Morning Coffee And Sweet Surprises (Closed to Poprockz)

[Poprockz]

Eclaire smacked his hands away with her wings as soon as she was set down, the bird giving him a dirty look before turning her attention back to the shiny. It was a very good shiny, and she didn't want it to be swooped up by some other human or animal. Thus, she snatched up the brooch and took off, flying in the direction of the resort without a "thank you" or a backwards glance.

The other bird seemed a bit put out that Eclaire had practically ignored her, but she didn't let it keep her down. In fact, the bird perked up and pecked at something in the grass, chewing the small piece of licorice that had been offered to Eclaire. Though unfortunately Truffle did not find the candy the least bit palatable, immediately spitting it out and shaking her head side-to-side with her beak open.

Sayori couldn't help but feel sympathetic at the sight. She could see the shed door open and the two other men coming back over, figuring that they hadn't found anything worthwhile by the looks on their faces.

----------------------------

Though Cora might have wanted to listen, their hushed voices would be indecipherable even if she pressed her ear to the door. She would have to give up and try to search the room while waiting for them to come back. The more she searched, the more it was clear that there was nothing unusual about the room.

Eventually she simply sat down in a chair, fiddling with the armrests. Her fingers moved between the grooves, and at one point, her fingers moved something that was not fixed into the chair. Four of the tile squares on the floor immediately dropped, and she would find that she too was going down, the chair having dropped the seat into a slant to make her slip right into the dark chute.

 

[Drobabes]

The wing smacks were not light like one might assume from a bird, and Quint had to quickly withdraw his hands before any more blunt force stings were applied. When she flew away, he turned his head to watch her go. He was definitely going to have to keep an eye on her now.

Quints eyes were turned back just in time to see Truffle spit the licorice and shake her head, and the expression she made triggered a laugh from the tall man.

"Oh, birdy, I'm sorry. If I had something better I would definitely give it to you, but that's all I have."

He was still smiling down when Nathaniel and Delvin stepped out of the shed, until he saw the disturbed look on Vin's face.

"Nothing there either?"

Delvin shook his head.

"No."

"Damn...alright."
_________

What the hell had that jerk said to Sabastian that warranted her staying behind? She didn't like it, but there wasn't much she could do other than keep looking. But even the search was useless...Every inch of the room was combed, and by the time she sat down she wondered if they were really going to win this.

Do I want to win this?

No...honestly, she didn't. Not because she didn't want Damien in her arms again, for him to be safe and away from whatever was happening to him, but because she was starting to see that this really was such a huge property that Angelique might actually have a chance to hide them. It would give them more time, and maybe...jut maybe...throw Ray off their trail.

She hadn't noticed her mind start to wander, start to panic over getting caught once more. And because of this, she also did not notice herself attempting to selve sooth by feeling the tactile sensations beneath her sensitive fingers. It was only when she felt something shift that her startled gaze looked down from the wall she had been zoned out into, and see the tiles below her feet dropping away.

At first she was too confused by what was happening to be scared, and by the time she opened her mouth to scream for Sabastian, her head had already dipped into the shoot.

"-stian! Aaah!"

What was this?! Where was she falling too?!

 

[Poprockz]

Nathaniel reached into his pocket, crouched down to the bird, and offered her a dried banana slice. She accepted it gratefully, crunching on it as he straitened up once more.

"Now that we have covered this area, where would you like to go next? If you would like me to decide for you, I would next take you to the orchard," he offered, addressing them as a group.

--------------------

She would find herself sliding down a chute similar to the one in the mall shed. This one, however, was sturdier and slicker with no seams to slow down her descent. It was basically a slide, one that curled around a fixed center-point. Once she slid a little further down, the darkness gave way to glowing paint that indicated the sides and ceiling to prevent the rider from bumping their head.

Eventually, the slide spat her out into a room- into a pile of soft pillows, to be exact. The room was pitch-black, all except for an arrow that was pointing to something on the wall that was roughly the height of the average light-switch.

Once she did, she would find herself in a plain white room with a few file-cabinets, a desk, and a shelf or two. The shelves had books on a wide range of subjects including international law, law in general, drug studies, medical books, and more. At the side of the room, there was also a large, blank whiteboard on wheels, though one could see a bit of string hanging down. It wasn't attached to the white side, so one might assume it could be turned around.

 

[Drobabes]

Vin looked out towards the direction in which he knew the orchard would be. It had been one of the many areas of the resort that he had let his eyes roam over as his mind wandered. The size of it, much like the rest of the place, seemed absolutely massive. To take the risk and try to cover all that ground between just the three of them seemed pointless, even if Quint had zombie senses.

It was too bad that they wouldn't be able to continue their search past dawn, when they had the whole group together and Sabastian and Quint's eyes could help them traverse the woods more thoroughly and effectively.

"I don't know if all of us could cover the whole orchard..."

His somewhat weathered face looked over to the other two. Did they feel the same?
________________

The effort may have been fruitless, but nonetheless, Cora attempted to stop her rapid descent. She had not been a slide like this since she was a very young child and had since lost her sense of how to grip the walls. Her hands flailed out, her sneakered shoes tried to shove and grip and dig her heels into the hard surface beneath, but it did not work. And it seemed the more she tried, the more she panicked, the worse she hurt herself.

"Dammit!" She cursed, continuing to slide, faster and faster, and her vision showing nothing but blackness until the glowing paint came.

For a few seconds she was reminded of the scene in Willy Wonka where the music changed from something magical, to a drumming, pulsing, panic of a tune, and the lights flashed and blinded and spun so fast that as a child she had become almost sickened.

"Mnf!"

She had expected the landing to be a bit rougher but she definitely wasn't going to complain about there now being soft pillows beneath her plush ass, rather than hard concrete, or a nasty spiked surprise. She took a few seconds to breathe and calm down, her eyes already having begun to adjust to the darkness. Once she was ready, she shakily got to her feet, made her way to he arrow, and used her fingers to feel around until she found and flipped the switch.

Here, she froze, unsure and afraid of what might be waiting for her after the shadows had been chased away. She was alone, though.

Cora took stalk of the room, her eyes wandering to every corner. There was certainly a lot to take in here.

Slowly at first, and as quietly as she could, she crept from one edge of the room to the other. Filing cabinets, books, and a white board. This didn't seem like the type of room that one might teach in, but rather a place to study. But why was it hidden away behind an Indiana Jones style lever?

"What's so important down here that you would need to get down here so quickly?" She whispered, making her way to the white board and gently turning it so that she could read what was on the other side.

 

[Poprockz]

“I agree,” Sayori sighed, “besides, I doubt they would put a secret cache under the orchard- too conspicuous and too many roots.”

There was a pause before she addressed the butler, “why does this place even have a place to hide people? It is a resort, is it not? It seems odd to have something like that in a place dedicated to rest and relaxation.”

Nathaniel’s lips curled, amusement in his eyes (though his tone was as polite as always). “That is an excellent question to which I’m not at liberty to answer at the moment. I’m sure the mistress will enlighten you when you next meet her.”

—-

Behind the whiteboard was a large cork-board with a messy mix of pictures and notes. There were different colored strings attached to different pictures and notes, connecting them together. Angelique’s picture was in the middle and right underneath it was a picture of a beautiful, if rather severe-looking military woman with a buzzcut. She was labeled as “Sophia” on the board with a note next to it that said “motive?” only the question mark had been crossed out with an X and the word had been underlined.

There were several pictures of men and women Cora wouldn’t recognize, each with their own label and notes. Some such labels were: client, business associate, transport, bribing, supplier.

Someone she might recognize was Kuznet, a picture of him with the label of “business associate— Drugs+HT?” But as before, the question mark had been crossed out. Right under his picture was a smaller picture of Niles and Francisco, clipped to the corners of the larger one.

 

[Drobabes]

Quint was beginning to feel the start of a nasty headache coming on, right in the middle between his eyes. Perhaps his poor nose was still overwhelmed from the smell of the last field, which had left him at one point gagging from the thickness of it.

He put one hand up to his brow and began to try to soothe the pain away by rubbing it with his thumb as his gaze fell upon Truffle, who was happily crunching away on her banana. They were not birds and could not fly, but oh how refreshing it would be to lift up high into the clouds to breathe in the fresh air.

"Hm."

It was a noise more than a statement, though he only realized it had been said aloud when Delvin looked toward him and their eyes locked for a few seconds.

"Nathaniel, is there anywhere you can take us that's higher in elevation? Or even just the highest point of the resort?"

They had spent so much time searching down, looking for some kind of secret bunker or cache, when maybe they needed to be looking up. Angelique had enough money to hide someone in plain sight if she wanted to, didn't she?
___________

"What?.."

She squinted and looked at each detail of the board, (except for the picture of her capture, as she found herself growing nauseas simply from seeing those icy eyes in just a picture alone) skeptically.

The military women, Sophia, was intriguing. Given her placement on the board, Cora made an educated guess that this was the women Quint spoke of when he had his dream and psychically connected with another half zombie. And of course, she recognized the lackies, but the other contacts she had no spark of familiarity. Whoever had been working on this investigation didn't seem to be on either parties side, as there was suspicion with both Angelique and Kuznet.

There was a lot of information here but what use could it provide her with? This wasn't helping her to find Damien, and now, Sabastian. It didn't even seem likely that this would be anywhere near where her lover was hidden, as she doubted Angelique knew about it. She needed to get herself out of this room and back on the hunt.

Trying her best to put the board back exactly how she had found it, Cora nervously looked over her shoulder and cautiously backed away. Where was the door out?...

 

[Poprockz]

"The highest point in the resort would be the roof of the main building. As you're not allowed in that area, I can offer you the second-highest point. There is a helicopter pad tower. It's a bit of a walk, but it's certainly a good vantage point." Nathaniel answered amicably.

"Does Angelique have a helicopter?" Sayori asked with interest.

Nathaniel nodded, "she does. However, the fuel for it is not readily accessible for obvious reasons."

There was a raised eyebrow, "why? The reasons don't seem so obvious to me. I doubt there are many capable of flying a helicopter in these times."

"You would be surprised." The man started to walk in the direction of the tower. "Many people try to do things they're not equipped for in current circumstances."

---------------

There was a door, but if one opened it they would find themselves faced with a very narrow, winding staircase that went upward. If one had a knack for approximating distances, they would find (perhaps to the dismay of one’s calves) that it went roughly six stories upward. The stairwell was lit by the same glow-paint to make sure one didn’t trip as they went as there were no windows to shed light on their uphill battle.

When the top was reached, there was a door there. It wasn’t a traditional door- more like the sort that one could slide sideways open and shut. It actually went into the wall, which gave the illusion that there was no door at all on the other side. The only indication that there was a door there at all on Cora's side was that there was a bar that stuck out perpendicularly from the wall that allowed one to pull it back and forth. There wasn't any glow-paint on it, so one could only find it by fumbling around in the darkness or bumping directly into it.

 

[Drobabes]

The men listened to the conversation as they walked. Vin certainly was not interested in flying a helicopter. His rough and calloused hands were meant to feel the rumble and growl of a good bike beneath his hands, like his old Pan America. Quint on the other hand, though, was interested... Of course, that interest only went so far as if he could get into contact with Francisco. Which in all reality was very unlikely at this point in time. The weather had taken them off their intended path and he could not leave an encoded message here on the off Chace that Francis came by on a mission for Kuznet. That was simply way too risky of Angelique or, well anyone who knew messages really, of finding out.

"What, you guys don't host a 'let the kiddos play pilot' day?"

Quint flashed Nathaniel a slightly humorous look, not really expecting much from the serious butler. Although it was strange, now that his mind had wondered there.

All these people at this resort...and yet Quint had not seen one person who didn't appear to be at least old enough to get their license. Actually, he hadn't seen any young people since the disease...alive, anyway...

________

Cora took a few tentative steps into the stairwell, squinting her eyes upward to get a better look.

"Crap..." She whispered, concern and the ever pending weight of time weighing down heavily across her shoulders. If she had to, she would climb those stairs, but before she did, she wanted to take one last look around the room. There might be another exit she had missed, but first, she wanted to know if there was anything useful in those cabinets...

She made her way towards them, a silent mantra, almost prayer, in her heart andmind that she might find some kind of blueprints. Even blueprints showing parts of the building that hid nothing would be useful, as she could avoid searching those areas.

 

[Poprockz]

Quint was given a look of shocked bewilderment and surprise before the butler regained his composure. "You have been on the road for a while, I take it?" He asked carefully.

That tone made Sayori wonder if there he was probing for something. Still, it didn't put them at a disadvantage to admit such things. "Yes, we've been traveling for quite a while. Why?" Well, that was at least true for everyone but herself and Quint; though, one might say that they hadn't exactly been touching palms with society while being kept in a cold, dark dungeon.

"Ah." Nathaniel cleared his throat and proceeded with a careful tone. "Then I suppose it is my duty to get you more up to date on recent events." He paused as though he was trying to find the words to delicately say what he wanted to convey.

"After the... virus started spreading, one unfortunate side-effect was that anyone under the age of seventeen was... unable to withstand it. People are still able to become pregnant even without being implanted, but we're... unsure as to whether the children will be resistant to the virus once they're outside of the mother's protection." Unlike his usual demeanor, he had a more serious look about him as though the knowledge weighed heavily on him.

--------------------------

Unfortunately for Cora, there were no doors in that room, not even ones for mice.

The cabinet had various items in it: an FBI badge that had the name scratched off beyond recognition, a small tub of glow-paint, a flashlight, a pair of handcuffs, a very sharp, long knife that was in a sheath, and more. There were files, small baggies of different pills and powders, a spool of thick terra-cord, a first-aid kit, and sunglasses. No blue-prints of the place could be found, but there was a sheet of paper that mentioned them.

"Blueprints located in main office: These blueprints are incomplete. They show a general blueprint of the building but they do not account for the secret areas like The Maze. I haven't been allowed access yet, but will update when that happens."

The files were not updated, though one might assume that this was because of the zombie virus.

 

[Drobabes]

Both of Sayori's companions looked shocked by this new knowledge, each in their own way.

Delvin took a slow step or two and then simply stopped, turning to look at the butler, then away out into the distance. What the man was thinking no one could decipher, but the skin of his face had mistakenly taken on a more ashy complexion.

Quint had a look of bewilderment and a curve painted upon his lips that seemed frozen between a grin and his jaw simply dropping open. He blinked, then very clearly, but in a hushed and slow tone, simply said,

"What? All of them? How far? Like the county, or....the state?..."

________


"Of course..." Cora whispered, putting the papers down and turning her attention back to the door. She needed to get moving, those stairs were not going to just escalate her up them.

She turned to leave, but just before she did, she looked down at the knife. Was it too big to hide? She was wearing some new shoes, courtesy of Prochette bringing them a change of outfits that actually fit them. They were simple boots, meant to keep her feet a bit more comfortable with all the walking they would be doing today.

"Yea" She said to no one in particular, more just agreeing with herself. Taking the knife, she slipped it carefully into the side of her right boot where she coffee the weight of it pressing up against ankle bon. She had thick socks on and was not worried about it leaving a distracting blister. Now, feeling just a bit more secure, she closed things up and headed for the stairs.

...

The walk up them was taxing, her body still not back to full health and peak condition, but she was able to do it. Years of hiking had strengthened her calves and thighs and by the time she made it to the top, she knew she would not be unable to keep walking after getting out.

Though, that was the next challenge.

She fumbled around for a few moments, and when she finally found something that her fingers could grip onto she almost yanked the door open just to get out of that suffocating darkness. But something tickled her stomach and tightened the skin on the back of her neck, instinct Taking over and telling her to pause.

Breathe. Be still...and listen.

Cora pressed her ear to the door, listening to whatever sounds she could pick up, and, if the ghost were clear, would only very gently crack open a small sliver of the door to peak out.

 

[Poprockz]

Nathaniel stopped, deciding that the conversation was best done while they weren't moving, especially since Delvin himself had stopped. The butler fixed Quint with his gaze and shook his head. "The mistress's reach is far. Before communications halted, we had reports from France, Germany, Australia, and Peru that the virus was doing the same thing across board. Unfortunately this sickness is world-wide, and it indiscriminately affected all youths. Even if all the remaining humans survive this, it's going to be difficult to recover from the severe hit the population has taken."

The look on Sayori's face was one of shock as well. What would have happened if Kuznet had succeeded in getting her pregnant? Was his true intention to test whether or not babies could survive outside the womb? How horrible would it be to give birth to his child, only to have it pass away in her arms? It would have been such a horrible revelation to know that she would never have children even if she wanted to. Not that she necessarily wanted to be a mother, but having the choice taken from her would have been depressing.

Looking over to Vin, she noticed the look on his face and immediately became concerned. That wasn't just a look of surprise- something was deeply upsetting to him regarding this news. Perhaps he knew someone who was susceptible and had passed...

Reaching out to him, she gently touched his shoulder with the tips of her fingers, prepared for him to shrug her off if he didn't want to be touched. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

--------------------------------

There was no noise behind the door, but when she opened it a crack, she would be able to see that she was in a closet. There were shirts hanging down, but between them the door to the closet was fully open.

Beyond the door was a bedroom with a single occupant: a woman with a buzz-cut who was sitting on a chair, looking out the window. The window looked a bit worse for wear, as though it had been broken several times. It wasn't even glass, just a sheet of thick plastic that had been boarded up with wooden slats. It looked as though it had been repaired in a hurry.

 

[Drobabes]

Quint couldn't wrap his mind around what Nathaniel had just said, and it showed in his eyes. There was simply no way that was true. Somehow, the idea of him, and otherslike him, becoming literally different creatures from humans entirely seemed more plausible and grounded in reality. That a huge chunk of all living animals on the planet had also transformed, and that there were literal zombies roaming the earth, trying to eat people's brains.

Nations falling, criminals rising, infrastructures crumbling. All of it, all of that, seemed more plausible than a mass extinction that took only the young ones and left the adults to suffer and grieve.

He didn't voice this, though. He simply turned to look away, as if he wanted to go back to the reality at hand, and continue the search for the mutt.

Delvin looked down at Sayori, and even though it was clear that there was some moisture in his eyes, he somehow managed to give a gentle smile and pat the top of her hand softly.

"No, but I will be. It's just a lot to take in. Again... Thank you for checking on me."
_______________

That can't be..., Cora thought.

But it definitely was. That was the same women, Sophia, who had been on the whiteboard downstairs and the person who Quint had made psychic contact with. Did she know there was a secret exit from her room? Well, that was unlikely seeing as she had been a suspect on the board.

Well shit, now what was she going to do? Just coming out of the closet would raise too much alarm and questions. Questions that Cora did not have the time to answer and could possibly jeopardize her group.

She felt a moment of grotesque guilt that she was even considering keeping herself hidden from Sophia, knowing full well what I meant to b a prisoner. Fleeting was that moment though, as just as quickly as it came, it was buried deep in a dark place beneath layers of guilt, shame, and above all else, fear. How was she supposed to try and save this women from a monster when she was actively running from her own?

Her eyes darted around the room, trying to think. It was too open for her to attempt an escape, and even if she tried, how successful would that be really? The only way out appeared to be the window, and there was a fat chance that Angelique didn't have someone keeping an eye on that. But she couldn't go back down...

A few frustrated tears spilt down her cheek, but other than wiping them away, she made no moves. Cora would simply wait and look for an opportunity...there was nothing else she could think of to do.

 

[Poprockz]

Vin's shoulder was patted comfortingly and she nodded, "You, are very welcome Vin. You're always welcome to speak to me if you need."

She wasn't going to push him to talk about it if he didn't want to- it was a monumentally heavy thing Nathaniel had just laid on their shoulders, so she wouldn't begrudge the need for him to process it before he was able to put his emotions into words. Even when he did, while she was happy to support him, she got the feeling that Vin was the sort of person who preferred confiding in the person closest to himself.

Nathaniel glanced at them as though inquiring as to whether they were prepared to move on. "Do you need a break or are you ready to move on to the helicopter pad?"

-------------------------------

It would have felt like ages, but in truth it was only about fifteen minutes before faint, metallic scratching sound started to come from the door of the room. The sounds were recognizable as someone using a key to unlock the place, and when the familiar click of the lock sounded, it was Prochette who walked through. She cast a nervous glance at the figure in the chair before locking the door behind her and stepping hesitantly forward. Her anxious eyes glanced at the plate in her hands before she approached the other zombie.

"It's time for your dose..." Prochette said softly, reaching out and setting a plate down on a tray table next to Sophia. On it, there was a decadent chocolate brownie. It was warm, so the delicious smell of chocolate wafted up from it along with the faint smell of weed.

Sophia didn't react nor acknowledge the offering, merely staring out the window quietly.

There was an awkward silence for a minute before Prochette used a tentacle to nudge the plate a bit closer to Sophia. Based on the way she kept her distance, one might assume that she was afraid of the other woman. "Please? We both know you're going to get your dose either way. Why not just... enjoy the brownie?"

It was at that point when Sophia swiveled around in her chair, regarding Prochette with a dispassionate gaze. She picked up a notepad nearby and started writing in it, tapping the paper with the crayon she had been afforded. Her eyebrow raised in challenge.

Prochette squinted at the notepad then cleared her throat. "I will do it if I have to, but I really don't want to so please just make this easier for us both."

Sophia looked down at the brownie and reached out, picking it up and taking a large bite of it. This made Prochette sigh in relief, the woman smiling as the brownie was chewed. However, that smile faded once Sophia spat the brownie out into her hands, using the wet chocolate to mould the rest of the brownie into a nice ball before it was thrown right onto the ceiling.

A stressed exhalation left the mind zombie as she watched the sticky mess cling to the white paint above. Only a few sloppy crumbs dripped down, the rest of it securely fastened to its new home.

With no other option, Prochette took out a syringe from her pocket and uncapped it. She approached cautiously, all of her tentacles out and ready. When she got within arms-reach, Sophia jerked her body forward slightly, seemingly for the sole purpose of making Prochette flinch. The mind-zombie gave her a sour look before holding her arms down on the chair and searching for a vein with which to administer the solution. All the while, Sophia watched her very carefully. What Cora might have been able to see that Prochette could not was the fact that Sophia had shifted her weight slightly and her leg had moved slightly outward. Tucked between her toes was another crayon; this one was whittled into a sharp point.

In a feat of flexibility and swift decisiveness, Sophia suddenly spat in Prochette's eyes and lifted her leg up to stab the crayon into the other woman's side. Prochette screamed and stumbled backwards, blind and terrified. A crayon wasn't a particularly sturdy implement though, so the thing had broken off to become useless.

Immediately Sophia was on her feet moving forward to attack the other zombie bare-handed in a bid for freedom. However, she would never get the chance. As her footsteps got closer, Prochette let out a squeal of fear and held her hands up.

"NO!"

It looked as though someone had thrown an EMP into the room, as Sophia's body suddenly stopped and slumped down to the floor completely unconscious. The other zombie quickly stabbed the needle into Sophia's thigh and pushed the plunger down, no longer concerned about doing it nicely, terrified as she was. She sobbed and trembled, running to the door afterwards and unlocking it before running out. Despite her emotional distress, the lock clicked back into position behind her.

And then there was simply silence.

 

[Drobabes]

Quint looked at the other two for an approval before nodding his head and answering Nathaniel with a, "yea let's go ahead".
_________________

The wait for someone to enter the room had been torturous. She knew it was some time past noon, but had they already fed Sophia lunch? If that was the case, then she may have to wait until dinner was served in order to even attempt an escape. And by then any number of things could happen. She might be sniffed out, or whoever had been working down in that secret room could come back and sense that their things had been disturbed. Or, another equally as unpleasant scenario, the game might be called off altogether because she had gone missing from the group.

She was so deep in thought and focused on not moving or breathing too hard that the scratching of the key entering the lock actually startled her enough to cause a flinch.

Who was coming?

From her camouflaged point, Cora was able to see that it was Prochette, the nervous women holding a treat for the other half zombie. It smelled absolutely mouthwatering, the chocolate goodness filling the room rather quickly. But the slight hint of Mary Jane hidden on the undercurrent spoke to it's true purpose, and it curdled her stomach.

Why is she writing instead of talking?, Cora thought, daring to crawl just an inch forward. It was made very clear that Sophia would not be eating that brownie, and she couldn't blame her. But Prochette had made it clear tha she would be receiving a 'dose', so maybe all Cora really needed to do was be patient. Just a bit longer and the prisoner might be passed out, or at least hopefully so out of it that sneaking around her would be easier.

What happened next was so fast that Cora had little time to react, other than covering her mouth to hold back a noise of distress. She had seen Sophia move, watched as something colorful, but sharp, was swiftly swung through the air via her foot and perfectly jabbed into the other zombies side. And then Sophia was up! But no sooner came the scream, and inevitable collapse.

The door clicked shut, locking them both in. Now was her chance, and yet, she sat shaking, holding her mouth closed and breathing heavily through her nose. It had been so fast, swift, and violent. Moves she had only seen Kuznet pull, though never so purposefully executed as to kill. His punches had always been pulled, always a certain level of precision and control. This had been...lethal.Sophia was a lethal opponent.

Move.

The thought came to her sharply and she obeyed. She couldn't stay there, and she didn't know how much time she had. Without taking her eyes off of Sophia, Cora exited the closet and very carefully shut the secret entrance behind her. She then fearfully began glancing around the room.

Could she get through the window? The flight of stairs she had climbed felt like at least a floor, if not more. Maybe she could climb down the fire escape and back into the room where she had first activated the switch.

 

[Poprockz]

Unfortunately for her, there was no fire escape, merely the slightly-slanted tiles of the roof. They were well-maintained, so it was unlikely that they would be slippery, but there was still a real risk of falling to one's death. There had been a fire-escape at one point, but now the fire escape was only available to the floors in which the regular guests were staying. If a fire caught in the resort, then Sophia would have to jump to the lower roofs. At least, that was knowledge privy to Sophia and the rest of the zombie staff. Cora would only see that this floor didn't have any ladders or metal ramps downwards.

All the windows but one were barred shut as well, her only option being to somehow pry out the nails from each of the five boards, so twenty nails in total. Each nail was affixed well to the window pain, so it was one of those things that would take a little bit of time even with the proper tools.

Meanwhile, Sophia was still unconscious on the floor with no signs of waking up. There was even a little bit of drool coming from the corner of her mouth.

The room had been made to house someone who was clearly resourceful and didn't ant to be there. Thus, there were no tools that would lend in getting the window open. All of the furniture was padded, And even the blanket was somehow held down on one side of the bed like a shower curtain. It reminded one of a padded cell they might see in an insane asylum: sparse but as safe as one could make it for the occupant and those who would be visiting.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora was starting to feel like a racoon in a cage. They had truly locked Sophia up tight in this room with similar attention to detail as Kuznet.

A thought occurred to Cora while she was pacing around Sophia, her panic growing. If this was as similar to Ray's deranged dollhouse as it was appearing, than the only way she was going to be able get anyone to open up that door, was if she started causing a ruckus that they couldn't ignore.

Her eyes teared up, and she looked down at Sophia. If she did this, then there was likely a punishment waiting for her when she came to. Cora didn't want the women to suffer...but she had to leave this room.

"I'm sorry" she said out loud before she made another lap around the room, this time looking to see where they kept the bathroom for Sophia and praying that it was no less fancy than the rest of the resort.

 

[Poprockz]

There was no bathroom in the room; in that way, Cora was rightly fucked with that route of escape.

Before she had time to adjust her plans though, there was clicking in the door and it soon opened to reveal... Frederick. Based on the lack of glasses and ponytail, it seemed as though Rick was still in control of the body. He was grumbling to himself about why he had to be the one cleaning up the spit-brownie-blob on the ceiling, a bottle of cleaner and a couple rags in a bag held by his left hand.

When he entered, he closed the door behind him with a click, the door obviously locking behind him. The whole thing was just enough time for Cora to dart to the closet without being seen.

The man looked at Sophia and sighed, walking over to gently pick her up so he could carry her over to the bed and delicately lay her down on it, arranging her limbs into a comfortable position so she wouldn't be sore when she woke up. He then stood there for a minute, simply looking down at the woman. From the closet, Cora couldn't see the expression on his face, but she could see him take out a clean cloth and lean down, wiping her mouth clean of the brown smudges like a mother would her child.

When he straightened up, his shoulders slumped and there was a sense of defeat in his posture. "When did things go to shit, huh, Sophia?" He murmured.

Rick let out another heavy sigh and sat down on the bed putting his head in his hands and closing his eyes. The man was uncharacteristically quiet, perhaps because there was no one to talk to. He sat that way silently for several minutes.

Then his posture changed slightly and he lifted his head in confusion. A sniff. Then two, as though he was trying to place a particular scent. His eyes scanned the room, and his tentacles slipped under the bed to feel underneath it. When no one was found there, he approached the closet warily and stopped in front of it, crossing his arms with a scowl.

"I know you're in there. Are you going to come out, or am I going to have to pull you out?"

 

[Drobabes]

Cora didn't even have time to panic that her plan wouldn't work before she heard the keys in the door. She darted into the closet so fast that she ended up wracking her head quite painfully. On what, she didn't know, but she had to muffle her pained grunt.

She remained as still as a stone as Rick entered the room. Of all the people who could fuck up her day, of course she got the maniac who had threatened to do sick and twisted things to her man because of her own screw ups.

Cora watched as he moved Sophia, gooseflesh blooming across her skin. Was he going to do something to the women while she was asleep? Could she just sit by and do nothing if he did?

That wouldn't be a decision she would have to make though, as the way he handled her and then sat down and spoke made her suddenly rethink her whole view of who he was. He seemed genuinely concerned for her well-being and uncharacteristically...sad? It was an odd sight to see, and not something she would have expected of the chatty man. A pit suddenly formed in the bottom of her stomach as she was reminded of her brother. Always so upbeat, happy, acting as if he were on top of the world. A facade he wore as armour; armor he only took off when he thought the world couldn't see him.

"I know you're in there."

She had involuntarily backed up upon his approach, her heart having begun to beat rapidly upon the first sniff of his strong nose. She knew it was no use, as going back down the stairs would not only trap her, but also quite obviously alert him to her presence from the noise. With defeat in her tone, she responded.

"No, I'm coming out."

And so she did, climbing out from her hiding place and then standing in front of Rick in defeat. Though this time, she lacked her characteristic shaking and wide eyed, deer in the headlights look. Cora just looked a bit defeated at that moment.

She didn't speak, simply waited for him to do whatever it was that he was going to do.

 

[Poprockz]

He squinted at her. "I should have known it would be you. You have the really unfortunate habit of being a pain in my ass, you know that? How did you even get in here?"

Immediately after saying that, he held up his hand and quickly said, "No, no. Don't tell me. Not a word. Just- fuck. Give me a moment." The man closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, an irritated sigh following closely behind. He agonized for a few moments before eyeing her with an expression that couldn't be discerned past his dissatisfaction with the situation.

"Okay. First thing's first: Let's leave the room. If anyone sees you in here, you'll be so deep in shit that you'll get pink-eye." He started to usher her out of the room, taking his bag of cleaner and rags with him as he did so. Once the door clicked shut behind them, he set the cleaning bag down and folded his arms.

"Alrighty... now. Where are you supposed to be, you little chaos goblin?" He raised an eyebrow as he waited for her answer.

 

[Drobabes]

Did he not know about the secret entrance? Cora almost didn't believe him, but she wasn't going to be the one to spill those beans if he wasn't going to psychologically torture her into telling him. Although he might try to later...

She obediently stayed silent, unsure of what he was going to do and unable to read the look on his face. Cora didn't say a single word as she was ushered out of the room either, simply relieved to be free of the stressful situation.

"With Sabastian and what's his face-the redhead. I don't really know how I got up here."

It wasn't necessarily a lie. She didn't know why there had been a secret entrance, who had built it, nor who was using it. And she certainly didn't know which floors or rooms she had had to travel through as she had hiked up the long stairwell.

 

[Poprockz]

He grunted in acknowledgement, seemingly trying to figure something out while he scrutinized her. The next moment though, his eyes flicked up and a surprised expression came to him. He uttered a curt "hold still" before stepping closer to her, taking her face in his hands and tilting her head down a little to examine the place she had bumped in her hasty attempt to hide in the closet. One of his hand moved up to brush some of her hair out of the way since the mark was at the edge of her hairline and partially obscured when her hair rested naturally, while the other remained cupping the side of her jawline. The man's movements were insistent but didn't portray any anger, no squeezing or jerking.

"You're bleeding..." he mentioned, distracted. "Doesn't look deep though. Some alcohol and a few bandaids will do the trick." The man seemed lost in thought for a moment as the two of them stood in silence.

She wasn't left in silence for long as he soon came back to himself. As his examination was complete, he released her and stepped back to give her some space.

"Honestly..." he continued in a slightly exasperated tone. "What am I going to do with you? Did you happen to go around smashing mirrors as a child? Or did you run around a ladder-making factory? Give a leprechaun the middle-"

*Ding*
In the middle of his chastising, the elevator dinged and Prochette walked slowly out of it. She had changed out of her prior clothes and held her side as though it was tender, the woman cringing as she exited. When she caught sight of them, her eyes immediately went to Cora and then back to Rick, confused as to what was going on.

"Ah, perfect," Rick said sarcastically as he turned and saw the other zombie. "Just the person I wanted to see. Do you have any idea what you've done?"

This only seemed to confuse Prochette more as she came to a stop nearby. "What do you mean? What is she doing here?"

"Well since you're asking, I'll tell you. This lovely lady was searching a couple floors down for her stowaway bride when she stumbled upon the portrait of the fat lady that leads up here. And you know what she found? Not 'Waldo' or the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. She found Sophia's door. Open."

"What?! No, I closed it! I'm sure I did..." The mousy zombie's anxious eyes darted over to the door as she began to question herself.

"Are you now?" Rick crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow incredulously. "So you remember closing the door one-hundred percent as you ran out with brownie in your eyes and a crayon in your guts? Really?"

"I mean- I-" At this point Prochette looked panicked, desperately trying to recount whether she had closed the door.

"I bet you don't even remember leaving the brownie plate in there that Sophia could have used to hurt herself with if she woke up before I went in." Rick pressed on, reaching into his bag and pulling it out before giving her a little wave with it. "Do you have any idea how upset Angelique will be if she finds out that not only did you leave a plate with her, but you also gave her the means to get out of her room?"

It seemed that Prochette did have an idea, as her face immediately paled. "I didn't mean to- I could have sworn I didn't-" She swallowed, looking to be on the verge of tears.

"Yeah, yeah..." Rick said dismissively. "You're real sorry. Luckily for you, nothing came from it and I'm game to forget that any of this ever happened. Tell you what," he continued as though he was doing her a favor, "I'll go ahead and put Dora the Explorah back on her floor and none of us will speak about what just happened. Angelique won't rip you to shreds, I get the satisfaction of seeing the game keep going, and she gets to keep pointlessly looking around the resort. Everybody's happy. How about that?"

Prochette processed what he had proposed before nodding slowly, "O-okay. Okay. Yes. I will do better going forward and this will never happen again." She gave another nod, clearly still shaken.

"Great!" Rick smiled brightly, placing the dish back into the bag before ushering Cora toward the elevator. He patted Prochette's shoulder as he passed, leaving her to stand there in shock as the two of them got into the elevator, the doors closing behind them.

 

[Drobabes]

She stiffened the second his cold fingers were upon her skin, unable to bring herself to move despite the urge to jerk away from his touch. What was he doing?! Was he about to punish her now that they were away from Sophia? But it was risky to do that out here in the hall wasn't it? Where someone, anyone really, could see?

"Blood?" She repeated, unsure if she understood him right. And then it finally dawned on her that he wasn't doing anything to harm her, even offering to clean the wound that she suddenly felt a pulsating, sharp, sting emitting from now that it had been brought to her attention.

Cora took a somewhat deeper breath and relaxed, then relaxed even more when he gave her some space. For how threatening he had been previously in the day, she was beginning to feel an odd sort of way about the man now. Rick reminded her a bit of Quinton, and she supposed that would make sense. After all, they both had someone dear to them that they needed to protect.

But, they were still playing for different teams. That could not be brushed under the rug. And whatever motivations Rick had, they still aligned with working for Angelique. Whether or not he was truly on her side did not matter at this point in time.

"Did you happen to go around smashing mirrors as a child? Or did you run around a ladder-making factory?"

A small smile painted her lips for just a moment. An ironic one, but a smile nonetheless. She didn't have time to give him any sort of answer though, as the ding of the elevator interrupted them.

Cora stood still as a photo, barely even daring to breath as Rick managed to, scarily easily, completely gaslight Prochettes memory of having ever locked the door behind her. Her eyes were wide as they darted between the both of them, terrified that this wasn't going to end well. Rick pulled it off though, and the next thing she knew, they were on the elevator and Cora had committed to not breathing a word of what had truly happened to anyone outside of her group.

Once the elevator began to move, her hazel eyes looked over at Rick. Her lips moved, opened just slightly, then closed and she turned away. She wanted to ask him why he had done that, but then decided she really didn't want to hear it. He had said he would get the satisfaction of seeing the game continue and that would likely be the answer she would receive now.

 

[Poprockz]

There was silence for just a moment before he glanced at her. One could tell that the lack of noise bothered him as he fidgeted until the silence was too much.

“Let that be a lesson to you," he commented, matter-of-factly. "-you can’t trust what anyone says unless you actually see it with your own eyes. Lies are easier to do when you know the other person is going to have an emotional reaction to them- it makes it so that they’re more distracted by their feelings than their logic. People don't think straight when they're stressed, not even zombies."

The zombie took out a small notebook from one of his pockets and began writing in it with a pen that was tucked into its rings. It was angled in such a way that she couldn't read what he was writing, but he continued to lecture her as he did so.

"You see, the problem with you is that you assume that people can tell when you're bullshitting, as though they have your measure as soon as they meet you. People will only be able to figure you out if you let them- otherwise they have nothing to go off of but logic, theory, and assumption. And even those things can go out the window if you rattle them enough.

“For ferrets like you in a land of lions, lies and smoke are probably your best weapon. It’s a good way to manipulate a situation or get the upper hand."

He glanced at her once more before looking back to the notebook, "I couldn't care less about what happens to you, but Fred seems to like you, so it would be a shame to see you get taken for a ride one of these days."

 

[Drobabes]

She continued to be rather still as he talked, though it was clear she was a bit annoyed that he was speaking to her in such a tone. Still, he was making valid points and as annoying as he was being with his lecturing stance, Cora could still take a few notes.

"You see, the problem with you is that you assume that people can tell when you're bullshitting, as though they have your measure as soon as they meet you."

Cora turned sharply to look at him, that particular bit of advise hammering into something deep and turning on a light in her mind.

Was that true? For so many years Kuznet had been so far ahead of them in whatever they did...but they were children when he had plucked them. No, more than that, they had barely been more than babies. Of course he had been able to predict every move they would make, every thought they would have, because more than likely he had orchestrated it. What a sick joke... And now, because of that, she had assumed that the rest of the world revolved around the same rules.

She turned her gaze back to the door, but if Rick were happening to be paying attention, he might see her blinking back hot tears of rage and frustration so that they did not trail down her cheeks. Cora didn't comment until he was done, but seemed to have taken what he had said to heart, as she responded with-

"Fred seems like a good man. I would hate to see him get taken for a ride, too, so I'll keep what you said in mind."

Speaking of which, she reached up to gingerly touch the wound on her scalp and made a slight hiss when it was more tender than she expected.

 

[Poprockz]

Rick gave her a sideways look, clearly trying to figure out what exactly she meant by that statement. It could be taken as a threat, but he seemed satisfied by the tone of her voice that she meant it as a genuine comment.

“There’s a first aid kit on the floor you started out at, so once we get there I’ll clean that for you, unless you prefer to have the blonde do it. I know your group has a healing zombie and all, but it’s better to disinfect it so nothing nasty gets in there between now and then.”

He ripped off the small piece of paper and started to fold it down to a smaller square, “When we figured out that it was the blonde who did the gloop-job on David, we had half a mind to peel it off before he told us that it’d been disinfected beforehand. We might have to do it anyways, considering the fact that the burns have now started blistering and we suspect that some splinters may need to be extracted, but… I don’t know if she’ll bother doing that if she’s just going to ship him out at the end of the week.”

“I mean, that’s if you don’t find him. Realistically though, you have less of chance of finding him than I do of getting Nathaniel to admit that he’s a pompous assho-“ at that moment, the lights in the elevator went out and the whole thing lurched to a stop. The only light one could see was the soft intermittent blink of a red light near the button panel.

“For fucks sake…” he sighed, annoyed. “Really? Generator maintenance right now?”