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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 15, 2017 12:54:02 GMT -5
"Hopefully food. Hopefully not people. Other than that - AH!" With a SNAP, a wire noose closed around Ryker's foot, pulling him up and suspending him upside-down from the high ceiling. His head slammed into the wall, rendering him temporarily dazed.
"Here's to us." said Sawyer sarcastically as Opal sat down.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 15, 2017 12:58:53 GMT -5
"Woah..." Seth yelped, hopping backwards. Then an idea hit him. Quick as a snake striking, he reached forward and made a snatch for his gun. "All right there, mate? Hang on, I'll try to get you down." He said out loud, playing for time.
"I feel like such a wimp." Opal agreed moodily, taking care to sit far enough away from Sawyer and Ginger to have no chance of brushing against either of them. "Like one of those annoying characters you have to keep saving."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 15, 2017 13:08:55 GMT -5
"Don't move. Drop your weapon." came a low voice from the end of the hall. A figure stood there, partially hidden by the dark hallway, brandishing some kind of firearm.
"Yeah..." agreed Sawyer. "Maybe we're just not cut out for this world."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 15, 2017 14:22:20 GMT -5
Seth froze, hand in his gun but trapped awkwardly, unable to tug it free. "We're unarmed." He lied impulsively, lifting his free right hand in surrender.
"I guess." Opal replied gloomily. "I don't want to die, though."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 15, 2017 14:33:34 GMT -5
The man stepped into the light. The first thing you would notice about him is that it looked like he'd been in the apocalypse for years rather than months. His hair was unkempt and slightly grown out, his face was stubbly, he was covered in grime and walker guts, and his hands were rough and bleeding. The second noticeable thing about him was a long tangle of deep, red, month-old scars that ran up his left arm, out of sight under his shirt, up the left side of his neck, and around the left side of his jaw and cheek. The third thing you would notice about him was that he was holding a small pistol, and pointing it straight at Seth's gun hand. "Drop your weapon, or you lose your hand."
"I guess..." said Sawyer hesitantly, "I guess it doesn't matter. I'm gonna keep going as long as I can. I don't want myself to be the thing that beats me."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 15, 2017 15:15:46 GMT -5
"Wow." Opal frowned, absent-mindedly lifting Hades out of his sling and placing him on her lap while she pet him. "That's really deep. I get that, though, I mean there's no point in giving up when you might have a chance, right?"
"All right all right, hold on." Seth jerked his hand a couple times, finally yanking it free and holding it up so that the other could see it was empty. "Just relax, okay? We're not a threat to you." Unless of course the other lay down his arms, in which case Seth absolutely intended to run over and stab him.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 15, 2017 15:24:18 GMT -5
Silently, the man walked towards the two of them. On his way over, he whacked Ryker across the head with the pistol to knock him out more thoroughly. Then he turned to Seth and started patting him down, searching for any additional weapons.
"Yeah." said Sawyer. "That's the idea." She turned her head back towards the door. "I hope they're doing OK in there."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 15, 2017 15:29:39 GMT -5
Opal nodded, biting her lip. "We'd have heard them if they ran into trouble, right?" She reasoned, not at all sure her logic was correct.
"Hey, take it easy, personal space." Seth protested, not daring to stop the other man. The only other things he had were his pocket knife, the can of clam chowder Ryker had given him, and a spare pack of bullets that didn't fit his gun.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 15, 2017 15:33:28 GMT -5
The man took all of these in quick succession, pocketing them and backing away. Gun still in hand, he stared at Ryker, as if trying to figure out what to do about the situation.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 15, 2017 15:37:45 GMT -5
"So...are you all alone here or what?" Seth questioned carefully, keeping his hands in a pacifying position. He could tell that this man wasn't kidding when he held his gun with the safety off, just as he could tell Ryker wasn't going to shoot him when they first met.
All things being equal, he'd prefer to leave this building with his brains in the same order he'd come in with.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 15, 2017 16:58:35 GMT -5
The man eventually turned his head to look at Seth. "Why are you here?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 15, 2017 17:06:40 GMT -5
To steal, Seth's internal, truthful voice answered promptly. Good thing he never told the truth when he could help it. "We're just passing through. You know what it's like out there. We didn't know this was your place, and if you would just let my friend there down, we'll be right on our way."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 15, 2017 18:27:54 GMT -5
The man, in response, just narrowed his eyes further as if the reply hadn't even been in English. Then he returned his attention to Ryker, grabbing the food from his jacket pocket. He'd find the gun soon.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 15, 2017 18:34:18 GMT -5
"You've gone and taken everything, now." Seth protested loudly, trying to make him stop searching. When Ryker had his gun, it was annoying. If this guy got it, he sincerely doubted he'd ever see it again, at least not without it being pointed in his direction.
Opal swung suddenly, wielding a large metal pipe and aiming at the stranger's head from behind. "Sawyer, now!"
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 15, 2017 18:37:08 GMT -5
Sawyer made a dive at the man, knocking the gun out of his hand before he could pull the trigger. The pipe made contact with his head and he slumped to the floor, out cold.
Sawyer let out a shaky laugh. "Ha...well done!"
Ryker groaned, beginning to wake up. "Ugh...what..."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 15, 2017 18:42:32 GMT -5
"Yes!" Opal dropped the pipe, punching her hand in triumph. "Oh, Ryker. Are you okay?" She added, dragged suddenly back into the seriousness of the situation as the ex-soldier groaned.
Seth jumped, then dove and snatched up the fallen gun. "There. Now, then..." He knelt on the filthy carpet and began to search the stranger, first taking back his own things and then probing for more.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 11:19:48 GMT -5
Ryker rolled over, vision dancing on the edges of unconsciousness and a blinding headache. "Yeah...I'll live." From his position on the floor, he spotted the stranger. "Nicely done, guys." he said, giving a weak thumbs-up to Opal and Sawyer.
Sawyer grinned, clearly still quite proud of herself. "Thanks."
As Seth searched for supplies, he came across a student ID badge, with the man's photo and name. In the picture he looked normal - well adjusted, even, with his hair combed down and wearing sharp, ironed clothes. The name on the tag was Benjamin Halroy. The date on the tag was two weeks before the initial outbreak.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 12:07:34 GMT -5
Seth gave the ID badge a thorough inspection, tossing it to flip it over in his hand and looking over the other side as well. "Well well, guess you weren't always a psycho, huh Ben?" He muttered, patting the unconscious man on the head as he finished his search for other supplies.
"Yeah." Opal suppressed a smile, squeezing her hands as she squirmed under the praise. "Well, we must figured you two had been a while. Ginger's still outside." She added as an afterthought, pointing towards the exit. "She really is something, you know."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 12:15:21 GMT -5
Ryker smiled, trying to sit up but rapidly becoming too dizzy to do so. "Yeah - we've had each other's backs for a long time."
Sawyer watched him, concerned. It sure looked like a concussion - how on earth were they supposed to fix that here? She shook her head and turned to Seth. "I'm gonna go try to find some food. Maybe some supplies." she said, apparently as an invitation, and headed off down the hall.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 12:22:43 GMT -5
"I'll keep my eye out for some good aspirin, too." Seth added reassuringly, thumping Ryker on the shoulder as he hurried to catch up with Sawyer, mentally deciding to risk having misread her and not being welcome.
"What should we do about him?" Opal asked, her blue eyes flicking downwards to rest on Benjamin's unconscious form. "He won't be out forever, I didn't hit him that hard."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 12:26:17 GMT -5
Ryker glanced at the man. "I'll find him someplace comfortable in here and leave him - he'll wake up eventually." he said, shrugging.
Sawyer walked along the corridor, keeping an eye out for anything useful.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 12:28:12 GMT -5
Seth walked easily along beside her, eyes skimming the walls without taking much note of them. After a minute, he began to him under his breath, breaking to relative silence.
"Right." Opal nodded, leaning back. "I guess he'll just go back to what he was doing before. No lasting damage."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 20:12:11 GMT -5
Sawyer listened for a moment, bending down to pick up a can of soup that was on the floor, half-submerged in water. "What song is that?" she asked.
"Yeah...I'll make Seth leave him some food." said Ryker, giving Ben a glance. "Poor guy. The apocalypse hasn't been kind to him."
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 20:38:53 GMT -5
"Yeah." Opal murmured in agreement, giving the fallen man a good look for the first time. He looked about her age, which didn't help. "I guess it isn't very nice to anyone, is i-oh!" The last word was cut off in a little startled gasp as the ceiling above her broke, sending a monster hurtling towards them. It landed heavily, snarling, and grabbed her leg, knocking her over easily.
Seth stopped, glancing at her. "Nothing." He sighed, shaking his head and exhaling. "It's just been stuck in my head all day, and I dunno why." He cleared his throat, beginning the lyrics in a shaky singing voice. "Duh duh, Centuries.....remember me, for centeries, duh, dah duh duh duh..."
(Idk how to write singing I'm sorry cx. )
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 20:46:23 GMT -5
"Opal!" cried Ryker, startled. He fumbled for his axe and swung it, but missed as searing pain shot through his skull, blurring his vision. "Ah...kick it! Get it off your leg!"
"And just one mistake, is all it will take, we'll go down in history..." started up Sawyer in a quiet voice, a slight smile playing on her face as the song's lyrics popped into her head.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 20:54:26 GMT -5
"I....c-can't!" Opal shrieked, struggling wildly as the cold fingers gripped her ankles with surprising strength. She kicked backwards, hard, then sucked in her breath in horror as he foot was caught in the monster's jaw.
"Yeah, remember me....remember me, for centuries..." Seth's voice rose louder as the song came back to him, Sawyer having filled in the gaps. He began on the instrumental, not bothering to hit the notes properly.
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 20:58:34 GMT -5
"Don't panic, it's just your shoe! It'll take him a minute...to bite through that." He took out his gun and banged it against the wall. "Hey! Lamebrain! Pick on someone more your size!"
Sawyer took a deep breath. "Mummified my teenage dreams! No there's nothing wrong with me! The kids are all wrong..." She was singing louder now, too, and it felt good. Free. Didn't matter that her voice was out of tune and scratchy from thirst. It had been too long.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 21:06:45 GMT -5
The monster snarled when a distraction came, momentarily releasing Opal's shoe, which she hurriedly drew back. The thing groaned with something that would be frustration in a living being and turned towards Ryker, now the more obvious target. Opal pulled herself backwards a few paces, trembling all over and feeling a cold sweat stick to her shirt. "Look out!"
"...the stories are off." Seth joined in as she once again filled the gaps in his memory, practically bellowing the lyrics and banging the wall in time with the more obvious beat. He was laughing as he sang, it threw off his pitch. It felt wonderful. "Heavy metal broke my....HEART."
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Post by <Raintalon> on Jan 17, 2017 21:11:35 GMT -5
"COME ON, COME ON, AND LET ME IN, THE BRUISES ON YOUR THIGHS LIKE MY FINGER - AH!" Sawyer shrieked, startled. As she'd dramatically thrown open a closet to look for food, three live walkers had come tumbling out onto the floor. She pulled out her knife, dispatching one, but another grabbed her hair from behind and wrenched her head backward.
"Get down, to the side, out of the way, I can't aim properly!" shouted Ryker, aiming for the walker that appeared to have three heads of varying transparency. That wasn't good - if only his head would quit pounding for a moment.
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Post by ®Hawkpath® on Jan 17, 2017 21:21:52 GMT -5
Opal pinched herself, hard, trying to snap herself out of panic. Then she remembered her sling, and clutched the warm, albeit protesting ferret close to her chest. "Come...on." She ordered herself, and squirmed more than crawled out of Ryker's line of fire.
The floor about the ex-soldier's head broke again, sending two more walkers hurtling downward. Opal screamed, distracting them both.
"Oh, -" The next word was lost in the sudden noise, and he twitched instinctively, moving a couple steps away and taking out his new gun. His finger moved, pulling the trigger before he could think about his knife.
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