Re: Neo-Nowhere: Book One - Welcome To The Neighborhood [CLOSED]

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

When Chris mentioned the name Cross the thought struck Vlad like a bolt of lightning. There's no way he could mean Godric... but... that would more than explain this feeling I've been getting. As Vlad ran over the thought in his head over and over... *whhiiirrr*

"All the lights just powered down!" Vlad said in an irritated voice to Chris. "I was hoping to get through these 'things' without any stress. Can you see anything Chris?" Vladimir searched around the large court and noticed only masses of shadows. The only light he could see revealed only worse news. "Great... more of them pouring in through the hole I made in the wall. *sigh*"

Vlad readied his sword in hopes to stave off any infected drawing near.

[DDWRINKLE]

"Shit!" Chris exclaimed from the lack of light all of a sudden. He heard Vlad and replied "Naw all I see if the silhouettes of the infected!" Chris dodged a pair of hands reaching for him. In the distance he could see a glowing exit sign. "Hey! Vlad! Head towards the exit!" Chris grunted from the force he brought down on another dead mans skull. The next zombie up was a quick kick to being just a torso . The light from the exit sign was the only thing giving him light. He was forcing his way slowly but steadily to the door. "I just hope Vlad can make it there in time".

[FourStringFingerSting]

"Hmmm...I'm definitely not going back into that building. There's no doubt about that."

Drake, still searching for a way down, peered over the edge of the building on all sides. He was far too high up to even consider dumpster diving again. As much as Drake hated to admit it, they were screwed. "Dammit!" Drake kicked the air out of anger, realizing that escaping to the roof was a horrible idea, that trapped the both of them more than it saved them. "Gah! If only that jerk with the gas was still here...I'd have beaten him to a nasty pulp if he hadn't run off after Tristan cleared that smoke..." Suddenly, it hit Drake like a lightning bolt.

"...Tristan! You cleared that smoke! Is it possible for you to clear out enough of that gas from the stairwell for us to climb back down and escape? We don't seem to have very many other options here...If you can hold the air around us long enough, I'll take care of any ghouls that try to stop us on our way down!"

Drake smirked, knowing that this could work, as long as Tristan could hold his powers long enough. He could tell he was still getting a grip on his powers, just from how he handled himself, but he believed in him. That's all Drake hoped he would need.

[Xenomorph13]

Tristan sat in the center of the roof pondering and problem solving while Drake circled the roof physically trying to find a way down. Not coming up with any ideas Drake kicked the air like in an old greaser movie.

Tristan heard Drake mumbling to himself about the gas guy. Tristan began to feel that he was the reason that the gas man left and it ruined the fight for Drake. But putting petty feelings aside Tristan stood up just as Drake was about to say something. He mentioned that Tristan should try to clear the smoke as they made their way down through the hotel.

"Yah, Drake I could attempt that but we would have to be quick."

Tristan walked over to the door that led downstairs. Tristan thought about protection. The wind began to shift and blow through Tristan's hair. A large orb suddenly appeared around him.

"if you stay in here you should be fine. It's a shield. The zombies may be strong enough in numbers to penetrate it but if there are only a coulde we should be alright." Tristan opened the door to see......well absolutely nothing!

A zombie ambushed out of the doorway! Rushing at Tristan the zombie jumped at him. Falling into the shield orb, the zombie bounced off flying backward and smashing to the ground. Tristan released the orb, grabbed a loose metal piece with his powers and flung it at the zombie decapitating it. The metal piece "boomeranged" back around and then chopped the zombie in two while it still lay on the ground quivering because of nerve endings being cut.

Tristan brought the orb back up again with ease.

"C'mon Drake. Let's get outta here!"

[Gorudu]

Treck saw the mass of creatures placing their attention on some sort of activity in the building he just came from. At first they just stared blankly, but then they started to drift towards the front, making their way with a bloodthirsty hunger in their eyes. Treck saw this as an opportunity.

These things don't seem very smart, eh?

Treck started to cross across the block to see the commotion. Perhaps he could find someone who could tell him more of what's going on, and with these creatures so distracted, maybe he could sneak passed them. He carefully crossed across towards the mass of monsters with his back against the wall of the hotel building. He wasn't sure if it would help, but they had always done it in the movie. Though, his oversized arm and leg were making stealth maneuvers quite difficult...

As he approached the mass, he was able to get a better look at the creatures. They had a pale tint to their skin, and their skin seemed to hang off of their bones. There mouths were gaping open, showing crooked and battered teeth. Most frightening was there eyes. As Treck approached, he could look one creature in the eyes and see the savage and wild look it had. It was a chilling sight, looking much like the zombies in Hollywood motion pictures. But more chilling to Treck was the realization that one of these beasts was looking him in the eyes. Suddenly, a group of the creatures slowly turned their heads to stare at Treck.

Treck froze, unsure on what to do. Would they know he was there if he held still? Without warning, the zombies flung themselves at him with a crazed ambition. Treck followed his instincts. He lifted his left mechanical arm and ran forward with as much force as possible with his limp. Soon he felt the force of bodies smashing into his arm, but his path remained clear. He felt the soft flesh beneath his right foot, and under his left he felt only the flattening of tissue and cracking of bones. At a point he was making himself diagonally through the crowd towards the mall, attracting a small bit of their attention. After he no long felt zombies in front of him, he swung his arm outward and around his back, smashing in the skulls of several bodies behind him. After taking care of the few zombies chasing him, he looked back at the crowd. Most of the zombies were still occupied with whatever was on the roof.

Treck looked to the roof to see two small figures. One looked to be carrying something, and the other seemed to be with him.

Are they some sort of leaders in this?

The zombies were all obviously very attracted to these figures, ignoring Treck for them. This was either really good news, or really bad news. Treck turned his head over his shoulder, still seeing the mall in the distance. He could either stick around and see what these guys were about, or he could go to the mall. Tough choices...

[FourStringFingerSting]

As Tristan and the zombie tumbled backward (the latter smearing it's brains on the rooftop pavement from the impact), the open doorway started to leak the noxious gas out into the nearby air. Not giving it a second thought, Drake stepped inside the small bubble that Tristan had created for the both of them. Hesitant at first, but curious, Drake put his right hand in first, expecting it to be hostile towards him. However, the energy emanating from it was cool, and welcoming. A strange feeling of security washed over Drake as he proceeded to step fully inside the protective shield, giving Tristan a trusting nod after the both of them were fully submerged in the vacuum bubble.

"Alright pal, we better make this fast. If this shield dies out on us on the way down, the odds of us getting out are slim to none. Go!"

Taking care to not get too far ahead, Drake rushed down the stairs, bass at the ready in case of any predators that lie in wait of them as they descended the long staircase. It seemed a large number of the infected had found their way in the stairwell, probably attracted by the large amount of energy being used in the previous battle that took place on the rooftop. Not one to let the odds get the best of him, Drake gladly dropped a few bass-lines down on the oblivious meat-sacks, crushing them against the walls of the stairwell as they continued to make their way down.

Suddenly, the stairwell started to shift, as if a tremor was happening nearby just outside the hotel. The short but powerful tremor caused Drake to slip, dropping his bass as he tumbled down several flights of stairs. The undead had him surrounded on all sides. The air in the building, luckily, was getting much clearer as they made their way down, and the gas rose up, allowing Drake to breath slightly.

...However, that didn't help much, considering he was about to be zombie chow in a matter of seconds.

"Cripes!"

Drake, out of complete instinct and no thought whatsoever, clapped his hands together in panic. The resulting clap exploded into a thunderous burst of sound, knocking down the rows of zombies that nearly went after him like an all you can eat buffet. Confused, but grateful for this chance opportunity, Drake stumbled back towards Tristan, picking up Ivan as he did so while doing his best not to breath in too much of the still somewhat toxic air. His heart still racing, Drake glanced at Tristan, trying to recompose himself.

"Tristan, next time I decide to climb to the roof of a 30-story building, just slap me."

[GravePunchingBabyStomper]

Striding through the patches of darkness in the Maintenance hallway, headed back towards where he entered, Cross's eyes flicked to the doorways now and then and to the side as though checking for something.. which that much expression on anyone else would be next to full-out paranoia.
It's almost like..- he spins around, knife materializing from his hands as though by some trick, only to look down the brokenly-shadowed length of hallway he'd been travelling.

That's the second time and no one there..
"Tch," he whispers into the dark, "It won't do to be so wound u-"
A crack of thunder breaks off his words like a massive whip, trailed by low rumbles. Looking up, the ceiling of this mall seemed to have many, many large window panes as though let its shoppers enjoy the sunlight during long summers, but to his eyes, Cross didn't think there would be much sunlight for the rest of this day.[/color]

"Well that's pretty sudden." he says, referring to what he could see, the sky now nearly a mass of thick, dark-grey clouds.
Closing his eyes and drawing in breath, chin tilted up, he smiles lightly, feeling fully content.
"I can almost smell it.. Here it comes."

A single drop of rain falls thickly against the glass, and then tons of heavy droplets rush to meet the clear surface.
Opening his eyes, the one dilated completely black still and the other a pale green, he looks to the sky once more.
Everything is washed in grey, including the bits of light that reach through the glass to break the darkness.

Are. Not. You.

Cross's eyes widen at this voice, like the soft caress of thick, dried leaves blown across wooden floorboards.

You. Are.. Not.

"No.." he begins to whisper, voice trembling before he firms it with a grimace, "No."

ke-ke-Ke-ke-Ke-e-keKe-Ke-ke-

A cold shiver runs up his spine at this noise, penetrating deep as though he was naked, making him feel completely helpless as like a child.
It sounded almost human, like a clicking in the back of the throat.. But why did he get the feeling that it was laughter?

You..

Something traces his jaw from ear to chin in a slow, smooth motion.

Are..

A faint whisper at his ear, or maybe from the darkness.. it still felt close and made him close his eyes as though that would make it go away.
The same thing he would do as a kid when he first discovered his talents and didn't realize he was in control.

Not..

A small rush of cold air ruffled the back of his hair.... breath?
Why am I so paralyzed with fear? I have never felt this way before. Wait..



Alone.

Cross' eyes open at the last word as realization strikes him about the same time that fear sets in and terror washes over him.
Tongue frozen, he does nothing but stare at the mass of shadows in front of him, unnaturally given form and.. bending close to his face.

*Drip..*

He glances down at his left hand, it feels wet but is hard to see in the darkness.. though the wetness feels warm.
Confusion. When did..


Been. Watching. You.

A tightness in his hand makes him bring it to his face, only to look back at large, black eye covering the whole of his palm.


ke-ke-Ke-ke-Ke-ke-ke-..
Fear fills him.

Become. Godric.
Darkness washes over him.

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Just as I thought, the guy can't see anything. Vlad thought to him self as he heard infected getting clobbered by Chris' fists as he shuffled for the only light in the room, the 'EXIT' sign, convenient considering that's what they needed.

*sigh* "Tactless" Vladimir whispered to himself remembering first seeing Chris swing through the horde, "But I got to give the guy credit, to make it this far on pure heart and moxie like this." "HEY CHRIS!" Vlad yelled to him hoping he hasn't gotten to far, "HOW ABOUT SOME LIGHT?"

The Cyan aura of Vladimir's barrier was like a beacon in the darkness of the court, giving off a radiant light in about a 7 foot radius and making the darkened silhouettes out of the radius seem more like more distinct shapes. With a bit of light to go off of Vladimir ran towards the Exit sign and the distinct figure slapping infected out of his path.

[DDWRINKLE]

Grunted out of effort from the impact of his hardened fists, Chris crushed another skull. Suddenly the figures in front of him became a bit easier to see. He looked back and saw the light off off Vlad's aura. Chris smiled to himself and decided that he was enjoying his newfound friend. He was feeling kinda spunky and wanted to show off to his cool new pal, but he didn't know how. The idea hit him. He looked at the next infected on his list thinking of how his plan might work. He ran full force at the assailant. He jumped and liquefied himself and splashed right into the face of the zombie. He forced all his molecules right down the infected's nose and throat. The ghoul writhed and squirmed at the foreign liquid entering its body. Chris sank into its heart and after that was history. He began to harden until the body wouldn't hold him any more. The zombies flesh expanded a little bit, but it was too much for its weak body to handle. Chris exploded out of the shell of flesh. Blood, guts, and scattered body parts went flying as the resulting shockwave knocked back alot of the infected around him. He stood up fully soaked in a multitude of fluids and looked towards the exit sign. It was only a couple yards away. Although him and Vlad had taken out alot of the zombies, many were still pouring in and it seemed to many to handle. Chris punched through a couple more of the ghouls and dodge rolled through the exit door knocking it right off its hinges. He turned looking out the doorway waiting for Vlad.

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

From inside his barrier Vlad had no need to worry about the infected in the room so he took the slim break as he walked toward the exit that Chris was smashing his way to to try and put things together. "So Godric is in this city somewhere...but why is it that I could feel something calling me to where he was, and why is it that the closer I get the stranger the feeling gets." Vlad's attention was then placed a yard or so ahead of him. What he saw would normally have horrified him and made him believe Chris was an evil that The Priest would have punished, it seemed Chris liquefied and lunged into an infected and tore it apart from the inside, but strangely Vlad caught himself smirking, why smirking at such a raw display of violence. Vlad continued his thoughts, "Ever since coming to this place I haven't felt like myself. Slaying these infected is one thing, and helping Allison..." he paused at the thought and could only wonder what happened to her and if they would ever cross paths again, "but I'm actually starting to like slaying these creatures... and seeing them dispatched in such fashions as I just witnessed." Vlad's thoughts ran circles in his head only seeming to bring up more concerns and questions for himself. As he stepped out the exit and stood next to Chris his thoughts cleared, "Well sir, it seems like we have made it out in more or less one piece." Vlad smiled referencing the nick on Chris, releasing his concentration on the barrier.

[DDWRINKLE]

"Sweet!" Chris said glancing back out the doorway at the approaching infected. "Im gonna cover up our tracks". Chris backed up solidifying both his fists. He punched through both the walls on either side of the door. Once he got a good foothold he ripped the wall inward collapsing the doorway and sealing them inside the tunnel. Coughing form the debris and dirt, Chris dusted himself off. Motioning down the hallway he said to Vlad "Alright I think you should lead the way since your my only source of light, and ill back you up if we come upon any trouble. So ill be right behind you the entire time."

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Vlad nodded and threw another barrier up and began walking down the hallway. It seemed to be void of anything, no doors, no windows, but at least no infected, which was good because all the fighting and rapid use of barriers was making Vladimir tired. His lack of food all day and head racking thoughts weren't helping either. "Jeez, how long is this thing" Vlad said back to Chris, "I can't see the end or any ways out."
Vlad was starting to think of everything going on again and he didn't want those thoughts in his head, so he thought of a distraction, "So why don't you tell me about yourself?"

[DDWRINKLE]

"Well okay. Hmmmmmmmm not much to say besides that I'm pretty much a drifter. Ever since my dad died in a freak meteor crash, the same meteor that gave me my powers, I've just been wandering from town to town taking what I need and searching for my calling in life. I just happened to stumble upon this place. . . . . " Chris sort of stopped talking trying to remember exactly how he got here. He realized he couldn't remember. "Your the first living person I've seen that has had any interest in staying alive. There was this one guy I saw coming in here wearing a red trench coat, but he was kinda deranged I think. Kept just staring at the floor before he just stood up like a statue come to life and said some cynical shit that didn't make to much sense to me. Oh yeah! and there was this group of psycho freaks with powers like us. They had a leader named Levian? or something like that. He had no face but he was talking into my mind. He was talking about ruling the world or something about a philosophers heart? Him and his team were hunting down and recruiting people with powers like us. I just kinda slipped through his grasp though." Chris said chucking to himself. Realizing that Vlad wasn't there to see how he escaped, he quickly coughed pretending he didn't even make a joke. "So besides that Cross guy and the scary seven, I haven't met anyone worth sticking to besides you. So what about you? What's your story?"

[Gorudu]

Which way should I...

In the middle of his thought, Treck felt a huge tremor shake beneath his feet, with a quaking sound so loud that it drowned out the monotone moaning of the zombies. The area around him began to be uncontrollable, and he gripped down onto the concrete with his mechanical arm to keep himself steady.

"What the *** is happening!," he shouted, and then clasped his right hand over his mouth. He was trying to cut cursing out of his life ever since his first child was born, but occasionally one would slip.

He had to move, and fast. As he turned to run towards the mall, he heard a loud smashing noise, like an explosion of air had just taken place. Peaking back over his should at the building he saw debris and glass shards bursting out of the hotel. Something powerful was in the building, and it was attracting the zombies. Treck definitely didn't want to fight whatever was in there. After a moment, the tremor cooled down and gave him a chance to run. He dashed as fast as his ridiculously heavy and injured body could take him. Obviously, his question had been answered. As he ran, the earth quickly split in front of him, and he soon found himself collapsed in the sewers. And then he heard a voice...

[Xenomorph13]

Rushing down the stairs was not as tiring as it seemed for either of them. Although it was not tiring, Drake managed to slip and fall. Not a problem for him though. Using his magnificent sound forming abilities he whipped up a loud clap that sweeped up and exploded the zombies ahead before they could swarm in on them and devour the inside of the boys' bodies.

"Holy crumpled up ass cheeks!"

Helping Drake off the ground they continued forward slashing zombies on the way! Tristan then lept forward in front of Drake. Zombies crawling up the stairs at incredibly slow speeds.

Tristan crouched inside of his trench coat building up energy to increase his attack power. Tristan then blasted out of his coat releasing a large wave of energy dispersing across the bottom floor of the the building destroying most objects and flinging zombies out of the room onto the streets. Allowing for better access to the bottom floor.

Tristen released the bubble of energy that was a shield. Standing in the middle of the room, not entirely sure of where to go.

"Uhhh Drake? What do we do now? Like where do we go?"

[FourStringFingerSting]

Relieved to finally be on the ground level again, Drake took a deep breath. The rooftop wasn't as welcoming of a place as he had hoped, and he couldn't have been happier to see solid ground beneath his feet. Smirking at Tristan's question, Drake stepped outside and took a much more comfortable glance at the sky.

"What do we do now? Well, the first thing I'm gonna do is-" Drake was cut off by another tremor starting to shake the foundations of the building from the ground up. This tremor, however, felt even more violent and forceful than the one before it. Bracing himself, Drake looked down the street to see streetlamps collapsing and the concrete cracking in the distance. Suddenly, a large grotesque mass of corpses rose from the ground as if from nowhere, emerging from the ruined city streets, and piling together. The mass of bodies started to take form, shaping itself into the appearance of a man. Well...a man (literally) made of the living undead, and standing - nay, towering about twenty-something feet tall over everything below it. Almost instinctively and without a moment of hesitation, a fearful, unwelcoming growl erupted from the creature as it barreled towards Drake. Never feeling a greater sensation of fear in his life, Drake left Tristan mid-sentence as he bolted in the opposite direction, hoping to outrun the surprisingly fast creature.

"TRISTAN, GET OUT OF HERE! IT'S AFTER ME! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" Drake shouted with the little breath he could muster, as he continued to sprint down the street away from the undead goliath.

"Damn, this thing is gaining on me fast! I've gotta try and slow it down!" Looking over his shoulder, Drake saw as several of the bodies started to fall off the mass as it raced after him. Finding a window of opportunity, Drake spun around, and started slapping out a stream of basslines in the creature's direction, the force of the soundwaves blasting more and more bodies off. However, as the creature passed nearby zombies, they were snatched out of the air and back onto the creatures body, almost as if they were magnetized to it by some unseen force. Not wasting another second, Drake continued to head in the opposite direction, seeing no other option currently than to simply escape from the giant's sight. As more distance was covered, Drake could smell the rotting corpses all piled together, slowly gaining on him with every leap the giant had made towards him.

Simply trying to focus on what was in the distance, Drake noticed the mall ahead, the lights out and a moderate crowd of zombies surrounding the outside. "Maybe I can lose this thing inside!" Ducking and weaving through the crowd of zombies, escaping the grasp of the nearby ghouls, Drake forged his way through, and inside the entrance. As Drake continued to sprint further inside, he noticed the quakes of the giant's steps had ceased, as if the fiend had stopped dead in it's tracks.

"Um...did he give up?" Simply shrugging at the fact that he'd been almost killed again, Drake hopped over a nearby counter in the food court, and slunk down, his body leaning up against a cupboard door. Taking Ivan in hand, Drake just stared at his instrument, a look of disapproval covering his eyes. "I swear, you are a curse...A burden, at best. No matter what I do, all you do is give me trouble. It's probably a good thing I got away from that Tristan kid...Better he let me be alone than let me accidentally blow his head off...Like all the others..."

The sound of groans could still be heard from over the counter as a good number of zombies still continued to pour in through the front entrance, their disturbing shuffles echoing as loud as their screams of hunger.

"On the other hand, you're really the only thing keeping me alive at the moment, Ivan. I'm lucky to have you, and you're lucky to have me...If anyone else were to get their hands on you, something bad might happen...Sigh, I swear, if that woman hadn't-"

A ghoul bust through the kitchen doors from behind the counter, leaping towards Drake in a mad dash. Without a moment to spare, Drake blasted him back with a solid slap on the E string, the sound ringing through the surprisingly acoustic food court of the mall. Knowing the zombies were going to start funneling in on his position after that, Drake jumped out from behind the counter, and scanned the area for a safe escape route. His eyes met an "Employees Only" door that no doubt led to the inter-connected hallways between sections of the mall. Not wasting any more time than he already had, he opened the door, an ominous yet quiet air hitting him square in the face...

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

"Me?" Vlad saying realizing there was no one else Chris could have been talking to. "Well there's not much story to tell. I grew up in a bad neighborhood, never knowing my real parents, only knowing The priest who took me in a raised me, and my two adaptive siblings. I came to this city looking for something, I'm not sure exactly what yet, but for some reason I'm sure if I can catch up to that cynical man in the trench you met with I'll have a better idea." Vlad paused and decided not to bring up Allison. "Anyway, here I am, slaying this things." Vlad's attention was pulled away from conversation. "Door..." He raised his arm and pointed to the first and seemingly only exit to the hallway.

[DDWRINKLE]

Chris caught off guard by Vlad's response just kind of stared at the door before he ran towards it. "This must be the way out". He pressed his ear against the door and didn't hear anything. "Alright seems safe enough". Chris slowly opened the door to the pitch black of the night behind the mall. "Man I was worried that something would've been out her-" before he could even finish his sentence he heard the loud droning moans of hundreds of zombies converging on them from around the corner to the left of the doorway. "Shit" Chris ran to the other side of the mall a looked around the corner to the right of the door. On both sides of the mall were zombies slowly buy surely moving in their direction. He ran back to the doorway. "Alright Vlad here the deal we have zombies coming from both sides. The mall seems to be over run with them. These are the two options I can think of. We abandon the mall and make a run deeper into the city or we can try and fight them offf and find a way back into the mall through some other route and then try and find Cross to get some answers. Your pick".

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Vlad took only a moment to make his decision and before speaking he turned around and started running, "Chris you should get out of here, this place is getting too heavy to handle, it's my burden to find Cross. I don't want you to get caught up in this."

Vlad ran down the dark hallway hoping Chris would be ok. He realized leaving him like that was nearly no better than involving him, but he knew Chris could handle himself fairly well so he figured things would be alright. He focused his attention on the more important matter, Cross. He knew Cross had to be in the mall still, he could...feel it, some presence that was familiar. As he ran something else quickly snatched his attention. "Hey there cutie..." The words seemed to float in the air, a seductive tone, but underneath it a familiar voice. Vlad stopped in his tracks, "No, there is no way this is real..." "Ohhh Vladimir, why are you acting so cold?" The hallway's lights came on, but there were pictures hanging on the wall. From what Vlad could tell they were all pictures from his childhood mixed in with what he could only guess were pictures of Allison.

"What's going on. Seriously, I want some answers!" Vlad readied his sword. "Ohhh Vlady..." Vlad felt arms around him and hair flow over onto his shoulder, "You know you don't need that with me... I would never hurt you, I just want to talk." Vlad shook her off and took a step forward and turned to see Allison standing there in a long, elegant, jade green dress with an alluring and some what calming smirk on her face.

"Answer me! What is going on Allison? I know something of this can't be real, there is just no way." Vlad said driven by curiosity and almost every emotion he could think of. "Well well, you're kind of right I suppose, this isn't real... to anyone... but us... right now." Allison said in that calming alluring voice she wields so sharply as Vlad uses his sword. "This is to me, as your barriers are to you, I suppose is the short way for me to put this." she strolled right up to Vlad placing one hand on his shoulder, and the other on his sword-arm, Vlad didn't even attempt to resist. "So..." Vlad paused not even knowing the words he wanted to get out, "This is your power... and the house..." "Bingo. I was always attracted to intelligent men." "What about Matty...?" "Oh you caught onto that too, well yeah, I had to make the illusion complete, needed to add the extra drive for you to come to my 'rescue'" She said with a wink. "But why did you need to lure me? Why... did..." "Shhh..." Allison placed a finger to Vlad's lips. "I didn't lure you, I just wanted to, help." "How did you 'help' me anything!?" Vlad answered in confusion and annoyance. "HEY! I got you much closer to the mall didn't I." Vlad realized she had a point. "As for why I'm helping you, I won't tell you why... I think it's much more fun to play this game this way." She said with another wink. "If you can't accept that answer that's just too bad, just blow it off as I can't resist such a charming face." She said as she kissed his leaving a print of her ruby lipstick on his cheek. "Well, it was nice seeing you again Sir Valentin, my valiant knight of justice, but I think I hear my tea kettle whistling, toodals..."

Black... Just Black... that's all there was. Vlad woke up on the floor. Realizing he was back in the mall still without light only now he could hear something, "Is that... rain." Looking up he realized he was no longer in the vacant hallway, but in a corridor with a glass ceiling, raindrops pattering on it softly like tears. "*sigh* She did it again. Why can't I ever find a girl without a catch." Vlad laughed to himself at the corny thought as he heard a familiar sound, annoying, though very expected. *Shink* *Shink-shink-shink-* "These creatures are REALLY starting to piss me off!" Vlad yelled to himself, only to realize this wasn't like him. He was never this wild, he slashed the infected to near ribbons, with no tact, just anger.

As quickly as this thought hit him, another hit him even harder... He was not alone in the corridor.

[GravePunchingBabyStomper]

Wrapped heavily in the darkness behind him in such an odd way as to avoid most of the grey cast down from the sky overhead, Red Coat watches the young man's little show of frustration for a brief moment, then lets out a low chuckle and closes his eyes, drawing in breath and taking stance, poised on the balls of his feet in imitation of perfect balance, then he closes his eyes with a slow smile and..

"Hmmm ahhhh, la de` la daaaaaa~, Hmm hmm, hmm hmMmmMmmm, da duh da daaa~" he hums, stepping into a simple (to him), yet eloquent dance with slow, twisting footwork and a sort of gliding sweep. No one from this age would know it was a dance a thousand years dead. His smile broke at that and he laughed mid-hum, then slipped right back into it. Lost in his own dance, though he knew he was not alone, for the sky joined him in this dance.

Left foot forward, he sweeps a small bow, right hand extended and palm up, directly facing the source of this feeling that has been tugging at him, and opens his eyes, slow smile setting back into place.

"You'll be telling me who you are now, and why the skies weep for you as well."

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Vlad's intuition was correct, as he watched the man in red dance and hum his way towards him, all the while realizing the dance reminded him of an assassin masquerading as a jester just to kill a king. The man's hand extended to Vlad as he asked his name in a less casual manner of speech than Vlad had come to expect from the people he has met of late. Sheathing his sword and straightening his coat he stood straight and shook the man's hand, "The name is Vladimir Valentin," Vlad said not understanding his own willingness to greet the man in red, "and may I ask who you might be?" As the words left Vlad's lips he felt that tugging in his brain a familiarity.

[DDWRINKLE]

Chris suddenly realized he was all alone. Vlad had left so fast, he didn't even get a chance to follow. He looked around scared and made a quick maybe even rash decision. Chris solidified his hands and dug them into the wall of the mall. Hardening his feet he dug those into the wall too. Chris proceeded to climb the wall onto the roof. Just in time, below he saw the hordes of zombies converged to the spot where he had just been seconds before.

"Chris!"

Chris startled, he turned swiftly around. Standing a good twenty feet away, with her arms crossed in an annoyed way, was Jennifer.

"Funny seeing you here, Jennifer", Chris stated shifting his weight to the other foot, trying to keep up his guard.

"Well after your little stunt, we've been keeping a closer eye on you. We hope that soon you will want to get to know us a little more."

"Get outta my way Jennifer I have no interest in your sadistic fucking group."

"I'm not leaving here without you!" Jennifer snapped almost as fast as her whip like tentacle. Chris caught himself just in time and sidestepped the black oozing tentacle. He took the chance and rushed over the rooftop, He jumped and kicked aiming straight for her face. She ducked and wrapped one of her vine like tentacle around his leg and snapped it back flinging him over her head. Skidding to a halt by dragging his hand into the roof trying to get his balance back. He looked up trying to figure out where Jennifer had gone. He looked up and saw her through the rain. She had launched herself into the air and was gaining speed fast. Chris Raised his hands and solidified them as fast as he could. She slammed into him, but all he felt was a small thump. She kicked off him and swung another tentacle around his left wrist. She wrenched it back trying to knock him off balance again. He was ready though and tugged back. They were at a stale mate. Thinking fast he brought his solidified foot down onto her tentacle bringing her to her knees. Chris wrapped both his hands around the tentacle and tugged her off her feet. He twirled her around his head and threw her into the corner of the roof. Chris stood ready waiting for her to get back up. Because of the rain and the overcast, it made it severely hard to see what she was doing. Whatever she was going to do, he was going to be ready when she did.

[GravePunchingBabyStomper]

"Ahh, but that is a good question," Red Coat chuckles as he withdraws his hand and stands in a casual, almost arrogant stance and lazily waves his hand, tracing patterns in the air.

"Who am I to say what I really am, when nothing here is real in the first." he grins, then draws a deep breath and turns on one heel to slowly walk the other way, one arm behind his back and the other hand moving as though illustrating his words.

"I am first and always foremost, a ponderer, a Walker of the Ways, if you will."
Continuing his stroll about the room;

"I am refined, where others are not,"
his deep, rich voice filling the darkness, though he never raises his voice his words stand clear and punctual.

"I am Ares without fear."

"I am Zeus without worry."

The room darkens slightly, though the sky overhead gives no less light, and his voice rings strongly seemingly off of the shadows, coming from all directions at once.

"I am Echo without a voice."

"I am Hera with no lover."

"I am Pandemonium with no sleep."

He pauses in his walk, finally coming to rest and placing both hands behind his back, fingers clasped and his voice lowers.

"I am Narcissus with no reflection.."

He laughs lightly, his shoulders shaking and he turns his head to look back at Vladimir over his shoulder, with one eye overly dilated.

"But for all of that, you may call me Godric."

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Vladimir listened to redcoat as he spoke, thinking to himself in a joking manner how he sounds like he's rehearsed this lines for days as if he was an actor in a play. Vlad's joking thoughts were stop dead when he heard redcoat finally speak his name 'Godric.'

"Wait.. Godric?" Vlad couldn't help but shed a grin at hearing the name of his 'brother'

Before he could express himself he heard a loud footstep like some one was planting them self to brace an impact, as he seen a thick ooze like substance fly like a cannonball towards Godric.

"Look out!" Taking a step towards Godric and throwing up a barrier around him and himself. The thick ooze crashed into the barrier with more force than Vlad expected shattering it but flinging the ooze away.

From out of the shadows a tall black man emerges, "Sooo you're not perfect, and here WE were thinking those barriers would have been a problem." The black man was overly sarcastic in his insults of the shattered barrier. This pissed Vlad off but he worried about how it said it more...

"What does he mean... WE?" ..... "UGH!" *thoosh* A huge fist crashed into Vlad's back throwing him into the air, the uppercut actually threw him straight up about seven feet in the air. Shifting his weight Vladimir flipped facing the source of the blow, starring directly at a figure resembling a bear standing on it's hind legs. The man pulled his arm back down to his side and took a thunderous step forward into the light, he looked to be eight feet tall and muscles the size of boulders.

[FourStringFingerSting]

The shadows that greeted Drake as he entered the dimly lit Employee's Only room let off a more sinister air than he would come to expect. Drake's bass, Ivan started to whine at the evil presence surrounding the two of them. Small resonating tones began to chime from Ivan as Drake's heart began to pound faster and faster. Knowing the warning signs all too well, Drake muted the strings as nervous beads of sweat ran down his forehead.

"Something's wrong...There's something here, it's...It's...tearing at my chest...I can hear it in my head..." Starting to break into a panic, Drake did his best to calm himself, knowing that keeping his cool was crucial. He knew it was here. He knew it was back.

The curse.

Hearing the very word cross his mind was like the horrible sound of feedback coming from a thousand unplugged guitars, and jammed straight into his ears. The sound grew larger and larger with every unnerving heartbeat, and louder with every gasp for air. Drake stumbled back, his body slamming against the wall, and slumping to the floor with an unrest more disturbing than that of the walkers that could be heard moaning outside. The sound slowly started to fade out under the growing pressure of the noise that continued to fill Drake's ears. Grasping Ivan as hard as possible, Drake simply curled up against the wall, hoping to simply wait out the horror that had continually stalked him in the past.

Suddenly, Ivan shook violently as the tuning keys started to unwind, rapidly tuning the strings down and down and down, to a level not known to be possible. These sounds...Drake knew them all too well. He despised them. Feared them. The screams of those he had previously known started to fill his mind, only reminding him of the horrible husks that were left behind after the curse had haunted him in the beginning. His heart racing uncontrollably, Drake desperately fumbled his hands in the dark, trying to tune the guitar back as quickly as possible...before it appeared. His shaking, sweaty fingers slipped around the tuning keys, causing Drake to cringe more and more as he pleaded in his head to finish tuning his bass fast enough. Drake could feel a terrifying chill run down his spine as the sensation of teeth bearing down on his wrists slowly overcame him. Almost to the brink of madness, Drake tuned his bass back, his vision starting to go white, and a white noise blaring in his ears. With a final twist of the wrist, the noise retreated. Ivan hummed in an unsettling manner, and then slowly calmed down to nothing but complete silence. Drake, nearly maddened by the sound, took a gasp for air and simply slumped to the floor.

Everything was black, but everything was quiet...

Opening his eyes to the still dark-tinted room, Drake rose to his feet. Still shaken up a bit, he stumbled but caught himself along the wall. Drake felt the relief slowly wash over him as he regained his composure, but was reminded of his still imminent fear when he turned to see Ivan lying on the floor. The curse had always been a constant for Drake. This now infested city filled with plague and death was nothing compared to the horrors Drake had to face. Yes, ever since that day...

Wiping his mind of the thought, Drake simply scooped Ivan up, took a deep breath and put one foot in front of the other.

Entering further into the unnaturally dark room, Drake started to hear the sound of conversation turning into struggle echoing along the walls. Cautiously moving ahead, he peered around the corner of a shelf stacked with boxes, trying his best not to be spotted by whoever or whatever was there. Drake could make out four silhouettes in the room, his eye drawn to the strange man wearing a red coat dancing in a confident, yet eerie repose. Nearer the center of the room were three other men in a conflict of sorts. One of them a dark-skinned black man, with what appeared to be a sort of ooze spilling from his feet onto the floor. A ferocious, mountain-sized man that resembled a bear was opposite of him, his muscles bulging into almost inhuman proportions. The man standing in the very center of the room, however, had a much different energy about him. A blue coat graced his small but strong build as a bluish aura surrounding him seemed to emanate through the entire room. Drake could sense the black man and the grizzly bear standing around him were nothing special. The men wearing the red and blue coats however...

They seemed...different, but at the same time, completely identical. Unsure of what to expect, Drake simply stood in the shadows, making his presence unknown for the time being until he could figure out what was really going on.

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