Title: Événements Imprévus
Ship: Kashmart
Rating: T
Chapter one: K-mart
"Stay in the Hummer, they said." Timeworn boots collided with the ever-dusty desert, a pair of partly delapidated glasses being donned atop sun-blessed flesh. "It's for your safety, they said." K-mart scoffed to herself, shaking her head in slight disbelief. "Yeah right. They just keep you in the dark, just like everybody else."
Every teen rebels, right? Well, this is your chance to keep the fact alive. No more being kept in the dark. You are going to prove that you can protect yourself, and that you are not a weakling, K-mart.
The sound of the nearly-silent click and thud of the half decolourised Hummer door shutting invaded the blonde's hearing sensories, assuring her that her depature from her mobile "home" was not heard. Well, actually, her home was in the state Ohio, but anything that provided safe sleeping in these damned times was considered a home to K-mart.
Ever since Umbrella's genius idea of not containing the virus that turned everyone into very hungry cannibals that are very good at decomposing and absolutely nothing else except for consuming everybody you love around you, the world as the teen knew it fell into the grasps of insanity and mortal hell itself: society's infrastructure fell, the government's power vanished, and you either kill or be killed. Cliche, yes, but very true. It was just like the zombie films that K-mart used to watch in secret, except much more real; much more horrifying. The only logical idea was to stay on the move, travelling until Death pointed it's bony finger at the last of the human race.
K-mart herself was found at death's door - or rather, in the middle of a K-mart, surrounded by empty tubs of supplement pills - by Claire and her ragtag convoy that she lead. This idiosyncratic woman had metaphorically took her hand and literally saved her life: for that she was forever greatful, but for the motherly techniques? K-mart was half-confused about the fact Claire - the convoy's own personal heroine - had made it her personal duty to protect her at every turn, just like a mother. And to be fair, the blonde teen had just about enough of it, especially when the protective moods doubled when a certain brunette waltzed in and set fire to the skies like it was a perfectly normal thing to do; that is another story for another time, nonetheless.
Peeping over the Hummer's flavicomous hood, chestnuts orbs gazed upon the convoy - or, as the blonde liked to call the convoy sometimes, The Group of Travelling Apocalypse Defying Gypsies - that were still and silent, waiting for their great leader's approval of the all clear.
I know what you can do, K-mart. Go help with the searching. You have the spare glock attached to your hip, go help Claire search the factory. It will be the first step to proving your strength, your independence.
It was true; the teen could feel the weighted weapon upon her hip, and helping the redheaded ringleader would surely change some thoughts about her. Pushing her tinted bifocals up her nose, the sort of rebellious teen set out to do her work: K-mart would be lying if her heart wasn't beating at a fearful pace, throbbing through her ears, blood pumping with the needed adrenaline for an emergency. It wasthrilling. Soft sonancy of scolding sand being crushed underfoot resonated into K-mart's ears as she approched the suddenly daunting and deteriorated factory: she wouldn't cower away now, oh no, she will take on the challenge like a woman.
Entering one of the side doors unseen by anyone else - as far as she knew, anyway - K-mart drew a flashlight she had acquired from the trunk of the Hummer, artificial light illuminating the darkest and dankest corners of what seemed like an old office. Extracting the glock from it's respectable holster, her heart rate increased tenfold: it felt like it was going to burst from her chest like a chestburster from Alien, and then ascend into the skies and sun to conflagrate for all eternity. Even with the flashlight and the added defense of the loaded weapon, the room didn't feel right at all: something was off, like another oxygen breather is stalking her for reasons that are quite disturbing to think about, let alone talk about (hint: it involves mutilation, feeding the hungers and satisfying certain pleasures.) Nevertheless, she strode forward with confidence, feeling the shadow's aphotic tendrils biting and nipping at her heels. It was as if the shadows were alive, absconding from the disgusting light, obfuscous tendrils forever grasping; gnawing onto whatever it can wrap it's deformed mutated self around. Leaving the grimed-covered office for a larger room, the feeling of somebody watching intensified to a point of letting out a small whimper.
What are you doing? Woman up, you fool. Get some brass ovaries. There's nothing to be scared of.
A calming breath escaped from betwixt her lips, her beating pulse dropping ever so slightly to a less panicky point. "You can do this, K-mart. Check every corner, then move onto the next room." The blonde was about to push a left foot forward when something stopped her in her tracks completely.
"Excuse me, are you okay?"
The high voice caused K-mart to practically jump out of her skin, blonde hair whipping around faster than the body it resided upon to come face to face with the intruder. Oh rather, come lips to lips due to the close proximity between the two. K-mart was dumbfounded by the move: it took her several moments to release that her lips were pressed upon a stranger's. Eyes widened, blushes flushed, and K-mart pulled back far away enough for her fist to swing around with the added weight of herself behind it. Not a second later, knuckles came into contact with a nose, feeling it snap under the sheer force. In response, the blonde outsider - so to speak - let out a piercing howl, blood dripping out of her nasal cavity.
"What was that for?" The blonde shrieked, hands covering her phlebotomising proboscis. "All I was going to do was introduce myself as Ashley, and you kiss me and punch me! What on Earth was that for? Are you insane?"
The teen was about to respond with something - actually, no she wasn't, she couldn't get a word out of her for the life of her. She was far too shocked over the situation of kissing a stranger and thenbreaking her nose. Fumbling and stuttering over what barely sounded like syllables, the not so harmonious harmony of a door being flung open interrupted K-mart once again. With a reaction time that could meet Claire's, she spun around, glock aimed at the person or thing barging in. And to be fair, she would rather hope it was a zombie than the person gawking at her right now.
"K-mart, what thefuck are you doing out of the Hummer?"
Whoops.