Realistic or Modern Overcast: Outbreak [EnkoKasumi]

[ArcticFox]

"Thank you, Greg." She said with a kind smile. "My name is Dynis. I'd appreciate your help." The sounds coming from the upstairs did not feel very welcoming at all. And having another person by her side seemed to be a safe option. Greg could have been wary of her and she did not feel entirely positive about him, but still, two heads were better than one. She will not question his intentions for now. "What is happening upstairs? It does not sound good." She said taking a few steps up.

 

[Lorsh]

"People killing each other," Greg states bluntly as he shrugs. "It's the sick ones, though. It's them who's basically doing all of it." The young man shudders a bit. "Something's real fuckin' wrong with them, so don't let them touch you," he warns. Greg then turns back around and begins to quickly walk up the steps, appearing to lead the way as he makes his ascent to the fourth floor. He keeps his knife pointed slightly in front of him, showing caution whenever he turns a corner.

Presumably, you follow. You both make it up to the fourth floor, still seeing droplets of blood fall through the stairwell gap... the source is likely a body from the far-upper levels.


Now peering down the hallway, you can see a grisly sight. Several bodies are lying in the hallway, and blood is smeared across the yellowy walls. You can see Alexis's room number, but there appears to be two blood-spattered individuals slamming against her door, trying to get in. Two other lunatics are in the hallway as well, making for a total of four.

"Shit," Greg murmurs, looking down at his crappy knife, then at your crappy knife. "We gotta do something."

They haven't spotted you yet, giving you a short time to plan. But you don't have long.

 

[ArcticFox]

Something needed to be done quickly. But they were not the best equipped people for it. Not the most capable. Or at least Dynis had never had a fight in her life and Greg did not look like much either. She quickly scanned the hallway for something that could give them an edge. If they could just separate the people, fight them two by two, get something heavy to knock them out. There should be a fire extinguisher here somewhere, or an ax, those were always in the hallways behind glass screens.

 

[Lorsh]

The first sickly duo continues to slam against Alexis's door, while the other two idly sway from side to side, foamy blood drizzling from their mouths. You can also hear some faint moans emitting from the other hallways on the same floor.

You quickly look around, and notice that there is a fire extinguisher resting in an easily accessible casing on the wall. It's not a fire axe, but it might prove useful.

Greg tries to do some quick thinking. "Uhh- could we loop around, maybe?" he suggests. "That way we could... go past the first two ones in the front, then we'd just deal with the two fuckers at the door," he says, although some uncertainty is evident in his voice.

 

[ArcticFox]

"I don't know, Greg, don't you hear those sounds? What if the situation in the other hallways is worse than here. I'd rather go straight." Besides this looked like the closest way and Dynis really wanted to get to Alex as soon as possible. She looked Greg over. "You are stronger than me. You can take that extinguisher and swing it at the first two guys. It should knock them out or daze them." Then he gave a quick look around for anything else that might be useful, a pipe, a piece of wood, anything she might swing as a bat. She did not want to have to use a knife on people, no matter how dangerous they looked.

 

[Lorsh]

Music

Greg quickly nods, seeing your point. "Right, might not be a good idea. Don't wanna run into more of them," he says.

A small voice emits from your pocket. "Everything okay out there?" Alexis asks.

Greg looks over at the sickly people, then at his serrated, stainless steel pocket knife- still clean. He sighs before taking the fire extinguisher. "Alrighty, whatever you say," he shrugs. Maybe he originally planned on doing a little stabbing, but he seems to be content with doing some bashing with the fire extinguisher instead.

The hallway is devoid of any other possible blunt weapons. You'll have to make due with what you've got.

Greg finally accepts the heavy red canister and makes himself ready.

Greg approaches the first sickly person, who appears to be hunched over one of the bodies. He takes a deep breath before slamming the fire extinguisher into the back of the woman's skull, knocking her over. She lies still... maybe unconscious.

The other one turns around, noticing Greg. This sickly person (a man this time) flails his arms towards Greg, but he manages to sidestep. Greg then bashes him in the head, sending him to the ground. However, the ruckus catches the attention of the two people banging on Alexis's door. They turn around, snarl, and begin to stagger towards you both.

 

[ArcticFox]

Well, Greg was turning out to be a much bigger help that she expected him to. Dynis could just stand and watch, phone in one hand, knife in the other as he efficiently disposed of the two sick people, who, when she thought about it, did not look like people at all. They were making guttural sounds and their eyes were vacant, while their movements were stiff and uncontrolled. Were they even conscious of their actions? She remembered one boy at the clinic who got in with the first symptoms. After a while he started acting much like these two, but before Dynis could find out anything he was taken by some of the officials, CMI or something like that.

"We are in front of your apartment." Dynis remembered to say into the phone, before quickly putting it back in her pocket, knife at the ready. She knew that she had a chance of dodging the other two and slipping past them to the doors of Alexis's apartment. But she did not want to leave Greg, he had helped her so much thus far. If she could distract them so they walked toward her, then Greg might be able to get behind them and knock them out. If that failed, she had a flimsy knife to rely on.

 

[Lorsh]

You dash forward, and manage to maneuver past the awkward, shambling residents. Greg appears surprised at your sudden move, but uses the opportunity to step forward and smash one of them in the head from behind. The sickly man slumps to the ground, leaving one remaining.

Your shirt is grabbed by the final assailant, and there is a brief scuffle before you are sent to the ground. A teenager with milky eyes is attempting to snap at you violently.

 

[ArcticFox]

He was trying to bite her! Realization hit her. Those were the symptoms of rabies that everyone talked about. She did not have much time to think. The teenager was of her size and she could push him off. Quickly she flipped the knife in her hand and lodged it between his teeth so that the blade faced outward and did not cut him. Then she pushed with the hand the knife and the hand that was somewhere in between his body and hers. She desperately tried not to make eye contact as a small whimper escaped her lips.

 

[Lorsh]

[I edited the first post to keep track of your inventory. Anything I'm missing?]

One of the downed people has gotten back up again, and enters into an awkward scuffle with Greg before he can help you.

You jam the other end of your knife into the rabid teenager's mouth, and try to push him off you. Though, it doesn't look like you're getting anywhere; he appears surprisingly strong, despite not being particularly bulky.

Then, someone grabs the back of your assailant's hair, yanking him off of you. Alexis grunts, before sending her boot into the teen's head, creating a sickening crunch upon connection. She gasps a bit upon realizing what she's done, but quickly goes to help you up. "Holy shit, was he trying to rape you?" she asks.

Greg finally pushes the sickly attacker down again, finishing the job with another good bash from the extinguisher. "Is that her?! Can we get the fuck outta here?" His blood must be pumping.

The moans from the other hallways are getting closer. Not only that, but there's no telling whether the sickly people you and Greg took down will get back up again or not.

 

[ArcticFox]

(All there!)

"He was trying to bite me!" Dynis exclaimed, looking at Alex. Rape was one thing, she could deal with that. Well, she would have an easier time understanding it. "Are you alright? Both of you?" She asked glancing at the two people in the hallway. She knew that this wasn't exactyl a safe place, but she did not know where else to go. The outside was chaos. "Greg, were you trying to go somewhere when you met me?"

 

[Lorsh]

"Bite you? What the hell," Alexis shivers, glancing around at the carnage in the hallway. She has a hard time processing it, and nearly vomits.

Greg and Alex sweat, nodding in affirmation that they're both okay.

"My truck, out in the lot," Greg answers. He points back over towards the stairwell. "C'mon, let's just move," he grunts, before chucking his extinguisher at one of the slowly-recovering downed people, knocking them to the floor once again. He rushes off in the direction of the stairs. Alex looks at you for guidance. It might be the only thing left to do, with all the converging crazies.

 

[ArcticFox]

"We should go after him." Dynis nodded at her friend. "He helped me get to you." Then she spared one glance at the people on the ground not entirely sure that she wasn't dreaming. No time for contemplation yet. She ran pas Alexis, grabbing her wrist and pulling her along, holding her knife in the other hand. Just in case.

 

[Lorsh]

"Shit, uh- Okay, gotcha!" Alexis grabs your hand and rushes alongside you, following Greg as he descends the blood-flecked stairwell.

The three of you run back out to the parking lot. Greg approaches one of the vehicles, an old blue truck. He produces his keys from his pocket and quickly unlocks it, before climbing into the driver's side.

"Alright, quick. Get in, ladies," he says. Assuming you climb the passenger's side, Alexis follows. There's three seatbelts, although the one in the middle lacks a sash. Once the three of you are presumably seated in the vehicle, there is an aura of temporary safety. "So, uh... what should we do now?" Greg asks as he starts up the engine. "Hadn't planned this far."

 

[ArcticFox]

Well, they had come to the truck. It was obvious that they weren't planning on holing up in one of the apartments. Dynis had originally intended to get to Alexis so the two of them can fortify in her apartment, or get back to Dynis's, and stay safe until the chaos passed. But it could be weeks until that happened. And now, as they faced the four... feral people in the hall in Alexis's building, she was not so sure that boarding up is the safest option. They did not actually have any food nor water with them currently, unless Greg had stashed some, so if they planned on going somewhere they would need that first. Maybe the smartest thing was to just get outside of the city, to the suburbs. Yes, to where her parents lived.

"I'll ring my mom, see if the situation is better there." Dynis said getting her phone. She suddenly remembered that weeks passed since she called her last. She always delayed it, thinking she'd have more time tomorrow. And that time never arrived. She hoped that both of them were safe.

 

[Lorsh]

Greg and Alex nod, taking a few moments to catch their breaths. As you speak on the phone, they quietly converse, familiarizing themselves with each other.

You use your mobile phone to call up your parents' house number. The call progress tone hums in your ear for a few moments.

...

...

Someone picks up.

"Hello?" It's your father's voice. "Dynis, is that you?" he asks. You can also hear a female voice saying something in the background, suggesting that your mother is also present. Your father continues to speak. "Holy shit, are you okay? Where are you, Dynis? Are you sick, sweetheart?"

Well, at least your parents seem to be okay. There's no telling how long you'll be able to keep the call going, though. It seems to have some difficulty coming through, although you can still hear their voices clearly.

 

[ArcticFox]

"Hi, dad." Dynis answered, smiling weekly. Her voice suddenly started trembling, but she managed to keep it together. "I'm not sick. I'm fine. Are you guys fine? Hey, I'm with some friends and we are trying to get out of the city, as the situation here is not improving yet. Can we stop by your place?" More like bunker inside your place, but she did not say it yet. Maybe they wouldn't need to do so anyway.

 

[Lorsh]

"We're alright," your father replies. "We're just keeping everything locked up, and've hunkered down with some neighbours. You should come over quick, in case they start trying to seal off the city. News was talking about the authorities doing something like that."


Alexis squints her eyes. "Think some of those, uh, people are getting closer..." she points out. The carnage at the apartment's front entrance appears to be over, with the "sickly" side emerging victorious. Several figures are wandering in the general direction of the parking lot, some appearing lethargic and shambling, but most appear to move briskly and erratically. Despite the difference in movement, they're all stained with blood and have feral appearances.

"Are you done?" Greg asks, glancing at you. "We should figure out where to go, and get the hell outta here."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Okay, dad." Dynis said to her father. "I'll come over soon. I'll call you when I'm near." Seeing that their situation was getting more complicated by the second, she hung up the phone, placing it back in her pocked, before turning to Greg. "Go, drive. I'll tell you where."

 

[Lorsh]

Greg nods, deciding to turn on his truck's stereo, putting on some music (although not too loudly.) Having already shifted into gear, Greg takes his foot off the brake and accelerates somewhat quickly in order to avoid the incoming sicklies, who attempt to slap their bloodied hands against the windows as they approach. One of the fast-movers leaves a pus-infused scarlet streak on the corner of the windshield, before being toppled by the truck.

"Shit," Greg mutters as the tires slowly roll over the man's body. Once the "bumps" subside, Greg glances in the rear-view mirror. The man is on the ground, heavily debilitated, but appearing more pissed off than in pain. "He'll live," Greg shrugs uneasily.


Things are still chaotic. It would not be impossible to drive a vehicle through the streets, but it would be quite dangerous. Then again, doing anything is dangerous.

"Maybe we should get some supplies before we do anything else," Greg suggests.

"Do we need supplies?" Alex asks. "I mean... we could just try to get out of the city while we still can."

 

[ArcticFox]

Dynis was on the same page as her friend. She did not want to linger in the city any longer than she had to. The horrors that they witnessed over the past couple of hours did hardly fuel a desire to stay and search around. No, her parents had bunkered with some neighbours, which meant that they had supplies already. And if they did not, there were stores in the suburbs too. Getting outside of the city was a priority.

"I'd prefer to leave, Greg. We can get to my parents by the end of the day, even through this chaos. We'll find supplies there." Then, after a while, she spoke again. "Do you have any family, Greg?" Maybe he had someone in the city, someone he wanted to get to, but it was strange that he would not mention them so far. She knew that Alexis did not have many friends, much like herself, nor a boyfriend or any relative in the city. Her family was not even in the same country. She wondered if she had spoken with them recently.

 

[Lorsh]

Greg heaves a sigh. "Well... sister's in another city. I have a stepdad and some good friends. But y'know, they can take care of themselves," he says rather reluctantly. "We told each other that we'd save our own skins first, then figure something out." Greg seems to put it out of mind, as the situation at hand is still rather tense. "Let's just get our asses outta here, it won't matter if we're dead."


Some gunshots erupt behind the apartment building, which catches the attention of quite a few sicklies. A few even break off from pursuing Greg's truck in order to seek out the source of the gunfire instead.

"Must be one of the flat's security guards," Alexis remarks.

 

[ArcticFox]

"I feel bad." Dynis said, turning around to try and take a peek at the source of gunfire. "Do you think we should help him?" But she wasn't very sure herself. They weren't the most capable group at best and they honestly wanted to just get out of there. Still, she'd feel worse if she didn't say something.

 

[Lorsh]

Peering out, you cannot directly see the source, as it lies behind the building.

"I just wanna get outta here," Alexis shivers, definitely not wanting to leave the truck.

"Well, if we do that, we gotta decide what route we're gonna take," Greg says. "Main highway would be quickest. We might be lucky, if we get there before it's jammed," Greg tries to think of some alternatives. "Could take one of those other, less important roads out. Would take longer to get to, but might be less crowded."

 

[ArcticFox]

Dynis gave up on locating the source of gunshots, not really wanting to go out there herself.

"We shouldn't go through the main highway, it must be clogged by now. Let's go around."