Realistic or Modern Patient Zero (A Zombie Survival RP)

Maj King Vioogra FireMaiden AgWordSmith

Hickory Street

Wednesday, October 17th, 2018

Trifles light as air are to the jealous confirmations strong as proofs of holy writ. William Shakespeare

Elsewhere…​

Sierra McNamara had never slept on a bearskin rug before, but she might have found it comfortable had the persistent cloud of anxiety and worry not been hanging over her head the entire night. Twenty four hours ago, she’d been at home in her queen-sized bed watching Orange Is The New Black and wondering how she was going to break the news to her fiancee, Westin Palchuck. But, after an alarming sequence of events and a call to a quarantine that ended up in massacre, Sierra didn’t know what the hell she was doing anymore. After her fiancee had safely escaped the military’s culling with her in hand, however, she was proud of the fact that she’d at least left a note for her lover-- Thomas Chen-- to follow. It read:

AT THE GREAT ESCAPE; I’LL BE WAITING.
​

She’d hurriedly stuffed it in the purse she’d dropped behind after West dragged her away from the commotion and out a backdoor. He used to be faculty there. Thomas hadn’t-- nor was he an Aurora native that had attended the middle school during his teens. But Sierra still held hope. Hope that he’d somehow survived or outright avoided the extermination. Hope that he loved her enough to track her down and dig up the note somehow. The more she thought about it, though, the less likely it seemed. She shut her eyes and tried to keep her whimpering to a minimum.

Westin awoke shortly after she had, and didn’t catch notice of her as she wiped away the silent tears with the sleeves of her jacket. Likely thinking she was still asleep, no kiss or caress was given before he got up from their makeshift bed and ventured out on the sales floor of his outdoor and sports equipment shop. Sierra knew he felt more at home at The Great Escape than he ever did with her. His immaculate fortification of the building and inventory of its armory, however, still frightened her. He was nothing if not a prepper. She’d heard him curse her under his breath the other day for not allowing him to sink their funds into a bunker all those years ago.

What he’d do if Thomas ever arrived, quite frankly, Sierra didn’t know…​

Back on Hickory Street…​

Sarah had found it: an old beat-up red truck parked at the corner of the street. Alex’s dad certainly gave off the vibe of an old fashioned kind of guy. His dashboard was free of any dancing hulu girl and his bumper was free of any trashy stickers. The only thing he kept in his dashboard were the insurance papers and a Swiss army knife with all the essentials. She pocketed that for later use. Hopping into the driver’s seat, she locked her door before sticking the key inside, pausing before she turned it to look around for any sign of military or lunatics. Finding the area clear, she took a deep breath before turning the key and revving the engine on with a roar. It was a moment afterwards that, without warning…


Interactions: BunnyQueen

She wore a concerned look on her face, gently clutching Rogue's hand.
"Where?" She asked

Jenna hadn't heard screaming, at least not at first but with the room quiet she could hear it coming from just outside. She put her things down and opened the door to see a teenager running for her life. She was going to call them infected, as zombie sounded absurd. She'd seen plenty of zombies so to call these walking corpses by the same name she felt was disrespectful to those who had died in the past few hours. She'd have to check her stream, to warn people to avoid the hazmat soldiers but saving this teenager came first.

"Hey!" She called over. There had to be some infected chasing her, and if there wasn't it would only be a matter of time before the commotion attracted them. She and Rogue had killed two between them but Jenna wasn't sure how long they'd last against half a dozen of them. At least they were slow.

She waved the girl over, hoping she'd been noticed. She just hoped that it wasn't too late for her. If the girl had been bitten, Jenna wasn't sure if she had it in her to put her down.
Cats, dogs and even horses. She'd put down a few animals during her brief career but the idea of doing the same to a human being was out of the question. Sure, she'd bashed in Doris' skull but she had already turned. That was different, and even then she couldn't get the image of Doris' corpse moving towards her with it's arms outstretched and mouth agape out of her head.

AgWordSmith Liezarria Rumble Fish

Shinoa Bradford
Age: 17
Location: Moe's “Don't Tell” Motel
Interactions: The Mad Queen

Next Move As the Doctor got up to his feet, she took note of him peering at her very pregnant belly. Since he was in the medical profession, being stuck with a pregnant girl probably pushed a lot of thoughts into his mind. Especially with the predicament that they were in. If anything, he was probably wondering how she managed to get through the night and survive into the next day. As far as Shinoa herself was concerned, it was purely dumb luck. Even she thought that she shouldn't be alive. She then ushered him into the hotel room as he seemed exhausted and if they continued to talk with the door open, there would definitely be someone gunning for them. "Come inside, its not safe out there. And...you look like you could catch your breath." She said in concern before grabbing his arm and pulled him inside before closing the door and locking it with the deadbolts and security latch, but this time didn't wedge a chair under the handle as they were likely going to be leaving later.

Hopefully those hazmat soldiers would pass soon, but she did suspect that the city would be on lock down for some time. Overall, she hoped to make it out of the city alive with her daughter and make it safely to Seattle. Hopefully her Father and Grandmother would be there waiting for her. Brushing such thoughts aside, she soon turned her attention to her newfound companion. "No, I don't know what to name the baby yet, but I know its going to be a little girl. I just hope I live long enough to see her grow up and that she'll have a chance at life when...When I find my Grandma and we get out of here. What about you, Doctor? I saw you at the hospital yesterday." She said, recognizing his face as she had seen him while going to the Maternity Ward for her prenatal check-up. "What exactly happened?" She asked while cradling her belly, gently rubbing it as she felt her baby kicking against her hand.

She then proceeded to sit down on the corner of the bed. "A lot of horrible things happened yesterday. There was a massacre at the school, roads are blocked off by the National Guard. They have gas masks and hazmat gear...and I saw someone with a hospital gown in an alley...covered in blood and when he heard a car... he ran out into the street. The look in his eyes...were just...I don't know how to describe it. But it was terrifying." She sighed. "I'd like to know what's going on. Given how busy the hospital was yesterday by the time I was done with my prenatal check up...What happened?" She asked, hoping that he have some explanation as to what was going on.

Rouge: The Mad Queen AgWordSmith Rumble Fish



“Don’t know where…. “ Roge mumbled through the rag


She sighed as she reached for a clean cloth and wrapped it tightly around her wound, the sewing would have to be done later, for now she had to make sure that there was sufficient pressure and that it didn't get infected. Maybe there was duct tape around….


Slipping out of lukas grip she stood up. Rouge swayed a bit before regaining her focus. Right, trouble. She spit out the rag having no need for it anymore at the moment. The area where she bit down before was frayed with holes where her canines had bitten through. Taking a moment to run her tongue over them Rouge tightened the cloth one last time before looking around the room for a weapon.

There was a zombie outside and a girl in danger. A small voice at the back of her mind whispered to close the door and let the girl be eaten while the group used the distraction to escape but Rouge shook her head to get rid of the thought.


Though it seemed like the most beneficial plan…. growing up around regular people and working all those years with therapist, had helped Rouge come up with guidelines and way of thinking in order for her to be more human while her “emotions” were turned off.


Even if her mind grew displeased with seemingly illogical actions or solutions that were not the most beneficial to herself, Rouge has made it a habit to stick with those ideals with a ironclad grip…..lest shed be taken away like her brothers or in this situation, killed by other human.


Back to the problem at hand, there was a girl in trouble and the human thing would be to help her….right?......right.


Rouges eyes caught sight to a lamp on a small bedside table. The lamp seemed nice but better to use the thicker legs of the table. Rouge walked to the table and set the lamp on the ground before flipping the table over and in a quick motion snapped the leg off with a twisting jerking motion. She gave a nod to luka and walked up next to Jenna.


The plan that she was thinking of was that she’d let the girl pass the doorway and if the zombie was close to bash it’s head in with the table leg. If it wasn’t close she might still go ahead and try to kill it seeing as it would cause problems later when they leave. She could still feel the “alarm “ that her body was giving her that she was injured. Her arm throbbed and felt weak. But she guessed that it might be for the best if she was the one to end this zombie.


Her deadened eyes peeked at Jenna. From what she's seen, also the fact that her therapists have told her before that it was common human nature, Jenna probably wouldn't want to kill something that was her own species.


Her eyes moved back to luka. She wasn't sure if he's killed a zombie yet but even if he did she also guessed that he wouldn’t want to kill something that used to be human as well….


Rouge herself didn’t mind. Currently there was no law enforcement that could lock her up for assaulting or murdering seemingly “sick” people. Though she might be concerned for her arms recovery if this keeps up……...well as long as she can get tasks done she didn’t think she’d mind having her arm being a little lame.


“Jenna. Once the girl reaches us get her out of the way as fast as possible…...i’m going to bash it’s head in.” Rouge whispered in a even tone keeping her gaze out to the hallway for when the girl runs around the corner.

"What?" Jenna glared back at Rogue "No." She shook her head "Let me do it. I haven't done up your stitches yet and if any of that thing's blood gets into your wound."
She shrugged "Not going to let you take that risk."

She picked up Doris' cane and tightened her grip around it. She'd go for the knees first in an attempt to knock the infected down, then follow it up by bashing in their skull. Safest way, really. She didn't have any cuts on her person, and the cane did give her a little bit of reach.
"But, if I somehow fuck this up..."

She looked at Luka "Gonna need your help, kid."
She didn't like the idea of putting anyone in danger, but Luka was the better option. Few cuts and aside from a little argument earlier he seemed to have a cool head. That and, well he didn't seem to have any open wounds on him.
"Grab something."

AgWordSmith Liezarria Rumble Fish


Ralph sat on the edge of the bed after being invited in. The adrenaline in his system was finally starting to wear off as he finally had a moment to catch his breath and think things through, properly. He set the rifle slowly and gently on the bed and looked up at the girl, listening to her story.

"No, I don't know what to name the baby yet, but I know its going to be a little girl. I just hope I live long enough to see her grow up and that she'll have a chance at life when...When I find my Grandma and we get out of here. What about you, Doctor? I saw you at the hospital yesterday."

His mind jolted back to the hospital and it was as if Ralph was standing back in the blood-stained halls just for a split second, but enough to make him freeze up.
"Given how busy the hospital was yesterday by the time I was done with my prenatal check up...What happened?"

He sighed deeply, composing himself.
"There was an outbreak of some kind of parasite. It can bring back the dead to act as hosts. Now, I'm not sure how familiar you are with parasites but there are several species of fungus that do that to ants."
He stopped himself, wondering just how much he should share with her. She deserved the truth, even if it was ugly.
"I'm with the CDC. My team and I were looking into reports of an unknown disease at the hospital. It's probably where you saw me."
He turned away, his thoughts occupied with his team

"My team didn't make it out. I don't know if that was intended by those hazmat troopers. I find it a bit too coincidental that they were able to mobilise so quickly while my team was left to fu.."
He hit his hand against the bed.
"Sorry. I didn't mean..." He shook his head "I'm not sure who those hazmat soldiers are, but they're not CDC or National Guard. They know something about this parasite and before this is over, I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

BloodThunder27

Alex Marcus McCarthy
Location: Hickory Street
Date: Wednesday, October 17th, 2018
Interaction: Oslonaut
Alex walked out of her house and down the driveway in a hasty manner not trying to grab the attention of whatever was near her bedroom window. Alex looked down at the driveway seeing the tire tread marks in the driveway and looked down the street for her fathers truck she couldn't see it on the road but heard the loud engine rev to life in the distance on the other road. Alex started sprinting immediately in the direction of the engine, panic filled her mind as her breathing became less focused and more ragged she didn't want to be left alone, she couldn't be not now. Alex turned the corner and saw her father old beat-up red truck, renewed with a sense of determination Alex started running once again towards the truck hoping it was Sarah inside of the truck Alex felt conflicted as she drew closer to the truck. Happiness filled her as she wouldn't be alone but at the same time, Sarah left Alex without even leaving a note. Alex got next to the passenger side of the truck and whipped the door open tears in her eyes getting inside and slamming the door the words were filled with sorrow as Alex spoke.
Alex was going to keep her speech going when she noticed out of the corner of her eye someone was watching the car slowly getting closer she immediately turned to face them and saw that it was a thing shambling towards the car drawn by the noise. Alex keeping an eye on the thing as it approached reached out lightly slapping Sarah's arm when another one slammed on Alex's window. Letting out a yelp Alex quickly locked the door and moved out of the passenger seat sitting in the middle right next to Sarah, Alex couldn't count how many there were around the car but more were approaching the car as another hand slammed onto the driver side window.
Alex said in a panicking tone which was quickly devolving into something worse she started to get short of breath feeling trapped as the truck seemed to shrink around them. Feeling true fear Alex held on hand to her stomach the pit that she felt made her feel as if she was slowly disappearing Alex didn't know what to do about it and wound up closing her eyes and pulling her hood up onto her head trying to block it all out.

Rouge blinked at jenna.

It was a bit surprising that Jenna was alright with the task of ridding the zombie yet she didn't feel any grievances about it either. She supposes that she would be the one to pull the girl out of the way.


At least the task wasn't something that would further aggravate her injury.


When she noticed that the fire haired boy, had he even introduced himself yet? Maybe she missed it. When she saw that he needed a weapon she silently offered her table leg.


Rouge faced the doorway getting ready to catch the girl and dragging her out of harm's way.


The Mad Queen AgWordSmith Rumble Fish

Aurora Outskirts
Wednesday, October 17th, 2018

But if these years have taught me anything it is this: you can never run away. Not ever. The only way out is in. Junot Díaz

It was Alex. In the brief moment between checking for threats and turning on the engine, the girl had quickly appeared to open the passenger’s side door and slide right in. Before Sarah had realized it was her, she’d flinched and immediately reached for her gun… before remembering that said gun lacked any bullets. She blinked, nonplussed at the appearance of the teen even as she continued to explain. Sarah supposed she should have expected as much. But she honestly didn’t think she was going to see Alex ever again. When the teenager suddenly paused and let her gaze wander, Sarah found it in herself to finally speak up. “Well? Is… that it? Because I don’t think you--”

She stopped when Alex starting slapping her arm for her attention, then yelped when (abruptly) one of those rabid sick people suddenly came out of nowhere and smacked against the passenger side window. Together they looked on in disgust for a moment. Then, before long, another one slammed itself against the driver’s side window, drawing out another yelp from Sarah before she fully realized the extent of their precarious situation: they were slowly being surrounded. Alex didn’t have to tell her twice as she pulled on the clutch and pushed down on the gas pedal. “Get the fuck off!” She exclaimed to the bloodied lunatics, pulling the truck out of its parking spot with a screech.

Disregarding her nerve-wracked passenger for the moment as they made their daring escape, Sarah took notice of two things in the seconds it took to veer away: the first, was that the lunatics didn’t seem to care whether the tires ran over their toes or shoved them away powerfully. She was nearly certain that if she wanted to run them over completely, she could have without any resistance from them. The second thing she took notice of was the fact that some of them… some of them had their entrails hanging out of their stomachs. If she hadn’t seen her fair share of carcasses during her hunting trips with dad, she might have puked. But, as it stood, she managed to suppress the involuntary gag before freeing the truck of the crowd and driving away.

What the fuck?​

It wasn’t until they started to exit the neighborhood, and the crazies were small indistinguishable shapes in her side mirror, that Sarah released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Okay…. Okay, I think we’re safe.” She muttered, driving through an empty highway that cut through sparse outcrops of forest and old warehouses. Turning to Alex briefly, she took a moment to gather her words before continuing. “Listen… I’m happy to have helped before. And I’m sorry nothing could be done about your dad getting shot… I wish I understood how you feel… I just don’t.” There was pause afterwards. Was she being too insensitive? Dammit, this was what she wanted to avoid in the first place. She sighed. “But you’re not safe. Not with me. That’s why I left.” She explained.

Sarah really didn’t want to explain. She’d done that before with Patrick, the only other person she felt she could confide in aside from her dad and Barb. But now he was dead. And it felt like dad and Barb might as well have been on the moon. Furthermore, she’d only just met Alex a day ago. But she seemed like the type that wouldn’t let it go… and Sarah supposed they would be parting soon anyway. Permanently. “I… see things. Hallucinations. And, on top of that, I’m headed somewhere you probably don’t want to be. I just need to stop by The Great Escape for some ammo first… I can take you that far, at least.” She nodded, shifting her eyes towards the female to gauge her reaction before refocusing on the road ahead. “B-By the way… I’m not sure if I saw that correctly… but, did those sick people… have their guts hanging out?”


Interactions: BunnyQueen

Alex Marcus McCarthy
Location: Aurora Outskirts
Date: Wednesday, October 17th, 2018
Interaction: Oslonaut
Alex had her head buried in her hands as Sarah drove the truck away from the zombies, All Alex could think of was Sarah who was next to her without Alex noticing it she had become dependent on Sarah not wanting to leave her side like a puppy. When the distance between them and the zombies was enough Alex lifted her head up pulling back her hood but leaving her beanie on keeping most of her hair covered she looked over at Sarah who seemed calm until she let out a big breath.
Alex felt the heat on her cheeks as her face started to turn pinkish with tears running down her face at the mention of her father's death, she felt like Sarah had kicked her in the stomach just by mentioning her father but she wondered why she wasn't safe with Sarah. Alex wanted to say something but before she could Sarah went off talking again.
Alex looked over to Sarah catching her eye's the color was rich like chocolate and almost as soft as fur, before Alex could see more Sarah turned away again to focus on the road Alex didn't really know what Sarah was thinking.
Alex said not really thinking about what she was saying but she remembered that she picked up her dads revolver and pulled it out of her backpack quickly. Although she struggled to open the cylinder at first after fiddling with it she managed to do it showing it to Sarah.
Alex sounded more like she was trying to convince herself then Sarah, she closed the revolver cylinder and put it back into her backpack still sitting directly next to Sarah not wanting to move back over to the passenger seat. Looking out the passenger side window she saw some blood on it that must have been from the thing that tried to attack them.

Shinoa Bradford
Age: 17
Location: Moe's “Don't Tell” Motel
Interactions: The Mad Queen

A Moment's Rest Quietly, Shinoa slithered into bed, hoping to relax her aching legs. To help with the aching, she took a deep breath, both while rubbing her belly and listening to the doctor tell his tale of the events at the Hospital following her departure. Clearly it was ugly though. However, he then started talking about how there was a viral outbreak involving a parasite, she felt her stomach turning. Her only hope now was neither her or the baby were hosts for the parasite, or infected for that matter. Now that he had mentioned it, she did remember watching a documentary about ants, particularly on the topic that he was sharing with her. She merely nodded as he explained how he said that the parasite was similar to fungus could bring dead ants back to life. Seeing how the infected were, as she got a glimpse of it on the way to the motel, it sounded rather terrifying to her. When he said that he was with the CDC, she frowned a little, even more so when he said that he was the soul survivor of his team. But now that she knows that those hazmat soldiers she saw both at the school and on the streets were not part of the CDC, let alone the National Guard who now all entrances to the city blockaded, it left her concerned. Sounded like something out of Resident Evil. "Well, before you decide to...investigate those hazmat soldiers and their mysterious employers, I think you're going to need help. Doing it alone is...simply suicide. And...I don't think I would be able to help you. I can't really fight, let alone run. The only things I'm good at are...cooking and...ironically...childcare." She let out a sigh. "Not to mention I can go into labor and give birth at any minute." She grimaced at the thought.

The idea of giving birth in this circumstance, was certainly scary to her. "And I hope you're feeling a little better now that you've gotten a chance to catch your breath." It wasn't long until she had a look of discomfort due to a contraction.

Looking at the clock, her last one was about fifteen to twenty minutes ago, but they weren't frequent or anything. Not to mention she only felt it in her belly. However, the stress was starting to get to her a little bit, so she was still worried. Taking a deep breath, she stretched her legs and her back. "Before we go anywhere, can we...stop by a maternity clothing store?" She asked. "I'd ask if we could go back to my apartment that I...did share with my Grandma, but...I doubt we'll be able to get there without...getting killed." She frowned, still rubbing her hurting belly.

Aurora Highway
Wednesday, October 17th, 2018

I knew this was a bad idea but, in the absence of any good ideas, I continued forward. Max Payne

For the most part, the road ahead was clear. It wasn’t until they were a few minutes out of the neighborhood that they began to approach the charred husk of a car on the side of the highway. Sarah slowed down slightly as they passed it, spotting an empty and blackened baby seat inside. Any human remains were either burnt to a crisp or nonexistent. She hoped whoever had owned the car had made it out safely with their family… but the bullet holes she could discern on the side of the car doors didn’t exactly inspire much faith. She had the truck resume its normal speed on the road as the scene became a memory in the side mirror. It was then that Alex replied.

The young girl hadn’t exactly gotten as good a look at the sick ones as well as Sarah had. Sarah should have known. She was practically curled up in a ball on the passenger seat the entire time. But that still left Sarah with the uncertainty that what she saw was real. And that nagging little feeling was worse than an itch to her. Alex’s words, however-- albeit bizarrely personal-- somehow managed to comfort her. It was baffling to think why she would attach to her in such a way. Like Sarah had stated before, she was a walking epitome of complication, risks, and uncertainties. But she supposed the same could be said for most, if not all, human beings. If Alex wanted to take a gamble on her simply because she was there when her father had been shot, then that was her prerogative.

“Well… I’m not exactly in any state to push you away or anything. But fine. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Sarah added, side-eyeing the teenager when she pulled out a revolver and inspected it. Seeing that there was only one bullet, Sarah had an idea of what she was going to say before she even said it. She nodded in agreement. Well, for all except for the last tidbit. “Right. Makes sense. You have no reason to come with me to the hospital, though. If you’d seen how bad things were getting there when I left yesterday… you’d understand. All I’m doing is grabbing my crazy meds and getting the fuck out.” She added, keeping her hands on the steering wheel but glancing at her briefly.

Elsewhere…​

West tapped her curled up form with the tip of his boot, awakening her from the slumber she was only pretending to have. “Wake up, Sierra. I need some help reinforcing the backdoor. You’re not doing either of us any good staying in bed this long.” He added, walking away without another hesitation as she rose from her lay and sniffed. “We’ll have to close off the windows on the second floor this afternoon, but that’s low priority until we get the ground floor covered. Those damn things don’t look like they can climb worth a damn. And I ain’t sure there are any other live civilians ‘sides us anyway.” The sound of his boots climbing the stairs echoed throughout the large outdoors and sporting goods store, mingling with the sound of the running water from the wildlife display. “Still, good to be prepared for the worst… ain’t that right, honeybunch?”

Up and about, Sierra covered herself with a mahogany brown blanket and peeked out from one of the boarded windows on the ground floor. The streets outside were empty. And there was still no sign of Thomas.


Interactions: BunnyQueen

AgWordSmith The Mad Queen Liezarria

[class=BackgroundPicture1] Background:url(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/359734207024463882/524331123145179137/Tileableerodedscratchmetaltexturebackground00.jpg); background-size: 25% 25%; Padding:30px; Padding-bottom:10px; background-attachment: fixed; [/class] [class=BackgroundColor1] padding:20px; background-color:#f0ebe0; Color:Black; font-family:Fira Sans ; [/class] [class=Name1] margin-bottom:10px; Border-top: 3px SOLID #7d3c05; Border-bottom: 3px SOLID #7d3c05; border-radius:5px; padding:5px; padding-left:20px; font-family: Fjalla One; font-size:27px; letter-spacing:3px; color:#7d3c05; float:left; width:97%; [/class] [class=Img1] background-color:#f0ebe0; text-align: center; border:1px SOLID #7d3c05; line-height:0px; margin-top:10px; [/class] [class=Icon1] color:#f0ebe0; background-color:#7d3c05; padding:5px; padding-left:10px; font-size: 25px; margin:-10px -10px 10px -10px ; font-family: Fjalla One; [/class] [class=statbar1] border-radius:5px; border-top: 1px Solid #7d3c05; border-bottom: 1px Solid #7d3c05; padding:2px; width:50%; margin-top:3px; margin-bottom:3px; [/class] [class=Line1] border: 3px SOLID #7d3c05; margin-top:10px; margin-bottom:10px; padding:10px; [/class] [class=Status1] margin-bottom:10px; Border-top: 3px SOLID #7d3c05; Border-bottom: 3px SOLID #7d3c05; border-radius:5px; padding:5px; font-family: Fjalla One; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:3px; color:#000000; width:97%; [/class] [div class="BackgroundPicture1"] [div class="BackgroundColor1"] [div class="Name1"] Luka Cole[/div] [/div] Code by AgWordSmith [/div]

The moment the girl was inside the motel room Jenna sprung into action by the door, slamming it on the host and trapping their arms. They only moaned in response, clawing away at the inside of the room and trying to push the door open. The gap allowed for their head to poke through, which Jenna struck with the walking cane with an angry grunt.

It, and Jenna did remember to refer to the host as it didn't even flinch, but Jenna could see visible damage. She struck it two more times and as the body went down she kicked it back so it slumped to the ground just outside the room. Bolting the door shut, she placed a chair underneath the handle and shut the blinds.
"Were you..."
She stopped as she looked at the girl. She was terrified, quivering on the floor like a frightened puppy and covering her face. If she had been bitten, then there was no way of knowing just yet. As for the idea of her being followed by other hosts, they couldn't know for certain. Instead, Jenna peaked through the blinds. There were three more hosts outside, wandering around the parking lot of the motel.

"If we keep quiet, they might just leave." She whispered, backing away from the window. An optimistic thought, but she hadn't known these creatures to be too intelligent. If the one outside was as smart as a human it would have placed more of it's weight on the door in an attempt to force it open, rather than just claw at the inside of the room like a rabid. animal.
Her attention was now back on the girl. She really wasn't sure what to say to comfort her, her mind was racing and words just wouldn't come out.
"We're...Um, not going to hurt you."

Damn. That's exactly what somebody who did want to hurt her would say.
"I'm serious. We just got back from a run-in with the SS."

AgWordSmith Liezarria Rumble Fish


He was getting ahead of himself, too far ahead for comfort. How could Ralph even hope of finding out more on the hazmat troopers if they simply opened fire whenever a civilian got in range? He had to focus on survival right now, first and foremost. What happened in Aurora, at the school, at the hospital needed to be told but how could Fisher expose the truth if he had a bullet in his brain or worse, succumbed to the parasite?

He wondered what the cover-up would be, how this unknown government entity would report on the various deaths in a now quarantined town.
"I'm sure you'll be a great mother." Ralph smiled "And you must forgive my awful manners. I seem to have forgotten the very thing I taught my own kid!" He chuckled
"I don't think I caught your name, or if you mentioned it I've forgotten in this mess. I'm processing everything I've seen, connecting the dots for the first time as it's like you said, I've had a minute to catch by breath."

BloodThunder27

Alex Marcus McCarthy
Location: Aurora Highway
Date: Wednesday, October 17th, 2018
Interaction: Oslonaut
Alex leaned forward in the car seat taking off her backpack and putting it in the floorboard before buckling up her seat belt in the passenger seat. Zipping open her backpack she started to pull the letters out and set them into a different pouch of the backpack in a hasty manner. Eventually, she came upon her food and water and did a check count of the supplies she had. In total Alex had five energy bars, two canned foods, and three bottles of water Alex reached in grabbing a bottle of water and cracking it open she took a long sip of the water before offering it to Sarah.
Alex said waiting for Sarah to accept or reject the bottle of water her hand was shaking out of fear. Alex wondered how far away they were from the ammo store which caused her to once again look at her gun which was in the seat next to her. The gun scared Alex a little bit, the purpose that her father had it scared her and the situation as a whole didn't help with how Alex was feeling all she wanted to do was scream and shout with rage but she couldn't because every time she did a monster seemed to show up.

Aurora Outskirts

Wednesday, October 17th, 2018

There's nothing more dangerous than a resourceful idiot. Scott Adams

Sarah nodded when Alex offered her a drink, taking the bottle of water with her free hand and carefully sipping. When she asked how much inventory she'd rummaged from her house before leaving, the young woman handed the water bottle back and replied. "Take a look. You shoved my knapsack to the ground when you jumped in." She spoke, gesturing towards the bottom of the passenger's seat. She was mildly surprised Alex had nothing else to say about her frankness earlier... or her illness. But she supposed the teenager was doing that out of respect. Alas, the rest of their ride proved to be uneventful and rather quiet as both girls steadied their nerves and prepared themselves for the scavenging job.

Elsewhere...​

Sierra had accidentally struck her own hand with the hammer. And, instead of consoling her, West had yelled at her for her incompetence. So, as he finished angrily nailing the wooden boards he'd ripped from the break room floor against the back door, she went to go grab him a beer as he'd requested. She was to told to hold it against her hand for a while to stop the swelling before coming back. Ice was apparently 'too precious a commodity to waste on a stupid reason like that'. As she was making her way to the break room, however, she suddenly heard a sound: tap tap. She stopped. It was coming from one of the windows West had boarded up yesterday.

Remembering the monsters from the extermination at the middle school, Sierra gulped before cautiously approaching the window. The sound of West's hammer echoed rhythmically throughout the large two-story shop, making him seem far closer than he actually was. If anything were to happen, if she needed his help... he was practically on the complete other side of the building, and likely wouldn't reach her in time. But no, she couldn't think like that. She wasn't as useless as he made her out to be. New world be damned. If she was going to continue living with herself, despite everything that had happened, and despite losing Thomas... well, then she'd have to prove herself.

Grabbing a baseball bat from a basket in the aisle she passed, the young woman inched closer and closer to the barred up window. Even if there was something out there, and not just a bird or something like that... it couldn't break through that barrier, could it? She had nothing to be worried about. But, just in case, she gripped the bat with both hands as her footsteps dragged her closer... and closer... and-- suddenly, a pair of eyes appeared in the crevice between two boards of wood. But they weren't sickly yellow or red eyes as she had come to expect from the walking dead, no. It was the very eyes she had dreamed to see again: it was Thomas. Her fears instantly shed away to make room for delight and relief.

She immediately set the baseball bat down before jogging towards the window, stifling her joyous laughter as she peeked through the crevice. West's hammering from across the store was loud enough that she could speak at a normal tone without rousing attention, but she didn't want to risk it anyway. "Thomas! I-I can't believe it... you came for me." She smiled, tears filling the corners of her blue eyes. "I'm so sorry that I didn't--"

"Stop," He interjected, his warm brown eyes locked with her own. "There's nothing you could have done. You did the right thing. Cassidy and I had to go back for our parents anyway. It would have been too dangerous for you." Taking a single step to his left, Thomas allowed Sierra to peek out the window at his parents-- a mature Asian man wearing a bloodied grey sweater and a short woman in a ponytail. Standing beside them was a younger girl with dark black hair that touched her shoulders in curls-- his sister, Cassidy Chen. She held a battered and bloody AR-15 that must have run out of bullets some time ago, considering the fact that she was holding it backwards and like a club. "Sorry we didn't come sooner. We had to hide from the soldiers."

"It's fine! All that matters to me is that you're safe." Sierra reassured him with a bright smile, her palms against the wooden boards as if she were an excited young girl window shopping for a new dress.

Cassidy sighed, stepping forward to stand alongside her brother as they peeked in from the outside. "Listen, I think it's great that you get my brother's heart all in a tizzie-- really, I do. But are you letting us in or not? It's not exactly safe out here."

"R-Right!" She replied, almost immediately backing away to do so before Thomas called out to her.

"Wait! Is... West aware? Does he know we're coming, Sierra?"

A brief pause. Then Sierra shook her head. "No. But we'll make him understand. He has to."

Sarah and Alex arriving at The Great Escape...​

Sarah had parked the truck just off the road behind an outcrop of bushes and trees, but only a few minutes walk from the entrance to The Great Escape: Outdoors & Sporting Goods shop. "This way we don't alert any military that might still be using the roads while we scope out the place." She explained to Alex as she checked her inventory on hand. The knapsack full of supplies she would leave here. But the kitchen knife, flashlight, Swiss army knife, and her glock she would take. The store had large camping bags anyway. By the end of the day, they could have the whole truck bed filled to the brim with supplies. "We make sure it's clear... then we come back and drive the truck closer... sound good?" If she were being honest, she wasn't entirely sure this was the best way to go about things. But her paranoia couldn't help it. And it sounded reasonable, from what she could tell.

"C'mon... let's go."
​

Once they were off, Sarah would begin leading them through the brief forested area and towards the lonely street that housed The Great Escape at the border to Aurora's larger forest. She turned to look at Alex as they walked. "You're the only one with a bullet between us right now... so keep that close, okay?" She softly spoke, turning back around with a slightly worried look in her eyes. If they ran across more military or another one of those crazed lunatics... she really hoped they wouldn't be forced to kill more. But, if it was necessary, she was beginning to feel confident she could do it. After all... killing Patrick-- or whatever he'd become-- was already the hardest thing she'd ever had to do.


Interactions: BunnyQueen

The Mad Queen Rumble Fish rum AgWordSmith



Rouge blinked at the cowering girl in the corner of the room while the other two dealt with the zombie. Huh, she didn’t expect the girl to be so fast.


Rouge looked at the two others from the group before looking at the newcomer, and then her eyes caught the dog that's been patiently laying at the end of the bed.


She looked at the new girl and back again to the dog.


“.......”


Her therapists were always talking about ways to comfort people if they seemed upset around her.


“.......” people have animals….. pets, as forms of comfort right? Rouge supposed that it was something she should do. Bring the dog to the girl that is. It would be more beneficial and safer if the girl wasn't panicking or crying.


……. Though maybe someone less…… bloody……. should be the one comforting the newcomer……


Without second thought she walked to the dog and mumbled under her breath-


“congratulations- “ the dog showed no resistance as she carefully picked him up.


“ you've been promoted to service dog.” she finished as she carefully carried it and slowly slid down the wall next to the cowering girl a bit of a ways away. She stayed sitting for a couple of moments as the dog got comfortable and she dragged her fingers through its fur


After a couple of more moments the dog started sniffing the new girl in curiosity, its wet nose nudging the girls elbows and hair.


Rouge didn't really know if what she was doing was right but again, .....it's more beneficial if they manage to calm her down.


“...............we haven't made a name for them yet…...the dog…..” it was at this moment that Rouge realized that she didn't even notice its gender.


“their…... cute right?” Rouge didnt know what the heck she was talking about. She just repeated one of her therapist when they introduced a rabbit to her when she was younger.

Alex Marcus McCarthy
Location: Aurora Outskirts
Date: Wednesday, October 17th, 2018
Interaction: Oslonaut
After Alex and Sarah finished talking with one another the rest of the truck ride was rather a silent nothing special except a few random things here and there. Sarah started to slow down the truck and eventually parked it just off of the road next to the treeline Alex hoped they wouldn't have to walk far but didn't see the supposed store anywhere nearby.
Alex nodded in agreement with Sarah it was smart, smarter than just rolling up onto the store at least. Before Sarah and Alex got out of the truck, Alex made sure to leave her backpack and supplies there and grabbed the revolver putting it in her waistline then Sarah started to take lead through the forest walking them closer to the store as Alex followed close behind her.
Alex felt down in her waistline to make sure she still had the revolver with her feeling that it was their Alex smiled solemnly thinking of her dad before immediately tripping on her own two feet and falling flat on her face.
While Sarah said this she extended her hand out offering it to Alex. Alex grabbed her hand without hesitation and was hoisted to her feet. Alex started dusting herself off of any dirt that gathered onto her pants and shirt she felt a stinging pain in her arm Alex didn't know if it was broken or just hurting from the fall but brushed it off.
Sarah and Alex kept walking through the forest when Alex looked down at Sarah's arm wondering how it was holding up since Alex had to patch the arm up.
"It’s fine. Stings like a bitch but I’m not worried about that now"
Alex was really worried about Sarah's arm and felt her own with a light sigh wondering what would happen to herself is Sarah died like her father. With that thought though her mind went back to when her father was killed and she grew ever silent just following Sarah mindlessly through the forest.

Colt remained silent as the men discussed the best course between themselves. She silently pondered her own thoughts. Was it safer to go through houses? Colt was unsure. Who knows if there were other survivors, and ones that knew how to handle a gun. She took a methodical drink from her flask as she came to her conclusion. She had taken the granola bar that Ivan had, rather indignantly, threw at her but had put it in one of her many pockets on her black cargo pants.

“I think-” She barely got a word in before Owen suddenly spoke up, explaining his own plan and before Colt could protest, they were already moving out. The woman growled lowly to herself. Was he being serious? Making up his own plan and moving out of rank? He was not in front of Ivan, but he was in front of her! If Colt was more proud (and stupid) she would have snarled at him to get back in formation. But, despite her anger; he had a good plan. So for now, she was willing to keep quiet and follow along.

The trek through the city was long and the bleak and volatile atmosphere could have been cut with a knife. Apart from a couple of close encounters, it had been smooth. But Colt could not shake of the tension within her shoulders. She had an extremely bad feeling, she could feel it in the pit of her empty stomach. The quiet streets, the silence and the overbearing threat of an attack (by man or undead) just screamed an ambush.

Once they finally settled behind a building, close to the shop of Marcus’ father, Owen gave the group intelligence. Two or three potential Hazzies. He then turned to her, asking what to do.

“Oh now you…” She cut herself off with an angry shake of her sore head, “Don’t matter.” She grumbled as she edged closer around the corner. What to do? They had to find out whether or not they were undead or not. But how?

~
“Why they don’t go through the window, I don’t get it.” Colt dumbly stated, to which Sasha shook her red head in annoyance.

“Because!” she cocked her gun for emphasis, “Zombies. Are. Stupid. They go for the first and dumbest option.” She took several shots at her target, the ringing screeching in Colt’s ears, even with the earmuffs.

“Hm. So that makes you on par with a zombie in terms of smarts-”

“I’m armed! I’ll shoot you if you finish that sentence, Collette Stanhope.”

“You couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn.”

“Wanna find out.”

“Uh, no.”
~

Colt shook herself out of her momentary blackout. She looked to the other three men and shimmied around.

“Right. Here’s my plan.” She pointed to the building next to them, “I’m gonna to go over there. I’m gonna throw a pebble over away from us. If they follow the pebble, they’re dead. If they follow where it came from, they’re Hazzies. Whichever way they go, I’ll deal with ‘em. Once they move, make for the store. I’ll catch up.”

She was not going to give them a chance to protest, she had already grabbed her silenced M16 and started moving to the next building. She slipped from one shadow to another like a phantom. All she could do was hope and pray these were not Hazzies. She did not want to risk attracting unwanted attention onto the group. If there was going to be any attention from those fuckers, it was going to be on her.


Ivan looked really confused as both Owen and Marcus protested against his plan. Maybe he hadn’t been clear enough with the scale of infected, but hey, if they die they die.He was even more confused when Colt suggested throwing a pebble to get their attention, shaking his head quietly with a sigh.

“A pebble? Why not a bottle or brick? That has at least the chance of making actual noise.”

Ivan said quietly as he put his palm to his forehead. He hadn’t thought of it until now but this group had the high probability of being frustrating at least.

“And how about this, I go to the suburbs and you all can go to the store.”

He said quietly, turning towards the group for any signs of resistance from them.


Colt growled at Ivan’s words. This was getting on her nerves. Why couldn't they just shut the fuck up and listen!? She knew what she was doing! Angrily, she turned to face Ivan, her eyes blazing.

“Because!” She snarl-whispered, “I want them to HEAR it! Not SEE it! If it's a fucking Hazzie, first thing they will do is look up and watch a bottle or brick!” It was also completely silent in the area aside from some squawking of birds and the occasional growl from a far off undead, too far away to be a concern. With the deafening silence, a pebble was more than loud enough.

“And that's just the tip of the iceberg! So shut the fuck up and do what I say!” She added before spinning around again, picking up the pebble she intended to throw. Throwing this at a trash can was enough to create some noise. Especially in an environment like this. Colt ground her teeth in frustration as she surveyed the area. First they act all loyal, but when things went from push to shove suddenly they wanted to do whatever the hell they wanted without her input! And as for Ivan, Colt was seriously unhappy. She'd be damned if she was going to cause any deaths through something stupid.

With a sigh, Colt desperately tried to focus on what she was about to do. Peeking around the corner, she watched the figures. They did not appear to be moving much. With a shaky breath, she raised her arm and stood up slowly against the wall.

Now for the moment of truth.

But just as she was about to throw the pebble, she heard Ivan speak once again. Now saying he would go off ALONE! Colt whirled her head around, unable to answer with words. She made a very clear “No!” Gesture, holding her hand up, before drawing her finger across her throat, basically saying “do that and I will end you”.

Finally, she turned back to face the yellow coated figures. Raising her hand containing the pebble, she threw it in an overhead throw.

The small rock soared through the air, hitting the lid of a trash can with a shrill CLANG! Colt ducked again, now gripping her firearm. With bated breath, she waited to see where they would go.

A few moments later, the three groaned and slowly made their way towards the trash cans.

Hardly able to breath, she crawled her way back to the trio. She was still frustrated and looking to slap someone but now was not the time.

“C’mon, we gotta go fast before they come back.”


Owen was actually impressed with Colt’s plan, it was simple, but most of the best plans typically were. Ivan seemed to be rather frustrated with them as he suggested that he break off from the rest of the group. Didn’t he realize that being alone out here was basically suicide? None of them had any clue who or what was lurking behind any given corner. The man obviously knew his way around a gun and had some sort of ‘reconnaissance’ training, but none of that was more valuable than having someone to watch your back.

He watched as Colt went off on him, the hangover mixed with the lack of food in her system had obviously caused her patience to wear thin. Maybe that was just how she normally was though, Owen had nothing to compare her personality to.

Her plan worked much like she had suggested it would, proving the men in the uniform to be undead. As he watched the pair move away from the door he realized he had been holding his breath. Filling his air with lungs he moved on Colt’s command. He kept his body low, fists wrapped around the handle of his old bat, ready to strike if necessary.

He stood at the door, waiting for the rest of the group to enter. Owen knew that he was the best defense at the moment against the undead. Both Colt and Ivan had guns, which would only attract unwanted attention, and while Marcus looked strong enough he knew little about his ability to handle the bat with the strength necessary to render the corpses immobile. His arm went to hold the door open, and the tinkling of a chime sounded.

‘Fuck’ the thought cross his head only seconds before the attention of the two haz-zombies turned back toward the shop.


Marcus could tell Colt was getting a little ahead of herself about being a leader, just her facial expression alone showed that she didn't like the other's input without her say so. If he had to guess, when Owen moved on his own earlier that probably through her over the edge, wonder what kept her from going over exactly...he wouldn't question it too much though. Everyone offered up ideas when they neared his dad's hunting shop, kinda weird to see it with a bunch of zombies around it now but that wasn't what he needed to focus on, everyone moved doing their own plans and Marcus stayed in cover with Owen, the zeds moved away from the shop with Colts tactics but the wind blew that damn whistle chime his dad insisted on having! He told him it was tacky and not useful but nooooo he had to have it on his shop and now its just making their supply run far more difficult, thanks dad. “So...Owen what's the plan now? Think you can throw something far enough to distract those zombies?” He asked.


“Way ahead of you.”

Ivan said quietly as his head whipped around to see the small group of infected shambling towards them.He instinctively reached for his knife before hesitating a bit. He didn’t really feel like having Colt tear him a new ass so he decided against ripping through the small group. His eyes scanned the ground until they found an empty bottle resting against one of the metal mailboxes nearby. Ivan quickly reached down to grab it, his arm shooting back before throwing it forward in an arc. It flew over the infecteds heads before breaking on top of a car with a loud glassy crash. The infected slowed to a stop before shuffling around and walking off towards the sound of glass breaking. Ivan turned to Colt with a shit eating grin on his face as he cracked his neck quietly.

“Shall we continue?”