Yet again, I have returned from the grave of inactivity with another apology and another update. The same reasons apply; work's been kicking my ass, the internet still sucks where I am and I'm still unwilling to give up on this tale. Hopefully, you aren't going to stop reading and reviewing either. ^^
Just so you know, this chapter explores more of the characters' personalities and histories, then finally sets the stage for some real action. Lord knows this story needs more of that. ;)
People with the OCs: Don't forget to read the questions at the end of this chapter and answer them in comments – they're vital for characterization and how I decide the story will go. Oh, and everyone: feel free to give a shout out on how you think the story should go. Your opinions are always welcome.
"Who are Jess and Gabe?"
At that, Dave's eyes flitted to the side and the worry on his face became more pronounced – in the candlelight, Charlie and Cassidy could almost see the premature wrinkles forming as the weight of concern etched lines into his flesh. Otto, slouched off to the side, appeared to be asleep and unaware of this current line of conversation. Dave put his soda down next to his outstretched leg and pressed his now-freed hand against his knee. A hand reached inside his shirt and Cassidy snorted quietly; she knew he'd be at those damn army tags long before the quiet tinkling of metal on metal proved her right.
"Well…" Clutching his dog tags for reassurance, Dave struggled to get his story in order, face drawn in and arranged in an expression quite different from his usual caring smile. Swallowing uneasily, he opened his mouth to speak, thought better of it, started over again. His voice was thick with anxiety and his Southern accent.
"I was with another…group, I guess ya'll could call it, before I met ya'll. It was me, Jess, an' Gabe. Jess was our medic, Gabe was the sniper, and I jus' sorta did whatever else we needed. It was mighty fine…we musta' lasted, say, five or so weeks like that – jus' movin' around an' fightin' when we had ta." A deep gust of a sigh escaped from Dave's lungs. "An' then…there were a bunch a' them. Too many a' them."
There was no need to clarify. Everyone knew who they were. They could also guess what had happened to Jess and Gabe, although nobody appeared willing to volunteer their theory – Dave included.
Charlie frowned nervously and chewed at her lower lip, her can crinkling in her grip as curiosity battled fear and a rapidly-growing regard for the feelings of her fellow Survivor. Just as she decided to let the unknown fate of Dave's friends remain hanging in the space between the three – no, four, because Otto's eyes were open and he was awake – of them, Cassidy crunched her empty soda into a jagged mess of aluminum and raised an eyebrow. Charlie knew that she just had to ask the unspoken question. That damn lawyer.
"So, are they alive or not?"
"I don't know." The growled reply was immediate and very unlike Dave; the angry grimace, part fear, sadness, and rage didn't match up with what Charlie had gathered about the Southerner on the short period of time they had been together. Dave sucked in a sharp breath, eyes blinking quickly and narrowing as his clutch on the tags tightened to a white-knuckled vice grip. He held the breath for a moment, then sighed; of their own accord, his fingers relaxed and slipped free of the small metal ovals. "I just don't know."
Cassidy's saturnine features smoothed into a blank, analytical mask at Dave's sudden composure; inwardly, clean white teeth curled in a malicious, knowing grin. She'd hit a soft spot that she previously hadn't known about. That necessitated a return to what she was practiced at: probing and watching, gleaning information from simple exchanges that could come in handy later. She already had all she needed to know on the Otto boy – Charlie was only a slightly harder challenge, but she still had to find the real reasoning behind Dave's actions. After all, she thought fleetingly, you never knew what to expect from a plaintiff until the end of the case.
Smirking slightly, the dark-haired woman nonchalantly flicked a few flakes of gore from her sleeve. her sky-blue eyes narrowed in anticipation of her next barbed comment. "So Otto, what psychiatric ward did you escape from? Bellevue? No," she conceded, "that's not in the right area. Arbor Hospital, maybe?"
While Dave seemed to welcome the abrupt change in subject – a smile was once again creeping onto his face – Charlie's brow furrowed in clear distrust. She knew that Cassidy was up to something, although what exactly the older woman had planned was (for the moment) beyond her. It would be, until she finally got some sleep and got her brain back in working order in the morning. Either way, she didn't like where this was going; the last thing they needed was to start randomly fighting when they should all be going to sleep.
One bleary eye rolled over and focused on Cassidy; Otto managed to muster enough energy for one particularly vicious glance before his eyelid slid back down and covered the steel-colored iris. A tired, angry sigh – one very much like Dave's had been – rumbled up from somewhere deep inside the teen. "You know Boston University?"
Dave and Charlie nodded, whereas Cassidy raised an eyebrow. The quarantine and subsequent breakdown of the college campus had been wildly televised just a few months ago, alongside the increasingly morbid tales the Green Flu had spawned as it steadily crawled up and down the east coast and ate its way into the Midwest. The rumor that Massachusetts had been declared 'overrun' and abandoned by CEDA soon after had also spread for as long as the news had kept being broadcast.
Otto shifted his weight slightly, his clenched fists tightening even more and latching onto the barrel and stock of his shotgun. "I was there." Gruffly he pulled the weapon closer to his chest and drew his knees in tighter, almost resting his chin on them as he quietly mumbled. "Now go to sleep and shut up."
"You know, I think that's a great idea," Charlie hurriedly said, cutting off Cassidy's next comment at the root and earning herself a icy glare from the lawyer. She'd guessed that she had been picked to be the next Alpha Bitch-target, but she didn't really want to spill her guts like the others had. Well, Dave had done most of the gut-spilling…Otto just said, what, two sentences? "We can talk more later, when it's not, like, three in the morning. Sound good?"
Dave nodded. "Yep. G'night, all."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Faint smears of red and orange began creeping up onto the horizon as the peace and darkness of the night gave forth to the slow unveiling of death. The sun – bulging and yellow, inflamed and seemingly as sick as the world it looked down upon – slowly dragged itself into view, rising heavily above the horizon line like a tired swimmer from water and casting rays of light that weakly lit upon the blank faces available to watch the sunrise.
As the perfect circle managed to free itself from contact with the ground, an emerald flash of brilliant light sliced through the waxing orange and yellow; the sky itself seemed to be remarking upon the latest plague that had taken the world by viral storm. Green was the in color this year, apparently.
Just as the green flash dissipated into the dawn, the door of the safe house opened and a figure slipped outside. Hunched over, eyes gleaming with fear and weariness, the person checked to see their gun was cocked and ready to fire at anything threatening. Once assured that it was and that the coast was clear, they carefully closed the door behind them and took off down the street, the yellow of their shirt almost blending into the bright landscape. Almost, but not quite.
This was a pitifully short and not very well-written chapter, but what can I do? The next update will be of considerably better quality, since I promise I won't try writing it at three in the morning like I'm doing here. :/ Anyway, here are the questions!
1) How would your character react if the other Survivors died or were seriously injured? (Be specific to each character, please.)
2) What sort of vehicle did they drive before the Infection spread?
3) What's their favorite kind of music? (Be specific, please!)