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 Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:15 pm
Leo sighed as he looked around, he was taking inventory of what they had left, a lengthy and time consuming process that took four people; one for each section of the store. He was taking inventory of the sporting goods section, which meant he got to count the weapons, ammo sleeping bags, tents and whatever else was there. Considering the nature of the items, the inventory didn't really change much, not nearly as much as the food section or the hardware section, but it changed more than the clothing section and the appliance section. He hummed a tune to himself as he counted the number of shotgun shells they had left and the rifle ammunition remaining. It may have been tedious, but life barricaded in a large general store thrived on tedium. You had to find something to keep yourself busy or else you'd go stir crazy. Some of the people watched movies when they weren't helping, others played video games, with headphones on of course, some read books or even magazines. The barricades were holding fairly well, and they had enough guns and ammo to last for a while, the worry was food. By the last inventory check, they were completely out of perishables, okay on canned goods and water. But the entire reason they did a full inventory check was because people were complaining about the fact that they had the same thing for dinner for a whole week. Only a few people knew it, but they were running very low on food; an entire batch of canned goods had to be tossed out because they were contaminated. Luckily only the inventory keepers knew that, Leo was one of them. They would keep it a secret for as long as they could, then they would tell the rest, and when they did they would formulate a plan to move to another location. The place had been a haven for a while, but they would need to move or else they wouldn't last long.
Leo sighed again as he finished his inventory check, scribbling down the last number of items on his list. He yawned and headed back to the manager's office, opening the door and waving to the two people already in there. He set his list and clipboard down on one of the desk, waved and tucked his pencil behind his ear before leaving the office. He headed back to the common area, which was in the electronics department. A few shelves had been moved and an open area in front of a few of the TVs was created, for people to relax in. Leo smiled and waved to a few of the people and heaved another sigh as he sat down in his beanbag chair. He smiled and yawned and pulled out a book, skimming through it before he found his place and started reading again. Glancing up at the TV screens occasionally to see what movie was on and what game people were playing. Leo was acting just as relaxed as ever, but the state of things worried him; they couldn't move this many people to a new location very safely, it wasn't the first time that Leo had thought of simply packing up and leaving, but he didn't want to abandon everyone.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:53 pm
After browsing the electronics department Tori now curled up behind the phone booth register and was currently working on hacking some of the phones to see if they could get some news to and or from the outside world, "Anything yet?" some one on the other side of the counter looked over to see how she was doing and Tori glanced up for a moment, "Just hang on, ill have it done when i can" she huffed and turned back to her project somewhat pressured buy the information she had pulled out of a friend earlier, food supplies were low, very low, she had not said anything mostly because it wouldn't go over well with most of the other survivors in the group, I wish i had just stayed home she thought continuing to mess with the items before standing and stretching ignoring the expectant eyes that looked up at her, as she moved from behind the counter to head to the hardware department to find some more wires and other items she needed, once out of the sight however she simply dropped her act and leaned against the isle making her way to the end before sliding to the floor and covering her face in her hands. what the hell are we going to do now!? she thought pulling her knees to her chest, she had hoped there would have been some form of rescue by now, some military/government agenda to come and help free those that were still okay, but where were they now? no where, fighting her way to this store had been a battle in and of itself, and if she hadn't helped the bartender out she wasn't sure how else she would have made it to this barricade.
She had known moving to LA was probably the worst decision of her life, "i should have stayed and joined the air force with my brother" she mumbled to herself for reassurance, I'm sure he is going to want to search for me i know it she thought catching sight of a model jet that one of the younger residents had been playing with, they couldn't just abandon the people in LA, it was just in humane...
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 1:20 am
Leo stayed silent as he flipped the last page in his book. He closed it and quietly got to his feet, looking around once before he headed to the "library" to put it back. He slid the book back into its spot on the shelves and signed the book back in on the list they had made. He looked through the bookshelves, looking for the one that he wanted to read next. Not seeing it on the shelves, he looked on the sheet, and noted that Tori had taken the book out. He noted that she had the last copy, and it was the next book in the series he was reading. He didn't really want to start a different series, but he didn't want to bug Tori about the book. After a little bit of debating, he decided he'd go ask her if she was done with it, and if not he would start another book. He left the library and headed over to the area where she was working on something or other. He noticed that she wasn't there, and he asked a few of the people there where she went; they pointed him in the direction of the hardware department.
Strolling around the aisles, Leo looked up and down the different sections, looking for Tori. He finally strolled down one aisle and found Tori curled up on the floor leaning against the shelf. Leo stopped for a moment before deciding to approach, wondering if she was alright. Leo hardly knew the woman, but he rather liked her, she was friendly enough, and she could hold her own in a fight. "Tori... you okay?" Leo asked, as he walked up to her. He walked past her and to the opposite shelf, sitting down and leaning up against it, smiling at her, his smile light and friendly. He had almost completely forgotten about the book he was looking for, right now, he just wanted to make sure his friend was alright.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 5:27 pm
what will we do when we run out of food? she wondered jumping as she heard her name, turning her head quickly she noted Leo's presence and said nothing to his question until he managed to sit before her,"Something wrong? oh just feeling home sick i guess, nothing like a massive epidemic to wipe out half the city's population to make me feel home sick" she sighed and toyed with the items in her hand, she remembered Leo from a few days after the massive epidemic had begun to destroy society as they knew it, Tori had equipped herself with several guns and blunt force objects she could use to defend herself. She remembered he had been in lead of the search party looking for survivors and she had been their last pickup for that evening."i never did get to properly thank you for helping me find this place, despite the fact that we aren't going to last here much longer..." she sighed and blinked as she realized what she was saying. she had tugged the information out of her friend a few days before, it had not been hard to guess what was going on considering the amount of people that were hiding here and that which they were consuming.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 5:44 pm
Leo smiled at Tori as she answered his question. He could understand her being homesick, since she wasn't from the city. He chuckled as she thanked him ad replied, "No thanks needed, it was the least I could do. And I see you've figured out what the problem is huh? Yeah we don't have much left..." Leo sighed lightly, he figured he knew who told her, but he didn't really blame them, it was a rather big secret. He thought for a few moments and hen said, "It's not going to go over well when we tell everyone. People will probably panic and all sorts of things. And with the number of people here... I don't see how we can safely move everyone, especially with those things outside..." Leo paused for a minute, thinking things over again before he voiced what he wanted to say. "I've been talking with some of the others and I think it'd be wise to send a scouting team ahead, find somewhere safe for us to move before we actually do. that way we could move people in increments instead of all at once when we do run out. A few two-person teams going in different directions would be ideal..." Leo wasn't really sure if Tori would want to be on one of the scouting teams, so he figured he'd at least try his luck. "What do you think? Wanna head out into the city with me and look for a safe place for everyone?" Leo still smiled at Tori, his tone warm and slightly comforting. Leo wouldn't admit it, but he kinda liked the idea of the two of them going off together.
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 7:05 pm
Tori stopped what she was messing with to listen, "anyone with brains would say hell no," she replied with a small smile responding to his infectious one, she thought about the idea though, it made sense to send small scout groups, that way some one might make it to a safe haven in due time, "groups of two have the best chance of making it anywhere in these conditions... Alright ill help out, i guess i am a logical choice to be a scout" she smirked and noticed he seemed to be very pleased with her response, "so am i going with you specifically, or am i to be assigned to another person for the job, and are we the first scout group?" she wondered because no one had gone missing recently, although there seemed to be several people that they were looking after, and about one fourth of them actually took the effort upon themselves to help organize things here at the super market, for all she knew at the moment some of them had been sent out to try and find another place, Perhaps they thought no one would be dumb enough to do it "i know people here like to think they have found themselves a safe haven here, but they are going to have to know what is going on eventually"
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:02 pm
Leo laughed and continued smiling as Tori said she'd go with him, replying, "Well I'd assume you'd go with me." He nodded twice and got to his feet, after helping Tori to her feet, the two headed to the office. When they arrived, Leo talked things over with the scouting groups and they decided that they would leave separately, to give the illusion that everything was okay to the others. Leo drew the short straw and both he and Tori were sent out first. After getting some supplies that they needed, like food, sleeping bags, flashlights, a few melee weapons and guns, they took the stairs up to the roof of the building. Closing and locking the door behind them, Leo looked around, taking in the city as he got himself oriented. They had been inside for a while, and the city looked quite different from the one he used to know. He yawned lightly and scanned the area, before taking out a baseball bat he had modified with nails stuck into it every which way at the tip. He looked over to Tori and said, "We're heading North, we'll travel about 5 miles that way and if we don't find anything useful we'll head back."
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Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2011 10:57 pm
Tori followed him to the office and sighed when he managed to pull the short straw, this meant they would go first then? she gathered her own items as they prepared to leave, packing as lightly as possible so she could keep agile, the dead people could be fast when they wanted to. She followed Leo to the roof after he had finished packing and also took a moment to soak in the fresh... well the not inside air, preparing herself for the events ahead. "you know it really doesn't feel like the fact that i am dropping into a world full of flesh eating creatures has really hit me yet..." she said without responding to his plan, it was the only real idea they had to go on at the moment so she would follow it without question, choosing the plumbers wrench she had taken from the store as her main weapon she made her way to the roof latter to have a glance at the ground below, for some reason oddly disappointed when she did not find anything below, "do you think they gave up already?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 2:30 pm
Leo laughed lightly and replied, "It does take a little getting used to, but I doubt they gave up already. They're out there, somewhere." Leo looked out over the edge of the building and though he didn't see anything, he was fairly certain there were "monsters" down there. Leo disliked using the Z word, even though that's basically what they were. "I suggest we use the rooftops for now, we can head down to the streets if we really have to once we've made it a little ways away from the market." Leo looked around, looking for a way across the small gap to the next building. It was too large to jump while carrying all their gear, so he headed back to the door to the market before grabbing a large sheet of metal and bringing it back over. The metal was long enough to bridge the gap and thick enough to walk on, so it was perfect for their needs at the moment. He placed it on the edges of the buildings and tested its stability for a bit before saying, "Okay, we should be okay to get across this way. I'll go first." Leo smiled and stepped up onto the metal walking across it slowly so he didn't lose his balance and fall. Once he was across he checked the other rooftop for any hostiles and then motioned for Tori to come across as well. They had a few hours left until night time, and it would be best if they got to at least some form of shelter before night fell.
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 10:41 pm
Tori kept watch over the side of the shopping mart as Leo worked to get the walk way in place, he walked across and she gripped the wrench waiting for the all clear sign. she was tense, and had reason to be so, last time she had been out here most every living thing had wanted to devour her, her paranoia was logical after what had happened. Leo gave the signal and Tori silently followed, pulling the bar to the roof they were on so nothing might follow or get back to attack the others, "good idea traveling on the roof maybe that is why you lasted so long out here" she whispered as she too watched for any thing that might be dangerous or out to get them. a few dead and rotting corpses could be found on the roof of the building and Tori winced slightly at the thought of those people probably starving to death after escaping the mobs of Monsters now traveling the streets, "I really can believe all this has happened" she whispered staying close to Leo in an attempt to comfort herself.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 12:33 pm
Leo chuckled and whispered back to Tori as she commented on him lasting so long, "I've watched enough movies to know that traveling in the streets is never advisable... and it's pretty messed up, but whether we can believe it or not, it's happening and we need to deal with-" Leo paused and held up one finger to silence their conversation. He had been out in the city a few times before holing up with the survivors in the market, and he felt something different in the air. He stayed where he was and slowly reached into a small bag firmly fastened to his belt and pant leg. He pulled out a small metal bolt, he had grabbed a few handfuls of them before leaving, knowing he'd need them. He glanced around the rooftop again before chucking the bolt in front of him. He counted down from 5 in his head and when he reached zero something sparked and a pillar of flame flashed in front of them, about fifteen feet away. Within a second or two, it was gone, and Leo relaxed a bit. "When I was out here before, I noticed that there were these kind of 'hot-spots' where the air was different than other places. I only lucked out when one of those monsters walked through one trying to get to me. That one was like a vortex, sucked everything in then spewed it back out, in pieces. Best I can figure is that this is a result of whatever caused this whole thing. I heard one of the people in the market talking about how everything got lighter, like a weight had been lifted off of them, then everything just suddenly got heavier. Turned some of his friends into pancakes, he got lucky and got away with a sprained ankle and a crushed toe." Leo looked towards the horizon; it was cloudy, so it was difficult to tell where the sun was, but Leo figured they had about an hour before night really fell, and things were a lot more dangerous at night.
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Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:31 pm
Tori was silent for a moment as she absorbed what he had said "so how many different kinds of phenomena are there you think?" she whispered noticing how he relaxed a bit, "and do they stay in one place for long?" she asked , Whacked out phenomenons that defied the laws of Physic's would have possibly killed her when she started out, how she had missed somethings like what he was talking about she was relived. "id rather avoid most of these things if possible," she said taking a step to the spot where the flames had been, "funny that it is above the building..." she stopped just in case the phenomena was still there. "Come on, lets find a solid place to stay tonight, they sent us out at a rather inconvenient time id have to say..." she stepped back into him accidentally.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 8:37 am
Leo sighed and said, "Not sure how many there could be, but we should be on our toes." Leo stepped forward a little, about to head for the next rooftop when Tori stepped back into him. He put his arms up to stop her but stumbled back a bit himself, "Yeah, let's get to the next roof and we can check if the building is okay to use for tonight." Leo smiled and stepped forward, picking up the sheet of metal and heading to the other roof. After a few more rooftops, they found a sufficient shelter; a small apartment above an abandoned pawnshop. Making sure the place was secure, Leo shut the door to the roof and locked it, along with the door to the pawnshop, complete with 4 different locks and a barring mechanism; somebody who lived here took protection seriously. It would be okay for the two of them to stay here for the night, but they couldn't fit everyone from the market inside, which was the only thing disqualifying it. Leo supposed if they really needed to, they could move people here for a short while.
Sighing lightly, Leo sat in the comfortable recliner, taking out his map of the city and marked off the buildings they passed over, and circling the one they were in. Leo liked to keep tabs on what he could consider "safe," so he figured using a map was a somewhat decent way to do things. He couldn't get active updates on the various safe places so he erased his "safe" markings after about a week or so, meaning he would have to go back and check if he was in the area. Night had quickly fallen and Leo go up and closed the shutters on the windows and then turned on a small desk lamp, looking over to Tori, who was on the couch, he smiled and said, "I'll take first watch I suppose. You should get some rest." He took out one of the books he brought with him and flipped through it to his bookmark, grabbing the bottle of water on the desk and drinking from it; the place was still fully stocked with food and water, but the owner was less than fortunate, they had found his body down in the pawnshop, he had gotten attacked by something, but whatever it was, it wasn't in the building now.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 11:08 am
The body had been moved outside before Leo had locked the doors and Tori had been taking the time to look through some of the nicknacks that he Pawn shop was holding, "I think i remember this place" she said touching a miniature Jade elephant that sat on the shelf of an antique cabinet, "this guy sure did like his stuff" she said stepping back and picking up a brochure she stepped back into a couch as she flipped through the pages and began to draw on pictures here and there, looking up as he told her to get some sleep, "alright, ill try, if anything happens though wake me" she said getting up to grab one of the sleeping bags and then laying back down on the couch, "wake me the instant you get tired okay?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 11:34 am
Leo smiled and nodded as Tori laid back down on the couch, replying, "I'll be sure to tell you if anything interesting happens." Then Leo went back to reading his book, keeping quiet so Tori could rest and he could hear anything that sounded suspicious. The hours went by fairly fast, and soon enough Leo yawned and closed his book, moving to the couch and gently shaking Tori to wake her up. "Tori... Tori wake up." he whispered, not wanting to really shake her awake. He heard a low static-y sound coming from his radio and he took it out, wondering who could be trying to contact him. He adjusted the radio's frequency a little and got the static a little more clear. When he finally got it as clear as he could, he heard a message, or at least part of one, "Attention any other survivors... we have made.... safe haven... ample food and supplies... -2 miles North of the convention center..." Leo listened to the message carefully, and all it did was repeat the same message, but if the signal was coming from at least two miles North of the convention center, it was a wonder they could hear anything at all on Leo's crappy radio, they were at least 5 miles away. Leo turned back to Tori and shook her once more, a little more urgently this time; Leo wasn't sure how long the signal would transmit, or how long his radio could keep a hold of it.
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