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Post by Jia Hawthorne on Apr 16, 2009 17:14:43 GMT
Jia remembered when she loved sleep. Drifting off had always come easy to her, and her frequent and adventuresome dreams had been a source of entertainment for her. That felt like centuries ago now… before the world had gone to shit and sleep became the enemy.
The sky was shifting from purple to blue, and the air was cold and damp. Jia tilted up the hood of her jacket a little and scrubbed at her tear-stained cheeks with chilled fingers. Her butt had numbed long ago, but the small movement prodded an ache in her tail-bone, a reminder that she’d been sitting on the motel roof for God knew how many hours.
She couldn’t stay there forever, and she knew it. Her last bottle of water was already down to half. There might still be something salvageable back in the room…
Jia shuddered and suppressed a whimper. More than likely, she’d trip over pieces of Travis and Lisa before finding any supplies. Besides, it was so quiet up here, almost peaceful. She had thought the screaming of last night would never end. It was hard to leave such perfect quiet.
The sky was still brightening, bit by bit, but the air got no warmer. Jia could see her own breath clouding in front of her. It reminded her of Travis’s chain smoking that only grew worse as the quarantine stretched on. She hadn’t liked him much, but she still couldn’t believe that he was gone. And Lisa… God, it had all happened so fast.
Maybe the infection had started in the motel itself, some frightened little dipshit in denial about what was about to happen, putting them all at risk, and drawing a ravenous horde right to their doors. Jia had been out in the hall when she heard the feral shrieks. She had tried to get back to the others to warn them, but the noise had flooded her. She had run into the nearest room; it showed signs of being occupied, but no one was there now. She had pulled down a closet’s entire contents down on top of herself, trying to hide…
Not the best idea she could have had. Her left shoulder still throbbed if she lifted her arm too high, the result of a heavy box landing on it. But somehow the plan worked. The screamers had missed her. She remembered hearing Lisa frantically shouting her name, and her guts clenched. Despite being two years her senior, Lisa was skittish and inclined to look to Jia to take charge of things. Lisa had been scared without her, went looking for her, and her cries had attracted the shrieking horde.
Travis had died later. From her little hidey-hole in the closet, Jia had heard his brazen curses dissolve into more screaming, his voice added to the rising cacophony of horror and madness. The last of her companions. They had survived nearly three months in this pit of hell, somehow.
Now Jia was alone.
The first light of the morning sun tipped over the distant buildings of Williamsburg. Jia had been waiting for it all night, but it seemed a harsh light that only served to illuminate the extent of decay all around her. It was warm, but hardly comforting.
With a sigh edged with the threat of tears, Jia rose stiffly to her feet, stretched as far as her sore shoulder would allow and picked up her backpack. It was time to go.
The only problem now was getting down.
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Post by James Furnell on Apr 17, 2009 19:35:26 GMT
His steps were heavy. There were three of them now, and he had one bullet left in the revolver that he held so tightly. As he ran, he had to weave through the cars with his sports bag, filled with tins of tomatoes. Just moments earlier, he'd been looting food from the back of a truck when one of the 'runners' spotted him with her dark eyes and patchy skin. James panicked, if he were quicker, he probably could have shot her, but then he saw the others - a group of 'amblers' right behind her, with two more ferals darting between them.
Even now, his fear was gripping his muscles, he almost fell over three or four times. His cowardice wanted him to collapse out of exhaustion and let them eat him.
Fuck that.
Adrenaline kept him awake. It steered his journey to a Motel that lay wide open up ahead. He skirted around a nearly-dead ambler and managed to force the motel's door closed. Behind the frosted glass he could see the face of his predator, as he frantically flipped up the lock.
The motel's lobby was trashed. The walls were black with fire damage and a lone corpse lay in tatters up against one of the wall. An elevator lay half open, revealing what little was left of it's cell. Jesus...
The three infected bodies were shrieking and howling at him through the door. They were furious that he'd managed to get away. The door wouldn't hold for long...soon, the thin glass would shatter and they'd bundle in.
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Post by Jia Hawthorne on Apr 17, 2009 20:32:14 GMT
Jia was crouched at the edge of the roof, trying to navigate a safe spot to jump down, when a blood-curdling shriek cut through the morning air. Her heart pounded, her head swam, but she leaned away from the edge before she could tumble off the roof.
It sounded close, but not right on top of her yet...
Jia stood up and ran across the roof just in time spot a man with a heavy bag running full-tilt from three screamers. She threw herself flat against the roof. He was coming toward her; if the damn ferals looked up, they might see her...
But they were too fixated on their prey, and the man straight for the motel entrance. "Aw shit!" Jia hissed, and sprang to her feet again.
There was a small section of the roof that had sunk close to one of the second-floor balconies. It was how she had gotten up in the first place. Jia let her backpack fall to the concrete floor before tipping her legs over the side. For a moment she let herself dangle, praying that the roofing would support her weight, then dropped down.
The sliding glass door was shattered, and the stench that emerged made her stomach roll and face sweat. Rotten foulness, like a garbage dump in the sun...
"Don't think about it, don't think about it," Jia growled at herself, leaning over her knees. "Stop thinking, stop standing here and move your ass, just go!"
Holding her breath, she snatched up her pack again and ran through the broken room, refusing to look at anything or imagine what she trod on in the dark. She dashed all the way through the hall. When she reached the stairwell, she halted in her tracks.
Bodies everywhere, on the stairs, the landing... mostly pieces, one or two intact corpses, all bloodied, all eaten...
Jia turned and ran back the way she came. There was another stairwell at the opposite end of the building. She would have to pass through the long hallway, and whatever still lay in waiting there, but she couldn't face that horror.
More bodies lay strewn about, but in far fewer numbers. Not many people had been on the second floor, and those that had heard the shriekers coming had crowded the staircase, herded like cattle. Jia ran as fast as she could and practically slammed into the wall at the far end of the motel, near the door to the other stairwell. She ripped it open and ran downstairs, nearly tripping over her own feet in her haste to get down.
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Post by James Furnell on Apr 20, 2009 10:25:50 GMT
The hallways were dark, and the entire motel was swamped in the noise of his hunters. They shrieked and screamed in anger and pain as James disappeared into the dark. Gun raised, the survivor headed down one way, then turned at the end and continued towards a light. The building was locked in a dark abyss, bodies were strewn up against the walls and what little like that came from the dirty window, had to penetrate through layer upon layer of dust and grime.
James was about to turn into a room, when he saw a figure over by the bed. It didn't see him, but instead stood head-against-wall, almost asleep... He reached in and silently closed the door on the zombie. They were the worst sort of infected, he'd noted; one minute they'd be peaceful and the next they'd jump at you from the dark. This entire building was full of them...
Then something startled him. Somewhere behind he heard a clatter, like running. It was a steady beat of 5 steps, then a larger 'thump', then 5 steps again. It came from the stairwell right at the end, he could see into it from where he was. The sound was getting louder and louder, yet he couldn't turn. He couldn't run - the noise would swarm all over him and lock him in fear.
The revolver raised in a shaky hand. One bullet was all he had. But he waited, and preyed that he'd hit whatever came his way.
Then it came, like a beast, down the stairs. It was a 'she' in a previous life. Cowardice took him over and, without thinking the gun fired off. BANG!
[[Yeah, he's shooting @ you. He missed, probably.]] |
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Post by Jia Hawthorne on Apr 20, 2009 15:46:42 GMT
Jia burst from the stairwell onto the first floor, winded and wobbly in the knees. She braced against the wall and panted, trying to orient herself—BANG! The sound tore through the lobby. Dust and chunks of plaster pelted her left cheek, and Jia dropped to the floor with her arms thrown up over her head. After a second, she lifted her gaze up and stared at the silver-dollar-sized hole in the wall.
What… the… fuck…
The guy the zombies had been chasing… he had a gun?!
“Oh God, don’t shoot! I’m not one of them!” she yelled. Her breath was coming too fast, and her hands were trembling. She balled her fists and held her breath for a second, then took one, two slow and deep breaths. “I’m gonna stand up now. Just don’t shoot!”
Keeping her hands raised above her head, Jia got to her feet. She saw the guy at the far end of the lobby, his revolver still pointed at the stairwell, pointed at her. She locked eyes with him, trying to make him see that she was still human.
Outside, the screamers hammered the door with increasing ferocity.
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Post by James Furnell on Apr 21, 2009 18:21:20 GMT
Thank God that he was a shitty shot.
"Thank God that I'm a shitty shot!" He reiterated to the motel. Another survivor! They were multiplying, before long the bar would be overrun...it'd be like 'fish in a barrel' for the infected.
James hurried backtowards the stairwell, where a girl stood. She looked terrible, her skin was pale, and her face was darkened by lack of sleep. He knew that he probably looked ten times worse...
She was young - about seventeen, eighteen. The poor girl...
"Are there others?!" He asked her, and frantically looked behind him into the darkened corridor. The sound of the 'dead' seemed to be getting louder.
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Post by Jia Hawthorne on Apr 21, 2009 19:23:31 GMT
Jia shook her head. “Just me,” she replied tightly.
At the hotel entrance, the zombies pounded the door so hard it sounded like it would come off its hinges any second. No time to dwell on those lost. Not if they were going to survive…
“Second floor’s pretty clear,” she blurted out. “There’s an open window in one of the rooms! We can jump out and run before they get in, run away fast or find a place to hide.”
Unless there were more zombies lurking in the rooms upstairs. All of the shouting and banging could have woken them up, and they would catch them—
Jia heard another loud BANG, along with the sound of wood splintering, and then a shriek that vibrated the lobby walls. Running out of time… She grabbed the man’s wrist in one hand and threw open the stairwell door with the other. “Come on!”
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Post by James Furnell on Apr 22, 2009 10:27:47 GMT
She didn't have to tell him twice. As soon as the proverbial shit-hit-the-fan, he was already in full tilt up the stairs. Behind him, somewhere, he heard the door burst through and steps flooding the hallways, like a raging black sea.
The teen' led him up the set of stairs and onto a second floor, much like the first - old wallpaper, tattered floors and littered in rubble. He glanced back at the stairwell, but the firedoor had already cut off his vision. Down to the end of the corridor they went, then off into a sideroom. Just like she'd said, it was all empty.
The window, from which they'd jump, dropped directly onto a lawn (which was surprisingly green), so even though it'd be a drop of twenty or so foot, the landing would be a soft one.
"Who's first?" James asked.
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Post by Jia Hawthorne on Apr 22, 2009 14:53:41 GMT
"Me," Jia responded, already shrugging out of her backpack. She slung it over the side of the concrete balcony and let it fall, then looked up and down the lot for any sign of movement, anything that might signal more zombies waiting below. The distant shrieks from downstairs scratched at the edge of her hearing. It was easier to think with the distance between them, but that wouldn't last forever.
She climbed onto the narrow ledge and looked over her shoulder back at the man, pointing upward. "You can get to the roof from right here, too. See? It's sunk in a little. Make's a good hiding spot, just in case... you know..." Jia swallowed and glanced down below. "In case there're more down there..."
If there are more, then you run, she told herself. And do not stop running.
With a soft curse, Jia twisted around, her back to the open air, and gently lowered herself over the edge until she dangled above the lawn by her hands. The screams, though still distant, sounded a bit closer now.
Jia let go. Though she bent her knees, the impact still jarred. For a few moments she remained crouched, glancing about frantically for any signs of danger. "It's clear!" she shouted as loudly as she dared. Grabbing her backpack she scooted out of the way so the guy could make his jump.
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Post by James Furnell on Apr 26, 2009 19:15:49 GMT
[[Sorry about taking so long, do0d. Was away this weekend.]]
The girl pointed out a hiding place, should they be overwhelmed. Good thinking, he noted and scanned the street. It seemed clear, except for the odd 'ambler'. She went out onto the window ledge and disapeared into. He watched as she landed; for a second in her crouched position and he hoped that no-one saw her.
"It's clear!"
Good. James looked down at the landing zone. Why did everything look far higher that it actually was? He almost feared death from falling, but then told himself that it was little over fifteen or so foot. One leg went over the ledge and he half-sat on the sill for a moment. Christ, it looked high...he was never good with heights.
For God's sake, it's only the first floor! He told himself with a scowl. Although he had no time to contemplate anymore. A burst of noise came from the door and two of the infected tore in. The clawed at the air as they ran at him. He flung his revolver at one of them and almost dived from the window.
In a second or so, he'd hit the grass and it was far less graceful than the girl. James landed heavily on his right leg and dropped onto his side. No roll or anything, just hard and heavy on his shoulder and the shoulder back. He was winded but looked back up the window; one of the 'zombies' followed him out and dropped like a stone, headlong into the pavement. It made a sickening crunch and lay there awkwardly, still and silent...
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Post by Jia Hawthorne on Apr 27, 2009 2:42:49 GMT
Jia stared, feeling horror mixed with revulsion and more than a little pity at the sight of the broken and messy body lying on the concrete. Luckily, the fall seemed to have killed it: she saw no hint of movement from it at all. The same could not be said for its fellow on the balcony; it seemed to be recovering from the blow Jia's companion had dealt, uprighting itself slowly.
"We have to go," Jia muttered, trying very hard to keep quiet. Eyes trained on the zombie above their hands, she reached down and grabbed for one of the man's arms. "We have to go now."
Christ, they needed a weapon. If that thing came after them, it could easily run them down in the open like this! But until they found something they could use, all they could do to save themselves was run.
At last the zombie spotted them, emitted a terrifying shriek and prepared to launch itself from the balcony, heedless of the distance.
OOC: No worries. If this starts dragging on, just bop me over the head.
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