((better, you seem to be getting into the swing of things))

"do you know her address?"

let's get moving again. try to find the gun

We'll do our best to get you to her. Do you know your home number? We could probably call her if the phones aren't out. And if not we'll make it our destination since I think we're going to have to make a trip if we want to be ok.

GrayJ 2013/03/16(Sat)14:47 No. 500446 ID: 040617
File 136347043212.png - (49.39KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

“Then we'll find her. Do you know your address? Or a phone number?” Gabe asks, releasing her and starting to search around the room for the firearm.

“Um.. I think it's on Jasper Drive. I remember because I liked the name and named my goldfish after it.” Gabe clears the bed and the side tables, but doesn't turn up much except a bottle of pain killers. He dry downs a few before pocketing the rest and moving on to the closet.

“Jasper.. Jasper,” He thinks aloud, “Oh! That's just a few blocks away. Which is great, because unless Cynthia has a car, we're walking.”

“Alright. Just let me get Kammie,” she says, wiping her nose. She wiggles under the bed and pulls out a pink fuzzy stuffed animal in the shape of a giraffe. Digging to the back of the closet, his goal tumbles into sight from behind a shoe rack. The revolver is an older model, but which one exactly Gabe doesn't know. He's only ever fired a pistol once before in his life, although he's handled a rifle a few times when he was younger. Still, if all else fails it'd be hard to miss when it's pressed up against one of those thing's heads. Gabe swings open the cylinder after fumbling with it a moment to find one shell loaded in. Pulling it out, he finds it to be unfired. He carefully loads in the rest of the chambers with the spares from the case. He empties the remainder into his right pocket and discards the somewhat bulky case.

Just for the sake of being thorough, he moves on to the dresser. Dani waits patiently as Gabe eventually finds a few hundred dollars stuffed away in a sock. Gabe would feel poorly of himself taking it, but, even though it probably doesn't mean anything anymore, it could come in handy.

Right, on to the other apartments. Lets try to find some meat. Knock first, then kick the door in if no one answers. Unless you or Cynthia know how to pick locks.

i doubt the doors can be kicked in. maybe pried open with a crowbar. we can also first go to the manager's office, spare keys should be there.

GrayJ 2013/03/16(Sat)16:09 No. 500474 ID: 040617
File 136347534971.png - (51.73KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

The hidden billfold slips Gabe's mind as Cynthia returns, sporting a certain someone's Spongebob backpack, as well as a ratty olive green shoulder bag.

“I found a bit of normal food in here, although most of it had already been picked over. It looked like he tried out everything he could before he... Um..” Cynthia stopped, realizing what she'd done. “Sorry,” she muttered sheepishly, but the damage was done. Dani simply looked off into the corner, trying her best not to start crying again.

“Well...,” Cynthia continued, unsure what else to do, “I found a packet of beef jerky under some papers in my room. Try a bit out and see if you can stomach it.” She unzips Dani's schoolbag and tosses the meager baggie to Gabe.

“He- heyyyy... Where'd all my pencils and things go?” Dani asks, wiping her eyes clear with some effort.

“They're on the coffee table in the living room,” Cynthia replies apologetically, “Do you want me to bring them?”

“Noo... School is boring anyways.. I just wanted to know.”

Gabe opens the package up and pulls out a small piece. Taking a breath, he pops it into his mouth, and immediately his stomach begins to churn. It tastes incredibly salty, and the aged flavor of the meat is overpowering. It goes down, however, and doesn't come back up. But even from just the one piece he begins to feel slightly sickened. He can't imagine trying to get the entire bag down, but knows he could if he had too. The aftereffects may not bode so well, however.

“Well? Any good?”

“It's great. Thanks,” Gabe manages.

“Liar,” Cynthia says with a faint smile, “The look on your face said you were about to start weeping. Again.”

“Can I have some?” Dani holds her hand out.

“Later, Dani. We need to save it for when we need it. Here, Cynthia, let me take that green one.” After a bit of wrangling, Cynthia tosses him the empty bag as requested, into which he places the jerky as well as the bottle of pain killers. “Do you know how to use one of these?” Gabe asks, holding out the revolver. Cynthia tenses visibly and waves it away.

“No!.. No. I, um.. Don't like guns.”

“Oh.” Gabe quickly thrusts the firearm into his left pocket, but not before checking to assure the safety was on. “Well then. Did you try to check on Rebecca?”

“Who?”

“The woman in the apartment across from yours.”

“Oh, yeah. I tried to open the door but it was locked,” Cynthia says plainly.

“You just tried to walk right in?” Gabe asks in disbelief.

“Oh. Um. I guess I did,” she replies with a timid smile. Gabe just shakes his head and takes Dani's hand.

“Well come on. Let's go see if she's home.” Gabe leads the group out onto the landing in front of Rebecca's door and knocks twice. “Hello? Anybody home?” Gabe calls out loudly in order to be heard through the thick metal door.

“Ms. Rebecca? We're going to go find my Mom and you should come with us!” Dani joins in even louder, looking up to Gabe with a smile. Cynthia tenses up and harshly shushes them both.

“Do you want those thi-” She's cut off as a chilling moan echos up from the floor below, and is soon joined by a few more from farther off.

how many stairs you got? and do you have a fire escape?
best way to handle this is lure them all up one way then evac another way.

Well, fuck. We might have a horde on our hands soon. Alright decision time. Baricade the stair entrance... or vamoose from the building. I think we should leave personally.

GrayJ 2013/03/16(Sat)17:07 No. 500484 ID: 040617
File 136347882158.png - (406.92KB , 838x554 , Above the Strain MAP EDITED.png )

“Damn it,” Cynthia swears, immediately covering her mouth and blushing as she remembers there are virgin ears listening in.

“Forget this,” Gabe says, “You and Dani go out the fire escape. I'll stay here and lure as many as I can up the main stairway and follow behind.”

“I did something wrong, huh?” Dani states, looking a bit scared.

“Yes, but so did he, so it's alright.” Cynthia turns to address Gabe. “Are you sure? Should you at least take the spear as well?”

“Hello? Is someone out there?” comes a voice from the other side of the door.

Shit.

Cynthia can you explain while I see what I can do about barricading the stairways?

>>500488
((She was referring to Gabe himself. Gabe kinda yelled too.))

he means cynthia tell rebecca while we do the stairs.

GrayJ 2013/03/16(Sat)18:20 No. 500507 ID: 040617
File 136348323008.png - (56.96KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

“Cynthia, you explain the current situation to her- I'll see what I can do about barricading these stairs. Gabe rushes into his apartment, grabbing the end of his futon and dragging it out the door.

“-found a little girl next door named Dani-”

“Hello Ms. Rebecca!”

“-gathered a little bit of food and supplies and we're heading out to find her-” Gabe shoves the couch down the stairs with a clatter and it comes to rest in the double back.

“-to check on you but we made too much noise and now those things are on their way here,” Cynthia finishes breathlessly as Gabe rushes into Danson's apartment to drag out the heavy wooden coffee table. With some effort, that finds it's way down the stairs as well, along with all of Dani's school supplies.

“She's getting a few things and then she'll be right out,” Cynthia informs him as he moves back for the Danson's couch. Cynthia comes with him, putting down the spear to help lift the couch. Together, they manage to get it atop the coffee table, so that anything that wants up the stairs will have to crawl over the pile. Gabe leans over and tries to catch his breath. Meanwhile, the first dead head has wandered up the lower flight of stairs, but seems perplexed by the proposition of scaling the couch. Meanwhile, Rebecca exits from her room. Her dark red hair is drawn up in a ponytail, and she's dressed in a tight red V-neck and jeans. She carries with her only a medium sized purse. She looks around and noticing that Dani is looking very anxious, crouches down to look her in the eye.

“So you must be Dani. I'm Rebecca. And who's this?” she asks, pointing to the stuffed animal clutched tightly in Dani's grasp.

“That's Kammi. He's my giraffe.” Dani begins to calm down as she starts to regale Rebecca with the adventures of herself and Kammi. Rebecca seems to be listening intently, but Gabe does catch her trying to conceal anxious glances towards him and the stairway.

“So are we still going with the fire escape and lure plan?” Cynthia questions quietly.

yeah, gimme the spear and i'll poke at them when they peek over.

GrayJ 2013/03/16(Sat)19:06 No. 500524 ID: 040617
File 136348600864.png - (57.30KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

“Yeah, hand me the polearm. I'll stab at them while I can.” Cynthia nods and hands it over.

“Just.. Be careful.” Gabe considers a teasing retort, but instead simply nods and then uses his head to gesture towards the fire escape. Cynthia smiles faintly and gives him a brief, awkward hug before gathering up Rebecca and Dani and moving towards the window. Rebecca is holding Dani's hand as they pass by- Dani's other arm preoccupied by wringing the poor stuffed animal's neck.

“Thanks for giving me the heads up, handsome. Even if it did get you into this mess,” whispers Rebecca as she passes him, giving Gabe a small wink as she goes. Gabe watches as Cynthia yanks open the window, immediately setting off the fire alarms and sprinklers.

“Who the heck hooks up sprinklers to a fire escape window? Idiots!” Rebecca yells out over the alarm as she helps Dani through the window.

“I don't know, but Gabe! You can't stay here,” Cynthia cries, “The alarm will attract them from all over. If you wait around they'll have the place surrounded.”

But if no one's here to keep these things' collective attention, they might just follow us out through the front door. Crap, what to do..

there is currently a lot of noise and a lot of motion i this building. each other and the water. if one actually sees you it may come after you but they will not hear you.

GrayJ 2013/03/17(Sun)11:46 No. 500652 ID: 040617
File 136354597196.png - (62.06KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

You're right,” Gabe relents, “The alarm should hold their attention. Let's go.” He follows the trio out the window, making eye contact with Rebecca as he climbs through. “Do you know how to shoot?”

“A bit,” she replies with a grin, pulling a tiny handgun out of her purse. “Ruger LCP. It chambers point-three-eighty APC rounds, with six in a clip. The bullets are less powerful than a 9mm, but a headshot should still go through as long as it's not at an angle. I've only got one spare clip, so that's twelve shots in all,” she finishes, smile growing a bit wider. Gabe gets the feeling that she's enjoying the prospect of using it a little too much. Cynthia meanwhile, upon seeing Rebecca showing off her firearm, has made her way down the ladder and dropped to the ground below. The alleyway is free of zombies, but that will likely only last for so long.

“Alright, Gabe, you come next. Drop my spear down first,” she calls up softly.

“Okay. Dani, you're coming next. Rebecca, watch the interior in case any of them make it through the barricade.” Gabe drops the weapon down as requested, but Cynthia misses the catch as it lands with a clatter. Shrugging, he hefts his nearly empty bag higher up onto his shoulder and makes the decent with only a small bit of difficulty, his wounds twinging at the strain. Hanging from the bottom rung, he drops the last few feet.

“Okay sweetie, you gotta be brave and climb down the ladder for me, okay?” Rebecca tells Dani in a motherly tone. Dani sets her jaw and nods, clutching Kammi more tightly to her.

“Drop Kammi first so you can use both hands,” Gabe suggests, “I'll catch him.”

“..It's a her,” she murmurs, unheard over the fire alarm. Gathering up her courage, she drops the fuzzy giraffe over the side of the railing. Gabe catches it deftly, and then waves Dani down. She puts her foot on the first rung and lowers herself onto the ladder. She moves slowly, taking one rung at a time.

“Honey,” Rebecca calls out as the young girl is only halfway down, “I don't mean to rush you, but you need to move a little faster.”

“Don't shoot unless you have to,” Gabe commands, understanding that something had managed to navigate the barricade. Dani speeds up, moving hand over hand now, breathing quickly. It seems she understands as well. She starts to panic, and her foot misses a rung just as she lets go of the one above. She flails, windmilling her arms in an attempt to regain balance. Gabe lets go of the stuffed animal and lunges forward, just as Dani slips and plummets to the ground below. Gabe reaches her just in time, catching the child with a grunt and a flair of pain in his right arm.

“You dropped Kammi,” Dani says, clearly still stunned from what had just occurred. Cynthia picked up the poor giraffe and dusts it off before handing it to Dani, who squeezes it securely.

“Shoot or don't shoot? It's almost to the window!”

“Just close it,” Gabe yells, putting Dani down and inspecting his arm with a glance. The wound seemed to have opened up again, and fresh blood has already begun seeping through the already soaked bandage.

“It's jammed!”

“Gabe? We've got another problem,” Cynthia states, readying her weapon. One of the creatures has wandered into the mouth of the alleyway, already starting to shuffle towards the group with a loud moan.

"just run! it will take the fastest path and that is walking off the side instead of climbing down"

grab spear ready fight.

GrayJ 2013/03/17(Sun)14:04 No. 500667 ID: 1e9349
File 136355427075.png - (60.65KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory Edit 2.png )

“Just run!” Gabe yells, grabbing the spear from Cynthia's hands. “It'll take the fast way down- over the edge!” Rebecca swiftly steps back from the window just as the zombie tries to dive through. She stows her handgun into her purse and places the strap in her mouth. She starts climbing down the ladder as quickly as she can.

Gabe raises the provisional polearm and carefully advances on the encroaching undead. His pulse is hammering in his head, and his fingers grip the hollow plastic shaft intensely. He stops just out of the zombie's reach and plunges the blade into its shoulder, pushing with all his might. The walker pitches over onto it's back, and the force of the fall twists the blade askew in its duct tape binding. It's still attached to the broom as it comes free of the body, but, until Gabe has a calm moment to rewrap it, it won't be much use for stabbing.

“RUN!” Gabe yells, taking two snappy steps forward and then yet another to place his heel on the thing's neck. Cynthia and Dani rush past into the street. The younger of the pair screams as she looks around- Cynthia merely scoops her up and takes off to the right, out of view. The grounded husk latches onto Gabe's leg with both hands just as he was about to make his escape. Its grip is surprisingly strong, pulling Gabe off balance. He falls forward, bent spear flying from his grasp. The corner of a dumpster rises up to meet him, and the world goes black.

[CONTROL OF GABRIEL WRIGHT HAS BE LOST. PLEASE SELECT A CHARACTER]

rebecca: run over and help gabe, whack the thing in the skull a little and then drag gabe with you.

GrayJ 2013/03/17(Sun)14:59 No. 500675 ID: 1e9349
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The shuffling horror beat her to the ground, hitting with a sickening smack. It wasn't moving anymore. Rebecca dropped to the ground, but as she lands, her ankle twists inwards, sending pain shooting up her leg. An unbidden cry escapes her throat, causing her to open her mouth and send the purse tumbling to the ground. Nothing's broken, but it definitely hurts to walk. She scoops up her bag and moves to help Gabe, seeing he was in trouble.

Spotting a loose brick in the wall, she yanks it out. A small packet of white powder falls out, but she simply ignores it, moving as fast as she can to help Gabe. The zombie is currently trying to gnaw it's way through his shoe, but thankfully hasn't made any progress. Rebecca bends over and caves its skull in with several quick strikes, sending congealed blood spraying up her arm. She drops the blood-soaked brick and grabs Gabe under his arms, wincing at the head wound he'd sustained. She manages to drag Gabe out to the street, only to find a small crowd of zombies bearing down on her from the front of the apartment building.

Careful, Rebecca, you've got a biohazardous material splattered all over you. Don't let that get into your body or anyone else's.

There's enough noise, you can probably get away with popping off some shots. Get the three in the front of the pack, then follow Dani and Cynthia. Can you move faster than the walkers, dragging Gabe like that? If so, do that. If not... Well, we might be about to lose Gabe.

GrayJ 2013/03/17(Sun)16:04 No. 500690 ID: 1e9349
File 136356146307.png - (61.30KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

It's difficult to support Gabe with one arm, but not impossible. Her ankle screams at her- for what she has to do, she needs to put his weight on it. She tries to take care to keep the blood on her hand and arm from getting near any of his injuries, but she's got other things occupying her mind. Her now free hand flies into her purse, immediately finding her small pistol and drawing it out. The fire alarm should mask the shots, so she squeezes a few off. She takes a shot at each of the three forewalkers, downing two of them and hitting the other in the chest.

She quickly drops the pistol back into her purse and returns to dragging Gabe away. She looks back over her shoulder to see Cynthia and Dani having stopped and are looking back. At the pace Rebecca is going with her limp and Gabe burdening her, she's barely keeping pace with the advancing mob. But dragging Gabe makes for hard work- she's not sure how long she can keep it up. Calling Cynthia and Dani back to help would put them all in danger, but the only other real options Rebecca can think of are to either try and take down all eight of the zombies coming her way or to simply abandon Gabe to his fate.

Keep running. The zombies has to go back to the apartments sooner or later with all that noise.

If any one of them gets close, shoot them. Infact, once you start shooting, reload as soon as you find a break. You can always pick up the clip later after all the zombies are gone and right now you run the risk of running out of ammo fast.

It's not often I say this, but please don't update so fast. It'll help if we can get a bit of time to mull over important decisions together and come to a consensus.

Well, I don't want to use all of our bullets here, if it can be helped. Call those two ladies back to help you drag Gabe, should be an okay choice.

big problem is why did gabe do what he did in the first place? he attacked it in the shoulder, a spot he KNOWS wont kill it. and then kept pushing until it fell over and ruined the weapon. its hard to help out when a character takes a lot of actions between suggestions. also reading back, it seems he didn't take the money? no one said 'take the money' cause the way you said it, it sounded like he already did. simply, you wrote too much description about wanting to take something that it sounded like he took it. sorry, just, characters making dumb choices without us being able to help makes me aggravated.

We're just voices in his head. Good, bad, we'd pressure him to do things. We're just schizophrenia.

Well, Calling out to the ladies is okay, but I'd keep the gun handy for when they get close. That's why we have bullets for.

I'm sorry, but my thinking was that I couldn't really see a way to kill it with the weapon he had- that knife probably would just glance off the skull if he stabbed it there. Best thing to do would be knock it over and try and pin it. To be fair, what I got from your suggestion was attack the zombie with the spear, and I assumed the goal was escape. A more detailed suggestion than "grab spear ready fight" would do wonders to clear up misconceptions. As for the billfold, I'll add the money in, though I thought the moral choice I had set up was pretty clear. Finally, I'll try and space out my posts more- I was just used to only having one reader to rely on.

it's granularity. yes he got ready to fight, but then he started the fight, did some fighting, and then tried to do something after fighting. only way to cover all bases would be to make a massive suggestion tree with branches based on what COULD happen. i wanted to get ready to fight, but not start fighting yet, see if anything changed after that amount of time. like trying to play a fighting game and pick out all your moves before the start of the match.

Alright, you've got a point. I'll keep this in mind. Sorry about this.

It's pretty hard otherwise to try to stab a zombie with a spear, especially if the weight on the other side is much heavier than the end he's holding. And seeing as it's a hollow plastic tubing, I'd say his miss range is pretty wide.

That aside, honestly, I'm okay with the way he write. The guy's not a kleptomaniac - he's a schizophrenic. And we're the voices in his mind - aka, we can only tell him what to do. He has a mind of his own. Like I explained to GrayJ earlier over somewhere else, the schizophrenic mind could even drive the man to the point where he'd make irrational, abstract decisions, even if the man itself doesn't want to.

You want full control over his actions? Take the medicine.

Also how do I blacktext

derp

Above the Strain GrayJ 2013/03/17(Sun)19:10 No. 500718 ID: 1e9349
File 136357262571.png - (61.62KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

Unwilling to leave the man behind, but knowing that she is unable to do this alone, she yells for Cynthia to come assist. Rebecca continues struggling to keep dragging Gabe's heft down the road. A ghoul begins to pull ahead of the others, clearly a bit faster than its peers. Rebecca shifts Gabe over again and pulls the pistol, taking the shot. It goes down with a new hole in its head, and Rebecca keeps moving, although her saving grace has cost her some distance from the main mob. Finally, Cynthia arrives with Dani in tow. Together they're able to almost completely get Gabe off the ground, with only his feet dragging along. Dani leads the way back the direction she and Cynthia came from, and eventually the group manages to outpace the mob as it gradually loses interest.

Keep on going. If we're headed in direction of Dani's mom's house, go there. If not, stop by any open non-food store to rest. There won't be people.

^^ What he said.


It's a pretty cool story so far! Although I'd like for the cast to get to somewhere restful so we can get back to Gabe. I quite like how Gabe talks to us in the beginning. Is there going to be anymore of those?

I know Gabe's blacked out, although, with him and schizophrenia... If we were to get inside his mind right now, it might open up some pretty... interesting doors.

GrayJ 2013/03/19(Tue)14:43 No. 501152 ID: 88d573
File 136372943236.png - (62.39KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

The pair pull Gabe off the street, heading towards a strip center whose parking lot was nearly empty. The lone car towards the back of the lot had its door wide open, with a bloody handprint plastered near the handle. Dani's eyes quickly lit up at the sight of a small mom and pop toy store, as though having forgotten about the undead they had just narrowly escaped. There was also a Payless, a Subway, a Verizon shop, and finally a small “mathnasium”, as the sign called it.

The two non-infected should eat up. Give Dani a bit of jerky too. We'll head to the toy store. Hoepfully they'll have a place we can lock up and hold up for the night.

actually.. toy store. it could have baseball bats.

I agree with the Toy Store. Patch up Gabe, and keep a really low profile.

GrayJ 2013/03/19(Tue)16:10 No. 501170 ID: 040617
File 136373464192.png - (65.63KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

If you haven't figured it out my now, I update the inventory at the *end* of the associated post, so please read first and then look. I should have mentioned this earlier- my apologies.


“There could be baseball bats over in Kid's Playce,” Cynthia suggests, and Rebecca nods in response. Thus deciding to go with Dani's obviously preferred choice, the group moves to ener the toy store. Dani practically bounces as she approaches the door, but Rebecca catches her arm, temporarily budening Cynthia with Gabe's entire weight.

“We've got to be careful,” Rebecca tells the girl sternly, moving back to help the encumbered asian woman, “There could be more of them inside, or who knows what. Besides, even if they aren't if you make too much noise, they could find us anyways. So we've gotta stay quiet.”

“Okay, I'll be good,” Cynthia whispers solemnly, still bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

“Thank you. Now you wait here with Gabe and Cynthia,” Rebecca continues, looking across the former to meet eyes with the latter to make sure she understands. She helps Cynthia set Gabe up against the wall as she continues speaking. “I've got to go make sure its safe inside.” Rebecca rapidly draws her pistol once she's free handed, causing Cynthia to flinch slightly. She removes the spare clip from her bag and reloads the gun, not wanting to be caught with an empty chamber just when she needs it. She places the nearly empty clip back in her handbag and readjusts the purse back onto her shoulder, leaving both her hands free to steady the gun- good thing, too. Her hands are shaking slightly from the exertion of dragging Gabe the past couple of blocks. At least her ankle isn't screaming at her anymore.

A quick scan of the window reveals little about Kid's Playce that they didn't already know- though Rebecca does note that someone had left the lights on. She remembers that the emergency broadcast had started around midday on the 8th telling people to return to their homes- They even called people's cellphones. So either these people left in a hurry, or there was still someone inside.

With gun at the ready, she opens the door and moves along the front of the store, clearing all the aisles. She notes sever styles of plastic bats, but there did seem to be some smaller wooden ones. She stops for a moment to grab one of the Junior Sluggers. She wishes it were longer than her forearm, but it would at least be easy to handle. She then limps as quietly as she can back behind the counter, assuring nothing was hiding behind it before going for the door at the back. Upon opening it, a shocking sight greets her. Larger metal shelves line the walls, all with boxes upon boxes burdening them. On the floor of the storage room is an elderly woman dressed in flowery apparel, a pool of blood surrounding her head. What more immediately draws her attention, however, is an older man weakly thrashing around against the noose around his neck. The rope winds around the ceiling supports, and below the man is a knocked over chair. Rebecca only has moments to act if she wants to do something.

Shoot the man in the head. Hes gone. A living being would be long dead.

flip chair back over and put it back under him.

Hey Rebecca! put the chair back. You want the old man to get a solid surface to stand on.

GrayJ 2013/03/19(Tue)16:46 No. 501183 ID: 040617
File 136373676737.png - (65.63KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

Acting out of reflex, Rebecca grabs the chair and puts it back under him. To her sudden surprise, the man reaches down and grabs a chunk of her hair. Before she can even yell out in surprise, the patch is ripped out by the roots, putting her in some pain and leaving a patch on the back of her head bare. She leaps back and quickly pops the hung zombie in the head, splattering the wall of boxes with gray matter. The ghoul proceeds to hang limp, and Rebecca uses some time to rub the back of her head. Bringing Dani in here may not be the best idea, but then again, staying back out in front of the windows where wandering monstrosities could see them would probably be worse. Staying up there would mean trying to move some shelving in front of the window, which would make a good deal of noise. On the other hand, hiding the bodies would be no easy task- unless she wants to empty a box out, there's nowhere to put them. To be honest though, neither Cynthia or Rebecca are feeling up to the heavy lifting- both are just wanting some rest.

Sorry Redaeth, majority vote.

Move the corpses out of the building. Keep Dani occupied with exploring the store. Allow her to play with what she wants but she can only bring one small toy when we leave so she should pick a favorite. She's going to have to get used to seeing dead bodies. And the fact that she ate flesh means she probably won't have the normal reactions a little girl will normally have. She'll probably want to eat them.

yeah, hiding shit wont help. she already ate human flesh. maybe put gabe near them, the smell of blood may wake him up.

Will eating flesh help soothe the wounds? I wonder... But it also would have made infection worse, if the meat is infected aswell.

Really, just close the door to the back and bring everyone in. Lock the place down. We can deal with the body later.

Hopefully the shots weren't that loud, with all the fire alarm going on down the block.

>>501188
Your post isn't very clear. Do you mean to keep the body as it is, or move it out?

GrayJ 2013/03/19(Tue)17:58 No. 501206 ID: 040617
File 136374113318.png - (66.03KB , 828x595 , Strain Inventory.png )

But rest will have to wait for now. Rebecca gets the idea to see if Gabe won't wake up to the smell in the back room. She quickly sweeps the rest of the room and then places her pistol back where it belongs. Returning to the front of the store, she waves to Cynthia to help her pick up Gabe, tucking the mini-bat under her arm. Cynthia grabs him under the shoulders, while Rebecca carries his legs, a familiar pain settling into her ankle once again.

“Are you alright? Dani and I heard the shot,” Cynthia asks.

“Yeah, it's just... Dani, honey, why don't you go ahead and play,” Rebecca suggests, causing Dani to wave her tiny little fists in front of her in excitement. She runs off down one of the aisles, and Rebecca waits until she's out of earshot before continuing on in a whisper. “There's a old man and who I guess was his wife back there- both dead now. The old man tried to hang himself after assumedly braining the woman. It worked, but he must have came back as a zombie.”

“Was he bitten?”

“Didn't check,” Rebecca replies as Cynthia backs into the back room. “Here, just lay him down here.” Cynthia complies, and moments later, Gabe finds himself awake on the hard cold floor, suddenly very hungry and with a splitting headache.

Switch view to Gabe!


Hey Gabe. Wake up. Are you alright?

I know it's a bit foggy, but tell me what you see around you.


Also, ladies, you can talk about tacos.

look around the toy store, maybe there's something else useful

I think the party should rest for a bit because Gabe seems really injured

GrayJ 2013/03/19(Tue)22:03 No. 501231 ID: 040617
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[CONTROL HAS NOW SWITCHED BACK TO GABE]

Oh man my head. This has gotta be the worst headache I've ever had. But yeah, I'm okay. I think. Unless I'm dead. But my arm still hurts so I doubt it. Shoulder feels better though. Something smells... Great. But considering what's in the room, the thought is kind of nauseating. The women are here, as well as a couple of bodies, both dead, judging by all the blood. The women are talking at me, but my brain can't comprehend it right now over the pain. The bodies smell good, but... The women.. -No, no. Not even going to think about that. Please no. Damn, I can't remember the last time I was so hungry. It's hard to think straight, though that could be from the headache...

We need to get some meat into Dani and Gabe. We might have a use for those corpses after all. Bleh.

Hey. Noms the bodies. You know you want to.

your stomach is saying to eat live flesh, you gotta force it to make due with dead.

GrayJ 2013/03/20(Wed)14:20 No. 501331 ID: 040617
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You're right. I've got to eat- now- but I won't be like one of them.

Dave tears himself away from the two women and crawls laboriously towards the flowery fashioned corpse. Without the thought of using a tool entering his mind, he lifts its arm up and bites into the hanging skin of its lower arm.

This is... Amazing. Why haven't I tried this before?

The thought crosses his mind without a shred of irony as he digs in to his first post-infection meal. He hears the women leave the storage area behind him, but it doesn't really register. All that matters is the nourishment in front of him. All too soon, he's had his fill. His stomach pains him as it stretches to accomidate the excess meat, but Gabe doesn't mind. He's never had something so delicious in his life, and, for some reason, that doesn't really bother him. Maybe once the feel-good sensation of a full stomach wears off, but not for now. For now, his head isn't hurting quite so badly, and while his wounds are itching, it's a good itch. A refreshing itch.

You are most likely healing. Time to assure the ladies that you are not yet undead. You were just starving and you knew if you didn't eat you would be. If they want to kill you though you'd understand. You've become a monster who ejoys eating human flesh.

Okay, you had your fill. You gotta force yourself to stop. If this feels good for you and you were suffering before, Dani should have some.

Well, we don't want to scare her. Tear off some flesh to give to her away from the bodies.

stop. you've had enough, the more he eats the more he'll put the others in danger.

GrayJ 2013/03/20(Wed)14:56 No. 501343 ID: 040617
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I- I am a monster, aren't I?

Forcing himself to stop eating, Gabe sits back and stands. Now able to think a bit more clearly, he kneels back down with a muttered apology and wipes his hands and mouth clean on the dress, leaving bloody smears on the once pretty floral design. Gabe then goes to knock on the door, calling to those outside.

“Um.. Cynthia? Dani?.. Uh.. Rebecca?” He speaks into the door, the latter's name momentarily slipping his pain clouded mind. “I-... I'm okay, more or less. I'm sorry you two saw that. But I'm not one of them. If you still want to, uh.. 'Take care of me'-” he censors, knowing that Dani is probably also listening in, “-then I would understand.”

Unintelligible whispers are the only thing to make it through the door for a few moments, before finally the door opens towards him. Rebecca has her gun out, but at least it's not pointed towards him. Gabe puts his hands up and puts on his most friendly smile, causing Cynthia to flinch and look away. The minor distraction lets Dani twist free of her grip and run through the door, throwing herself at Gabe's leg and giving him a tight hug.

“OhmigoshMrGabeyou'reallbetterI'msohappyIthoughtyou'dneverwakeup- ComeseeallthecooltoysIgotand...” Gabe just smiles a little wider and kneels down to return the hug as she continues to talk at a mile a minute.

“You've still got a little, um.. Something all over your teeth,” Rebecca says with a grimace, putting away her pistol and relaxing a bit. Gabe quickly stops smiling quite so wide. “And no, we're not going to 'take care of you'-”

“Yeah huh!” Dani interjects, “You dragged him all the way here and got him to wake up and feel better! Don't worry Mr. Gabe- if she won't take care of you, I will!”

Rebecca can't help but smile despite the mood as the euphemism sails right over the young one's head. “You're still sane, and that's all that matters, was my point.”

Cynthia moves forward and awkwardly joins Dani in the hug. “I thought you'd turned- I'm so sorry for losing faith in you,” she whispers.

Suddenly, the pressure on Gabe's leg doesn't feel quite so tight as Dani perks her head up and sniffs the air.

“Heyyy, what's that- Oh..” She says, finally noticing the bodies. She seems to fixate on them, and everyone else tenses up slightly.

Tell everyone to leave, even Dani.

Hey Gabe, fix a plate for Dani. there's no reason to expose her to uncivilization and savagry.

fix dani's food,then they should move to dani's mother's house. they might be able to find her alive, and if not food and some weapons hopefully

GrayJ 2013/03/20(Wed)16:54 No. 501363 ID: 040617
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Gabe quickly ushers everyone out of the room, though Dani is loath to go.

“I'll bring you something here right quick,” he says to assuage her desire. “Cynthia, would you go fetch me a Frisbee or something?” She nods and hurries off back into the store, while Rebecca finishes coaxing Dani out. The little one's eyes never leave the pair of corpses.

Gabe searches around the storage area for any kind of blade; he does not find the prospect of using his teeth quite so appealing this time. He comes across a box cutter just as Cynthia returns with the makeshift plate.

“Thanks. Is there any rubbing alcohol left?”

“Yea, most of the bottle actually,” she replies, pulling the medkit out of her backpack and drawing out the requested bottle. “Here.” Gabe takes the sterilizing agent and pours a little into his hand, wiping down the edge of the box cutter as well as he can without cutting himself.

“Thank you. I can handle it from here,” he says, handing it back to her. She quickly excuses herself and Gabe gets to work sawing off a chunk of the corpse's other arm.

============================================================

Eventually, Gabe wanders out with a hunk of meat on the pink plastic plate, interrupting a tea party the three were having behind the counter. Dani is immediately on her feet when she sees him, moving over to accept what she knows is for her. While Gabe was busy, she's found herself a plastic tiara and pink tutu. Cynthia and Rebecca are both wearing similar crowns. Cynthia seems a little bit uncomfortable, but Rebecca looks like a natural. Gabe can't help but smile at their outfits, and, as a way to distract himself from what has and is about to take place, he decides to play along. Getting down on one knee, he proffers unto the child her lunch.

“Your food, madam,” he jokes, and for a fleeting moment he's actually able to forget he's feeding a child with another human being.

“Yay!” she cheers, “Thanks Mr. Gabe!” She takes the plate and hurries back to the tea party. “Come sit down!” she excitedly beacons, quickly being shushed by Rebecca. Gabe complies, baffled with the turn of events his life had taken in such a few short hours.

So this is how the world ends. With teacups and tiaras.

As soon as he's seated, Dani goes to dig in before restraining herself. She then bends over, locks her hands together, and starts to pray, barely audible.

“Dear God, thank you for my food today and for Mr. Gabe and Ms. Rebecca and even Ms. Cynthia even though she doesn't know what to do with me like she said. Please bless this food, Amen.” She then proceeds to dig in, eating it like a bloody sandwich. Gabe, meanwhile, is blown away with the absurdity of it all. Watching a little girl pray over an old woman's flesh before eating it made everything seem surreal.

“Dave? You okay?” asks Cynthia, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder.

“Wha? Oh, yeah, sorry. Just kind of spaced out there.”

“Well don't scare me like that. You make me think you're going to go zombie on us.” Everyone but Dani half-freezes.

“That's the first time any of us have called them that,” Rebecca says quietly breaking the awkward silence.

“Well, I know I've been thinking it,” Gabe interjects.

“We all have,” Rebecca counters, “But it's still weird to hear it said aloud. It kind of makes all this craziness seem less real.”

“Believe me, I know what you mean,” Gabe replies.

“So anyways,” Cynthia eventually says, trying to change the somber mood, “What do we do now that all of us have had at least something to eat?”

“Mommy!” Dani says cheerfully, licking her fingers clean.

“Well I was thinking we head to a storage place near here first. My brother has an RV there and I know where he hides the keys,” Rebecca suggests.

“I could probably use some medical attention though,” says Gabe, rubbing the back of his head.

"We could also use some more food," Cynthia finishes, "We're all out of the regular stuff, and who knows when we'll find more of what you guys need again?"

>>501363
Given the state of the city? I don't think thats going to be a problem. Normal food might be... but as long as the zombies are mindless canned food like soups will work.

>>501378
You didn't suggest a course of action, just ruled one out...

are there any ziplock bags or something here? if so then put some meat in them. for food and can open and throw to zombie swarms as distraction.
if not then forget it, need something that can seal super tight.

car may be nice, but may be noisy. think it's worth it. would let us then reach dani's mom real fast and then go right to a hospital.

I'm agreeing with above course of action, but don't forget to take the time to treat Gabe with the first aid kit and some painkillers. There should be more than enough supplies to treat a laceration, so I'm not worried about running out of either.

I'd tike to talk to Gabe for a few moment though. see in his mind.

"Hey Gabe. It's me again. It's us again."

“We'll head after the RV,” Gabe decides.

“Cynthia, will you hand me the medkit? I'd like to bandage up this gash on the side of my head before we go.”

“Sure thing.” As she's digging for the kit, Gabe takes out the painkillers and pops a handful. It may just be the placebo effect, but relief is immediate.

Hey there. You guys have been rather helpful lately, which is strange, considering how you were before my medication. What's up?

I'm surprised you've been keeping us sane this whole time. Who knows, maybe it's the whole danger scenario that takes our minds off our... usual shenanigans.

But you know this won't last forever, right?

Unless this ordeal gets me killed... What's your point?

"Do you really think they care about you? Look around. They left you when they saw what a monster you became into. You'll never recover from that. You know what you're doing... Killing humans, eating humans.

You know you're just a monster. You're a monster. You're a honest god-damned monster."

I haven't killed a human yet. And I would've left too in their situation. But they didn't kill me. So I'm no monster, yet.

Look at you. Look at your hands. They're red with the blood of the fallen. You still have the taste of human flesh in your mouth, just like a monster. What's to say those out there that you've eaten isn't just like you? You know what you are, and you know what you're turning into. You're turning bloodthirsy, like the wolves of the silver moon. You're turning into a monster.

They know it too. You know they're just waiting. It's all one waiting game.





... Are you happy?

oh shush. you are just mad cause you aren't the one driving.

Maybe not, but someone's gotta fill the void in his head.

anyway. we don't know how this thing works. t resurrects dead bodies. an seems to drive you insane when you get hungry. but how long can it take control? you are still alive, there is still hope.

>>501469
my point is you seem to be the jackass-lobe in this head.

>>501471
Yep. Don't want me around? There's always the meds he has. It'll make all the voices go away.

But fine. I'll behave.

For now.

yeah make the bad ones, and the GOOD ones. i shouldn't NEED to pull you in. because if gabe dies, we all die. so what gives gabe the best chance to survive is what we want. and that is sticking with a group. alone one mistake will result in being overwhelmed, but with allies they can pull you ass out of the fire.

GrayJ 2013/03/20(Wed)21:45 No. 501475 ID: 040617
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Right now? Yes, for once I am. And I've had enough of your shit. Consider yourself ignored

Gabe finishes wrapping up his head, throwing the supplies into their box and shoving the whole thing at Cynthia a bit harder than intended.

"..Everything okay?" she asks, honestly worried.

"Yea.. Uh, yea. I'm fine," Gabe replies, waving her off. "Let's just get moving."

After a bit of fuss and a lot of serious inner debate, Dani finally decides to take the tiara with her, edging out the Frisbee and Ms. Tipperbottom, a dolly that attended the tea party. After gathering up their things, the group sets out. Do they take the back alleys and risk getting off course, or do they stick to the main roads?

>>501475
Back allies.

main roads.

the allys should have less traffic. and if you go too far you can probably hop a fence or break a door.

GrayJ 2013/03/20(Wed)22:20 No. 501481 ID: 040617
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They decide to take the back alleys. Despite the dangers of getting lost, it should be significantly more free of undead.

“It's this way, I think,” Rebecca says, leading the way, still with a limp. The world is shockingly quiet without all the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life, but the new life they're quickly coming to lead has its own array of sounds. The constant moaning of the undead carrying across the cold air. The ever present alarm or siren, always going off somewhere. The occasional pop of gunfire or scream of someone passing on. And rarely, the sound of a car whizzing through the empty streets. As Rebecca guides the group through the back streets, they come across a pair of zombies, fighting over some scrap or another. They don't seem to have noticed the group yet, and as such, they have time for a split second decision.

Quickly get past them. Make sure the group stay quiet, though.

tap finger to mouth to signal silence. be ready with weapons just in case. and move quickly.

Gabe raises his finger to his mouth, making sure everyone meets his gaze for a moment before lowering his hand. He picks up Dani and the group attempts to sneak by the pair. Just as he thinks they're about to get away with it, one of the ghouls suddenly releases his grip on the long dead rat and sniffs the air. Rebecca has her gun at the ready, and goes to raise it, but a gunshot might cause more problems than it would solve.

Continue sneaking around them...

[Switch to Rebecca]
Stealth is the key right now. Only fire if they go after us.

Wait, if we're symptoms of schizophrenia how did we switch in the first place... unless the bite caused Gabe to become psychic some how. Then once he turns we'll become the overmind of all the zombies! YES I CAN SEE IT! IT WILL BE GLORIOUS!

We shall rule over this planet.

this is why i wanted ziplocks of meat. can throw an open bag and they would go after it.

anyway, hold up bat and try to motion for rebecca to lower the gun. and keep moving.

Just keep moving away from the zombies. They seem to be relying on smell - The dead bodies are a good masking tool for now, but you have to get away as soon as possible.

>>501856
Ugh, can you imagine trying to get zombies to do anything more complicated than "bite that thing" or "don't bite that thing"?

Anyway, yeah, SNEAK QUICKLY. Even trying to stab the approaching zombie in the head with something MIGHT be preferable than raising a mob with a gunshot.

OOOOH, you know what would be great? Those things you throw on the ground and they make small bangs! You could use them for distractions! ...Or, you know, you could just use pebbles for close-by distractions. Yeah, do that last one; maybe you can convince them to go investigate another alley.

GrayJ 2013/03/23(Sat)14:24 No. 501968 ID: 040617
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Gabe signals her down, and tries to wave the group forward, readjusting his hold on Dani. The child has covered her eyes and buried her head into Gabe's chest- he can feel her sharp breaths against his wounded shoulder. Cynthia and Rebecca seem to get it, and speed up a little. Gabe keeps his eye on the alert zombie, but luck seems to favor the group. As the victorious undead rips his first bite from the poor rodent, a spray of blood is thrown into the air- and right into the alerted one's nostrils. He immediately dive tackles his once again opponent, and the group makes a clean get away.

The rest of the trip to the RV park is uneventful- it seems Rebecca's sense of direction is spot on. As they approach the chain fenced backing of their destination, they begin to hear something akin to a hoarse dog barking. Or rather, a small pack of hoarse dogs barking. From the sound of it, they're inside the RV park, the back of which should be around the next corner.

barking sounds like they are alive. look over at them first before getting too close in case they are alive but crazy.

Dude. Those aren't dogs.

But even a live dog is just as dangerous.
Have Cynthia take point and give her the revolver, and take Rebecca's bat. she has a gun already.

Like the poster said, take care and check the area out first.
If it's safe I'd suggest moving quickly to Rebecca's brother's house.

GrayJ 2013/04/12(Fri)13:35 No. 505414 ID: 040617
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Peeking around the edge, Gabe can see the source of the commotion through the barbed wire topped chain link fence that makes up the RV park's back wall. Four dogs can be seen circling around an old Winnebago, occasionally throwing themselves against the door. Gabe's stomach sinks when he sees that one of their number has half of its face hanging in a flap, revealing the muscle and sinew beneath. He can see, however, a small place in the fence where someone has cut their way through- if they're lucky, the group might just be able to sneak into the lot without the pack's noticing. Though, from the way they're behaving, the pack may have someone trapped inside. Gabe considers taking the rest of the party's opinion, or simply taking action before the undead dogs catch their scent.

Get to where you were going first - the brother's RV. It's likely the person can hold out for a bit longer, and you guys can talk over the situation in a safe place.

You might find something useful.

the problem with dogs is they are faster then people zombies. if they notice you they will get you unless you are right near a door when they start chasing. have the keys already in hand and only ONE person will go in. to minimize chance of making a noise. the rest will be lookout watching the dogs and yelling a warning if they start freaking out.

>>505419
Who should make the run, in that case? Gabe would normally volunteer, but he's not in the best of shape at the moment. Then again, if something does go wrong, at least he's already infected.

well running is the worst idea anyway, want to sneak into the rv, not make a mad dash. no one would make a mad dash. get close enough and maybe you can make it the rest of the way despite a mistake. but yeah, if gabe can move without being loud then he's goo enough.