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Lost
May 16, 2009 20:29:35 GMT -5
Post by jtatertot on May 16, 2009 20:29:35 GMT -5
Collin felt like he was always lost.
There wasn't anyone around. Well, there were a few of the gross zombies, but he had managed to keep hidden from them so far. They weren't too great for company anyway, what with that always trying to kill you thing, and besides, they smelled bad.
So he was looking for people. He didn't want to need anybody, but dammit, he was hungry. He had proved rather helpless at procuring his own food so far, and had eaten some stuff from the back room of an empty deli a couple of days back. Man, did he regret that. After laying in the deli bathroom puking for a day or so, he decided that he needed to find an adult. He told himself that necessities such as hunger and safety were the only reasons, but as much as he hated to admit it to himself, Collin was terribly lonely.
And so he walked. He complained out loud to himself as he did so, cursing everything from his parents to the heat to the road for being so hard and tearing his shoes up. He followed the road until it opened up into a city. He could read the signs and knew where he was by name, but still felt miserably lost.
He walked through the streets, not paying a bit of attention to safety and still talking to himself.
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Lost
May 16, 2009 20:39:58 GMT -5
Post by Shiro on May 16, 2009 20:39:58 GMT -5
A man came rushing around the corner and past the boy, his blond hair whipping around his face, sticking to it occasionally from the moisture of the humid day. The hat he wore seemed plastered to his head, yet he held it with one hand anyway. He seemed to be fleeing from something, but not with the ferocity that one would run from zombies. He looked more as if he was fleeing from a friend while playing a game of tag. His scarf trailed past the boy's face--
He stopped.
Luke turned and looked at the one he had just passed. There was no way that that was an infected. He breathed and couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. He wanted to say something but was afraid that he would frighten the little boy. After a few unfathomably bewildered moments, he stepped forward and held out his hand, ice colored eyes shining with the oncoming tears.
"Oh my god," he breathed, "You're human."
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Lost
May 16, 2009 21:18:04 GMT -5
Post by jtatertot on May 16, 2009 21:18:04 GMT -5
Collin stood still for a moment, puzzled by this man who was clearly having...fun. The next emotion was a frantic joy at finally having found someone, and the next was shyness, of all things. He managed to hide all of these thoughts however, and instead crossed his arms and scoffed, "Well duh. Do I look like one of those disgusting things?"
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Lost
May 16, 2009 21:31:39 GMT -5
Post by Shiro on May 16, 2009 21:31:39 GMT -5
Luke stood up and quirked his head to the side, a queer smile running across his lips. In his barely Swedish accent he voiced his confusion, "Not the reaction that I was expecting, but we'll work with it."
He neared the boy and bent a little, getting on his level, "You don't look anything like one of them. I was just so relieved to see you." He held his hand toward the small boy and offered a gentle smile, "My name is Lukas Akraka, you can call me Luke, mister...?"
He trailed off, clearly intending for the boy to finish his sentence. Although he didn't seem like the most personable survivor, Luke would have to play with the cards he was dealt, and if that meant catering to a snot-nosed brat, so be it. In truth, Luke already liked the child, he was strong and independent, something the Swede envied.
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Lost
May 16, 2009 21:52:06 GMT -5
Post by jtatertot on May 16, 2009 21:52:06 GMT -5
"Cauldwell...Collin Cauldwell..." He did not shake the man's hand. He instead sneered just a little, a mostly subconscious expression. He wasn't sure if he liked this guy, this Luke; he was odd and overly friendly and was secretly exactly how Collin wished he could be. Where this would make some people respond with admiration, or at least kindness, Collin instead felt inclined to be condescending, perhaps in an attempt to build himself up.
He asked, "Is there any food around here?" He tried to sound as if he didn't need this man's help, wasn't desperate for food, but wasn't entirely sure he was successful.
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Lost
May 16, 2009 22:08:15 GMT -5
Post by Shiro on May 16, 2009 22:08:15 GMT -5
Luke dropped his hand to his side and stood up, running a hand through the hair on the back of his head, setting his hat askew. He tilted his head in the opposite direction, pulling his hair a little in minor frustration. His eyes wandered and he looked down at the kid before adjusting his hat back into place.
"Yeah, there is still some canned stuff in the QT." He jerked his head in its general direction and began to walk. Although the kid seemed as if he didn't want help, Luke was going to help him anyway, gain his trust, and become his friend if it killed him. He shoved both hands into the pockets of his faded jeans as he turned the corner onto 5th and began to make his way toward what had been his major food source for a month.
After they got food, Luke planned on taking the kid back to the high school he was staying in and trying to convince him to stay.
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Lost
May 17, 2009 0:14:41 GMT -5
Post by jtatertot on May 17, 2009 0:14:41 GMT -5
Collin followed willingly, trailing behind Luke. He didn't say anything for a few minutes, but then couldn't stand the silence. He said, as offhandedly as he could, "So, what's going on around here?" He dragged his feet across the pavement in an attempt to make even more noise. It helped him relax; silence was frightening.
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Lost
May 17, 2009 0:33:52 GMT -5
Post by Shiro on May 17, 2009 0:33:52 GMT -5
Luke looked over his shoulder at the boy and quirked a brow, "What do you mean?"
He pushed the door to the abandoned gas station aside and stepped in, holding for the boy. It was hot and dark inside and stank a little, but Luke's calm blue eyed expression made him seem used to it.
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Lost
May 19, 2009 22:40:27 GMT -5
Post by jtatertot on May 19, 2009 22:40:27 GMT -5
Collin followed Luke into the gas station. "Ugh...do we have to stay in here?" The question was rhetorical, and he didn't wait for an answer. "I mean, is everyone dead? Are there zombies everywhere? Is it...I dunno...a safe place to be?"
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Lost
May 19, 2009 23:40:51 GMT -5
Post by Shiro on May 19, 2009 23:40:51 GMT -5
Luke looked at the boy, a little frustration in his eyes, "We're not going to stay here, we're just going to pick up some food."
He lowered his drawstring bag from his shoulders and opened it. It was completely empty. He sighed and threw in a few bags of popcorn and some Poweraid before venturing over to the canned food section and tossing in whatever he could find.
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