moonfaerie

The Dead and the Dying

Once Tyler had been dealt with, Elizabeth glanced back over at Dallen. Not expecting that response for him, she considered maybe she'd misjudged him as being nothing more than a heartless, money-grabbing lawyer. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, but she didn't say anything more as they'd finally reached their destination.

Giving a snort at Briggs' command as he called out the ladies, she couldn't resist making a snide remark towards Tyler. “That means you,” she told him as she moved past him and defiantly kept towards the front lines. While he retorted by making a face at her, he didn't argue as he and Ava lingered behind the others until they were otherwise told to do something.

With Briggs busy trying to keep out the unwanted as they tried to barge through the door and Dallen dancing with the other one that wandered in, it was left up to her to handle the second one.

Unprepared to shoot at something living—or were they dead? She didn't know what they were now, but she found herself reluctant to kill it again as moved towards her. “What are you waiting for? Kill it!” Tyler yelled as he huddled together with Ava.

Firing one of the bullets, it hit in the chest. Blood slowly seeped from the wound, but it proceeded forward. Panic rising in her as she fired a couple more shot into its torso, she was low on ammo when she switched her method and aimed for the head. It fell instantly to the ground right before Dallen stated what she'd just found out. Unable to shake off the feeling that they were being condescending because she was a woman, she glanced over at Ava to see if it was just her. The woman was too busy trying to calm down a frantic Tyler.

Once the distraction was lowered and everyone inside the room shifted away from the doors, it was time to go in. Ava hurried over to hold them open for a quick getaway while the others made their way inside. Tyler lingered behind having climbed to the top of the steps, peering down at them from above like an overlord and warning them to be careful.

Following the others into the lobby, Elizabeth stopped halfway from the stairwell to the desks that the others had hidden behind and froze. As she looked around the room at the blood slick across the marble floors and all over the windows, she could hear the agonizing screams of the people from the day before. She remembered how they'd desperately crawled over one another looking for some kind of escape after they'd all been trapped.

Spotting Dallen waving to her, she pulled herself out of her thoughts before rushing over to hide behind the desk. Looking around, she noticed she was in the exact same spot she'd been in the day before. While she thought she would be capable of doing this, now that she was actually there she found it harder than she'd thought. People were dead. The person in the stairwell...had there been any hope for them? Had she killed them when they could have been saved? Her hands began to shake.

Everything that happened next seemed to play out in slow motion. Dallen getting to the girl, the scream, those things converging and swarming on top of him. Briggs' voice barely managed to cut through to her, but when it did she took off running after the little girl.

When she caught up with her she scooped her in her arms, the girl crying and thrashing against her in an attempt to escape. Unable to comfort her at the moment, Elizabeth had to run with her fighting the entire time until she reached the safety of the stairwell.

Kneeling down on her knees in front of her, she tried to console her. “Shh, shh,” she soothed, doing her best to keep her voice calm even though it wavered slightly. The little girl looked at her and Elizabeth could see the fear in her eyes. “You're okay. You're okay.” Her eyes examined her for any cuts and bruises.

The last thing she expected was for the little girl to throw her arms around her and hug her. Taken by surprise, Elizabeth remained still before she wrapped an arm around her to return it. “You're safe now,” she assured her as they waited for the others.

The Dead and the Dying

Sol. You crazy.

But I welcome anyone who wants to join. :)

The Dead and the Dying

Escorted to the back, Elizabeth and the others were handed a gun. Ava took her new weapon carefully while Tyler greedily grabbed his and grasped it tightly. Frowning as she was handed a weapon of her own, Elizabeth ignored the brief tutorial they were being given as she already knew how. Her ex knew his artillery well and though she'd never been interested in it herself, she could have listened to his accent all day. He was the one who'd taught her how to use a gun in case she ever needed to defend herself.

Skillfully she performed a press check to see if there was a round in the chamber. As the man practically begged them not to shoot him, she glanced over and arched a brow in his direction. She didn't think even Tyler was that incompetent, but hell. She'd been wrong in her life before.

When they were all ready they made their decent to the first floor. Tyler was shaking in his loafers, hissing at Ava the whole time that he couldn't believe she'd talked him in to it. Every sound from a creaking pipe to even their own footsteps echoing in the stairwell, he asked, “What's that?”

Elizabeth moved slowly, her heels clacking against the concrete steps. Dallen was the closest to her, so when he spoke she glanced over at him. At first she thought he was talking to all of them. Remaining quiet as she figured Ava would probably be a better person to speak for their little rag-tag team, it wasn't until he specifically mentioned that he'd misjudged her that she realized he was talking directly to her.

She might have been a lot of things—a wild, drunk party girl among them—but that didn't necessarily equate to her being a terrible person. Eying him curiously wondering why he brought it up now or what it had anything to do with anything, she found she didn't know what to say to the older lawyer. “Does that mean my case is pro bono?” she asked. When they made it out she still had obligations to take care of.

The sudden sound of gunfire going off made her jump and shriek. “I'm sorry!” Tyler yelled, holding the weapon an arm's length away from him. “I thought I saw something-” Even Ava was rattled as she leaned against the railing with her hand over her chest. Someone as fidgety as Tyler probably didn't need a gun.

“Someone take it from him,” she snapped, eying Briggs in particular since he was the one to hand out the weapons to them in the first place. The man didn't seem to mind that his weapon was being confiscated as it meant he got to hang back where it was safe and let the others do all the work.

The Dead and the Dying

After eating, everyone was called together for an update. Everyone gathered around to hear what the security guard had to say with hopeful faces that they would be let out. The new grim, it wasn't long before they all began bickering. Tyler shouted along side them even though what he was yelling didn't exactly make sense to Elizabeth; she didn't see how opening the gates to let them out would help anyone. Not when there was a bigger threat on the first floor to deal with first.

Glaring in the security guard's direction as he spoke, it felt like he was undermining exactly what she'd been through down stairs in the lobby. Bristling as she clinched her fist and took a step forward, it was the touch of Ava's hand gently touching her arm that kept her held back. Gritting her teeth she remained quiet, but she didn't think the people up here could compare with what any of them had seen downstairs. It just wasn't the same. Those screams and the vivid images of all those people dying would forever haunt her nightmares for the rest of her days.

That didn't mean that she wasn't in support of saving a little girl. In fact, it made her want to help even more. No child should be stranded down there and had she known about it then she might have died trying to get to her yesterday. Maybe it was because she was a mother herself, even if her son lived with his father, but she could feel her maternal instincts tugging at the thought of a child in danger.

Everyone had fallen quiet as they looked around at each other. No one was willing to risk it. “Seriously?” she demanded, looking around the room at each of the faces in disbelief. “There's a little girl down there and you all would rather let her die?” It hadn't even been a day and these people were ready to start throwing one another to the wolves already.

Taking another step forward out of Ava's reach, Elizabeth went to stand beside Dallen. “I'll go,” she volunteered. She wasn't going to be a coward.

“Wait,” Ava said quickly before turning to Tyler.

The two of them spoke to each other in hushed voices. He looked upset about something and even mad. Wondering what his problem was, she found out when he flatly stated, “We'll help, too.” It was obvious that he didn't want to go, but she'd somehow talked him into it. And since it didn't look like anyone else was stepping in, they needed all of the help they could get.

The Dead and the Dying

Sleeping on the floor with nothing but the clothes on her back wasn't comfortable though a very nice man offered her to use his jacket as a blanket while Tyler complained about the loss of his during his run to the elevator. She accepted the offer though ended up using it as a pillow rather than a blanket and Elizabeth still didn't sleep well that night.

The next morning everyone was fed from what they had in stock. Someone had gone through already to ration out the food, not knowing how long they were going to be there. Since they were only in there a day, the portions were still generous though as time went on they would undoubtedly get smaller. Maybe even non-existent.

“I should be upstairs with the other big wigs. Why am I stuck down here with you nobodies?” Tyler asked, looking dejected as he picked at his food.

Elizabeth popped hers in her mouth and then, upon seeing that Tyler wasn't eating his, reached over to take some off his plate. Pretending to think about his question, she finally replied, “Maybe because you suck and no one likes you.”

The man scowled which caused her to grin; she was amused. Unable to eat due to the stress, he pushed his plate away and she happily took it from him. Things were going well until he said, “You can be such a bitch, Lizzy.” Then the smile quickly vanished from her face.

“I told you not to call me that,” she warned, her eyes narrowed in his direction. The fry she held hung limp, but she would throw it if she had to.

Now it was his turn to annoy her. “Lizzy, Lizzy, Lizzy,” he said. It was a pet peeve of hers whenever someone called her anything other than Elizabeth. Only a select few could get away with it and Tyler was not one of them. She'd much rather he continue calling her a bitch. She arched the fry in his direction and he flinched as it hit his chest. It was the only thing he ate.

But as soon as Ava sat down at the table things became calm. They minded themselves around her, but mostly because she was the nice one. A calm and rational head on her shoulders, the two of them tended to look towards her for guidance even if she didn't know anything more than the rest of them.

“Hear anything new?” Tyler asked.

The woman frowned and shook her head. “No. They're keeping things pretty quiet. I heard one of the security staff talk about fixing up a radio, but I don't think they ever got it to work.” She gave them an apologetic look feeling guilty that she couldn't bring them better news. It wasn't her fault though and neither of them held it against her.

Down on the 32nd floor, they hadn't been privy to much information which made the others unhappy. People wanted to leave, get home, and see their families. All Elizabeth wanted was to know if her son was okay, but even when someone had let her use their telephone, there wasn't any signal. She hadn't been able to get in touch with anyone and inside she was a complete wreck. But she was trying her best to hold up—something she was finding difficult without her usual vices.

“I can't stay locked up in here,” she sighed.

It was perhaps the only thing she and Tyler could agree on. “No one wants to be here,” he said. “But how do we get out?” Glancing between the two of them, he asked, “Do we even know what the situation in the lobby is like? Are they still down there?”

As bad as it was, as far as they knew, they were the only three to make it out of the lobby and they hadn't heard anything about it since. A few people had asked them what had happened, but none of them wanted to talk about it. No one understood what they had been through down there or knew how bad it really was—which was why the three of them mostly took to conversing amongst themselves, even if two of them didn't get along.

The Dead and the Dying

“Not fight?” the man demanded with an indignant scoff. Pointing an accusatory finger in Elizabeth's direction from his spot on the floor, he exclaimed, “She just almost killed me!” Stepping forward and glaring down at him, she opened her mouth to snap back a defense only to find herself distracted as they suddenly stopped. Everything went dark for a few seconds before harsh red lights flickered on. Elizabeth glanced towards the dark headed woman who stood in the corner with her eyes closed massaging her temples. Then she turned her attention back towards the man on the floor. “Oh, god. We're gonna die,” he wailed.

“Could you man the fuck up or something?” Elizabeth snapped as he began lamenting all of the things in his life he wouldn't get the chance to do. He was making her even more anxious than she already was which was saying something.

The woman with them opened her eyes. “Relax, Tyler,” the woman said. This was the first time Elizabeth had heard the man's name. She took a quick glimpse at the woman's badge; her name was Ava. “At least we didn't fall to our deaths.” While it was an attempt at being optimistic, both Elizabeth and the frightened lawyer turned to stare at her. If the thought that the elevator could go crashing down hadn't been in their thoughts before, the seed had certainly been firmly planted.

As minutes ticked on and hours passed, the three of them were starting to give up hope that they would be found. They each picked a corner of the elevator to call their own though Tyler's sprawled legs kept creeping into Elizabeth's space. She kept having to kick his leg out of her area to which he would retaliate by trying to take more of her space. Eventually she gave up, huddling and hugging her legs.

“They probably all ate each other,” Tyler said after a while. “We're gonna die in here.”

“Probably,” Elizabeth agreed, her voice sounding more hopeless and defeated than she would have liked. Ava remained quiet, shaking her head as she thought about the massacre in the lobby. As much as Elizabeth may have wanted to forget it, the gruesome scene was permanently ingrained in her mind; she imagined it was the same for all of them.

Catching Tyler's eye as he looked between the two woman, Elizabeth arched a curious brow in his direction though it was Ava who cared enough to actually ask, “What is it, Tyler?”

Even though he appeared to be uncomfortable, it didn't stop him from asking the question on his mind. “We should probably figure out who we would eat first if we end up stuck here, right?” he asked.

“Jesus Christ!” Elizabeth exclaimed in disbelief. What kind of monster was she trapped with? Taking off her heel, she held it up in defense. “You come near me, this is going in your eye.”

He became defensive. “It's a perfectly justifiable question!”

“No one is eating anyone!” Ava said, trying to keep the peace between the two. As both Elizabeth and Tyler scrambled to stand up and face off against one another, the woman held her arms out between them. “Children!” she exclaimed, despite being younger than the man herself. The two glared at one another with Elizabeth sticking her tongue out at him, but she relented to Ava and eventually put her shoe back on.

It was then they all heard something hit the roof of the elevator. Despite the animosity, the fear had them huddled together as they all looked at the roof. The emergency hatch at the top opening, none of them expected anyone to be there—and Elizabeth certainly didn't expect to see the face she saw. There was no hiding her surprise as the face of her overpaid lawyer peered down at them.

Seeing the face of someone coming to save them, Tyler was eager. He knocked into her and she stumbled back against the side of the elevator. Already having taken his hand, he was the first lifted out. As much as she hated it, she was just glad that he was finally out of her way. Ava was next, but only because Elizabeth insisted she be after Tyler rudely saved himself first without a second thought to either of them. She was the last one out.

With the help of everyone, they eventually made it onto a new floor and, because they didn't know what else to do, they all followed him.

Rolling her eyes as Tyler immediately started sucking up to him, Elizabeth just looked away towards one of the windows and kept her distance. Now that she was out of the elevator, she had to think of a way to get out of the building. With the first floor in chaos, she didn't know how they were going to do it. But she needed to get out and she needed to figure out not only what was going on, but how far it spread.

Not realizing that Dallen was speaking to her at first, it wasn't until Ava nudged her gently with her elbow that she snapped out of her trance. “Huh?” she asked, looking back at him. Ava repeating the question, for her own curiosity now as well, Elizabeth found herself suddenly uncomfortable with the sudden attention she was receiving.

“Of course I'm not okay,” she replied, unable to fathom how anyone possibly could be okay in this situation. She had just witnessed people killing one another downstairs. She'd heard their screams as they died and their prayers to be saved failed to be answered. Then she'd been stuck for hours in an elevator with one of the most selfish people she'd ever met. Okay was one of the last words she would use to describe herself.

Holding her arms out so they would all give her space, she backed away and went off to sulk at the other end of the shop.

The Dead and the Dying

Everyone in the lobby was trapped. There was no where to go. Elizabeth ran towards the emergency stairwell, but even those doors had been shut tight. Joining others to bang on it with her fists, other people climbed on top of each other to reach the security cameras, begging with desperate tears in their eyes to whoever might be watching to save them.

Spotting the reflection of someone behind from the small window in the door, she managed to turn around and duck just in time as they lunged forward to attack. People were tearing others open, ripping apart their insides and—something Elizabeth couldn't believe she was seeing—eating them. Unable to process what was happening, she ran around the enclosed space with everyone else, twisting and dodging as they reached out trying to grab her. Others weren't so lucky as they were caught.

Seeking shelter behind the large desk, she hid beneath it along with a couple other people. The woman appeared to work there given by the identification badge clipped onto her shirt. The man was dressed in a fine dress shirt which gave Elizabeth the impression that he was one of the many lawyers going in and out of the courthouse conducting business. They both turned to look at her when she joined them as she tried to control her breathing to where she couldn't be heard.

“What do we do?” the man asked quietly in her direction—as if somehow she knew the answer to that.

Exchanging looks with the other woman who'd hidden down there, Elizabeth finally gave both of them a helpless shrug of her shoulders. “The hell should I know?” she retorted angrily, fear evident in her eyes. The only thing she could think about was how she was about to die and that she didn't even know if her son was okay. Was this happening where they were or was this an isolated incident? She didn't know and there wasn't any way for her to find out.

“There's still power,” the woman whispered to them. Her voice barely audible, Elizabeth had to strain her ears to hear her. “The elevator in the back might still work. If we run, we might be able to reach it.”

“Are you crazy?” the man demanded. His eyes bulged out of his head at the proposition. “Aren't we supposed to avoid elevators during times like these?” He looked to Elizabeth with the hope that she would back him up; he would find no support from her and he looked frustrated at that fact. “We should be finding a way out. Not up,” he protested.

Remaining calm despite the situation, something that Elizabeth found herself impressed by, the woman said, “We can do that after we get out of here alive.”

Hearing the bloodcurdling screams and tearful pleading of those just a few feet away from them, her mind was made up. “Die here or die there. At least the elevator gives us a chance,” Elizabeth stated. However slim of a chance it might have been. The woman gave her a grateful nod for agreeing with her and while the man might not have liked it, he seemed to reluctantly accept that he didn't really have a choice in the matter.

Inching her way to the edge of the desk, Elizabeth peeked out to see what was going on around the other side. An involuntary gasp escaping her lips, she covered her hand over her mouth. Eyes scanning the room until she saw the elevator, she knew now was the best time to make a run for it with everyone distracted by the chaos. She took off towards it weaving through the crowd—which was a difficult task to do in her heels.

The woman followed close after her, faster than she was but less graceful as she failed to dodge the panicked people around her and bumped shoulders with several of them.

Cursing as he was left last, with no other option left to him but to follow he went after them as fast as he could. The women already in the elevator, Elizabeth's hand hovered over the buttons to operate the door. The woman beside her ushering him on with a frantic wave of her hand, they all gasped as someone came up behind him and grabbed him.

Screaming in fear, he danced around and quickly shrugged off his jacket, his moves sparked unwanted attention in their direction. He ran towards the elevator with the people behind him close behind. “Shit!” Elizabeth exclaimed, slamming her hand on the close door button repeatedly though it didn't make the process any faster.

“No!” both the man and woman yelled in unison. Making a leap for it, he barely made it inside before the doors finished closing. He glared at Elizabeth yelling, “What the hell was that?!” The woman knelt down beside him, checking him over and letting out a sigh of relief when she didn't see anything.

Looking at the two of them, she crossed her arms defensively across her chest. “What did you expect me to do? They were on your ass.”

“Lets not fight,” the other woman pleaded with an exasperated sigh as she pressed the button to a higher floor. “Lets just try to put our heads together and figure a way out of this building.”

The Dead and the Dying

Everything happened so fast. As soon as she stepped off the elevator onto the appropriate floor, Mr. Larson had found her. There hadn't been time for pleasantries, a forced smile on her face as she apologized for being late and refrained from snapping at him for being curt. Since he was the one handling her case, she couldn't afford to get on his bad side.

Thinking she would be waiting for hours, much like a visit to the DMV, she was surprised by how quickly it went. It was mostly conceding to things she didn't need, but as long as it put this mess behind her then she would agree to anything. It was all very straight forward. The only thing that made her hesitant was the exorbitant fee she was required to pay. While she had no choice in the matter, she would be using a good chunk of her rent money to pay it off—not to mention the money she'd had to shell out for the lawyer. She had no idea how she was going to make up for it.

“Thank you, Mr. Larson,” she responded when it was over, shaking his hand once it was offered. The farewell as curt as his welcome, she had nothing of interest to add and left. One problem might have been crossed off of her list, but now she had others to figure out. Already she could feel a headache coming on, but at least she wasn't in a rush. The bus ride back would give her time to think.

But Elizabeth didn't get very far before the deafening sound of emergency alarms rang though the building. Everyone paused, looking at each other, some of them asking if this was some kind of fire drill they didn't know about. Confusion and uncertainty flowed through the crowd before the security gates came crashing down to keep everyone inside and people began to panic.

Having been on her way out, Elizabeth was one of the ones closest to the exit. Police were setting up barricades wearing heavy armor behind large shields while people were screaming and running in their direction. Her hands wrapped around the bars to the gates as she leaned forward to get a better view. People inside crowded around her, shoulders pressing together with strangers as everyone tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening outside.

Shots fired into the frantic crowd and she could hardly believe what she was seeing. “What are they doing?!” she exclaimed in horror, the people around her crying out in a similar fashion. Unsure at what was going on, she saw a woman fall from a stray bullet not meant for her. Another person running up on her, Elizabeth thought they were there to help.

She was wrong. They knelt down beside her, hands digging into her torso. Still alive, she screamed hysterically as they ripped out her organs. Suddenly feeling sick, Elizabeth lifted a hand to her mouth as she gagged and squeezed her way passed the other people in the lobby. There were some like her who retreated from the site and others more morbidly curious that continued gathering around the windows to watch. She had seen enough.

Reaching a hand out for one of the cushioned chairs to stabilize herself after the shock, she took a seat. Fear and panic taking a hold of everyone now, she reached into her purse to pull out her phone. Searching through her contacts she found the number to her ex and tapped it with her finger, pleading audibly for anyone nearby to hear for someone to pick up the phone. It went straight to voice mail. “Shit,” she whispered. “Damn it. Come on!”

A shriek from across the large room, Elizabeth shot up from her seat. The phone fell from her hand onto the stone floor. “What's wrong with her?” she heard. Craning her neck, she could see a body laying on the floor.

“I don't know. She just fainted,” someone answered. People started leaving their posts at the windows to see what was going on around them. Elizabeth bent down to pick up her phone. The screen was cracked and blank. She cursed as she tried to get it working again.

“She's okay,” someone called out loudly. “Give her some room to breathe. She's-”

A scream broke out. Head whirling to see what was happening, there were too many people blocking her view. All she could hear was a man yelling, “Get her off me! Get her off!”

The Dead and the Dying

Primping her hair so every strand was meticulously in place, Elizabeth paused to examine her reflection in the full length mirror. After tugging down on the black pencil skirt, she smoothed out any wrinkles that might have been there by running her hands over the fabric. Turning to the side to double-check her profile, she was satisfied by how professional her appearance was and hoped to make a good first impression with the judge. Approving herself with a confident nod, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

The last thing she'd needed was to give her ex yet another reason to deny her the rights to see their son, but here she was getting ready to go to the court house to plead no contest for DUI. As much as she wanted to fight the charge, she couldn't even remember the night in question. Her friend had given her the card of a local attorney who'd walked her through the best course of action even if she could barely understand the reasoning. She was supposed to be meeting him at the courthouse soon.

Unfortunately, with her license temporarily suspended, she failed to account the extra time it would take for the bus to reach her destination. Luck was not on her side today as they hit every stoplight and had to wait at every stop. By the time she finally reached the courthouse she was running late. Removing her high heels there at the bus stop, Elizabeth ran down the sidewalk as fast as she could. Ignoring the funny looks she received from the people walking down the street on their cell phones with their cups of coffee in their hands, she expertly dodged her way through the crowd as she raced up the steps to the large glass building.

Thanking the person holding the door open as she hopped on one foot trying to put her shoes back on and hoping that the new runs in her hose weren't as noticeable indoors as they were out in the sun, she stood feeling completely lost in the middle of the entry way. She'd been to the courthouse before, but it was to renew the tags on her car or update her driver's license picture--not to stand in front of a judge.

Puffing her cheeks and blowing air from her mouth, she made her way over to the plaque to read the floor numbers and somehow figure out where the hell she was supposed to go next.

The Dead and the Dying

Elizabeth Darling

Name: Elizabeth Darling

Age: 24

Previous Occupation: Independent Contractor (Exotic Dancing)

Brief Personality/History: Elizabeth tends to have extreme shifts in her moods. Though often irritable, she can also be overly enthusiastic and happy. Most of the time she is impulsive and reckless; she doesn't think about the long term consequences of her actions so long as it makes her feel better in the moment. In her mind, the world revolves around her and the only other person she might love more than herself is her son. Unfortunately, she hasn't been able to see him as he lives elsewhere with his father.

Tyler (deceased)

Name: Tyler
Age: 35
Previous Occupation: Lawyer
Brief Personality/History: ???

Ava (Deceased)

Name: Ava
Age: 30
Previous Occupation: Secretary
Brief Personality/History: A quiet woman, she escaped the lobby with Elizabeth and Tyler in the office building when it all began. It wasn't long after she died a horrific death in front of Elizabeth, Erin, and Dallen that more than likely traumatized them.