Author's Note:
Hey guys, happy to bring you all the second chapter of the series! I'm having a blast writing these characters, and I have big plans for all of them. I have a pretty good idea of where I'm going with the story from here, and things are going to be picking up speed. It's never too late to submit a character! Of course, I'll have to give some time before they come into the story, but if you've been wanting to make a character of your own then give it a shot!
EDIT: Keep in mind, there are some characters that are members of the original group that do not appear in this chapter, due to the fact that I began writing it before those characters were submitted. I probably tried to slip them in somewhere, but it's difficult to add in characters once a chapter's already written. Don't worry, they'll be around by the next one. The best characters are often the ones introduced a little bit later than others.
Skylar slowly opened his eyes, beginning to sit up. A sudden pain in his leg made him abort the effort, wincing in unexpected pain. It all came back to him-the blown-out tire, the biters, being shot-everything. He found himself in a panic, unsure of his surroundings. Where was his family? His leg was bandaged and elevated on a pillow, a throbbing pain still resounding through the entire limb.
"H-hello?" He called out loudly.
Footsteps resounded outside, coming closer. A moment later, a head popped into the tent. It was a young man with light-brown, twinkling eyes. His blonde hair was grown just beyond a buzz cut, complete with a light chin beard. His face was red and friendly, his jaw sharp.
"Oh good," the man said, "you're awake."
"Who are you?"
"Name's Liam." The man said with a smile, extending his hand. "...I don't bite."
After a lengthy pause, Skylar cautiously shook his hand, eyebrows reflecting his skepticism. Suddenly, he jolted minutely.
"My dad and sister? Are they here? Where are they?!"
"Calm down, they're fine. You're at a refugee camp just south of Hapsburn, everyone's having breakfast right now. You'll see them soon."
Skye sat back, still trying to process things.
"So, you people fixed up my leg?"
"Yeah," Liam replied, "me, for the most part. You're lucky the bullet didn't hit an artery. You should make a full recovery, but it's gonna take time."
"You some sort of doctor?"
"Army medic, actually. Nowadays it's close enough."
Awkward silence fell for a few seconds.
"So..." Skye asked, "this camp-how many people live here?"
"Around thirty, give or take."
Before he could ask any more questions, Liam spoke up again.
"By the way," Liam asked, "I never did get your name."
"Skylar. Uh, Skylar Ranoss."
Heng-Lee sat side-by-side with Cio as the two washed dishes together, finding the silence between the two to be rather uncomfortable. They rarely ever interacted with each other at camp, but they just so happened to be assigned to the same boring job. Then again, given all the recent intensity around camp the past day, it was nice to have some peace and quiet. Back when he was younger, he always needed to be around people, he hated silence. Strangely enough, all he seemed to want nowadays was to be in solitude.
"So," he began, trying to start a little conversation while still avoiding awkward eye contact, "what do you think of the newcomers?"
"They seem harmless enough," Cio replied, "then again, it's not too easy to tell nowadays."
"Isn't that the truth."
Heng-Lee glanced over to two of the newcomers, Darren and Pfiefer, as they talked by one of the tents.
Logan tried his best to adjust his deep voice to add excitement to the story, as he read Rose a novel he'd found on the last supply run. He always worked to find something to bring back for her whenever he left on a run, and she never ceased to squeal with excitement when he brought back books. She loved being read to, even though she was old enough to read to herself, to a degree. Reading to her had been a tradition for Logan, even before the outbreak. She was his responsibility, just like she'd always been. Sometimes he felt like she and Liam were the only things keeping him sane.
Regardless of all the shit that had happened, Rose was still as cheerful and imaginative as ever, and he loved that. He wanted to keep it that way, as long as he could. Maybe he was sheltering her, but who could really blame him? Unfortunately, he knew things wouldn't be like this forever. Everyone at the camp pretended that things were fine, masking their fear and worry with cheerful attitudes and casual conversation, but he and Liam had seen how bad things were outside the fences. It was only a matter of time, he believed, and he intended to be ready when things fell apart. As long as she and Liam were safe, he could make it through this.
"Logan?" Rose asked, her concentration on the book breaking suddenly.
"Yeah?" Logan replied, setting down the novel with his thumb saving his place.
"Where's Liam? I want him to hear the story too."
"He'll be here soon, he's helping some new people out."
"There's new people at the camp? When can I meet them? Are they nice? What're-"
"Settle down, you'll meet them soon." He cut her off with a chuckle. "They seem nice."
"Why do they need help?"
"One of them's hurt, that's all."
"How did they get hurt?"
"Tell you what," he sighed, "once you meet them, you can ask all the questions you want. Deal?"
Rose nodded. Picking the book back up, he continued. Before he made it long into the new chapter they'd started, footsteps approached the tent. A familiar head poked in.
"Mind if I join you?" Liam quipped, shuffling into the tent beside Rose. "I see you two started the next chapter without me?" He raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend.
"It's Logan's fault, I told him to wait for you!" Rose objected.
"Is that so?" Liam joked, giving Logan a quick peck on the lips.
"Ew, gross!" Rose exclaimed, prompting a laugh from both men.
John spread out through the camp, sending people to the center where Riley was making an announcement. One by one, he got people to drop their things and head to the center, where he was standing on top of the bed of a pickup truck. Approaching Gia's tent, he rattled it a bit.
"Hey, Riley wants everyone at the center, he's making an announcement."
Gia poked her head out, apparently having just woken up from a nap. "What's this about?"
"He didn't say."
She nodded, getting out and following him over.
"Alright," Riley loudly said from in front of the small crowd around him, "you're probably aware that things are running low around here. I'm looking for a group of around seven people to come with me into the city to look for anything useful."
Looking around, he saw the hesitance on the others' faces. They all knew the risks of going outside the fences, especially since they'd lost people before on runs like this one. However, he knew how badly they needed food and water.
"I'll go." He said, raising his hand and breaking the silence. Before long, others began to join in. Ignacio. Mariano. Isaac. One by one, the spots started to fill.
Logan looked to Liam, frowning as Riley made his announcement. He knew how much Rose hated it when either of them left on a run. She was only ten years old, but somehow, she knew there was a chance they wouldn't come back.
"I'm in." He announced, raising his hand.
"What the hell, Logan?" Liam whispered, pulling him aside.
"Am I supposed to just sit here? The others need me. You and I both know we're the best ones equipped for the outside. Hell, most of the others don't even know how to load a gun."
"What about Rose? Doesn't she need you? This isn't a good idea, Logan. I'm serious."
"So am I."
Liam sighed, then raised his hand also.
"I'm going too." He said.
"Are you kidding me?" Logan whispered loudly, turning back to him.
"What? I can't risk myself but you can? If you're going, then so am I. We both know I can take care of myself."
"Who's going to watch Rose while we're gone?"
"She can play with Elliana while we're gone, it'll only be a few hours. Hank or Gia can watch her."
"I'm guessing there's no way I can talk you out of this?"
"You guessed correctly." Liam retorted, turning his attention back to Riley.
"We've got enough people for the run," Riley announced, "We'll meet in the morning after breakfast, and head out by noon. We should be back before sundown."
Logan nodded, pushing his worries aside. He had a job to do, just like everyone.
Author's Note:
I'm excited to move the story forward, I have very big plans for the next few chapters! I have a good outline of where I'm going from here, and I can't wait to continue writing the awesome characters you all submitted.
However, I also have another announcement. Unfortunately, due to the heavy traffic of submissions I've recieved, I have to let you all know that I'm going to have to start accepting and rejecting some of them. I'm still recieving quite a few all the time, so just know that not all submissions will be accepted. Sorry about this, but it's necessary to keep from overcrowding. You'll know if your character has been accepted or not.
==Character Credits==
Ignacio Moreno / Created by Wolfie McCoy
-Mariano Moreno
John Curlmen / Created by RainGain
Riley Hall / Created by GrabbageTheImmortalChinchilla
Geovanni "Gia" Polanski / Created by thedaffodilqueen
Skylar Ranoss / Created by Me
-Darren Ranoss
-Pfiefer Ranoss
Logan Brooks / Created by tobi-is-an-artist-too
-Liam Kosta
-Rose Brooks
Kwok "Hank" Heng-Lee / Created by motordog