By the way, I made a character Aaron and he was mentioned at the beginning. I haven't seen him in a while... I'm not forcing you to put him in or anything, but I'm just wondering where he's at because I made him when the thread started! No pressure. Keep on doing what you're doing!
[The whole group should decide.]
"We aren't the ones you should be asking," you tell them. "But we can take you back to our group and ask… more the others."
"We'll take it," says Lizzy.
"Yeah, fair enough," Devin says.
"In the meantime," you sigh, turning back to Rema, "We... we need to get Markus back home. It'll probably take both me and Jack to carry him. Rema can't do it, not with her shoulder injured." You're worried about having to be vulnerable like that, but you also definitely have to take Markus back to camp and give him a proper funeral - there's no way you'd leave him out in the woods.
"We'll watch your back while you do that," Devin suggests, and you nod gratefully. "Yeah, thanks." You aren't quite sure you trust them enough yet, but you know you've got Rema, too, and she silently takes your hint as you glance over at her and stands to move behind the newcomers. She'll take up the rear, behind them, and be ready to attac… [view original content]
Well, didn't you submit multiple characters? I thought that you had (for some reason I thought Thalia was yours, maybe I'm wrong) so I was trying not to be super unfair and have Aaron in too super early on (though he was mentioned, yes, he's a friend of the main character). I was planning to bring him in early chapter 3, though (PM me for details on why it's not until then, if you want. They will just be spoiler-ish :P)
We'll miss you Markus. I like the funeral scene.
By the way, I made a character Aaron and he was mentioned at the beginning. I haven't se… moreen him in a while... I'm not forcing you to put him in or anything, but I'm just wondering where he's at because I made him when the thread started! No pressure. Keep on doing what you're doing!
Just checked... it's actually 93. :P This list might take a while, lol... (maybe I'll just make a "soon to be introduced in chapters 2-3" list instead of all the characters waiting? xD since this will be a multi-chapter, many character thing.)
Ahem-ahem, I need to ask you something. I submitted my character before, but he's still not introduced in the story. Does it mean that I can change him? I got a really awesome personality for him and I want to make him a completely different person. If I do, can I submit another character that will be his daughter? Or it's not possible?
Yeah, sure! It should give you the option to edit your previous responses on the form, if it doesn't though you can just post the changes you want made to him here, then submit the daughter character on the form.
Ahem-ahem, I need to ask you something. I submitted my character before, but he's still not introduced in the story. Does it mean that I can… more change him? I got a really awesome personality for him and I want to make him a completely different person. If I do, can I submit another character that will be his daughter? Or it's not possible?
Short appearance: tall, muscular and square-built man with dark brown hair, beard and green-blue eyes. Wears green jacket, jeans and hiking boots. Carries a shotgun and a big backpack with a lot of useful things (a lighter, matches, 2 bottles of water, 4 sandwiches, bullets, a survivalist knife, a photo of him and his daughter Claire). Has a deep voice, speaks with English accent.
Short bio (you can put that in gender and appearance form or note it somewhere): he was born in Birmingham, England. He had an older brother. He finished University of Birmingham and started his own successful buisness. He married a woman Claire that gave birth to his lovely daughter, but he broke up with her 10 years ago, when Claire's problems with alcohol became to massive. He never married again, spending his time on growing Anna and career. His hobbie before ZA was hiking and camping, so he loves nature and know how to survive in the forest. A year before ZA Eddard and Anna moved to Seattle because of his work.
All the "did you" answers are the same. I want him to be in the main group, in the settlement or in a duet with Anna; he's a leader and an adult.
Yeah, sure! It should give you the option to edit your previous responses on the form, if it doesn't though you can just post the changes you want made to him here, then submit the daughter character on the form.
Well, didn't you submit multiple characters? I thought that you had (for some reason I thought Thalia was yours, maybe I'm wrong) so I was t… morerying not to be super unfair and have Aaron in too super early on (though he was mentioned, yes, he's a friend of the main character). I was planning to bring him in early chapter 3, though (PM me for details on why it's not until then, if you want. They will just be spoiler-ish :P)
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing over a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you'd been eating until now.
"That was a good idea, leaving that pot out to collect rainwater," you say to Dev.
"Thanks," she says. "Sucks that so many bugs find their way into the water everytime, though."
"Bugs?" you ask, raising an eyebrow. Maybe the food isn't sounding that nice anymore.
"Yeah, they're gross," Stephany says.
"Don't worry," Dev tells you, smiling a little. "I just fish'em out before I use any water I collect. Stephany helped me with it today." You don't say anything, still a little skeptical. "The boiling gets rid of any germs," she adds. "Believe me, I wouldn't eat this if it didn't."
"Okay," you say, still somewhat hesitant. "Anyway, Thalia sent me to ask how long 'til it's done. I guess some people are getting hungry."
"Not much longer; we're almost done," she replies. "Sorry if it's taking too long!"
"It's fine," you say. "Thanks for doing this."
She nods, smiling again, and goes back to her work as you turn to head back into the house, swinging open the screen door somewhat loudly.
"What's the verdict on the food?" Thalia asks as she meets you halfway through the back hallway, obviously having heard your entrance.
"It's almost ready," you tell her, and she nods, smiling at you.
"Great. You should go tell the others. I'll tell Jack and Devin." The two other boys were on watch currently.
"Okay," you nod, moving past her and further into the house as she exits it.
You move into the living room, where you find Jen, Alice, and Uncle Pun playing a board game. One thing that'd been great about the farm was the collection of board games its original owners had seemed to have - at least you guys have no shortage of entertainment.
The game they're playing is some sort of game based on the Cthulu mythos. Arkham something, you think. You wave to the others as they all look up.
"Hi, Elias!" Alice greets you warmly.
"Is the food ready?" Jen asks with a grin.
"Not yet, but it will be soon, you pig," you tell her teasingly. "Thalia just sent me to check up on you guys and tell you it would be ready soon. Who's winning?"
"Nobody, doofus," Jen says. "It's a cooperative game. You've played it before, remember? The first week we stayed here?"
"No," you answer truthfully. She rolls her eyes.
"Of course you don't," she laughs. "Not with that tiny brain of yours."
It's nice to be able to joke like this, you think. It helps a little to forget the pain of Markus's death - though still only three days have passed.
Just then Dev and Stephany enter the room behind you. "The food is actually done now," Dev says. "I did say it was almost ready." She pauses, looking at the game layed out on the floor. "Is that Arkham Horror?"
"Yep," Jen tells her.
You look at her, raising an eyebrow again. "You know it?" Most of the games the farmers had here are pretty obscure, so you're surprised she could recognize it. Dev looks taken aback at your question, and looks away briefly before she answers.
"Oh, uh, yeah... My family liked board games." She leaves it at that. "Where are Lizzy and Rema?"
"I think they're off in the other house sorting out medical supplies," Uncle Pun says.
"I can fetch them while you guys go to get food," Alice suggests.
"No, I'll do it," Dev says. "If I know Lizzy, she'll take some convincing before she ditches what she's doing right now. She gets like that when she's focused. You guys can dig in while I get her and Rema."
"Alright, thanks," you tell her as you all begin to file out of the house. You stop to each grab a plate and a spoon before you do. After you exit, Dev goes off towards the other house while Stephany leads the group to where the pots of food are; as you approach, Thalia walks up with Jack and Devin. You all serve yourselves and sit down to eat.
Alice sits down right next to you, and you smile at her as she does. It's somewhat faked, but you've gotten good at it by now - good at hiding your true emotions, you mean. You've still got a lot of guilt about what happened to Markus, but you're trying not to let it show.
For a while, the two of you eat in a comfortable silence. SpaghettiOs and oatmeal is sort of a weird combination, but you aren't complaining.
"How are you holding up?" Alice asks you abruptly after you're almost two thirds of the way done with your plate, and you blink at her, startled. Your smile fades. "Elias, I know that you can't be as happy as you're acting like."
"What do you mean?" you ask her, voice somewhat hushed. While the others seem to be involved in their own conversations, you still don't want them to hear.
"What happened with Markus," she says. "It wasn't your fault."
"Alice..." you start to say.
"No," she cuts you off. "I know what you're going to say. That you waiting caused Markus's death somehow. But it didn't." You don't think you've ever heard Alice sound this firm about something.
"But if I hadn't waited so long before--"
"He was shot in the lung, Elias!" she tells you. "I... I saw where the bullet had hit him. He wasn't making it out of that. I'm not a good enough 'doctor' to have saved him from that. He would've died, no matter what we did."
You stare at her, shocked, and find that you can't summon up any words.
"So please," she sighs. "Don't... don't blame yourself." She sets one hand on top of yours. "Please."
"Alice, I--"
Gunfire cuts you off and makes you jump, whipping your head around to look at the source of the noise. Towards the woods, a large group of people is emerging, most of them carrying guns. "Don't move, assholes!" calls one of them, and you recognize the voice - its the older bandit from before. These are the bandits - they've tracked you down, and it looks like they've brought a lot more people - and a lot more guns - this time.
"Holy shit," you gasp.
"Don't even think about running! You killed some of our friends!" shouts one of the female bandits. You glance around you at the others; Dev, Rema and Lizzy still aren't out here, but everyone else looks frozen in place.
"Elias," Alice whispers, sounding panicked even though her voice is as quiet as it can possibly be. "What do we do?!"
[We run away. They have too many guns; we can't possibly take them.] (Leave Lizzy, Dev and Rema behind.)
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy. We can regroup back in the outskirts of the city.]
[We make it to the second house and barricade the doors, then take them out through the windows while hiding inside.]
[We stand our ground right here and fight back.]
[We surrender. It's the safest possible option. I don't want anyone to get hurt.]
3 DAYS LATER
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing o… morever a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you… [view original content]
3 DAYS LATER
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing o… morever a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you… [view original content]
3 DAYS LATER
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing o… morever a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you… [view original content]
3 DAYS LATER
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing o… morever a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you… [view original content]
3 DAYS LATER
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing o… morever a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you… [view original content]
3 DAYS LATER
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing o… morever a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you… [view original content]
3 DAYS LATER
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing o… morever a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you… [view original content]
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev, and Lizzy.]
"Just run," you hiss to Alice. "Take the others and get out of here. I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy and we'll meet you in the outskirts of the city. By the freeway."
She stares at you, eyes wide in horror and worry for you, but nods. Without another word, you surge upwards from where you sit and immediately start running for the house Rema and the others are in.
"What the fuck did I say about moving?" shouts one of the bandits from behind you, again the same voice of the older looking one. A bullet fires past you but doesn't manage to hit you; you're halfway to the house now, and you think you can hear footsteps - the others must be running, but thankfully it seems like the bandits were distracted at least momentarily by you. The others probably got a head start. You just hope they can get out safely.
You hear more gunfire than what seems to be coming your way now. It's clear that they're being shot at too, but you don't dare turn your head to look; you just keep running.
About five feet away from the door, there's another noise of a gunshot - and this time you feel a searing pain from a spot on your upper leg. It's the side facing away from the bandits, so for a moment you don't comprehend what has happened; you try to keep running, then stumble a bit, crying out in pain. Your leg is on fire - and it takes you a split second to realize that you've been shot. The pain you felt must have been the exit wound.
You have to reach Rema and the others - and besides, if you let yourself fall, you'll just get shot again, and you know this time you won't make it out. You stagger for not even a second before you force yourself to lurch forward, limping now, the last five feet to the door and yank it open, practically falling inside before slamming it behind you and locking it. But you know it won't hold.
There's a second of silence as you nearly fall now, struggling to keep yourself standing. At least you have the door for support - for now. You need to move away from it before any guns get fired off into it, though, obviously, which you don't doubt will happen at some point.
"Elias?" comes Rema's voice, and you look up to see her and the other two halfway to the door from where the supplies are still layed out for counting, Rema with her handgun, Lizzy with the spare hunting rifle and Dev with her own handgun. "We just heard the gunfire, what's going -- oh my god!" She's clearly spotted your leg - and as you see her face, you glance down to look at it. There's definitely a lot of blood coming from the wound. You grit your teeth. It hurts, but probably not half as much as it should; maybe that's the shock.
"Jesus Christ, are you okay?!" Lizzy asks as she and Rema come to either side of you to help support you. Dev moves closer too, though she says nothing, just looks at you with a panic stricken expression.
"It doesn't matter right now," you tell them. "We need to get out of here, now. There's no time to explain anything, they'll be here in a second. We have to leave out the back door."
"They?" Lizzy asks you, but Dev just shakes her head at her, probably trying to tell her to ask questions later.
"Okay," Rema says. "Okay. Lizzy, help me, now." The two of them help you to break off into a fairly fast run, considering they're having to support you so you don't fall over, and together all four of you dash through the house to the back door."No matter what happens, don't stop running!" Rema hisses, and Lizzy makes a noise of affirmation. As you open the door - as quietly as you possibly can - and start to run off into the portion of the woods directly behind the house, you wonder what's become of the others. You aren't sure if anyone has followed you or not.
However, as you reach the trees, a loud thud from the house answers your question. It sounds like they're kicking in the front door. You move as quickly as possible through the woods, and eventually, once you're a good deal farther in, you start to hear shouting from somewhere behind you; your pursuers are still hot on your tail.
About a minute passes and the shouting hasn't gotten any quieter; you're starting to worry that this will be the end for the four of you. At the very least, you think, it sounds like at least a considerable amount of the bandits came after you. Your friends could still be safe.
From beside you, suddenly there is a horrible groaning noise, and Rema is yanked from your side, crying out softly in shock as she is. You almost fall down then, with half your support gone, but Lizzy's grip is firm and she manages to keep you on your feet - and still moving, as she's forcing you forward. You look and see that a biter has grabbed Rema and toppled them both in its frenzy, and she's now struggling with it; as you glance around, you see a few more of the dead around you in the woods, going the opposite direction of you, drawn to the farm by the gunfire.
"Lizzy, stop!" Dev gasps. "Rema's--"
"You heard her! We don't stop! She has a gun, she'll be fine!" Lizzy snaps. You want to turn back around - you do - but Lizzy is pulling you forward, and part of you - the small, dead part of you that these few months has created - knows what would happen if you were to try and turn back now. It knows that it would be pointless.
From behind you, Rema suddenly starts to scream, a heartwrenching noise, but none of you stop - you just keep running, even as you feel tears in your eyes. You want to turn back, you would turn back, if you could run on your own at all - but you can't, and you can't cost the other two their lives also.
A gunshot echoes in the woods behind you, and the screaming abruptly stops.
You don't know how long you run for, but you change directions, and the bandits don't catch up to you. Eventually, you, Lizzy and Dev emerge from the woods onto the side of the road leading into town, panting.
"Do you need to sit down?" Dev asks quietly after a moment's pause, glancing at your leg. The bleeding is more of a trickle now - maybe it wasn't that bad after all, considering you didn't bleed out and die, and it looks like the bullet hit much closer to the side than the center, more of an almost graze than a full shot - but it still hurts like hell.
"It's only about 30 minutes walk from here to the city limits," you say, voice hollow. "That's where we're supposed to regroup with the others. I can make it."
"Let's go, then," Lizzy says.
"Yeah."
The three of you walk in silence.
~~~~
By the time you reach the meeting spot, your mind is racing with worries about the others, and whether or not they made it - or if they all suffered the same fate as Rema. You never did specify a specific spot, so you, Lizzy and Dev look around you for a moment before Dev notices your pained expression and forces you to sit down. She stays with you while Lizzy goes off to search for the others.
After a short while of silence, Dev speaks up. "Um, Elias, I'm... I'm sorry about Rema," she says. "I... that was... it was horrible, but I... I don't have any right to feel upset, or at least not as upset as you. I only knew her for three days; she was your friend... I just..."
You stare at her, saying nothing, which prompts her to continue from where she had trailed off.
"She was very kind," she murmurs.
"She was," you agree, quietly.
"Could we have saved her?"
The blunt question surprises you, and you look at her for a moment before answering.
"I--"
"Eli!"
You look up - Lizzy is walking back towards you, and right behind her are Jack, Alice, and Thalia. They must have been nearby for her to have already found them. You scan behind them, hoping to see others, but there's no sign of Jen, Stephany, or your Uncle Pun.
Jack is the one who called your name, and he moves forward towards you. Alice gets there first, though. She stoops down and hugs you, somewhat carefully so as not to upset your leg wound, then pulls her backpack off her back and starts rifling through it, probably looking for medical supplies.
"You're lucky I had this with me," she murmurs. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Elias."
You can't even muster up the words to respond to her right now.
"Where are the others?" Dev asks softly from beside you.
"We got separated from Jen, Devin and Stephany in the chaos when we fled the farm. They know where to meet us, though, so they should be here soon," Thalia informs you.
"Rema -- she's..."
"We know," Alice murmurs to you gently as she starts to work on your wound with some sort of disinfecant. You flinch in pain for a moment, but she ultimately manages to hold you still. "It's horrible. But there's nothing we can do about it now. She would want us to move on. Just like Markus."
You nod for a moment, not willing to meet anyone's eyes, until suddenly something hits you.
"Jen, Devin and Stephany?" you echo. "You got separated from Jen, Devin and Stephany?"
Now you do try and meet Alice's eyes - but she won't meet yours. You can see tears sliding down her face as she continues to focus on tending to your leg.
"What about Pun?" you ask, louder. No one says anything. You look at Jack. He looks ... broken, staring at the ground with his eyes unfocused. Thalia isn't much better, though you can tell she's trying to be strong.
"I said, what about Pun?" you repeat yourself.
"I'm sorry, Elias," Alice chokes out through her tears.
"What ... what are you saying?" you gasp to her.
"Pun didn't make it out," Jack says, quietly, still staring at the ground. "They got him, Eli."
Your heart drops in your chest. You feel cold.
"No," you mumble. "No, no... He... He can't be--"
"He's gone, Elias," Thalia says to you, softly. "I'm so, so sorry. But he's gone."
You struggle to process everything that's happened; first Markus, then Rema, one of your only remaining close friends - and then Uncle Pun. And Jen... she's missing, and without your uncle to look out for her and Stephany, you have no hope that they will be turning up.
The world grows fuzzier and fuzzier around you until it finally goes dark.
[CONTINUED IN NEXT PART]
(No votes this time, sorry... figured it was too long as it was! ;_; I apologize profusely for any errors in this, its almost 5 am and I'm on my second allnighter in a row as I write this. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.)
[We surrender. It's the safest possible option. I don't want anyone to get hurt.]
I don't want anyone else to die, and this is supposedly the safest possible option.
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev, and Lizzy.]
"Just run," you hiss to Alice. "Take the others and get out of here. I'll go warn Rema… more, Dev and Lizzy and we'll meet you in the outskirts of the city. By the freeway."
She stares at you, eyes wide in horror and worry for you, but nods. Without another word, you surge upwards from where you sit and immediately start running for the house Rema and the others are in.
"What the fuck did I say about moving?" shouts one of the bandits from behind you, again the same voice of the older looking one. A bullet fires past you but doesn't manage to hit you; you're halfway to the house now, and you think you can hear footsteps - the others must be running, but thankfully it seems like the bandits were distracted at least momentarily by you. The others probably got a head start. You just hope they can get out safely.
You hear more gunfire than what seems to be coming your way now. It's clear th… [view original content]
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev, and Lizzy.]
"Just run," you hiss to Alice. "Take the others and get out of here. I'll go warn Rema… more, Dev and Lizzy and we'll meet you in the outskirts of the city. By the freeway."
She stares at you, eyes wide in horror and worry for you, but nods. Without another word, you surge upwards from where you sit and immediately start running for the house Rema and the others are in.
"What the fuck did I say about moving?" shouts one of the bandits from behind you, again the same voice of the older looking one. A bullet fires past you but doesn't manage to hit you; you're halfway to the house now, and you think you can hear footsteps - the others must be running, but thankfully it seems like the bandits were distracted at least momentarily by you. The others probably got a head start. You just hope they can get out safely.
You hear more gunfire than what seems to be coming your way now. It's clear th… [view original content]
Two days come and go in a blur. You had woken up soon after you fell unconscious, with a bandaged leg but a heavy heart. Your uncle was gone, and there was nothing you could do about it.
Now it's been two days and your sister and the others still haven't shown up. It's starting to get harder and harder to maintain your camp here - you're deplenishing what meager food supply you have (all the emergency food you all kept in your backpacks) too fast, and everyday, more and more of the dead stumble upon you - you are close to the city, after all. For now, you're surviving, but it's only a matter of time, you think, before you end up like your uncle. Dead.
You're sitting around the fire now, eating dinner with the group. Oatmeal again. This time there's no cinnamon or sugar - just plain, bland oats. Even if it had been flavored, you think it would have tasted bland to you anyway.
Alice sits near you, but you don't speak with her. That's pretty much how these two days have gone - Alice trying to 'help you' with your grieving, and you remaining silent most of the time. You just... you need time, and you wish she could understand that. At least Jack does - though you think it's just because your best friend is in grieving too. Over Rema - you think maybe she and Jack might have had a thing - and ... the fact that Stephany and Jen haven't returned.
He's sitting on the other side of the fire, not really looking at anyone in particular. You can see Dev next to him, and they're both speaking lowly. Probably they can sympathize with each other. Devin, Dev's brother, is still out there too, after all.
Thalia, who had been standing a ways away on makeshift 'watch' for the group, having already eaten (she had been the one to cook the food this time), walks up to the fire, calling Lizzy over from her watch on the other side. You can tell now that she isn't just here to join you all in socializing. There's something important that she wants to discuss.
"Listen," she sighs. "I'm sorry to say this, but... it's been two days."
You all stare at her for a moment, no one answering, until Jack does. "So?"
"We need to think about whether or not we should be... moving on," she continues. "About... about whether or not Jen, Stephany and Devin are still coming."
"Wait, what?" Dev asks, sounding stricken by the words.
"What are you saying, Thalia?!" Jack speaks up, and though you hear anger in his voice, you hear a lot of sadness, too. "We can't know that. Maybe they ... maybe they got caught, or they're having trouble finding the place. We ..."
"We can't give up hope," Alice finishes for him. "They could still be out there." She pauses. "Though... maybe we should look for them, instead. It's... not safe here anymore, not after what happened. Maybe they're in trouble somewhere."
"I agree with that idea," Dev says softly.
"I don't," Jack says. "We need to stay here. If we don't, we could miss them - they could get here and then move on, thinking we aren't here."
"This is a bad idea," Lizzy says, voice almost matter-of-fact as she looks around at everyone with furrowed eyebrows. "We need to leave. Why don't you get that?! It's been two days. They aren't coming back."
"Lizzy," Dev says softly, looking hurt. "How could you say that? Devin's still out there."
"He's not, Dev, I'm sorry," she replies. "Don't you think if Devin was out there somewhere, he'd be doing everything in his power to get to us? To get to you?"
"Maybe he is!" Jack argues. "Maybe all three of them are! You don't know that they aren't, Lizzy!"
"Yes, I do!" she snaps. "I'm as upset as you are that they're still gone, but we have to think about being smart about this! Even if they're still alive, we aren't doing them any good by sitting around just waiting to be picked off by the dead!"
"Everyone calm down," Thalia says. "I didn't mean to start an argument. It's just... something we need to think about. That's *all." Her voice is firm. She turns to you; you realize now that she wants your opinion, too. At least before everything happened, everyone had usually trusted your judgment. It's likely that whatever you decide, Alice at least will back you up, and Thalia likely will also. You could very well have the whole group in your hands now.
"Elias?" Thalia prompts you after you're silent. "What do you think we should do?"
You stare at her, frowning. Your own sister is out there - Jen is out there - but ...
[We all need to stay here. They could show up here at any time.]
[We should all go to look for them. More people means it could be easier to find them, even if it means leaving the meeting spot unattended.]
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they were supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.]
[We need to move on. It's not safe here anymore - not here, this close to the city, and not back at the farm either, with the bandits. The others are probably not coming.]
Two days come and go in a blur. You had woken up soon after you fell unconscious, with a bandaged leg but a heavy heart. Your uncle was gone… more, and there was nothing you could do about it.
Now it's been two days and your sister and the others still haven't shown up. It's starting to get harder and harder to maintain your camp here - you're deplenishing what meager food supply you have (all the emergency food you all kept in your backpacks) too fast, and everyday, more and more of the dead stumble upon you - you are close to the city, after all. For now, you're surviving, but it's only a matter of time, you think, before you end up like your uncle. Dead.
You're sitting around the fire now, eating dinner with the group. Oatmeal again. This time there's no cinnamon or sugar - just plain, bland oats. Even if it had been flavored, you think it would have tasted bland to you anyway.
Alice sits near you, but you don't speak with her. That's p… [view original content]
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they were supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.]
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they were supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.] But something tells me that it's gonna end bad...
P.S. Just a question - will there be new characters in future chapters?
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they … morewere supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.] But something tells me that it's gonna end bad...
P.S. Just a question - will there be new characters in future chapters?
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they were supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.]
Two days come and go in a blur. You had woken up soon after you fell unconscious, with a bandaged leg but a heavy heart. Your uncle was gone… more, and there was nothing you could do about it.
Now it's been two days and your sister and the others still haven't shown up. It's starting to get harder and harder to maintain your camp here - you're deplenishing what meager food supply you have (all the emergency food you all kept in your backpacks) too fast, and everyday, more and more of the dead stumble upon you - you are close to the city, after all. For now, you're surviving, but it's only a matter of time, you think, before you end up like your uncle. Dead.
You're sitting around the fire now, eating dinner with the group. Oatmeal again. This time there's no cinnamon or sugar - just plain, bland oats. Even if it had been flavored, you think it would have tasted bland to you anyway.
Alice sits near you, but you don't speak with her. That's p… [view original content]
[We need to move on. It's not safe here anymore - not here, this close to the city, and not back at the farm either, with the bandits. The others are probably not coming.]
Two days come and go in a blur. You had woken up soon after you fell unconscious, with a bandaged leg but a heavy heart. Your uncle was gone… more, and there was nothing you could do about it.
Now it's been two days and your sister and the others still haven't shown up. It's starting to get harder and harder to maintain your camp here - you're deplenishing what meager food supply you have (all the emergency food you all kept in your backpacks) too fast, and everyday, more and more of the dead stumble upon you - you are close to the city, after all. For now, you're surviving, but it's only a matter of time, you think, before you end up like your uncle. Dead.
You're sitting around the fire now, eating dinner with the group. Oatmeal again. This time there's no cinnamon or sugar - just plain, bland oats. Even if it had been flavored, you think it would have tasted bland to you anyway.
Alice sits near you, but you don't speak with her. That's p… [view original content]
We need to move on. It's not safe here anymore - not here, this close to the city, and not back at the farm either, with the bandits. The others are probably not coming.]
[We need to move on. It's not safe here anymore - not here, this close to the city, and not back at the farm either, with the bandits. The others are probably not coming.]
Two days come and go in a blur. You had woken up soon after you fell unconscious, with a bandaged leg but a heavy heart. Your uncle was gone… more, and there was nothing you could do about it.
Now it's been two days and your sister and the others still haven't shown up. It's starting to get harder and harder to maintain your camp here - you're deplenishing what meager food supply you have (all the emergency food you all kept in your backpacks) too fast, and everyday, more and more of the dead stumble upon you - you are close to the city, after all. For now, you're surviving, but it's only a matter of time, you think, before you end up like your uncle. Dead.
You're sitting around the fire now, eating dinner with the group. Oatmeal again. This time there's no cinnamon or sugar - just plain, bland oats. Even if it had been flavored, you think it would have tasted bland to you anyway.
Alice sits near you, but you don't speak with her. That's p… [view original content]
Maybe xD How early did you submit yours? Since there are, like, 90 characters on the 'waiting list' so to speak... though I think I've introduced at least a fair amount so far. There will be a lot more introduced next chapter and in chapter 4, though!
Maybe xD How early did you submit yours? Since there are, like, 90 characters on the 'waiting list' so to speak... though I think I've intro… moreduced at least a fair amount so far. There will be a lot more introduced next chapter and in chapter 4, though!
Comments
We'll miss you Markus. I like the funeral scene.
By the way, I made a character Aaron and he was mentioned at the beginning. I haven't seen him in a while... I'm not forcing you to put him in or anything, but I'm just wondering where he's at because I made him when the thread started! No pressure. Keep on doing what you're doing!
Well, didn't you submit multiple characters? I thought that you had (for some reason I thought Thalia was yours, maybe I'm wrong) so I was trying not to be super unfair and have Aaron in too super early on (though he was mentioned, yes, he's a friend of the main character). I was planning to bring him in early chapter 3, though (PM me for details on why it's not until then, if you want. They will just be spoiler-ish :P)
Just checked... it's actually 93. :P This list might take a while, lol... (maybe I'll just make a "soon to be introduced in chapters 2-3" list instead of all the characters waiting? xD since this will be a multi-chapter, many character thing.)
Ahem-ahem, I need to ask you something. I submitted my character before, but he's still not introduced in the story. Does it mean that I can change him? I got a really awesome personality for him and I want to make him a completely different person. If I do, can I submit another character that will be his daughter? Or it's not possible?
Yeah, sure! It should give you the option to edit your previous responses on the form, if it doesn't though you can just post the changes you want made to him here, then submit the daughter character on the form.
Alright. I'm not sure, but my character's name is John Dorian. Here are the changes:
Name: Eddard
Age: 40
5 personality traits: brave, stubborn, physically and mentally strong, serious, steadfast
Short appearance: tall, muscular and square-built man with dark brown hair, beard and green-blue eyes. Wears green jacket, jeans and hiking boots. Carries a shotgun and a big backpack with a lot of useful things (a lighter, matches, 2 bottles of water, 4 sandwiches, bullets, a survivalist knife, a photo of him and his daughter Claire). Has a deep voice, speaks with English accent.
Short bio (you can put that in gender and appearance form or note it somewhere): he was born in Birmingham, England. He had an older brother. He finished University of Birmingham and started his own successful buisness. He married a woman Claire that gave birth to his lovely daughter, but he broke up with her 10 years ago, when Claire's problems with alcohol became to massive. He never married again, spending his time on growing Anna and career. His hobbie before ZA was hiking and camping, so he loves nature and know how to survive in the forest. A year before ZA Eddard and Anna moved to Seattle because of his work.
All the "did you" answers are the same. I want him to be in the main group, in the settlement or in a duet with Anna; he's a leader and an adult.
I'll submit his daughter now.
I'm pretty sure Thalia was mine. I made a bandit as well.
It's fine, I shouldn't be asking you because I probably have a character in it already, and putting two would make it unfair. Sorry about that!
(Nah I don't like spoilers!)
3 DAYS LATER
"So you just add all of it together and stir," Dev is saying to Stephany as you walk up beside them; they're both standing over a pot, boiling over a fire outside. The food in question is smelling quite good - it's a mixture of dehydrated oats, which Dev had had a tub of in her bag, and cinnamon and sugar from the very back of one of the pantries in the cabin (you hadn't thought to look there before, but apparently to Devin, Lizzy and Dev, looking in odd places for food was nothing new.) There's another pot off to the side, with what looks like multiple cans of SpaghettiOs all dumped into it. The pot is steaming; you guess they just finished cooking them.
You can't help but feel a sense of warmth at the meal they're making for everyone; even though it's just oatmeal and SpaghettiOs, it smells nice, like home - like maybe you could forget that you're in the middle of the apocalypse. And you're sure it'll beat the rations you'd been eating until now.
"That was a good idea, leaving that pot out to collect rainwater," you say to Dev.
"Thanks," she says. "Sucks that so many bugs find their way into the water everytime, though."
"Bugs?" you ask, raising an eyebrow. Maybe the food isn't sounding that nice anymore.
"Yeah, they're gross," Stephany says.
"Don't worry," Dev tells you, smiling a little. "I just fish'em out before I use any water I collect. Stephany helped me with it today." You don't say anything, still a little skeptical. "The boiling gets rid of any germs," she adds. "Believe me, I wouldn't eat this if it didn't."
"Okay," you say, still somewhat hesitant. "Anyway, Thalia sent me to ask how long 'til it's done. I guess some people are getting hungry."
"Not much longer; we're almost done," she replies. "Sorry if it's taking too long!"
"It's fine," you say. "Thanks for doing this."
She nods, smiling again, and goes back to her work as you turn to head back into the house, swinging open the screen door somewhat loudly.
"What's the verdict on the food?" Thalia asks as she meets you halfway through the back hallway, obviously having heard your entrance.
"It's almost ready," you tell her, and she nods, smiling at you.
"Great. You should go tell the others. I'll tell Jack and Devin." The two other boys were on watch currently.
"Okay," you nod, moving past her and further into the house as she exits it.
You move into the living room, where you find Jen, Alice, and Uncle Pun playing a board game. One thing that'd been great about the farm was the collection of board games its original owners had seemed to have - at least you guys have no shortage of entertainment.
The game they're playing is some sort of game based on the Cthulu mythos. Arkham something, you think. You wave to the others as they all look up.
"Hi, Elias!" Alice greets you warmly.
"Is the food ready?" Jen asks with a grin.
"Not yet, but it will be soon, you pig," you tell her teasingly. "Thalia just sent me to check up on you guys and tell you it would be ready soon. Who's winning?"
"Nobody, doofus," Jen says. "It's a cooperative game. You've played it before, remember? The first week we stayed here?"
"No," you answer truthfully. She rolls her eyes.
"Of course you don't," she laughs. "Not with that tiny brain of yours."
It's nice to be able to joke like this, you think. It helps a little to forget the pain of Markus's death - though still only three days have passed.
Just then Dev and Stephany enter the room behind you. "The food is actually done now," Dev says. "I did say it was almost ready." She pauses, looking at the game layed out on the floor. "Is that Arkham Horror?"
"Yep," Jen tells her.
You look at her, raising an eyebrow again. "You know it?" Most of the games the farmers had here are pretty obscure, so you're surprised she could recognize it. Dev looks taken aback at your question, and looks away briefly before she answers.
"Oh, uh, yeah... My family liked board games." She leaves it at that. "Where are Lizzy and Rema?"
"I think they're off in the other house sorting out medical supplies," Uncle Pun says.
"I can fetch them while you guys go to get food," Alice suggests.
"No, I'll do it," Dev says. "If I know Lizzy, she'll take some convincing before she ditches what she's doing right now. She gets like that when she's focused. You guys can dig in while I get her and Rema."
"Alright, thanks," you tell her as you all begin to file out of the house. You stop to each grab a plate and a spoon before you do. After you exit, Dev goes off towards the other house while Stephany leads the group to where the pots of food are; as you approach, Thalia walks up with Jack and Devin. You all serve yourselves and sit down to eat.
Alice sits down right next to you, and you smile at her as she does. It's somewhat faked, but you've gotten good at it by now - good at hiding your true emotions, you mean. You've still got a lot of guilt about what happened to Markus, but you're trying not to let it show.
For a while, the two of you eat in a comfortable silence. SpaghettiOs and oatmeal is sort of a weird combination, but you aren't complaining.
"How are you holding up?" Alice asks you abruptly after you're almost two thirds of the way done with your plate, and you blink at her, startled. Your smile fades. "Elias, I know that you can't be as happy as you're acting like."
"What do you mean?" you ask her, voice somewhat hushed. While the others seem to be involved in their own conversations, you still don't want them to hear.
"What happened with Markus," she says. "It wasn't your fault."
"Alice..." you start to say.
"No," she cuts you off. "I know what you're going to say. That you waiting caused Markus's death somehow. But it didn't." You don't think you've ever heard Alice sound this firm about something.
"But if I hadn't waited so long before--"
"He was shot in the lung, Elias!" she tells you. "I... I saw where the bullet had hit him. He wasn't making it out of that. I'm not a good enough 'doctor' to have saved him from that. He would've died, no matter what we did."
You stare at her, shocked, and find that you can't summon up any words.
"So please," she sighs. "Don't... don't blame yourself." She sets one hand on top of yours. "Please."
"Alice, I--"
Gunfire cuts you off and makes you jump, whipping your head around to look at the source of the noise. Towards the woods, a large group of people is emerging, most of them carrying guns. "Don't move, assholes!" calls one of them, and you recognize the voice - its the older bandit from before. These are the bandits - they've tracked you down, and it looks like they've brought a lot more people - and a lot more guns - this time.
"Holy shit," you gasp.
"Don't even think about running! You killed some of our friends!" shouts one of the female bandits. You glance around you at the others; Dev, Rema and Lizzy still aren't out here, but everyone else looks frozen in place.
"Elias," Alice whispers, sounding panicked even though her voice is as quiet as it can possibly be. "What do we do?!"
[We run away. They have too many guns; we can't possibly take them.] (Leave Lizzy, Dev and Rema behind.)
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy. We can regroup back in the outskirts of the city.]
[We make it to the second house and barricade the doors, then take them out through the windows while hiding inside.]
[We stand our ground right here and fight back.]
[We surrender. It's the safest possible option. I don't want anyone to get hurt.]
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy. We can regroup back in the outskirts of the city.]
:-o Holy crap. Hope I won't regret it.
[We run away. They have too many guns; we can't possibly take them.]
Howard Lovecraft reference? HELL YEAH! Btw, [you guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy. We can regroup back in the outskirts of the city.]
[We make it to the second house and barricade the doors, then take them out through the windows while hiding inside.
[We surrender. It's the safest possible option. I don't want anyone to get hurt.]
I don't want anyone else to die, and this is supposedly the safest possible option.
[You guys run, I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy.]
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy. We can regroup back in the outskirts of the city.]
Ohhhh god. So many people are gonna die.
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy. We can regroup back in the outskirts of the city.]
I just wanna ask you - did you notice the changes of my character that I gave you? I hope you did.
Oh, yes, sorry! I wrote them down.
That's okay.
[We make it to the second house and barricade the doors, then take them out through the windows while hiding inside.]
[We surrender. It's the safest possible option. I don't want anyone to get hurt.]
[You guys run. I'll go warn Rema, Dev, and Lizzy.]
"Just run," you hiss to Alice. "Take the others and get out of here. I'll go warn Rema, Dev and Lizzy and we'll meet you in the outskirts of the city. By the freeway."
She stares at you, eyes wide in horror and worry for you, but nods. Without another word, you surge upwards from where you sit and immediately start running for the house Rema and the others are in.
"What the fuck did I say about moving?" shouts one of the bandits from behind you, again the same voice of the older looking one. A bullet fires past you but doesn't manage to hit you; you're halfway to the house now, and you think you can hear footsteps - the others must be running, but thankfully it seems like the bandits were distracted at least momentarily by you. The others probably got a head start. You just hope they can get out safely.
You hear more gunfire than what seems to be coming your way now. It's clear that they're being shot at too, but you don't dare turn your head to look; you just keep running.
About five feet away from the door, there's another noise of a gunshot - and this time you feel a searing pain from a spot on your upper leg. It's the side facing away from the bandits, so for a moment you don't comprehend what has happened; you try to keep running, then stumble a bit, crying out in pain. Your leg is on fire - and it takes you a split second to realize that you've been shot. The pain you felt must have been the exit wound.
You have to reach Rema and the others - and besides, if you let yourself fall, you'll just get shot again, and you know this time you won't make it out. You stagger for not even a second before you force yourself to lurch forward, limping now, the last five feet to the door and yank it open, practically falling inside before slamming it behind you and locking it. But you know it won't hold.
There's a second of silence as you nearly fall now, struggling to keep yourself standing. At least you have the door for support - for now. You need to move away from it before any guns get fired off into it, though, obviously, which you don't doubt will happen at some point.
"Elias?" comes Rema's voice, and you look up to see her and the other two halfway to the door from where the supplies are still layed out for counting, Rema with her handgun, Lizzy with the spare hunting rifle and Dev with her own handgun. "We just heard the gunfire, what's going -- oh my god!" She's clearly spotted your leg - and as you see her face, you glance down to look at it. There's definitely a lot of blood coming from the wound. You grit your teeth. It hurts, but probably not half as much as it should; maybe that's the shock.
"Jesus Christ, are you okay?!" Lizzy asks as she and Rema come to either side of you to help support you. Dev moves closer too, though she says nothing, just looks at you with a panic stricken expression.
"It doesn't matter right now," you tell them. "We need to get out of here, now. There's no time to explain anything, they'll be here in a second. We have to leave out the back door."
"They?" Lizzy asks you, but Dev just shakes her head at her, probably trying to tell her to ask questions later.
"Okay," Rema says. "Okay. Lizzy, help me, now." The two of them help you to break off into a fairly fast run, considering they're having to support you so you don't fall over, and together all four of you dash through the house to the back door."No matter what happens, don't stop running!" Rema hisses, and Lizzy makes a noise of affirmation. As you open the door - as quietly as you possibly can - and start to run off into the portion of the woods directly behind the house, you wonder what's become of the others. You aren't sure if anyone has followed you or not.
However, as you reach the trees, a loud thud from the house answers your question. It sounds like they're kicking in the front door. You move as quickly as possible through the woods, and eventually, once you're a good deal farther in, you start to hear shouting from somewhere behind you; your pursuers are still hot on your tail.
About a minute passes and the shouting hasn't gotten any quieter; you're starting to worry that this will be the end for the four of you. At the very least, you think, it sounds like at least a considerable amount of the bandits came after you. Your friends could still be safe.
From beside you, suddenly there is a horrible groaning noise, and Rema is yanked from your side, crying out softly in shock as she is. You almost fall down then, with half your support gone, but Lizzy's grip is firm and she manages to keep you on your feet - and still moving, as she's forcing you forward. You look and see that a biter has grabbed Rema and toppled them both in its frenzy, and she's now struggling with it; as you glance around, you see a few more of the dead around you in the woods, going the opposite direction of you, drawn to the farm by the gunfire.
"Lizzy, stop!" Dev gasps. "Rema's--"
"You heard her! We don't stop! She has a gun, she'll be fine!" Lizzy snaps. You want to turn back around - you do - but Lizzy is pulling you forward, and part of you - the small, dead part of you that these few months has created - knows what would happen if you were to try and turn back now. It knows that it would be pointless.
From behind you, Rema suddenly starts to scream, a heartwrenching noise, but none of you stop - you just keep running, even as you feel tears in your eyes. You want to turn back, you would turn back, if you could run on your own at all - but you can't, and you can't cost the other two their lives also.
A gunshot echoes in the woods behind you, and the screaming abruptly stops.
You don't know how long you run for, but you change directions, and the bandits don't catch up to you. Eventually, you, Lizzy and Dev emerge from the woods onto the side of the road leading into town, panting.
"Do you need to sit down?" Dev asks quietly after a moment's pause, glancing at your leg. The bleeding is more of a trickle now - maybe it wasn't that bad after all, considering you didn't bleed out and die, and it looks like the bullet hit much closer to the side than the center, more of an almost graze than a full shot - but it still hurts like hell.
"It's only about 30 minutes walk from here to the city limits," you say, voice hollow. "That's where we're supposed to regroup with the others. I can make it."
"Let's go, then," Lizzy says.
"Yeah."
The three of you walk in silence.
~~~~
By the time you reach the meeting spot, your mind is racing with worries about the others, and whether or not they made it - or if they all suffered the same fate as Rema. You never did specify a specific spot, so you, Lizzy and Dev look around you for a moment before Dev notices your pained expression and forces you to sit down. She stays with you while Lizzy goes off to search for the others.
After a short while of silence, Dev speaks up. "Um, Elias, I'm... I'm sorry about Rema," she says. "I... that was... it was horrible, but I... I don't have any right to feel upset, or at least not as upset as you. I only knew her for three days; she was your friend... I just..."
You stare at her, saying nothing, which prompts her to continue from where she had trailed off.
"She was very kind," she murmurs.
"She was," you agree, quietly.
"Could we have saved her?"
The blunt question surprises you, and you look at her for a moment before answering.
"I--"
"Eli!"
You look up - Lizzy is walking back towards you, and right behind her are Jack, Alice, and Thalia. They must have been nearby for her to have already found them. You scan behind them, hoping to see others, but there's no sign of Jen, Stephany, or your Uncle Pun.
Jack is the one who called your name, and he moves forward towards you. Alice gets there first, though. She stoops down and hugs you, somewhat carefully so as not to upset your leg wound, then pulls her backpack off her back and starts rifling through it, probably looking for medical supplies.
"You're lucky I had this with me," she murmurs. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Elias."
You can't even muster up the words to respond to her right now.
"Where are the others?" Dev asks softly from beside you.
"We got separated from Jen, Devin and Stephany in the chaos when we fled the farm. They know where to meet us, though, so they should be here soon," Thalia informs you.
"Rema -- she's..."
"We know," Alice murmurs to you gently as she starts to work on your wound with some sort of disinfecant. You flinch in pain for a moment, but she ultimately manages to hold you still. "It's horrible. But there's nothing we can do about it now. She would want us to move on. Just like Markus."
You nod for a moment, not willing to meet anyone's eyes, until suddenly something hits you.
"Jen, Devin and Stephany?" you echo. "You got separated from Jen, Devin and Stephany?"
Now you do try and meet Alice's eyes - but she won't meet yours. You can see tears sliding down her face as she continues to focus on tending to your leg.
"What about Pun?" you ask, louder. No one says anything. You look at Jack. He looks ... broken, staring at the ground with his eyes unfocused. Thalia isn't much better, though you can tell she's trying to be strong.
"I said, what about Pun?" you repeat yourself.
"I'm sorry, Elias," Alice chokes out through her tears.
"What ... what are you saying?" you gasp to her.
"Pun didn't make it out," Jack says, quietly, still staring at the ground. "They got him, Eli."
Your heart drops in your chest. You feel cold.
"No," you mumble. "No, no... He... He can't be--"
"He's gone, Elias," Thalia says to you, softly. "I'm so, so sorry. But he's gone."
You struggle to process everything that's happened; first Markus, then Rema, one of your only remaining close friends - and then Uncle Pun. And Jen... she's missing, and without your uncle to look out for her and Stephany, you have no hope that they will be turning up.
The world grows fuzzier and fuzzier around you until it finally goes dark.
[CONTINUED IN NEXT PART]
(No votes this time, sorry... figured it was too long as it was! ;_; I apologize profusely for any errors in this, its almost 5 am and I'm on my second allnighter in a row as I write this. I hope you enjoyed it anyway.)
I dont think it is. The are bandits!!! Of course they will kill people either way.
Awesome, good writing honey!
Uncle Pun will be missed. ;_;
Two days come and go in a blur. You had woken up soon after you fell unconscious, with a bandaged leg but a heavy heart. Your uncle was gone, and there was nothing you could do about it.
Now it's been two days and your sister and the others still haven't shown up. It's starting to get harder and harder to maintain your camp here - you're deplenishing what meager food supply you have (all the emergency food you all kept in your backpacks) too fast, and everyday, more and more of the dead stumble upon you - you are close to the city, after all. For now, you're surviving, but it's only a matter of time, you think, before you end up like your uncle. Dead.
You're sitting around the fire now, eating dinner with the group. Oatmeal again. This time there's no cinnamon or sugar - just plain, bland oats. Even if it had been flavored, you think it would have tasted bland to you anyway.
Alice sits near you, but you don't speak with her. That's pretty much how these two days have gone - Alice trying to 'help you' with your grieving, and you remaining silent most of the time. You just... you need time, and you wish she could understand that. At least Jack does - though you think it's just because your best friend is in grieving too. Over Rema - you think maybe she and Jack might have had a thing - and ... the fact that Stephany and Jen haven't returned.
He's sitting on the other side of the fire, not really looking at anyone in particular. You can see Dev next to him, and they're both speaking lowly. Probably they can sympathize with each other. Devin, Dev's brother, is still out there too, after all.
Thalia, who had been standing a ways away on makeshift 'watch' for the group, having already eaten (she had been the one to cook the food this time), walks up to the fire, calling Lizzy over from her watch on the other side. You can tell now that she isn't just here to join you all in socializing. There's something important that she wants to discuss.
"Listen," she sighs. "I'm sorry to say this, but... it's been two days."
You all stare at her for a moment, no one answering, until Jack does. "So?"
"We need to think about whether or not we should be... moving on," she continues. "About... about whether or not Jen, Stephany and Devin are still coming."
"Wait, what?" Dev asks, sounding stricken by the words.
"What are you saying, Thalia?!" Jack speaks up, and though you hear anger in his voice, you hear a lot of sadness, too. "We can't know that. Maybe they ... maybe they got caught, or they're having trouble finding the place. We ..."
"We can't give up hope," Alice finishes for him. "They could still be out there." She pauses. "Though... maybe we should look for them, instead. It's... not safe here anymore, not after what happened. Maybe they're in trouble somewhere."
"I agree with that idea," Dev says softly.
"I don't," Jack says. "We need to stay here. If we don't, we could miss them - they could get here and then move on, thinking we aren't here."
"This is a bad idea," Lizzy says, voice almost matter-of-fact as she looks around at everyone with furrowed eyebrows. "We need to leave. Why don't you get that?! It's been two days. They aren't coming back."
"Lizzy," Dev says softly, looking hurt. "How could you say that? Devin's still out there."
"He's not, Dev, I'm sorry," she replies. "Don't you think if Devin was out there somewhere, he'd be doing everything in his power to get to us? To get to you?"
"Maybe he is!" Jack argues. "Maybe all three of them are! You don't know that they aren't, Lizzy!"
"Yes, I do!" she snaps. "I'm as upset as you are that they're still gone, but we have to think about being smart about this! Even if they're still alive, we aren't doing them any good by sitting around just waiting to be picked off by the dead!"
"Everyone calm down," Thalia says. "I didn't mean to start an argument. It's just... something we need to think about. That's *all." Her voice is firm. She turns to you; you realize now that she wants your opinion, too. At least before everything happened, everyone had usually trusted your judgment. It's likely that whatever you decide, Alice at least will back you up, and Thalia likely will also. You could very well have the whole group in your hands now.
"Elias?" Thalia prompts you after you're silent. "What do you think we should do?"
You stare at her, frowning. Your own sister is out there - Jen is out there - but ...
[We all need to stay here. They could show up here at any time.]
[We should all go to look for them. More people means it could be easier to find them, even if it means leaving the meeting spot unattended.]
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they were supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.]
[We need to move on. It's not safe here anymore - not here, this close to the city, and not back at the farm either, with the bandits. The others are probably not coming.]
[We can split up]
[We should all go to look for them. More people means it could be easier to find them, even if it means leaving the meeting spot unattended.]
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they were supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.]
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they were supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.] But something tells me that it's gonna end bad...
P.S. Just a question - will there be new characters in future chapters?
Yep. Chapter 3 I'm going to be introducing a lot of new characters.
[We can split up. Some of us can go to check the farm and the woods and see if they're in trouble somewhere, or if they didn't realize they were supposed to meet us here. The others can stay here in case they show up.]
Wow, I'm so excited! I hope my characters will show up soon.
[We need to move on. It's not safe here anymore - not here, this close to the city, and not back at the farm either, with the bandits. The others are probably not coming.]
We need to move on. It's not safe here anymore - not here, this close to the city, and not back at the farm either, with the bandits. The others are probably not coming.]
Lol, I still think that when my character appears the sun has already exploded.
[We need to move on. It's not safe here anymore - not here, this close to the city, and not back at the farm either, with the bandits. The others are probably not coming.]
Maybe xD How early did you submit yours? Since there are, like, 90 characters on the 'waiting list' so to speak... though I think I've introduced at least a fair amount so far. There will be a lot more introduced next chapter and in chapter 4, though!
90 characters XD I hope they all form one big group!
And I have no idea. Her name is Grace. Probably somewhere 60-->, so I'll just keep waiting................