With headphones blasting the "Top 100 Hits from 2012" and body moving in step to a half-dance, half-murder-spree; the twenty-three year old fought her way through the overrun compound.
"Some nights I wish that this all would end, 'cause I really could use a friend right now-" Left foot on garbage can, right hand swings down with machete, slicing Viral head in half; left hand hits 'next'.
"Just shoot for the stars, if it feels right; and aim for my heart, if you feel like-" Right foot firmly placed against Viral's chest, left hand pulls the trigger, bullet flies through the Virals' forehead. Lips part-"I love this song!" Hips swing to the beat and feet pound against the ground. Dust cloud rises behind her, hands reach for links to the chain link fence.
"Take me by the tongue and I'll know you. Kiss me 'til your drunk and I'll show you-" Body launched over the top of the fence, Virals throw themselves against it. Feet painfully land on the ground and she pushes herself to roll to a stop. Hands press on dead grass and dust as she springs up, running once again. She may be out of the compound, but she isn't necessarily free from Virals.
"Oh, so get in the car, we can ride it-" Eyes search for safety, find it in the form of the mouth to a shallow cave. Feet pound against dry ground and arms pump against the air. Eyes squint against the light of the setting sun. Legs colllapse as she breaches the cave. Fingers fumble for a fire starting kit. Hands fly across the contents of her bag until a fire is started, illuminating the cave, empty with the exception of a small pool of water. Handds and calves and shoes scrape against the hard floor as she struggles to cover the entrance with a nearby rock. Lips part in a sigh as she sinks against the cave's wall once it is mostly closed; open only to filter out smoke.
"I've got the moves like Jagger." Fingers fumble to flip the music off. Small pillow and blanket pulled out of bag, along with emergency shock sheet and large ziploc baggy of assorted pills. After the removal of a water bottle with lukewarm water, she downed three select pills and replaced it. She carefully settled part of her emergency shock blanket on the ground as a cushion and then pulled the rest of it over her. The blanket was pulled over herself next, and the pillow placed under her head. Without a second thought, her eyes drifted closed, her hands clutching a hardback journal titled "Paige".
Hailey slowly removed the bandages she'd put on before heading out. It was an annoyance to have to obey every order by Moxxie, but at least Hailey and her ragtag group was alive. It did pain her to have to bring in survivors, but she could handle it if it meant a semblance of freedom for her and her friends. She may not have many emotions in general, but she could not stand the thought that she allowed someone to die when she could save them. The girl from earlier, Massie, would not die unless she did something stupid. If Hailey had left her in the hotel, she probably would have perished, and Hailey's group would have been murdered.
Her back ached, reminding her that not all of the bandages were fake. Some covered real wounds. For example, one of the bandages on her head covered the wound she'd gotten just days ago when she first arrived at the compound. The bandage on her back, which was covered, was for a wound she'd gotten on her first day, when she'd rebelled. The bandage on her wrist was to cover up the wound she got from slicing her wrist during an escape attempt. Most of her bandages may have been fake, but none of Harold's were.
"Stripes?" Hailey turned her head slightly as someone entered her room. She recognized them as someone from Moxxie's guard, but she was unable to attach a name to the face.
"You have dirt on your face," Hailey stated plainly as she adjusted the bandage on her back. The man rubbed at his forehead, successfully eradicating the dirt.
"Thanks. How are you? Feeling any better?"
"No," she replied. She finished adjusting the bandage and slid her shirt back on over her bandeau wrap she wore. The guard at least had the decency to look a little uncomfortable that she'd been in pretty much a bra when he'd walked in, but he didn't comment.
"Can I get you anything? Moxxie's really thankful that you've brought in so many people today." Hailey looked the man straight in the eye.
"Tell her I don't care." He rubbed at the back of his neck and shook his head.
"She doesn't take well to...things like that. Are you certain I can't get you anything?"
"Yes," Hailey replied, brushing her knotted hair slowly. The man nodded once and then left, closing the wooden door softly. The room was all but dark, the only light filtering in from the barred window. Hailey found herself on her back, staring up at the ceiling with the little glow-in-the-dark stars. She didn't bother to move until Harold and the others entered the room. She sat up then, but too quickly. A hand flew to her back to attempt to remedy some of the pain from the sudden movement, but she paid little mind to it.
"How's the new one doing?" she asked, her voice void of emotion.
"Unusualy fine, actually. Complains about a headache, but that's about it," Harold replied. Hailey shrugged.
"She'll soon see that she's probably better off dead."
Knots rubbed at her aching half-leg, a frown on her face. Her group was dead-set on leaving. Knots had spent more time outside than most of them--she, Red, Coraline and TV had been together since day one. They met up with Oliver's family on day three, when Red led the group past an old gas station and Oliver had exited, hands in the air and offering food. After they'd left the gas station, they'd met up with the rest of them on day five, when they'd been skirting around the Rowheart "Safe-Zone" which they assumed was overrun. The others had been fleeing the safe-zone and they joined up and headed toward the college campus. The others hadn't experienced what it had been like outside. Knots, Cora, TV and Red had all been without even a sense of safety for six days. They'd seen what it was like outside the walls. They'd seen how hard it was.
Sure, Knots understood that they were nervous. Scared. But they had a chance if they remained at the dorms, and she didn't know how much of one they'd have outside. Especially since she knew what it was like outside and she never wished to return.
"How are you doing, Knots?" Coraline had entered the room. Behind her, face ashen, was Britney.
"Fine. Soar. You?" Coraline frowned, her lips drawing into a thin line. No humor shined in her eyes, an unusual occurence for Cora.
"Fine. Apprehensive. Been hanging out with little Brit all day, right?" Britney didn't reply. She hovered behind Coraline, not hardly moving, her eyes downcast. She was wearing the same thing as yesterday--the same thing she'd woken up in, found her family all dead in--a white, short-sleeved button-up and a pair of lace-decorated shorts. Knots wondered why Britney hadn't changed; or at least been changed by someone else.
"How's she doing?" Knots hesitated after she asked the question. Should she have asked Britney? She decided she was correct in asking Coraline--Britney didn't seem up for talking.
"She's....hanging in there, right, Brit?" Britney didn't reply. "I don't know how she'll take the other news." Them leaving. With Knots injured and possibly infected, Brit in a daze, Red on edge and everyone else still pretty shook up, it wasn't exactly the ideal time to leave. But Angie, Gems and Red had decided together that it was better for the group if everyone left now, before there was another attack. Their numbers had fallen drastically, what with almost all of Oliver's family gone, along with Kipper and TV; and no one knew what would come at them next. People, Virals or starvation. Any of it could happen.
"No one's good with the news. I heard the twins didn't care, though."
"Do they care about anything?" Coraline cracked a small smile and shook her head. "I don't know, Knots. If we're going to leave, we need to do it now, right? Before we've lost even more?"
"I suppose," Knots replied. She sighed. "Let's go talk to Red."
Lady held one of Damon's hand on the table, the other holding her hand of cards. She'd decided to allow herself to "fall" for Damon. Or, moreso, to express emotion toward him. She expected to be in his presence for a while, and she did like him, to an extent, so she decided to try it out with dating him. Forget what Hailey said about remaining emotionless. Remaining emotionless would have landed Lady alone, at a loss, and probably dying. Allowing herself to be emotional and make a friend in this God-forsaken world had allowed herself to have a partner, a love, and safety. She wasn't dying. She had an RV that she lived in. Food to eat. Water to drink. A bed to sleep in. She had it.
With a small smile, she rose from the table, laying her cards out flat. "I won," she procclaimed, releasing Damon's hand and turning to look out the window. They were parked in a small garage--very small, so small that the RV barely fit--for the night. Despite the cover it provided, Lady still was a little apprehensive about completely trusting it.
"Something wrong?" Damon asked. He'd risen from his seat while Lady was spacing out, and now tossed an arm over her shoulders. She rolled her eyes and looked up.
"You're here," she said sarcastically. He raised an eyebrow and she ducked from beneath his arm. "Everything's fine outside. It's weird thinking I spent so long alone, travelling, and now I'm with you: stationary, rather safe, rather happy. It's weird. It feels like....before." Damon laughed softly.
"Yeah, it is. But it feels right, yeah?" He pulled Lady into a hug. "I think for tonight we should check out the clothing store down a ways. We haven't seen any Virals and we've been here two days now. We'll be good for a short shopping spree." Lady grinned.
"Good. You're getting smelly." She giggled at Damon's pretend-offended expression and ducked into the bedroom, grabbing her backpack to prepare for their shopping adventure.
Knots sat on the left side of the love seat, her braces crossed on her lap, her brows furrowed in an attempt to fully understand Red's plan.
"Explain it again," Coraline said slowly. She'd tossed herself on the couch, an arm over her head. Angie sat at her feet, and Gems stood next to her. The twins sat in the corner, speaking quietly amongst themselves, and Britney, Nick and Abigail sat silently against the wall. The final decision was delivered. Red had decided they'd leave.
"We'll leave tonight. After the sun sets. Easier to hide from the Virals. We'll head out of the campus in two cars--the minivan and the sports car--and we'll head toward Roselind. We'll stop there for the night. After that, we'll head to wherever we see fit. Don't know. Just...safety," Angie said. She stepped in for the pretty-much-mute Red, who'd spoken just about twice during the meeting.
"Yeah," Red agreed. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, frowning.
"Well, then everyone should get packed, right?" Angie said after no one outright disagreed with the plan. "If we're leaving tonight..."
"Right," Coraline said. She stood and stretched, her shoulders popping. "Come on, Brit. I'll help you get changed!" They disappeared through the door, and next followed Angie, Nick, and the twins. Gems led up the end of the line. Red, after a look cast at Knots and a mumble about "talk to you later", also left the room. Knots was left alone with Abigail.
"How are you, Abigail?" Knots asked. She wasn't going to bother packing her bag. She kept the essentials in a backpack at all times, and that's all she would bring. That and a shirt from Kipper and Bell.
"Fine," Abigail said quietly. She continued to stare out the window.
"Are you going to come with us?" She looked up suddenly.
"You know?"
"Know what?" Knots frowned.
"Oh. I'm not. I'm going to go look for my friends." Abigail then returned to staring out the window.
"Oh?" Knots asked, attempting to prompt a conversation. It appeared not to work. Abigail had returned to silence. "I'll miss you. Stay safe." After that, she left the room. Knots soon followed, prepping for their midnight trip.
A/N : I imagined a lot of this chapter to the song "Barra Barra"; it's Arabic (I'm pretty sure) and I can't understand it, but I googled the English translation and it's dang good (: I hope you enjoyed this update. Please comment, vote and share! Thanks!
P.S. It was supposed to be longer, with a chapter about Melissa (from day 25) but I just can't write her character right now :(