[hr][hr][center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/171224/7cf114d4655dd76e4cc35d6216de197e.png[/img]
[sub][url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l8YPKI3fdw]Current Theme: Elena Siegman - Lullaby Of A Dead Man[/url][/sub][/center][hr][hr][color=gray]As a team, the group of survivors began to help each other individually over the gate that obstructed their freedom. By no means did it appear a skillful escape, but with cannibalistic corpses barreling down on their behinds, they needed to get over the fence--[i][u]now[/u][/i]. Grabbing a hold of someone's hand, Hiroko vaulted over what she hoped would be the last obstacle denying the group freedom and safety from the walkers.

Yet hope in the apocalypse was often a lie.[/color]

[color=magenta][b]"Scheisskerl!"[/b][/color] [color=gray]A voice had shouted, and the sight that spurred the shouting forced Hiroko to grimace. As if Arthur had jinxed it, one of the group members--Maureen--had quite the nasty fall. The Belgian's ankle was twisted upon impact, and one could see even without being a doctor that Maureen wouldn't be walking upright for some time.

However, it soon became clear that the ankle was not going to be the only issue the group had to deal with. Whilst at the time the only sign of walkers were those attempting to gnaw through the chained gate, the once seemingly clear street was hardly safe as well.

One walker turned into two, and those two turned into four, then a dozen and so on. It became apparent that the shout had awoken the beasts of Brussels as countless walkers continued to flood from the various buildings and side streets that connected to the main road. Someone desperately needed to think of a plan, but what could they do?

They couldn't go [i]back.[/i] They couldn't go [i]forward.[/i] There was no place for them to go... except [i][u]down[/u].[/i]

Hiroko wasn't a history teacher, but she did know a thing or two about simple logic and Brussels itself. Such a large city with a canal system was likely to have some way to control the water and sewage as they saw fit, and Hiroko began to quickly look around for any sign of a manhole or grate that might exist nearby. Nonetheless, it was to her luck that Hiroko noticed the opening directly next to a few walkers that had been shambling towards the group.[/color]

[color=FF9145][b]"There, the manhole!"[/b][/color] [color=gray]Hiroko exclaimed as she reached for the aluminium baseball bat she had been using to protect herself.[/color] [color=FF9145][b]"Someone needs to help me lift it and keep them off me!"[/b][/color] [color=gray]She continued to exclaim, not waiting for the group to play 'not me' as Hiroko headed into deeper danger.

Reeling the bat backwards, Hiroko swiftly cracked open the skull of a walker as the rotten blood caked the aluminum bat. The next one nearly caught Hiroko by surprise, as it nipped with its crooked jaws; the only thing separating the two being the bat as Hiroko held it back. With a shove, Hiroko pushed the walker into an outdoor table set, immobilizing it for the time being as the walker was caught in the various broken pieces of the table and its umbrella.

Once any kind of threat was out of the way (or at least those currently near Hiroko) and in an more manageable form, Hiroko slid her fingers through the small openings within the manhole covering in a possible vain attempt to lift it out of the way so they might escape from the horde that had surrounded them. 

Whether there might be be a ladder or a cushioned spot to fall down was still something to consider, but Hiroko felt it was the better of two terrible options to have a broken bone than being chewed on by something that shouldn't exist.[/color]