a confused glance.

Suddenly Arya whips around, pulling the shotgun from it's holster violently and firing, all in a split second. In a near alleyway, a carrier's head explodes.

Arya turns to him again. "Sorry about that. I get a little shaky when they sneak up on me like that." He puts away the gun once more, "I thought I was the only one left, you know? I'm... I'm really relieved to see another human running around." He pauses for a moment, turning around again to make sure the area was clear. The sound of moaning was still in the air, just not close. "So uh, what are you doing here? What's your name?"

It was now too late, too dark and too dangerous. John knew he must head back to his shelter. It seemed someone had shot a flare over the high school. John was caught, in the open, by the bleeding bright light.

He muttered to himself. This kind of s**t is what gets people killed. Hulking through the forest John broke out into the small street he had come from. Swiftly he pried open the manhole, dove in and sealed it back over again. The nearby Carriers only caught a glimpse of his figure, too distracted by the flare.

Now safe underground John was able to make a good pace through town. Stowed away in a small concrete room in the tunnel was a long flexible skateboard with over-sized rubber wheels. John used it to travel quickly and quietly from manhole to manhole. He switch riding styles from being on his back to a sitting position here and then. Some of the tunnels were quite small.

John brought his flashlight over large writing that read "SAFE" in orange spray paint on the wall. He pushed the board against a crevice and sturdied it against the wall. If it got lost in a rainstorm, he'd be very immobile.

The unfortunate part about the "SAFE" exit, is that it let out on his road. Direcly smack dab in the center of the street. Though the trees on either side granted him some nice camouflage. After exiting, his fort was only about 50 feet up the street, and making it through the hidden door was easy enough.

Now almost completely safe, John took his canteen to his room -high in the attic- and disrobed. Today wasn't a success but he hadn't failed. Tomorrow should prove to be more useful, but for now he would retire to his bed and write upon his findings. His pen wrote smoothly and his handwriting was clean.

Today safety was neglected; Though not by me.
Life seems to be on the rise. Whatever may come, I wish my actions be swift and deadly no matter my target. Dead, or alive.

Dominick looked at the flare Probably wasn't the best idea but I thought it would be better than running up to the school and banging on the door. He looked around the the Carriers, His eye's steeled for a moment. you are right, wehad better get moving.

Jenny sighed as she slowly climbed the stairs to the top of the building. Today had been a difficult one; new-comers were always wary and she had stayed with him for a few hours until he had become better settled in. Now she had some time to herself and as always, she headed to the roof. About two weeks ago she had taken to running laps when she needed time alone, on the roof top and that was exactly what she needed right now.

She started to stretch as she idly thought about the straggler she had glimpsed earlier that day. He had not been seen since, and she was growing wary as night time was growing near. Hopefully he found somewhere safe to go before night fall.

She started at a slow jog, crossing the length of the school roof in about a minute and a half. Her pace slowly increased as she slipped deeper and deeper into thought. Things were starting to at least seem hopeful. Everyone was meshing together nicely and she no longer had to constantly worry about the children living with them. They were all old enough to know what to do should there ever be a break in. And drills had been run day-in and day-out.

She slipped from her quiet musings when she noticed someone running beside her. Mark was silently padding along with her and he gave her a warm smile. Mark had learned early on that Jenny only ran when she was upset or stressed and needed time to collect herself. He had taken to joining her in silence for these runs as a small gesture of comfort. Jenny smiled at him as she continued to run. THings were starting to look up.

Jenny continued to jog as night fell swiftly around her. Mark dutifully ran alongside her the entire time as the screams of Carriers rose in the night air. There couldn't still be people out there...could there? Jenny knew of only one for sure, and just hoped he had found a way to safety. One particularly nasty screech rose through the air close to the school and Jenny winced, finally noticing how long they had been running. She gradually slowed her pace, allowing herself to cool off as she sent up a prayer for any living souls still out in their town.

"Better luv?" Mark asked her as they finally stopped and started to stretch.

"Not really. The problems are still there..." Jenny trailed off as she stretched her calf muscles. She had not been particularly athletic before the Virus, but she definitely knew how to take care of herself, and for that, she was blessed.

"But we can make it through." Mark said softly as he gently patted her back. Jenny definitely had come to love the man like a father, and knew she wouldn't have been able to get through this past month without him. She constantly worried for his safety and was considering talking to Kevin about getting him assigned to watch the children when it came time to collect rations. Jenny knew this wouldn't be fair and that he would protest, for Mark had come to lean on Jenny as much as she did him, and he was often forsaking his own safety to protect her. Jenny was scared it would get him killed one day.

"That we can old man!" She smiled broadly at her surrogate father. He knew she was teasing, and yet her affectionate nick-name was one of the main things that kept pushing Mark to train and get in better shape. That and the impending doom from when the Carriers would get in the building. Jenny knew it was not a question of 'if' but of 'when'; for it would happen, and they wold have to be ready for it.

Mark grinned and was about to respond when all of a sudden, a Flare was shot up above the town, lighting the town up with its bleeding light. Jenny's jaw dropped as she looked out over the town. Why would anyone risk their own safety in such a brash manner? Jenny grimaced at what could possibly cause a Human to be in a dire enough situation to risk everything in such a way. It was reckless...but it appeared as though someone was calling for help.

"Hope you can hold out 'til morning buddy." Mark whispered, staring out into the town, directly echoing Jenny's thoughts. "We'll come for you then."