June 14th, 2008
12:04am
Apartment Parking Lot
Acting purely on instinct, Ryan whirled around with his fist curled.
Great, he thought as his weight shifted. One of Purdue's finest climbs from his tower of safety and doesn't even bother to have his weapon ready. I must've gotten distracted by the note and forgot to check the shadows for a lingering zed. Fantastic. His torso had spun and he was about to connect with what he felt was a pretty decent right hook, even if it was useless against a creature that didn't register pain. What an ignominious end. I didn't even make it past the front lawn, like I'm in a shitty Choose Your Own Adventure book. Sorry Jenny...so much for your knight in shining armor.
With little else to do but follow through, Ryan gritted his teeth and hoped for a solid hit. Instead, a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist.
Punch deflected, T.Rex looked up and saw one of the Fools clinging to the rope ladder. His wrists now free, he reached for a weapon in his pack. He'd learned his lesson and would not be caught off guard again.
"Beard!" Ryan hissed in the darkness. "What are you doing?"
"What are you doing?" he shot back.
"I have to go, okay? Take care of the others!" he whispered, turning away.
"Just come back for a minute, will ya? I want to talk about it!" Beard pleaded.
"It'll be easier if I just go now, okay? I don't want to drag this out. I have to go, now." T.Rex defiantly took a few steps away. Suddenly, a moan resonated from very close by and he leaped from the ground onto the lower portion of the ladder without pausing. "Orrrr we could talk for just a bit, how's that?" He scrambled up the ladder after his friend, still clutching his crowbar as his bravery and resolve started to fade.
Beard disappeared into the apartment as Ryan pulled the rope ladder up onto the balcony. T.Rex adjusted the straps on his backpack before gently easing the door open. "I'm only going to stay a few min-" he started, before dropping his words mid-sentence as he entered the apartment.
In the living room, Beard, Peace, Kamikaze, Cowboy, Angel Hair, and Rubble stood at attention, packs ready.
Ryan paused for several moments, speechless. He stared at the Fools, knowing that moments ago most of them were fast asleep. A few showed faint signs of fatigue, but none appeared hesitant or anything but resolute. He made eye contact with each one, and nobody moved or spoke.
Finally, T.Rex drew a heavy sigh and threw up his hands. "What I'm about to do," he began "is probably nothing short of crazy. I appreciate the show of support, but I don't expect any of you to follow me, and I think it's best if you all stayed here. I don't want any of you guys to get hurt, least of all because of some crazy rescue mission. I thought I had you guys fooled. Anyway, I'm going to go try and rescue Jenny."
There was a slight pause, before Kamikaze said softly, "We're with you, T.Rex."
Another pause. Ryan drew his heels together sharply and brought his hand to his brow, and smartly saluted the group. They returned the gesture.
"Alright," T.Rex said as the formation broke. "Let's make sure we leave redundant notes on the exits and table in case somebody finds this place while we're gone. Names, dates, and make sure it mentions a stop at Hillenbrand for Jenny before heading in a westerly direction. Also, let's make sure there's nothing we leave behind that's useful. However," he added "we have to carry all of this, so don't overload yourself."
The Fools scrambled around what had been their fortress and home for the past week, carrying out their instructions. Ryan rolled up his sleeping bag and stuffed his handwritten note into his pocket. No need for this sappy mess to be seen, he thought to himself. He also retrieved his rations and supplies from the cupboard when nobody was looking.
"Cellphone check," T.Rex called out. "On your person, separate from your packs, but powered OFF. I will not have our position given away by a vibrating phone." Each Fool confirmed. "Now, everybody head to the roof and get out your primary weapon. Beard, you do one last sweep and meet us up there."
They slowly filed into the back bedroom and helped each other climb onto the dresser, through the closet attic space, and into the musty attic. Even in the evening, it was incredibly warm, and the six of them carrying extra equipment and stooping to avoid the roof made things uncomfortable very quickly.
T.Rex suddenly felt very protective, and his mind was racing. "Avoid combat, always," he reminded them frantically, spewing out anything that came to mind. "Uh, cover up anything shiny or that might rattle. Stay quiet. Whisper, use hand signals like we do in practice. Don't go alone. Ditch your pack if you have to, nothing is worth getting tangled up with a zed. Uh, uh, aim for the skull. Keep an escape route."
With no more pearls of wisdom coming from his mind, he defaulted to reciting rules from the Zombie Survival Guide. "Rule 2, guys. They feel no fear, why should we? Rule 3 - Use your head: cut off theirs. Rule 4 - Blades don't need reloading. And definitely Rule 9 -"
Rubble, who had his own copy, finished. "No place is safe, only safer."
Angel Hair gently placed his hand on Ryan's shoulder. "Calm down, T.Rex. We've got it." Just then, Beard poked his head into the attic and clambered up to join them. He carried the rope ladder and carefully began fastening it to the floor.
"Just one more thing," Ryan said somberly to the group of Fools assembled before him. "I'm not looking for a Last Action Hero or anything. I just want to get my Jenny and get far, far away from this place, okay? If you find supplies or something, fine, grab them, but let's not get carried away with fighting or exploring anything we don't have to, right?" They nodded agreement as Beard flung the rope ladder out of the hole in the roof.
"Let's kick some ass!" Cowboy said, breaking the tension.
"Beard and Peace, you two go first and secure the landing zone. Give a pull on the rope when the coast is clear." T.Rex ordered, and the two of them grinned as they descended the ladder. A short while later, there was a tug, and Ryan ordered Kamikaze and Cowboy down next. Then Rubble and Angel Hair disappeared into the night.
He wasn't worried about the rope ladder - zombies couldn't climb. What he did worry about was what came next. There were over a dozen ways across campus to Hillenbrand, and the route he had in his head was a delicate trade off between the shortest path, the quietest, and the one with the fewest people pre-infection. While avoiding major roads. With sufficient cover to hide. Sounds like an engineering problem, he thought to himself. He could measure each distance, and then assign each route a coefficient of population...
Another tug at his feet snapped him back to reality. He gripped his crowbar tightly, determined not to repeat his earlier mistake. Grateful to have such supportive and caring friends, he vowed to do everything in his power to lead them decisively and effectively as long as it was necessary. As he started down the ladder, he reminded himself of something he always told Jenny: I'm an engineer, and I solve problems.
Current Word Count: 27,380
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Summer Update
Hello reader.
It's now summer break and I have a little bit more time on my hands. I'm gonna try to update my story more often - something like at least once a week. Stay tuned and please comment!
Also, new poll.
Thanks!
It's now summer break and I have a little bit more time on my hands. I'm gonna try to update my story more often - something like at least once a week. Stay tuned and please comment!
Also, new poll.
Thanks!
Chapter 20 - Departure
June 13th, 2008
9:58am
Upstairs Headquarters
The normal morning routine had degraded over time. What had begun as a clockwork schedule was now a free for all, as each survivor slept as late as they dared. Ears plugged, they all traded vigilance for the peaceful embrace of sleep, trusting in the fragile security of their apartment fortress.
Ryan took full advantage of this fact as he laid still, eyes closed, on his bedroll. He had heard the third watch come back from the roof, and a few of the other Fools had awoken since then. He could feel the footsteps around him as his compatriots each started the day as they saw fit. Most would head to the kitchen for their allotted rations and water as breakfast, and the grim ritual that followed.
The Zed Check.
A few days into the siege, Beard and Ryan had attempted to make a reasonable assessment of the number of undead outside, at least those within view. If they didn't survive, at least their notes might. It was hard for them to shake a feeling of responsibility to science, even in the most dire circumstances. Besides, it was a way to make use of the morbid curiosity of the Fools as they glanced out the windows each day.
Peering through the blinds, they averaged the estimates of each Fool in the approximate area they could see out of each window, and then calculated how that number might apply across the campus, across the city, or even further. The Zed Count also included a listing of the dwindling daily rations and any other items of note.
T.Rex could hear Kamikaze counting under her breath just feet away, and it made it difficult to concentrate. He needed some time to think, as he'd made up his mind the night before to do a number of unpleasant things. And soon.
The others were undoubtedly living in fear for their friends and family, Ryan thought, laying still and pretending to be asleep. But at least they're far from here, where there's a rapidly decreasing chance they are safe from the onslaught. He could not help but think of his Jennifer, slightly more than a mile away, and yet separated by an entire campus filled with hundreds or thousands of terrifying creatures.
I had honestly hoped - no, counted on - that The Plan would have protected us, he thought to himself, keeping us alive long enough to be rescued. That by now we would've seen the police, a SWAT team, the National Guard, the entire US Armed forces, hell, even campus ROTC. And now, six long days later, we are still on our own. We're in a bad situation, and all it seems like we're doing is depleting our rations.
Ryan was resolute. I can no longer sit idly by and hope for the cavalry to come riding to save the day, trumpets blaring and guns blazing. If fiction is any guide, the military probably has no idea how to combat the threat before them, or worse, they're just sitting around with their thumbs up their asses. No, I can no longer wait. He was going to leave tonight to go rescue Jenny himself - if something hadn't happened to her already.
He allowed himself to be "woken" by an errant foot as the Fools went about their business. Though his mind was buzzing, a mental checklist of preparations flying through his brain, he pretended to be groggy and aloof as to not arouse suspicion of his impending departure.
Still, the group knew him well. Perhaps too well. He couldn't count how many shows and practices they'd been through together, a portion of every week of every semester he'd been with the group since joining in the spring of his Freshman year. Their club was drilled in reading body language and subtle changes of tone in order to act as a team on stage.
Ryan felt as though everyone could see right through him.
It was maddening. He needed time alone to complete his preparations, and yet he couldn't seem to find two seconds without running into somebody. One thousand square feet never felt so small. He tried to convince himself it was the tension of the circumstances that caused his paranoia.
Around dinnertime, T.Rex reached his breaking point. The heat, the same granola bar rations, and the constant pressure of the outside threat was too much this day. The Fools were taken aback as he suddenly snapped. He shouted, ordering them all out of the kitchen. They obeyed, reluctantly, and it pained Ryan immediately afterwards - both because they were his close friends, and because he would be leaving soon.
His pack was close by, like always. The privacy of the kitchen now secure, T.Rex somberly removed nearly all of his rations and placed them in an empty cupboard. With them he placed some of his backup supplies and equipment. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, and began to scribble a note:
He knew it was foolish, and yet, that was never really a part of his plan. The group could last longer with one less person. Perhaps more importantly, he could not endanger their lives - it pained him to imagine one of them getting hurt (or worse) on his own rescue mission, which he considered first and foremost his own risk and responsibility.
Blinking away misty eyes, he went and apologized for his earlier outburst. He suggested that the Fools decided to blow off some steam with the remaining hours by playing some improv games, and Ryan tried to channel his emotion into his characters to better conceal it.
That night, the Fools turned in as usual. Angel Hair and Peace took the first watch, and T.Rex once again feigned sleep. It was his night off from watch, which fit his plan perfectly. He decided to wait until the second watch of Beard and Rubble to make his flight, because it seemed reasonable that those sleeping would be less likely to notice. There was no trouble staying awake, as adrenaline coursed through his body while he nervously awaited the change of watch.
Eventually the soft shuffle of feet on carpet alerted him to the change. He waited a few extra minutes to assure the two were on the roof before silently slipping from his bedroll. Fortunately, the earplugs the other Fools wore worked to his advantage. He stole a few dirty towels from the kitchen and stuffed them under his blanket. It wouldn't fool anybody for very long, so with a quick glance around at his friends he retrieved the rope ladder from the hallway.
Gathering up his survival pack, T.Rex gently unlocked and coaxed the door open, balancing the risk of an errant noise with the fear of a breeze or scent awakening somebody. Forcing himself to not look back, he shut the door and threw the rope ladder over the railing of the stairway balcony. He had one foot over the railing before he suddenly remembered the note still in his pocket.
I almost left without leaving the note, he chuckled to himself. Very quietly he climbed back up and crept in, setting the note under his pillow with a corner peeking out. He exited once more and descended the ladder.
He had one foot on the ground when a hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed his shoulder.
Current Word Count: 26,089
9:58am
Upstairs Headquarters
The normal morning routine had degraded over time. What had begun as a clockwork schedule was now a free for all, as each survivor slept as late as they dared. Ears plugged, they all traded vigilance for the peaceful embrace of sleep, trusting in the fragile security of their apartment fortress.
Ryan took full advantage of this fact as he laid still, eyes closed, on his bedroll. He had heard the third watch come back from the roof, and a few of the other Fools had awoken since then. He could feel the footsteps around him as his compatriots each started the day as they saw fit. Most would head to the kitchen for their allotted rations and water as breakfast, and the grim ritual that followed.
The Zed Check.
A few days into the siege, Beard and Ryan had attempted to make a reasonable assessment of the number of undead outside, at least those within view. If they didn't survive, at least their notes might. It was hard for them to shake a feeling of responsibility to science, even in the most dire circumstances. Besides, it was a way to make use of the morbid curiosity of the Fools as they glanced out the windows each day.
Peering through the blinds, they averaged the estimates of each Fool in the approximate area they could see out of each window, and then calculated how that number might apply across the campus, across the city, or even further. The Zed Count also included a listing of the dwindling daily rations and any other items of note.
T.Rex could hear Kamikaze counting under her breath just feet away, and it made it difficult to concentrate. He needed some time to think, as he'd made up his mind the night before to do a number of unpleasant things. And soon.
The others were undoubtedly living in fear for their friends and family, Ryan thought, laying still and pretending to be asleep. But at least they're far from here, where there's a rapidly decreasing chance they are safe from the onslaught. He could not help but think of his Jennifer, slightly more than a mile away, and yet separated by an entire campus filled with hundreds or thousands of terrifying creatures.
I had honestly hoped - no, counted on - that The Plan would have protected us, he thought to himself, keeping us alive long enough to be rescued. That by now we would've seen the police, a SWAT team, the National Guard, the entire US Armed forces, hell, even campus ROTC. And now, six long days later, we are still on our own. We're in a bad situation, and all it seems like we're doing is depleting our rations.
Ryan was resolute. I can no longer sit idly by and hope for the cavalry to come riding to save the day, trumpets blaring and guns blazing. If fiction is any guide, the military probably has no idea how to combat the threat before them, or worse, they're just sitting around with their thumbs up their asses. No, I can no longer wait. He was going to leave tonight to go rescue Jenny himself - if something hadn't happened to her already.
He allowed himself to be "woken" by an errant foot as the Fools went about their business. Though his mind was buzzing, a mental checklist of preparations flying through his brain, he pretended to be groggy and aloof as to not arouse suspicion of his impending departure.
Still, the group knew him well. Perhaps too well. He couldn't count how many shows and practices they'd been through together, a portion of every week of every semester he'd been with the group since joining in the spring of his Freshman year. Their club was drilled in reading body language and subtle changes of tone in order to act as a team on stage.
Ryan felt as though everyone could see right through him.
It was maddening. He needed time alone to complete his preparations, and yet he couldn't seem to find two seconds without running into somebody. One thousand square feet never felt so small. He tried to convince himself it was the tension of the circumstances that caused his paranoia.
Around dinnertime, T.Rex reached his breaking point. The heat, the same granola bar rations, and the constant pressure of the outside threat was too much this day. The Fools were taken aback as he suddenly snapped. He shouted, ordering them all out of the kitchen. They obeyed, reluctantly, and it pained Ryan immediately afterwards - both because they were his close friends, and because he would be leaving soon.
His pack was close by, like always. The privacy of the kitchen now secure, T.Rex somberly removed nearly all of his rations and placed them in an empty cupboard. With them he placed some of his backup supplies and equipment. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, and began to scribble a note:
FoolsRyan placed the note in his pocket and checked his pack once more to be sure it contained the essential items. I sure do have my work cut out for me, he thought with a sigh. First, sneak out of the apartment in the night avoiding my best friends. Then, trek across a mile of dense campus filled with an unknown number of zombies. Once I get to Hillenbrand, break in and find Jenny. From there, we head West and attempt to find more supplies and a place to rest.
By the time you will read this, I will be long gone. I have left under cover of darkness to go rescue Jennifer, and I have done so alone. I have left supplies and rations in the cupboard above the fridge. They will help you last a bit longer, especially with one less mouth to feed.
Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to follow me. I will bring my phone and attempt to contact you at regular intervals. Stick with The Emergency Zed Plan and the preparations we have managed for as long as you can, and then - only then - should you leave to find a new hiding place. Remember the survival guide and trust each other. I leave you under Beard's capable leadership.
Boiler Up,
T.Rex
He knew it was foolish, and yet, that was never really a part of his plan. The group could last longer with one less person. Perhaps more importantly, he could not endanger their lives - it pained him to imagine one of them getting hurt (or worse) on his own rescue mission, which he considered first and foremost his own risk and responsibility.
Blinking away misty eyes, he went and apologized for his earlier outburst. He suggested that the Fools decided to blow off some steam with the remaining hours by playing some improv games, and Ryan tried to channel his emotion into his characters to better conceal it.
That night, the Fools turned in as usual. Angel Hair and Peace took the first watch, and T.Rex once again feigned sleep. It was his night off from watch, which fit his plan perfectly. He decided to wait until the second watch of Beard and Rubble to make his flight, because it seemed reasonable that those sleeping would be less likely to notice. There was no trouble staying awake, as adrenaline coursed through his body while he nervously awaited the change of watch.
Eventually the soft shuffle of feet on carpet alerted him to the change. He waited a few extra minutes to assure the two were on the roof before silently slipping from his bedroll. Fortunately, the earplugs the other Fools wore worked to his advantage. He stole a few dirty towels from the kitchen and stuffed them under his blanket. It wouldn't fool anybody for very long, so with a quick glance around at his friends he retrieved the rope ladder from the hallway.
Gathering up his survival pack, T.Rex gently unlocked and coaxed the door open, balancing the risk of an errant noise with the fear of a breeze or scent awakening somebody. Forcing himself to not look back, he shut the door and threw the rope ladder over the railing of the stairway balcony. He had one foot over the railing before he suddenly remembered the note still in his pocket.
I almost left without leaving the note, he chuckled to himself. Very quietly he climbed back up and crept in, setting the note under his pillow with a corner peeking out. He exited once more and descended the ladder.
He had one foot on the ground when a hand reached out from the darkness and grabbed his shoulder.
Current Word Count: 26,089
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