Welcome to another chapter of FLOSS! :) I hope that when you read it, you enjoy it, and join my army of intellectual teddy bears. Anyhow, comment, fan, whatever the cool Wattpaders like you guys do. :3 This one is shorter, but slower paced. :) On with ze story!
💛
Chapter 2: Pick a Room, Kid
I turned around in a half-circle and saw a motel. A nice one. "A motel? How convenient." My voice was injected with nothing but sarcasm. "I don't think so." With that, I turned back around, and started to walk back on the path.
"Where else is there?" Big-Guy questioned. "There's nothing around here and it's already dark. Soon enough, we won't be able to see anything." I stopped walking and rolled my eyes at myself.
He does make sense, my brain said.
Rotating on the balls of my feet, I walked back towards the motel. "Fine." We opened the door to reveal a large marble foyer. "This is awfully big for a motel. Really big."
"Almost too nice, huh?" he said.
I nodded silently. My feet moved slowly as I walked further in. I could hear Big-Guy's feet shuffling behind me and turned around to give him the "shh" gesture.
His eyebrows shot up and he rolled his eyes.
I laughed and nodded my head in agreement. Annoying. Looking to my left, I saw a curved set of stairs that led to the second floor of the building. In the opposite direction there were two doors and a hallway.
"We should split up and search the place," I suggested.
Big-Guy shook his head and spoke, "I don't think so. We have no idea what's in here and you want to walk around alone?"
"You know, we just met for the first time today."
He nodded like the statement was obvious, which it was.
"Which means that before then, I was fighting and taking care of myself just fine. I think I'm okay." I lifted my one eyebrow, and watched him wrestle with my words.
"That's true," he said. "But still, what if there's a horde hidden somewhere or something?"
I shrugged my shoulders and walked towards the stairs. "I'll take care of it."
I heard him mumbling something about "That girl and her damn pride," and saw him walk off in the direction of the hallway.
Climbing the stairs quietly, I noticed that the paint on the walls wasn't chipped or faded; it almost looked new. The rug wasn't as worn down as a normal motel's would be, and every lightbulb in the hallway burned with bright luminescence.
"What's an abandoned motel doing with electricity?" I mumbled to myself.
At the top of the stairs, I saw, to one side, six suite doors, and on the other side was a balcony type railing that overlooked the foyer. Walking to the door with a number "1" on it, I slowly opened it and scanned the room. Nothing. Onto number two.
This became the routine until I came across door number five.
Pushing open the door, I listened and waited for any sign of an attacker. When I didn't catch anything, I moved to close the door. Then I heard it; the slightest rustle of clothing. Sighing in annoyance, I took one of my katanas from the sheathes on my back, and moved toward the closet next to the bed.
Where are you hiding?, I thought.
Hearing a creak from the bathroom, I spun around and kicked the door in. A Hunter growled and ran at me full speed. I narrowed my eyes in concentration and then threw myself at it while swinging my sword behind me. At the last minute, I dropped to the ground and slid between its legs. I watched as it slammed into the wall and whipped around to take my katana through the chest. With a slight push and twist, the Hunter was dead. I pulled my sword out of its chest and moved to the sink to wash it. After moving out of the room and quickly and double-checking all of the suites, I moved back downstairs to check on Big-Guy.
Check on him?, my brain asked smartly.
Yes, I thought. To make sure he's still alive, and not being eaten alive.
Right...
I rolled my eyes. Even my own brain was a skeptic. And I was talking to myself. Not even myself, my brain.
Obviously, the internal speaking wasn't ending anytime soon.
That's right. We're just beginning, Scarlett!
I had no idea that a voice inside of my head could sound so...happy. Maybe I had a split personality thing developing? I walked into one of the open doors and saw computer screens.
A surveillance room? I left the room and peered around the frame of the second door and saw file cabinets and closets; all of them pulled open.
Someone ran through here quick. What were they looking for?
Walking out and down the hallway, I heard grunting noises. My feet automatically picked up in speed as I rushed to the end of the hall to see Big-Guy twist the neck of a Slicer. The room was silent except for the sound of his harsh breathing.
"Are you doing alright?" I asked with a small grin.
He looked beat, but he turned to look at me and gave a thumbs up.
"You don't look like it," I mumbled.
His eyes turned to slits and he looked down at the Slicer.
I followed his eyes and then looked back up at him. "I see you took care of the Slicer."
He chuckled. "Yeah, it tried to give me a hard time, but you know, I-wait. Slicer?"
I nodded my head. "While I'll ignore your partial victory speech, I'll explain the name. Later. Right now, you should probably choose a room upstairs. I already cleared them out." Turning on my heels, I walked out of the hallway and back towards the stairs. "The third suite is mine, and I wouldn't recommend the fifth one because I took out a Hunter in that one. Everything else is free for your choosing." With that, I walked back up to my suite and closed the door.
I dropped onto the bed and relaxed all the muscles in my body. How long has it been since I'd slept in a bed? I rolled around like a dog for a while and then went into the bathroom. I frowned as I pulled the handle on the sink and water shot out of the sink head.
Fully working water, electricity, and cameras...what else is there?
I brushed the paranoia off of my shoulders and decided to relax. Suddenly, I smelled this weird, musky scent. I lifted my arms and sniffed. I watched my expression in the mirror turn from one of calm to disgust.
Great, I was exhausted and smelled like undead insides.
Shaking my head, I walked over to the shower and turned the water up as hot as it would go. Who knows the next time I might shower? I felt like crying at the thought. I began my search for soap and found some under the sink. Standing in the spray of water, I thought again about all of the weird things in the motel.
Electricity, video cameras, clean water, and furniture. Which also looks brand new, or, at the very least, kept up with. So the question is: who does all of it belong to?
As I finished washing, I decided I would talk to Big-Guy about it. I exhaled a long breath as I walked out of the suite feeling fresh.
Showers are gifts to the world, and being funky is never okay, Scarlett.
Ignoring 'inner me,' I turned to my left side to knock on suite number two. I waited about 30 seconds before opening the door and finding the suite empty. Moving to the other side of my door, I knocked on suite number four. There was still no sound, so I opened the door and walked in. I listened at the door of the bathroom to hear the sound of running water.
Turning around, I began my journey back to the door when I heard the water stop. I sped my feet up, trying to get to the door before he had realized I was in here, but then I heard him call my name.
"Scarlett?" I froze and turned to face him slowly. More correctly, I turned to face him in a towel.
"How may I help you?" I responded.
You're in his room, you big dummy.
I didn't need my brain to tell me that, but it did. I sighed softly.
"If I'm not mistaken, this is my suite, right?"
I gave him my best irritated look and nodded at his obvious question. "I was coming to talk to you, but you're not ready, so I'll wait in my room." I saw his expression relax as I explained.
"Oh, well you can wait in here, and I can dress in the bathroom. Yeah?"
I hesitated before nodding my head yes.
About five minutes later, I was sitting on his bed, watching as he came out of the bathroom fresh and dressed.
"Alright, I'm done. So what's up?" he asked as he sat down in front of me.
"Well that depends," I said. "What do you want to ask me first?"
"Ahh," he nodded his head in eager understanding. "The whole name thing?"
I chuckled at the confusion in his tone.
"Okay. I took it upon myself to give a name to each 'zombie.' There are four types: Slicers, Hunters, Flunkies, and Truckers. You already know what the Slicers and Hunters look like. One has the blades as arms; I occasionally call them Choppers. The only threat with them is pretty much getting cut. If you don't fight all too well, I don't recommend close combat."
"I fight well," he said with a roll of his eyes. "And it hurts that you would even think that in the first place."
"Right," I agreed. "How silly of me."
Returning my cynical comment with a wide grin, he kept smiling and I rolled my eyes and continued on with the explanations. "Hunters are much more muscular. They usually latch onto you from behind, and they absolutely won't let go until you either force them, or they've torn at you so much that they know that you're dead."
I got up and walked over to the wall.
"They're also great climbers; beyond monkey-like. Walls are nothing but an obstacle that can be scaled to them, and you're no exception. Got it?" I asked as I moved back to the bed.
Nodding, he moved his body to close the distance between us. "Is that why you panicked when the Hunter was following me up the fire escape?"
Frowning, I moved away from him and sat on the floor across the room. "I didn't panic. I just didn't feel like watching it rip you to pieces."
He smiled. "Ah. So it wasn't panic, but concern for my well-being?"
Holding up my hand in a "stop" position, I spoke. "It wasn't either of them. I just don't need to see human bodies being torn to shreds. Not live ones, anyway."
He shook his head, came over, and sat down in front of me again. If he moved again, I was going to be tempted to punch him. Hell, I was already tempted to punch him.
"Panic or concern? Choose."
I rolled my eyes. "They're basically the same thing."
He gave me a fake questioning look. "Then you shouldn't have too much of a hard time choosing, right?"
Ignoring him, I began again. "Then there are the Flunkies, which-"
"Panic or concern?" he asked with a smug expression. Probably because he cut me off.
"Are you serious?" My raised eyebrow told him that I didn't find it funny.
"Extremely," he said. "Just answer. Were you afraid I was going to be killed?"
He's flirting with you; he cares about your answer, my brain said.
No, he's not. He's annoying me. I was going to ignore the "he cares" part. And flirting doesn't include infuriating the hell out of someone.
Well, you might as well answer him.
Again, why am I speaking to my brain?
Because I'm the human one, it said.
Oh, great. Once an organ starts thinking it's a person, and not an organ, you have an even bigger problem than before.
Coming out of my mini argument with myself, I glared at him and answered. "I was afraid you'd be stupid enough to get yourself killed. Happy?"
His face had an amused look on it, like he had expected an outburst like that.
Why is Aaron looking at me like that?
Aaron?, my brain asked. When did he become Aaron and not Big-Guy?
You know what? Be quiet. Right now. As of this moment, you are not allowed to speak.
Says the girl talking to herself...
Listen to me when I say this, having a full-fledged argument with yourself will never be recommended.
I decided to push past my discomfort and continue. "Flunkies. The name sounds funny, but don't underestimate them. I just call them that because they're always following around the Truckers. They're just as dangerous as any other zombie. Don't forget that."
Aaron nodded his head, but stayed quiet. I frowned slightly at his silence but kept going. "Last, but definitely not the least, are the Truckers. They lead the pack. That one that you took down at the gun shop?"
"It was a Trucker?" Aaron asked.
Nodding my head, I continued. "I can guarantee that where there's one of those nasty guys, an entire fleet is behind it. If it's not a mix of the different types, it'll always be the Flunkies. Got it?"
For the first time in about three minutes, he spoke up. "Yeah, I got it. That's all?"
I nodded. "Unless there's anything else you want to know."
He shrugged his shoulders and I waited for him to say nothing.
"I'm going to go to bed, then." Lifting myself up off of the floor, I began to walk towards the door when he called my name again.
Really? Does he have this thing where he likes calling my name as I leave?
"Yeah?" I responded.
"Are you hungry?"
"Am I hungry?" I repeated slowly.
"Food. Mouths. Stomachs."
Glaring at him, I nodded. "I know what hunger is. I just don't understand why you're asking me."
"We've got to eat, right?" Aaron got up off of the floor. "We should go see if there's food in their kitchen. Whoever's it may be." he said with a small smile.
"Uhhuh."
"Come on," he said with a wider grin, now.
He made a motion toward the door and we walked out of his room.
💛
And that is the end of chapter 2, guys! :) Did you like it? Hate it? Love it? Tell me so! It's 11:06 P.M. right now, and high school makes you delirious at times. Good night, my beautiful intellectual bears! <3 And remember to floss twice a day! Get it? Get it? Yeah...Bedtime. =.=
Love you guys <3
Swaggerwithwords :)