Realistic or Modern Overcast: Alexia Weber

[Lorsh]

You move forward, and raise the knife. You attempt to deliver the sharp blow, but the sheer amount of movement throws you off. The blade takes off a piece of scalp, but the infected barely flinches. At this point, you can see fingernails digging into Miles' face as he screams, a bloody thumb shoving into one of his eye sockets.

On the other side of the car, a runner can be heard bumping into it, and squelching sounds can be heard as it claws at the driver's side window. "ALEX!" Ron shouts, his voice cracking.

 

[ArcticFox]

Head snapping back and forth between the car and Miles, Alexia did not know what to do. Did she need to abandon her friend so that the rest of them can get out of there safely? Did she just sentence him to death. Not speaking, she turned and quickly ran toward the car.

 

[Lorsh]

Ron reaches over and pushes open the passenger's side door, allowing you to quickly hop in as he pulls away with nearly three runners trying to cling onto the car. He accidentally shakes them off when he clips an overturned truck and smashes one of his headlights. Though it doesn't cause him to lose control entirely, the jolt knocks off the infected.

Ivy does her best to console the two panicked children, while Ron tries to maneuver through the chaotic streets. He doesn't make any comments on what just happened, his focus entirely on driving.

The street has a few other moving cars on it, the slower ones having the tendency to have crazies latch on. Ron speeds up and passes them. There is a particularly wide roadblock of abandoned cars ahead, but Ron manages to drive over the sidewalk and the adjacent grass turf, plowing over bunch of saplings that had been planted.

He makes a turn at an intersection, heading towards the road that had been planned earlier. Now, at least the car was moving away from the path of the horde, rather than passing through the side of it.

 

[ArcticFox]

As they moved further away from their neighbourhood, Alexia could only think about Miles and the infected on top of him, gouging his eye out. She could not save him, and then she quit trying, left him for dead. Too stunned to cry, she just stared ahead wordlessly.

Then, she remembered that there were four other people in the car with her. And the children had just witnessed the death of their mother. She could not afford to be shocked. Turning around to look at the kids, she addressed Ivy, "How are they? Not hurt?"

 

[Lorsh]

Ivy keeps the boy cradled in her arms, stroking his hair as the girl leans on her lap. "T-they're okay," she says, sniffling slightly. The faint buzz of rotors is heard overhead as several helicopter gunships approach the metropolitan area.

The streets ahead are slightly less congested, at least for a few blocks. Though things are less chaotic, it is still clear that far more people are dead or infected than alive. Aside from a few cars escaping here and there, and one family camping out on their roof, everyone else seems to be infected. Ron steadies his breathing, and transverses through this quiet spot, trying to avoid collisions with more aggressive drivers or errant infected.

The car nears the southern edge of town, where some new construction had once been occurring.

There is a single small military jeep ahead, along with a few sawhorses that have been knocked over. As you decided to stay away from the highway, there is no real roadblock to speak of. The position was only manned by a skeleton crew of two or three soldiers, and they're already dead by the looks of it. Judging by the number of bodies, they managed to take down a couple dozen infectees, though the ones they missed are currently feasting on them right now.

 

[ArcticFox]

"This is worse than I thought." Alexia spoke, trying not to shiver. She couldn't believe that just yesterday she had gone to work as normal and today she was escaping the town with Ron and Ivy, and a couple of small children. And Miles was dead. She bit her lip, pushing back tears.

"Ron, are you okay to drive through the barricade?" She asked, "We should continue to the countryside and try to find an abandoned house, or someone willing to take us in." Remembering her parents, she took out her phone to check if she can get through now.

 

[Lorsh]

Ron manages to take the car around the ransacked road barricade without much trouble. "I... I think we're good," he says. He heads off down the road, finally starting to leave the suburbs behind as he heads to the rural area to the south of Newley.

You try to ring your parents again, but are met with the emergency message a second time.

Ron changes the channel on the radio while Ivy continues to console the children, switching from Miles' pop music to an independent station.

"-trying to say is yes, they're not alive. The government hasn't put out a statement on it yet, but trust me, they're not. How do I know this? I mean, look, my buddy's a paramedic, he told me that they all die first before they start trying to come after you."

"Is that so? Uh, alright. Is there any other sort of-"

"Yeah, there's more. Same guy, same buddy of mine- he's around cops a lot, yeah? One of those things had been attacking this guy, so the cops, they're on edge, they go ham, yeah? They open up on him. Twelve-gauge buckshot in the chest, doesn't do jack squat. Not to mention they've already emptied a few cylinderfuls of forty-five in him too. He wasn't alive, he doesn't need a heart, liver, whatever, so he keeps coming..."


"What the fuck," Ron simply mutters in response to the radio.

 

[ArcticFox]

Listening to the radio, Alexia did not know if she should believe the strange-sounding man or take his words with a grain of salt. It all sounded like some weird fantasy. However, she remembered very clearly how the infected swarmed the mother and then Miles. They did not look human at all. And they did not look alive, with their pealing skin and open wounds. And when she tried to help Miles, the infected that was on top of him didn't flinch when she stabbed it. It confirmed a lot of the radio-man's theories.

"How do you stop them, then?" She mused, talking to no one in particular, "Decapitation or something?"

 

[Lorsh]

Ivy coos gently to the children. "It's alright. Close your eyes. It's going to be over soon. Do you have... um... grandma and grandpa? Favorite auntie, uncle? We're gonna find them for you," she offered.

More attack helicopters fly far overhead, buzzing towards the siren-blaring city.

"...so, he does finally drop when he takes one in the head."

"I see. Now, I'd like to apologize if anyone's disturbed by that description, but I'm pretty sure we're all more disturbed about what's happening outside our windows right now, so I'm generally giving stuff like this a free pass. Anyone else wanna call in and corroborate this? Hold on... Ah, hello!"

*"They can die just like you or me, from what I've seen."

"How so?"

*"I mean, I've seen them get shot, and fall down without getting their heads blown off. They're alive, I'm pretty sure. Them being 'dead' doesn't make much sense, does it?"

"Hmm, but what abo-"

"They are dead. You can shoot someone in the spine and have them fall down."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Jesus..." Alexia sighed, "I don't know what's worse to believe, that the infected are dead or alive... either way, they certainly are not easy to... dispose of." She turned over her shoulder to the children to ask, "Do you know if any of your family might live near?"

 

[Lorsh]

"Dad's house," the little boy tells you, squirming slightly in Ivy's arm to turn to face you. Though, after being prompted by Ivy, they can't provide an address- but apparently it's somewhere back in the city.

"Are you... sure that there isn't anyone else?" Ivy asks.

They mention that they have grandparents that live out here, somewhere in the country. Again, however, they're too young to know the way.


Ron passes by a flaming car wreck as more attack helicopters fly overhead in the distance. He changes channels on the radio.

"...and we must pay for these sins. What we will pay with is with this pain, and this blood and loss. These are the end of times, but for the sinners, there will be no end. Only this death that will not die, and the hunger which will not be satisfied. It's time to repent. Repent, I say again, repent!"

"Oh boy," he murmurs, shutting it off. A few rural homes can be seen, but up ahead, the trees on either side of the road seem to be getting thicker.

 

[ArcticFox]

They would not be able to find the kids' dad, that was for certain. Alexia knew that she wasn't about to have Ron turn the car in the opposite direction and she doubted that Ron would agree anyway. Not after the disaster they've seen. She could not imagine what was it like in the city if the suburbs were like this.

"Religious people must be having a field day with this..." Alexia commented, glad that Ron had turned off the radio. She turned toward the children again, "We'll keep you safe," she said, trying to sound confident, "My name is Alexia, and that is Ivy and this is Ron. What are your names?"

 

[Lorsh]

"I'm...I'm Kate," the little girl murmurs quietly. Her younger brother remains silent, huddled against Ivy. "He's Nate," she said. Ivy can't help but giggle slightly at the similarity.

"Nice to meet you both," Ron says. "Um, Alex, do I stop anywhere? Where are we going- the airbase, or...?" he asks. You see a row of greenhouses up ahead, along with the sign of one of the Farmer's Markets on the outskirts, a bunch of laughing anthropomorphic vegetables.

 

[ArcticFox]

Smiling gently, Alexia nodded to the kids. She didn't know how were they going to cope with the things they have experienced, but she certainly hoped that they would be able to come out of it as undamaged as possible.

"Let's try the market." Alexia said, "Perhaps we'll find some survivors there. And food hopefully."

 

[Lorsh]

Ron turns the car down a gravel road, which gives way to a paved parking lot near several buildings. There's a few trucks parked there, but nobody in sight. You see a barn-themed building marked 'FRUIT % VEGETABLES', and a nearby tractor garage that rests in front of the rows of greenhouses. You see a sign with a scale advertising 'pick your own berries'.

"Well... doesn't look like there's anybody around," Ron says. He finally exhales as he shuts the car off. "God, man, I can't believe Miles is gone," he murmurs. It seems like driving was the only thing that was keeping his mind from it.

"Hey, hey- don't focus on that right now, okay? We'll get through this," Ivy tells him. "Are we getting out, Alex? My grandma would take me here sometimes- there should be a lot food."

 

[ArcticFox]

"We'll talk about it later." Alexia said, agreeing with Ivy. She'd rather they didn't talk about Miles at all. It felt as if that would mean that nothing bad had happened to him. That he simply gone off in the opposite direction.

"Let's go out." She said when they approached the market, "We'll need food soon. But, Ivy, I'd rather you stayed in the car with children."

 

[Lorsh]

[Sorry for the delay!]

"Alright- be careful out there, okay?" Ivy implores, though she mainly looks at Ron as she says it. She takes a deep breath, and initiates a game of 'I spy' to keep the two kids in the backseat occupied.

Ron opens the door, and steps out of the car. He leaves the keys inside, as well as his backpack. The only thing he takes with him is his claw hammer and flashlight. Taking a deep breath, he scans the area, which is devoid of life. Your brother seems mesmerized by the distant symphony of destruction emitting from the city, where the tallest of the buildings can still be seen in the far distance. Smoke is billowing (at this point the sky is completely gray for miles around), distant, faint gunfire is nigh constant, and helicopters and jet aircraft can still be seen buzzing around.

Ron shakes his head, taking another breath. "So, we'll go check out the... the cafe?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"Ron, we'll be okay." Alexia said, taking her brother's hand, "We'll make it out of here, find an abandoned cottage in the country, or maybe a group of people with the same idea, and then wait it out until the storm is over. It cannot last forever, all the pandemics ended eventually." At his suggestion she nodded. The cafe seemed like it could have some food they could pack in the backpacks.

 

[Lorsh]

"Do you think they'll win?" Ron asks. "...you know, the army." He keeps hold of your hand for an extra few moments, before letting go. He walks with you, heading towards the barnesque building marked 'FRUIT & VEGETABLES'. A smaller sign labels it as a cafe as well. Ron peers in through the window, and upon not seeing anyone inside, steps in.

There's a few tables and chairs set up inside, and there's a fridge behind the main counter with a few soft drinks in it. Beyond the cafe, there's numerous stands which are stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables; cucumbers, lettuce, kale, strawberries, onions, carrots. There's even a box filled with watermelons, the individual price for each one drawn on the green shells with a sharpie. It looks like they have most produce that's in-season for this spring. Beyond the stands, there's also shelves that contain numerous pickled products.

"Man, this is a lot of stuff," Ron remarks, wide-eyed. "It's probably like... one or two days old, right?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"I hope so. But I think that finding a cure for the sickness is what is the most important. I'm sure that out there somewhere in a huge lab the best doctors of the nation are already working on it." She smiled.

When they walked into the market, Alexia was immediately drawn toward fresh products. All those fruit and vegetable just looked so tasty. But how long would they need to be copped up in a cottage somewhere? Preserved products were their best bet.

"Let's take cans and jars only. Bags are fine too, just nothing fresh." She said, then thought for a moment, "Maybe a couple of apples and peaches for the kids?"

 

[Lorsh]

Ron nods, though he does look like he's trying to force himself to believe in the possibility of the crisis being solved with medicine, instead of through slaughter. "Yeah... they'll figure it out. They have to." He surveys the rows of produce and canned goods. "Yeah, this stuff will rot eventually... but we could stay here for awhile, couldn't we? Maybe look around a bit more, see if there's somewhere secure." Upon your mention of apples, he steps towards a row of various fruit preserves kept in jam jars.