Last One Standing

[Sylvengard]

she figured They liked fat people best.

((LOL I don't know why but I found that really funny ))

"Enough about me . . . What do you do you like to do?" He walked beside her though she was leading the way, taking steps small enough as to not pass her. Shotgun in one hand, the other in a pocket, he felt alive, though deep within something was telling him that he missed his chance to get back home.

But I met another human! A woman! he told himself.

It's survival, not tea party. he argued on.

She may need my help.

Who cares?

((BTW Lock, would there be any possiblity that the blasted fiends might destroy his truck? Would they see any purpose to it?))

 

[Locket]

((If he left a bloody band-aid inside or something))

 

[Lessien]

"Enough about me . . . What do you do you like to do?"

Liesel shrugged. "Hang out. Listen to music. Read. Watch DVDs every once in a while. Work out. That's pretty much what I do." She walked carrying the pistol comfortably in one hand so she hardly noticed it, keeping in step with Ryan, stealing a glance at him out of the corner of her eye whenever she thought he wasn't looking.

Soon they arrived in the Music section. "Here we are," Liesel said, leading him down the aisles to where the guitar strings were. "Take whatever you like."

 

[Sylvengard]

Looking over the aisle, he selected two packets of strings. "Thanks," he told her. "I appreciate it."

He felt odd...like he needed to repay her. Sure, all she did was lead him down to the music section which, had she not have been there, he could have found alone. Still, he felt like she had done something. Maybe he felt it toward her letting him stay through the dark, or maybe it was just a debt caused by being unworthy. Eitherway, money wouldn't solve the feeling, given that there were no other human being on the planet-

Were they the only two? If there was one, he could imagine there could be others. The other key was that they would have to have survived the three years. It was possible, though not likely.

 

[Lessien]

"Yeah, no problem." She smiled, leaning one shoulder against the aisle, and watched him. Another human....and all this time she thought she was alone on this planet. Here he was, hanging out in her Wal-Mart, picking up guitar strings. How? she wondered. How'd he survive?

How did I survive?

"So...what now?" she asked.

 

[Sylvengard]

He paused to think. "I don't know. Do you -" abruptly his words halted as a thought came to mind. "Crap!" he almost shouted. "My house . . . I left the door open." Eyes wide, he tried to think. Usually he left the door open with a rock in the way so that he wouldn't be locked out in a worst case scenario. But what would happen through the night?

 

[Lessien]

"Your house....Oh!" Liesel's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with one hand. "There...there wasn't any meat or anything in it, was there?"

 

[Sylvengard]

"Actually, yes. That's where I kept everything..." he said gloomily. "I wonder if They only go after living things."

He had never actually seen one of them, and he did not wish to. But all of his food...what if they found it? What if one of them hid in his house?

"I've got to go back." he decided out loud. He brushed past her and stopped, looking toward the front of the store. Night. Mocking him. With a burst of adreneline, he jumped forward into a run.

 

[Lessien]

I've got to go back. It took a minute for those words to hit Liesel with full force, but when they did, she broke into a run as well, chasing after him. She took the quickest route to the front door and beat him there by a few seconds--just enough time to fling herself in front of the produce stand barricade.

"You can't go out there. Have you ever seen those things?!"

 

[Sylvengard]

He stopped before her quickly as she moved to block his way. She was beautiful, and he hated to see that distress in her face. His mind fought with itself...listen to her or protect all that he has lived for the past three years. He knew what had to be done.

"I must go, Liesel." he told her, almost pleading. "All of my things will be ruined. I'll come back when I lock everything up."

He attempted to step around her and to the barracades.

 

[jelly_bean]

"Hey, man, I--AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Owen yelled, unable to contain himself at the sight of one of the gruesome creatures launching itself at the car. He had felt calmer in the middle of his death than he did now, perhaps he had had more time to get used to the terror. He almost expected the creature to get through; only when he felt the dull thud and opened his eyes enough to see the thing roll off the hood did he relax the slightest bit.

The other man was definitely what Owen classified as an "aggressive driver". Clenching the steering wheel, driving amidst a monster's attack, gunning the engine... it was all Owen could do to start panicking for his life. He was not completely sure he was safer in the car while it was going one hundred--one hundred twenty miles an hour, the speedometer read--miles an hour than outside with the horrors. However, the last thing he wanted to do was startle the dude. He seemed to know what he was doing, but Owen was not going to press his luck.

And luck he seemed to have! Not only was he alive, he had been saved by another human... something he had not seen in over three years! To suddenly be rescued by one was no less than miraculous. Of course, that doesn't matter if we die in a car crash...

 

[Lessien]

Liesel stepped in front of him, contemplating her plan. It was dangerous, but she couldn't think of anything else that would work.

"At least let me come with you. They've got less of a chance against two than They've got against one, and I've got more weapons here." She nodded to the gun he carried. "More ammo, too."

 

[Locket]

"Hey, man, I--AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Owen yelled, unable to contain himself at the sight of one of the gruesome creatures launching itself at the car. He had felt calmer in the middle of his death than he did now, perhaps he had had more time to get used to the terror. He almost expected the creature to get through; only when he felt the dull thud and opened his eyes enough to see the thing roll off the hood did he relax the slightest bit.

The other man was definitely what Owen classified as an "aggressive driver". Clenching the steering wheel, driving amidst a monster's attack, gunning the engine... it was all Owen could do to start panicking for his life. He was not completely sure he was safer in the car while it was going one hundred--one hundred twenty miles an hour, the speedometer read--miles an hour than outside with the horrors. However, the last thing he wanted to do was startle the dude. He seemed to know what he was doing, but Owen was not going to press his luck.

And luck he seemed to have! Not only was he alive, he had been saved by another human... something he had not seen in over three years! To suddenly be rescued by one was no less than miraculous. Of course, that doesn't matter if we die in a car crash...

Somehow, incredibly, Justin manuevered the streets, avoiding injury not only to themselves but to the car as well. The speed at which the car raced was incredible and exhilirating, but every time they lost one pack, another appeared. Over the roar of the engines, something bellowed deep and long. Justin snarled and spat out a name before knocking up the gears even further. The floor seemed to drop from beneath them at a moment as the car plummeted into a tunnel, enveloping them in darkness. It passed again in a moment, but in that moment pale eyes flickered out at them from the walls. One small vein of sweat trickled down Justin's neck as he glanced in the rearview mirror. There would be no safety until he lost them.

The car passed by building after building, each looking formidable and impenetrable enough to serve as a hiding place until night passed, but Justin never spared them a glance. For a moment the din quieted, the ghostly figures disappearing, and that was all he needed. With a vicious turn right that sent his passenger bouncing, Justin slammed a button on the dash and the brake at the same time, slowing down just enough to squeeze in an unobtrusive door that was now rising to reveal a lit room within.

The door closed again behind them, hissing as the lock sealed. Calmly, as if they had done nothing but gone out for a Sunday drive, Justin opened his door, gun slung over his shoulder, and walked up the oncrete stairs ahead, leaving Owen behind.

 

[Sylvengard]

She's a woman, you can't let her come, he told himself. "It's dangerous," he said. "I don't want to get you killed. I've never been out after dark and don't know what might happen."

He liked the idea of more firepower, but reagrdless, he didn't want her to risk that. What if They ambushed him with her in the car?

Well, she has been here for three years, whe must know something. "Alright, fine, you can come," he uttered, and moved to push the barracade, and with a wink he added, "but only if you promise me you won't get hurt."

 

[Lessien]

Liesel managed a small half-smile, the thought of confronting Them sapping most of the humor from Ryan's remark. Not that there was much to begin with, but still.

"Hang on." She jogged to the back of the store as Ryan pushed aside the barricade, returning a moment later with two rifles, another pistol, and several boxes of ammo. "Might help," she said.

Once outside, Liesel felt fear settle in her stomach. She hadn't seen Them in over a year, and wasn't eager to repeat the experience. Still, she couldn't let Ryan go out alone. Although law enforcement was long since gone, allowing the first human she'd seen in three years get killed by these monsters seemed like a capital crime. Setting the weapons and ammo in a nearby cart, she slid the doors closed and pushed two long lines of carts up against the doors, once more forming a giant T. Once finished, she turned to Ryan.

"Let's go."

 

[Sylvengard]

"Where did you get all these guns?" he asked increduously. Following her out, he made his way for the car as she turned to deal with the door. The cool air on his face made him shiver, and the thought that They could be out there watching, waiting for him and her to screw up so that They could get them.

He simply opened the door of his red pickup, since he never locked his car doors; he didn't need to. While she was closing up the doors of her home, he reached across the passenger seat and shoved at the door, throwing it open for her.

 

[Lessien]

"Sports Department. Where else?" She set them down in the space between the seats, then slammed the door shut behind her, making sure the door was locked and the window was rolled up. Don't think about Them...think about....about....Ryan! Liesel did her best to concentrate on a mental picture of Ryan while loading the rifles, then the pistols. But no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts kept drifting back to Them.

 

[Sylvengard]

"In a Walmart?" Ryan asked. He was pretty unfamilar with Walmart; he always had his agent get his stuff back in his street fighting days. He didn't know why he even stopped for guitar strings since he hadn't been in a Walmart for years; maybe it was a twist of fate for the better.

He turned the key that was always in it's place beside the steering wheel and the red chevy roared to life. The lights turned on and illuminated the area before the vehicle. With a grimace he flipped on the brights and stepped on the pedal gradually. He planned to make their trip fast, and if he could help it the blasted zombies wouldn't get them. Not on his watch.

The truck sped out of the parking lot and spun out into the street where it slowed only slightly so Ryan could lean over the dash and peer out into the night. It isn't yours. The night is Theirs. You don't belong here. As if to scare off the voices in his head he gunned the engine once and then drove down the street.

His eyes scanned the area in front of them, looking, searching for gleaming, red eyes that watched with ravenous hunger. He saw none, but he knew They were out there. His heart seemed to beat at the prison that was his chest, and his temples throbbed. This was the material of every fright movie. That feeling that you know something's out there, something's coming, but you don't know where or when, much less what exactly the horror is. He hoped he would not have to find out tonight.

Out of the corner of his eye he glanced at Liesel as she loaded her weapons. He wondered briefly what she was thinking about, and decided it was most likely about Them, judging by the nervousness in her hands. He kind of liked her; she was obviously smart to have lived so long, she was good-looking, and she had a personality that said she gets what she wants. He wondered what she thought of him.

Abruptly he was yanked to attention. He swore he saw something move in the light of the truck, but he wasn't sure. "Did you see that?" he asked her.

 

[Lessien]

"In a Wal-Mart?"

"Yeah. Every Wal-Mart's got 'em. You never been in a Wal-Mart before?" Liesel didn't watch Ryan as she loaded the guns; she kept her eyes on the task at hand. Is he mad at me for wanting to come along? she wondered.

No. Of course not.

Maybe....

No.

"Did you see that?"

Liesel's head snapped up and she stared out the windsheild intently. "See what? Is...is something out there?" Is it Them?

 

[Sylvengard]

"No, not really..." he said.

~~~

Liesel's head snapped up and she stared out the windsheild intently. "See what? Is...is something out there?"

"I don't know," he admited, "but I could have sworn I saw something." He cursed and floored the gas, unleashing the beast within the vehicle. He had lived on that energy during the day, racing through the streets - God knows how I never found Liesel -with no care in the world. Now it was survival.

((I'm not sure what to do here. Lock isn't here, and I don't exactly know enough about Them to make a wise encounter. Should we stop and wait for her, Less?))