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Post by Shiro on Jul 4, 2009 2:00:30 GMT -5
It was sunset, which meant it was not good for someone like Gray to be out alone and in the open. For some reason, the infected seemed to prefer stalking the night. Gray never quite understood this but assumed that it had something to do with the sun being harsh on their rotting eyes.
The boy gripped his bat as he rounded a building and began to make the long trek across the mall's parking lot. Yeah, it was a big, vacant place and he would be easily spotted, but with how thirsty he was, he's do anything to the mall as fast as he could and find a working water fountain.
He ducked behind a truck when he heard the high pitched screech of a Vermin, his white knuckled grip somehow becoming tighter around the neck of his bat.
...Then he broke into a sprint toward the mall, leaping over cars and abandoned bodies as fast as he could, he had to get out of there-- NOW!
((For this you can abandon all former relationships and time lines if you'd like... also, I do not want anyone to call the first horde.))
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Post by Skynet on Jul 4, 2009 10:09:53 GMT -5
Ben Rodrigues was taking up oil painting. In front of him was a lovely half-finished landscape. He had a good eye for detail...the sparkling waves had all the grace of a sleeping predator, and there was a certain hopelessness about the tiny ship that he knew most amateurs could never capture. But the colors were too bright and garish. They were all wrong.
But Ben was no artist, so he was all-in-all very pleased with the work. He viciously ripped open a can of diced peaches with his teeth and contemplated his situation. Really, he only lifted a paintbrush in order to have something to do. A female, maybe, would have had a much easier time keeping occupied in the Michael's just outside Spengler Point Mall. There were only two good things about being a man stuck in a craft store. The first thing was the scented candles. Those rotting bastards outside hunted by smell, so Ben washed daily and never left home without a pocketful of disgusting floral tealights. And actually, it worked pretty well. He had managed to keep from being detected for over a week and three different raids for food.
The second thing... well, Ben had forgotten what it was. He was sure there was one, though. And so he was stuck here for the time being. He berated himself silently for being too cowardly to leave now. But really, there was no reason to go until he came up with a good idea for where he was going.
Aha. That was the second good thing about Michaels. It was comforting. There were all sorts of friendly-looking pseudo-weapons lying around. Scissors, glue guns, heat guns, oak picture frames with sharp corners... And best of all, the chemicals. The turpentines and paint thinners and cleaning fluids were all very interesting in their own explosive way. When the time came, he was going to go out with a bang, and take all those zombies with him.
Really, Ben was just biding his time. He'd take the RBs (rotting bastards) all down, and then he'd take down the bastards who had unleashed this evil on the world in the first place.
[[An experiment... Ben gets a profile later.]]
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Ren
Survivor
Posts: 67
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Post by Ren on Jul 5, 2009 12:25:54 GMT -5
Stretching slightly, Neena finished pulling her long hair back into a ponytail behind her. She felt refreshed and ready to take on the night time after spending the past 24 hours in the gym. She had showered and changed and even eaten well out of her bag and what was left in the work rooms. She shifted her bag on her shoulder, grabbing her fire axe again, ready to make the trek across the highway and parking lot that separated her from the week or so she planned on spending at the mall, trying to find some way to get herself back home.
She stepped out of the broken door, she'd had to break the glass to get into the gym in the first place, and started across the highway. Four lanes had never seemed so far of a walk as they did now, and then the looming parking lot ahead of her, littered with bodies and cars. She shook her head, focusing on the other side of the street and crossing without hesitation.
Once on the other side, she climbed the short hill to the parking lot, relaxing and strolling across. She couldn't see anything but the cars and corpses and she hoped the area was safe. The gym had been nice, but the mall had food, and clothes, and if she wanted she could even probably break into a department store and sleep on a nice plush bed, a dream she'd tried not to imagine over the past few weeks.
She didn't mind the walk across the parking lot as much as she had the street, it didn't seem as daunting for some reason and she had the whole night to make it. Sure she was out in the open, but that meant anything that would attack her would be as well. It was only when that thought was in her mind that she heard the loud screech nearby.
Quickly ducking behind a car, she cursed the creature for destroying the night she had hoped to enjoy, looking ahead of her and trying to find a clear path to the front door of the building. As she looked, she saw another figure, running, only about a hundred yards away from her. She watched him for a moment, determining that indeed he was human, before making her own run for the door, hoping to get there at the same time as him.
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Post by Skynet on Jul 5, 2009 20:25:36 GMT -5
After his meal of peaches and instant potatoes, Ben crept to the window. He had boarded up everything except for one tiny peephole, and that hole was conveniently blocked by a large and showy arrangement of silk tiger lilies. He eased his head in front of the vase, confident that in the dark the shape of the bouquet would mask the silhouette of his head.
Just like every other night, everything was peaceful, save for the howls of a few feeding beasts. But wait...
Across the parking lot there was a sudden movement. A hunter and its prey... No, wait. The two figures both moved like they were being chased. It took Ben a second to realize that these were real people, not Infected.
It was rare that Captain Rodrigues was at a loss, but he was. Should he make his presence known?
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Post by Shiro on Jul 5, 2009 22:22:15 GMT -5
Gray, hearing footsteps behind him, quickened his pace, once he reached the door he would turn and beat them down, but for now his focus was on getting across the parking lot before something else caught sight of him. He stole a glance over his shoulder to see how many there were. Good, just one.
He turned back to look ahead and gracefully jumped over a car, something he had picked up from his time in Chicago before the whole world went to hell. He was hardly panting and although his tank top clung to his chest and his hair slicked back a little from sweat, he was doing well-- and then the unthinkable happened.
Gray tripped.
He sprawled head over heels and dropped his bat, shielding his head with his arms as he did a full somersault. He lay flat for a moment and groaned, head swimming. Then-- he was back to reality and sat up and looked around frantically for his bat. When he couldn't find it he turned and screamed at the figure still rushing toward him, jumping backward a little to prepare himself, "Get away!"
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Ren
Survivor
Posts: 67
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Post by Ren on Jul 6, 2009 0:13:06 GMT -5
"Don't just sit there..." Neena grabbed the fallen boy's arm, stopping momentarily to pull him to his feet before running again, holding his wrist tightly. She finally reached the door at the end of the parking lot, pulling on it and turning to him again. "Can you pick this fast? I didn't see it out there so it can't be too close..."
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DJAtomika
Civilian
Oh no you didn't.
Posts: 47
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Post by DJAtomika on Jul 6, 2009 0:42:54 GMT -5
Walking through the back door of the mall, Jak peered through the darkness. He used the flashlight attached to the barrel of his suppressed M4A1 to scan the depths of the mall delivery area. Around him, trucks were parked in various places. On the upper deck where the trucks could unload their cargo to be carried to the service elevators, a few forklifts were parked there, some turned onto their sides, visibly damaged. Boxes and cargo lay strewn about the upper deck, some of the boxes opened and their contents strewn about the floor. Shampoo, canned food, household appliances, frozen food and the like, scattered about, mostly unusable, save for a few bottles of water that appeared to be undamaged.
Once he determined that the back entrance was clear, he lowered his weapon, turning off the flashlight attached to it. He let it rest against his chest, the strap slung around his shoulder and across his back. He drew the Mk23 Socom pistol, also suppressed, from his waist holster and braced it on top of his flashlight-carrying arm. He advanced into the loading bay and climbed up onto the upper deck, scanning his flashlight around everything around him. Locating the entrance into the mall, he walked through the translucent plastic strips and into the main area of the mall.
He had acquired these weapons from a group of survivors he'd met earlier at the Planetarium. Well, not "met" per se, since the survivors were dead when he saw them. Freshly killed, he had noted. They were well armed for survivors, with a few of them carrying high-powered weapons like the M4A1 he was carrying, as well as a few shotguns and assault rifles, as well as pistols and the like. But they had met their grisly fate outside the Planetarium, dying after one helluva fight, 'cause as well as the corpses of the survivors, there were at least five times the number of Infected corpses all around. Spent cartridges, shells, and even explosive residue. Those were some well armed survivors. He contemplated them being ex-military for a few moments, then continued on into the mall.
During the trip to the mall, he'd passed a library, where he had sought refuge for a few days before continuing on. In the library, he had met a survivor, a librarian named Jim French. He too was quite well armed, with a Benelli M1 pump-action shotgun and a Glock 18 pistol, and a substantial amount of ammunition. Jak sat down for a while on a nearby bench, in an empty part of the mall, near the back. He recalled his conversation with the depressed librarian. Turns out the poor man had lost contact with his sister after the Infected attacks. She had been a mechanic in a garage down-town. After the Infected had hit, the siblings had originally held out in the library. The sister, named Naomi, had gone out to scavenge for supplies. Jim hadn't seen her since. Jak had bid the librarian farewell, wishing him luck in finding his lost sister, and told the librarian that if he did indeed find Jim's lost sister, he would bring the poor girl back to the library to reunite the siblings. (These siblings, I am in the process of writing profiles for both of them.)
The former disk-jockey stood up, brushing grime and dust off his clothes, and adjusted the glasses that sat on his nose. He checked both his weapons, before scanning the area with his pistol again. The interior of the mall was brighter than the loading bay, but still dark enough to obscure the interior of the shops. Thus the reason for his flashlight. He walked along the many rows of shops, scanning and clearing each before moving on. He sat down on a nearby bench again and closed his eyes to relax underneath the setting sun, letting his tiredness fade away like wind blows away dust.
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Post by Shiro on Jul 6, 2009 0:45:02 GMT -5
Gray ripped his arm out of her grip, glaring at her, "What the fuck are you talking about?"
He was glad that she wasn't an infected like he had thought, but didn't like her commanding attitude, plus she had pulled him away from his bat. He gave her one last raised eyebrow and ran back into the parking lot to find his bat. He spotted the gleaming surface of it between a van and a pick-up and sprinted toward it. When he reached it he picked it up and looked it over fondly before returning to her.
"What about picking who?"
((DJ, you need to R-E-A-D. Nothing was chasing Gray. Also, you do too much in your posts... it's hard to reply and it comes off as god-moddy. It makes reactions difficult. Also, Jak is too much of a super man. You need to give him limitations and flaws-- he's only human. You carry too many weapons to move as fast as you do. Also, why does Jim have a sister named Naomi? Is Jim Asian, too? And why was he so well armed? You need to think about stuff like that. To make things easiest, you should just delete the last paragraph of your post.))
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Ren
Survivor
Posts: 67
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Post by Ren on Jul 6, 2009 8:08:13 GMT -5
Neena reached after him when he ran back to the open, sighing once he came back. "This door is locked and we need to pick it if we're going to get in, unless you want to run around out there with a Vermin hanging around, which obviously you do like doing..." She didn't like this kid already, he was too impulsive for her taste.
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Post by Skynet on Jul 6, 2009 8:42:43 GMT -5
[[I'm on DJ's side on this one... Naomi's a Biblical name, not Asian (I.e. Ruth and Naomi) and all the Naomi's I've met have been ditzy blonde chicks (ok one was) and then Naomi Campbell who's black]]
“Bah...” Ben grumbled, instinctively ducking his head back below the window. These people didn't know how to MOVE. They had neither stealth nor power. When they ran, it was neither a forceful advance nor a studied retreat, but a haphazard flailing and sprinting across the parking lot, like they weren't the ones in control. [[This is just his opinion, I don't think I'm godmoding but yes he is a little arrogant]]
If there was a Vermin out there, which it seemed there was from all the shrieking, then they would never pick the lock in time. So the question now was, were these people useful? The answer was probably not. Then he prodded at the remnants of his compassion. Yep, still there, just a little rusty. The teenager actually reminded him a bit of his own son. They had the same inquisitive, impulsive look. He would bet that, if Donovan were still alive, he would be turning out somewhat like the boy who had just dashed across the parking lot to retrieve, of all things, a cheap aluminum bat. Spirited, yes. Disciplined, no.
So that was settled. Ben would flag them down, give them shelter for the night, and pry them for information, if they had any. He tucked an obnoxious cinnamon candle into each pocket, just in case. With his thick sweatshirt, dark mask, and flak jacket, he blended perfectly into the shadows. He moved the armoir away from the door and peeked his head out... Here goes nothing.
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Post by Shiro on Jul 6, 2009 23:48:13 GMT -5
Gray's eyes slid over her in a humorless expression, "Pick the lock? Are you stupid?" His hands stayed on his hips for a moment and then he shoved her out of the way, "Move, doll-face, this'll only take a second."
He smirked at her and then turned, raising his bat before swinging it down full force, shattering the glass door. When he was finished, he stepped inside and turned to face her, the smirk on his face looking more and more obnoxious by the second, "That's how it's done."
He smiled and turned, tapping his bat against his shoulder as he made his way into the mall, laughing as he did.
He was in a good mood today, and although he should have been rejoicing to find another survivor, he didn't give a shit. He got where he told himself he was going, and that's all that mattered.
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DJAtomika
Civilian
Oh no you didn't.
Posts: 47
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Post by DJAtomika on Jul 7, 2009 0:08:10 GMT -5
The shattering of the glass door startled Jak out of his slumber. He turned groggily to the source of the sound and raised his pistol at the duo, although his aim was way off.
'Hey! You two human?'
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Ren
Survivor
Posts: 67
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Post by Ren on Jul 7, 2009 0:37:47 GMT -5
Neena jumped slightly when the glass was broken, that hadn't been the way she thought would be best to get in, but she supposed it did the job. She stepped over the glass, raising her axe to a defensive pose, and moved into the mall behind him, listening to him laugh. She sighed to herself, just what she needed, an arrogant, cocky kid with a toy, but he was better than being alone again. Shrugging it off, she followed until she heard the click of the gun, raising her axe again. "Yeah...human...I'm a doctor..."
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Post by Shiro on Jul 7, 2009 0:47:03 GMT -5
Gray turned toward the voice and smirked, "Yeah, I'm human... do I look like a zombie?"
He was feeling exceptionally "smart-ass" today. He stretched, arms over his head and then took a seat in the aisle of the mall, massaging his calves, "Damn..." He ran his right hand through his now completely brown hair. It was getting long, too. He missed the gray, and vowed to himself that he's find some hair-dye to regain his "former glory".
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DJAtomika
Civilian
Oh no you didn't.
Posts: 47
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Post by DJAtomika on Jul 7, 2009 9:55:34 GMT -5
Jak put his gun down and got up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and slipping it back into the holster. He walked up to the duo and extended his hand for them to shake.
'Name's Jak.'
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