[h3][center] [color=fff79a]June[/color] and [color=6ecff6]Mallory[/color] [/center] [/h3] [hr] "Vicky," the well muscled cowboy muttered under his breathe, "will you make me the happiest rancher this side of the Mississippi?" He flicked up the brim of his hat and looked at her with his deep brown eyes. "Of course, Daryl...of course!" She responded, smiling brightly. He grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist, hoisted her onto his horse and followed suit. "Yee haw!" He shouted as the mighty steed reered up. The city girl and the rancher road away off into the sunset, into the free west, to live happily ever- CRASH. Mallory blinked. Pausing "Western Plains Ambience Four Hours #2", she unplugged one of her ear phones and listened to the silence of her hotel room. Nothing. Just the gentle hum of the air conditioner, and the snoring of her friend June currently splayed out on the bed in her bikini. Shrugging, Mallory slipped the earphone back in and went back to her novel. It was time for the epliogue. -after. Many years later, one crisp autumn morning, a young boy, his black hair frazzled on his head, dashed out of the barn calling for his fa- CRASH. Concerned, Mallory set down the book and earphones. Hopping out of bed, she was wearing a variation of her usual attire. Blue dress that went below her knees, black leggings and low blue pumps. Already being dressed and having her make-up done for the day, Mallory the morning person always woke up before June did. June would probably have a hang over, and Mallory didn't want to wake up her for no reason. Quietly, she opened the door of her hotel room and glanced outside. For one thing, the lights were all off. Unlike the naturally lit hotel room, the carpeted corridor only had windows on each end. That was strange, and disconcerting. [color=6ecff6]"Hello?"[/color] She called out in english to the man silhouetted by the white sunlight at the far end of the hallway. [color=6ecff6]"Is everything okay, monsieur?"[/color] She asked. This got the man's attention. He turned and glanced over at Mallory and began making his way over. Quickly. Not casually, infact, there was an unusual slopyyness to his gait. Uh oh, he was drunk. Immediately there was a flutter of fear in her heart. What did he want? What if he was belligerent? Groaning. A groan gurgled up from deep in his throat. The fear turned to panic. What!? [color=6ecff6]"Monsieur?"[/color] She asked, her voice peaking with fear. Flickering to life, a light the man was passing under illuminated him and Mallory shrieked. One side of his face was covered in blood, the flesh missing. His eyes were milky and grey and his shirt was torn, gashes everyone. She slammed the door and locked it, and not a second afterward there was a banging on the door as the man crashed into it. Screaming again, the frenchwoman made her way over to her sleeping friend who somehow had not woken up. [color=6ecff6][i]"June! June! Wake up, wake up, wake up!" [/i][/color] She pleaded with her friend in their shared native tongue. June furrowed her eyebrows and exhaled, her heavy lids fluttering open. [color=fff79a][i]"Hmm? What..."[/i][/color] Her head was jostled back and forth as Mallory pushed on her shoulder blades. Her groan became muffled as she planted her face in her pillow. [color=fff79a][i]"What is it, Mallory?"[/i][/color] [color=6ecff6][i]"There is a man outside. He's crazy! He's trying to get in!"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"What..is all that noise?" [/i][/color] [color=6ecff6][i]"The man, June, you dumbass! He's trying to get in right now!"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"Oh...shit," [/i][/color]June grumbled, the foggyness of alcohol fading with the adrenaline as her friends words finally registered. Mallory didn't usually swear. Pushing herself up she stood to her feet. She glanced down at herself, wearing only her floral bikini that she had passed out in last night. [color=fff79a][i]"I'm not dressed for this."[/i][/color] [color=6ecff6][i]"June! He's trying to get inside right now!"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"What- you locked it, didn't you?"[/i][/color] [color=6ecff6][i]"Yes but-"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"Then we'll be fine. I need to get dressed. This floor is disgusting, I don't want my feet touching it any more than I have too."[/i] [/color]She walked over to the wardrobe and began digging through clothes. After a moment, Mallory stomped her foot, bewildered. [color=6ecff6][i]"June!"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"Mallory!"[/i][/color] June mimicked her friends tone. [color=6ecff6][i]"You're not taking this seriously."[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"What do you think, beige or black?"[/i] [/color]She held a black t-shirt and a beige jacket infront of her. [color=6ecff6][i]"Ju-u-une!"[/i][/color] June raised her eyebrows, thrusting the tops towards her friend. [color=6ecff6][i]"...Beige."[/i][/color] Mallory answered begrudgingly. June smiled and began removing her bikini. The modest Mallory turned her head away and back towards the door. [color=fff79a][i]"Man...this guy really wants to get in. He's crazy, huh?"[/i][/color] Mallory casually asked, slipping into a pair of fresh underwear. [color=6ecff6][i] "Yes, June, I told you! What if he bursts in here?"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"We'll be fine." [/i][/color]June comforted her friend, working a pair of slacks up her slender legs, then a pair of stylish running shoes. [color=fff79a][i]"Security are already on their way up, Mallory." [/i][/color]Putting on a low-cut white t-shirt, she finished her outfit for the day with the beige jacket ontop with a small flourish. [color=6ecff6][i]"I don't know, June-"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i] "I'll call them, okay?"[/i] [/color]June offered. Her confidence wavered a little as the man continued thumping his fists and body against the door with reckless abandon. She picked up the phone and placed it to her ear. Nothing but a busy tone. Brushing a strand of brown hair against her face, June placed the hotel phone back in the reciever. [color=fff79a][i] "Okay-"[/i][/color] [color=6ecff6][i] "No service!?"[/i][/color] Mallory cried out, pulling her long hair above her head in a fearful grimace. June put a hand on the taller woman's shoulder. [color=fff79a][i]"It's okay, Mallory. We're going to be fine, okay? Trust me. Let me take a look at this guy."[/i][/color] [color=6ecff6][i]"June, it's not good out there. The lights are out, and he...he's covered in blood."[/i][/color] June didn't respond, creeping toward the door that convulsed slightly with each bump. The frenchwoman neared the peephole. Mallory, took a few worried steps closer to her friend. Suddenly, the thumping stopped. Breathless, June turned to face her friend with a smile. [color=fff79a][i]"See?"[/i] [/color]Gingerly touching the door's wooden surface as if it might explode, June placed her eye up against the peephole. He was still there. Glowing, chin to his chest. His muffled snarls rose up and he tossed himself against the door. Blood covered the peephole. Mallory yelped and June gasped, backing away from the door. [color=fff79a][i]"Uh, okay, here."[/i][/color] Rushing across the room, she fetched one of the cushy hotel chairs tucked underneath a table with a laptop ontop of it. Carrying it high above her head, she set it down against the door and jammed it underneath the door handle. Well, tried too. It fell back onto all of it's legs, and when she rested it against the door it fell a few inches short of the handle. [color=6ecff6][i]"June!"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"That always works in the movies."[/i][/color] June commented absentmindedly. Mallory made her way over the sliding glass door and out onto the balcony. [color=6ecff6]"Hey! Somebody help us, s'il vous plaît! Please!"[/color] Gasping, she looked on in horror at a woman floating face down in the pool, reddening the pool with her blood. The lifeguard stood, turned away from her, staring slackjawed at the sky. Mallory was five stories up, and the height became dizzying. [color=6ecff6][i]"Oh, my God, June." [/i][/color]She turned teary-eyed her friend who had joined her at the balcony and was staring grimly at the sight below. Mallory hugged June tightly, and June patted her taller friend on the back. [color=fff79a][i]"Okay, relax, Mallory. Something terrible is happening. Help will arrive soon, I'm sure of it."[/i][/color] She was saying this to reassure herself was much as she was her friend. June disengaged from her friend and vanished inside the bathroom. Mallory sat on the bed, her heart beating a million miles a minute. Crazy people had overrun the hotel, apparently. Or...no. The thought was too horrible, too impossible, too silly. But there it was. Zombies. The man outside was a flesh eating zombie. June glanced around the bathroom. First things first...opening the medicine cabinent, she downed some aspirin to help with her headache. Then, she looked over at the bathtub. The shower curtain was suspended by a rod. Working quickly, she detatched the metal rod and detatched the curtains from it. Now she had a decently sized metal bar. Reappearing, Mallory gasped as she saw her friend holding a weapon. [color=6ecff6][i]"June, do you really think..?"[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"I dunno. Maybe. Better safe than sorry. Here, use this."[/i][/color] Leaning her improvised weapon against the wall, June began working on the long lamp in the corner. Tossing off the shade and undoing the lightbulb, she placed her foot on the base and detatched the long metal rod keeping the thing upright. It was a reflective brass color. She tossed it onto the bed next to her friend. June's bar was about six feet long, and Mallory's bar was about four. [color=fff79a][i] "I'll take the lead, Mallory, if he comes in."[/i][/color] She announced, rolling the rod between her hands. Mallory glanced down at the weapon presented to her. [color=6ecff6][i]"...I don't want to hurt anybody."[/i][/color] [color=fff79a][i]"Well, this guy wants to hurt you. This is last resort stuff, Mallory. We'll sit tight in the meantime. Maybe he'll go away, or maybe someone will come for us, or contact us. The phone still works, I think. It's just busy."[/i][/color] Mallory nodded, clearly shaken. [color=6ecff6][i]"I'll keep trying the phone." [/i][/color]She needed something to do. Pulling the phone to her ear she began dialing the front desk. Busy. She dialed it again, busy. The frenchwomen waited for something to happen, and the thumping against their door continued.