Touches Provoke Reactions: Take Two
Ecay? That rhymes with Decay. Doesn't that tell you how your life is going to end?
News: All new characters, mentions of previous ones in Touches Provoke Reactions. All new characters, all new personalities, all new monsters and all new locations. I can pretty much claim this all to myself but of course it's based off of L4D2 so I can't. As I said to Sanctus, I am a woman, so I can multi task so along with this I will also be randomly updating:
~ Blue Collar Series: Story One: Story Of My Life featuring Leo Valentine*fictionpress*
~ Touches Provoke Reactions: Take Two featuring Ecay McKintosh
~ Touches Provoke Reactions: Juliet Charlie Hotel featuring Joshua C. Harding
When I get the time too. Ill give you an Easter egg just to start you off: Juliet Charlie Hotel is actually the NATO phonetic alphabet for Josh's initials. J. C. H. if I were to write, say, Embry's initials it would be: Echo Hotel. See I bet'cha didn't know that.
I start college next week, studying Photography so I will be extremely busy, it's a high coursework course because there's no exam on the end and ill have to get off stupidly early so I won't be able to sit here typing like I am now at 4AM. But without further due, let me begin...
I want no comments on how Ecay is one of those mary sue's or whatever you call them, she isn't, she just got bored of hanging around for so long and when the chance arises she just wants to leave. So no flames, flame and ill make you cry.
I don't need to do the dumb disclaimer do I guys?
"What is it?"
"What is it? It's bloody obvious what it is... It's the Russians."
Even in dark hours, his comments managed to make her giggle when no one else's could but right now as they both stared at the mangled corpses walking down the street his humour couldn't help make things any better because there was simply no way of being able to calm down.
"It might not be... The Chinese perhaps? They have this kind of technology too." Everyone probably had this technology but the difference was that they wouldn't use it. Someone had, and now it was loose. No way was this some sort of naturally made infection, no sodding way. It couldn't be... Could it?
The Infection had struck only two days ago, at first it had been just isolated incidents, pockets at least but now... Now it was everywhere. Now it was running down your streets and punching holes in your windows with an aggression never before seen. Was it a virus? A parasite? No one knew. No one alive knew anyway.
First it had hit the smaller villages, the market towns but once that had happened, once the body count had been enough they'd tore through the cities like it was nothing and not even the army had been able to stop it. CEDA had tried, and they had failed, bombing runs, containment plans were useless against the Infection. It just burst through the fencing like a river bursting its banks. Those who remained after the original outbreak and weren't evacuated were forced to take shelter in any buildings that they possibly could that had locked doors and thicker walls than the average house.
Second night, and already she grew tired of their constant crying wails, their whines. It wasn't something that a person could get used to, it wasn't even a week through and one of the merry band downstairs had turned into something slightly less than psychotic but she knew if she let them fester and the psychosis to keep growing they would be looking at major problems before the week was out. If they survived that long.
"It could be anyone, but sitting here and contemplating it over a whiskey is not what I'd rather be doing." but that was what they were doing.
Ecay McKintosh was an exotic dancer, well, she had been an exotic dancer when people had still been office drones and cars had been sources of transportation and not just hulking husks of metal on the side of the road burnt out or blaring out their alarms into the night. And fitting that description she had thick hair and a rather voluptuous body that the outfits only pronounced more. Right now though she sat there with a whiskey in one hand and the other resting patiently on the arm of the chair. Thick dark brown hair spilled over her shoulders and the lack of cosmetics didn't affect her look at all.
Sitting beside her was the slender built, lean and muscled owner of the club Samuel. Samuel was the owner of club Zenith and its founder, at thirty two he was one of the youngest on the block to have owned a club like he did. Sam wasn't evil and he didn't claim to be but Ecay knew he wasn't above doing a dirty job for a dollar if he had to. Sighing quietly he leaned back in his chair and stared out of the window at the darkness and the bodies that lined the street. Ecay was wearing some of his uniform, the jacket, the shirt and a tailored in pair of trousers. It wasn't a perfect fit but you couldn't be picky with what was going on. Sam had just thrown himself into a pair of baggy jeans that he always kept in the club and that was overall it.
"What would you rather do?" He asked as he leaned in and looked at Ecay rather than the window with – she noted – probably more lust than was normal or was probably right in this sort of situation, not that the words weren't innuendos either.
"I'd rather by picking my way to the coast by now trying to find myself a ship to get on and run away from here with." Ecay replied smoothly as she pushed herself to stand and pulled the blinds down slowly on the windows before locking them and turned towards the phone. It hadn't been working for about eighteen hours now, she didn't hold out hope of it suddenly working again. Silently lifting to receiver just to carry on hearing the "out of service" tone. Slamming it back down in its cradle Ecay turned and walked out of the room, closed it behind herself while Samuel called out something behind her. She ignored him.
There was nothing worse than a supposed apocalypse, well, there was nothing worse than being trapped in a strip club in an apocalypse. Taking a left once she got down the stairs Ecay stepped out behind the bar and watched the three other people still alive sitting at the bar in nothing but the clothes they slept in and staring at the candles that lit the bars surface since the power kept fluctuating and it seemed to attract the living dead to them. They'd already lost two through that method. While she walked down the side out of the bar Ecay silently ran their names through her hair.
Michael, the rock hard chav who thought he was something special and probably had a police record to boot with short back and sides and one of those typical chav-like-hats. Kicked out of boot camp apparently.
Jethro, he looked about her age with shaggy brown hair and about a weeks worth of growth of hair on his face with brown eyes and a businessman's suit. Whether he'd been in the club or had just taken shelter there when the first wave hit, Ecay didn't know. He was oddly attractive.
Stephany, one of the waitresses in the bar. Ecay had worked with her for just over a year now. She was a kind girl if not slightly vacant that usually just did as she was told. Still in the uniform, a sequinned silver shirt and black short shorts.
Ecay bypassed them patiently before she moved into the back room of the club and wandered into her dressing room, shut the door behind her. When she crossed to her mirror and sat down she yanked on the cord and the bulbs blew up into bright light which reflected the face of a dead woman. Yes... A dead woman. She ignored the make up, took the time to simply look into her reflection before picking herself up and walking back out again.
"Okay, um, guys, I'm sorry but we can't stay here. It's not safe here, we have to move." She said after a second or two.
"'Old on a sec 'ere lady why the heck should we move jus' because you say it's not safe" Michael said as he looked towards her, turning around and leaned back "cooly" against the bar and glared at her.
"I personally agree with the lady, listen to them" Jethro said as he watched the window where claws were scratching at the frosted glass.
"They know we're in here and they'll get in eventually." Ecay stated as she watched the businessman before she turned on the youngest and most... annoying of the group.
"You, got behind the bar and get any food we need, any drink including water because we will need it." She stated, he glared and shoved back his chair before he turned and stomped out of the room behind the bar with a growl and shook his head fiercely. Taking orders from a woman, what next?
"Jethro, can you go into the back where the girls got dressed and get anything that you think we may need? Blankets, jackets, things like that." She nodded. The businessman didn't look all that bothered, he raised his head and then nodded in a gentlemanly fashion and stood, walking past her down back where she had come from a few minutes prior. Now Ecay turned on Stephany with a warm smile,
"Steph, sweetie can you go into the back and see if the van is operational? We'll need to get moving somehow"
"What is going on?"
Ecay winced when she heard Samuel step out of the stairwell behind the bar and look hard at her,
"Ecay, what are you doing!" He demanded as he watched her and Ecay quietly set her hands on her hips in a superwoman stance before she shifted and inhaled.
"We're leaving, we can't stay at the club. Sooner or later they will get in and we'll be left floundering in the dust while they eat us alive." She said as she observed him quietly and Jethro came out with a sack full of clothing that they could use and Samuel's slammed his hand on the bar,
"We are going no where!" He barked. Ecay watched him, then looked at Jethro. The businessman shrugged his shoulders.
"You are going no where, Samuel. But I am. And anyone else who wants to go with me can do" Ecay muttered. She'd never really stood up to him before, the only thing worse than a woman was an unemployed one.
"I'm going, so is Stephany. If you want to stay alive I suggest you come with us." Jethro commented and Ecay walked towards Stephany when she came out, walking down the stairs towards the garage and grinned when she caught sight of the shiny black paint and the frost coloured "Z" which stood for the clubs name.
"How much gas' she got Steph?" Asked Ecay and Stephany pulled the door open and turned the engine back on again.
"Not much, but I think we might be able to make it to the docks." It was no more than a half hour drive away but how simple was a half hour drive now? Ecay had the sinking feeling that it wouldn't be that easy now.
"That's good, that's good... We get out, we get to the docks and get a boat. Yeah. We'll get a boat and we'll sail out there, we'll sail out and we'll go to Mexico or something... Maybe Iceland too" She said softly before turning and bounding back up the stairs.
Tomorrow they would move.
