It's easy to say now but I think I would have chose to turn to the hospital
And yeah I might be missing some votes in the future chapter… mores too, I'm reading for entrance exam to university at the moment and trying to keep writing my GoT fanfic the best I can. So sometimes it might take awhile before I get to reading the new chapters. God thanks I'm currently following only this and Liquid's Forum of Thrones.
57.1% of readers chose to [B. Turn into the hospital.]
Thomas turned sharply to the right. The truck jerked one way and the three of them… more were thrown off balance. "Damnit, man! I said left!" Usui shouted as he struggled to regain his composure.
"This is the hospital Parker was taken to." Thomas replied, curving the wheel slightly to match the path of the winding road leading to the parking lot. Atop the building there was a giant red heart beside the word "hospital." The builders must have wanted to make sure it was absolutely clear to anyone passing by that there would be help there. With everything that was going on, he wasn't sure how much help the hospital would actually be.
"Tom, that was our only way out!" He turned around and watched as the small gap in the road closed behind them. They weren't getting out of the city that way, at least for a while. "We're trapped in this city now!"
Thomas put his foot down onto the brakes … [view original content]
Rosalyn stared down as the dead flowed through the room she had lived in for the past couple years. The water in the pipline that had burst was pouring out of the hole that would have been the faucet to the bathtub. She saw the decaying corpses of some of her neighbors... Some of the people she knew, among the rotting faces of those she didn't. She saw the faces of her twin brother and the people she had just met. They were still alive. Rosalyn felt alive when she had someone to protect.
Since most of the alcohol was gone, seeing all these people dead brought an unwelcome thought into her mind. Oberson was right. Somehow, he had predicted the end of the world. Because she chose not to believe him, they were right there, in the middle of a sea of roaming dead people when they could be sleeping in a warm bed... She couldn't help but feel like her decision was the wrong one.
Once Rosalyn and Anna used the last of their strength to pull Larry up onto the second floor, they laid sprawled out on the floor, breathing heavily. Larry was heavier than she'd previously thought. It was Anna's idea to escape the dead below by climbing through the hole Mr. Fredericks left, and Rosalyn couldn't have agreed more. They'd only barely escaped up here before the dead people filled the room.
"What...the fuck...is going on?" Anna breathed.
"I think... This is doomsday..." Rosalyn replied, standing up and regaining her breath. "That nutjob on the street was right."
"No..." She said skeptically. "There's no such thing as doomsday..."
"What nutjob on the street?" Larry asked. Rosalyn realized he had been in the bathroom at the time Oberson stood above them all. He had missed the entire event.
"Don't worry about it, hon." She told him, managing to catch her breath. She set her hand loosely on his shoulder when she stood up. "There was just this guy out in the street earlier today who was saying that the end of the world was near."
Larry sighed, gazing down at the hole in the floor. "Well he was right."
"He was offering a place to stay for the night." Rosalyn added. "A place where it would be safe."
"And you ignored him?" Larry complained. "We're not safe here!"
"You gotta understand, it just sounded like insanity from where we were standing." Anna told her boyfriend, trying to explain their actions. "We weren't sure if it was gonna be any safer there than down here."
"Goddamnit..." Larry slammed his palm against the wall.
"Calm down, man." Rosalyn urged him. "It was a simple mistake."
"A simple mistake?" He asked, turning back around. "A simple mistake?! A simple mistake is tripping over your shoelace on the sidewalk, not dying in a fucking apartment!"
"Chill out!" She shouted back. "We are not gonna die. I'll make sure of it."
"And how do you expect to do that?" Rosalyn could see fear in his eye. She didn't expect him to see the same in hers well. All she could see was a boy trying to mask his fear behind an angry face. She wasn't buying it. "Did you see the amount of those...things out there? How are me and Anna gonna get home now?"
"I think it's best you just stay for a while." She smirked. "We've got plenty of room."
"Oh, you've got plenty of something, but it's not room." He frowned.
"Guys..." Spoke Isaac. He was on the other side of the room, staring down behind the bed.
"What is it?" Rosalyn asked him, running over to where he stood. She was surprised to find that, when she gazed beside the bed, there was a young girl sitting there, weeping silently into her knees. She had short black hair, hanging just below her neck. She looked very thin, yet her face had a certain wideness to it. There was dust smeared across her body to match the mass of dust coating the room. She didn't look older than grade school.
When Anna and Larry approached, Anna extended a hand to her, but she only crawled farther away in fear. "What is your name, honey?" She asked.
"Claire...Dolzaev..." She said in a hurried tone. Her brown eyes darted between each of the people in the room. She looked utterly terrified. Rosalyn didn't blame her. She had just witnessed the suicide of Mr. Fredericks.
"Did you know him?" Anna asked the girl, pointing to the bathroom where Mr. Fredericks had electrocuted himself. She looked towards the bathroom only for a brief moment, but then her attention went back to the four of them. She shook her head quickly. "Then what were you doing with him?"
"He took me..." She spoke quietly in a faint russian accent. Every word she said had a flutter in it as if she wasn't sure whether to say it. "He took me from my home... and he killed my father...a week ago..."
Rosalyn's blood ran cold when she heard this news. She had lived just under this man for three years, and she never expected him to be more than the mild-mannered old man he seemed to be. She never thought he was capable of kidnapping... Claire backed up toward the side table behind her and turned to the side a bit. Rosalyn glanced over her and noticed her clothes were in tatters. She put two and two together. Not only was Mr. Fredericks capable of kidnapping... He was capable of rape...
"Oh my god..." Larry muttered, backing away from the scene. He glanced out the window and saw the rest of the windows on each side of the street broken out. The dead had begun to pour into every building down the street. Rosalyn wasn't worried. Those things couldn't reach them in here.
"You're...not going to take me too? Are you...?" She cried.
"No, of course, we're not going to take you." Anna encouraged her. "We're here to rescue you."
Anna tried to walk a little bit closer, but she scooted back farther into the wall. She sat on the bed instead. A cloud of dust rose from it. Rosalyn felt bad for this little girl. Her innocence had been ripped away in such a way that she was afraid to trust anyone anymore.
"Where's your mother?" Rosalyn asked her.
"...Gone..."
"Do you have anyone else we can take you to? All we want to do is help you."
"That's what he said..."
Anna took Rosalyn by the shoulder and led her to the other side of the room. Isaac and Larry stood there while they discussed the situation on their own. "What do we do?" She whispered. "Do we call the police? This girl is been a rape victim."
"Whatever we do, calling the police would be a waste of time." She sighed. "I highly doubt the police are doing anything except fighting the dead themselves."
"I guess she's our problem now..." Larry said.
"She can't...be..." Isaac stuttered. "She...she doesn't want us to...want us to take her."
"I don't know if there's any other choice, bud." Rosalyn sighed. "She'll did up here if we leave her."
"Did you know this guy was a predator?" Anna asked her, in a hushed voice. "Why didn't you call the police before shit hit the fan?"
"No, I didn't." She barked. Rosalyn stared her straight in the eye. "Not everyone is who they seem at first."
"I guess not." Anna agreed, locking eye contact with her. "So what are we gonna do with her?"
"I can talk to her." She replied. "I'm a nurse. I'm trained to talk to kids. It's what I do."
"I was a preschool teacher." Anna said. "It's what I do too."
Rosalyn turned to find the girl huddled in the corner. She was obviously terrified and she didn't blame her. She'd been through a traumatic experience even before the dead got up. She had no one to take care of her. They were all she had left.
Chapter 14: Upstairs
Rosalyn Tamlin
Rosalyn stared down as the dead flowed through the room she had lived in for the past couple years… more. The water in the pipline that had burst was pouring out of the hole that would have been the faucet to the bathtub. She saw the decaying corpses of some of her neighbors... Some of the people she knew, among the rotting faces of those she didn't. She saw the faces of her twin brother and the people she had just met. They were still alive. Rosalyn felt alive when she had someone to protect.
Since most of the alcohol was gone, seeing all these people dead brought an unwelcome thought into her mind. Oberson was right. Somehow, he had predicted the end of the world. Because she chose not to believe him, they were right there, in the middle of a sea of roaming dead people when they could be sleeping in a warm bed... She couldn't help but feel like her decision was the wrong one.
Once Rosalyn and Anna u… [view original content]
Chapter 14: Upstairs
Rosalyn Tamlin
Rosalyn stared down as the dead flowed through the room she had lived in for the past couple years… more. The water in the pipline that had burst was pouring out of the hole that would have been the faucet to the bathtub. She saw the decaying corpses of some of her neighbors... Some of the people she knew, among the rotting faces of those she didn't. She saw the faces of her twin brother and the people she had just met. They were still alive. Rosalyn felt alive when she had someone to protect.
Since most of the alcohol was gone, seeing all these people dead brought an unwelcome thought into her mind. Oberson was right. Somehow, he had predicted the end of the world. Because she chose not to believe him, they were right there, in the middle of a sea of roaming dead people when they could be sleeping in a warm bed... She couldn't help but feel like her decision was the wrong one.
Once Rosalyn and Anna u… [view original content]
Chapter 14: Upstairs
Rosalyn Tamlin
Rosalyn stared down as the dead flowed through the room she had lived in for the past couple years… more. The water in the pipline that had burst was pouring out of the hole that would have been the faucet to the bathtub. She saw the decaying corpses of some of her neighbors... Some of the people she knew, among the rotting faces of those she didn't. She saw the faces of her twin brother and the people she had just met. They were still alive. Rosalyn felt alive when she had someone to protect.
Since most of the alcohol was gone, seeing all these people dead brought an unwelcome thought into her mind. Oberson was right. Somehow, he had predicted the end of the world. Because she chose not to believe him, they were right there, in the middle of a sea of roaming dead people when they could be sleeping in a warm bed... She couldn't help but feel like her decision was the wrong one.
Once Rosalyn and Anna u… [view original content]
[C. Tell Anna to talk with Claire.]
Claire's last name... it sounds familiar, it sounds very familiar! Oh, that makes me very excited
… more Although I feel compassion for her. Poor girl. Anyway, I think a preschool teacher could be the best for this task.
Chapter 14: Upstairs
Rosalyn Tamlin
Rosalyn stared down as the dead flowed through the room she had lived in for the past couple years… more. The water in the pipline that had burst was pouring out of the hole that would have been the faucet to the bathtub. She saw the decaying corpses of some of her neighbors... Some of the people she knew, among the rotting faces of those she didn't. She saw the faces of her twin brother and the people she had just met. They were still alive. Rosalyn felt alive when she had someone to protect.
Since most of the alcohol was gone, seeing all these people dead brought an unwelcome thought into her mind. Oberson was right. Somehow, he had predicted the end of the world. Because she chose not to believe him, they were right there, in the middle of a sea of roaming dead people when they could be sleeping in a warm bed... She couldn't help but feel like her decision was the wrong one.
Once Rosalyn and Anna u… [view original content]
Chapter 14: Upstairs
Rosalyn Tamlin
Rosalyn stared down as the dead flowed through the room she had lived in for the past couple years… more. The water in the pipline that had burst was pouring out of the hole that would have been the faucet to the bathtub. She saw the decaying corpses of some of her neighbors... Some of the people she knew, among the rotting faces of those she didn't. She saw the faces of her twin brother and the people she had just met. They were still alive. Rosalyn felt alive when she had someone to protect.
Since most of the alcohol was gone, seeing all these people dead brought an unwelcome thought into her mind. Oberson was right. Somehow, he had predicted the end of the world. Because she chose not to believe him, they were right there, in the middle of a sea of roaming dead people when they could be sleeping in a warm bed... She couldn't help but feel like her decision was the wrong one.
Once Rosalyn and Anna u… [view original content]
Chapter 14: Upstairs
Rosalyn Tamlin
Rosalyn stared down as the dead flowed through the room she had lived in for the past couple years… more. The water in the pipline that had burst was pouring out of the hole that would have been the faucet to the bathtub. She saw the decaying corpses of some of her neighbors... Some of the people she knew, among the rotting faces of those she didn't. She saw the faces of her twin brother and the people she had just met. They were still alive. Rosalyn felt alive when she had someone to protect.
Since most of the alcohol was gone, seeing all these people dead brought an unwelcome thought into her mind. Oberson was right. Somehow, he had predicted the end of the world. Because she chose not to believe him, they were right there, in the middle of a sea of roaming dead people when they could be sleeping in a warm bed... She couldn't help but feel like her decision was the wrong one.
Once Rosalyn and Anna u… [view original content]
"I'll talk to her." Rosalyn said confidently, beginning to turn around.
Anna caught her by her shoulder blade. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Rose? Have you ever tried to talk to a rape victim before?"
"No..." She breathed. She turned around and met her eyes. "Have you?"
She sighed. "I guess it's not shit I have to think about every day, no... I talk to kids all the time though. She might feel more comfortable around me."
"She's a kidnapping and rape victim, Anna." Rosalyn replied. "I bet she doesn't understand anything that's going on, and she's scared. She's not going to feel comfortable around anyone for a long time."
"Uh.. I could talk to her..." Isaac suggested, walking into the conversation.
She sighed. "Sorry, bud, but I think this has to come from another girl. Someone that seems more like her." Isaac nodded his head in agreement and backed up next to the other three.
Anna heaved a long sigh and threw her hand up in the air. "I guess, if you're so set on talking to this girl, go right ahead. No one's stopping you."
Rosalyn turned around with Anna's approval behind her. She knew how to talk to children, and more than one person might frighten her. She bent down to the ground and sat beside the girl, watching her shiver in fear. Rosalyn wanted to let the girl know it was all right, and so, she cracked a smile.
She set out a hand and rested it on the girl's shoulder. Although, what was meant as a genuine gesture of sympathy, seemed like an act of deceit to her. She backed away farther, pressing her back hard against the wall. Rosalyn decided it was best not to touch her for now.
"You ever ride a bike, Claire?" Rosalyn asked her.
"Yes..." Claire spoke back. She could tell the girl was feeling slightly less threatened just seeing the smile.
"I rode a bike when I was your age." She didn't know where any of this response was coming from. She felt like she knew it by heart, although it was the first time she'd said anything like it. "I was terrified that the moment I took my feet off the ground, I'd fall flat on my face. And most of the time, I did."
"What...?" Claire asked, confused.
"One day, he took me to this park by our house." She continued. "At the entrance, there was this big hill. And he told me, if he stood at the end, he would catch me when I rolled down. I was so scared. I asked him so many times if I would stay up while I was rolling down and he said I would. So one time, I tried it. I began rolling down that hill and, all of a sudden, my dad jumped out of the way. He didn't catch me. Guess what?"
When she answered, Rosalyn could see the tenseness in the girl easing a bit. "What happened?" She asked.
"My father didn't catch me... The hill caught me. When I was riding, the faster I went, the less and less I felt like I was going to fall. Eventually, by the time I reached the bottom of the hill, I had learned how to ride that bike, and every time after that, I wasn't afraid to fall down. I can be that for you."
Claire still looked confused. "You can be my... father who jumps out of the way?"
"No...I can be your hill, Claire. I will be there to catch you when you fall." Rosalyn sighed. She held out her hand in the air and Claire put hers there as well. Her hand felt cold, and her skin felt coarse, as though something had made it rough. When Rosalyn stood up, she gave a small pull on the child's arm and she stood up as well, looking up into her eyes. "My name is Rose, and we want to be your friends. Do you believe me?"
She glanced faintly to Anna, Isaac and Larry a moment before looking back and nodding her head quickly. Rosalyn smiled at Claire, and she stopped looking afraid.
"Are you going to find him?" She asked.
"Who?" Anna asked, walking up to her slowly.
"The man who took me."
"We already did." Rosalyn assured her. "You don't need to worry about him anymore. If you don't have any other family, we'll take care of you."
"I do have other family." Claire replied. "My grandfather."
"Where is he?" Anna asked.
"He went to jail..."
Rosalyn sighed. "We will take care of you. You're one of us now." She helped Claire up onto the bed and walked back into the group of the other three. "So what do we do now?"
"You're really good with her..." Larry spoke. When he did, Anna had a visible twinge of jealousy on her face. Rosalyn didn't like seeing it there, yet, in a weird way, she did... "Where did you learn to talk to kids like that?"
"I'm a nurse at the local hospital." Rosalyn answered with a bit of a grin carved into her face. She locked her eyes on Larry's and could see the jealousy form in her periferal vision on Anna's face. "It's what I do."
57.1% of readers chose to [A. Comfort Claire.]
"I'll talk to her." Rosalyn said confidently, beginning to turn around.
Anna caught h… moreer by her shoulder blade. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Rose? Have you ever tried to talk to a rape victim before?"
"No..." She breathed. She turned around and met her eyes. "Have you?"
She sighed. "I guess it's not shit I have to think about every day, no... I talk to kids all the time though. She might feel more comfortable around me."
"She's a kidnapping and rape victim, Anna." Rosalyn replied. "I bet she doesn't understand anything that's going on, and she's scared. She's not going to feel comfortable around anyone for a long time."
"Uh.. I could talk to her..." Isaac suggested, walking into the conversation.
She sighed. "Sorry, bud, but I think this has to come from another girl. Someone that seems more like her." Isaac nodded his head in agreement and backed up next to the… [view original content]
57.1% of readers chose to [A. Comfort Claire.]
"I'll talk to her." Rosalyn said confidently, beginning to turn around.
Anna caught h… moreer by her shoulder blade. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Rose? Have you ever tried to talk to a rape victim before?"
"No..." She breathed. She turned around and met her eyes. "Have you?"
She sighed. "I guess it's not shit I have to think about every day, no... I talk to kids all the time though. She might feel more comfortable around me."
"She's a kidnapping and rape victim, Anna." Rosalyn replied. "I bet she doesn't understand anything that's going on, and she's scared. She's not going to feel comfortable around anyone for a long time."
"Uh.. I could talk to her..." Isaac suggested, walking into the conversation.
She sighed. "Sorry, bud, but I think this has to come from another girl. Someone that seems more like her." Isaac nodded his head in agreement and backed up next to the… [view original content]
57.1% of readers chose to [A. Comfort Claire.]
"I'll talk to her." Rosalyn said confidently, beginning to turn around.
Anna caught h… moreer by her shoulder blade. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Rose? Have you ever tried to talk to a rape victim before?"
"No..." She breathed. She turned around and met her eyes. "Have you?"
She sighed. "I guess it's not shit I have to think about every day, no... I talk to kids all the time though. She might feel more comfortable around me."
"She's a kidnapping and rape victim, Anna." Rosalyn replied. "I bet she doesn't understand anything that's going on, and she's scared. She's not going to feel comfortable around anyone for a long time."
"Uh.. I could talk to her..." Isaac suggested, walking into the conversation.
She sighed. "Sorry, bud, but I think this has to come from another girl. Someone that seems more like her." Isaac nodded his head in agreement and backed up next to the… [view original content]
Whoa, I somehow unfollowed after writing my last comment here. Luckily I realized it in time. Very good chapter, as always! Probably one of my favourites and I already really like poor Claire. I'm excited for what's coming for her.
57.1% of readers chose to [A. Comfort Claire.]
"I'll talk to her." Rosalyn said confidently, beginning to turn around.
Anna caught h… moreer by her shoulder blade. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Rose? Have you ever tried to talk to a rape victim before?"
"No..." She breathed. She turned around and met her eyes. "Have you?"
She sighed. "I guess it's not shit I have to think about every day, no... I talk to kids all the time though. She might feel more comfortable around me."
"She's a kidnapping and rape victim, Anna." Rosalyn replied. "I bet she doesn't understand anything that's going on, and she's scared. She's not going to feel comfortable around anyone for a long time."
"Uh.. I could talk to her..." Isaac suggested, walking into the conversation.
She sighed. "Sorry, bud, but I think this has to come from another girl. Someone that seems more like her." Isaac nodded his head in agreement and backed up next to the… [view original content]
Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for the long wait, but here it is.
Chapter 15: Interrogation
Thomas Garter
When Thomas gazed into the face of the man they had been searching for, he almost didn't believe it. He never had good luck. It looked as though Parker felt the same way. The other men and women in the room seemed confused by the reunion, but they could see all four of them had the same confusion.
For the most part, Parker looked the same as he always did, with a toothpick jutting out of the right side of his mouth, except his smooth blonde hair hung down in disarray, and what had been his confident face could now be seen slightly more afraid. There was a white strap wrapped around his head traveling over his right eye. The glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose were bent.
"Who are you?" The man standing by the door asked. Though he looked older than life, he had no trouble lifting a shotgun to Will's head. "Tell us how you found this place."
"God, Cecil, put your gun down." Parker barked at him. He frowned and lowered his gun to his side. "Where the hell have you guys been?"
Thomas walked up to the man, right past Cecil's gun and extended his hand. Parker took it and shook hard. "Good to see you too, man."
"Would you mind telling us what's going on?" Will asked, in an irritated fashion.
"Come inside first." He sighed, flicking the toothpick around his lips. "We can't have the door open for too long. Could let a draft in."
"And a couple hundred dead guys." Smirked one of the other guys standing in the semicircle. He had curly dark red hair and piercing blue eyes. Every word he said put a certain echo of uneasiness in Thomas' mind.
"Trevor..." The woman with the same shade of red hair standing beside him sighed in distaste. Thomas assumed she was his sister.
Usui closed the door behind them and Cecil walked out to grab something from the floor. He noticed it was a tiny lasso tied tightly to the wall. When Cecil hung it around the door handle, it kept the door shut as tightly as the rope would hold. It was a good defense. "Why don't we just invite everyone in then? That would be a good idea! You know, Parker, we only got so much food. So much space. All our beds are full. Where are they gonna sleep?"
"Wherever there's room." Parker replied. "We're military. Sleeping on the ground ain't exactly beneath us."
"We're in an enclosed space, for God's sake." The old man exclaimed. "The more people we cram in here, the worse our living conditions are going to get."
"They're staying." Parker spoke definitively. "You all agreed I was calling the shots around here. Now let me fucking call them." Some of the people standing around shook their head in agreement. Cecil only looked angered. "Yeah, I thought so."
Thomas gazed past the crowd of people in front of him and saw a few other people sitting around in the lounge area beside the service desk. The hallways ran for a hundred feet on either side of him with doors to the rooms scattered evenly throughout them. There were a number of different types of people in the room, some of them doctors, and some of them patients. Some were only there to visit their loved ones. When Thomas did a head count, he estimated there were at least thirty people in the room.
"Listen...Cecil..." Will started. "We'll leave you alone if we can bring Parker with us. He's on our squad."
"It's fine with me." Cecil barked.
"I ain't leaving, Doc." Parker sighed. "That's just the fact of the matter. They are staying. This is not negotiable." He gestured to the three of them. "Now give us some space. I need to talk to them."
Most of them walked away to the lounge area and sat on the couch, but Cecil grudgingly marched away. It was very obvious he was bitter about Parker leading the group. From his clothes, Thomas inferred he must have been the chief doctor. He would have been angry about the power not being his anymore.
"Well it seems like you've got things squared away here." Will chuckled as Parker took the three of them aside and sat down at a system of couches in the corner of the room. "Now will you tell us what's going on?"
"Well that's a long story." He replied.
"How did you people survive up here?" Thomas asked. "There's gotta be thousands of walkers out there, let alone in the hospital. This is where it started, right?"
"Take a look at where we're at Tom." Parker answered. "We're on the top floor. Since the infected were the major threats, they kept them close to ground floor. None of them got up here. All we really had to do was seal up the entrance to our floor and we're safe up here. Those boarded up doors you saw on your way up... Me and a couple of other guys put those up this morning after we cleared out the stairwell."
"Cleared out the stairwell?" Usui asked for clarification.
"Yeah. We took 'em out. There weren't too many-"
"You killed them?" Usui exclaimed. "How? Guns don't work on them."
"Sure they do." Parker scoffed. "You just gotta hit 'em in the head. Works every time."
"The head?" Will asked. He heaved a sigh and brought his fingers to his forehead. "I thought it had to do with draining their blood."
"That would work too." A man walked over into the conversation. He had a full head of brown hair and looked to be about the same age and height as Thomas. He was wearing the clothes of a doctor with a large patch of dark black blood splattered across his left shoulder. He sat down in the seat next to Usui and held his fingers together. "Theoretically, nothing can move without blood. If you managed to drain it all, that would kill them. But it'd be much quicker to put a knife through their skull."
"Guys, this is Brandon." Parker introduced him. "Brandon, this is Will, Swee and Tom. They were my squad back at the base."
Thomas was the only one to reach out his hand in an offer of friendship. Brandon took it and shook hard. Thomas had only ever received such a strong handshake from Will, and he hardly ever gave them. "So you know what they are?" Thomas asked.
"Sure I do." He replied. "They're dead people. Do I know how they got here? No clue. What I do have an idea about, is why they do what they do."
"And what's that?" Usui asked.
"I don't think I've seen a single biter out there that isn't bleeding from somewhere. Everything needs blood to move. And that blood keeps leaking out every time it gets hit with a bullet or stabbed or some shit. And so they eat... Get more blood in their system, and they can live a bit longer."
"You've got it all figured out, don't you?" Will crossed his arms and laid back in his seat.
"Not in the slightest." He shook his head. "That's just my idea."
"Why does Cecil hate us?" Usui asked, turning back to Parker.
"He's just a senile old man who refuses to retire." Parker answered him. "I heard from Oscar that they just let him think he was in charge before. You don't have to do anything he says. Like I said, I took charge of these people because I'm in the military, and most of them don't know how to think for themselves."
"You're the leader?" Will raised an eyebrow. "You're not a leader, Parker, you're a soldier. A damn fine soldier... but I've never heard you give an order in my life."
Parker chuckled. "All due respect sir, but I don't give orders because you're the one doin' it." At this comment, Will looked slightly threatened, but that went away when Parker continued. "You can have the leadership role, sir, but these people don't trust you yet. If you become leader now, they'll look at it as an active takeover and rebel against you."
"I never said I wanted to be the leader of your little top floor community." Will replied. "You're coming back to the base with us. These people can fend for themselves."
"Are you fucking serious?" Parker frowned.
"Watch your tone, soldier." He scolded him, yet Parker ignored the protest.
"No, I won't." He said. "These people can fend for themselves? Cripples, sick, old, and a bunch of people who went to medical school their whole lives and have never lifted a barbell before. The people who can fend for themselves are the military. They've got guns! They've got men! All we got here is one gun, a bunch of syringes and maybe three or four fighting men."
"The military are our people, soldier." Will spat at him. "You spent the last four years with them. Does loyalty mean nothing to you?"
Parker slammed his fist down on the table, creating a shattering noise beneath it. The weak and sick on the other side of the room, turned around. What once had been a room filled with noise was now void of it. Everyone listened intently to the words he spoke. "Damnit, Will! I have more loyalty than you could know. Of course I want to go back, but these people need me more... Need us more! Now, you do whatever you want, but I'm staying here."
"Parker! That's desertion!" Usui cried. "You know what they could do to you for desertion?"
"I know what they would do, Swee, but with the world like it is, I doubt there's gonna be anyone left to do it."
Will stood up from his chair and stared down at the man with a look of disgust. "I don't believe you, soldier. I thought you knew better than that. If that's how you want to play it, fine. If you're going to abandon us, we'll abandon you too. Come on, squad." He held his hand up in the air and waved for them to follow. Usui looked to Parker for a moment, but ultimately decided to stand up and follow Will. It was only Thomas who remained in his seat. When Will noticed this, he shouted at him. "Garter! We're heading back to base now."
Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for the long wait, but here it is.
Chapter 15: Interrogation
Thomas Garter
When Thomas gazed into the face… more of the man they had been searching for, he almost didn't believe it. He never had good luck. It looked as though Parker felt the same way. The other men and women in the room seemed confused by the reunion, but they could see all four of them had the same confusion.
For the most part, Parker looked the same as he always did, with a toothpick jutting out of the right side of his mouth, except his smooth blonde hair hung down in disarray, and what had been his confident face could now be seen slightly more afraid. There was a white strap wrapped around his head traveling over his right eye. The glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose were bent.
"Who are you?" The man standing by the door asked. Though he looked older than life, he had no trouble lifting a shotgun to Will's head. "Tell us how you f… [view original content]
[A. Side with Parker.]
1.) Will is a real SOB right now.
2.) Am I correct in saying there was a massive hoard outside a minute ago? Those things don't just disappear.
Great chapter!!
Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for the long wait, but here it is.
Chapter 15: Interrogation
Thomas Garter
When Thomas gazed into the face… more of the man they had been searching for, he almost didn't believe it. He never had good luck. It looked as though Parker felt the same way. The other men and women in the room seemed confused by the reunion, but they could see all four of them had the same confusion.
For the most part, Parker looked the same as he always did, with a toothpick jutting out of the right side of his mouth, except his smooth blonde hair hung down in disarray, and what had been his confident face could now be seen slightly more afraid. There was a white strap wrapped around his head traveling over his right eye. The glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose were bent.
"Who are you?" The man standing by the door asked. Though he looked older than life, he had no trouble lifting a shotgun to Will's head. "Tell us how you f… [view original content]
Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for the long wait, but here it is.
Chapter 15: Interrogation
Thomas Garter
When Thomas gazed into the face… more of the man they had been searching for, he almost didn't believe it. He never had good luck. It looked as though Parker felt the same way. The other men and women in the room seemed confused by the reunion, but they could see all four of them had the same confusion.
For the most part, Parker looked the same as he always did, with a toothpick jutting out of the right side of his mouth, except his smooth blonde hair hung down in disarray, and what had been his confident face could now be seen slightly more afraid. There was a white strap wrapped around his head traveling over his right eye. The glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose were bent.
"Who are you?" The man standing by the door asked. Though he looked older than life, he had no trouble lifting a shotgun to Will's head. "Tell us how you f… [view original content]
Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for the long wait, but here it is.
Chapter 15: Interrogation
Thomas Garter
When Thomas gazed into the face… more of the man they had been searching for, he almost didn't believe it. He never had good luck. It looked as though Parker felt the same way. The other men and women in the room seemed confused by the reunion, but they could see all four of them had the same confusion.
For the most part, Parker looked the same as he always did, with a toothpick jutting out of the right side of his mouth, except his smooth blonde hair hung down in disarray, and what had been his confident face could now be seen slightly more afraid. There was a white strap wrapped around his head traveling over his right eye. The glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose were bent.
"Who are you?" The man standing by the door asked. Though he looked older than life, he had no trouble lifting a shotgun to Will's head. "Tell us how you f… [view original content]
Thomas didn't want to betray the forces, but Parker put up a good point. These people needed their help. They wouldn't make it without people to help them. He sucked up his gut and turned to Will and Usui, two of them men he'd spent the last couple years with. "I'm not leaving."
"Excuse me?"
"These people need us more than the military does." Thomas told him. "I don't know about you, but I joined the army to protect my country. That doesn't mean protecting the land, or protecting the buildings. The country is the people. Protecting them is our job. If we can't do that, then what do we do?"
"Shoot at shit." Parker laughed.
Will shook his head for a few moments, not responding. Usui looked hurt. "Tom, this is desertion. They'll arrest you!"
"Then let them arrest me." He told him. "I'm doing what's right here."
Thomas looked towards his Sergeant and saw him welling up with rage. He didn't say a thing, only stared violently. "Don't you care that all your friends back on base? They're going through the same shit we are."
"Fine!" Will barked, ignoring Usui's rant. "We'll stay here. But that only goes until the walkers stop walking. We're getting up and walking out of here the first time we get a chance."
"But sir..." Usui started.
"Dammit Ousawa, they're right." He sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, they're right on this one. These people are defenseless."
"Yes they are." Parker added. "They need our help. You can go out there if you really feel it necessary, boy, but my suggestion is, if you have any common sense, you stay here with us."
"...Fine..." Usui finally grunted. "We'll stay here. But if any of my friends die back there, it's on your heads."
"Fair enough." Parker sighed, thinking of no way to counter the statement with a witty comeback.
"Come on, soldier." Will barked, turning back around, harshly. He left a path of rage behind him as he walked toward the window looking down upon the city below. Usui followed him. There were always just those people who would hold a grudge like no other. Will was one of those people. Though he liked to hide it behind a wall of toughness, he really was just the same as any of the rest of us here... Scared and alone.
"Thanks for sticking with me, Tom." Parker told him after the two of them left.
"The hospital is lucky to have you." Brandon added. Thomas had almost forgotten the man was there. He hadn't spoken up through the conversation, since he didn't have anything to say. "How many of those things did you kill out there anyway?"
"It's rough to say..." Thomas replied. "I wasn't counting. A hundred maybe?"
Parker winced and Brandon looked back down towards the ground in solemnity. "That's a hundred more people who are dead two times over... With everything that's happened, it has gotten so hard to remember all those monsters in the street used to be people. I didn't even know there were that many people in Savannah..."
"And that's not even counting the number of assholes who fled to Atlanta." Parker added.
"I found it easier if we don't think about 'em." Thomas suggested to them. "They're clearly not the people they were anymore, and they were trying to kill us..."
"I'm not faulting you for killing them." Brandon said. "I'm just saying it's a hard thought to stomach."
"Yeah..." Parker sighed. He reached his hand up and scratched his cheek just under his eyepatch. He used his working eye to gaze over at Will and Usui huddling in the corner, away from the rest of the group. "Hey, Tom, you know what this reminds me of?"
"What's that?"
"The Christmas party." He smiled. Thomas laughed because of the story he was about to tell. He knew exactly which one it was. "Remember the Secret Santa we all did? Will didn't want us to take part, but we pressured him into it. And Swee didn't fucking know what to do. They all sat in the corner while we exchanged gifts."
"I remember that like it was yesterday..."
"Well I mean, it was only a few months ago." He replied. He turned to Brandon, knowing that Thomas had heard the story a dozen times. Brandon rubbed his shoulder in a strange pained way and listened in. "Me and this guy, we got presents for each of them over there, saying it was from the other. We were in a dead argument at the time. It was something stupid... What was it, something about laundry? Anyway, instead of getting our own gifts for Will, we tried to get fake gifts from the other person, trying to see who could bring down Will's wrath more. He was even more butthurt than he is right now..."
"Ah, really." Brandon laughed, moving his shoulder around. "What did you get him?"
"I got a toy plastic bugle for him." Thomas answered. "There's no one else that hates the sound of the horn call in the morning more than Parker."
Parker shared a laugh. He had been so angry at the time, Thomas would have never thought they would forgive each other. But he did eventually. "I got him a pack of prank beer. Left the taste of shit in his mouth for weeks..." Parker told his side of the story. "Eventually, we realized the whole thing was a completely fucking stupid way to get at each other and we just wrestled it out."
"Who won?" Brandon asked.
Parker paused for a moment, as if wondering whether or not he would lie. He must have decided not to. Best to be honest with each other. "He won. Doesn't mean I didn't shit in his socks the next couple days."
"So how does that have to do with this situation?" Thomas asked him.
He glanced over toward the other half of the squad. "Because, with the way Will is looking at me over there, I wouldn't be surprised to find shit in my socks tomorrow..."
"Sucks to suck." Thomas heaved a quiet chuckle, then picked up when Brandon and Parker joined in with him.
Parker wiped his face just over his lip and ran a hand through the hair that had fallen severely out of place. "You know, Tom, you and me have been going at it for a while. I don't know why it took a fucking undead apocalypse for me to realize you're not such a bad guy."
"Thanks..." He replied. Compliments like this barely ever came from Parker. This was rather unusual, and he didn't know what to answer with.
"Well, if that's all, I'm gonna check on the sick." Brandon said, standing up from the couch. He began to walk back, but Thomas spotted something on his back he hadn't noticed before. It was a spot of black blood.
"What's that?" He asked.
"What?" Brandon questioned, shaking his head. He cranked it around and saw the blood on his right shoulder. "Oh, that's just from a biter I killed this morning. You never seen a stain before."
Thomas knew he was lying. When Brandon was standing in the circle of old and sick, his back was turned then. Thomas didn't remember seeing any stain during that time... It must have just happened, and there weren't any biters up here. "Take your shirt off..." He spoke hesitantly.
"Whoa, Tom..." Parker started. "I didn't know-"
"Take your shirt off..." He repeated, this time slower and more precise.
"I don't know if I should-"
Thomas put his gun hand on the pistol hanging at his belt just obviously enough that the man could see it. "I said take it off."
Parker's eyes started to widen, and he saw the blood stain on the shirt. "Just do it, Brandon."
He complied reluctantly and began to take his coat off his shoulders. When his dress shirt left his body, not only did it reveal the strength underneath, it also revealed a large bloody wound the size of a fist on his right shoulder. It had just been reopened, and was oozing black blood over his arm.
Parker stood up and backed away instantly. Thomas did the same. "You're goddamn bit..."
Hey guys. I'm back... finally...
80% of readers chose to [A. Side with Parker.]
"Garter!" Will called. "We're leaving now."
Thomas … moredidn't want to betray the forces, but Parker put up a good point. These people needed their help. They wouldn't make it without people to help them. He sucked up his gut and turned to Will and Usui, two of them men he'd spent the last couple years with. "I'm not leaving."
"Excuse me?"
"These people need us more than the military does." Thomas told him. "I don't know about you, but I joined the army to protect my country. That doesn't mean protecting the land, or protecting the buildings. The country is the people. Protecting them is our job. If we can't do that, then what do we do?"
"Shoot at shit." Parker laughed.
Will shook his head for a few moments, not responding. Usui looked hurt. "Tom, this is desertion. They'll arrest you!"
"Then let them arrest me." He told him. "I'm doing what's r… [view original content]
Hey guys. I'm back... finally...
80% of readers chose to [A. Side with Parker.]
"Garter!" Will called. "We're leaving now."
Thomas … moredidn't want to betray the forces, but Parker put up a good point. These people needed their help. They wouldn't make it without people to help them. He sucked up his gut and turned to Will and Usui, two of them men he'd spent the last couple years with. "I'm not leaving."
"Excuse me?"
"These people need us more than the military does." Thomas told him. "I don't know about you, but I joined the army to protect my country. That doesn't mean protecting the land, or protecting the buildings. The country is the people. Protecting them is our job. If we can't do that, then what do we do?"
"Shoot at shit." Parker laughed.
Will shook his head for a few moments, not responding. Usui looked hurt. "Tom, this is desertion. They'll arrest you!"
"Then let them arrest me." He told him. "I'm doing what's r… [view original content]
Hey guys. I'm back... finally...
80% of readers chose to [A. Side with Parker.]
"Garter!" Will called. "We're leaving now."
Thomas … moredidn't want to betray the forces, but Parker put up a good point. These people needed their help. They wouldn't make it without people to help them. He sucked up his gut and turned to Will and Usui, two of them men he'd spent the last couple years with. "I'm not leaving."
"Excuse me?"
"These people need us more than the military does." Thomas told him. "I don't know about you, but I joined the army to protect my country. That doesn't mean protecting the land, or protecting the buildings. The country is the people. Protecting them is our job. If we can't do that, then what do we do?"
"Shoot at shit." Parker laughed.
Will shook his head for a few moments, not responding. Usui looked hurt. "Tom, this is desertion. They'll arrest you!"
"Then let them arrest me." He told him. "I'm doing what's r… [view original content]
Comments
Yeah I'm kind of the same way. I have a bunch of fan fictions on my to read list
Hey guys, I decided to take out the release schedule because I can't really follow it. I will, however, try to update whenever I can.
i've been busy i'm so sorry :O I'm caught up now!!
It´s okay :P
Lol it's fine.
Thanks. It gets really hard to stick to a deadline when they're so close to each other
Any thoughts?
Chapter 14: Upstairs
Rosalyn Tamlin
Rosalyn stared down as the dead flowed through the room she had lived in for the past couple years. The water in the pipline that had burst was pouring out of the hole that would have been the faucet to the bathtub. She saw the decaying corpses of some of her neighbors... Some of the people she knew, among the rotting faces of those she didn't. She saw the faces of her twin brother and the people she had just met. They were still alive. Rosalyn felt alive when she had someone to protect.
Since most of the alcohol was gone, seeing all these people dead brought an unwelcome thought into her mind. Oberson was right. Somehow, he had predicted the end of the world. Because she chose not to believe him, they were right there, in the middle of a sea of roaming dead people when they could be sleeping in a warm bed... She couldn't help but feel like her decision was the wrong one.
Once Rosalyn and Anna used the last of their strength to pull Larry up onto the second floor, they laid sprawled out on the floor, breathing heavily. Larry was heavier than she'd previously thought. It was Anna's idea to escape the dead below by climbing through the hole Mr. Fredericks left, and Rosalyn couldn't have agreed more. They'd only barely escaped up here before the dead people filled the room.
"What...the fuck...is going on?" Anna breathed.
"I think... This is doomsday..." Rosalyn replied, standing up and regaining her breath. "That nutjob on the street was right."
"No..." She said skeptically. "There's no such thing as doomsday..."
"What nutjob on the street?" Larry asked. Rosalyn realized he had been in the bathroom at the time Oberson stood above them all. He had missed the entire event.
"Don't worry about it, hon." She told him, managing to catch her breath. She set her hand loosely on his shoulder when she stood up. "There was just this guy out in the street earlier today who was saying that the end of the world was near."
Larry sighed, gazing down at the hole in the floor. "Well he was right."
"He was offering a place to stay for the night." Rosalyn added. "A place where it would be safe."
"And you ignored him?" Larry complained. "We're not safe here!"
"You gotta understand, it just sounded like insanity from where we were standing." Anna told her boyfriend, trying to explain their actions. "We weren't sure if it was gonna be any safer there than down here."
"Goddamnit..." Larry slammed his palm against the wall.
"Calm down, man." Rosalyn urged him. "It was a simple mistake."
"A simple mistake?" He asked, turning back around. "A simple mistake?! A simple mistake is tripping over your shoelace on the sidewalk, not dying in a fucking apartment!"
"Chill out!" She shouted back. "We are not gonna die. I'll make sure of it."
"And how do you expect to do that?" Rosalyn could see fear in his eye. She didn't expect him to see the same in hers well. All she could see was a boy trying to mask his fear behind an angry face. She wasn't buying it. "Did you see the amount of those...things out there? How are me and Anna gonna get home now?"
"I think it's best you just stay for a while." She smirked. "We've got plenty of room."
"Oh, you've got plenty of something, but it's not room." He frowned.
"Guys..." Spoke Isaac. He was on the other side of the room, staring down behind the bed.
"What is it?" Rosalyn asked him, running over to where he stood. She was surprised to find that, when she gazed beside the bed, there was a young girl sitting there, weeping silently into her knees. She had short black hair, hanging just below her neck. She looked very thin, yet her face had a certain wideness to it. There was dust smeared across her body to match the mass of dust coating the room. She didn't look older than grade school.
When Anna and Larry approached, Anna extended a hand to her, but she only crawled farther away in fear. "What is your name, honey?" She asked.
"Claire...Dolzaev..." She said in a hurried tone. Her brown eyes darted between each of the people in the room. She looked utterly terrified. Rosalyn didn't blame her. She had just witnessed the suicide of Mr. Fredericks.
"Did you know him?" Anna asked the girl, pointing to the bathroom where Mr. Fredericks had electrocuted himself. She looked towards the bathroom only for a brief moment, but then her attention went back to the four of them. She shook her head quickly. "Then what were you doing with him?"
"He took me..." She spoke quietly in a faint russian accent. Every word she said had a flutter in it as if she wasn't sure whether to say it. "He took me from my home... and he killed my father...a week ago..."
Rosalyn's blood ran cold when she heard this news. She had lived just under this man for three years, and she never expected him to be more than the mild-mannered old man he seemed to be. She never thought he was capable of kidnapping... Claire backed up toward the side table behind her and turned to the side a bit. Rosalyn glanced over her and noticed her clothes were in tatters. She put two and two together. Not only was Mr. Fredericks capable of kidnapping... He was capable of rape...
"Oh my god..." Larry muttered, backing away from the scene. He glanced out the window and saw the rest of the windows on each side of the street broken out. The dead had begun to pour into every building down the street. Rosalyn wasn't worried. Those things couldn't reach them in here.
"You're...not going to take me too? Are you...?" She cried.
"No, of course, we're not going to take you." Anna encouraged her. "We're here to rescue you."
Anna tried to walk a little bit closer, but she scooted back farther into the wall. She sat on the bed instead. A cloud of dust rose from it. Rosalyn felt bad for this little girl. Her innocence had been ripped away in such a way that she was afraid to trust anyone anymore.
"Where's your mother?" Rosalyn asked her.
"...Gone..."
"Do you have anyone else we can take you to? All we want to do is help you."
"That's what he said..."
Anna took Rosalyn by the shoulder and led her to the other side of the room. Isaac and Larry stood there while they discussed the situation on their own. "What do we do?" She whispered. "Do we call the police? This girl is been a rape victim."
"Whatever we do, calling the police would be a waste of time." She sighed. "I highly doubt the police are doing anything except fighting the dead themselves."
"I guess she's our problem now..." Larry said.
"She can't...be..." Isaac stuttered. "She...she doesn't want us to...want us to take her."
"I don't know if there's any other choice, bud." Rosalyn sighed. "She'll did up here if we leave her."
"Did you know this guy was a predator?" Anna asked her, in a hushed voice. "Why didn't you call the police before shit hit the fan?"
"No, I didn't." She barked. Rosalyn stared her straight in the eye. "Not everyone is who they seem at first."
"I guess not." Anna agreed, locking eye contact with her. "So what are we gonna do with her?"
"I can talk to her." She replied. "I'm a nurse. I'm trained to talk to kids. It's what I do."
"I was a preschool teacher." Anna said. "It's what I do too."
Rosalyn turned to find the girl huddled in the corner. She was obviously terrified and she didn't blame her. She'd been through a traumatic experience even before the dead got up. She had no one to take care of her. They were all she had left.
[A. Comfort Claire.]
[B. Use reason with Claire.]
[C. Tell Anna to talk with Claire.]
[C. Tell Anna to talk with Claire.]
Claire's last name... it sounds familiar, it sounds very familiar! Oh, that makes me very excited
Although I feel compassion for her. Poor girl. Anyway, I think a preschool teacher could be the best for this task.
[A. Comfort Claire.]
[C. Tell Anna to talk with Claire.]
Yeah i have a plan for him.
[Comfort Claire]
Great chapter!
[A. Comfort Claire.]
[C. Tell Anna to talk with Claire.]
Thanks.
One offscreen for [A. Comfort Claire.]
57.1% of readers chose to [A. Comfort Claire.]
"I'll talk to her." Rosalyn said confidently, beginning to turn around.
Anna caught her by her shoulder blade. "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Rose? Have you ever tried to talk to a rape victim before?"
"No..." She breathed. She turned around and met her eyes. "Have you?"
She sighed. "I guess it's not shit I have to think about every day, no... I talk to kids all the time though. She might feel more comfortable around me."
"She's a kidnapping and rape victim, Anna." Rosalyn replied. "I bet she doesn't understand anything that's going on, and she's scared. She's not going to feel comfortable around anyone for a long time."
"Uh.. I could talk to her..." Isaac suggested, walking into the conversation.
She sighed. "Sorry, bud, but I think this has to come from another girl. Someone that seems more like her." Isaac nodded his head in agreement and backed up next to the other three.
Anna heaved a long sigh and threw her hand up in the air. "I guess, if you're so set on talking to this girl, go right ahead. No one's stopping you."
Rosalyn turned around with Anna's approval behind her. She knew how to talk to children, and more than one person might frighten her. She bent down to the ground and sat beside the girl, watching her shiver in fear. Rosalyn wanted to let the girl know it was all right, and so, she cracked a smile.
She set out a hand and rested it on the girl's shoulder. Although, what was meant as a genuine gesture of sympathy, seemed like an act of deceit to her. She backed away farther, pressing her back hard against the wall. Rosalyn decided it was best not to touch her for now.
"You ever ride a bike, Claire?" Rosalyn asked her.
"Yes..." Claire spoke back. She could tell the girl was feeling slightly less threatened just seeing the smile.
"I rode a bike when I was your age." She didn't know where any of this response was coming from. She felt like she knew it by heart, although it was the first time she'd said anything like it. "I was terrified that the moment I took my feet off the ground, I'd fall flat on my face. And most of the time, I did."
"What...?" Claire asked, confused.
"One day, he took me to this park by our house." She continued. "At the entrance, there was this big hill. And he told me, if he stood at the end, he would catch me when I rolled down. I was so scared. I asked him so many times if I would stay up while I was rolling down and he said I would. So one time, I tried it. I began rolling down that hill and, all of a sudden, my dad jumped out of the way. He didn't catch me. Guess what?"
When she answered, Rosalyn could see the tenseness in the girl easing a bit. "What happened?" She asked.
"My father didn't catch me... The hill caught me. When I was riding, the faster I went, the less and less I felt like I was going to fall. Eventually, by the time I reached the bottom of the hill, I had learned how to ride that bike, and every time after that, I wasn't afraid to fall down. I can be that for you."
Claire still looked confused. "You can be my... father who jumps out of the way?"
"No...I can be your hill, Claire. I will be there to catch you when you fall." Rosalyn sighed. She held out her hand in the air and Claire put hers there as well. Her hand felt cold, and her skin felt coarse, as though something had made it rough. When Rosalyn stood up, she gave a small pull on the child's arm and she stood up as well, looking up into her eyes. "My name is Rose, and we want to be your friends. Do you believe me?"
She glanced faintly to Anna, Isaac and Larry a moment before looking back and nodding her head quickly. Rosalyn smiled at Claire, and she stopped looking afraid.
"Are you going to find him?" She asked.
"Who?" Anna asked, walking up to her slowly.
"The man who took me."
"We already did." Rosalyn assured her. "You don't need to worry about him anymore. If you don't have any other family, we'll take care of you."
"I do have other family." Claire replied. "My grandfather."
"Where is he?" Anna asked.
"He went to jail..."
Rosalyn sighed. "We will take care of you. You're one of us now." She helped Claire up onto the bed and walked back into the group of the other three. "So what do we do now?"
"You're really good with her..." Larry spoke. When he did, Anna had a visible twinge of jealousy on her face. Rosalyn didn't like seeing it there, yet, in a weird way, she did... "Where did you learn to talk to kids like that?"
"I'm a nurse at the local hospital." Rosalyn answered with a bit of a grin carved into her face. She locked her eyes on Larry's and could see the jealousy form in her periferal vision on Anna's face. "It's what I do."
End of Chapter 14
great chapter!!!
Awesome Chapter!!!
I don't think everyone saw this.
I didn't, sorry.
Oh. Any thoughts?
is good but not great... also I need your help at my fan fic your mind and imagination is amazing.
okay. I'll check it out after school. Can you PM me the links again?
Whoa, I somehow unfollowed after writing my last comment here. Luckily I realized it in time. Very good chapter, as always! Probably one of my favourites and I already really like poor Claire. I'm excited for what's coming for her.
Hey guys I'm back. Sorry for the long wait, but here it is.
Chapter 15: Interrogation
Thomas Garter
When Thomas gazed into the face of the man they had been searching for, he almost didn't believe it. He never had good luck. It looked as though Parker felt the same way. The other men and women in the room seemed confused by the reunion, but they could see all four of them had the same confusion.
For the most part, Parker looked the same as he always did, with a toothpick jutting out of the right side of his mouth, except his smooth blonde hair hung down in disarray, and what had been his confident face could now be seen slightly more afraid. There was a white strap wrapped around his head traveling over his right eye. The glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose were bent.
"Who are you?" The man standing by the door asked. Though he looked older than life, he had no trouble lifting a shotgun to Will's head. "Tell us how you found this place."
"God, Cecil, put your gun down." Parker barked at him. He frowned and lowered his gun to his side. "Where the hell have you guys been?"
Thomas walked up to the man, right past Cecil's gun and extended his hand. Parker took it and shook hard. "Good to see you too, man."
"Would you mind telling us what's going on?" Will asked, in an irritated fashion.
"Come inside first." He sighed, flicking the toothpick around his lips. "We can't have the door open for too long. Could let a draft in."
"And a couple hundred dead guys." Smirked one of the other guys standing in the semicircle. He had curly dark red hair and piercing blue eyes. Every word he said put a certain echo of uneasiness in Thomas' mind.
"Trevor..." The woman with the same shade of red hair standing beside him sighed in distaste. Thomas assumed she was his sister.
Usui closed the door behind them and Cecil walked out to grab something from the floor. He noticed it was a tiny lasso tied tightly to the wall. When Cecil hung it around the door handle, it kept the door shut as tightly as the rope would hold. It was a good defense. "Why don't we just invite everyone in then? That would be a good idea! You know, Parker, we only got so much food. So much space. All our beds are full. Where are they gonna sleep?"
"Wherever there's room." Parker replied. "We're military. Sleeping on the ground ain't exactly beneath us."
"We're in an enclosed space, for God's sake." The old man exclaimed. "The more people we cram in here, the worse our living conditions are going to get."
"They're staying." Parker spoke definitively. "You all agreed I was calling the shots around here. Now let me fucking call them." Some of the people standing around shook their head in agreement. Cecil only looked angered. "Yeah, I thought so."
Thomas gazed past the crowd of people in front of him and saw a few other people sitting around in the lounge area beside the service desk. The hallways ran for a hundred feet on either side of him with doors to the rooms scattered evenly throughout them. There were a number of different types of people in the room, some of them doctors, and some of them patients. Some were only there to visit their loved ones. When Thomas did a head count, he estimated there were at least thirty people in the room.
"Listen...Cecil..." Will started. "We'll leave you alone if we can bring Parker with us. He's on our squad."
"It's fine with me." Cecil barked.
"I ain't leaving, Doc." Parker sighed. "That's just the fact of the matter. They are staying. This is not negotiable." He gestured to the three of them. "Now give us some space. I need to talk to them."
Most of them walked away to the lounge area and sat on the couch, but Cecil grudgingly marched away. It was very obvious he was bitter about Parker leading the group. From his clothes, Thomas inferred he must have been the chief doctor. He would have been angry about the power not being his anymore.
"Well it seems like you've got things squared away here." Will chuckled as Parker took the three of them aside and sat down at a system of couches in the corner of the room. "Now will you tell us what's going on?"
"Well that's a long story." He replied.
"How did you people survive up here?" Thomas asked. "There's gotta be thousands of walkers out there, let alone in the hospital. This is where it started, right?"
"Take a look at where we're at Tom." Parker answered. "We're on the top floor. Since the infected were the major threats, they kept them close to ground floor. None of them got up here. All we really had to do was seal up the entrance to our floor and we're safe up here. Those boarded up doors you saw on your way up... Me and a couple of other guys put those up this morning after we cleared out the stairwell."
"Cleared out the stairwell?" Usui asked for clarification.
"Yeah. We took 'em out. There weren't too many-"
"You killed them?" Usui exclaimed. "How? Guns don't work on them."
"Sure they do." Parker scoffed. "You just gotta hit 'em in the head. Works every time."
"The head?" Will asked. He heaved a sigh and brought his fingers to his forehead. "I thought it had to do with draining their blood."
"That would work too." A man walked over into the conversation. He had a full head of brown hair and looked to be about the same age and height as Thomas. He was wearing the clothes of a doctor with a large patch of dark black blood splattered across his left shoulder. He sat down in the seat next to Usui and held his fingers together. "Theoretically, nothing can move without blood. If you managed to drain it all, that would kill them. But it'd be much quicker to put a knife through their skull."
"Guys, this is Brandon." Parker introduced him. "Brandon, this is Will, Swee and Tom. They were my squad back at the base."
Thomas was the only one to reach out his hand in an offer of friendship. Brandon took it and shook hard. Thomas had only ever received such a strong handshake from Will, and he hardly ever gave them. "So you know what they are?" Thomas asked.
"Sure I do." He replied. "They're dead people. Do I know how they got here? No clue. What I do have an idea about, is why they do what they do."
"And what's that?" Usui asked.
"I don't think I've seen a single biter out there that isn't bleeding from somewhere. Everything needs blood to move. And that blood keeps leaking out every time it gets hit with a bullet or stabbed or some shit. And so they eat... Get more blood in their system, and they can live a bit longer."
"You've got it all figured out, don't you?" Will crossed his arms and laid back in his seat.
"Not in the slightest." He shook his head. "That's just my idea."
"Why does Cecil hate us?" Usui asked, turning back to Parker.
"He's just a senile old man who refuses to retire." Parker answered him. "I heard from Oscar that they just let him think he was in charge before. You don't have to do anything he says. Like I said, I took charge of these people because I'm in the military, and most of them don't know how to think for themselves."
"You're the leader?" Will raised an eyebrow. "You're not a leader, Parker, you're a soldier. A damn fine soldier... but I've never heard you give an order in my life."
Parker chuckled. "All due respect sir, but I don't give orders because you're the one doin' it." At this comment, Will looked slightly threatened, but that went away when Parker continued. "You can have the leadership role, sir, but these people don't trust you yet. If you become leader now, they'll look at it as an active takeover and rebel against you."
"I never said I wanted to be the leader of your little top floor community." Will replied. "You're coming back to the base with us. These people can fend for themselves."
"Are you fucking serious?" Parker frowned.
"Watch your tone, soldier." He scolded him, yet Parker ignored the protest.
"No, I won't." He said. "These people can fend for themselves? Cripples, sick, old, and a bunch of people who went to medical school their whole lives and have never lifted a barbell before. The people who can fend for themselves are the military. They've got guns! They've got men! All we got here is one gun, a bunch of syringes and maybe three or four fighting men."
"The military are our people, soldier." Will spat at him. "You spent the last four years with them. Does loyalty mean nothing to you?"
Parker slammed his fist down on the table, creating a shattering noise beneath it. The weak and sick on the other side of the room, turned around. What once had been a room filled with noise was now void of it. Everyone listened intently to the words he spoke. "Damnit, Will! I have more loyalty than you could know. Of course I want to go back, but these people need me more... Need us more! Now, you do whatever you want, but I'm staying here."
"Parker! That's desertion!" Usui cried. "You know what they could do to you for desertion?"
"I know what they would do, Swee, but with the world like it is, I doubt there's gonna be anyone left to do it."
Will stood up from his chair and stared down at the man with a look of disgust. "I don't believe you, soldier. I thought you knew better than that. If that's how you want to play it, fine. If you're going to abandon us, we'll abandon you too. Come on, squad." He held his hand up in the air and waved for them to follow. Usui looked to Parker for a moment, but ultimately decided to stand up and follow Will. It was only Thomas who remained in his seat. When Will noticed this, he shouted at him. "Garter! We're heading back to base now."
[A. Side with Parker.]
[B. Side with Will.]
[A. Side with Parker.]
1.) Will is a real SOB right now.
2.) Am I correct in saying there was a massive hoard outside a minute ago? Those things don't just disappear.
Great chapter!!
Yeah they would be trapped now, but eventually they would find a way to leave and get back to the base.
Offscreen [A. Side with Parker.]
[A. Side with Parker.]
[B. Side with Will.]
[A. Side with Parker.]
Cool Chapter!
Hey guys. I'm back... finally...
80% of readers chose to [A. Side with Parker.]
"Garter!" Will called. "We're leaving now."
Thomas didn't want to betray the forces, but Parker put up a good point. These people needed their help. They wouldn't make it without people to help them. He sucked up his gut and turned to Will and Usui, two of them men he'd spent the last couple years with. "I'm not leaving."
"Excuse me?"
"These people need us more than the military does." Thomas told him. "I don't know about you, but I joined the army to protect my country. That doesn't mean protecting the land, or protecting the buildings. The country is the people. Protecting them is our job. If we can't do that, then what do we do?"
"Shoot at shit." Parker laughed.
Will shook his head for a few moments, not responding. Usui looked hurt. "Tom, this is desertion. They'll arrest you!"
"Then let them arrest me." He told him. "I'm doing what's right here."
Thomas looked towards his Sergeant and saw him welling up with rage. He didn't say a thing, only stared violently. "Don't you care that all your friends back on base? They're going through the same shit we are."
"Fine!" Will barked, ignoring Usui's rant. "We'll stay here. But that only goes until the walkers stop walking. We're getting up and walking out of here the first time we get a chance."
"But sir..." Usui started.
"Dammit Ousawa, they're right." He sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, they're right on this one. These people are defenseless."
"Yes they are." Parker added. "They need our help. You can go out there if you really feel it necessary, boy, but my suggestion is, if you have any common sense, you stay here with us."
"...Fine..." Usui finally grunted. "We'll stay here. But if any of my friends die back there, it's on your heads."
"Fair enough." Parker sighed, thinking of no way to counter the statement with a witty comeback.
"Come on, soldier." Will barked, turning back around, harshly. He left a path of rage behind him as he walked toward the window looking down upon the city below. Usui followed him. There were always just those people who would hold a grudge like no other. Will was one of those people. Though he liked to hide it behind a wall of toughness, he really was just the same as any of the rest of us here... Scared and alone.
"Thanks for sticking with me, Tom." Parker told him after the two of them left.
"The hospital is lucky to have you." Brandon added. Thomas had almost forgotten the man was there. He hadn't spoken up through the conversation, since he didn't have anything to say. "How many of those things did you kill out there anyway?"
"It's rough to say..." Thomas replied. "I wasn't counting. A hundred maybe?"
Parker winced and Brandon looked back down towards the ground in solemnity. "That's a hundred more people who are dead two times over... With everything that's happened, it has gotten so hard to remember all those monsters in the street used to be people. I didn't even know there were that many people in Savannah..."
"And that's not even counting the number of assholes who fled to Atlanta." Parker added.
"I found it easier if we don't think about 'em." Thomas suggested to them. "They're clearly not the people they were anymore, and they were trying to kill us..."
"I'm not faulting you for killing them." Brandon said. "I'm just saying it's a hard thought to stomach."
"Yeah..." Parker sighed. He reached his hand up and scratched his cheek just under his eyepatch. He used his working eye to gaze over at Will and Usui huddling in the corner, away from the rest of the group. "Hey, Tom, you know what this reminds me of?"
"What's that?"
"The Christmas party." He smiled. Thomas laughed because of the story he was about to tell. He knew exactly which one it was. "Remember the Secret Santa we all did? Will didn't want us to take part, but we pressured him into it. And Swee didn't fucking know what to do. They all sat in the corner while we exchanged gifts."
"I remember that like it was yesterday..."
"Well I mean, it was only a few months ago." He replied. He turned to Brandon, knowing that Thomas had heard the story a dozen times. Brandon rubbed his shoulder in a strange pained way and listened in. "Me and this guy, we got presents for each of them over there, saying it was from the other. We were in a dead argument at the time. It was something stupid... What was it, something about laundry? Anyway, instead of getting our own gifts for Will, we tried to get fake gifts from the other person, trying to see who could bring down Will's wrath more. He was even more butthurt than he is right now..."
"Ah, really." Brandon laughed, moving his shoulder around. "What did you get him?"
"I got a toy plastic bugle for him." Thomas answered. "There's no one else that hates the sound of the horn call in the morning more than Parker."
Parker shared a laugh. He had been so angry at the time, Thomas would have never thought they would forgive each other. But he did eventually. "I got him a pack of prank beer. Left the taste of shit in his mouth for weeks..." Parker told his side of the story. "Eventually, we realized the whole thing was a completely fucking stupid way to get at each other and we just wrestled it out."
"Who won?" Brandon asked.
Parker paused for a moment, as if wondering whether or not he would lie. He must have decided not to. Best to be honest with each other. "He won. Doesn't mean I didn't shit in his socks the next couple days."
"So how does that have to do with this situation?" Thomas asked him.
He glanced over toward the other half of the squad. "Because, with the way Will is looking at me over there, I wouldn't be surprised to find shit in my socks tomorrow..."
"Sucks to suck." Thomas heaved a quiet chuckle, then picked up when Brandon and Parker joined in with him.
Parker wiped his face just over his lip and ran a hand through the hair that had fallen severely out of place. "You know, Tom, you and me have been going at it for a while. I don't know why it took a fucking undead apocalypse for me to realize you're not such a bad guy."
"Thanks..." He replied. Compliments like this barely ever came from Parker. This was rather unusual, and he didn't know what to answer with.
"Well, if that's all, I'm gonna check on the sick." Brandon said, standing up from the couch. He began to walk back, but Thomas spotted something on his back he hadn't noticed before. It was a spot of black blood.
"What's that?" He asked.
"What?" Brandon questioned, shaking his head. He cranked it around and saw the blood on his right shoulder. "Oh, that's just from a biter I killed this morning. You never seen a stain before."
Thomas knew he was lying. When Brandon was standing in the circle of old and sick, his back was turned then. Thomas didn't remember seeing any stain during that time... It must have just happened, and there weren't any biters up here. "Take your shirt off..." He spoke hesitantly.
"Whoa, Tom..." Parker started. "I didn't know-"
"Take your shirt off..." He repeated, this time slower and more precise.
"I don't know if I should-"
Thomas put his gun hand on the pistol hanging at his belt just obviously enough that the man could see it. "I said take it off."
Parker's eyes started to widen, and he saw the blood stain on the shirt. "Just do it, Brandon."
He complied reluctantly and began to take his coat off his shoulders. When his dress shirt left his body, not only did it reveal the strength underneath, it also revealed a large bloody wound the size of a fist on his right shoulder. It had just been reopened, and was oozing black blood over his arm.
Parker stood up and backed away instantly. Thomas did the same. "You're goddamn bit..."
End of Chapter 15
Hope you enjoyed your time off, and welcome back.
KILL BRANDON NOW YOU IDIOTS KILL HIM
Awesome Chapter!
Damnit Brandon.
Great chapter!!
I did haha. I was writing some of my other work.
Glad to see this back
Intense O_O
Thanks haha. It may be off and on a bit, but I'll try to continue.