Katherine couldn't believe it. She just couldn't. It was the end of the world and she'd gone and lost her only pair of shoes. How did that even happen? She'd tell you how, scrabbling out of reach from the rippers and one had managed to hook a crippled finger through her boot loop and whilst trying to dislodge the dead she up and lost em both. Ain't that just the icing on the cake. Now she was sat on an empty rooftop, clad in her socks, clutching her chest and heaving for air. Katherine wasn't sure how she ended up here, she had come into the city like usual, empty backpack on her shoulder ready to scavenge everything and anything that could be considered useful. She had been following the path she had laid out for herself, following her spray-painted markings as she went. A hunting knife rested at her hip, and a fire poker in her left hand. Other than those two things, she was weapon-less. Guns weren't exactly her forte, considering she had never seen one in real life left alone knew how to use one. Granted, she hardly knew how to use the knife either, but the blade was a comfort she would have never thought she would've needed.
Katherine had struggled and fought to clear the back-alley ways that she did. Statistically, she could handle one or two rippers, but any more than that she tucks tail and runs. She was good at that, running. It was everything else she was struggling to come to terms with. Though who wouldn't, people coming back from the dead and trying to eat you was a hard pill to swallow.
She had never expected to come around a corner she had done so multiple of times to find a horde of the dead. All standing and waiting, and when they saw her, oh boy did it look like kids at a candy store. Really gross and gruesome kids, wanting flesh not sweets, but the imagery made her smirk more than wanting to cry, so she rolled with it. After all, she didn't have the hydration to waste the tears. She had made a run for it, right then and there, hightailing it away as fast as she could. It was her own fault really, letting panic and fear control her until she was lost and cornered. The only way to freedom was a up a fire escape that looked way to rickety to have been safe but it was the only way, so as quick as she could she scrambled higher and higher. She was lucky to have only lost her shoes and not a leg. That'd have been bad. Really bad.
Now though, she was stuck. The fire escape was the only way up and down and the rippers were still hovering around. No longer actively trying to reach for her, but not moving on like she wanted them too. Pulling her knees to her chest, she let out a heavy weighted sigh, squishing her cheek against her leg as she eyed the rooftop. Today was not going to plan. Was it such a bad thing to want to find a can of something to eat, some water and go on her merry way? She was hardly asking for much. Fisting a hand through her hair, she gave her leg one hearty slap before rising to her feet. She could hardly sit here and do nothing, she needed to figure something out. Something that'd distract the dead far enough away so she could leave. But nothing on the roof was catching her eye, anything up there of use was what she had on her to begin with. And Katherine didn't want to get rid of anything she had, considering that was all she had. Yet, she needed to get down, needed to search for food, water, shoes.
She groaned, looking up at the sky like it was to blame for all her troubles. "Son of a bitch," She grumbled, bending down to scoop up the fire poker and make her way towards the fire escape. Leaning over the edge, she quickly made a head count. Twenty, at least. Fantastic.
"Hey!" She shouted, banging the poker harshly on the metal bars. The bang of metal on metal ringing out. Only a few of the rippers glanced up at her, the others wondering around confused and searching. Katherine scoffed, bumbling idiots. "OI!" She bellowed, hitting the poker so hard the action vibrated all the way up her arm. Finally, they took notice. Groaning and snarling as they reached for her. "That's it, atta grosso's, follow me" she cooed harshly, continuously rattling the bar along the edge of the roof. Leisurely, she started to walk away from the fire escape, leading them away.
The process took a while, none fully committed to following the girl considering she was still so far out of reach, but they were moving. Slowly, but surely, they were fanning out away from the fire escape. Katherine didn't dare celebrate yet, not until they were out of view of the escape and had settled down. She led them round to the other side of the building, the alley way on this side much narrower than the other and she couldn't help but thank her luck she hadn't ran down this one instead. Once they had all filed in, she stopped whacking the bars and dropped to the floor, hiding behind the wall. She hadn't realised it, but her hands were trembling. She was scared already and she hadn't even gotten off the roof. Pussy, her mine jeered at her, but Katherine took no notice of it, instead she scurried on all floors as quietly as possible back to her original side of the roof.
Hesitantly, she raised herself up to look over into the other alley way. Only one ripper remained, and she resisted the urge to cheer. The plan had worked! Sort of, and she knew she had to be quick because there was no way the rippers were going to stay put. When one started to march, like a domino effect they all went.
Reaching out for her bag, she slipped it onto her back, placing the poker in one of the clasps for safe keeping and easy reaching, just in case. Life was all about just in case now, just in case you got cornered, just in case you run out of this or that, just in case you got lost, just in case you'd die. Katherine had never lived her life as just in case before, but she was getting used to it. She had to.
