Morning Coffee And Sweet Surprises (Closed to Poprockz)

[Poprockz]

He noticed her wiping her face, presumably tears and he wondered if she was crying because of him or perhaps for him. Damien didn't know that her tears were for other dark memories entirely. He squeezed her once more before standing up and taking her with him. His strong arms pulled her up to her feet, her back still against his chest for a moment before he let her go.

"Let's." Damien strode over to her metal bat and he took it in hand, liking the grip it had on it. It would be could for breaking someone's spine if need be, he just had to knock them on their stomachs first. Not that he would ever want to, but he didn't doubt that he could crush a man's head like a watermelon with this bat. The thought was disgusting, but he liked knowing that he had the potential to put an end to one of the mindless freaks if they were attacked.

"Tell me a bit about the apartment we're going to, who lives there, and where it's located in relationship to your apartment." He said, heading for the door with the bat resting on his shoulder.

 

[Drobabes]

His arms holding her to his chest for just a few more seconds allowed her regain her composure. When he asked about the apartment, her eyes automatically looked up.

"The apartment directly above me belonged to an old women, but in the one on the right, neighboring hers, was a younger gal who was into photography. I haven't talked to her a whole lot to be honest, but I thought she might have her own printer for photos. I don't think she has a partner, or if she did, she never brought them home with her."

She headed out the door with him, intent on grabbing her phone from the kitchen table and seeing if there was anything else in her apartment that she could use as a weapon. She had some gardening tools in her small backyard, but she couldn't remember if she had anything really hefty. At the very least she had a basic shovel, and while it wasn't a metal handled one, the wood was still solid and could act as a barrier.

"Have you noticed if they are attracted to lights or anything like that? We could probably shine the phones flashlight under the door to see if they are standing by it."

 

[Poprockz]

He paused as she started to grab the shovel, reflecting on her question. "I'm not too sure, to be honest. I haven't spent a lot of time around them. I spent a day in the cabin, then quickly came into your apartment. So... I'm really not sure. We could try it, though. Those weird milky eyes they have still seem to be working at least."

Damien waited for her by the front door, his hands tightening on the bat as the nervousness set in. He was afraid. Not for himself, but for Cora. He couldn't live without her so if she died, he would also follow her into that eternal slumber. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, though. Damien was going to do everything he could to ensure her safety and he was going to be extra careful. He looked at her with a serious and very determined expression

"Are you ready, Cora?" He said softly, preparing himself to unlock the door.

 

[Drobabes]

The shovel felt like such a poor replacement for her pistol, but without more bullets, there wasn't much to be done.

Her eyes travel up from his hand on the doorknob and to his face. She swallows hard.

"No, but, we can't stay here forever."

She gripped the wood hard and gave him a small nod, telling him to go ahead.

 

[Poprockz]

His hand turned the doorknob and he slowly pulled it open just a sliver. Putting his head near the crack, he looked to see if any of them were around. He could hear them clomping around downstairs, but didn't see any on their landing right now. The door was opened wider and he took a few cautious steps out, turning his head to her and mouthing, "stay close."

With that, Damien held the bat at the ready before starting to creep down the hallway to the stairs. Occasionally, he could hear low grunts from some of the rooms, presumably from people who had turned and didn't have the capacity to leave their apartments before they lost themselves. He shuddered to think of the two of them ending up like that. At the very least, it was good that they were trapped and wouldn't be able to get out.

He moved to the stairs and slowly made his way up, checking every now and then that Cora was following him. His face had a wary expression, the man concentrating on hearing and seeing anything that might get close to them. Though he had a muscled body, he moved with the grace of a cat, his steps very light and quiet.

On the floor above, he looked up and down the hall and yet again it was clear. Part of it unsettled him that it was so clear. Maybe something elsewhere had attracted them. Hopefully they would stay in that other area for a while at least. He turned and made his way toward the room in question, as she said it was to the right of the old lady's. The man froze as he heard faint crying in one of the rooms nearby, seemingly by someone who was still alive. He hadn't heard any zombie make any noise other than snarls, groans, or grunts, so it was almost guaranteed that it was a person.

However, he ignored the crying and proceeded to the task at hand. He was to protect Cora, and another person would only complicate things, drain their resources, and possibly put them in danger. His expression didn't change as he continued to the room, stopping and reaching into his pocket for his lock-picking items.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora followed him out slowly, making sure to stay close to him, but not too close. The last thing she wanted was to be in his way if he had to back up, possibly tripping on her.

The hallways were so earily quiet, besides the shuffling, that it almost hurt her ears. Her heart was beating quick in her chest she could hear almost every pulse behind her ear. As Damien crept forward, almost scarily quiet, she looked over her shoulder many times. She was immensely grateful she kept a pair of Sketchers for hiking, as boot or regular dress shoes probably would have made a hell of a lot of noise. Every step she took, she pressed down lightly though, as even with the flexible shoes, her foot could still make some noise if she wasn't careful. The shovel she kept right in front of her and somewhat off the ground, insuring she didn't accidentally bump it on something or drag it across the floor.

When they finally reached the apartment and Damien froze, Cora did as well. Her heart picked up a new beat and she strained her ears and eyes trying to figure out what had made him stop, and when at last she heard it, she let out a small breath of surprise.

That was a person crying! ... wasn't it?

But what if it wasn't? They knew so little about what was going on, it could very well be one of those people who had been infected. Or perhaps, someone who had just been infected and was turning. But...if it was a person...

Cora looked to Damien, noticing that he had pushed it aside and was working on the door. That told her enough that he didn't want to find out, focused on their task only.

Her mind raced. On the one hand, she couldn't bring herself to ignore it. Not only did they need to find other people to survive long term, but if they just left that person in there, they might be sentencing them to death. However, if they couldn't get that map printed out and be ready to leave before they investigated it, they might as well be throwing themselves off the cliff.

She swallowed hard, her hands shaking a bit with the difficulty of the choice. She knew that ultimately she wouldn't be able to ignore it, but how she went about it was key. Suddenly she thought of something.

Looking down the hall to try and figure out which door it was coming from, she made a mental note that it seemed to be two doors down. She then turned her attention back to Damien and waited for him to unlock the door, stepping back in the hall and readying the shovel to use it as a weapon or shield. She was going to investigate it, she had her mind set on that, but first, they had to secure themselves. They couldn't help anyone if they were dead.

 

[Poprockz]

His hands worked quickly, the soft clicks of his tools being heard right before the lock gave. When it did, he put his hand on the doorknob, looked to her to make sure she was ready, and then turned it. Once again, he looked through the crack. His eyes widened and he looked at Cora with a concerned expression.

It wasn't a zombie, but it was a corpse near the opposite wall to the door. It was barely recognizable as having been a person's body previously, only the legs really indicating that it was so at one point in time. The chest was hollowed out and spread like someone who had eaten a baked potato and left the skin, The neck broken and the head slumped over. By the hair, it seemed like it might be a young woman. There was blood everywhere, staining the carpet and having been sprayed onto the nearby couch.

The fact that she was eaten indicated that there was a zombie lurking inside somewhere, and he knew that his bat was going to come in handy. That being said, he knew the sight of her neighbor like that would likely be very traumatizing to her, or at least disturb her immensely. He wanted to leave her out in the hall, but couldn't risk having her out there if some more of them decided to show up.

His face became conflicted as he looked at her, his eyebrows knitted as he tried to decide what to do. Damien leaned over to her ear and whispered very softly, "I don't want you to see what's in there... but there's going to be a zombie inside too. I... maybe we should go back to the apartment."

 

[Drobabes]

He didn't jump back or shut the door, so that was good. However, as she watched his face, she knew something was up. Sure enough, he confirmed it with his words.

Her hazel eyes looked up at him, then back to the door. If they didn't get that map now, then they would have to get it later-possibly in a much more crowded area with more danger. They really couldn't risk that. She had seen dead bodies. She could handle this. Still, she swallowed hard.

"We need that map" she whispered back.

"Besides, were probably going to be seeing a lot of messed up shit. I have to start getting used to it. Just...tell me where to stand."

 

[Poprockz]

He looked at her, feeling a bit pained at the idea of her having to see one of her neighbors like that. Damien had seen things similar to this before, so he wasn't quite as phased, but he knew that it wasn't normal to have to process something so disgusting.

"Stay behind me and stay back when we get to the zombie. We're going to pause inside for a moment for you to get your bearings; your neighbor didn't make it." Damien reached out and squeezed her shoulder for a minute before turning away. Was that sufficient? Should he have done something more to comfort her? He wasn't sure, but all he could do now was forage forward.

Damien opened the door, pulling it toward them and stepping inside, assuming Cora was close behind and would shut the door after her. He scanned the apartment, trying to see if he could hear the zombie or see it somewhere. There was a slight shuffling coming from the bedroom and he fixed his gaze upon the doorway, waiting for Cora to acclimate before moving forward.

 

[Drobabes]

Nodding in acknowledgement, she waited for him to open the door, and then she stepped inside with him, quickly closing the door behind her. She hadn't planned to look at it when she turned around, but it was unavoidable.

Sitting the tip of the shovel on the ground, she momentarily has to lean on it for support as her head swims. The sight of the corpse was familiar, so similar to what she had seen in Washington. Tears spark her eyes-not for the women, but for her brother. That was exactly what she had seen as she had walked into Quint's room, except that there, his blood had been splattered on all his photos and his bed. She didn't want to look at the women's face, fearing what she might see.

Her mouth opens and she takes in a small breath, instantly regretting it. The smell permeating the air was absolutely putrid, and foul. This women had not had her cooler on, but even if she had, the summer heat would have still brought the room temperature up. As it were, it was stiflingly hot and the body was far along in its decay.

Cora gags, her stomach flipping after having not had a good amount of time to recover from all the Captain Morgan she had drank. Immediately her hand shoots up to cover her mouth, and she forces her eyes to look away, at anything but the remains.

Catching the look on Damien's face, she takes a small breath and forces herself to stand on her own feet and be steady. If there was one thing she was good at, it was taking a huge amount of stress and pushing it aside. It would come back to bite her later, but for right now, she had to hold herself together. She pulls her tank top up over her nose and picks the shovel up properly, then gives him a small nod.

 

[Poprockz]

The smell was indeed disgusting, but he had a very strong stomach for this sort of thing. He saw the way she gagged and teared up, wondering to himself if the neighbor had been more dear to her than she had thought. Or perhaps it was the horror of the sight itself that shook her- he wasn't sure, and it didn't necessarily matter at the moment. Damien would hold her tightly and let her sob herself to sleep in his arms later when they were safe, but for now he had to fulfill his role as a murderous home intruder.

He took her nod as an acknowledgement and started moving forward. His ears strained to make sure that there wasn't more than one zombie in the apartment, but he only heard the shuffling from the bedroom. They had to carefully step over some items that had been knocked over. Obviously she had fought the zombie, trying to kill it or at least get away as it attacked. Unfortunately for her, she just wasn't strong enough.

When he got to the door-frame of the bedroom, he slowly peaked inside and saw it. It looked like a person, but it's eyes were milky. It was like someone had cobwebbed their eyes, but underneath one could see very vibrant flecks of violet as though they were fighting to be seen through the white. Veins on the zombie that were closer to the surface also looked violet, perhaps indicating that their blood had changed composition.

It hadn't noticed them and turned away, blankly looking at the window as though it didn't quite register what it was. Damien knew he wouldn't get that chance again, so he shot forward. Damian drew his weapon back and swung it without hesitation, the intent to kill obvious in his movements. His bat connected with the zombie's spine with a sickening crack, and it was likely he had shattered whatever vertebrae he had aimed for. The thing slumped to the floor with a grunt, its hands reaching for him, but in general the zombie was unable to move its legs.

"Look away." Damien commanded Cora, his eyes sharp. He then turned and raised the bat over his head. It came down several times, leaving the zombie with a crumpled bowl where its head had been. He panted hard, the bat covered in blood and brain fluid as he reached over to the bed. The man took a clean part of the sheet and wiped off his face; he would definitely have to take a shower again later.

 

[Drobabes]

For the few brief seconds before Damien opened that door, Cora wanted to reach out and grab his arm. Despite her best efforts to stay calm, fear had crept up into her chest with an inky tendril, dripping into her resolve and making her quiver. She wanted to leave. She wanted to grab Damien's hand and drag him back to her apartment, screw the map, and leave. It wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth losing him.

"Dami-"

Her hand was halfway through the air between them when he pushed the door open and made his move.

The bat came up and he swung without mercy, the sickening fleshy crack bringing her back to the man who had pushed her down onto his truck, making her flinch just like before. The body hit the floor, and for a split seconds Cora forgot that it wasn't more. She saw a person falling through the air, a person that Damien had just hit with that bat.

"Look away."

Cora's hazel eyes, so wide with fear and shock, shot up to his as his words snapped her out of it. She didn't quite drop the shovel, but she moved it to the crook of her arm so that she could cover her ears. She turned to stare down the hall, not willing to close her eyes for fear of there being more of them in the apartment, but she didn't want to hear either.

She has her hands pressed so tightly to her ears that she doesn't hear when he stops, only keeping him in her peripheral vision. Her teeth are clinched hard, like she's trying with all her will to concentrate on something.

 

[Poprockz]

When he was done wiping his face, he looked over to her. She was shivering and had her hands clamped over her ears like her life depended on it. It was obvious that she was disturbed by what she had seen. He wished she didn't have to see him like that, bludgeoning a man(?) to death. She had witnessed him murder before, but nothing quite so grotesque and brutish.

He didn't regret killing the zombie, figuring it was either a shell of a person, or that it was a mercy to put them out of their misery. They did kill their roommate after all.

"Cora..." he said softly, though after a pause, it seemed that she didn't hear him.

Damien walked over to her and reached out, lightly touching her arm. He fully expected her to jump, flinch, or push him away right now. It was a lot to take in right then, so he wouldn't begrudge a reaction like that.

 

[Drobabes]

She didn't flinch, having seen him come up to her, but it was difficult to put her hands down. She looked up at him, eyes wide, then looked at the corpse that had once been a person. The gore was no less shocking, however, the strange purple blood made it seem almost cartoonish, like a very mild mushroom trip. It was surreal and difficult to look away, but once she finally manages to put her hands down and grip the solid wood of the shovel, it helps her grip back onto reality.

"Okay..." she whispers, standing up straight again.

"Let's just," she looks down the hall.

"Make sure there's no more of them...and then get out of here."

 

[Poprockz]

He nodded at her and then searched the bedroom's closet and bathroom, finding no more zombies in there. Pointing to the computer desk and printer, he said, "Cora. You go ahead and print the maps we need as well as anything else you might think would be helpful. Paper is light so don't restrain yourself from printing anything that comes to mind. We can always toss it out but we can't come back here again. I'm going to search the rest of the apartment real quick and will yell if anything happens. Keep the door locked until I'm back, okay?"

He moved close to her and cupped her face so that she looked up at him, his eyes looking into hers as he waited for a response. Damien needed to know that she understood his instructions before he left her in the room by herself.

 

[Drobabes]

The amount of time it took him to search the rooms gave her a reprieve, enough time to catch her breath and calm down. While he was searching, she walked up to the corpse and took a closer look at it. Her curiosity was stronger than her disgust, and it helped her to desensitize a bit. She was sure the sight would play a role in her nightmares, but she needed to be calm and stable, for both of them.

When he came back with his instructions, she nodded, but it wasn't until his warm hands cupped her face that she finally took a full breath. Her hands went to his and she closed her eyes for just a brief second. When she opened them, she was calm and determined.

"Ok. I will. Promise."

God she didn't want to let him go, but she wanted even less for him to be worried about her. It would leave him distracted and vulnerable.

When he let her go, she immediately went to the computer and looked for a cord to connect her phone. She then started prepping the paper, getting it ready for printing.

 

[Poprockz]

He sighed in relief, watching her leave and go to the computer. Damien knew she could handle herself better than most, and that she would at least be able to hold one of them off until he could come to help.

Leaving the room, he closed the door behind him and crept through the apartment. The kitchen, living room, dining room, guest room, and other bathroom were checked as well as any closets. Once he was absolutely convinced that the apartment was clear, he made sure the front door was locked before searching the cabinets. There was a lot of good nonperishable food there, and he loaded it up into a duffel bag. It was likely that they wouldn't be able to stay in the apartment for too long, but he wanted to eat through this stuff in the car before digging in to the lighter foods that they would be taking with them.

It was unfortunate that her neighbor had ended up this way, likely the same way a lot of people had ended up. He thanked his stars that she was with him, and not a half-eaten corpse rotting away somewhere.

He was soon done with his impromptu grocery trip, moving back to the room and gently knocking on the door just loud enough for her to hear him. Damien made it a three knock then two, then one knock pattern, showing her that it wasn't just mindless zombie knocks.

 

[Drobabes]

Cora started with the maps, making sure she got their area first, but then she used some of the stronger, sturdier, photo paper to print out a more comprehensive map of the whole United States and Canada. She hoped they wouldn't have to travel that far in either direction, but it would be good to have either way.

While they were printing, she downloaded a basic army survival guide onto her phone. They wouldn't need access to the internet to read it, just the phone, and it was highly rated for having the most basic and common survival strategies that were easy to understand and put into action. After it downloaded, she immediately started printing out pictures of the most common and easy to identify wild edible plants in their area, and she used the colored paper to print out guides to identify them correctly. She paused in her actions, then started searching for edibles that could be found in the dead of winter. She hoped that the army guide would have these as well, but it had no colored pictures, and for identifying plants, that was a crucial step.

When Damien knocked, she had a nice stack of papers already printed, and she had a written note sat aside next to it. On it, it said:

Do you speak english?
If you can read this and you aren't infected, please stay quiet, but knock on the door three times. Don't open it until I knock back, and don't think about attacking. I have a gun and I will use it.​

She walked over and unlocked the door for him, then went right back to printing more papers.

 

[Poprockz]

He walked in and shut the door, locking it for good measure. There were no zombies in the apartment, but one could never be too careful. His eyes appraised her stack of papers and nodded, setting down the small duffle bag and unzipping it.

"We can put those in here when you're done." He glanced up again and his eyes found the note. Reaching out, he picked it up and read it, frowning. Did she really intend to help that mystery voice? What if it was a trap or if it was an infected person about to turn? He really didn't like the idea of risking themselves for others, especially since she was the only thing he cherished in this world.

"Cora... I'm not sure this is a good idea. We don't know what could happen if we go and try to see what's going on. I don't want to put you in danger, and this could be inviting it to us. Is it worth it to you to make sure this person doesn't need help?" His steely eyes fixed her with a neutral look. He hoped she would reconsider, but he would accompany her if she was dead-set on it.

 

[Drobabes]

She didn't look at him as she kept working. She knew he wouldn't agree.

"We can't just leave them in there alone. If it was you in there, I would hope to god someone wouldn't just walk by."

Her voice was almost angry and just a little cold. She wasn't about to budge on this. In her eyes it was no different than walking away from someone that just got ran over. Yea, it wasn't their responsibility, but to not do anything would be just as bad.

"We can do it carefully. They don't know there's two of us, and you have your pistol right? We don't even have to stand in front the door as they open it, make them come to us."

She moved the mouse around a few times as her eyes bore holes into the computer. She was trying to find something, anything, on making antibiotics or getting it from a wild plant. It was the only major thing she was concerned about, and it was something that, eventually, she would want to break into a library to study up on more. A lot of things could be treated with common meds from the store, but a bad infection was a death sentence. Especially if it was from a rotten tooth.

"There!" she exclaimed as she found something that had any scientific backing. It wasn't much, and it wasn't a replacement for the real thing, but it was something.

She printed it out, then gathered up all the papers and sat them in the bag, noting the food he had grabbed. The thought to herself they should grab as much as they could from her own apartment and stuff it in the car before they left.

"I'm ready when you are, but we should check under her sink to see if she has any pure bleach, for the water we might have to drink."

 

[Poprockz]

He struggled to fight with her on that logic. Honestly, if that person was protecting Cora, he would pray that they kept on going if he was alone in the room infected or dying from God-knows-what. If there was even the possibility that he might hurt her, he would want a bullet in his brain. That wasn't something he necessarily wanted to say to her, though.

Damien was simply quiet, listening to her as she spoke. He sighed and nodded reluctantly, "alright, then. I do still have my gun with me, and if it's important to you then we'll do it, but we need to do it carefully like you said."

He wasn't certain what she was excited about on the computer, it simply looking like a large written document, but he trusted it was something exceedingly helpful. Once she was done putting the papers in the bag, he zipped it up and slung it over his shoulder.

"Hm, well I think it would do us better to simply swing by my cabin on the way out. Lifestraws would be lighter, wouldn't they?" He walked over to the door and unlocked it, but headed for the kitchen in case she insisted that they should search. He would never discount the possibility of needing it even if they had other plans.

 

[Drobabes]

"The straws will definitely be helpful, but can they filter out bacteria? Our stomachs do a pretty good job with the acid, but if we need to use the water on a wound, and we don't have time to boil it, we can clean it with a higher dose of bleach. We won't be able to drink it, but at least we won't get a parasite through a wound. If, or when, we need to leave the car, we can leave it behind too. But if you want to get out of here, that small amount in my backpack is good enough for now, I just want to have more if we can carry more."

She was full on doctor mode now, trying to think of everything and anything that could kill them before she had a chance to try and treat it. She had no doubts that eventually they would have to break into a pharmacy for something, but each step they could take to minimize the need for that increased their chances of survival, and lessoned the burden.

 

[Poprockz]

He nodded and continued to the kitchen. "Okay, I think that sounds like very sound reasoning."

She made a convincing argument and provided points that he hadn't even considered before. Indeed, she was a good person to have along on the trip. Damien handed her note back to her before searching under the sink. Reaching back, he pulled out a half-used gallon of name-brand bleach and showed it to her before putting it into the bag.

Unfortunately that was all there was in there, so he checked the bathroom. There wasn't anymore there either so he walked with her to the door. He opened it carefully and slowly stuck his head out, checking the hallway before stepping softly out when it was safe.

He was about to go to the stairs when he remembered that she wanted to check out the noise. Damien pursed his lips and started toward the apartment two doors down, pausing in front of it and still hearing the muffled crying, though it sounded more like whining now.

 

[Drobabes]

It wasn't as much as she hoped, but anything was better than nothing.

As they approached the door, she got close as well to listen. She didn't know what was behind that door, but she knew the only way to find out was to take the chance. But before she did, she pulled Damien by his sleeve a bit until they were standing back.

"I don't think we should stand right in front of the door" she whispered.

"Let's each stand on either side and be ready in case they try anything..."

When he was ready, Cora gripped the shovel in a defensive way, ready to use it as a weapon if she had to. Using her foot, she got ready to slide the note under the door. She met Damien's eyes and waited for his signal.

 

[Poprockz]

"Okay, that sounds like a good plan." he whispered back, moving to a position on the other side as he took his pistol in hand and clicked off the safety. He had six rounds in the pistol, more than enough to put down anything that was on the other side. Damien was confident in his accuracy as well, but he took a deep breath and let it out slowly nonetheless. If there was going to be confrontation, he wanted to be calm.

The man met her eyes and nodded, his pistol pointed up as he readied himself to act if necessary.