| Welcome to Wcrp. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Dead Men Walking | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,976 Views) | |
| DoctorYerishi | May 15 2015, 03:42 AM Post #1501 |
|
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
|
Eli waved at Willow dismissively as he looked around. “Not your fault,” he said – and even if it was, he didn’t blame her. It had worked out okay. He spotted a severed head nearby, and looked up to Brandon, who was towering over the body it belonged to. It was the second decapitation Eli had seen in as many days. He looked down at the head again, though, when he noticed its mouth was still moving, and its eyes were still looking around. Of course, the brain hadn’t been destroyed. Weird how he’d never seen that before. Then again, until yesterday, he hadn’t seen people walk openly through a crowd of rotters undetected. It seemed like forever since the outbreak had started, and Eli had started to feel like he’d seen it all. At times like this, he had to confront the fact that he really hadn’t. “You, uh, you missed a spot,” Eli said to Brandon, gesturing briefly to the face on the ground. |
![]() |
|
| Strompy | May 15 2015, 01:30 PM Post #1502 |
|
More posts, more Busey.
|
Brandon hadn't given the head a second thought. The danger was passed for now and that was all that had mattered. Looking down at it though, it was truly pathetic, like a fish out of water gasping and choking on air. It used to be a person, this wasn't dignified. He put his foot on it and then pushed his knife into its brain, pulling it free again with a little tug. He moved over to one of the downed riot rotters. They had to work fast to scavenge what they could before more of the showed up. "Help me strip these things before more of those things show up. Take the arm pads at least, they can protect against a bite and they're light." he said as he began unfastening the straps holding them in place. The vests weren't so crucial, likely to slow them down and be restrictive. Most bites would occur on the arms shoulders since instinctively people shield themselves with those. With this gear they could effectively shield themselves from most bites. If it could prevent another incident then it was worth the time. |
![]() |
|
| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 15 2015, 02:35 PM Post #1503 |
|
Is that so?
|
As the dust settled, Willow made her way towards the smallest of the riot gear rotters. Most of them -- like the one she had tried to stop from attacking Eli -- were much bigger than her. Thankfully, she had noticed one that looked a bit shorter than the others. Since she was only 5'5'', any of the others would have gear that was far too big or awkward for her to wear. She had picked this particular rotter off fairly early, so it was amidst a field of dead rotters. She made sure to look at every one to make sure they were dead. And they were. As Brandon had suggested, she removed the two arm guards off of it and immediately tried strapping one to her left arm. Thankfully they had been well-made to accommodate a lot of body types; she was able to strap it around her skinny little arm like a glove. For the most part. It would definitely help defend against a rotter bite regardless. She felt a little safer knowing she wouldn't fall into the same pitfall as Randall. Or Julie. She didn't put on the second arm guard. Jen was only an inch taller than her and this was probably the only other one that would fit her. Willow suspected she would appreciate having one of these for herself as well. |
![]() |
|
| DoctorYerishi | May 15 2015, 03:04 PM Post #1504 |
|
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
|
“Good call,” Eli said, and bent over to help him. He started unfastening straps just like Brandon, taking the arm pads and the shoulder pads especially. They looked like they would be a little tight on him and a little large for the girls, but that’s what the straps were for. He didn’t know that they’d fit comfortably on either of the kids, though. He averted his eyes as he stripped the rotter whose head he had just smashed in. When he was done one arm, he handed one of the arm pads to Emmett, who had wandered over to help. Then a shoulder pad. Emmett immediately passed both over to Randall. In the distance, Eli could hear more moaning. He looked around and couldn’t see the source. He kept working, moving on to the next rotter in riot gear. He and Brandon passed more gear onto Annie – who accepted it hesitantly. Emmett turned his down. His outfit was apparently unwieldy enough, and had done aright for him so far. Eli outfitted himself last, pulling the straps tight under his shoulders and around his forearms. When he was done, he rolled his shoulders and stretched – his movement was hindered only slightly. The benefits outweighed the cost. There was no way a rotter was biting through this stuff. The distant moans got closer. He turned and saw a rotter emerge from around a nearby utility building. Another one followed him. They were wearing collared shirts and slacks. Administrators, probably. There was time, so Eli drew his gun but pistol but did not fire. Instead, he ejected the magazine and peered inside. Only a few rounds left. In his holster, he had one more magazine that he had loaded last night with the rounds left in his backpack. Most of the other spare ammo had been left behind in the warehouse. He decided not to waste what little bullets he had left. Instead, he drew his baton. Wearing the riot gear, he figured bitterly he might as well complete the look. “You guys can finish up here,” he said. “I got it.” “I’ll help,” Emmett said in his soft grumble, following him instantly. Eli and Emmett were a couple inches taller than both of the office workers. It wouldn’t have been a fair fight, even if they still had all their logic and proper motor skills. They returned to the huddle less than a minute later, after wiping their blades down. The distant moaning hadn’t stopped completely, but the immediate threat was gone. Eli looked to Randall for an ‘okay’ to continue on. |
![]() |
|
| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 15 2015, 03:36 PM Post #1505 |
|
Is that so?
|
With a little help from Kelsey, who had come to see her father after the shooting stopped, Randall managed to get his arms inside the riot gear. Even his injured right arm was able to fit into one, which gave him the feeling of being able to actually do something with the arm again. Maybe use it to hit a rotter or push one back. Nevertheless, Randall approved of this plan. With these, using an arm to block a rotter bite was now a lot more viable than when he had tried it back at the police college. "Thanks, Kels." Randall smirked at his daughter as she finished helping him get the guards secured on his right arm. "How do I look?" Kelsey tilted her head to the side inquisitively. "You look the same but with bicycle pads on your arms." "Sorry we couldn't get any of these for you. I don't think they make them in your size." Before the conversation could continue any further, Eli and Emmett returned from beating up the zombified nerds from the administration building. By the looks of it, it hadn't even been a fair fight. Randall doubted Eli even got a chance to test out his new riot gear. Which, admittedly, was probably for the best. There was no point in taking needless risks. Randall rose to his feet and took a quick scan of everyone. Nearby, he could see the women, Willow and Jen, had decided to split the smaller guards; Willow's left arm and shoulder were covered in arm guards while Jen's right arm was similarly protected. They seemed to be chatting a little as they rotated their shoulders and got a feel for the new armor. Similarly, Brandon and Annie hadn't had much difficulty outfitting themselves either. And with Emmett's refusal to wear any, they meant they had done as much as they could for the time being. "I think we're all ready to move on." Randall confirmed to Eli. |
![]() |
|
| DoctorYerishi | May 15 2015, 06:51 PM Post #1506 |
|
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
|
“Okay,” Eli said with a nod. “This way.” He kept walking towards Central Lab, in the direction the map indicated. He passed more buildings and saw more rotters in the distance – but only a few at a time. Twice, he and Emmett were able to jog ahead and end them routinely before the group caught up. Finally, they arrived at their destination. Again, Eli saw signage for Fortune Labs over a round building with a thick glass exterior that showed the building’s empty insides. He had to frown. He had hoped to find defences here. He had hoped some power would be on. Instead, it was dark and seemingly abandoned, like so many of the buildings they had come across so far. He pulled on the door handle – finding it locked. He was surprised by that. The other buildings seemed to have been left totally unattended. He reached for the keys he had stolen from the guard booth and tried them on at a time. It took a while, be he finally found one that fit. He turned it and heard a click. He took a calming breath and opened up. He could see through the glass that there weren’t any rotters to jump out at him. Wordlessly, he stepped inside, then made way for some others to follow. He looked around. On either side of the lobby was hallways leading to the empty offices they could see from outside. None of them even had blinds down to obscure that fact. Directly ahead of them, however, were the metal doors to a large elevator. Above it was a round camera overlooking the entire lobby. Eli’s eyes were drawn to it. From his thieving days, he knew to look out for those things. From outside, the building only seemed to be one storey high. From the industrial-look of the elevator, Eli didn’t think it was designed just to help people avoid some stairs. “That must go to a basement,” he voiced his theory out loud and nodded forward. He looked back up to the camera and pursed his lips. He realized that just because there was no power up here, that didn’t mean there was no power at all. He had to wonder if they were being watched right now. |
![]() |
|
| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 15 2015, 07:32 PM Post #1507 |
|
Is that so?
|
Randall was conflicted. They had traveled hundreds of miles and spilled a lot of blood from their start at Mount Kisco, New York. All in the name of delivering the cure. He had pinned all of his hopes on Argonne National Lab; and now he couldn't even tell if this place was even inhabited. Obviously it looked bad so far, with the rotters and lack of electrical. But it wasn't far fetched to think that labs like this would have separate generators; keeping the rest of this place looking abandoned would make for good cover. Who else would go through all this effort to break into a laboratory, after all? All he knew for sure was that he had come too far to turn away now. He was going to find out for sure what was going on. "Doesn't look like they have any power." Willow was flipping a light switch nearby to confirm what everyone else already knew. "You think they might have a staircase somewhere?" "Doesn't look like they have any stairs, either." Jennifer, who was peering around the area, reported back. "It's all offices. Only way down is through the elevator that I can see." Randall pursed his lips. Out of curiosity, he pushed the 'down' button on the elevator. No response. Like Willow said, there was no power. But he still felt like he had to at least try it once. "So what does that leave us with?" Randall frowned. "What about climbing down the elevator shaft?" Willow proposed. "They gotta have something, like maybe they have a service ladder or something we can use. Otherwise if the elevator broke down, everyone would be trapped in the lab." |
![]() |
|
| DoctorYerishi | May 15 2015, 08:56 PM Post #1508 |
|
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
|
Eli couldn’t fault Willow’s reasoning, so he headed for the elevators himself. One eye stayed locked on the camera above. When he reached the doors, he finally looked away and concentrated. He tried to open it with his fingers but couldn’t get a good grip. So he shrugged off his backpack and produced his hammer – though thinking of her was painful, he had to mentally thank Julie for leading him to that shed the second after they met. Using the claw, he was able to drag the elevator door open enough to get his fingers in. He waved Emmett over to help. Together, they pulled it open – revealing nothing in particular. The elevator car must have been at the bottom, not the top. He leaned over carefully into the pit. He could see only darkness. It must have been a long way down. After putting the hammer away and hauling the backpack over his shoulders again, Eli flipped on the light on his AR-15. He leaned over again. At the bottom, he thought he could see the top of the elevator car, where the pit ended, but it was hard to tell. What he did see, at least, was a service ladder hanging on the closest wall. “Looks like Willow had it right,” he observed out loud, then turned to the others. “I guess we’re goin’ down?” |
![]() |
|
| Strompy | May 15 2015, 09:50 PM Post #1509 |
|
More posts, more Busey.
|
Brandon turned the flashlight on his C8 on and peered into the shaft carefully. It was a terrible mistake. He could see the elevator car below but that didn't mean the shaft wasn't far deeper. The distance between them and the car alone made him a litttle queezy. He shot a hand out to steady himself. Heights were something he was quite reasonably scared of. "Fuck fuck fuck." he cursed quietly to himself, chuckling nervously. |
![]() |
|
| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 15 2015, 10:34 PM Post #1510 |
|
Is that so?
|
Jennifer secured her weapons and walked up the now open elevator shaft. She peered around Eli and the others, who were loitering more than anything else. It was a bit of a drop, Brandon's nervousness wasn't entire unfounded. Who knew how far down this thing went beyond the elevator below. "I'll go first." She volunteered after taking a look at the ladder. "I'm pretty light on my feet and there's no telling what kind of condition this ladder is in." Without really waiting for permission, she reached out and grabbed hold the service ladder inside the elevator shaft. She pulled herself onto it and paused while she gauged how it felt. So far so good -- although it had seen better days. She then reached into her jacket and pulled out a small, pocket-sized flashlight. She turned it on and said one thing before sticking the flashlight in her mouth. "I'll give you an all clear when I reach the bottom." Jennifer was pretty versatile. She could shoot rotters just as easily as she could bash them over the head. She was quick and pretty strong for her size thanks to her athletic background. Her leg hurt, but it wasn't anything like Randall having only one hand or Willow's near death experience. And she was by far lighter than the muscular Emmett and Eli. After taking all of that into note, having her go first to check everything out was really the best choice. Besides, she was nothing if not confident in her abilities. With all that in mind, she started to descend into the darkness below. Jen took her descent nice and slowly. Occasionally, she would pause, spit the flashlight out of her mouth and shine it below her to get a feel for where she was at. Shine it at the ladder and see how it looked. The condition concerned her at places; there were visible signs of rusting and degradation on some of the bolts, but the ladder seemed to be holding well enough. As she got close to the elevator car itself, she was able to see that there were no stops below that one. The elevator only went between two floors; the offices above them and what was presumably the lab she was approaching. When she reached the elevator car, she gingerly transferred herself from the ladder onto the top of the car. She made her way to the emergency hatch on top of the elevator, popped it open from the outside, and then shone her flashlight in there. The car was empty and the doors were closed. "We're clear!" Her voice echoed up the elevator shaft to the others waiting above. "Ladder's seen better days, might want to come down one at a time! Just to be safe!" |
![]() |
|
| Strompy | May 16 2015, 12:25 AM Post #1511 |
|
More posts, more Busey.
|
Thank God. The shaft wasn't long at all. If it had been much deeper Brandon would have been a little more nervous. Not that climbing down a dark hole should be something anyone was comfortable with. Brandon slung his rifle and made the descent himself, emboldened by the knowledge he'd only be dealing with pitch black darkness and potentially life threatening biohazards in the labs below. At least it wasn't heights. He clambered onto the elevator car and shone his light inside as well, covering the door with his rifle. |
![]() |
|
| DoctorYerishi | May 16 2015, 01:16 AM Post #1512 |
|
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
|
Eli looked to Randall, particularly his hand. His climb down was going to be awkward. “I got next,” he announced. He figured Randall could manage it, but if he slipped and fell, Eli would like be down there to help him out. Maybe even catch him. He looked down and saw the light of Jen and Brandon’s flashlights. He shone his own flashlight down on them, and made out the black and blonde hair at the top of their heads. Then he took a steadying breath and turned around, moving slowly down the ladder. Phewph, he thought, when his first touched the top of the elevator car. With Brandon and Jen crowding around the hatch, he couldn’t get a good peek inside. “How’s it lookin’ in there?” he asked, aiming his flashlight at the ground and away from their faces. * * * Annie held onto Connor as he looked down the shaft. She didn’t need to see his face to know he was scared. She was too. Even in a world of the living dead, there was something about dark enclosed spaces that was terrifying – especially combined with the height. “It’s okay,” she said, squeezing him on the shoulder. He looked back, and her suspicions were confirmed. She recognized the look on his face. He was fearful, but trying not to show it. “I’ll prove it,” she said, forcing a small smile. “I’ll go first.” She looked down herself. It seemed Eli had arrived at the bottom already, so she started to follow. |
![]() |
|
| Strompy | May 16 2015, 01:33 AM Post #1513 |
|
More posts, more Busey.
|
"No idea what's waiting for us behind those doors." Brandon thought outloud. If there were rotters waiting outside there was no way they could get several people out in time. One person would have to open those doors. If there were rotters they could be pulled to safety quickly enough to escape. If there were rotters, it also meant that there wasn't going to be any cure, and they'd come there for nothing. The rotters outside were concerning, but the doors were locked and the gates and fences were intact. They could still be alive down there. "One person opens those doors, the others wait for the all clear before coming down." he said. Who was going to be the lucky soul who went down? |
![]() |
|
| Make-7-Up-Yours | May 16 2015, 01:36 AM Post #1514 |
|
Is that so?
|
"I can do that, too." Jen told Brandon. "I'm easier to get out if there are rotters behind the door." She carefully made her way through the emergency hatch and into the elevator car. * * * * * "What if I fall?" Kelsey's voice was hesitant as she looked up at her father. "It's a long way down." Even Kelsey was aware of the irony here; living in a world of the walking dead and she was more afraid of falling down an elevator shaft than the rotters at this point. Of course, knowing that and not being afraid of that were two different things. Without light, she couldn't even see the bottom of the shaft. Her dad knelt over and looked her in the eyes confidently. "You're tough, Kels. Always have been." He placed one of his big fingers over her heart. "You've gone through a lot and a little elevator shaft isn't nothing to my big strong girl. But... just in case, how about I go down first? Then, if something does happen, I'll be down there to catch you. How's that sound?" Kelsey kept her eyes glued on her father. Her face was easily read. It was hesitation; "Promise?" "I promise." He reached out and ruffled her hair; it was an affectionate gesture she had always been fond of. "Okay..." Kelsey cautiously agreed. "Good. I'll see you down below." He told her. He then got up and went for the ladder. He gave Kelsey a knowing nod and smile before disappearing down the elevator shaft. She was nervous. She heard Jen say that the ladder was weak in places. The idea of that scared her a little. Of course, since she was scared, she also wanted to watch. Just to make sure he got down there okay. She made her way to the opened elevator doors and peered down below. With the light of the flashlights, she could see him shimmying down the ladder. His one hand gripped the side and slid down as he lowered himself. When he was just a few feet from the elevator cab, it happened. The sound of snapping metal echoed through the elevator shaft. The side of the ladder her dad had been gripping snapped from the weight. The following chain reaction saw the ladder twist violently. Her dad jumped from the ladder and landed on the elevator car just as the lower third of the ladder was ripped from the wall and went crashing down the elevator shaft. "Shit, Randall!" Willow called out. "DAD!" Kelsey cried in panic. "I'm okay!" He called up after a few moments. Kelsey could see her dad on top of the elevator car. He looked surprised, but unharmed. |
![]() |
|
| DoctorYerishi | May 16 2015, 01:58 AM Post #1515 |
|
Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
|
Hearing the ladder break off the wall – and seeing it happen – sent Eli in a state of shock. The shock only lasted a moment, however. Even though Randall was alright, it was quickly replaced by worry and frustration. The obvious question jumped out at him. If there wasn’t anything on the other side of that elevator door, how were they supposed to get back up? On top of that, they were underground – and for now, at least, they were trapped down there. For some reason, that unnerved Eli just as much as anything ever had. He may have been more claustrophobic than he realized. “Mom?” Connor’s voice echoed Kelsey’s. “I’m alright too!” Annie called out beside him. She looked even more alarmed than Eli, but kept her voice steady. Eli was silent as he took stock of the situation – Emmett, Willow, and the kids remained up top. For the moment, they had no way down and Eli, Randall, Brandon, Annie and Jen had no way back up to them. Emmett’s voice called down next. Eli looked up and he thought he could see his imposing shadow in the light from the flashlights. “Should I… find some rope?” Eli didn’t answer. He was at a loss. He looked to Randall. |
![]() |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Roleplaying · Next Topic » |







7:29 PM Jul 10