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Dead Men Walking
Topic Started: Nov 28 2014, 02:20 AM (70,974 Views)
DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Eli heard Jen’s call, and experienced just the tiniest amount of relief. The situation was still so perilous, he couldn’t feel much more than that.

Annie escaped the circle of rotters next, then Brandon, then Randall. Eli kept shoving and swinging his baton, and backing up as the horde advanced on them. When Randall was finally free, he turned tail and ran through the door after them.

As he rushed through the frame, his hand grasped the door handle. He dragged it closed behind him.

The cacophony of groaning dimmed as the door slammed shut. The prevalent sounds became the group’s ragged breathing and the ringing in their ears from all the gunfire in the elevator.

Eli looked back – the door was holding. He felt another dose of tiny relief swim through his brain.

Then he looked around. They were in a storage room, it looked like. Nothing but shelves lined with unused lab supplies still wrapped in plastic. On the other side of the room was another door. Eli didn’t know where it led, obviously, and decided to worry about it in a minute.

He looked at himself next. He ran his eyes up and down his arms and legs, looking for injuries. There were teeth marks in his padding, but nothing in his skin. A mixture of ferocity and luck had carried him through. He was okay, once again.

Finally, he looked to his friends. He felt like he didn’t have to ask the question. Still, he asked the first half of it.

“You guys…?”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
As soon as they were safe, Randall began looking himself over and patting himself down. Apart from the strikes at his protected arms, he looked to be fine. There was one place left to check; he immediately turned away from everyone else no one could see as he unbuckled his pants and risked a look at his manhood. No bites. No blood. No pain.

Thank fucking God.

Randall wasn't sure what the worst part of dying to zombie bite to the dick would be; the humiliation or the pain. He could have survived another amputation, but that was one part of his body he didn't want to lose. It would also brutally murder any chances he had with Annie.

"I'm okay." He heard Jen announce between ragged breaths. "I... I can't believe it... I'm okay."

He could practically hear the fear draining out of her voice as she said those words.

"Yeah, I'm fine too." Randall acknowledged with an audible sigh.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
That was the hairiest fight he had ever been in. Now more than ever he wished that Glenda was still with them, she would have been indispensable in that situation. The riot gear turned out to be an incredibly lucky find. He wasn't sure they could have pulled that off without it. He leaned his rifle against the wall, its flashlight illuminating the room they were in a little with its ambient light. Now they were deeper into the lab and cut off from their escape. Their only chance now was door number two.

Those thoughts drifted trough his head vaguely. The most prominent thought however, as slid he down against the wall exhausted, was the cure. This was the final confirmation. It was all hopeless now. They had tried, and that was something, but it meant they lost three friends for nothing. He was too tired to be angry. Despair was the only thing left.

He had believed in this thing one hundred percent. It was only reasonable to him to expect a reprieve. Everyone left had lost so much, millions had suffered and died because of this. They deserved the cure. It wasn't too much to ask for, it was the only thing to ask for.

If the last few days were anything to judge by, then they'd all be dead within a few months. They were doomed. Everyone. This plague was never going away. He felt the same way he did when he fled Patterson in the days following his family's death. Weary and cold.

But his family wasn't dead. There was a new family upstairs waiting for him and he needed to get back to her. He forced himself to his feet, the weight on his heart felt real as he did, but he would stand and bear it.

"We need to find a fire escape, or at least a map of this place that can lead us to an exit." he said with a heavy sigh.

Getting out of the lab was a pipe dream considering they weren't even sure they could get out of this storage room.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Jeez..." Jen slumped her back against the wall. "I can't believe all you psychos jumped into the elevator to save me. You really are crazy, aren't you?"

She thought she had felt like an outsider before. But after that display of camaraderie, she felt like one of the group. Back at Flint, she had been left in the street to die with a bullet in her leg. Helping her out would have been easy. This elevator thing... it shouldn't have worked. They should have just left her to die. Anyone else would have. Any normal group of people would have. But they didn't. They dived into the elevator with reckless abandon and it was because of that that Jennifer West was alive right now and not a half-eaten corpse in an elevator.

"Seriously, I owe you guys. Thanks."
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
"We've all lost too many people lately." Brandon explained.

Now that the cure was a bust it was doubly important that they fight for every single life. If humanity was going to somehow scrape through this, is was going to be because of that and not some miracle that they did.

"Anyway, we're still lost down here with a horde of rotters, it's not over yet."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
“Right,” Eli agreed with Brandon. “On both counts.”

He straightened his posture and took a deep breath. He was remembering where he was, after forgetting for a second in the chaos. The idea of being trapped underground made his nerves flare up anew.

Before heading over to the other door, he looked at Annie. She had been silent since their arrival, and was still looking herself over.

“You okay, doctor?” he asked.

She physically snapped out of her distracted state, and looked up at him as if in surprise. “I’m... yes,” she said, clearly struggling to get a hold on herself. “No bites. I’ll be fine. I'm just… rattled.”
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
"Brandon, your idea with the riot gear was great." Randall nodded his approval to the young blonde. "I don't think we'd be here without it. After surviving that, I think we can get through this."

He took a few moments to himself. They had barely gotten out of that encounter. The fact that nobody was bitten, even with their collective will to survive, was nothing short of a miracle. The cure being a lost cause was in the back of his mind, but he didn't let himself dwell on it right now. There would be time to dwell later.

"Yeah, no kidding." Jennifer threw her agreement in. "Good thinking."

Randall was already putting together an image in his mind. The lab was huge, but the mass of rotters by the elevator probably accounted for the vast majority of rotters underground. Even if they did get into a tough spot while searching through the facility they knew the riot gear worked like a charm and they had areas they could fall back to. Like this storage room. With five prepared guns pointing at one doorway, it didn't matter how many rotters were on the other side, it would be the rec center all over again. As long as they played it smart, they should be okay.

He took a quick head count. Eli, Brandon, and Jen were shaken up and scared, but they still looked ready to go. Annie, on the other hand, looked very rattled. He wasn't very good with words. Or at least he never really considered himself good with words. Annie looked distraught and she needed something to pull her out of it. He had also never been like Willow and Brandon and comfortable with those public displays of affection. Despite that, he reached out and brought the rattled Annie into an embrace.

"We're getting out of here." He whispered to her. "We're gonna see our kids again."
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Annie forced a small smile back as she broke the quick hug.

“I know,” she said, summoning her courage.

She was glad, at least, that Connor and Kelsey weren’t down here with them. She had barely made it through that elevator fight in one piece, physically and mentally. She was grateful Connor didn’t have to endure it.

“So what…”

There was a beep, suddenly. She blinked in surprise, then looked down to the radios Randall and Eli had clipped to their belts.

“Eli? Randall?” Emmett’s familiar soft voice crackled over the radio. “Is everyone okay? I heard gunshots."
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Randall had the radio off his belt in an instant.

"Yeah, everyone is okay." He said into the radio. "We tried entering the lab. It's completely overrun, but we managed to find a safe place to hide. We're gonna try to look around and find a way out."

He didn't say the cure was a bust. He didn't want to say it. Maybe they could find something about the cure down here. It was a long shot, but the possibility was not off the table. Not yet.

"How is it on your side?"
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
Still looking for rope,” Emmett reported.

He sounded hesitant, and for good reason – Randall had just given him the bad news about the state of the lab. He might have suspected from hearing the gunshots, but now he knew for sure.

Should I come back?

A beep proceeded and followed his question, and then Eli cut in.

“No, keep looking,” he said, confident he had Randall’s backing on that one. “It’s more than likely we’re still gonna need it.”

Okay,” Emmett confirmed after a short silence.

Eli took another long breath as he clipped the radio back onto his belt. With that done, he knew there was nothing left to do but what Randall said – try to look around.

He headed for the door on the opposite end of the storage room, waited until the others were ready, and then opened it. When nothing popped out, he led the way inside.

The room was an actual laboratory of some sort, with some equipment Eli recognised – sinks, stoves, beakers and vials. Mercifully, it was also completely empty of rotters. There was a long window on the far wall, however, looking out at the horde they had just escaped from.

Eli and the others could see them, and they could see them back. When they did, they marched over to the wall, pressing their rotting fingers and faces against the glass.

They weren’t about to get through any time soon, so Eli ignored them. He kept inhaling and exhaling deeply. He focused on the task in front of him, not on the fact that they were underground or that their mission had been a failure.

He was the first to arrive at the door on the other side of the room. He nodded to Brandon to be ready before opening it and stepping back.

No rotters lunged out – something else to be thankful for in a time where there wasn’t a lot of that to go around.

Instead, the door led to a narrow staircase that would bring the group even deeper underground. Eli mentally retracted his thanks as he continued on, knife at the ready.

The stairs didn’t lead them very far down, at least. After a single revolution, they ended at another door. There wasn’t enough room to step aside and let Brandon face down the potential threat, so Eli just opened it as quiet as he could and prepared to strike if necessary.

It wasn’t necessary. Again, the room was empty of rotters. When he raised his rifle with his other hand, he could see that instead it was some sort of maintenance room. A heavy duty generator was set up against the wall, and there was an exposed panel next to it with a lever, some switches, and a dial.

He looked around some more – there was another door, but this one was sturdier looking. Eli noted the key card lock and started fishing around for the cards he looted earlier. He produced them and headed over. He swiped one through the reader as a test. Nothing happened.

“End of the road,” he said with a dark frown. “Unless…”

He looked back to the generator.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Of course a place this big would have its own generator. Brandon remembered the day before last he and Glenda had gotten one working at the ice rink. He approached the machine and tried to remember how Glenda had gotten it working. After a movement or two of fiddling he thought he had it figured out though. He hit the ignition and hoped for the best.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Randall felt a bit of hope rise into his chest. More hope, rather. There was no guarantee the generator would actually work, but the fact that it was down here was a start.

"Now we're talking." Randall smirked.

He approached Brandon from behind. He was hitting the buttons, but it didn't seem to be having any reaction. The generator stood still.

"I've used ones like this before." Randall told him. "Watch a pro at work."

Opportunities for him to show off his technical know how didn't come often, so he was going to enjoy showing off his stuff. He looked over the panel for a few moments to see what was what. With his right elbow, he pulled down the lever, then hit the choke with his left. After that, he flipped the start switch. For a brief moment, the generator buzzed to life. The lights flickered, but it ultimately went out a moment later.

"No, no." Randall's heart was racing. "I got this."

It was working! There was enough juice to get this thing going! He repeated the procedure. As the engine buzzed to life this time, he went for the choke and the lever and applied pressure to them. It stammered for a brief moment, but then roared to life.
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DoctorYerishi
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Dude, wake up! We've got a world to save.
The fluorescent lights turned on suddenly, bathing the room in light. A few smaller lights on the door were illuminated too, indicating it was ready for the keycard.

There was also a beeping – or maybe more of a ringing. It was loud and steady, blaring out sharply every third second. That was going to get annoying real fast.

“Nice work,” Eli said, turning off his flashlight now that he didn’t need it anymore. The light from above had made his claustrophobia mildly better.

He started experimenting with cards. The first few resulted in more unpleasant beeps on top of the constant one up above. Finally, though, he slid one in and a green light flashed. He heard the door unlock.

He led the way outside. They were in a large open area, and Eli could hear rotters shambling about nearby, confused by the sudden noise. Eli motioned for the others to keep quiet as he moved to a room directly ahead of them, in the corner of the basement.

It was also locked by a keycard. After a few tries, Eli once again selected the correct one, and he marched quietly inside. When everyone else had entered after him, he closed the door carefully, and hoped the rotters nearby didn’t hear.

Finally, he let himself look around, concluding they had found some sort of control room. Monitors lined the walls, showing live camera feeds from the entire lab.

“Look,” Annie said, nudging Randall and pointing to a screen displaying the camera by the elevator.

Willow, Kelsey, and Connor could be seen waiting there. They all looked, just a little nervous. Emmett could be seen on another screen, looking through a closet in one of the offices up above.

The cameras trained on the above floor showed the mass of rotters, waiting around the elevators, seemingly confused as to where their prey had went and the source of the new and constant beeping from the loudspeakers.

Eli kept advancing to the far end of the room. A body caught his eye – a dead one, a really dead one. He was clean shaven and balding, and wore a lab coat like many of the rotters they had just faced. There was a hole through the top of his head. Eli guessed self-inflicted.

As he got closer, he realized there were two items of interest by the body. A ruggedized laptop on the desk, and some sort of book in his lap.

Not a book, he realized. A journal.

He blinked and picked up the pace, snatching it up quickly. He turned it over in his hand. It was untitled, but there was some sort of oval tree symbol on the cover – just like the journal he found on that soldier he killed. Just like it.

It felt like forever since that had happened, even if in reality it had been less than two weeks. Still, though, his memory of it was clear. That was the logo. They were connected.

He was almost afraid to turn the pages.
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Strompy
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More posts, more Busey.
Brandon scanned the security displays. The horde they had just fought through ambled about stupidly. The elevator doors kept trying to close shut but were stopped every time by the pile of bodies in the doorway. Connor, Kelsey and Willow waited nervously upstairs. He just wanted to get to them and get the hell out of there, and figure out what they were going to do next.

Nrandon looked around the desk for a moment and found what he was looking for without any trouble. The building had a PA system. They could at least let them know they were okay. Tentatively he pushed the button on the microphone.

"Hey guys. Can you hear me? Smile for the camera if you can." he said.

The rottees on camera perked up at the noise but being unable to pinpoint the source just ambledaround a little more excitedly for a moment.
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Make-7-Up-Yours
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Is that so?
Willow jumped a little as the lights came on. And she jumped again when a very familiar voice called out over the PA system.

Brandon!

After the array of gunfire where everyone disappeared, they had been in the dark. She had been trying to keep Kelsey and Connor calm while keeping herself controlled. Kelsey was terrified for her dad. Connor for his mom. Willow for Brandon. She had been wrestling with the possibility that they were all dead. After recovering from the shock of hearing Brandon on the PA system faded, she felt like she was able to breathe a little easier, even if it was just for the time being.

Willow turned to face the camera and gave it a little wave and a smile. She prompted Connor and Kelsey to do the same.

Are you guys okay? She tried mouthing the words, but she doubted the message would get across. It didn't really matter. Brandon sounded like he was in good spirits, so they probably made it okay.

* * * * *

Randall's eyes were fixated on the television screen showing everyone at the top of the elevator. He couldn't suppress the smile on his lips. Willow was still injured, but she was more than a match for anything that could threaten the kids. But it was still good to see them all in better spirits.

He noticed Eli checking something out from the corner of his vision. The man had taken something off the body and was looking at it; but Randall couldn't see it from his angle.

"What did you find?"
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