As the footsteps rushed by the pantry, Patrick tried to look through the slits in the door but was unable to see anything. He hoped Audri was hidden and safe. He gripped the metal baseball bat in his hands tighter, hoping he didn't have to use it. On the opposite side of the house the voices continued again followed by things being knocked over, he couldn't make anything out. It went quiet and he could hear someone running upstairs, it was now or never. He crept out of the pantry, he could see Audri peering around the kitchen counter at him. He held his finger to his lips for her to be quiet before he quietly stepped towards the back of the house, planning to use the same route these people had used to get to the room, or simply make sure the way to the backdoor was clear so he and Audri could leave. But he needed to be sure it wasn't anyone from the group.
He peeked around the corner, the noises had come from the dining room. The room was a mess already but he knew the noises he'd heard were chairs being moved or knocked over. There was a man sitting in one of the dining room chairs, clutching his shoulder, the sleeve of his shirt was stained bright red and Patrick could see the wound was clearly still bleeding. He took a step forward before a gun was shoved in his face. "Drop it." Patrick dropped the bat and held his arms up. "I'm not looking for any trouble. You guys just startled me is all." Patrick swallowed hard.
Footsteps could be heard on the stairs again as and someone flew into the dining room, with a plastic bag full of things and towels. He slowed his pace from running to a slow walk when he saw what was happening. "Who is that Shiloh? Is he one of them?" the man adjusted his glasses before continuing his path towards the injured one, who seemed to be close to passing out, his head lobbing. "You know any brothers by Dan and Dave?" Shiloh said pressing the gun against Patrick's forehead. "No I swear!"
"Stop!" said a voice as Audri turned the corner. "Please, don't shoot him." Shiloh looked from Patrick to Audri and back to Patrick. "Should I expect anymore people to pop up? I'd rather not be surprised anymore with a gun in my hand." He ushered Patrick over to where Audri was with a wave of the gun. "Shiloh...stop. Just let them go." Austin managed to gasp out with a grunt, he was breathing hard. "Seriously? We were just attacked and your shot. For all we know they are from the same group and you want me to trust them?" Shiloh growled. He stared at Austin who was pressing his hand against his shoulder, Tony grabbed towels to help apply pressure, Tony's hand taking over for Austins. His teeth clenched from the pain, Tony turned to Shiloh. "They haven't done anything yet just keep an eye on them just stop waving the gun around." he knew that was about what Austin would say if Austin could form a prolonged coherent sentence. "The two of you are going to get us killed one day." Shiloh huffed and tucked the gun in his pants behind his shirt.
Patrick angrily glanced at Audri, "Why didn't you stay hidden? What if these guys had killed me? They would have killed you the second you showed yourself. You should have stayed hidden and waited for me or ran." Audri looked at him in disbelief, "I was trying to make sure they DIDN'T kill you but thanks. Pat your my best friend, and the only person I have left from before and I wasn't going to let them kill you. And I sure as hell wasn't going to abandon you." She crossed her arms adamantly. Patrick sighed, he understood she'd done it for him and that's why he couldn't really stay angry with her. Deciding this wasn't the place nor the time he turned his attention back to the three men. When Patrick turned away Audri's body language changed to normal. She smiled while looking at the back of his head, if only he knew she couldn't stay hidden, not if he was in trouble. It was true he was her only friend from before but she always wanted it to be more. She couldn't decide if this damned apocalypse was trying to push her into telling him or trying to stop her.
Shiloh reached out and grabbed Austins damp bloodied sleeve, tearing it upwards til the wound was completely uncovered. "Dammit Austin.." He and Tony were mopping up the blood and applying pressure with the towels. "Check if the bullet went through." Tony said. Shiloh leaned Austin forwards gently in the chair and checked the back of his shoulder, applying pressure with another towel. "Yeah looks like it." he glanced towards Audri and Patrick, they hadn't moved, simply watched. "Good." Ausin said, a smile half forming. "Just stitch me up." he groaned and with that he was out, head rolled to the side. "He's lost allot of blood we need to stop the bleeding now." Tony said as Shiloh reached for the bag Tony brought from upstairs. "You found everything we need right?" he said pulling things out.
Tony nodded holding a flashlight towards the wound and Shiloh crouched preparing to stitch Austin's front wound. He held the needle above the wound, his hands already covered in dry and wet blood, he tried to focus and relax but his hands were shaking too much. From everything that happened to the exertion of running and helping carry Austin he couldn't make it stop. Suddenly a hand gently rested on his. "Let us." he turned to see that Audri and Patrick were beside him, Audri's hand taking the needle from his. He didn't know how to react at first, but just nodded then moved out of the way, his mind telling him to either say thankyou or not trust them. He placed a hand to his forehead smearing some of the blood on it without thinking, he was tired, he was worried, and he was pissed. Shiloh walked over grabbed the rifle from the table and started to storm off towards the backdoor.
"Shiloh don't!" Tony walked up to him after handing Patrick the flashlight. "I know you, I know what your thinking. Don't be stupid! We don't know how many of them there are, we don't know where they are, and we don't split up!" Shiloh stood firm with his back to Tony. He hated that Tony was right. He turned around and placed a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Your right." There were many reasons not to try to go after them and Shiloh knew this, he also knew Tony would use every single one of them against him. He stepped by Tony, looked over at Audri and Patrick with Austin. Breathing a heavy sigh he sat down in a chair and rested the back of his head on the wall behind him with his eyes on the three of them.
This was an exceedingly stressful situation he realized. The whole time he'd been together with Austin and Tony he'd always shared the burden of keeping them safe and alive with Austin. He'd occasionally slack, and Austin would take up the slack without a word. Tony was..well Tony, he trusted Tony but there were still things he felt Tony needed to come to terms with. Shiloh understood this even if he wasn't as subtle as Austin was with coaxing Tony forwards. This weight he felt, all of Austins being transferred to him, he looked at his friend, more vulnerable than he'd ever seen him. He cursed himself for not preforming better on the gas stations rooftop, for not doing SOMETHING to prevent Austin from getting hurt.
"It's not your fault you know." Shiloh was suddenly aware Tony was standing beside him. He looked up at Tony, his thoughts must have been written all over his face he realized because Tony, even through moist eyes was giving him a comforting smile. "Yeah yeah." He couldn't believe Tony of all people was keeping it together more than he was right now. He rested his head against the wall once more, feeling just a little more at ease.
[][]Sometime near the start of the Apocalypse[][]
Patrick and Audri we're roommates along with two others in an apartment that was located near the Film School they attended. Audri had been helping Patrick with his work all day. They'd been friends for over two years now and Audri had been working up to asking Patrick out all day long. Honestly she was dropping hints left and right trying to get the conversation started. But Patrick was focused and completely oblivious to it. Audri was patient but even she was getting a little flustered over it. She was normally a very shy person, but being around Patrick seemed to change that, she felt confident when he was nearby.
Tyler, one of their roommates was squealing about something on the TV behind him just before the power went out. Patrick cried out in rage, no internet meant no more work. Audri grinned, "It's about time for a break anyways. I'm sure it'll be back up in no time, in the meantime how about we go get some coffee." She smiled. "Ahah!" Patrick smiled back, "Brilliant idea, I can use the coffee shops internet!" Audri groaned. The two of them left, once at the coffee shop they found it without power as well. "I've heard the whole city is without power. Think it has anything to do with this contagion that's been all over the news?" They heard the barista saying to a customer. "What do you think happened?" Patrick looked at Audri who shrugged and pulled out her phone trying to dial someone, no service she realized looking questioningly at her cell. There was a scream from outside the coffee shop, they caught a glimpse of what looked like someone being attacked before a car came crashing into the shop. Patrick barely managed to pull Audri from the path of destruction.
[]End Flashback[]
Hours had passed since Ryan and Ellis had taken refuge in the car. Ryan had been waiting and watching for an opening to hopefully get them off this deathtrap of an interstate. But the dead didn't move in any sort of pattern which made it difficult, not to mention there were so damn many. Ryan wasn't sure exactly how mobile he'd be with his leg hurting. He still wasn't really sure what had happened to cause the injury, he just knew it happened after he found Ellis. Shots rang out through the air, in the quiet night it was startling to both Ryan and Ellis. It came from the schools direction Ryan realized. There must have been other survivors. Whatever the reason was, he was thankful, it got the dead moving in the right direction. "Get ready." he whispered to Ellis. Ellis plopped up into the seat beside Ryan. The opening was there and Ryan opened the door slowly crouching low as he got out, wincing at the pain shooting through his leg. Ellis followed and together they moved amongst the gaps between the cars coming up to the barrier Ryan helped Ellis over then went over himself. The forest ahead of them was dark, he knew the group had planned to go through it, it was their best shot at finding everyone again but clouds were moving in, blocking out the stars and moon frequently for long periods of time which made it very dangerous.
"Alright little man, let's find us a car." he said looking down at Ellis beside him. "Another one?" Ellis whined, they'd just spent hours in a car and now the plan was to get into another? Ryan chuckled, the two of them headed to the nearby road. Ryan checked the vehicles one by one while Ellis was on lookout, at least that's what Ryan told him, but Ryan always kept his eyes on the surrounding area as well while trying the cars. Eventually they found one. Ryan almost leapt for joy if it hadn't been for his leg. The two of them drove off. Ryan knew the area, he knew what was on the other side of the small forest and he drove there. It was a very back end road with only a few houses, it was hard to pinpoint exactly where the group should have come out but Ryan was driving slowly down the road, lights off not wanting to attract much attention. Eventually he stopped the car and turned it off.
Ellis was peering out the side window. "Do you think they're somewhere out here?" Ryan nodded, but he wasn't sure how long the group could have walked before stopping. His thoughts went to his brother, Greg. Ryan hoped Greg made it away from the interstate just as he had, he hoped Greg had already beaten him to the group. The clouds had basically blocked every star and the moon out at this point, to continue searching they'd have to either go on foot or use the headlights. Ryan looked at his watch. "So it's going to start getting light soon. Until then we wait in the car, but we'll find them once the sun starts coming up." He smiled at Ellis who crossed his arms in annoyance. Clearly not enjoying another adventure of sitting in a car.
Shiloh suddenly jerked forward in his chair and grunted as he basically gave himself whiplash. As his eyes adjusted he saw Tony, Audri, and Patrick sitting in some of the other chairs talking, it was still dark so he couldn't have been out for too long, the only light was the moonlight filtering in through the open shades of the nearby windows. Austin lay on the dining table, a small pile of towels under his head as a pillow, the wound on his shoulder now bandaged. "Someone's awake." Patrick said with a partial wave. He could see Tony smiling at him from beside Patrick. "Must have dozed off." Shiloh said while rubbing his eyes. "How long was I out?"
"Not long, maybe two hours or so. We finished patching Austin up and let you rest." Tony said nodding towards Austin. Patrick turned in his chair to face Shiloh, "We've been discussing where we go from here. Whether we go our separate ways or you join up with us. And giving names, Shiloh we never really got to introduce ourselves. I'm Patrick and this is Audri." He said pointing his thumb over his shoulder towards her.
"We're going with them." Tony said bluntly. Shiloh eyed Tony "We don't even know these people." Shiloh propped one leg on the other. "You don't. I've learned two hours worth of what they've been through. And honestly Shiloh we need them as much as they need us. Austin's hurt and that means it would just be the two of us for a while." Tony clearly wasn't backing down. It intrigued and amused Shiloh, he sat forwards in the chair with a sigh, giving in. "Fine. I we'll go..." he turned to look at Patrick, "..on a trial basis. We leave if we don't like what we see."
Patrick shrugged "That's fine. It's not a contract you could leave whenever. We don't have much, but we have people." Audri nodded, "They've probably gotten worried that we haven't come back yet. Wayne and Anthony probably finished up long ago." she said quietly.
"Think we've got enough?" Anthony couldn't help but laugh at the amount of stuff they'd scavenged, it was more than they could actually carry. Whoever had lived in this house was well stocked. Wayne just rolled his eyes, the bigger man was carrying more than Anthony. Anthony cracked open the front door, was about to take a step but froze. It was dark but he could see movement, lots of it, and the groans. He quickly stepped back inside before moving to a window to get a better view. "What is it now?" Wayne said clearly annoyed. "Sshh." Anthony said as he peered past a curtain. "Holy shit." Now Wayne was curious, he put the supplies down and went to another nearby window. His mouth dropped. "How many of them are there..." he muttered.
Outside a very large group of dead moving South. Anthony quietly jogged to the back of the house peering out a window that led to the backyard, before returning to Wayne. "They're everywhere, out back as well, this group of them is so spread out." he had his hand on his forehead looking at the ground in a slight panic and in thought. "The good thing is they aren't wandering around. So we just wait them out." Wayne said, still watching out the window. "They're wandering in a general direction. Eventually they'll have moved on." Wayne sat on the nearby couch, there wasn't much they could do for now anyways. "Shit." Anthony said from the window. Wayne cocked an eybrow looking over at him. "What?" Anthony shook his head, "They're heading straight down the street. That's where everyone else is."
Annie woke with a scream. She jolted up from the bed she had been sleeping in. "What's wrong dear?" Falisha had been sleeping in the same room. Kate and Klaire came rushing to the doorway in a panic. "What's going on!?" Klaire said. "Nothing, just a bad dream." Falisha said looking over at them, one of her hands on Annies back. "I saw Ellis die..." Annie said on the verge of tears. There was a sudden banging on the front door which caught everyones attention, followed by glass breaking as windows were shattered.
Ellis found it particularly annoying just how fast Ryan had fallen asleep after they'd parked. Ryan had said it wouldn't be too long until the sun started coming up. Ellis fidgeted in his seat, he was impatient, he wanted to find his sister now. He huffed quietly, the windows were fogging up on the inside a little bit, he found amusement in breathing onto the window and drawing things. He was startled when something seemed to almost draw back from the other side.
--
Ryan opened his eyes from his nap in a confused state, he could hear thuds and they were slowly waking him up faster. He realized quickly Ellis in the seat beside him was as far from the passenger window as he could get, practically on Ryans seat, he could see the boy was shaking. He rubbed his eyes about to speak, his ears must have gotten used to the noise in his sleep because now that he could focus he could hear the moans, the smearing of the dead rubbing against the car, and the thudding of the ones who were bumping into it. The windows were fogged from his and Ellis' bodyheat, and covered in grime from the smearing of the dead as they brushed against them, which made it difficult to see through the windows. But he realized the dead weren't trying to get in, yet. He reached for Ellis shoulder to attempt to calm the boy, who covered his own mouth with his hand.
After his short nap if it could be called that, Shiloh had become somewhat restless. He was hoping Austin would atleast wake up before they left to go with Patrick and Audri to their group but it was hard to tell if he even would wake up at this point, Austin was pale, more so than usual but he was still breathing even if it was shallow. Shiloh stood in the doorway to the dining room leaning against the door frame, using the rifle as partial support. Patrick, Audri, and Tony were ransacking the room one final time, scavenging what they could while they waited. "You could help you know." Tony said looking over at Shiloh. "I could." Shiloh said playfully, smiling at Tony who simply rolled his eyes. Shiloh was busy checking out Aurdri's ass-end when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, then everything went black.
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Next Time: A reunion, "I'm so glad I found you." No one is safe as the herd moves through the area, bullets will fly. Will the group be torn and split apart before it ever actually fully forms?
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I feel bad for focusing on Austin, Shiloh, and Tony so much but I find the group dynamic so adorable and just plain fun to write. xD
I told myself I wouldn't have my own character but I've really enjoyed Austin, soooo claimed. haha All the other NPC's are out there for the claiming though.
Are these getting too long yet? I feel like every time I put out an episode its longer than the last, haha. But I'm having fun with them.
Happy New Year everyone. Who's ready for the mid-season finale? Where I kill all of your favorite beloved characters just because. >D
Characters are still welcome, if you create one don't worry it'll get in. Might be Season 2 though.
Leave a comment! I enjoy reading them no matter how short or whether you talk about the story or just complimenting I don't care. ;p
AUSTIN AND TONY HAVE TO BE A COUPLE
Audri, Anthony, and Ellis are my favs so far and I really hope Ryan and Ellis make it to the group. And no the lengths are great