Resident Evil: End Game
Chapter 8
Maria Dradcliffe was more bored than she had ever been in her life. TOday, like all days, was boring, and unimportant, at least for now, anyway. She had been sent to interview the manager of the electric company in Birchenville to ask questions about the recent blackout that had taken place...and she wondered if it was worth it. Electricity? Big woop... A small blackout? Who cared? It was over now, wasn't it? Oh well...she would have to get the questions answered to satisfy the people who were concerned about the electric company.
Silently, she brushed her hands over her long blonde hair, which had been tied into a long ponytail. Her deep yellowish-brown eyes glimmered a little bit in the afternoon sun as she shifted her head a little, reaching down to brush off her gray suit...a simple gray jacket that was wrapped around a white blouse. She had on a gray skirt, as well, and wore brown tights, along with a pair of black dress shoes. Sighing in exasperation she reached up for her hair again absently adjusted her spectacles before straightening up and looking to her right.
"Ready for the boring shit, Jack?" she asked to the man who stood beside her.
Jack Verona nodded, adjusting the television camera that was on his shoulders. His hair was a deep black, and went down below his shoulder-blades. He wore a similar suit to Maria's, save for the skirt, which was replaced by gray pants. He wore black sneakers, and did not wear tights, mind you. His eyes, bright green orbs, turned to the right, making sure that the equipement for going on television live was ready...
Everything was set up.
Nodding in affirmation, he turned his head around to face Maria, grinning softly, an amused look on his face. "Pretty annoyed, huh?" he asked, his voice a deep baritone.
"Sick and tired of the lame shit like this, Jack," she hissed again, her voice full of spite, as well as tinges of fatigue. "The boss is always giving us these dumbass interviews...An electric blackout?" She waved her hand in the air in dismissal. "Honestly, who would give a damn...?"
Jack shook his head and turned around, once again adjusting the camera on his shoulder before looking back at her and shaking his head. "Maybe he's just making us do this shit because there isn't anything going on in this town? This place is boring as Hell..."
"I hear you," Maria replied, placing her head between her hands before turning to look down the road, and at the huge electric company that sat in front of them. The building itself was pure white, and it was slowly shifting to a creamy yellow, showing that it was being struck by the elements as it aged. The generators in the back pounded and hummed loudly, and the two could barely make out the bustle and voices of the workers inside. The woman shook her head, and slowly rubbed her eyes before nodding to the cameraman, raising her hand up and making a gesture for him to follow her with the equipement. Jack obeyed, and, before allowing her to walk ahead, he handed her the microphone she would be needing. She clutched onto it and nodded before walking towards the building, another sigh escaping her mouth.
"For once...I wish something exciting would happen," she murmered, shaking her head before letting out a groan of exasperation. She made her way towards the door silently, not saying another word, until she came face to face with the steel door before them. Lowering her head in slight shame, she rose her hand to knock.
**********
"It's happening...I can't believe it's starting all over again..."
Rowan was murmering slowly to herself, rubbing her eyes with her hands, trying to keep the tears that had been threatening to fall at bay. She felt like she was being torn apart from the inside out. This was too much...a past of her's was being relived. A nightmare was starting again, and, once again, she was a victim of a company's tyranny, trying to escape from a city that had been infested with undead monsters bent on only one thing...to feed. She felt like she was losing her mind, slowly slipping away from her sanity...
But the scenario was different now. Rowan was older now, and she had friends along with her. She knew about Umbrella beforehand, and she was fighting to get the people out of the area that had been infested with zombies... She wouldn't make the same mistake twice, that mistake being losing her friends and her family, as well as the rest of the people in the city. The spread of the undead had just begun, so there was still time to warn the people of Birchenville, and maybe she would still be able to get ahold of her aunt and Brad, as well as everyone else...
But what if the people of Birchenville didn't believe them? What if Brad, Gartha, Rachel, and everyone else was dead...?
Anxiously, she reached down for the gun she had managed to grab out of the glove compartment of the car Aunt Gartha had lent her. She stared at the metallic item in her hands, studying it carefully, then propping it open to make sure there were bullets in them... It was full, and Rowan sighed in relief before closing it, once again looking over the gun.
A Colt Python was what it was...the same gun she had used five years ago to fight against the undead that invaded her hometown. The same gun she had used to help hold the Nemesis back from her friends, the same gun she had used to blind the beast before they were able to escape the city via helicopter.
The same gun that had saved her life countless times.
The stench of those zombies still lingered in the air, and she suddenly felt sick, wishing that the smell would go away, that the sense of déjä vu would disappear like the morning fog always does. Her eyes fluttered a little bit, and a wave of dizziness suddenly overcame her. She groaned, reaching up and rubbing her forehead, while she heard footsteps in front of her, somehow louder then the loud commotion in the bus. Two strong arms reached down and were placed on her shoulders, and Rowan's eyes were averted towards the owner of those arms. Her eyes focused on the face of her friend, Greg, who was now leaning down beside her, nuzzling up beside her.
Only about fifteen minutes ago, Sherry coaxed Rowan to get out of the driver's seat and let Derek drive, as she was beginning to act dizzy while she was at the wheel. Rowan had complied, and had pulled the bus over to the side of the road, getting out and moving behind the driver's seat, where she plopped down on an empty seat. Derek took the wheel and began driving towards Birchenville. The people who were on the bus were being calmed down by the rest of the group, as well as by a few random people who realized that nothing good was going to come if everyone was a nervous wreck, but, then again, after their incident, who wouldn't be afraid?
Greg, in the meanwhile, sat beside Rowan and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into him, lonely tears of fright and old memories flowing down her face. She sobbed openly, her heartcracking, the memories of Raccoon City flooding back into her mind. Her body shook like a leaf, and Greg slowly hugged her, but not too tightly, as if she would break if she held her too tight. Rowan's grip on him, however, was like a death grip. She wouldn't let go, and she was afraid to, for some reason that he didn't know. Confusion dwelled on his face, and he reached down for her face, cupping it under her chin and lifting it so that her eyes could meet his. He almost flinched when he saw the look of devastation in those hazel eyes...
*What happened ot her...? Maybe she's afraid...or...*
"Rowan...?" he began, slowly brushing away the tears that were staining her face. She choked back a sob as he did this, pulling away a little, but only reaching forward and hugging him tightly again. More confusion appeared on his face as he tenderly brushed back her hair, then pulled away, rubbing her face and looking deep into her eyes. "Rowan...please, tell me...what's wrong...?"
She didn't respond for a moment, and Greg grew more concerned. By this time, Celica was peering down at them from somewhere behind them, and Shiva looked back at them from ahead. He didn't care about that, however. All he cared about was that Rowan would be okay...and that she told him why she was so upset. Inside, he knew that was slightly stupid. She could be upset by the fact that the town was being overwhelmed by creatures that Greg had seen countless times in Romero's movies. However, something else was upsetting her, he could see it in her eyes...
"Rowan...please..."
This time, she did answer, her eyes glowing lightly with sadness and some deep depression, as if she was reliving a sad memory. She gave him a final squeeze in their embrace, then pulled away, leaning against the seat and pulling her legs onto it, where she hugged her knees. She turned her head away to look out the window, staring at the moving background of trees and lakes while she spoke.
"Would you...really want to know...?" she asked softly, not turning to face him or anyone else. "Would you still trust me...if I...I told you?"
"Why wouldn't I trust you, Row," greg replied, leaning forward a little bit, but the girl flinched slightly, pulling away before continuing to speak.
"Those monsters out there...I...I'm afraid of them...I've...seen...seen them before..."
Greg pulled back a little bit, slightly taken aback, but pushed away the shock and fear before shifting over to her side a little bit more. Shiva watched them more closely now, moving towards their seat a little bit, while Celica looked over to Greg and mouthed, "What's she talking about?" He shook his head in response, showing that he had no idea. He looked back at the girl he sat next to again, then asked, "What do you mean...?"
"I've seen t-them before...," Rowan responded, just loud enough for her friends to hear. "Those creatures outside...those h-humans..." She paused for a moment, then crained her head to look over to them, her eyes sinking a little bit, it seemed. She looked like she was aging before them. "You r-remember...Rac-Raccoon City...? From five years ago...?"
"The place that was destroyed, right?" Celica responded now, reaching for the seat and placing her hands on it, cocking her head when she saw Rowan recoil.
"Y-yes...That place was my hometown..." Rowan paused, looking up to see the shocked expressions on her friends' faces. A small grin formed on her face, although there was no happiness in it, just slight amusement, as well as something grim. "T-They said that the place was...a, y'know...being invaded by a...deadly gang or something?" She saw them nod, and Rowan turned her face away to look out the window again. "T-They lied...The town ended just like Topeka is going to...The city was overrun by monsters..."
"How...?" Shiva blurted out, but she didn't finish. She was unable to find the words.
"...There was a virus...that turned...people into monsters like that. A virus...that killed any sanity you had, made you hunger for b-blood... made you undead... And it was created by a company you know so well..."
"What company?" Celica asked, leaning over the seat to look down at her friend's face, which was contorted in one of emotional pain.
"Umbrella..."
"You mean...that the, uh...reports that we saw on the news about five years ago," Greg asked, cocking his head. "The reports about the mansion and the S.T.A.R.S. guys getting the boot because they blew the place up...The place was owned by Umbrella, I heard... so that means..."
"...That they were wrong," Rowan continued, looking up to lock eyes with him. A lone tear escaped her eyes, and it trailed down her cheek, dripping off of her chin and falling upon her shirt, leaving a dark imprint on the black tee-shirt.
"What...how did you find out about all this...?" Shiva asked, raising a brow, and watching her with slight fear as Rowan regained some of her composure to face them. The girl took a deep breath, then brushed back a strand of hair that was beginning to stick to her face because of the tears.
"It's a long story..."
**********
He wandered after the bus for some time, now, and he didn't know how long he had been. He didn't care, however, as time did not bother him...all that bothered him was that the prey his master had ordered him to make sure was killed had gotten away in that moving piece of scrap metal. The thought of of failing his master angered him, and frightened him. If he failed, his master said he would make sure he would never be able to move again, that he would have to go back to the lab.
He hated the lab.
So, he kept journeying, knowing that, in a normal human, his legs would be tired from such a long walk. However, he was still full of energy, and, besides, he had been running for about ten minutes straight without stopping. He didn't need to stop to catch his breath...he wasn't human anymore... He didn't need to eat, didn't need to drink, didn't need to sleep... he was almost like a machine that didn't need any care, except for some supervision.
He ran almost as swiftly as a large cheetah, and just as quickly. A small grin formed on his face as he felt the wind rush into his face, and it grew when he looked up to see the town of Birchenville up ahead, with the bus heading towards it.
Smirking, he began to slow down, causing the wind to stop blowing his short, ear-length red hair. He began to walk towards the town instead of running, knowing that there would be no rush. Besides, when the bus stopped in town, there would be more people to kill, consisting of the townspeople, as well. The man snickered a little bit, and his yellow eyes began to shimmer brightly with anticipation of the oncoming massacre...
And, slowly, the human that had once been known as Steve Burnside stalked off after the moving piece of metal, being sure to keep out of sight as he did.
**********
"Well, Miss...?"
"Maria."
"Alright then, Miss Maria, the blackout was simply caused by one of my employees accidentally turning the generators off. My worker was feeling very tired that day, and he told me that he fell asleep while on duty. He said he fell asleep by the power controls, and accidentally hit the switch..."
Maria almost didn't pay attention while the man was talking. She wasn't even looking at him, actually. Her eyes were focusing on the wall behind him, as if there was something interesting there. She sighed in exasperation, causing the boss of the electric company to pause and look at her in concern for a moment before continuing his 'amazing' story.
*It's not so amazing,* Stacey thought to herself as she stared at the wall. *Wow, some kid fell asleep at the controls...BIG DEAL! Who cares?! It would've been more interesting if the guy fell asleep on an electrical fence...*
Jack looked away from the eyehole of the camera he held, and he stole a glance at the woman before reaching over to nudge her with his free arm. She snapped back to attention almost instantly, and shot a hateful glare at Jack, who simply grinned in response before focusing back onto the bos of the company, whom had paused yet again to see what was wrong, and if he missed something. Maria looked at him, and stared for a moment before shaking her head, telling him to continue his amazing story before she fell into an almost trace-like state as he spoke again. A single thought travelled across her mind as she did so.
*When I get back to the office, I'm gonna kick my boss' ass...Tell him to give me better jobs to do. More livening ones...*
Maria rubbed the back of her head while the boss of the electric company continued to speak about his oh so *incredible* story about the man falling asleep at the controls, who happened to accidentally brush his arm against the power switch, flicking it off. The woman simply stared at him, occasionally blurting out questions necessary for the report, without really caring if he answered, ignored her, or said something obscene while he did. She continued to ignore his words, his voice, and instead, began to think about other things, like what it would look like to have her boss bend over so she could kick his rear-end, or how life would be if she quit being a reporter...or if she was doing a more exciting job.
She wondered if something exciting would happen...
*Keep wishing-*
Her thoughts were cut off when she heard the squealing of tires behind her, and she swung around, as did Jack, while the electric company's owner simply stared, blinking. What they saw shook them up a little bit, and it got Maria's adrenaline rushing. Perhaps something exciting would happen today...perhaps her wishes had been answered...
What they saw was a city bus flying towards them, and Jack had to grasp at her arm and yank her away from the area, as she was rooted to the spot, a wide, insane grin on her face. By the time she realizaed she was being dragged along, the bus flew towards the electric company, heading straight for the boss, who stood, frozen with fear, eyes wide and body shaking. He was frozen with fear...and he couldn't move...
But the bus stopped abrubtly before the man who stood before the electric company, and the man stared at it for a moment, eyes still widened, his mouth moving in silent, unheard screams. The front of the bus just grazed the tip his nose, and he could feel the heat that radiated off of the metal that had gained kinetic energy from the afternoon sun. If anyone had noticed, they would have seen the dark spot that had begun to form on the man's pants from the fright, and he stood for only a second later before he collapsed to the ground, unconcious, still trembling like a leaf.
Maria was dimly aware of people getting out of the bus...only two. She could see hundreds of faces inside the vehicle, but she knew that was nearly impossible. A bus could only seat so many passengers...unless they had crammed in there, desperate to get away from something. She noted that the busdriver looked to be only around seventeen years old, and she also noted that the people coming towards her were no older than the boy who sat in the driver's seat. They consisted of a young girl and a young boy...and the girl looked like she had just gone through a nervous breakdown.
Beside her, Jack blinked in pure confusion, while Maria simply stared, unsure of what to do or say. The girl approached her swiftly, wiping her still damp cheeks with her sleeve before looking at her with blazing eyes of anxiety. She opened her mouth, and began to speak quickly, while the boy approached the unconcious man, poking him in the ribs slightly before shaking him, trying to wake him up. The girl noticed that the reported was hardly paying any attention to her, that her eyes were focused on the bus before her, and she waved her arms in front of Maria's face, calling out and telling her to listen to her.
The reported looked down and blinked.
"We need to warn everyone in this town," the girl was saying in a quiet, frightened voice. "Is there any way I can get everyone's attention, and fast?"
"Y-Yeah...," Maria began, shaking her head, rubbing her eyes, making sure this wasn't an illusion. When she removed her hands from her face, the scene was still the same as it was just a second ago, and she looked down at the child, nodding. "I'll...uh...bring you to this place...What's the rush?"
"Well, you see," the girl began, and her voice was very serious, "there is danger coming to this town."
"What kind of danger?"
"The undead kind of danger. This town's about to be infested by people who only feast on flesh."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
So? What'cha think? Sorry about the delay...writing two stories at once is kinda difficult!!
I'm 15!!!!!! YEAH!! FREE CAKE FOR EVERYONE!!...though its kinda invisible...
Chapter 8
Maria Dradcliffe was more bored than she had ever been in her life. TOday, like all days, was boring, and unimportant, at least for now, anyway. She had been sent to interview the manager of the electric company in Birchenville to ask questions about the recent blackout that had taken place...and she wondered if it was worth it. Electricity? Big woop... A small blackout? Who cared? It was over now, wasn't it? Oh well...she would have to get the questions answered to satisfy the people who were concerned about the electric company.
Silently, she brushed her hands over her long blonde hair, which had been tied into a long ponytail. Her deep yellowish-brown eyes glimmered a little bit in the afternoon sun as she shifted her head a little, reaching down to brush off her gray suit...a simple gray jacket that was wrapped around a white blouse. She had on a gray skirt, as well, and wore brown tights, along with a pair of black dress shoes. Sighing in exasperation she reached up for her hair again absently adjusted her spectacles before straightening up and looking to her right.
"Ready for the boring shit, Jack?" she asked to the man who stood beside her.
Jack Verona nodded, adjusting the television camera that was on his shoulders. His hair was a deep black, and went down below his shoulder-blades. He wore a similar suit to Maria's, save for the skirt, which was replaced by gray pants. He wore black sneakers, and did not wear tights, mind you. His eyes, bright green orbs, turned to the right, making sure that the equipement for going on television live was ready...
Everything was set up.
Nodding in affirmation, he turned his head around to face Maria, grinning softly, an amused look on his face. "Pretty annoyed, huh?" he asked, his voice a deep baritone.
"Sick and tired of the lame shit like this, Jack," she hissed again, her voice full of spite, as well as tinges of fatigue. "The boss is always giving us these dumbass interviews...An electric blackout?" She waved her hand in the air in dismissal. "Honestly, who would give a damn...?"
Jack shook his head and turned around, once again adjusting the camera on his shoulder before looking back at her and shaking his head. "Maybe he's just making us do this shit because there isn't anything going on in this town? This place is boring as Hell..."
"I hear you," Maria replied, placing her head between her hands before turning to look down the road, and at the huge electric company that sat in front of them. The building itself was pure white, and it was slowly shifting to a creamy yellow, showing that it was being struck by the elements as it aged. The generators in the back pounded and hummed loudly, and the two could barely make out the bustle and voices of the workers inside. The woman shook her head, and slowly rubbed her eyes before nodding to the cameraman, raising her hand up and making a gesture for him to follow her with the equipement. Jack obeyed, and, before allowing her to walk ahead, he handed her the microphone she would be needing. She clutched onto it and nodded before walking towards the building, another sigh escaping her mouth.
"For once...I wish something exciting would happen," she murmered, shaking her head before letting out a groan of exasperation. She made her way towards the door silently, not saying another word, until she came face to face with the steel door before them. Lowering her head in slight shame, she rose her hand to knock.
**********
"It's happening...I can't believe it's starting all over again..."
Rowan was murmering slowly to herself, rubbing her eyes with her hands, trying to keep the tears that had been threatening to fall at bay. She felt like she was being torn apart from the inside out. This was too much...a past of her's was being relived. A nightmare was starting again, and, once again, she was a victim of a company's tyranny, trying to escape from a city that had been infested with undead monsters bent on only one thing...to feed. She felt like she was losing her mind, slowly slipping away from her sanity...
But the scenario was different now. Rowan was older now, and she had friends along with her. She knew about Umbrella beforehand, and she was fighting to get the people out of the area that had been infested with zombies... She wouldn't make the same mistake twice, that mistake being losing her friends and her family, as well as the rest of the people in the city. The spread of the undead had just begun, so there was still time to warn the people of Birchenville, and maybe she would still be able to get ahold of her aunt and Brad, as well as everyone else...
But what if the people of Birchenville didn't believe them? What if Brad, Gartha, Rachel, and everyone else was dead...?
Anxiously, she reached down for the gun she had managed to grab out of the glove compartment of the car Aunt Gartha had lent her. She stared at the metallic item in her hands, studying it carefully, then propping it open to make sure there were bullets in them... It was full, and Rowan sighed in relief before closing it, once again looking over the gun.
A Colt Python was what it was...the same gun she had used five years ago to fight against the undead that invaded her hometown. The same gun she had used to help hold the Nemesis back from her friends, the same gun she had used to blind the beast before they were able to escape the city via helicopter.
The same gun that had saved her life countless times.
The stench of those zombies still lingered in the air, and she suddenly felt sick, wishing that the smell would go away, that the sense of déjä vu would disappear like the morning fog always does. Her eyes fluttered a little bit, and a wave of dizziness suddenly overcame her. She groaned, reaching up and rubbing her forehead, while she heard footsteps in front of her, somehow louder then the loud commotion in the bus. Two strong arms reached down and were placed on her shoulders, and Rowan's eyes were averted towards the owner of those arms. Her eyes focused on the face of her friend, Greg, who was now leaning down beside her, nuzzling up beside her.
Only about fifteen minutes ago, Sherry coaxed Rowan to get out of the driver's seat and let Derek drive, as she was beginning to act dizzy while she was at the wheel. Rowan had complied, and had pulled the bus over to the side of the road, getting out and moving behind the driver's seat, where she plopped down on an empty seat. Derek took the wheel and began driving towards Birchenville. The people who were on the bus were being calmed down by the rest of the group, as well as by a few random people who realized that nothing good was going to come if everyone was a nervous wreck, but, then again, after their incident, who wouldn't be afraid?
Greg, in the meanwhile, sat beside Rowan and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and she leaned into him, lonely tears of fright and old memories flowing down her face. She sobbed openly, her heartcracking, the memories of Raccoon City flooding back into her mind. Her body shook like a leaf, and Greg slowly hugged her, but not too tightly, as if she would break if she held her too tight. Rowan's grip on him, however, was like a death grip. She wouldn't let go, and she was afraid to, for some reason that he didn't know. Confusion dwelled on his face, and he reached down for her face, cupping it under her chin and lifting it so that her eyes could meet his. He almost flinched when he saw the look of devastation in those hazel eyes...
*What happened ot her...? Maybe she's afraid...or...*
"Rowan...?" he began, slowly brushing away the tears that were staining her face. She choked back a sob as he did this, pulling away a little, but only reaching forward and hugging him tightly again. More confusion appeared on his face as he tenderly brushed back her hair, then pulled away, rubbing her face and looking deep into her eyes. "Rowan...please, tell me...what's wrong...?"
She didn't respond for a moment, and Greg grew more concerned. By this time, Celica was peering down at them from somewhere behind them, and Shiva looked back at them from ahead. He didn't care about that, however. All he cared about was that Rowan would be okay...and that she told him why she was so upset. Inside, he knew that was slightly stupid. She could be upset by the fact that the town was being overwhelmed by creatures that Greg had seen countless times in Romero's movies. However, something else was upsetting her, he could see it in her eyes...
"Rowan...please..."
This time, she did answer, her eyes glowing lightly with sadness and some deep depression, as if she was reliving a sad memory. She gave him a final squeeze in their embrace, then pulled away, leaning against the seat and pulling her legs onto it, where she hugged her knees. She turned her head away to look out the window, staring at the moving background of trees and lakes while she spoke.
"Would you...really want to know...?" she asked softly, not turning to face him or anyone else. "Would you still trust me...if I...I told you?"
"Why wouldn't I trust you, Row," greg replied, leaning forward a little bit, but the girl flinched slightly, pulling away before continuing to speak.
"Those monsters out there...I...I'm afraid of them...I've...seen...seen them before..."
Greg pulled back a little bit, slightly taken aback, but pushed away the shock and fear before shifting over to her side a little bit more. Shiva watched them more closely now, moving towards their seat a little bit, while Celica looked over to Greg and mouthed, "What's she talking about?" He shook his head in response, showing that he had no idea. He looked back at the girl he sat next to again, then asked, "What do you mean...?"
"I've seen t-them before...," Rowan responded, just loud enough for her friends to hear. "Those creatures outside...those h-humans..." She paused for a moment, then crained her head to look over to them, her eyes sinking a little bit, it seemed. She looked like she was aging before them. "You r-remember...Rac-Raccoon City...? From five years ago...?"
"The place that was destroyed, right?" Celica responded now, reaching for the seat and placing her hands on it, cocking her head when she saw Rowan recoil.
"Y-yes...That place was my hometown..." Rowan paused, looking up to see the shocked expressions on her friends' faces. A small grin formed on her face, although there was no happiness in it, just slight amusement, as well as something grim. "T-They said that the place was...a, y'know...being invaded by a...deadly gang or something?" She saw them nod, and Rowan turned her face away to look out the window again. "T-They lied...The town ended just like Topeka is going to...The city was overrun by monsters..."
"How...?" Shiva blurted out, but she didn't finish. She was unable to find the words.
"...There was a virus...that turned...people into monsters like that. A virus...that killed any sanity you had, made you hunger for b-blood... made you undead... And it was created by a company you know so well..."
"What company?" Celica asked, leaning over the seat to look down at her friend's face, which was contorted in one of emotional pain.
"Umbrella..."
"You mean...that the, uh...reports that we saw on the news about five years ago," Greg asked, cocking his head. "The reports about the mansion and the S.T.A.R.S. guys getting the boot because they blew the place up...The place was owned by Umbrella, I heard... so that means..."
"...That they were wrong," Rowan continued, looking up to lock eyes with him. A lone tear escaped her eyes, and it trailed down her cheek, dripping off of her chin and falling upon her shirt, leaving a dark imprint on the black tee-shirt.
"What...how did you find out about all this...?" Shiva asked, raising a brow, and watching her with slight fear as Rowan regained some of her composure to face them. The girl took a deep breath, then brushed back a strand of hair that was beginning to stick to her face because of the tears.
"It's a long story..."
**********
He wandered after the bus for some time, now, and he didn't know how long he had been. He didn't care, however, as time did not bother him...all that bothered him was that the prey his master had ordered him to make sure was killed had gotten away in that moving piece of scrap metal. The thought of of failing his master angered him, and frightened him. If he failed, his master said he would make sure he would never be able to move again, that he would have to go back to the lab.
He hated the lab.
So, he kept journeying, knowing that, in a normal human, his legs would be tired from such a long walk. However, he was still full of energy, and, besides, he had been running for about ten minutes straight without stopping. He didn't need to stop to catch his breath...he wasn't human anymore... He didn't need to eat, didn't need to drink, didn't need to sleep... he was almost like a machine that didn't need any care, except for some supervision.
He ran almost as swiftly as a large cheetah, and just as quickly. A small grin formed on his face as he felt the wind rush into his face, and it grew when he looked up to see the town of Birchenville up ahead, with the bus heading towards it.
Smirking, he began to slow down, causing the wind to stop blowing his short, ear-length red hair. He began to walk towards the town instead of running, knowing that there would be no rush. Besides, when the bus stopped in town, there would be more people to kill, consisting of the townspeople, as well. The man snickered a little bit, and his yellow eyes began to shimmer brightly with anticipation of the oncoming massacre...
And, slowly, the human that had once been known as Steve Burnside stalked off after the moving piece of metal, being sure to keep out of sight as he did.
**********
"Well, Miss...?"
"Maria."
"Alright then, Miss Maria, the blackout was simply caused by one of my employees accidentally turning the generators off. My worker was feeling very tired that day, and he told me that he fell asleep while on duty. He said he fell asleep by the power controls, and accidentally hit the switch..."
Maria almost didn't pay attention while the man was talking. She wasn't even looking at him, actually. Her eyes were focusing on the wall behind him, as if there was something interesting there. She sighed in exasperation, causing the boss of the electric company to pause and look at her in concern for a moment before continuing his 'amazing' story.
*It's not so amazing,* Stacey thought to herself as she stared at the wall. *Wow, some kid fell asleep at the controls...BIG DEAL! Who cares?! It would've been more interesting if the guy fell asleep on an electrical fence...*
Jack looked away from the eyehole of the camera he held, and he stole a glance at the woman before reaching over to nudge her with his free arm. She snapped back to attention almost instantly, and shot a hateful glare at Jack, who simply grinned in response before focusing back onto the bos of the company, whom had paused yet again to see what was wrong, and if he missed something. Maria looked at him, and stared for a moment before shaking her head, telling him to continue his amazing story before she fell into an almost trace-like state as he spoke again. A single thought travelled across her mind as she did so.
*When I get back to the office, I'm gonna kick my boss' ass...Tell him to give me better jobs to do. More livening ones...*
Maria rubbed the back of her head while the boss of the electric company continued to speak about his oh so *incredible* story about the man falling asleep at the controls, who happened to accidentally brush his arm against the power switch, flicking it off. The woman simply stared at him, occasionally blurting out questions necessary for the report, without really caring if he answered, ignored her, or said something obscene while he did. She continued to ignore his words, his voice, and instead, began to think about other things, like what it would look like to have her boss bend over so she could kick his rear-end, or how life would be if she quit being a reporter...or if she was doing a more exciting job.
She wondered if something exciting would happen...
*Keep wishing-*
Her thoughts were cut off when she heard the squealing of tires behind her, and she swung around, as did Jack, while the electric company's owner simply stared, blinking. What they saw shook them up a little bit, and it got Maria's adrenaline rushing. Perhaps something exciting would happen today...perhaps her wishes had been answered...
What they saw was a city bus flying towards them, and Jack had to grasp at her arm and yank her away from the area, as she was rooted to the spot, a wide, insane grin on her face. By the time she realizaed she was being dragged along, the bus flew towards the electric company, heading straight for the boss, who stood, frozen with fear, eyes wide and body shaking. He was frozen with fear...and he couldn't move...
But the bus stopped abrubtly before the man who stood before the electric company, and the man stared at it for a moment, eyes still widened, his mouth moving in silent, unheard screams. The front of the bus just grazed the tip his nose, and he could feel the heat that radiated off of the metal that had gained kinetic energy from the afternoon sun. If anyone had noticed, they would have seen the dark spot that had begun to form on the man's pants from the fright, and he stood for only a second later before he collapsed to the ground, unconcious, still trembling like a leaf.
Maria was dimly aware of people getting out of the bus...only two. She could see hundreds of faces inside the vehicle, but she knew that was nearly impossible. A bus could only seat so many passengers...unless they had crammed in there, desperate to get away from something. She noted that the busdriver looked to be only around seventeen years old, and she also noted that the people coming towards her were no older than the boy who sat in the driver's seat. They consisted of a young girl and a young boy...and the girl looked like she had just gone through a nervous breakdown.
Beside her, Jack blinked in pure confusion, while Maria simply stared, unsure of what to do or say. The girl approached her swiftly, wiping her still damp cheeks with her sleeve before looking at her with blazing eyes of anxiety. She opened her mouth, and began to speak quickly, while the boy approached the unconcious man, poking him in the ribs slightly before shaking him, trying to wake him up. The girl noticed that the reported was hardly paying any attention to her, that her eyes were focused on the bus before her, and she waved her arms in front of Maria's face, calling out and telling her to listen to her.
The reported looked down and blinked.
"We need to warn everyone in this town," the girl was saying in a quiet, frightened voice. "Is there any way I can get everyone's attention, and fast?"
"Y-Yeah...," Maria began, shaking her head, rubbing her eyes, making sure this wasn't an illusion. When she removed her hands from her face, the scene was still the same as it was just a second ago, and she looked down at the child, nodding. "I'll...uh...bring you to this place...What's the rush?"
"Well, you see," the girl began, and her voice was very serious, "there is danger coming to this town."
"What kind of danger?"
"The undead kind of danger. This town's about to be infested by people who only feast on flesh."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
So? What'cha think? Sorry about the delay...writing two stories at once is kinda difficult!!
I'm 15!!!!!! YEAH!! FREE CAKE FOR EVERYONE!!...though its kinda invisible...