"Lead the way, cookie."
Keirstan knitted her brows at the declaration with Jordan gesturing ahead with his hand. "Huh? I'm not your damn cookie."
"Well you were so hellbent on avoiding the sewer, so go."
She walked off. "Did you want to traverse through that shit?"
"Yes." He answered in a as a matter of fact tone.
The survivors ventured inside the dark complex as Bill caught up with them, most were ahead of Francis and climbed up a flight of steps. He sighed through his nose feeling how little room there was. "Why are these stairs so freaking small?"
"They're fine to me," Zoey squeezed pass him to catch up. Bill stood behind him, staring up impatiently waiting for Francis to go as he shifted sideways for a pinch more maneuvering space. "Will you go already."
"I'm trying! They're small!"
He painfully inched his way up the impossibly tiny stairs, cursing under his breath as he could feel Bill's blossoming impatience wavering. "Oh my God. Faster."
"What part of-"
"GOOOOO!"
He cocked his M16 alarming the biker. "Or I'll blast your ass off!"
The others suddenly heard panicked footsteps booming up the stairs and splintering wood with Bill's evil laughter haunting the air. Beth, Louis, Amber and Ian peered back around the corner together to see Francis' silhouette charging towards them and moved out of the way before he barged through. The others jolted and glanced at the scene while the veteran snickered smugly as he appeared in view, stepping up from the now broken steps while Francis glared at him from over his shoulder.
"Fuck you."
Bill waved him off as he strolled down a long hallway. The biker glowered after him while massaging his arms where he felt throbbing from slamming against the cramped walls. He then held up and shook a fist while mouthing threats.
Either side of the hall were doorways leading into the small homes. Much like a hotel. Everybody separated to check what was left. Investigating cabinets and tubs, then tossing to whoever was with who to pack what they found away, or to open something to satisfy their hunger or thirst. Some of the girls luckily found things of period pads that were snuck in their bags for private matters.
Louis peered his eyes down in disappointment from finding an empty drawer. He ventured passed another doorway until he heard a whine coming from it. Pausing, he turned where the noise had come from and raised his weapon before reversing towards the door. The analyst peered inside the dark room and flailed and screamed at what he saw, while falling against the counter behind him and sliding to the floor.
"Oh holy shit! What the fuck are you doing!"
Kayla was standing in the middle of what he could now see was a bedroom. She was bent and twisted all the way backwards, almost folding her body entirely in half with no support around her. Startled from hearing his fit, she jumped, yelled and twisted sideways with a surprised look on her face before flipping onto the floor and scrambled up against a wardrobe, holding her gun up as well.
"What?!"
"That!"
"Wha-hut?!"
"You! All that twisting!"
"Now what?" Someone called flatly.
They could hear their comrades approaching. "I was stretching!" Kayla exclaimed, staring at him appalled.
"You were stretching?! You looked like the exorcist!"
"Haven't you heard of double joints?"
Keirstan, Zoey, Francis and Ian were now standing over Louis, finding the two pointing their firearms at each other. "What part of stop screaming does everyone not understand?" Bill complained from the back.
The sound of guitar strings strummed through the air, "~ooohhh!~" Beth and Jordan sang from somewhere in the complex.
"Put it away." Francis snarled, kicking Louis' gun down.
"What happened?" Keirstan asked. The analyst gestured with his hands, "sh-sh-I don't know! She was trying to break herself in half or something."
"She has hypermobility." Ian stated, as Keirstan walked away snickering. "We used to call her the ghost, grudge purring thing. Until Amber nicknamed her Ghost-Alien for it."
"You're gonna ruin your back doing that." Francis sighed dryly, feeling this was the millionth time he's said it in the youngin's lifetime. "But it's useful." Kayla replied, as the two rose and continued on. Zoey listened interested. "What's the ghost part about?"
"She appears and disappears without us noticing or making a sound."
"Anything else? Can you fly?" Bill asked jokingly. Kayla blinked at the floor, while twisting her left arm at an impossible angle and stretched it across her back to scratch an itch before gazing at him. "I know a little parkour." Was the quiet answer.
The three looked on in surprise at her movement. She didn't seem to care about their reaction.
"And...this," she then started moving a joint in her ribs under her right armpit. Making a loud, bumping-cracking sound. Shocking them further. "Ok! Oookkk! Stop!" Louis cried, covering his ears. Zoey curiously tried it herself, but was unable to do so. She pouted at the failure.
Bill continued staring at her in silence. "Is that natural or was it from an accident?" He asked hesitantly.
"Car roll accident."
The trio turned at Francis suspiciously, he returned the look with slanted eyes. "I wasn't driving." He voiced.
Suddenly a loud bang echoed from behind down the hall, causing them to turn around. Followed by Amber's startled yelp. Hearing her made Ian bolt in the direction, "honey!"
"We're all gonna die." Bill moaned.
"One day." Zoey commented.
Ian panted as he turned towards a room. He saw her frozen in her tracks, staring at him from the corners of her eyes with a guilty smile on her face. A hulking dresser had fallen over, crushing an infected who's hand sticking in view was quivering with blood seeping from underneath it. "Are you alright, what happened?"
"I was just about to check something when that," she gestured to the now still common, "jumped at me from a closet. So adrenaline sets in and I was able to push the dresser over."
Both suddenly heard a guitar strumming again. They looked to see Jordan in the doorway, holding the instrument close and playing it dramatically. Staring at them unblinking. Then Beth ran by slapping his ass, so he chased after her still playing some sort of incoherent musical.
"Sweetheart! Let me sing you a song!" He hollered.
Kayla was now lingering behind everyone as they traveled through the building. Ian and Amber walked by when they all caught up. Keirstan and Beth were chatting away with Zoey and Bill, which they chuckled about something one of them said. She looked at the analyst and tilted her head a little. She had awful trust issues. She thought of the cold shoulder and attitude she gave to the three; the rude comments that were hissed from time to time.
But...during the days they were together, the more Kayla realized that Francis was right.
This trio of strangers put in unlimited amount of effort to get closer to her, and she pushed them away. Just for them to cast her aggression aside and kept trying. Or respected her space when she wanted it. Although they were happy to get a short laugh out of her through conversations or gestures, only for her to fade back into silence and look away when she saw them notice. She witnessed how well they got along with everyone else the majority of the time, and found herself amused from the stories they shared about their lives during the nights they were able to relax for.
Louis, Bill and Zoey were some of the most loyal, caring people she's met. They all took care of one another, and worked together amazingly. They always checked and asked if someone was ok after an attack; or simply if they didn't look well. One of them would always rush to the rescue as best as they could if someone was overwhelmed and she remembered how quickly Zoey was by her side to help her during the Witch attack.
How Bill assisted Francis with her wound.
Of course, there were arguments, bickering and disagreements. Including looks and insults or threats among everyone. It didn't stop them from being there. They just wanted to be her friends. And it made her think more clearly.
They were honestly not so bad after all.
"...Louis…"
Hearing the small voice call his name, he glanced at her with a warm expression. Just for it to fall in a disgusted, frightened look when she raised an index finger eye level, smirking, and bents the joints. Locking them up making the appendage look like a Spider leg.
"Aauugghh! Stoooooppppp!"
He scurried away with a wild expression confusing the hell out of everyone. She giggled darkly.
Stage two began.
As the group explored the apartments, Kayla would appear in random areas and scare the three. Or follow them around and slowly poke at their cheeks with a couple fingers. She would also watch them curiously and bat at them whenever they were doing something or walked off. Next she would annoy by tripping them around or with constant rambling, earning a few shouts of 'stop' or 'what are you doing'.
This also surprised them, especially Francis. He didn't think she'd start to soften up this early in their relationships. But he was glad she finally was. He chuckled softly when he saw her toss a pillow from another home out a door into Zoey's face.
"What is this?" Bill asked.
"It's what I call stage two. She's testing how well you guys can handle how she is." The biker answered.
"If I can handle you, then she ain't a problem at all."
"Is there a stage three?" Zoey quirked.
"No, just two."
Louis' shout was cut off when a door from somewhere slammed shut.
The prodding and teasing continued. She would swat things shut if they opened something, or grab at their pant leg from a hiding spot, startling the ever living shit out of them.
They also had small objects tossed their way.
Zoey had a mattress flipped onto her.
Louis was intensely stared down at as he rummaged through a box. He looked up into her eyes, his being serious while hers weren't entirely focused. She then fixated them and started purring; and his mouth quivered while he held his shaky hands up half-way.
"What are you?"
At one point Bill was dragging the young survivor across the floor as she held onto his jacket. He had a grouchy expression on his face, but went along with it.
"If your belching has ever caused an avalanche, you're an unstoppable force of nature."
"Huh?"
"Do not use an axe to kill a Fly on someone's head. Unless it's an infected. Aim, swing, repeat."
"Usually."
Amber scowled her for some things she did. But she continued to be a pest, like testing them further by throwing something against a wall out of sheer random. When they would go to pick it up, Kayla would scowl them or give them a grim look. This would repeat until they would either break or kick it, and would receive a satisfaction from her.
Another thing was she would steal something from one of them and they'd chase her through the homes. Francis and the others would watch them dart in and out from different places, hollering after her to give it back until they either gave up or she threw it over her shoulder before diving for cover like the thing she took was a bomb.
There were also staring contests, and more freakouts when she showed off her double joint abilities. Other times when they tried to talk to someone in the team, Kayla would interrupt with some sort of noise or exclaiming, 'and then' or 'uh-huh, yeah,' and so on. They would give her a warning look with tense eyes, then watch a thin smile creep over her face.
Sometimes they would reach out as a threat to touch her. Her face would darken as she bat their hands or moved away.
Bill had even held a long piece of fabric over her as she laid on her back on a couch and jerked it around. She swatted at it amused much like a Kitten would. He snickered with a huff.
"You're such a Cat, kid."
It was obnoxious, but cute in a way. It was nice to know she was growing to like them.
She moved on to annoying the others, like shoving Jordan into Beth when they leaned in for a hug by pushing a foot against his ass; they then got into a punching war as Beth sighed from next to them.
She scared the hell out of Keirstan by falling through a wall after tripping over herself and laid on a floor in a daze in front of her. Keirstan stared ahead unamused with half-lidded eyes. Soon after, she was chasing Amber and Ian, throwing random things while they yelled in protest before leaping up onto a not so ready Francis' back like a Jockey. She pointed forward yelling, "onward! There's fuckery to spread!" As he staggered into a forced walk ahead of everyone else.
"Alright," the biker eventually said afterwards. He ruffled her hair, "quiet down before Bill has a heart attack."
"You're a heart attack." The veteran sneered.
There was some laughter while Francis shot him a look. They strolled towards the end of the building, when a helicopter sounded close by. Lights filtered through the windows of the homes as it hovered above the street. The occupant from before yelled an announcement.
"To anyone who can hear this! There has been a change to evacuation measures! We will be evacuating tonight! Repeat, please proceed to mercy hospital to be evacuated tonight!"
The helicopter started to fly off. "We better hurry. I think they sometimes show up sooner than they say." Ian barked with urgency in his voice.
Shortly the survivors had cut through another apartment home and traveled into the kitchen where they found a very large hole blown in the floor. Where some infected staggered in and out of view below. "Who's going down there first?" Jordan asked.
"You can my friend." Keirstan pushed him through the hole as Beth yelled at her. He bounced off a discarded bed, shooting a couple of them as he flew on his feet. He then glared up and gave the younger survivor the finger before they followed pursuit. Screams flowed through the air as all ran for a demolished section of wall leading outside. Infected ran at them from an area just before the one they were in; jumping over a military humvee which crashed through a wall and a tipped over vending machine in blinding fury. Amber and Zoey took care of the attackers, since there weren't too many of them before they ran outside where there was much more. Everyone raced through the alleys feeling hands grabbing at them. The yells and wails were deafening, and Louis tossed a pipe bomb in the opposite direction, giving them a chance to escape. The bomb went off, severed limbs and torsos flew ahead of the survivors when they sprinted into a large open area. Water and wet snow splashed under their feet as they jogged for their destination.
"Hey we're here!" Zoey exclaimed, seeing the hospital entrance not far from where they were.
"About Goddamn time." Bill breathed.
Amber stared up at the hospital that towered into the heavens. An eerie light cast a glow through the rainy, cloudy sky. "It's gonna be cold and dangerous up there." She muttered.
"But we'll be ok, we're going to make it!" Ian encouraged, holding her hand. She looked at the entwined fingers, then to her partner and smiled at his warm face. "I know," she rubbed his hand with her thumb. "We will be."
Another small horde ran after them, weaving pass ambulances and vehicles at the same time the group ran by. Some got tangled up in downed telephone pole wires, but kept thrashing and grabbed at the air, tearing their skin and gritting their teeth angrily trying to free themselves. "We gotta get to the hospital!" Francis shouted, swinging his machete around and connecting the blade with flesh.
"We are at the hospital!" Beth sarcastically replied.
Suddenly, the sounds of angry barking met their ears, soon followed by pained screams. Everybody turned around at once, to see the Dog pack appearing from the shadows and attacking the unfortunate infected while some ran with them. Jumping and snarling over the hoods of cars, their muscles visibly rippling under their diseased skin and their eyes full of a vicious, violent desire to rip them apart.
"Run! Go!"
Bullets were once more fired at the threats, as a screaming Hunter sailed through the air along with a Smoker and Spitter shrilling from somewhere above. Bill made himself busy taking care of what was in front of him. He shot a lunging Dog then slashed a human infected away, not aware of what was coming at him from behind. There was a shriek which was cut short. He turned around finding Kayla holding her knife tightly in one hand with the body of a woman at their feet. Blood dripped from the blade as they watched one another, he nodded once before she trotted off to Francis and Beth while he watched them go. He observed the three quietly, especially the biker. A ghost of a smile crossed his face seeing how determined and caring he is for their safety and survival.
Zoey lit and chucked a molotov into the crowd. The Dogs whined and growled deeply while moving back from the fire as the commons succumbed to the flames.
"C'mon, hurry up!" Francis ordered. He and the others were now waiting for the two by the double doors. The pair rushed inside before the fire could spread towards the entrance while a ball of acidic spit mixed into the inferno, missing them by inches. Louis shot into the crowd as he backed away, then Francis and Jordan heaved the doors shut in an attempt to block the infected off.
The barking, wails and shrilling was muffled from behind the glass. They moved out of sight to keep from encouraging anything to break through the weak barrier.
"...Well, this is it." Louis shrugged after some time, shifting his eyes from the ground and looked around. They were now walking down a hall pass multiple bodies. "What's everyone going to do once we get to the zone?..."
"Not sure, probably look for family after completing whatever they need us to do." Zoey answered. She saw a saddened expression waft over his usually cheerful face hearing her. So she flashed one of comfort. "Hey, cheer up dude. We'll still see each other around. We will." Zoey assured, nudging him with her elbow. He looked at her and smiled thoughtfully.
"We're not out of the woods yet," Bill reminded. "I'm sure we have unpleasant surprises waiting for us up there."
"Like the cold?" Keirstan shivered at the thought of how freezing it will be.
"Sure. Like the cold."
Francis and the sisters walked together while conversing, teasing and laughing with one another. Some of the others had looked on warmly at the sight. He scooped Beth up in his arms while Kayla hopped onto his back again, causing him to lose balance and stumble wildly into a room as one of them cackled. There was a crash, along with a deep yell as if they fell into something. Hopefully a bed.
As they strolled pass abandoned equipment, destroyed furniture and debris, Jordan looked at it all, then at the group.
"Guys."
Everyone gazed at him. Seeing his face was grim and serious. His eyes dark and devoid of any life all of a sudden.
Ian blinked, a little stunned at his expression. "What is it man?"
"Before we get to the top, there's something we need to do. Something important."
"Important?" Amber repeated, "how important?"
"Very."
"Ok, what then?" Bill asked.
Jordan motioned a finger towards himself. "Follow me. I'll show you."