A lost cause [OPEN]

[Nik Valentine]

The pain doesn’t go away,

you just make room for it.

I never thought it would escalate to this.

Well...I never really thought about it at all to be honest.

I was so self-absorbed with my own monotonous routine, to even bother considering a possible pandemic. But, how could anyone foresee this?



I was never the most sociable person, an introvert by nature, but that's not to say I don't like talking to people. I've just always found it difficult to make friends or vocalize my thoughts, due to an underlying fear of judgment. Growing up being different, you're going to be subjected to a lot of prejudice and we all have our own ways of coping I guess. I just chose to be quiet, because they can't judge me if they don't know me. Despite all that, at this moment I would do anything just to have someone to talk to...

Sure, I've seen plenty around, but I don't have a death wish. New Yorkers didn't have a reputation for being the friendly type in the first place, but since the outbreak that reputation has increased ten-fold. People murdering people all for a can of peas or worse, because they can. It's a living hell and what's worse is I'm all alone. I guess you could say I have a bubble wrapped around me, defending myself from getting hurt because ever since the outbreak lady luck has been on my side. After the refugee center went down and I lost John I spent the first few weeks assuming I could just ride it out, while the government sort this shit out. I went back to our old apartment complex that was long evacuated. The bottom floors had been pillaged, but I managed to find a decent assortment of food and supplies on the higher floors. You'd think a situation like this would encourage people to endure a few flights of stairs but I wasn't complaining, I had food, shelter and familiar surroundings.

I don't remember how long I spent in that room, staring at the beige wallpaper, following the seamless pattern across each wall. Waking up, looking out the window, only to see the mass of walkers below had grown. I was going insane, I had to get out of there, but maybe I made a mistake.

-

I shouldn't be alive, no matter how quick or evasive I am, there's no reason I shouldn't be dead. I can't shoot or fight, yet here I am wondering the desolate streets of Dryden. The barren landscape is hideous, I never understood why one had to be in the middle of nowhere to feel tranquil. It's as though they'd never heard of literature or music, it's as good if not better escape and a decent coffee is still within range. What I wouldn't do for a decent coffee or simply a decent sleep, turns out sleeping on the ground is about as comfortable as you'd expect it to be. At least in NYC I had a bed and abundance of buildings to lurk through. Six months later and I literally have nothing, I don't know why I'm surprised, "I'm as much use as a one legged man in an arse kicking competition" my father used to say. I pause, no matter how much I try to forget my parents they always manage to weasel their way back in. Shelter, I quickly change my train of thought. It's getting late and I really should have picked a spot to camp out in a while ago. I notice a vibrant red barn in the distance, as if signally for me to visit. I jump the fence and head towards it, I just hope this one doesn't smell like shit.

[Elizabeth McKinnon]

After a long, long time, long months, Liza managed to get closer to New York city. Dryden was in the way, so why not being happy. She was still alive, still with her dog and still with her van. She couldn't be luckier in that world that had been sent to hell long ago. She hadn't had it easy when it happened, it was something that maybe she would drag with herself until the day she died, she didn't like people to know that she had suffered, that she had been happy and that she had lost everything in a matter of weeks.

She found some cars on the road and she took the gas she could from them, then looked for something she could use and finally she got back onto her van and drove again. While she was doing that, she remembered her family, her brother, her fiancè... She breathed deeply when she remembered him, he had died protecting people, as he used to do while being a lawyer. But then he died... bravely and fast. She tried to think on other thing and continue driving.

She needed a shelter, so as she drove she looked for a good place. She saw a red barn, she smiled and drove to it. she checked around and killed a couple of walkers, then she parked the van inside the barn, just in case. she didn't trust people anymore. Then she closed the door and felt more or less safe inside that place. Suddenly as the night came closer, Thor, her big dog, got alert, so she knew something or someone was coming closer. She grabbed her gun and waited patiently.

OOC: hope it is ok I join this one. I see they can be allies if they get along XD

[Nik Valentine]

The pain doesn’t go away,

you just make room for it.

As I near the barn a noise breaks through the silence, it's an engine. I instantly panic, engine mean car and car means people. I frantically sprint towards the opening of the barn, immediately realizing how dim-witted I had been leisurely waltzing through the meadow. I scuttle inside the barn, leaving the doors open, shutting them now would only risk the chance of me being seen. My heart pounding, I stumble behind an old stack of hay bales. The engine grows louder as I try hard to listen over my breath. It's definitely getting closer, they must have seen me run inside and they're coming to loot and kill me. Why hadn't I just played dead or something? I frantically search through my bag and pull out the hand gun that once belonged to my old roommate. My hands trembled as I try to clasp the gun between my hands. I had told myself I would never use it after the incident with John but I have nothing else to lose.


As the sound draws closer, it becomes evident that it's pulling inside. I try to catch a hold of my breath as the engine comes to a stop inside the barn. A single door slams shut as I listen intently, attempting to assess how many are out there. I hear the doors pull shut, they're trapping me inside. In a sweep of adrenaline I dash from behind the bales and raise the pistol directly in front of me. Its a woman and a dog and she has a gun, I try to stop my arms from shaking as I attempt aim the gun at her. "You have to leave." I say, my voice quivering. She turns and her cool blue eyes dart straight at me. She's not afraid, why would she be? I can hardly keep the gun still and it'd probably take me twelve shots to even land a bullet.