Realistic or Modern All That Remains

[Ririn]

Melinda didn't want to look anymore. Now that she was on her bike, carrying someone with her, someone that had saved her life, her mind felt more focused. She was determined to get them out of here. Go as far away from Portland as possible. What was happening all around them shouldn't distract her driving. Not with this cold, not with someone unfamiliar with bikes. So Melinda speed up, passing by cars that were left in the middle of the road until she took a turn into a more narrow one way road. She saw a couple of bikes flipped to their side, left on the pavement like bugs. A car with slashed tiers, another one where the passenger's seat was covered in blood. But all in all, as expected it was better than the main road they had left behind.

"I wouldn't know." She told Lee regarding his question about her brother. "I left the stupid phone at home as I rushed back to the hospital. I was just done with a night shift when they called me back in."

Lee had his hands wrapped around her too tightly but honestly? It felt better this way. Reassuring her somehow that she was not alone. And her brother... He would be alright. He had to be. It seemed like the city center was hit hard by whatever this was, but the suburbs and the small communities outside Portland? They had to be safe. It couldn't have spread so fast. Not yet. At least not until they got to him.

"Jack is... My brother I mean is, A bit of an enthusiast regarding conspiracy theories. Since a little boy he was fascinated by this shit. Trust me, he is good with crisis."

For another mile Melinda stayed on the same one way road. The further away they were getting from the center the more empty the street got. Empty and... Surprisingly quiet.
Taking a right turn, she speed up even more. A building was on fire somewhere close, the air was filled with smoke and she knew staying in that cloud for too long wouldn't be ideal for their health. Melinda saw from the corner of her eye a man and a woman running holding hands, carrying a suitcase each. Where were they running to? And how far did they think they could get on foot while dragging two suitcases behind them?
"You doing good back there?" She asked Lee, now almost yelling to be heard over the wind and the sirens.

 

[Wordy]

"Your brother's one of those guys, huh?" He asked, "Fair enough! I never thought I'd buy into any of that stuff, but hey, now look at me." He said. "I mean... Considering me and you had no idea this was coming and were working in the one place were all the injured people would end up? I think we did a pretty good job of fighting our way through it, y'know." He said, still yelling over the sounds of the engine. "We're not exactly doomsday preppers. We just... We clean up people who got drunk and fell down the stairs, you know what I mean?" He asked. It surprised him how long they lasted in there, how of all people they were some of the only ones not being torn to pieces by whatever monstrous people were running around in the streets now.

Lee just shut his eyes, really. Eyes shut until they were at least moving fully. When they were moving at higher speed, the stuff that was going on wasn't going to stand out to him for long enough to take it all in.

"I'm doing good back here, yeah." He said. "Good enough, anyway. It's my first time on a bike, so, it's pretty intense!" He yelled. He looked up in the air; the sky was clouded and grim. The storm was going to break out any second now, and there was little chance of them actually reaching any sort of decent shelter before it did. Even with winter clothes, being caught in a storm when on a bike wasn't a good idea. If an accident didn't kill them, the cold quickly would. Hypothermia would set in even faster, and given how much a motorcycle relies on decent hand-eye coordination, and functioning hands... Hypothermia was a bad combo which lowered their chances of survival from 'slim' to 'nil'.

"How far out does your brother live?" He asked, "Lin, if the storm hits before we get to him we're gonna' have to take shelter somewhere. A service stop on the highway, or something." He said.

As they got closer to the exits to the city, though, it looked as though everyone and their mother had had the same idea. Before chaos got to them, there was a line of cars that went on for miles. The worst part? Danger was right on their tail. This traffic would never die down in time to avoid what was just on the horizon. The biggest question Lee had, though, was what was causing such a hold up? What was going on further down the road?



**


Robin told her friends what was going on - it had everyone scared. Everyone in the restaurant was completely silent, staring at the blood-soaked man as his daughter gathered up her stuff and left at his side only minutes after he arrived. Some of them had the bright idea of trying to call 911, but with everything going on, those lines were dead. Looks of confusion spread around the restaurant as every emergency line people tried to reach simply just... Didn't return anything at all. It was more than just a fright. It was something to be seriously concerned about, if nothing else. It was when people started to ask questions.

And then they went to their phones and started checking the news. Portland was falling. Portland was bursting at the seams with death and destruction - people's families were being torn down, their homes set ablaze. Life as they knew it was falling apart.

Just as Robin and Chase got out of the food court, panic began to break out. Finally, things made sense.

"Dad, whose blood is it?" Robin tugged her dad's arm with tears in her eyes. "Dad, this is really scaring me. What happened?"

"It's not mine." He said again. "Look, honey, there's people going around... Attacking other people. Doing a whole lot of crazy shit. The blood's from..." He shut his eyes. "One of them." He said. But he knew it wasn't. He knew the truth. Sometimes, some things are just inevitable.

When they were halfway to the exit, that's when Chase heard the one thing he wasn't hoping to hear at all.

Screams.

He looked over the railing and down at the lower level, and it had begun in here, too. A woman was attacked, a man sinking his teeth into her forearm while she kicked and thrashed trying to get away.

"Dad?!" Robin looked, then looked at him.

"We need to go. Now." He grabbed her hand, and he started running. Sprinting. He sprinted as fast as Robin could keep up with; he fought through the pain of screaming muscles and fear. He had his daughter, and that was his priority now.

But stepping out of the mall, their problems only got worse. In the time he'd been in here, it had all caught up. The streets were in disarray again, and just like it was before, cars had come to a dead halt. People were dying. People were running and screaming. It amazed him, really - when disaster struck at the other side of the city, the people over this side didn't even notice until it was too late. What if he had been the one having lunch with Robin today, and all of this was unknown to him until it literally flooded into the mall they were in?

It was odd, though. This was one of the busiest areas of the city, thanks to the mall. Why did it get here so quickly? Was this planned? Calculated?

No. He couldn't think like that.

"Oh my god. Dad." Robin blurted, stepping behind him. He looked to see a man stumbling in his direction, mouth hung open wide, his jaw eerily swinging from side to side. Ferocious growls escaped him, similar to how the man in the middle of the road had acted.

Hell no.

Chase stepped forward and delivered a solid kick from the bottom of his boot to the man's chest, "Fuck off!".

He stumbled back and hit the floor like a sack of dirt. Chase looked at Robin again and grabbed her by the hand once more, this time making a straight run for his bike. It took no time, either. Soon enough, they were both on it, with her sat behind him and held on for dear life. It wasn't her first time on her dad's bike, but... Shit, this was much scarier than the previous times.

Chase shot off down the road and hit the brakes at just the right time, sliding sharply around a corner and shooting off down the street to follow.

His next goal... It looked like getting out of the city would be a safe bet for a while.

 

[Ririn]

Well, shit!
Finally reaching one of Portland's exits had Melinda feel a little hope again. But this, upfront, this was bad! It was just a moment ago, when they still couldn't see the long line of cars that she had answered Lee's question.

"He is just a few miles up really. We can't risk stopping right now. Where are we suppose to find shelter in this mess? Even if it has a bed it won't mean we are safe. I'd rather take our chances of getting to my brother in time. The bike is big, it can handle a little snow. The roads will be clean at this hour. If I keep a low steady speed we can be there in two hours maybe?" She explained. It wasn't really a plan. At this point they were counting on good luck more than they counted on reason. Cold... They couldn't go up against it. Snow, she really believed she and the bike could handle, she did all the time living in Maine but the cold? On top of their exhaustion and their unfeet clothes? It would kill them.

And now the road. A road that seemed like it led to nowhere. Fuck!

She stopped the bike, engine still roaring, her soles on the ground keeping balance. From their stand point they weren't able to see what was causing the traffic jam to be so bad. Maybe an accident? It had to be. No matter how many tried to flee from Portland with their vehicles under all this stress they ought to be moving. Instead, for the past three minutes the lines hadn't not move an inch. She saw no other way.

"Try and keep up ok? I'll see how far we can go passing through cars." With that she started the bike again, going extremely slow as she did her best to manoeuvre through the cars. It was harder than expected. With the bike being so big and the two of them on top adding to it's immense weight it wasn't long before she started sweating under her clothes.
From inside the cars, people stared at the two that were crazy enough to ride a bike at the end of November. Wherever she looked she saw fear and something else... Something worse than fear and Melinda knew this look from the ER. They had given up. There was no more hope left in those people that had stacked their families and belongings to their cars trying to escape what seemed to be the end of times.

Suburbs of Portland
A little before sunset

Jack had seen this day coming. He was preparing for it since he was six years old and had for the first time ever read about aliens. Growing up Jack had fixated countless times over many conspiracy theories. Nuclear weapons, aliens, zombies, chemical attacks. He knew all about them. And he was sure that sooner or later human kind would have to fight for its survival on the planet.
As he grew up Jack had proved to be exceptionally clever and now, at the young age of twenty he was considered to be one of the best computer engineers on the planet working from home for various big companies, mainly handling their security systems.

Most of his earnings he had spend for a nuclear shelter build in the back yard, high tech security systems around the house and an armory that always made Lin feel uncomfortable. For her, Jack would always be her little brother. The one that couldn't function well around other humans and didn't have any sense of humor.

Now Jack... He had got through the lines twice, but neither times had Lin answered her phone. From what he read online Portland was going under and fast! Every other time he tried calling the lines were busy so Jack started texting. Texting and getting ready.

 

[Wordy]

Chase's first stop was going to be his apartment, as bad of an idea as it was. He had to go there to pick up a few things - not anything spectacular, but, he had things that Robin would need, and he had things that he needed, too. After everything he saw today he really didn't want to be taking any chances. He rushed himself and his daughter in there and went straight to his room, where he fetched a gun that was tucked under the bed. Two, in fact. He had a .38 revolver, and a simple glock. He checked both were loaded, and once this was confirmed the revolver was tucked into the back of his pants, and the glock into the front.

"You got a license for those...?" Robin asked, sheepishly.

Chase gave her a look.

"Right." She nodded. She looked at the floor - Chase hadn't had a chance to clean up. Old clothes were strewn about. It was messy here, but, it was still a second home for her. "Dad... Where's mom?" She asked. "She gave you my number. Did you see her today?"

"I... Um..." He sighed, "I swung by her house first, to get the both of you. She wasn't there." He said. "I don't know where she is, honey."

"We need to go back for her."

"We can't." Chase said, firmly. "Look, if I could help your mom, I would. Honestly, I would. But I need to focus on you now." He said, "Has she tried to call you?"

"No..." Robin whimpered.

"Then we..." He rubbed his forehead. "We just need to hope she gets out of the city too, honey. We need to go, okay?" He said.

She nodded. "We'll be okay?"

"You know me. I won't let anything happen." He gave her shoulder a gentle pat. "Come on. We better get moving."

And get moving they did. He locked his apartment up for what was probably going to be the last time for a long time, potentially forever. It wasn't long before he and Robin were back on his bike and making their way out of the city, too. They were the crazy ones on a motorcycle, yes, but they were prepared. They had proper goggles to weather the storm while they were riding, so high speed wasn't going to be too much of a problem. They had clothes that would... Keep them warm for at least a little while, but nothing would ever drown out the windchill, ultimately. All in good time, though. He just wanted to get clear of the storm, and get his girl somewhere safe. He knew that was going to be easier said than one - what if it was getting to be like this everywhere? What if it wasn't an isolated incident?

He just kept driving. There was no need to think about that. He had his daughter glued to his back, and a gun at his hip. That's all he needed for now. They'd figure out the rest in time.

A Short While Later...

"Oh, motherfuck." Chase growled through his bandana, shaking his head. The traffic went on endlessly, and simply getting here and proved to be a challenge. Whatever those things were swarmed the streets already, many of them screaming and howling out when his bike passed by. They were like a pack of dogs. They were relentless, locked onto his scent, and probably rounding a corner any minute now.

Chase was a skilled rider, but traffic like this was going to be a son of a bitch. As long as they could get to the end of this stretch of road, they could hit the highway which would most likely be more open than the city, right? He didn't know who would want to stay here, honestly. Anyone who stayed in this city, or anywhere near it, had a goddamned deathwish. What he did next was dirty, but, it was his safest bet. He mounted the sidewalk and sped up it to gain a little bit of an advantage, and then pulled himself back into the traffic, weaving in and out of the cars.

Chase's bike was closer to a sports bike than anything else, but not quite. It had a pretty ferocious-sounding engine, custom tires, custom handlebars; the suspension had been modified and the dampening capabilities the bike had were something to look twice at. Thanks to the slick model, it was easy enough to finesse it around the bigger vehicles. He told his buddy why he was swapping out his old beaten Harley for something like this - if he'd stuck with that? God, this would be a nightmare.

"You just hold tight, honey, there's gonna' be a lot of leaning here."

"Got it." She mumbled into his back.


...


"This is awful." Lee said. "I know, we can't really stop. I guess we're not safe until we're completely clear of the city." He said, "I just really hope this storm isn't going to hit us while we're on the way, but the wind is already picking up. Can't say I'm jealous of the people in the cars, though." He said. "What's even going to happen to Portland? Where the hell are all the military? We haven't even heard any news of a statement from the president yet. This is way more serious than just... Just a few attacks." He said. "There's so many people that need help - why have they just... Left us here?" He asked.

He didn't want to get in his own head about it, but he was.

Why was military intervention not a thing yet?

Where was the president?

Where was their rescue from this mess? What if there wasn't one? What if there was never going to be one? What if he was right and Portland was turning to a dead zone... But they were stuck inside it? Oh, Jesus.

They heard the rather loud roar of another engine a short way back the way they came. Lee was none the wiser, but, seeing as Lin rode a bike of her own, she'd be able to tell that she wasn't the only one whose choice of vehicle today was motorcycle. There was someone else with the same bright idea, someone else who was somewhat dodging this hellish traffic.

"Lin, I just realized something." He patted her side, "I don't know how safe we're going to be here." He said. "Look in some of these cars. They're injured. What if they end up like the others?" He asked. "They're all sat here idle, if anything happens... Jesus." He said. It had only taken one glance to see that there were some people covered in blood, some people who looked feverish and ill like the ones in the ER had looked this morning. Lee hitched his breath. He had to breathe. But this felt claustrophobic, and almost deadly. At the speed they were going at, they didn't stand a chance if anything broke out.

Further ahead, evidence of what was causing the hold-up began to present itself. They could see military vehicles further down, and cars were being let through gradually, but it was too slow for all of them to make progress.

It looked as though the military were now focusing on control rather than rescue.

Not exactly what any of them were wishing for.

 

[Ririn]

She could tell from his tone that the situation had started to take a toll on him. She wished she could give some comfort but what could she do or say that would help? After all, Lee was right about everything. Why was nobody helping them? Where was the army? The president? Where was the security they were once promised?

"I don't know where they are Lee. I don't know what's happening." She admitted feeling as down as he did. "We can't just sit here though. We are not in a car, we don't have heat and if the storm begins... No, we need to at least try and make it to end." With that, she begun moving between vehicles again.

Another engine had come to join theirs. Somewhere back from where they had come from, someone else also had the idea that escaping by car would be impossible and had chosen instead a smaller vehicle. Though that engine, certainly didn't belong to a small bike. Melinda could tell by the sound of it, the bike was probably stronger than her Honda. Maybe not faster in an open road but certainly more durable. Glancing through the side mirrors she tried and see the other rider but for now, she couldn't.

They ended up stopping again not so far away. Finally, what had caused the traffic jam had come into sight. Large military vehicles, soldiers with their guns ready and barries were set up from one side of the road to the other. They checked every car and it's passengers before letting them pass through, to the high way. It was a slow process. And with Lee's comments about the state of those inside some of the cars still very clear in her head, she knew they were fucked. Honestly, she saw no way of this getting any better soon.

"I'm not sure you are going to like this Lee but I have to get us out of here. I'll cut through the line and get us as close as possible to those military dudes. I'm sure most of the people around us won't like it. If it comes to it, show them your doctor ID ok?"
Is that even a plan? Sounds more like a suicide mission. an inner voice told her and for the most part, she agreed. But maybe, just maybe showing their ID's would allow them faster passage. After all, they were the useful ones.


Suburbs of Portland
Jack had just microwaved some mac'n'cheese and was now eating Infront of his desktop, in an otherwise dark house. He had locked himself in there a few hours ago. The nuclear shelter was much better but he was waiting on his sister so the house would have to do for now.

At the computer, there was a video someone had taken from the heart of Portland. The images were... Stunning! People jumping from windows and buildings, some dying and some gracefully landing on their feet before getting back up. Fires everywhere, the piercing sound of sirens, some closer to the one filming and some more distant. And in the streets. A real apocalypse.

Apocalypse. The end of days. The end of life as they knew it.
Jack always loved this word. Apocalypse. The Armageddon. The last chapter of the Holy Book. And now the time had come and he was fortunate enough to be alive and witnesses this day coming. Finally seeing all he ever believed in be proven for the whole world to see.

And the whole world was watching. Finally!
The first reported incident was from Canada, two days ago and then for a while, everything was quite. Then Egypt,Israel, Syria and China. Then England. Just then, here in America right before France and India. It was spreading faster than he could have guessed. A few countries seemed untouched but Jack believed the disaster would get to them too eventually. It was too late for quarantines now and high security plans. Whatever this was it had spread long before they could stop it. If they ever could. Some things, were just ment to be but humans were too selfish to realise.

Jack switched from the video to a radio station that was broadcasting on-line even though the mess and the blocked lines, straight from the military station. They would soon start the bombing.

"The fuck are you sis?" He asked in his empty house before swallowing down another spoon of Mac'n'cheese.

 

[Wordy]

"Cut whatever you have to. Let's just get past all of this." He said, "I don't like how crowded this is - never something you'd think an ER Doctor would say, is it?" He laughed a little. He was uncomfortable - seeing sick people made him feel queasy in a time like this. Sick wasn't a good thing. It wasn't even something they could really control at all - if they caught it, or got caught by someone with it, they were fucked. Military, though. Military was what he was happy to see - what they were doing? Not so much. They were monitoring things, making sure everything checked out. It was threatening - he felt like he was about to be criminalized rather than saved.

"Yeah. Show them I'm a doctor." He nodded, simply. "Well, whatever happens... We're getting through it together." He said. "I mean... Given everything that was going on, I don't think there's many injuries that can be treated with simple sutures." He let out a nervous laugh.

A good point, though.

A boy getting his hand ripped off? Yeah. Stitches weren't going to do shit in time for something like that.

They gradually got closer, though, only for the sound of the bike to soon get closer and closer until it passed by them in another gap in traffic. Chase slowed himself to their speed, and Lin finally caught a glimpse of his bike. A custom decal was what decorated it, and on top of that, it looked like it had been stripped down to nothing and rebuilt from the ground up. Even the brand of the bike was unknown to her at this point, as all emblems had been ripped off and replaced. He had a custom fuel tank, handlebars that clearly weren't part of the base model, and an engine that looked as though it had been taken from an expensive BMW model, or maybe a Yamaha at a push. The wheels, durable - not suited for high speed but perfect in all conditions based on traction; suspension looked phenomenal and dampening, and the brake pads? Cheap. The cheapest they could possibly be.

An interesting choice, if nothing else.

She had enough time to study both the man and the bike as he drove by - Chase met eyes with her, studying her and her companion. The face behind the bandanda was a mystery, and if he didn't have a kid with him, Lee probably would have been keeping a close eye on him.

Chase came to a quick halt, though, only several feet in front of them, long before they'd reach the military.

"Honey, you need to take these." He balanced the bike and discreetly pulled out both guns, handing them to her behind her back.

"Dad, what-"

"Tuck them into your jacket. Don't touch them until we get past those guys, got it?"

"Okay, yeah... Got it." She gulped, but, she did as he asked.

They continued moving after.

"We should go up with them." Lee whispered to her, "At least then we're not the only ones cutting the line, right?" He asked.

Because yes, the man on the bike that passed by was getting honked at aggressively by other drivers, a noise that made Lee cringe. Didn't they realize that noise was just going to bring more of those freaks straight to them?

Either way, people weren't happy with those who were deciding to bend the rules.

"Tell them we're doctors, head right on through, right?" He said. His eyes locked on the back of the other motorcyclist's head. "You saw the guns, right?" He asked. "If things go wrong, I think he stands much more of a chance than I do. This knife isn't going to do much for us now." He said.

 

[Ririn]

"For fucks shake Lee!" She scolded him "I saw the guns, yeah!" How could she not have seen them? From the moment the biker finally came into sight her eyes were fixed on him. Even under all this clothes and the bandana Melinda knew he was trouble, like most of them were. The bike was custom made, some parts she couldn't even tell where they might be from. Yeah, she knew the type.

The only thing not compatible with what she had in mind was the child behind him. The girl seemed at ease with him, despite the presence of guns so perhaps he was her older brother?

But Lee was right about now being the best time to cut through the line. "Let's do this then!" With no further adieu she hit the speed petal as the sound of the horns around them grew more and more. Stupid, scared people! They didn't realise what they were doing.

Melinda stopped next to the strange biker just a few meters away from the guards.

"Sir, you need to go back!" A boy with a gun yelled again and again at the man that was trying to reason with him.
"You too!" Another guard, just as young said pointing at Lee and Melinda. "Get back in line. Now!"

"You can't be serious! We are perfectly healthy, we need to get through. This is a death trap. You know it is."
"Lady, I won't say it again! Get back in line!" The boy yelled and raised his gun.
Fuck me!
"We are doctors ok? You need us! The world will need us. I'm a nurse he is a doctor." Melinda was yelling now too but her voice was cracking. She was terrified. Terrified that the world had come to a boy at her brother's age pointing a gun at her in a road packed with cars full of sick and equally terrified people.

Behind them, people had started to get restless, some were getting out of their cars, a woman was vomiting on the side of the road. They needed to get out. Now!

 

[Wordy]

Chase looked over at the two on the bike as they pulled up, arching an eyebrow again.

He didn't say anything at first, just scanned the two of them over once more. He looked at Lee, whom of which looked... Nervous, which was understandable. Everyone was nervous - some people just showed it more than other people did. He just handed two guns to his 13-year-old daughter, and that was completely out of nerves.

Just a different way of showing it.

"Nice bike." He called out, casually, but then he looked back to the front. It was hard to see if he was really affiliated with any biker gang or anything at this current time, due to all the winter gear he was wearing. The bandana and the paint job on the bike was a pretty good indication that that was likely to be the case, though. The young girl on the back looked over at them, too, but because of the bandana her dad wore, it was more or less impossible to see the resemblance between the two. She didn't look like she was being held against her will, though, so that was a good start.

When Lee and Lin started getting shouted at, though, Lee put his hand up on her shoulder.

"We'll get past this." He nodded. "It's okay."

Time to be strong. No more nerves. Now it was going to get intense, and it was going to be life or death. If they didn't get through here, something was bound to go wrong and they were going to get caught in the crossfire.

While Lee prepared to step off the bike, he was met with aggression.

"Sir, you stay seated." A soldier said, and Lee was met with the barrel of an L85. Wow. Okay. He wasn't expecting to have an assault rifle pointed in his face today, but there's a first time for everything.

"My friend is right. My name is Lee Simpson, I'm an ER Doctor. We can help-"

"What hospital are you from?"

"Portland Medical..."

A couple of soldiers exchanged a look. The rifle didn't move from its position at all - in fact, the soldier tensed a little. "You both need to stay put, right where you are. You don't move until we say, you understand?" He said. "We need to check you both for exposure."

"Exposure to what?"

He was ignored, mostly because Chase started revving his engine. Loudly. It was loud enough to overpower their voices; he looked at the soldiers in front of them, and gradually he started to piss all of them off. One of them was yelling for him to stop, but he didn't. At least not until a gun was pointed at him.

"I got a kid here." Chase said, "I need to get through. The city's a hellhole, and I'm not waiting around for it to catch up."

"You are not going anywhere, sir."

Chase shook his head, sighing.

There was more chaos back behind them as one man stepped out of his car, his arms at his side, "Hey, what the fuck is the holdup here?!" But his anger immediately turned to pain and a blood-curdling scream as a woman pounced onto his back and sunk her teeth into his neck. Panic ensued. People began screaming, and many tried to drive forward or reverse. Crunching of metal was heard as all of the cars collided.

"Contact!" A soldier yelled, and bullets began rushing past their heads as they open fired upon... Just about anyone that moved too quickly. Civilians included. One brief glance over Lee's shoulder, and a whole swarm of them were coming - sprinting over the rooftops of cars, smashing through windows, attacking anyone they could get their hands on. There were more than a dozen - probably several dozen, in fact.

"Holy shit." Lee said.

Chase looked over at Lin, and he winked.

Following that, he shot forward just a few feet and stuck a foot out, kicking one of the soldiers to ground. Immediately after, he took off past their blockade and sped down the road. Gone with the wind, as such. The storm was beginning to roll in - snow was falling heavier, and faster. The wind was numbing. They didn't have long to move now, but, the chaos at least bought them all some time to get out of there.

 

[Ririn]

"What are they talking about Lee?" She asked as low as possible. "Exposed to what?"
This whole situation was nerve-wracking and made Melina want to scream. Scream and scream until someone shot her or someone attacked her. The woman suddenly felt drained, unable to go on.
The image of Maya on her knees, just losing blood on the snow, sobbing without an end came forward feeling like a slap across the face.
Who was she? She had left that girl there meet her end one way or another because her own life mattered more. The ancient instinct of survival had kicked in moving all other aspects of who she was to the side and now what? Lin was just going to stand there and wait her own end as well? Hell no!

That's when she saw the man on the bike next to her, wink. First he looked at her and then he winked. Melinda had her own engine roar.

"Lee? Better hold on tight!" She warned him and as soon as she saw the man kicking one of the soldiers to the ground, their own bike moved forward, the motion a little sharp even for her but with a last moment manoeuvre Lin had passed them through the barries and out in the high way!

She didn't stop to think about what went on behind them. There was no time to think of what those gunshots ment, who was screaming and why. She just unleashed them into the dark as finally, the storm caught up with them.

Though she wanted to ask Lee how was he under the circumstances there was no change they could talk with each other right now. And the biker with the little girl, the one who had opened way and had made sure to let her now beforehand, was just a few meters away. Lin first caught up with him and just as he passed him by, she waved with her left hand for them to follow after her. There was no way of knowing if he had somewhere to go to or not but he did have a child behind him and had helped them. It was enough for her to want to offer him at least some shelter and food. If they could reach her brother that is.

Suburbs of Portland
Jack had just finished a hot cup of coffee and was now bitting down a piece of vanilla and fruits cake. He had previously brought down all the metal grates of his windows securing him inside and the rest of the world safely kept away. From the monitors he got footage from the security cameras and on his computer, he still listened to radios that had maintain access to internet and watched what few videos were being uploaded.

Jack would wait for his sister. That, he had promised himself he would do.

 

[Wordy]

"I'm not sure." Lee whispered, gulping. "But whatever it is? Somehow they know a lot more about this than we do."

That? That was a scary thing to figure out, too. How did they already know about it if it only started no more than a few hours ago? How did they know what the difference was if someone was exposed to the 'sick' people or not? He assumed that's what they were talking about. The people that were going around ripping each other to pieces - what else could it be? Once again, his head started spinning. They came from a place that was filled to the brim with those lunatics.

What if this was their last stop? What if they got a bullet in the back of the head when they least expected it?

This couldn't have been the end.

He did notice the silent communication between Lin and the mystery biker, though. Whatever was about to happen, he figured it was time to keep his head down and hold on tight, too. It was already getting messy, and even more so when shit started to hit the fan.

Before Lee knew it, they were on the move again, this time at a real speed - one they hadn't traveled at yet. He was going to hold on for dear life for a while, or at least until they stopped. Speed was the least of his concerns, though. The storm was already becoming relentless, and the tips of his fingers were becoming numb.

Looking in her side mirrors, Lin could see that her hand gesture paid off. The mystery man was fresh on her tail, for now. Then again, who wouldn't be when a storm like this was rolling in? He had nowhere else to go but the open road, and the open road would do them no favors if they froze to death. Maine was one of those places where it would take a while to get between each town - in the snow, even longer. It was the most forested area of New England, after all.

The roads? For now, empty.

Everyone was held up - and by now probably dead - back at the checkpoint. Anyone in this neighborhood was either hidden away in their homes and waiting for it to blow over, or they were long gone. Many driveways were clear of cars now, but some cars had been left behind.

But for now, the gore was nowhere to be seen, although that probably wouldn't last long.

"You think your brother's still going to be in town?" Lee called out in question.

 

[Ririn]

Melinda was freezing. Her clothes weren't sufficient for this kind of weather, she had the wrong pair of pants on and Lee? Yeah, he was in a worst situation than her. Lin speed up even more. She knew the bike could handle it for as long as the road remained snow free. If the snow layed down a blanket they would have to slow down or at the worst case scenario, pull aside. They had better chance of surviving the cold while on move towards Jack than surviving it on the side of the road. This was the only plan she had. It had to work! Plus, a father had chosen to lay his faith on her. As of right now and for the rest of this ride Melinda was responsible for three more people. Four, if she counted her brother!

"Yeah! I'm sure he will be in town. But don't talk. Save what energy you have." She instructed him and as she, for a few moments slow down, reached to her ribs where his hand was laying and pulled down into her jacket's pocket. Then, with both hands on the wheel again she brought them back to their original high speed. Her pockets would keep his hands warm and his hands would help keep her a bit warmer aswell.

Suburbs of Portland
Jack didn't hear anything. Sound couldn't reach him inside the house but he did saw a bike and then another one pull up infront of his house. That was weird. He sat up and looked closer at the screen.

Melinda got off nearly ready to pass out. Her head was buzzing, she couldn't feel her fingers or her legs. She was scared and exhausted and cold. So freaking cold. Yet she turned around to check on Lee.
"You ok? W-we ma-made it." She said with rattling teeth from the cold. "We did it!" She managed to stay as she leaned closer giving Lee a hug. A brief one, but still a hug.

Chase waited for his daughter to get off first then got down himself immediately checking on her. Despite their gear the cold had taken a toll on them too. Driving for almost two hours in a high way under this snow would take it's toll on anyone.

As soon as Jack saw his sister he got up, running. Down to the main floor, then at the door. Jack undid all the chains and unlocked every lock as fast as he could.

"Lin!" The man yelled running out his porch that was covered in snow. "Oh my God, Lin!" He wrapped his arms around his sister and held her close. Lin's heart was ready to burst.
Jack is alright.
Jack is alright.
Jack is alright.
Jack is alright.
Jack...

That's when Lin fainted, luckily in her brother's arms.
"Oh, damn!" He said picking her up. "A-alright. Uhm.. hey? Everybody? Please come on in, hurry up!" Jack invated them leading the way.

It was a two floor house, mainly build out of wood painted a bright blue colour like most in the neighborhood. Right to the left was the living room, quite large but tidy with very few personal details in it. That's where Jack layed Lin on the sofa. To the right, there was the kitchen and the dinning table and right next to the stairs a small bathroom. Upstairs Jack had one master bedroom, again with very few personal touches, a bathroom and the second bedroom he had turned into an office and general work space. That was the only real personal space he had in his home and nobody was allowed in it.
The overall feeling of the house was that it was clean and rather expensive but minimalistic. Empty in a way.

 

[Wordy]

He took a deep breath as his hands went to the warm place. Bliss. It was all bittersweet, though - when you were out in a snowstorm, brief warmth could only do so much for you. But Lee appreciated it, and honestly, there was something about it that went beyond simple warmth. It was a comfort, too. Knowing that there was another living, breathing person on his side who was going through this with him... That was the biggest comfort of all. Without Lin, he was alone. It was something he feared he had to accept, and now they had another ragtag racing alongside them. Lee only caught brief glances as the man on the other bike rode, but he rode with confidence - the road didn't own him, and neither did the weather. He had guns, too, so... That was nice.

Lee released a gentle sigh, leaning forward so he could talk into her ear.

"We're going to make it through this, Lin." He said, and that was the last thing he'd say for now. Like she said, saving energy.

...

It felt like they were never going to end up getting here. It felt like this was something that was infinitely far away - it was the promised land in their sacred book, as such. Lee was blue in the face by the time they came to a stop, but, it didn't stop the trembling smile from hitting his face as soon as they came to a stop.

And when Lin turned to him and hugged him? His smile grew even more, and he hugged her back.

"We did- We did it, Lin." He laughed, his body trembling. "Holy shit. I- I- I said we'd- we'd make it, you see?" He playfully nudged her shoulder, but, he didn't know if she could even feel it. He certainly couldn't - the only thing he felt was shooting pain as his muscles stretched. The cold was getting to him.

He knew hypothermia was beginning to set in. He felt warm, but he knew how cold he really was. When you're in icy conditions, and you start to feel an unexpected warmth?

Don't take off any clothes. Put more on. Light a fire. Do whatever it takes, but never take anything off.

"Dad, I'm so cold." Robin trembled as her dad helped her off the bike; he got off after and hugged her.

"I know, sweetheart, I know. We made it. Let's get you inside, come on." He kept an arm around her, leading her to the rest of the group. When the prestiged Jack opened the door, Lee never thought he'd be so relieved to meet a stranger in all his life. He helped Lin to the door; he knew that she was getting the brunt of the cold on that journey, as was the other biker. They were on the front of the bike - the snow was hitting them in the face while they acted as a meatshield for their passengers. Lee would be okay. The girl would be okay. But what about the other two?

When Lin fainted, that said it all.

"Shit." Lee panicked, but, he rushed himself inside, but he helped Jack lift her into the living room so she could be set on the couch. For the most part, they were all soaking wet. "We need- we need blankets. Blankets. Lots of blankets and- and anything hot. Warm. Warm food." He looked around, still skittish. The cold was a bitch. Things felt hazy. He still had some central body heat, though, so he took off his soaked jacket and let it fall to the floor. Then he leaned down and took Lin's off, too. He picked her up as much as he could and held her against his chest, keeping her there. He shivered, he was barely able to keep himself upright, but he managed it.

"If you don't- don't spread the heat equally to your body after leaving extreme cold, you- you-.." He paused. "All the blood rushes from your limbs to your heart, and your heart fails." He gasped. He looked up at Jack. "I'm- I'm Lee, by the way." He said, breathlessly.

Awkward or not, he was taking necessary measures to save Lin's life. If she passed out, that was a sign things were already getting bad.

 

[Ririn]

Jack looked at the man helping with his sister with eyes open up wide. The man was good with giving instructions and Jack was certainly good at following them.
"Stay here!" He said to the group pf strangers his sister had brought in his house as he run up.

Jack worked fast grabbing a handful of his sweaters and four pairs of dry socks. He hadn't realised it was snowing so much out there.
Damn it Lin, you had to take the bike didn't you? he thought to himself but of course he could understand the reason why.
He only stopped for a moment to turn the heater even more then hoped down the stairs bringing the clothes in the living room. The child... Jack would say the child looked almost blue! Shit!

"Here, take these. I turned the heater up and I'll fetch you some blankets too. Maybe find a pair of sweatpants if I can." Turning to Chase Jack gulped. This was a big man and much like Lin, he too knew the type. But it was alright. Jack never judge a book by it's cover.
"There is a bathroom there." He said pointing to the white door next to the stairs. "For the young lady." Jack couldn't know what their relationship was but a child shouldn't have to undress Infront of strange men.

Jack run back up, trying hard to find to find some pair of pants that would keep them put of their wet ones. He ended up with two pairs of pijamas and a grey pair of sweatpants. Just as he was grabbing the blankets Jack froze...
Who is going to undress Lin?
The thought alone was enough to set him off course and right now, he needed all the stability he could master. Grabbing everything, he run back down.

"You are a doctor right?" He asked Lee with a smile as he took Lin's boots off and then her socks, rubbing her feet with a towel. "I'm Jack by the way. Lin's younger brother. She did good bringing you all here. She did good." Jack tried to be polite and he talked nice but he didn't look at Lee as he talked and the right corner of his lip kept moving. Finally, he put a pair of dry socks on Lin and then moved to grabbing a sweater.

Jack looked at Lin and then at the sweater. Lin, sweater,Lin. Then very fast at Lee then his feet then Lin again. It was so obvious he was uncomfortable it was almost painful to watch. Even at a time so serious Jack was unable to function as he should.

 

[Wordy]

"Nice one, pal." Chase was rubbing his hands together while Jack ran around grabbing all the bits and pieces. He pulled his bandana down away from his face once Jack returned, nodding at him. "Much appreciated." He handed the clothes to Robin, "Honey, you go ahead." He said, "You gonna' be okay?"

"Think so." The girl sniffed, uneasily taking the clothes in her shaking hands.

"You yell out if you need help."

She nodded, briefly setting her head against her dad's chest for a moment. Chase patted her shoulder, and she wandered out of the room, giving Jack the tiniest of smiles and a nod of appreciation as she did so. "Thanks." She whispered. Oversized sweaters... There was nothing better when you were freezing cold. She loved borrowing her dad's leather jackets and such whenever she got the chance. There was something comforting about clothes too big for you.

At least she had some time to get herself situated in privacy, though.

Chase blew into his cupped hands, and without hesitation he took off his winter gear. Under the winter coat he had on? Yup, he had a waistcoat. He had badges, too, and on the back was a logo with the bold lettering of 'Vagabonds MC'. A local motorcycle club. Troublemakers occasionally, but not ones who went to war or anything like that. They weren't known for too much drama, thankfully. There was without a doubt some shady shit that went down in the past, but...

Did that even matter now?

He also slipped that off, and then the undershirt, too, revealing a body coated in tattoos of all variants. All over his arms, his chest, stomach, back. He was inked to oblivion. Not that he was looking to show off, though - he put on the dry sweater just as quickly as he took the other stuff off.

He sat down, taking a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." He shut his eyes and set his head back, letting out a deep sigh. He kicked his pants off, too. Anything wet was coming off (except underwear. He left those on, obviously) until it was either dry or he had something else to wear.

...

"Yeah, I'm a doctor." Lee said, and he smiled back, "Lin mentioned you, yeah. That's why we're here. The other guy, um..." He looked at the man sat in his underwear and a sweater on the other couch. "We met him at a military checkpoint. Don't really know him but... He helped us out of a tricky spot, I guess you could say." He said.

Lee noticed the discomfort, though, and he got it. He'd thought the same thing.

Who the hell would undress her and put a sweater on?

But he couldn't think like that. This was life or death. She'd die without dry clothes and warmth.

"Look, man..." Lee cleared his throat. "I'll do it." He held his hand out, requesting the sweater. "The longer she's in wet clothes, the more danger she's in. I'll get it out of the way, quick as I can." He said. "She's... Your sister's a fighter." He smiled a little. "Didn't expect it from her at first. She seemed... I don't know. Something clicked and suddenly she was rolling with the punches. Wouldn't have made it this far without her." He said.

 

[Ririn]

Jack hadn't spotted it at first. But as his eyes traveled in the room the leather cut caught his eyes. He couldn't read the logo and he didn't have to. But Lin... She would certainly have something to say once she was up and feeling better. And the guy with the tattoos? He was at least kind. And so was his daughter. Jack felt better that even though he couldn't really help his sister he had provided the girl with privacy.


"I'm Jack." He introduced himself to Chase, always avoiding his eyes but he did grab the sweatpants (they were bigger than the pijamas afterall) and handed over to him. This wasn't the time to be in underwear.

Now, the problem with Lin. Jack couldn't do it. But was he comfortable with Lee doing it? Nope, not really. Was he comfortable with a doctor doing it though? Yeap, a bit. Was he comfortable with another man being pressent in the room? Again, nope. Could he do something differently? For a third time, nope.

"Here, take the black one. She likes the black one." Jack said feeling beat as he pulled the one he wanted from the stack he had brought and passed it over to Lee. "There are pants also. And blankets. For all of you. Take what you want, really." He said and immediately turned away. He stopped before the door. "I'll make some dinner. Call me if, if you need anything."

With that, Jack left the living room.
Coward! Couldn't even stay to make sure she would be alright. Couldn't even stay to help hold her up. Now who will help? The MC guy? Perfect, just perfect. And her tattoos... What will they think of them? What do YOU think of them?
Jack turned the stove on. He had some left over lasagna and a big bowl of tomato soup a neighbor had brought over the day before. He would cut bread and make some tea!
Yes,tea!
Jack put the kettle on immediately.

Meantime, in the living room a doctor was put in charge of doing what he could to insure Lin would wake up and not fall deeper into hypothermic shock. His only available help was someone he didn't know and he was in for a big surprise as soon as he would undress Lin from her sweater and blood covered medical shirt.

Her whole upper body was covered in tattoos. Some very artistically done and some clearly homemade. The tattoos stopped just underneath her breasts, covered both her ribs, traveled somewhere further below the waist line and her back had a few lettering tattoos and what was a motorcycle gang sing. A circle of barbed wire with a flaming fist held high in the middle. Lin had a past, like most people had. Her love for bikes was one of the few quirks she had brought over to this new life she was training so hard to establish.

 

[Wordy]

"Chase." He replied, taking the sweatpants. "Thank you again, Jack." He said. "The girl? She's my daughter. Name's Robin." He said, "Of all the storms I've ridden through... Shit. That was easily the worst." He said. "Makes me wish I was back out west, the weather here. Even the midlands would be better." He smiled a little and looked down at his hands; they were red raw and still tingly. He'd at least had leather gloves on when he was riding, but once again, the windchill protection wasn't really there with gloves like that. He slipped the sweatpants on. "With a bit of luck this storm dies down, and hopefully whatever was going on in the city dies with it." He shook his head. He knew his phone that was in his pocket was probably no good anymore, or would at least take a few days to dry out. Fuck. All his friends, his contacts, the club... He had no idea if any of them were going to make it or not.

Lee looked at Jack.

"Got it." He took the black one. He'd have to get changed himself, too, but Lin first. She was in the most dire shape right now.

Getting Lin undressed, the last thing he expected to see was the tattoos, but at the same time? The last thing he expected to see today was a nurse who had a bike as kickass as hers, so in a way it made some sense, he supposed. It was indeed true, everyone had history. Some histories were violent. Some were dark. Some were depressing. Some were just happy, but honestly, who was really that lucky? Even he had history surrounding his family he tried not to think about too much.

He was no one to judge - past or not, everyone was proving to be decent people. Her especially. Chase had a while to go before Lee settled with him - after all, it took a while to settle with a man who had a kid hide guns for him. His daughter, too. That was the most unbelievable part of it all.

It was a bit of a struggle, but, Lee managed to get her changed into a sweater and dry sweatpants, too. Once she was fully dressed, he wrapped a blanket around her and laid her head down on a pillow, having her damp hair hang off the side of the couch so it didn't put too much of a chill on her scalp. He checked her pulse, her breathing, and even went above and beyond and pulled an eyelid back, shining a tiny little flashlight in there that he still had in his shirt pocket from the ER. Responsive, which was good.

Some warmth, dry clothes... She'd be okay. He just had to monitor her.

He put his hand down on top of hers, sighing.

"You better pull through." He managed a half smirk. "When I said we were gonna' make it... I meant you, too." He said, and even though she may not have been awake to hear it... It was still something he felt like he needed to say.

Times were dark.

Chase got up and delivered sweatpants to the bathroom for Robin, too. All her clothes would be baggy, but, it was better than dying. He'd also caught a glimpse of Lin's tattoos, but, that wasn't the first thing on his mind right now. She'd brought him to safety, given he and his daughter shelter. Whoever she was or used to be ultimately didn't matter.

 

[Ririn]

When Jack went back in the living room with the tea the food was almost ready. He set the tray on the coffee table and sat on a chair himself. Lin seemed alright tangled under the blankets and all. She was pale, really pale and her lips still had a slight discoloration but with a doctor in the room he felt like he didn't need to worry.

"I hope you are comfortable." He started saying and made a long pause before speaking again. "I don't know you and you don't know me but my sister brought you here and I would never turn you away. Its ok." He said though it sounded as if he was trying to calm himself rather than them. Jack took a deep breath and decided to give it another try.
"Listen guys what I'm trying to say is... Thanks for getting her here. Lee, I know you said you might not have got this far if not for her but I'm sure you all helped her get here. So, yeah thanks." He concluded and after a few minutes he got back up. It was time to serve.

It took him three times to bring over everything and if someone offered to help he would kindly decline. It wasn't much but now wasn't the time to cook from scratch. They all looked very tired, they had seen things up close and from what he guessed, they still were cold. So leftovers and bread would have to do for now.

"Enjoy everyone." He wished and let them eat in peace as he got next to Lin.
He tacked her in, fixing her hair. He was happy, actually happy to have her there even in this condition. They would have to talk about A LOT once she was up but for now, it felt good to be able to keep these people safe for her. Somehow he knew his sister saw them as her responsibility. Even if she didn't know them. Lin was that way, always had been. Ready to narture everyone.

 

[Wordy]

"More comfortable than we'd be out there, that's for sure." Chase said. He looked up at the doorway as Robin walked back in and came over beside him. She still looked blue and shivery. She sat down beside him and brought her knees to her chest, leaning into her father's side. Chase wrapped her in a blanket, too, then put an arm around her. If anyone was going to reveal the nicest nature the mean-looking biker had? It was going to be his daughter. She didn't speak much at this moment in time. She just wanted to take some time to process eveything, to take it all in - and to hug her father because she wanted to and not because she was terrified of dying.

The fear was still there, but, at least she wasn't alone. Having not seen her dad for several months before now? It was a miracle he didn't skip town. In fact, it was a miracle he was even able to find her at all.

Lee nodded at Jack. "We all went through a lot." He said, "Seeing as we were both in the hospital, we, um... We saw the worst of it." He said. "So far, the things we need to look out for... Fevers, vomiting, seizures, cold sweats... As long as we're all clear on that, I think we're safe from whatever it is that's been affecting everyone." He said. "It was a nightmare. It's actually crazy that me and Lin even ran into each other, honestly. I was hid out in the kitchen, trying to plan out my next move. She gets attacked just outside, I save her, but... The guy who attacked her, he took a knife to the chest and just... Ignored it." He frowned.

Lee handed out the cups of tea while Jack was gone getting food, though. Food... God, it was going to be marvellous. Even if it was beef swimming around in warm water, he'd take it. Thankfully, though, it turned out to be something much better.

With everyone back in the room, Lee scanned everyone over.

"Robin... How you feeling?" He asked. After a few seconds she finally looked over at him. Delayed reactions, but, she sipped her tea and a little color came back to her.

"Woozy." She squeaked, "And tired."

Lee nodded, "She's probably developed hypothermia. Keep her wrapped up." He nodded to Chase.

He looked back to Jack, though, all while taking some soup and tucking into that. Warm food. It was heavenly.

"Thank you for all this. This is... Honestly the last thing I expected." He said, "If you don't mind me saying, Jack..." He glanced around the room for a moment. "Given everything that's going on, you're still living a very... Normal life?" He said, shrugging. "I mean... Hot tea, soup... I'm surprised you hadn't packed everything into a suitcase by the time we got here." He said. "Aren't you worried about when all of that going on in Portland gets to here?" He asked.

 

[Ririn]

For the first time since their arrival they saw Jack smile as Lee told him how they had found each other in the hospital kitchen then going on about how Lee had saved his sister's life.
"Yeah, the kitchen sounds like a logical place for Lin to head at while in a crisis. Our late grandma said kitchen is a sacred place." The young man remembered. "Whenever things went sideways we would sit at the kitchen like it sheltered us from all the storms. Thank you for saving her life Lee." He said sincerely. To think Lin would have died just a few hours ago made his stomach turn.

"As for the knife in the heart..." Jack gave a little shrug. "It's usually the brain that keeps a body going am I right doctor? I mean, the heart might suffer an injury but as long as their is blood in the brain you can probably save the person. It's the same way, with them out there I guess."

For a while he observed them all. They would need to sleep soon. Jack would crush in his office and they could split up in the rest of the house. Maybe he could take Lin upstairs, the bed was big, she could share with Lee and Chase with Robbin could take the couch. Because if Lin stayed on the couch and Chase got the bed with his daughter there would be no room for Lee. Jack let out a sigh without realising. He always believed this day would come, this day that would mark the end and he had been preparing for it but he had never imagined it would be up to him to provide shelter for so many people. He, who had no real friends and no relationship, he who only had Lin had never even consider the fact of other survivors reaching his doorstep. Once you have lived away from humans for too long you stopped thinking about them.
Lee's questions woke him up.

These were difficult questions the doctor had. Well, it wasn't the questions that were difficult really, it was the answers Jack had to give. He decided to proceed with caution.

"I imagine, once Lin is feeling better you are going to witness her angry side. She will yell at me for not saying anything and I will try and explain that since she never listened to me, I knew she wouldn't believe me now." Was Jack making sense? Not really! Nevertheless he went on. "Doctor you look but you don't see. The windows" he said pointing around them "have metal grates over them, for security. I have cameras all around the house monitoring the drive way, the porch and the back yard. Am I afraid? For her, yes!" He said titling his head towards Lin. "But I can't say I'm afraid of what's coming next. It will spread outside Portland. It has already spread all over the world in just a few days. Don't know exactly what it is... I mean, is it a virus? Is it a weapon? When and how did it spread? For no I can't tell. What I know though, is that it will spread. Once the fire starts it is bound to spread. Especially when the firefighters are running for their life."

A moment later Lin moaned and shifted.
The migraine was back.

 

[Wordy]

"No need to thank me." Lee smiled and nodded, looking down at his lap. Saving Lin was the least he could do. He abandoned so many people, so many of his friends - so many injured patients and so many patients that probably weren't sick. That was a tough realization to come to, it really was. "Like I said, she saved me, too." He said, "We helped each other out as much as we could. Getting out of the hospital was tough, we..." He paused. "We lost a friend on the way out." He said, gulping. But he knew that the truth was they didn't really lose her - if they stuck with her, for all he knew she might have survived the whole ordeal. She wouldn't have died to blood loss, she wouldn't have been ripped to pieces.

The only comfort was that he didn't see what happened to her, but that was barely a comfort at all. He had to wonder what went through Maya's head in those last moments. She was abandoned by the very people that saved her life.

It was one hell of a cruel mindfuck, if nothing else.

"You're half right about the brain." He said, "Yes, the brain is almost the centerpiece of it all, but the brain only does that because it wants to do one thing. Survive. Without the heart, the kidneys, the liver, the lungs - the brain is dead." He said. "No heart means no blood to the body, which means all the organs are going to fail pretty quickly. The brain will be one of the first to go - the fact that I, in theory, disrupted the entire blood flow and he just shrugged it off means he was either on a lot of drugs and managed to tank it for a few minutes, or he was... Going through something else. Like I said, the things we saw there were insane."

After that, no, Jack didn't make an awful lot of sense to Lee. But he did his best to understand. The house was fortified, and based on what he was saying, there were other cases of this across the world. It seemed as though they'd made the effort to cover it up, though.

"Viruses and such make sense." Lee gulped, nodding. "The soldiers at the checkpoint said they needed to check us for 'exposure'. That sounds like something disease or virus-related to me." He said. Their talk was cut off, though, and immediately Lee turned to Lin and put a hand down on top of hers, out of concern. He tilted his head and scanned her face.

"Lin?" He called, softly. "Hey, Lin? You alright?" He asked. "It was a close call but we got you wrapped up. How you feeling?" He asked.

 

[Ririn]

"Like shit!" She said but there was a smile across her face and her voice was steady. All good sings. That and how she turned her hand and gave a light squeeze to Lee's. He was right. They had made it.

Lin scanned the room around her, seeing the biker and the little girl that was with him, the food and the tea on the table and finally Jack that was leaned over her, smiling aswell.

"I'm so happy to see you bro."
"I'm happy too Lin. So happy you managed it. From what Lee has being telling me you saw some serious... Uhm, happenings in the hospital uh?"
"Yeah, yeah we did."

Supporting her weight with Jack helping her Lin stood up. She spotted the different clothes she had on immediately but now wasn't the time to bother with that. Lin drugged her self to a chair grabbing a fork and a plate of lasagna. Damn, this must have been the best plate of lasagna ever!

"I'm Melinda. But they call me Lin." She said to the biker and the girl she had yet to meet.
"I'm Chase." The man said looking at her between eating aswell. "And this is my daughter, Robbin."
"Hey!" The girl said shyly.

So, he was her father and not her brother. The resemblance was there but he must had her when he was just a kid himself.
"Thank you for what you did back there Chase. At the military block. It got us out in time."
"Hey, Lin? You feel alright sharing a bed with the doctor here?" Jack suddenly asked, still anxious of the inadequate space of his house. Lin turned to look at her brother, the boy that sat further away from everyone and still was dressed as if he would go to a college class any minute now.
"Well, if Lee is ok with sharing I don't mind. We have to make due with what he have at this point." She agreed with a nod but looked over the her colleague to see if he would be alright with it aswell. Sleeping on a chair after all they had been through seemed a stupid sacrifice over modesty.

 

[Wordy]

"You look how I feel." Lee chuckled a tiny bit. "God, I thought we'd seen the last of you at first." He sighed, but more a sigh of relief than anything else. "I was honestly just... When you dropped? Yeah, that was pretty terrifying. We were going for hours and you had the wind in your face." He said. "You tanked it, though. If I knew how to ride a bike I would have offered to swap places halfway through, but..." He shrugged. "Bet you were wishing we had a car, though." He joked, and he winked.

Keeping spirits high would be helpful for everyone.

Chase looked at Melinda, shrugging. "Well, at the end of the day I didn't want to die, either." He said, "Jackasses at the blockade were just making it unnecessarily difficult. Whole lot of good that did them, right?" He mumbled, drinking some of his soup. Robin looked up at him.

"Do you think mom was caught in that?"

"No. She would have seen us if she was in there." He said. "Don't worry about your mom... She probably got out just fine." He rubbed her shoulder.

He leaned back in his seat and looked across the room, a soft frown resting on his face. Something troubled him, clearly, but it wasn't something he went on to speak about.

But then there was talk of who was sharing beds.

Lee looked over at Lin, "Oh. Yeah, I'm cool with that." He nodded. "Yeah, that's all good. After all we've been through today, I don't think sharing a bed is going to be the strangest experience we've had, right?" He laughed a little. He looked over at Chase - it was safe to assume they'd have the couch. He doubted that Robin wanted to leave her father's side, and she needed someone to keep an eye on her tonight. Hypothermia was definitely there, so, monitoring her and making sure she was healthy was important. They had a doctor and a nurse on call, though, so if anything went wrong? They were there.

Lee looked around them all.

"I suppose the best thing to do, then, is get some rest... And in the morning we'll try and figure out what we're doing next." He said. "See if we can... Call for help, or something. I mean... We can't be alone in all of this, right?" He asked. It was optimism, even if he didn't actually believe it himself. He looked over at Lin, "You gonna' need any help getting upstairs? As someone who went through hypothermia as a kid... I know how much it takes it out of you."

 

[Ririn]

"No, we can't be the only ones left." Jack agreed but then frowned at the thought. "Just keep in mind, people can get aggressive in situations where their lifes are threatened."
He wasn't really a pessimist no. Not an optimist like Lee seemed to be either. Jack was more of a realist and as such he knew that people would be hostile, trying to protect themselves their families and their possessions. Maybe not from so early on but it would get to that sooner or later.

"Anyway, you all need rest." The man said getting up. "Finish your dinner and I'll bring over some pillows. Maybe a blanket more." And with that Jack left them, going back up. He made sure his sister and Lee would have everything they need then took a pillow and a blanket to his office. All seemed quite outside, the snow had layed a thick blanket everywhere judging from how white the road and the drive way looked. Jack also checked the internet. A radio was still broadcasting but the other three had fallen into silence.
There was a video from Berlin and a few of them from all over the country. New York was in a bad state and so was Ohio and Florida. Jack would have to show those videos to Lin tomorrow.

"You are very kind Lee." She said with a smile "For wanting to switch places on the bike had you known how to ride one to being worried because I fainted. But hey! You fell into hypothermia as a kid and look at you know." Lin tried to joke but she knew her mind wasn't at its best state to make jokes. "Nevertheless, some help would be appreciated." She agreed feeling no need to play it a hero. Her body was weak, her head felt foggy and she was in pain from the migraine as well. All she needed now was a bit of a sleep. A good sleep, in a soft bed.

Five minutes later Jack was back down with another blanket and two pillows.
"Ok, these are for you." He said to Chase. "I know the couch ain't much but if you take it's own pillows out you will have more space. Plus a blanket. I think Robbin here better stay as warm as possible." He looked around the room one more time. "The door is locked, the windows are safe and I'll be upstairs. There is some more food in the fridge and bottled water by the kitchen counter. It will be a safe night I believe. There is no movement on the street."

Lin put down her empty plate slowly getting up. "If he says we are safe, we are safe." She said, mainly to Chase. The man had two guns, two guns they would need to talk about should Robbin and him stayed with them and his own daughter. From all of them, Lin had the feeling he was the most worried one though he concealed it nicely. Having a kid was anxious enough on its own. Having a kid traveling on a bike in the middle of winter because of a freaking apocalypse, well that was something else.

"Goodnight little brother." Lin said waking up to him and planting a small kiss on his cheek despite knowing how uncomfortable it would make him. "Goodnight everyone." She wished to the others as well.
"Night!" Was all Jack said before storming off upstairs. As always, her little brother hadn't thought of helping her with the stairs so Lin would have to let Lee help her and lead her into the bedroom.

 

[Wordy]

"Indeed, well," Lee chuckled, "Luckily, hypothermia doesn't last forever, so you don't need to trouble yourself thinking about that." He poked her shoulder. "My kindness is just... I mean, hopefully it's what anyone would do, right?" He said. "With everything going on, we can't lose touch with who we are. I get the feeling people are going to have to be helping each other a lot more from now on. Not just us, either... I mean people as a whole." He said.

"Help is coming." Lee nodded, and he got to her side and slowly lifted her, looping an arm around her chest to keep her upright. "One step at a time, alright? You might not believe this, but I get the feeling we're gonna' sleep well tonight. I feel like I've been awake for days." He sighed, softly.

Chase looked up at him, "Buddy, I could sleep on rocks if I really needed to." He said. "We'll be fine here." He smiled and wrapped yet another blanket around Robin. "I'll be fine here. Just gotta' give the lady all the comfort." He hugged Robin to his side again. Then he nodded to Lin, "I'll take your word for it." He said, then set his head back on the couch.

...

Following the conversation downstairs, with everyone saying the appropriate goodnights and whatnot, Lee took it into his hands to do as he promised. He helped Lin up the stairs and through to the room that they'd been given for the night.

Seeing a bed, he didn't think anything could make him happier, honestly. First thing's first, he helped her over to the bed and sat her down on it, then went around to the other side and sat down there beside her. He took a deep breath and kicked his legs up onto the bed, lying back.

"So." He said, "Your brother's an... Interesting guy." He said, "Forgive me for saying, but..." He rolled over to look at her. "Your brother seems very... Relaxed, given everything that's going on. I know that he's safe here, but..." He shook his head. "Soup? Tea? It's all very... Formal. I mean, it's good that he's calm, but it almost seems as if he's acting like nothing's out of the ordinary?" He asked. "He hasn't really mentioned much about himself. I guess I'm worried. You don't think this whole thing's getting to him too much, do you?"

Lee was none the wiser to who Jack really was, clearly.

 

[Ririn]

Grateful for the help, Lin layed back on the bed getting her feet up as soon as Lee sat her down. He was right. It felt like she hadn't slept for days! With how crazy the ER had been, then with all the adrenaline so high for so long and on top of all that the hypothermia Lin now felt more tired than ever before in her life.

So when Lee spoke to her, a bit worried about her brother she only turned her head towards him instead of her whole body.
How could she explain her brother to him?

"I get your concern. You think he has zoned out and doesn't realise what's happening right?" She asked with a smile. "I mean, I get it. I totally get it. Jack... He was always like that. Way too calm even when shit started hitting the fan he would shrug it of and work on solving whatever problem. And it wouldn't be too much to say he has been preparing for something like that since he was a child. Always fixating over conspiracy theories and survival methods. Did you notice the windows? This is the pick of the iceberg." Lin paused a little as she went back to their younger years where things weren't always easy and her brother just seemed to not care at all. She was always angry with him at the time and only later had come to realise he wasn't mean or cynical just rather, himself.
"He is not very good with people you know? He doesn't have any friends don't think he ever had a girlfriend... But he is smart! Like, genius level smart. I mean he is twenty with two degrees. He makes double the money I do." Lin shrugged, still smiling. "So don't worry. He knows what's happening. Maybe he knows more than we do."