The muffled explosions in the distance were surprising, intriguing enough to pique the curiosity of--well, it seemed like everyone--enough to draw them from the safety of the dorms. It was okay to go outside, Cerise told herself as she filed out with the others, even though it was dark, even though there was always the potential of the infected lurking around every possible corner, as long as everyone else was doing it too. Safety in numbers, and all that.
She didn't know what she had expected, but the fireworks in the distance were way down on the list, right above mushroom cloud but just below one of the other factions blowing themselves up. The incongruity of the cheery fireworks in their own little slice of the apocalypse was disturbing, but if whoever was setting them off had a particular wish to die by infected, well, she supposed that was on them and wished them well.
She waited to hear the shuffling and moans as the infected were drawn towards the display but was surprised when they didn't make their expected appearance--even more so when it seemed like the others in the faction replaced them, following the lights and sounds. Determined not to get left alone in the school, she trailed after them, making sure to stay towards the middle of the group just in case.
A casino had been the absolute last thing she would have anticipated as being the source of the fireworks, but there it stood, all lit up in its gaudy glory. She hesitated in front of it even as the others started going in, wondering where it had come from, how it was powered, and why anyone would bother with a casino at a time like this. Still, the lights were warm and inviting and the path behind her was cold and dark. She went in.
Cerise stopped as the casino doors shut behind her, struck dumb at the sight of people casually milling around on the gambling floor as if the zombie apocalypse didn't exist outside these walls. Did these people not know? Had they all just been in here for the past month, protected by their own lack of awareness? How had they all survived that long without attracting the infected?
The people coming in behind her jostled her forward and she took a few hesitant steps deeper into the casino, still wondering if this wasn't all just some hallucination. The cheery dinging of the slot machines and the pungent smell of cigarette smoke seemed real enough, though, as did the drink someone pressed into her hand along with a handful of coins.
Gambling had never been a priority for Cerise, one of those things that would have been fun to do someday after all of the projects and papers were done, but they never seemed to be. Now, though, she was being invited to, and while she was still highly suspicious, there didn't seem to be any harm in indulging, a little. Everyone else seemed to be, after all.
Cautiously, she sat down at an empty blackjack table, giving the dealer a hesitant smile in response to the bright one that was offered to her. She knew the concept behind the game, but had never actually played it before. A 10 and a five were laid out on the table before her, and she shot a nervous glance at the dealer's cards, knowing she might lose if she let them stand but also if she couldn't get closer to 21.
"Hit me," she said, sipping her drink, and was disappointed when the dealer pulled the Jack of spades.
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Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:27 pm
Well, one thing was for damn sure: Cerise was never, ever gambling again. She woke up with a quiet groan and a sore neck, unsure for a moment what had happened. She didn't remember anything after losing the one hand of blackjack she had played. This had been a bad idea, she thought fuzzily. Maybe I should head back to campus, take my chances with the infected.
She moved to get up, only to discover that she couldn't. It took a moment for her to realize that it was because she was tied to the chair she was sitting in and another to register that she was no longer on the casino floor. The sudden sound of a voice booming from some loudspeakers was nearly deafening, disorienting Cerise so much that it took a moment for her to understand what it was saying.
Heart, stomach, and hope sank as the voice explained the cost of freedom. The coins, still in her pocket, felt heavy--not, she assumed, heavy enough to buy her way out of there, or they would have let her go already. She was so dead.
She had a million questions and no idea which one to ask first; while she was trying to settle on the most important one, someone came and dragged her off on the chair she was still tied to, hardly even noticing her attempts to struggle free.
The voice--still without source other than the speakers but, thankfully, much quieter in the smaller room she had been taken to--spoke of her options, and she looked at the two people sitting opposite her: a woman, about her age, and a young man, neither of whom seemed any happier to be there. She didn't know who to choose, or what the consequences would be for choosing one over the other. Both of them looked terrifying, their eyes pleading with her for salvation. It was too much pressure to bear, and Cerise squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head against it.
"The woman," she burst out, turning her head away as much as she could as the young woman she had chosen screamed against her gag in relief and the boy howled in terror. The sounds of a struggled prompted her to open her eyes, just a little bit in case she had to brace for something even worse, and watched helplessly as the boy was dragged into a room, the door partially open but not enough to see what was behind it.
The screams briefly rose in volume and then abruptly stopped.
The room was suddenly uncomfortably silent aside from the woman's sobs of relief. "What," Cerise started, her eyes fixed on the door, her mind spinning out possibilities of the young man's fate, each one ending more horribly than the last, "what's in there?"
"Are you sure you want to know?" The attendant's tone was menacing, and though Cerise was curious to know what was behind the door, she was also terrified of knowing. The young woman's attempts to dissuade her from continuing her line of questioning were all Cerise needed to decide that some things were just better left a mystery.
"No," Cerise said, sharing the woman's relief even though they were immediately separated, dragged in opposite directions by the attendants. The door before her opened and she was ushered through it.
Character's name: Character's faction: University Character's journal link:here Character's survival stats: Cerise Mitchell (View BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MY CHARACTER African-American; 5'8", brown eyes, brown hair; dresses casually: flats, plain colored leggings, slightly baggy, flowy shirts
HERE YOU SHOULD QUOTE ANYONE YOU ARE TALKING TO
QUOTE MORE PEOPLE IF YOU ARE TALKING OT THEM
Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:38 pm
Cerise didn't know where they had taken the other woman, but at least she wasn't alone here. She saw familiar and unknown faces with the same looks of shock and confusion that she knew must be displayed on her own face. She wondered if all of them had faced the same choices she had; who they had chosen to save and who to condemn to an unknown fate, and if anyone had been brave enough to find out what was behind that door.
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