moonfaerie

The Dead and the Dying

The thought of warm clothes and food was enticing to say the least. A city girl by heart, she wasn't accustomed to living in these conditions and quite honestly didn't know how she had made it so long herself. But that wasn't something the would admit to anyone; her pride wouldn't let her. Debating it over in her head, she didn't get a chance to say anything before he grabbed her. Looking offended as he shushed her, Elizabeth remained silent because it was the smart thing to do; she was bristling beside him though.

She didn't plan to move until he dragged her along anyway and she was forced to go with him. Elizabeth quietly fought against him every bit of the way by trying to yank her arm back, but his grip on her was tight; unless she wanted to make a scene by squirming against him—which would result in unwanted attention—she had to relent.

Whatever these men were talking about didn't interest her any though she made a mental note not to go to any farm at the top of any hill. These people weren't exactly friendly looking types. Dragged back out by Ethan while they discussed their plan to take the place, when they were out of range she finally jerked her arm away from him with a glare. “Don't ever do that again,” she hissed, keeping her voice low to stay on the safe side.

At the revelation the were talking about the place Ethan had mentioned, Elizabeth just arched a brow as the first thought that went through her head was that it wouldn't be able to provide anything for her now. Finding herself scoffing in amusement at how he was trying to convince her to help him, she crossed her arms in front of her and shifted her weight to one foot. “I don't have to do anything,” she informed him. “In case you forgot, I was the one who just had to save your ass. From where I'm standing, it looks like you need me a hell of a lot more than I need you.” If she stayed far away from both these guys and the barn, she couldn't see how they would get her; she wouldn't be anywhere near them.

“Or,” Elizabeth began. “You could come with me. And we could both do the smart thing by, you know, going away from the danger,” she suggested with emphasis on going the opposite direction. Whoever was back at the barn wasn't anything to her and she didn't see why she should risk her life going there when they knew there was going to be an attack. She was barely surviving as it was; she couldn't fight and against those men they didn't stand a chance. Going to the barn now was suicide in her opinion—though, if she were to be completely honest, she had nothing against the thought of dying right now; she'd already lost everything. "But if you're really hell bent on being stupid about this, I guess I can help watch your back. If you ask me nicely."

The Dead and the Dying

“And how do you know which way I want to go?” she asked. But still she found herself stopping and looking for an alternate route just in case the man knew something she didn't. But which direction would she go? Though she hadn't answered his previous question, if she had then she would have told him she wasn't from around the area and had no idea where anything was. Her and her fiance had only been in town to tell his parents the news of their engagement—and then all of this had happened. The area was completely foreign.

Scratching her head and breathing from the corner of her mouth to blow a strand of hair away from her peripheral vision, she was weighing her options when he asked how he should address her. “Why? You don't actually plan on sticking around, do you?” she blurted out. It wasn't anything against Ethan, the stranger, but things weren't exactly looking up. The fact that she'd had to save him didn't exactly bode too well for them either. It meant that he knew even less than she did and she didn't know a damned thing.

But it was because she was lost and didn't know what the hell that she was doing that she didn't just tell him to fuck off. Though a part of her brain was screaming it was probably a bad idea, she had to admit that having someone there to watch her back did sound appealing. And she guessed that she could do the same courtesy as well in return.

“Liz,” she finally replied, shoving her stick in the ground and leaning her weight against it. Eyes flicking towards the direction she'd originally been heading in, she gave a nod towards it with her head. “If I don't wanna go that way, which way do I want to go then?” With nothing to lose and everything to gain, she figured she would give this Ethan a shot.

The Dead and the Dying

Despite his shouting, Elizabeth maintained her hold on the stick. Though still on edge she relaxed slowly, eying him as though she didn't fully believe him. His face was now covered in the thing's blood and she scrunched her nose in disgust. The man didn't look well at all. She said nothing as she watched him haul the dead out of the grave and pushed it into the river. Opening her mouth to protest, she was a little too late to actually stop him. Letting out a defeated sigh as her shoulders slumped slightly, she only hoped the body hadn't contaminated the water somehow. Right now that was the only water source she really had. Even if it was still find, she would have a hard time forcing herself to drink it now knowing that the corpse was floating somewhere downstream.

The only reason Elizabeth lingered was to make sure he was okay and that he wasn't going to turn into one of those things. So far he was in the clear. Preoccupied with her scrutinizing stares, she hadn't paid much attention to the awkward silence or the fact that the man might have been uncomfortable by her presence. She was just doing what she felt she had to in order; if he was going to be any trouble then she wanted to make sure she cut it off at the root before it grew any bigger.

Arcing a brow as he introduced himself, her eyes shifted around the area. He didn't owe her shit. Sure, he'd almost gotten eaten, but she was just doing what any other respectable person would do. At least she hoped; she wasn't too sure of anything anymore.

Whether it was because he felt a need to talk about his wife or because he just felt like he had to make up for the silence, it was Elizabeth's turn now to feel uncomfortable. She didn't want to hear the stories about how they'd met or fallen in love and her face gave a visible grimace when he started to tell his tale. But more than that, she couldn't help but think about her own situation. About her own fiance and daughter and the fate they'd met. She could feel her chest constricting and making it difficult to breathe. Pulling at her shirt thinking the collar was suffocating her, she took in quick short breaths of air and was close to hyperventilating.

When he asked her where she was from she just looked at him. “Shut up,” she said. She didn't care about what he had to do, where he was from, and she sure as hell didn't want to hear his life story. Rolling her shoulders uneasily, she shook her head and clinched the stick in her hands. “Just try to be more careful.” Not wanting to stay there any longer in case he started reminiscing out loud again, Elizabeth started trekking back to her original spot away from him.

The Dead and the Dying

Dirt caked beneath her fingernails as she dug through the rich soil near the riverbed. Fingers grasping at the squirming worm when it emerged, she pulled it from the ground. Tilting her head back with a grimace, the woman braced herself before placing it in her mouth. It wasn't a feast, but in her haste to leave the city she hadn't exactly made any preparations. Grasshoppers were another thing she could force herself to eat if she didn't think too much about it. Luckily, right now she was running on autopilot. There was no thinking; she was just reacting to the environment around her.

The sound of someone or something nearby catching her attention, Elizabeth's head whirled around quickly. Wild eyes scanning her surroundings they lingered on a figure down the river unsure whether or not the person was friendly. She had no reason to believe otherwise, but she could remember people in the city shoving each other, pushing others in the line of danger to save their own skins.

Keeping a doubtful eye on him, she noticed something wrapped in sheets laying beside him. It was only then she noticed that the man was crying. She looked away. Understanding what he must have been feeling, she refused to let herself empathize. She couldn't. She wasn't ready to cope or feel her own emotions just yet.

Trying to ignore the nearby person, she went back to her own digging. It was the snap of twigs that made her look back. Thinking she would be watching his departure, her shoulders sagged while an exasperated expression appeared on her face. Hoping that she wasn't about to witness this man die, she silently urged him to turn around and do something. Watching him notice it a little too late, she found herself standing, watching on in shock and horror, paralyzed as to what her next move should be.

Cursing as she scrounged around and grabbed the first thing she could find which was a large stick, she rushed to the deep hole the two had fallen in during their struggle. Seeing the two wrestle, she gripped the stick in her hand and tried to aim for the ghastly creature on top. With a grunt of effort, she took a swing bludgeoning it repeatedly on the head until the skull finally caved in.

Clasping the stick tighter in her hand, she narrowed her brows and stared down into the hole trying to determine whether or not the man she'd seen was turning. Jerking backward, she poised the large stick above her head ready to start raining down on him with it if needed.

The Dead and the Dying

@Sol Grim (the GM) is a friend of mine. He asked me to join the site last night over Skype and told me to go ahead and post. Thus, I did as requested.

The Dead and the Dying

The heavy blow against her chest knocked the wind out of her as she stumbled backwards. Reaching out with one arm she grabbed a hold of a tree. The rough bark scratched her hands and pulled back the skin. Hissing through her teeth at the sting, she had barely regained her balance when she felt someone or something grab her wrist. Frantically she tried to pull away.

“Liz! Liz! It's me...stop!” Only when she heard the voice of her fiance did she stop fighting and actually look at her captor. Throwing her arms around him in a death grip, he hugged her back though he quickly added, “We gotta get out of here.”

“Nate, where's Julie?” she demanded. The last time she'd seen her daughter she was in his arms. The man could only look at her, mouth hanging open with nothing except a string of silence coming out. A knot twisting in her stomach as she felt sick, tears began blurring her vision as she let out a meek, “No...”

Screams filled the city. Cars were starting to pile up as people panicked and crashed trying to make their way out. People were biting each other, ripping them to shreds, and pulling their insides out through their abdomen. As someone came stumbling with their intestines trailing behind, Elizabeth gasped and dodged beneath the waving arms trying to get a hold of her. Making a second attempt to get at her, she felt a tug on her arm urging her to move.

Her feet pounded against the pavement as she weaved through the throng of people at top speed. Managing to keep up with Nate, his arm stretching out as a barricade had her skidding to a stop. Something coming from the mouth of the ugly disfigured thing in front of them, the man started yelling in agony and clawing at his face, clumps of flesh coming off in his hands.

The only thing Elizabeth could do was scream and turn in the opposite direction. With running and getting out of the city the only thing in her mind, she didn't have time to stop and think about everything that had just happened. Fueled by pure adrenaline, it was nothing short of a miracle that she'd made it out of the city, pilfering weapons from the dead in order to survive. Her legs were aching and her lungs burned as she sucked in gulps of precious air, but somehow she'd made it out.

Stopping by a stream to wash the blood and grime from her hands, only now could the events that had happened earlier sink in. The young woman felt completely numb. Escaping felt like a Pyrrhic victory; without her family, what was the point? Too stressed and distraught to sleep, all she could do was stare out at the water through the night into the next morning. In denial, she rocked her body while hoping at any moment to wake up.

A snap of a twig alerting her, Elizabeth hastily stood. Though she was completely exhausted, she forced herself to stand when she saw what was coming her way. Hesitant to go near it at first, remembering how the one had mutilated Nate within close range, she picked up a nearby rock and hauled it at the creature. Head jerking towards the sound it started shambling towards it. Giving a loud huff, she shuffled on down the river checking the weapon she'd stolen with shaky hands while trying to figure out how to properly use it.

She couldn't think about what had happened back in the city. She couldn't accept it. The moment she did was the moment she would become completely useless; she would die and their deaths would be in vain.

The Dead and the Dying

Liz

Name: Elizabeth Darling
Occupation: Exotic dancer. She has some great dexterity and stamina.
Looks: Red hair. Porcelain skin. Brown eyes. Borderline underweight.
Personality: She can be extremely irritable though there are occasions when she feels overly happy and enthusiastic--less so now after the death of her fiance and infant child. She can be reckless and impulsive. Elizabeth finds herself both awed and envious of those who are able to adapt better to the changing environment than she can.