"Rebuild": A Zombie Survival RP

[milkmaiden38]

What the hell is Cassie thinking about now?

I was staring at the ketchup bottle on the kitchen table. It was trying to say something to me and I was so busy listening to Ria talk about Trojan horses, and Troy talking about me being possessed, that I did not hear what the ketchup bottle was trying to tell me. Then finally, I heard it and a smile spread across my face. I stood up.

“Ok … everyone … first of all that was Daniel on the phone and he sounded hurt. His voice was a little bit off … but it was him. I know it was him. We can’t leave him behind. I … I can’t leave him behind; I would not be able to live with myself, thinking about what that THING did to him. We need to rescue him. That is final … PERIOD … end of discussion!”

Peter interrupted me “Ok Cassie, we got that … That is what we are trying to figure out”

“Peter … DON’T interrupt me. I’m getting to that. Now there is no way the controlling thingy can control me. I have never gotten the virus so it can’t control me … so there are “no worries” there” I said “no worries” in my best Australian accent while looking at Troy.

“Now for my idea … I think it will work, but there is one small part I have not figured out.” I explained and grabbed the ketchup bottle off the table. I stared at it … looking at the rich red looking sauce within.

“I’m going to totally lose it in about 10 mins … I’m going to scream my love for Daniel and run outside. You … Ria and Troy are going to come running after me. Screaming for me not to do it … Troy will be the first out the door and I’m going to run him over with the truck so hard … he’ll be sprawled all over the front of the Truck. Blood dripping from his broken body. he'll be kind of stuck on the hood” I held the ketchup bottle out so all could see “Nice rich red blood … made from crushed tomatoes.”

“Then Ria will jump into the back of the truck and as I accelerate to the gate … Ria will fall backwards … her bad leg giving out … and banging her head on the tail gate. OUCH …is all I can say … She will be out cold, blood dripping from her head. The kind of blood you’d use on French fries or a hamburger.

I drive like a manic … to the Knight …and try to find Daniel.

The zombies will see all this and report it back to their master. That is why following me in will not work. The controlling thing has too many eyes. We need to fool ALL of them. There two exceptions. Deacon is in town already … if he is sneaky … he can go to the Knight and it would not cause any concern.

Second … Hunter, Bart, and the street group are the Cavalry. They will form a rescue team and attack if needed.” I explained. “What do you all think?”

Peter was the first to say something “That is a good plan … how are we going to get the weapons in and how does the fake blood work?”

“I, Ria, and Troy will be fully armed with weapons before I run outside … the ketchup needs to be in plastic bags … inside their clothing ... so that it will “burst” when they fall.”

Peter smiled “You'll only have two body guards, it won’t include Cramer … but too many “dead” people hanging off the truck will look odd. What is the small part you have not figured out?”

“Well … it was the Greeks who gave the Trojan horse to the Trojans, so technically, it wasn't a Trojan horse at all, it was a Greek horse … why do we call it a Trojan horse?” I asked.

 

[dutchrain]

Ria

"Because it was used to get inside the city of Troja!" I bursted out. "I think that is quite a logical and easy conclusion!"

I took a deep breath and sat down again.

"Alright. I think Cassie's plan has advantages. I won't fall on my head though. How should I hide a plastic bag with ketchup in my short hair? Just falling as you accelerate like mad will be enough. I could open a bag then, and let ketchup drop through the seam between backboard and floor. We need to mix some water in, otherwise it is much too thick to look like blood, or better, flow like blood does. Troy can't be sprawled on the hood for the whole ride to the city either, especially if you are going to drive even more reckless than usual. He could rip the passenger door open, and get inside, where you knock him on the head with a bottle or something?"

 

[milkmaiden38]

Not the face!!

“No … 9 mm at close range right to his handsome face! … his blood will spatter against the passanger window ... covering. I’ll actually use a red paintball gun or he could be holding the bag of ketchup/water and squirt it over the window and slump over.” I explain. Then looked over to Troy.

"I really do like you ... and your face ... but we need this to look realisitic" I told him.

 

[wombat9966]

"That sounds like a really good plan," Troy agreed, "But best to mix in some raspberry or strawberry jam with mine if we are using the bag idea. Shooting me in the face gets to my brain and well lets just say that is not just blood, we need a bit of substance." He grimaced at that but he knew they better get it right.

"I can also add to our troops as well. The dogs can be hidden in the truck before you go tearing off. We just need someone to go open the door and the pup can curl up on the passenger side floor and Anubis can jump in the back now. I don't think the Zombies will pay attention to them as they never have before but at the other end they will be a big help."

 

[milkmaiden38]

Cassie

The decision had been made … and the weight of it finally sank in to me. I think Ria always knew how important this was … how this plan turned out would determine the survival of everyone at the winery and most likely every human in Eugene. It was down to us … Ria, Troy, Deacon and I. We would either save Daniel, destroy the controlling entity or we would fail and the zombies would win.

I watched as everyone I had grown to know went into serious combat mode. The kitchen was quiet as people prepared the fake blood packets. The dogs were sent outside via the back door with a yell of “don’t pee on the rose bushes”. It was all part of the deception; the well trained dogs knew where to go. I was already dressed in my “rambina” outfit with all my weapons, but people brought me more stuff … like 5 additional molotov cocktails.

I looked over to Troy, he was checking all his weapons. His face was serious, he was all business now. No more cute smile … no more delightful aussie sayings … He was ready to kill. Kill anything that threatened the group. Next to him was Ria. She was serious too. A different kind of serious. She was preparing, but her brilliant mind was working out additional options, making backup plans and thinking of additional natural weapons available.

I shook my head … I was not sure how these people did it. But there seem to be a switch and once it was turned on … they were completely focused on the task at hand. They seemed so confident, so sure they could meet this challenge. I did not feel that way. I had always been more spontaneous, unplanned and wild. This led to mistakes … the explosion in the library for example. I was not sure I could do this. I did not like everyone counting on me.

Peter came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. I never liked him. He was too slick, too self-centered, too self-serving and a big womanizer. But he knew the right things to say.

“Cassie … you’ll do fine. Just think all those people the zombies have killed, what happened to Max … what this entity is doing to Daniel … and you’ll do fine.”

Peter had said just the right thing. I pushed back the chair I was sitting in and stood up.

“Everyone ready? … Because I think it is show time” I asked.

I was ready to lose it BIG TIME … this was going to earn me an "Oscar". And then I was going to kill as many of those fucking zombies as I could.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Thea “Zombie Goddess”

The glowing figure was standing before me again, but I was not happy. The last visit the ghost had told me to stop my attack. That had cost my children. The old humans had killed many of them. That fucker in the farm house, Jerry, he had been the worst. But Troy, Ria and those BITCHES in the armored personnel carrier Derry and Cassie were high on the list too.

The visits of the ghost use to always make me happy. My happiness would soar. It would feel euphoric. But not that last time. What would happen this time I did not know? The ghost stood there saying nothing … then it smiled, it was that warm, gentle smile that made me happy again.

"There, there," it said "I know that was hard … but it was necessary. You are amazing and soon you will feel even better."

The words of praise felt great, but I did not trust the ghost anymore. I was Thea, zombie goddess; I did not need the ghost. I WAS A GODDESS! But I would play along for now … just to get more of that euphoric feeling.

"Why will I feel better?" I asked.

"You will be able to kill everyone you hate. All the people on the farms and at the winery!" It said. My body twitched in glee. I did not believe what I was hearing.

“Really?’ I asked.

“Yes … but you need to return to the Library. One of them will be returning soon and you’ll want to kill her slowly and in the most horrible of ways” The ghost said with that warm gentle smile still glowing on its face.

I turned around … and started to run back to the Knight. The happiness euphoria hitting a new high … spiking in my body ... my body on fire with happiness.

 

[dutchrain]

Ria

I wondered how many of those entities there were all over the world, or if it was just the one we were dealing with while I prepared my weapons.

A big backpack was handed to me, full of molotovs. Lee came running in -how word about what we were going to do had reached him this quick I didn't know- and taped my ankle. He also handed me a mean looking handgun with three extra ammunition clips.

"My favorite. Safety off here, single shots here and busts here. Just point it a zombie and pull the fucking trigger." He smiled and kissed me on my mouth. "Come home alive and without more fucking holes than you have already!"

My mouth opened and with big eyes I looked at him. I wasn't sure if he realized what he just said.

"I'll do my best." I grinned. He grinned too, and slipped his hand up my leg under my trouser leg.

 

[wombat9966]

Troy looked around. He was geared up pretty good but nothing to visible. He didn't want it to seem like they had prepared for this. He had two large knives strapped to his sides but he always carried them so they would not look out of place, but he had also strapped two to the inside of his thighs and cut the lining of his pockets so he could easily get to them. He had two more strapped on his ankles along with small caliber handguns. Two 10mm handguns on his hips and he was carrying a semi automatic shot gun with two bandoliers of ammunition. Except for the hidden weapons he looked exactly like he did for most of his patrols, so if whoever had been spying on them saw this he would not look over prepared.

He debated about slinging a machine gun on too, but thought that might be pushing his luck and left it behind. He packed a small field bag with all the ammunition it would take and two bottles of water. If they survived they would need the water, and he would rather have ammunition than food. He made sure he hadn't forgotten anything then straightened up. "Well looks like I'm ready," he said as he grabbed the blood parcels from the table. "I will wait by the door and once Cassie has started the truck rolling I can run in front of it and she can run me over. Don't worry I have enough experience to grab hold and make my way to the door and get inside. Just shoot above my head and let me do the rest. Oh and it is going to be loud and rather bumpy so be prepared for that. Ria You be careful getting in the back then hit it with something hard. Perhaps take a chopping board or something in your bag too, then let the blood out. Maybe just after Cassie swerves wildly or something so hang on back there, remember there are still those spikes on the road. I just want to say good luck to you both as we won't be able to do much talking once we are on our way just in case he can hear or see us. Don't worry Cassie, once you get there we will be right behind you."

 

[DapperEntity]

A new challenger approaches!

I brought down the five-foot metal pole.

Thud.

I had always been a fan of the quarterstaff. Any pole could turn into a spinning instrument of harm.

Or, as was the case here, a way to crush the skull of an undead. Either one was fine with me.

Wiping the blood off of my weapon, I dug into its pockets. I couldn't help but laugh as I gave an involuntary "Gollum! Gollum!" Thankfully, instead of demonic ring, I discovered an ID. The poor soul's name had been Josh apparently. I had never been religious, but I gave a quick prayer for the departed and moved on.

I flicked the switch on my flashlight. I was met with continued darkness. Shit. Not a good thing when you're in an apocalypse, right?

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The rythmic sounds immediately identified themselves as footsteps. Many of them, and headed in my general direction. I could feel my blood boiling, almost literally, as my body prepared for the assault.

No, not a blood rage, not now I thought. Not when there's this many of them.

My vision turned red. When I regained sanity, I noticed a fresh pile of roughly twenty corpses in the corner. All of them were missing a right hand. Not that I stopped to check, mind you. I just somehow knee.

Well fuck. Looks like I was busy.

Ignoring my lapse into madness, I began checking myself for wounds. There was a small chunk of flesh missing from my left palm.

'Tis just a flesh wound.

RATATATATATATATATATATA

Was that… a machine gun? No, it was too stable. Generally, people with machine guns went full Rambo. It had to be a mounted turret. That was just a guess though.

A bullet whizzed by my skull. If they were firing in this direction, then either:
A) They knew I was in here and were trying to take me out
or
B) There was a large group of zombies outside that was being shot at.

In either case, I didn't want to be here. I picked up my bag - a light satchel - and my pole before heading towards the gunshots.

Hey, if I'm going to see a mounted turret, might as well do it now, right?

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

No luck. It was long gone before I got there. I saw it headed toward the winery where...

holy shit.

An entire fucking horde.

I kept my distance until the siege was over. When the horde dispersed, there were several other humans inside. Neat. Except they were in there, and I was in here. No matter. I tightened my hat and stepped towards the gates, hoping beyond belief I wouldn't be shot on sight.

---

(OOC: I tend to write my characters brutally, so don't fret too much if I lose a finger or something. Sorry.)

 

[milkmaiden38]

Cassie

Well. There are two important things I need to tell you during this post. I’m not sure what order I should tell them to you. So I put them in chronological order.

First thing … I’m super pissed off that the zombies have destroyed the world! Because I found out, I would have made a GREAT actress … except my boobs are too big!! I burst out of the hotel lobby screaming … I turned back to the building and yelled.

“I don’t care what you all say! … FUCK ALL OF YOU!! … I’m going to save Daniel even if I have to do it MYSELF!”

There were tears flowing down my face (an onion … works great!). I ran to the truck and jumped in. I noted the dogs were in position and started the engine … then Troy came out of the hotel after me. He could act too!! WOW … The look of concern on his face was prefect.

I floored the truck and tried to run him over. He bounce around the front end of the truck and grabbed the passenger mirror. I slammed on the brakes. This did not shake him as he was ready for it. He opened the passenger door and got in. I don’t think a stuntman could have done better job. He was awesome.

One weird thing … when I slammed on the brakes something slid in the bed of the truck and slammed into the cab wall. I did not have time to look at what it was. Troy was asking me to calm down and that it was unsafe to rescue Daniel alone. I heard Ria climb in the bed of the truck, that was my cue … I calmly pulled out my 9 mm, aimed and fired.

FYI … never fire a weapon in an enclosed space without hearing protection. WHOLE MOTHER OF GOD … my ears were ringing like crazy. I put the gun on the seat and floored it again … I heard a gasp and Ria fell over in the back of the truck. I also heard that big metal object smash into the back of the truck bed again.

I could not stand it anymore … I glanced back into the bed and saw what the big metal object was … the flame thrower deacon had built! Someone had placed it in the truck! There were also two containers of napalm back there. I could have blown up the whole truck … smashing that stuff around in the back. I was feeling a bit lucky however, as the flame thrower would add to our firepower. That good feeling disappeared as …

My eyes got back in the direct I was driving. I saw a brief glimpse of a man standing direct in front of the truck. There was no time to divert so I just ran him over. It was a surreal experience. There was no sound at impact … like the truck just absorbed him. I thought maybe he slipped under the truck … and survived but then I heard a moment later a THUD … I had killed him. I had such a short time to see him … I was not sure if he was a zombie or a human. I just did not know. I was really hoping it was a zombie. I told myself it was a zombie.

I turned to Troy … “I think I hit something … like a person or a zombie … should I stop … should we abort?” I asked him

This brings me to the second thing I wanted to tell you. That is ... this rescue plan was soooo doomed that in less than one minute it had gone all wrong … and it was going to get a lot worse A LOT WORSE!

 

[DapperEntity]

Narrow Escape

Holy shit.
Just holy shit.

I had expected to either be brought into he winery or to be shot.

Not to have to dodge an APC.

Of course, at that point I didn't have time to worry about what was possible. I went by instinct and immediately fell flat on my back, hoping it would pass over me.

You know that moment when you do something amazing and everything goes slow-motion? It's kind of odd, seeing everything almost frozen. I could see the nearby undead, the winery, the loops of cables under the -

Wait, loops? I can lodge myself against one of those!

I things were speeding up as I realized what I had to do. With one thrust, I shoved my staff into the hole. Ew, that sounded so wrong.

I could hear the driver talking, but it was only a few fragments of a conversation. "Hit someone… we stop?" I had to speak up, let them know I was okay. Then again, they tried to run me over, so maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

Eh, I've got nothing to lose.

It had been quite a few years since I had last screamed, so my voice would be scratchy if I did that. Not a good thing if I wanted to make it clear it was human.

Then I realised what I could do.

Somehow, my bag had remained closed during this whole ordeal. I reached in, unscrewed the cap of a water bottle - not an easy feat with one hand at 60, 70 mph - and started pouring it off to the side of the truck. With luck, they would think it was a gas leak and stop to check it. With greater luck, they wouldn't shoot me.

I could only wait until then.

 

[dutchrain]

Ria

A loud bang made me cover my ears just as I had climbed in the truck-bed. It actually made me cringe down. Which was bad. I had to be on my feet. So up I got, pushed a canister out off the way, and stumbled towards the back of the cabin.

I rubbed my head and stemmed my feet against the flamethrower (I noted now) the two canisters with fuel were still slithering around. I had actually fallen down. And I had actually seen stars when the back of my head thudded against the floor.

With one hand I reached out towards a canister and shoved it in a corner. The other one was behind my back. By arching my back I pressed it against the side with my bum. I fumbled with one of the bags of ketchup and managed to squeeze out a big gulp. And another one. Satisfied I watched it trickle down the joint of the back board.

I put the bag down, and hoped it would stay in place and allow a steady stream of splotches.

Now the canisters with fuel. Scrambling over the floor I secured them with straps. The flamethrower too. I felt a lot more secure when I had done that, and checked on the bag. It was almost empty, I wedged the second one in place and turned on my back, my machetes in my hands. Nothing I could do now than ride out the ride and be ready if a zombie jumped in.

Suddenly Cassie slowed down. We couldn't have reached the Knight yet. We weren't even close to the city, I had seen no buildings towering over me.

 

[DapperEntity]

The truck slowed.

Great, my ploy must have succeeded.

Trying to make myself look presentable, I realized I had lost my hat in the confusion.

Damn.

 

[wombat9966]

Troy knew Cassie was good at getting not only her point across but her feelings too, so he was not surprised that she had acted so damn well. In fact he had been so caught up in it he had actually been trying to stop her until he had ripped the door open and remembered the plan.

He began to yell at her that it was unsafe for her to go alone to rescue Daniel and that they would work something out. Of course she just yelled back then we both heard Ria jump in the back. Troy had heard the earlier thud and hoped Anubis was fine back there but it had sounded metallic so he didn't think it was him. Ria would take care of him anyhow.

Cassie hit the accelerator again and took off. He heard another thud and assumed that was Ria playing her part, then Cassie drew her gun. As she leveled it at him he had reached into his pack which he had slung around in front of him and grabbed the two pouches. The larger one was for the window and the smaller for him.

As she started to shoot he leaned forward and squirted the contents all over the window. He actually squirted before she shot but he doubted anyone could tell. Then he put a little on his forehead and poured the rest on the back of his head. The result was a sticky globby mess but as he quickly slumped back against the window he was sure it would fool the quick look most Zombies would get. Now he just had to lie in it for the next couple of hours.

That's when he heard another large thump and then Cassie looked at him and began to talk half hysterically. "I think I hit something … like a person or a zombie … should I stop … should we abort?”
"Look it's okay Cassie," I said trying to calm her down without moving. "It was just a zombie. Everyone else is inside so it was not a person. Just settle down and keep on with the plan. If we stop now this has all been for nothing."

She seemed to calm down a little as I reassured her and she kept driving. I tried to get as comfortable as I could and then relaxed. It was going to be a long drive.

 

[DapperEntity]

"Just a zombie." Had I really just been called that? That was awfully rude of them. In any case, it meant they weren't going to stop. I could see my quarterstaff bending, and sooner or later it was going to snap. I had to make myself known.

Hmm. Should I go for the dickbag approach or the polite approach?… Eh, polite I guess.

I took a deep breath. I wasn't one to shout often, so this was going to hurt.

"EXCUSE ME! I APPEAR TO BE CAUGHT UNDER YOUR TRUCK. IF YOU COULD STOP AND LET ME IN, THAT WOULD BE GREAT! ALSO, I DON'T APPRECIATE BEING CALLED A ZOMBIE. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM SUCH LANGUAGE IN THE FUTURE."

I was certain they heard me, but I couldn't be sure. My staff continued to bend, so it was now life-or-death.

Wait, did I forget to?… Shit, I did.

"I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT I'M ARMED AND CAN FIGHT, SO I'LL HELP YOU DO WHATEVER IT IS YOU HAPPEN TO BE DOING."

"After all," I whispered to myself, "that's what a gentleman does."

 

[dutchrain]

Ria

I nearly forgot I was supposed to be dead and bleeding like a slaughterhouse and almost jumped to my feet when I heard a voice from beneath the truck.

"What!" I was dead! I shouldn't be yelling. But I had too. The dogs were barking in the truck-cabin, the engine roared. I fumbled in my pockets and found my powder-case. Carefully I used the mirror in it to peek over the sides. "No zombies near. Cassie! Pull him out and throw him in the bed with me!"

As soon as I said it, I realized what I had said and feared what puns Cassie would come up with now.

 

[milkmaiden38]

Peter does what Peter does best … lie!

Peter called Daniel’s cell phone. He was ready to tell another lie. It was going to be his best one yet. He was going to tell the entity that they had agreed to its terms … to give Cassie up ... to save the people in the winery.

It was … of coarse …a lie! The Entity’s zombies would have heard Cassie’s little outburst and seen the truck speed away. So the Entity would know Peter was lying, just to save his own ass. But that would in fact re-enforce the deception of the Trojan horse. The Entity would believe the other lie (Cassie driving herself to rescue Daniel) … because of Peter’s lie that she was not.

The phone was picked up by a female voice that Peter did not recognize but did sound familiar.

“Hello” it said.

“Hello this is Peter from the winery, we have agreed to your terms. Cassie will be arriving shortly to the Knight Library. We expect you to live up to your end of the deal” Peter said smooth as silk.

The women laughed “Peter … you don’t remember me do you?” It asked.

“Ahhh no I don’t. Who are you?” Peter asked

“I’m not that cute college freshman you fucked and left heartbroken … does that help narrow it down?” The voice said.

“No … and stop playing games with me.” Peter replied.

“Peter … you have had the virus … I can control you … I can take over your mind." She said.

Peter gasped ... maybe the voice could read his mind! But he did not say anything.

“My name is Thea” The woman said.

“WHAT … impossible! You are dead.” Peter gasped.

“No … but you did send me out on a suicide mission. But your plan did not work, I’m still alive and now I can control all the zombies. I’m THEA ZOMBIE GODDESS”

“Thea … no … comeback we can cure you … Doc Lee might be able to help you.” Peter begged her

“NEVER! I’m not sick … you “old” humans are …. Full of viruses … I have only one now. The good virus.” Thea answered

“Thea listen to me … the virus can affect your mind… it happened to me. You need to resist it. You need to fight it. I know the real Thea is there. Free her!” Peter pleaded with Thea.

“Peter … you lied to me. You did not decide to turn over Cassie, she ran away. She is coming here to rescue Daniel on her own. So there is no deal. The deal is off. I going to enjoy kill everyone at the winery … but I’ll capture you … I want to kill you EXTRA SLOWLY!” Thea said and laughed. As Thea was talking Peter thought about his own death … he did not think about the actual plan involving Cassie.

“Good bye Peter” Thea said and the phone went dead.

Peter stared at the phone. Thea was bat shit crazy. But she did not know about the plan with cass… Peter stopped thinking about it … He did not want to tip the entity off.

Cassie

The voice from the underside of the car freaked me out. I slowed down and pulled the truck over. I did not see any zombies, and neither did Ria. So I got out and looked under truck.

There was a guy with long, brown curly hair, and a torn up business suit sliding out from under the truck. He wore squareish glasses.

Then I heard Ria say "Throw him in bed with me"

"Ria ... this is not the time or the place for that kind of activity!" I replied.

Then the guy with the squareish glasses stood up and looked at me ... like i was Lara Croft from tomb raider computer game.

“HOLY SHIT … I ran you over …I’m so sorry!” I said “Are you ok?” I asked

 

[DapperEntity]

"I've been in worse situations," I replied. "Besides, now I can claim I rode under a truck. And not be lying."

I had to say, the truck driver was incredibly attractive. I had always had a thing for blondes and boobs, and she had both.

"My name's… actually, it doesn't matter anymore. Just call me Dent. It was my online handle before the feces hit the rotary impellar."

I've always wanted to say that.

"So, where are we headed exactly? I'll introduce myself more thoroughly later, when we're on the road."

I hopped in the bed of the truck and lay down my staff. Then I noticed my missing right middle finger. Apparently it got removed during my wild ride.

Oh.

"Guys, apparently I'm missing a finger so I'm just going to lay down here for awhile. Pretend I'm not here."

My last thought before passing out was If I had GAINED a finger on that hand, I'd have a Spaniard after me. So maybe this isn't so bad.

((Feel free to wake him up, but I need to give him a few hours to recover from the shock. May have unforeseen consequences if woken early.))

((For bonus points, spot the references in this post.))

 

[milkmaiden38]

"Ria will explain everything too you ... just make sure you act dead for the next twenty minutes." I said.

Then I jumped back in the truck and took off. Continuing my mad dash to the Knight Library.

 

[dutchrain]

Ria

Taking my lead from Troy, who only had turned his head the slightest bit, I stayed on my back in the bed of the truck.

A young man wearing what once had been an elegant suit, jumped in beside me and stared at his bleeding hand. Before I could say anything, he fainted and Cassie already set the truck in motion again.

Quickly I grabbed his hand and pressed hard. The squirts changed to a dripping and I was able to examine the wound. A bit of bone poked out off what once had been his middle finger, flesh was torn and some hung in shreds around the bone. Lee would love it. I slung a piece of string tightly around the base of his finger and put his hand on his chest.

Now what? I didn't have a first aid kit with me. Neither did I have clean cloth, a towel, or something similar. I laid his hand on the floor, on a two tissues and poured some water over the wound. Then the molotovs came to my mind, and I opened one and sniffed. Vodka. Good. I poured some of that over the wound.

He stirred, thrashed his legs around and moaned. With one hand I kept his hand on the tissues.

Patting my pockets I found the sanitary pads I had been carrying around the last two days, just in case. I was expecting my period any day and didn't want to be surprised by it. They would suck up a lot of blood, and wouldn't stick to the wound. And they came with their own plastic wrap.

Humming to myself I poured some Vodka over my hands, washed them, and put the pieces of flesh and skin around the bone as neatly as I could. I opened a sanitary pad and placed it over the stump. Took it away, and unwrapped the string. I didn't want the rests of the flesh to be cut off from blood circulation for too long. After a little while I had made a nice bandage over his hand, tied at the base of his finger with the string, and over the palm and back of his hand with another piece of string. I hoped he liked dark blue.

 

[DapperEntity]

((Once again, spot the references in my post for bonus points. Also, screw the needs a few hours thing. I changed my mind.))

I woke up to the rythmic purring of the APC. My finger still stung like hell, but from the pressure I could feel it had been re-attached. I glanced down hopefully but had them dashed when I saw a dark blue bandage. At least the nice lady knew first aid. Or could improvise well, judging by the smell of Vodka. I could recognize it immediately, having grown up in a Russian household. Call me stereotypical, but that's exactly what happened.

I slowly tilted my head to get a better view of the bed. I saw my staff, Simon, still where I had dropped it. I saw Nice Lady lying in a pool of red stuff. Probably blood, probably mine. I saw the two cylindical canisters with an attached nozzle.

Oh, it's a flamethrower.

Why do I feel like I'm missing something?……… Oh, right.

HOLY SHIT IT'S A FLAMETHROWER!

For a moment, I was able to forget the pain coming from my stump while I marveled at the destructive weapon of war. It was surreal, seeing one in person. I became very grateful suddenly that these people were friendly. I would have hated to be on the wrong end of it.

Then I remembered the bandage. If Nice Lady was nice enough to bandage a random stranger, surely she'd tell me what was going on.

I started the whispered conversation. "So, uh, I should probably explain who I am. My name's Dent. I'm, or rather, I was a martial arts instructor. Hence the staff. That thing's gonna pierce the heavens someday. Anyways, um, who are you exactly, where are we going, and thanks for the bandage."

I turned away from her so she couldn't see every muscle in my face going haywire.

 

[dutchrain]

Ria

A martial arts instructor called Dent in a suit. I nodded. He turned his face away from me. I wondered why.

"Nice to meet you, Dent, my name is Ria, Ria van der Plas. Ask if you don't understand me, I am Dutch, am on a vacation here and I know I have an awful accent. I am dead, Troy is dead, and you are dead too now, so stay low, don't make loud noises, we don't want the zombies to report to the entity we are not dead." Quickly I explained the rest, told him about the Knight and why we were heading there, and what we planned to do.

"How is your finger? If it hurts too much, if we are able to get in the Knight, I'll get you a painkiller, we still have a well sorted emergency supply there, above what we set apart for Daniel when he chose to stay in the city. Later, when we are back at the King's, Lee, our bad-mouthed army medic, will probably be able to set some stitches. He might need to do something to the bone in your finger, it is quite splintered at the top." To distract him from his missing finger, I decided to tell him a bit more about the Knights and the King's, but before I could start, my phone buzzed.

That distracted him too. He listened eagerly to my side of the short conversation with Peter, who told me Frank's group's bus with non-combatants and five guards had arrived at the King's, that the zombies were keeping a distance to the winery and that Hunter, Bart and three others were heading in our direction over backroads. A tingle ran down my spine, I would see Bart again! The rest of the news was bad. The zombies had attacked them, and they had barely been able to escape. Only when they were close to the winery, the zombies had suddenly stopped attacking them. Frank, or Bart, since he commanded the defenders, had lost eight men and women. Two were dead, one badly wounded and Lee wasn't sure if she would survive, the others had been seen running off in different directions after their van crashed against a tree and couldn't start again.

With a mournful sigh I closed my phone.

 

[DapperEntity]

"I'm going to go ahead and presume that was bad news," I whipered. "And thank you for reminding me about my finger. It'll give me something to agonize over while we see this 'zombie godess.'"

Naturally, I was skeptical. I had never really believed in gods (except Norse and Greek, but they don't count), so the idea of a single entity controlling a bunch of mindless creatures was a tiny bit extremely impossible.

Suddenly there was a big, old bald man standing over me. He was clad in a black kimono. When he spoke, his voice seemed to echo in my head.

I AM THE SPIRIT OF YOUR WEAPON, THE SIMON STAFF.

"Wait, wasn't this joke used like 8 times in Hellsing?" I asked.

YEAH. I'M KIND OF ACTUALLY A HALLUCINATION. JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN. YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE UNDER THE CONTROL OF SOME FOREIGN INFLUENCE. THEY'RE PROBABLY SITTING AT A KEYBOARD TYPING THIS AS IF IT WERE A STORY. THAT SICK BASTARD. ANYWAY, WHILE I'M HERE I SHOULD PROBABLY TELL YOU THAT THE ONE WAY TO STOP THE ZAMBIE GODESS IS

And then he was gone just like that. Sounded just like me, though, so it clearly was what it claimed to be. The whole "foreign influence" thing seemed weird though. Was there really someone typing my existence? Was my missing finger caused by mere boredom? Then it hit me. If I was a mere chracter in a story, what was stopping the writer from adding a cheesy zombie godess?

Naturally I forgot this entire chain of thought. All I remembered from it was reasoning the existence of a zombie godess into being.

"Wake me when you need me," I told Ria, and drifted off into slumber.

((Did I get a bit too over-the-top this time?… I mean that was some heavy fourth-wall crap right there.))
((Bonus points for references. Again.))

 

[milkmaiden38]

Cassie finds her inner “gun toting, “Rambina” zombie killing machine”

The truck I was driving was NOT a Lamborghini. I think that statement does not surprise any of you. When I took the Lamborghini on these roads that car handled insanely wonderful. I had driven this same road as fast as 217 MPH …The truck did not handle that way … I was barely at 120 MPH.

I felt a bad for the people in the back…as they got shifted around in the bed of the truck. Even Troy’s bloody head was bouncing against the window a few times as I took some wild corners. Troy had not had time to put his seat belt on before I blew his head off.

So in case you missed it, the truck I was driving is NOT a Lamborghini. So as I drove through the denser parts of Eugene, it was payback time! I smashed and rammed as many zombies on the way into the Knight as possible. We already knew the entity did not like it when I did stuff like that. So I figured why not get it really pissed off before I arrive. It might make a mistake or something when it was pissed off.

Anyhow, the widow wipers on the truck worked well … as I had hit enough zombies for me to need to wipe away the green goo they called blood off the front window.

I slowed down and pulled in front of the knight.

“Ok … it ShowTime” I said to Troy. “Give me a minute or two and then come in all John Wayne like” I told him. I hoped he knew who that was … even if he was from Australia. I was about to open the truck door, when I paused. I had to say something.

“Troy … I love you … whatever happens remember that” I whispered. Then I went outside the truck.

I felt it right away. Something overpowering … a presence so strong that it could crush the psyche of a weak mind. The feeling was in the air … and the ground. It was like a soup I needed to swim through to get to the front door of the knight.

I can’t say it was evil … it was more primal. There was intelligence to it. A twisted intelligence. Something that was hungry and powerful and … unfeeling.

Whatever the thing was it was huge. I got the feeling it stretched all over Eugene. And it was a constantly shifting thing. It had no mass and “lived” in empty space. A flowing mass of nothingness, yet it was there. It was an abomination.

I was in my “Cassie, the gun toting, “Rambina” zombie killing machine outfit” but it did not give me the confidence I normal had wearing it. Whatever this entity was … it was bad ass. I felt around in my pockets making sure I knew where all my weapons were. I felt the 5 molotov cocktails … my hunting knife, my machete, my bow and arrows and my 9 mm. But there was something in my cargo pants pocket I did not remember right away. I open the pocket as I moved to the front door. I never lowered my eyes as my hand went into the pocket... and felt something. A HUGE smile came across my lips. Cassie, the gun toting, “Rambina” zombie killing machine was BACK as I pull a big fat pickle from that pocket and stuck it in my mouth like it was a cigar.

“Time to rescue Daniel!” I said and pull open the knight’s front door and I went in.

 

[dutchrain]

Ria

The ride was not a smooth one. I was sure most of the swirls and bumps came from Cassie hunting zombies. I sighed more than once, my arm under my head kept my head from bumping on the floor, but the rest of my body got some bruises out off this ride.

More than once I was tempted to yell at her. We had the flame-thrower in the back!

Inside Eugene's city limits I felt a pressure. I pushed it in the back of my mind, thinking it was just me being nervous about what was about to happen.

My thoughts wandered to the entity. Again, just like I had done when we prepared ourselves at the King's, I wondered how many of these entities there were. One here, controlling all zombies over the world? Or just controlling the zombies here, because as far as we knew, Eugene was the first place the virus was released and the entity yet just not strong enough to take over all zombies everywhere? Or were there more entities, one in every bigger town? Or did it need a certain amount of zombies for an entity to come into existence or to be able to settle down? Did that mean we would have to kill zombies to get down below the critical mass the entity needed to be safe from it?

Where did the entities come from? Outer Space? Our minds? The zombies? Was the entity virus related, or did it exist out off its own?

Cassie braked. In her own way, making the truck screech and slither. Much more slowly she drove a few more meters, and finally killed the engine.

I heard her open the door, followed the sound of her footsteps up the stairs and then smiled as she yelled her war-cry.

"Two minutes from now," I told Dent. "I am not sure what will happen, as soon as Troy, the dogs and I jump out and get inside, it might be zombies will attack the truck just for the sake of it, so you'd better come inside with us. Stay behind me, Troy has seen the plan of the Knight, but you could find yourself in a blind end if you run in ahead of me or him."

I crawled towards the flamethrower and undid the straps of it and the two canisters. One I shoved to Dent.

"Please carry that inside. Be careful, it is very inflammable and we are heading inside a library, still very full of books. I don't want them damaged!"

I slipped the flame-thrower on my back and hung a canister over my shoulder. Both not an easy task if you are keeping yourself from showing over the boards.