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

[GravePunchingBabyStomper]

Barely glancing at the uninvited guests, Godric raises a brow as Vladimir takes lessons in flying without wings.

"We've been tryin'a get ahold of you for a while now, hahaha," the black man laughs at Godric, pure arrogance and cockiness in each word as well as an annoying Brooklyn tone.

"Like taming wolf," the large man says in a thick, Russian accent. Then he takes a massive step toward where Vladimir stands.

Finally looking at the two addressing him as though for the first time, Godric smirks and turns to face the black man and completely ignores the big guy to his left.
The two eye him warily, big man cracking knuckles and working out knots in his neck while his dark friend puts hands in pockets and takes a stance, one foot slightly back and standing with his shoulder towards Red Coat.

All charm and smiles, the man in a red coat says, "I had no clue I was wanted, you should have sent an invitation of some sort. And I do dislike having to end our conversation so abruptly, but this is a dance for two and we were just about to begin. You may leave us, now."

The black man throws back his head and his body shakes as he croaks out an annoying laugh. "I don't know what's got you playing jokes this late at night little boy but boss did say you were a nutter." Pointing a long finger at Godric he says, "You're gonna come with us, and we ain't taking no for an answer. I don't know how you got away from us last time Cross but it ain't happening again." Shifting his pointer from red coat to dark, the black man's words are for the Russian bear, "I don't quite know what his deal is but he feels odd too. Snag 'im up and we'll bring 'im along too." The big guy nods wordlessly, not even a grunt and starts toward Vladimir.

Flinging his left arm up so rapidly as to point at where the bear of a man stands without apparently looking, Godric says in his still refreshingly charming voice,
"I am not this.. Cross, and I don't quite care what you want of him, but know this. I'm not finished with the boy, and this is not your dance." His last few words hold a sharper tone to them though his face remains strikingly friendly, bringing in sharp contrast with the left eye that has been slowly dilating to nearly overtake the iris for the past few minutes of conversation. Pressing his wrists to his sides, he tugs his gloves off against his dusty, red coat. As they fall to the floor, time seems to slow down as snot-feet's mouth twists for words and he begins bringing his drawn-back leg forward and the big man's eyes widen in surprise, the most emotion he's shown so far. Small clicks of the metal scraps sewn into the material are nearly all that's heard as the gloves hit the ground, and time seems to lurch back into motion.

"GET EM FAST!" rings through the air as Kicks finishes his words, right behind a foot flying forward and to the side, a thick glob of some green substance rushing forward to greet Godric, though he moves his head to the side while mostly keeping stance and returns to normal with that charming smile, casually of course. This guy, right?

"Looks like you two made the guest lis-" Godric begins, and ends as a fist the size of a Christmas ham collides with the side of his head, sending him spinning toward the edge of darkness. Managing to catch himself as graceful as possible, the man in the red coat turns just on the edge of light and glances at the two rude men, his smile growing but never touching his eyes, which he closes now.

"Do try to keep in step with me." Red coat says only this, and just on the edge of light the floor looks like it's beginning to darken oddly in patches, becoming slick. The steady patter of rain overhead hides the sound of the not-so-slow trickle of blood running down his arms and onto the flooring. Opening his eyes, the left a mottle of deep red with black splotches where white should be, he only lets out a low, rich chuckle before stepping back into the shadows that welcome him unnaturally and he fades immediately though only when speaking of sight.

Just over your shoulder, or maybe behind you, or even off to the side there in that one patch of blackness, his slow, mocking laughter seems to come from every direction at once. Fleeting or advancing, an eerie sense of someone watching fills the air.

[FourStringFingerSting]

Staring intently at the scuffle happening in front of him, Drake almost lost a sense of what was going on around him. He was so focused on the fight, in fact, that he barely noticed the quiet, but disturbing laughter which seemed to be echoing all around him as he watched. Suddenly, it clicked in his head that the laughter wasn't coming from the fight in front of him, but seemed to be all around him. Right next to him, even.

Caught off guard by the intruding presence of the laughter, Drake jumped up unexpectedly, accidentally bumping a crate of florescent bulbs, which shattered as the box toppled over the edge and onto the paved floor. Cringing at the loss of his cover, Drake stared awkwardly at the group of men in front of him, who had seemed caught off guard by his presence, except the man in the red coat who appeared to merely chuckle at his failed attempt to hide.

"Um...What's up?"

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Vladimir watched the brief scene pass as if it lasted hours. The annoying black man and Godric sizing each other up while talking about invitations and capture. Godric preparing for the fight bringing literal meaning to 'taking the gloves off'. The russian-bear driving his fist into Godric catching him off guard as he did to Vlad earlier. As he watched all this the voice of The Priest rang in his head, "Protect each other, your are a family, brothers and sister." Words he would tell them every so often as they would go out as children. Another voice followed right after, "Well!" The tone he had grown to know too well as Allison, "Go get him!"

With that Vlad's thoughts ended and on instinct he dashed, nearly flew at the bear, gripping his sheathe in his left hand and drawing in mid-flight with his right in what would surely be a killing slash. *clank* The bear's attention turned from Godric to Vlad with the closest thing to a smirk that muscle bound man could muster. "Hahahurhar, I did not forget you" his thick russian accent boomed as he un-flexed the arm that blocked Vlad's slice, barely a trickle of blood from the wound.

"Wow," Vlad blurted out as he hopped back, sheathing his sword, "That's some thick skin, those muscles must be pretty dense."
"Your swordsmanship is very note worthy I can tell comrade. Your form, superb, not many can deliver such a blow to me." The two of them seeming to complement each other. "Now though, I must BREAK YOU!" The Bear charge the short distance to Vlad fist first. *BOOM* "UURRRGGHHH!" The Bear grunted.

"You are strong, Comrade" Vlad adding the comrade in a patronizing tone, "But my swordsmanship is only one of my techniques." Standing with his legs spread to brunt the blow of the massive fist, both hands on the sheathe of his sword focusing a thick barrier radiating from it forming a shield of sorts bringing the charging man to a stop.

"Hey! Leave Mr. Motherland to me, Focus on that annoying loudmouth!" Vladimir yelled over to the man he met before the ambush. Thinking to himself, "Godric, I hope you're who I think you are..."

[DDWRINKLE]

The rain and the overcast made it hard for Chris to see, but he strained to catch any trace of where Jennifer had gone. After he had thrown her to the other end of the roof, the rain and the darkening sky gave her the distraction she needed to sneak out of sight. The fact that Chris didn't have the greatest eyesight, didn't help. Chris stood alert for what he thought was forever, staring into the downpour. A flash of lightning struck through the sky, and Chris thought he saw a silhouette pass between one of the cooling units. Charging forward, he brought his fist down on the obstacle he saw the figure disappear behind. Staring down at nothing, he realized his eyes must've been playing tricks on him. He backed up to the edge of the building just so that she couldn't surprise him. All of a sudden Chris felt a cold grip wrap around his neck and the stale musty breath brush against his ear. He immediately solidified his shoulder as the ghouls teeth tried to sink in. He jumped forward ripping the ghoul's jaw out of place and sending it falling forward onto the ground hard. A bit shaken, he ran over to the edge of the mall looking over the side. What he saw was extremely surprising. The horde of lifeless husks that had been following him piled one by one on top of each other till they had reached the roof.

"Great, now I have a psycho-bitch and a group of my favorite carnivores."

As Chris turned back around, he was slapped right across the face by a slippery tentacle. It hit him so hard he went cross eyed for a bit. As he got his vision back he starred at the blurry shadow of a person in front of him, as he could only guess was Jennifer.

"Your no match. Just give up Chris. There's barely anymore survivors left in the whole city, so the actual living ones need to stick together. Don't you think?"

"I would rather be undead then be living serving your gay master."

As soon as Chris's vision totally cleared, his eyes met Jennifer's. She was giving him a stone cold glare as the so many ghouls gathered behind Chris. She made the first move and reached down quick as a viper and tossed some pebbles up from the ground, then took off running. The pebbles struck Chris in the face, leaving him momentarily disoriented. He took off after her trying to get a glimpse at where she ran off to. He suddenly had an idea. He laid down and liquified himself to the point of gel, but because of the rain and darkness he was almost to hard to see. He waited for at least 10 minutes till he heard the patter of footsteps. He sat waiting for the inevitable. Suddenly he felt her rush into his gel like body. She knew almost immediately what she had stepped in and trudged to get out. Chris lurched into action and gripped onto her leg and solidified his body.

"Let me go!"

"Your gonna learn who your dealing with" Chris said through gritted teeth trying to hold his grip.

She tried kicking him but he solidified his arms, so it was almost as if she was kicking a rock. He began to drag her towards the group of drooling zombies. She screamed and swung her tentacles wildly. She tripped him a couple times, but because of his iron grip she couldn't escape him. He just marched on, hopefully about to make an impression on his favorite bad girl.

[GravePunchingBabyStomper]

"My turnn~" Red Coat sing-songs and flicks two balanced, black throwing knives from his sleeves into his hands and twirls them once to grab their tips. Darting forward in a dance the black man starts unleashing a full barrage of gooey death one shot after the other, Godric duly noticing in a passing dodge how it begins corroding the mall's floor tiles in very short order.

With plenty of fancy footwork on either side, Godric stepping left to right to close the distance and now just over halfway, Kicks leaps into the air and spins around bringing both feet to lob several blobs toward his mark one after the other. Smile on his face, Godric dodges the first to his left by sidestepping right, the one to his right he spins back around to switch his step heading left again. Two more leave Kicks' feet side by side about chest high speeding toward the charging red coat. Gathering his balance he kicks off of the ground, twisting his body mid-air as to level almost 180 degrees just above the blobs as they pass. Even as he begins to land he twists his body to gain momentum and as he swings around into a crouch he lets both knives fly from one hand.

The black man's eyes widen in surprise as he stumbles during his attempt to land and goes to one knee for a moment before standing back up, clutching a wound in his side while the other hand grips the metal shaft of a knife protruding from his hip, slick with blood. He grins, then with visible effort, takes his hands from his wounds and says in the most serious tone he's had yet, "You missed my legs, boy."

A cold sweat breaks over Godric after glancing at the source of pain in his right arm, a sizeable gash in his coat where a bit of the ooze seemed to have grazed him and corroded a little flesh, eaten away to almost look like one of those mindless ghouls wandering the halls. The pain is so intense, but he staves off showing it until he can deal with the current situation.

"You don't really think that's all your blood on those knives, do you?" Red Coat says, not bothering to rise from his crouch and resting his arm across his knee.

"Wait.. Wha.. NO!" the black man begins to shout, and as Godric smiles a smile that touches his hellish distorted left eye it is swallowed in screams.
A thick, black liquid bursts from the wounds, covering the man's hip and side, spreading like a living web across his body that crawls over the surface of his skin. "AHhhHHhHhh! AUUGHHHHHHHHH-agh-hgh-..gh.." Kicks' screams become low gargles and choking noises as the living darkness latches over his face and crawls down his throat. Knees buckling, he falls to the ground.

"Tch.." Godric says, eyes closing while reflexively putting a hand out in front of him to catch himself from falling forward as well, though just barely.
He leans forward heavily on his bloody hand, the other clutching the wound on his shoulder. "Little too much.." he mumbles as his vision flickers between blurry and less blurry, consciousness slowly fading while he stares at the red-stained hand prints and trails of blood on the floor tiles.

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Hahaharhur!" Boomed the Man-bear's laugh, "Mr. Motherland. You are comedian huh skinny man?"

"I've been known to crack a joke or two." Vlad responded with a smirk still focusing all his efforts to stave off the massive fist.

"Is good to laugh ya, but..." the russian puts all his might in his fist pushing Vlad back about two feet, "NO MORE JOKES OUT OF SKINNY MAN!" He swings his free fist forward shattering the barrier like a mere glass window.

"Uh..." Vlad was shocked and before he could dodge, step away, roll, anything, the bear flung his body forward and headbutted Vlad sending him flying across the corridor. "Now that I know the limits of your force fields tiny man, I SHALL CRUSH YOU WITH EASE!" His voice booming as he took his gigantic steps now running towards Vladimir.

"Ugh..." Vlad starting to stand up from the launching headbutt thought to himself, "Shit... How am I suppose to beat this guy, that slash would have put anyone down and it barley left a scratch... and the fact his punches generate enough force to SHATTER my best defense, this guy is a monster... how can I beat a monster..." the thought trailed off as Vlad surrendered himself to the only idea that came to mind, "The only way to beat a monster... is to kill a monster... Sorry old man" Vlad's thought went back to the Priest as he executed his plan.

Leaping up Vlad had the biggest grin on his face, "Come and get me!" Sprinting towards the bear he drew his sword again, this time pointing towards the russian, "I may not be able to slash you to ribbons! But let's see how you take being impaled!" Driving the sword forward to meet the charging colossus the unexpected happened.

"You take me for fool huh!?" The bear boomed as he stopped his charge on a dime and swung a massive fist swatting the sword away, "I kill tiny man, not other way around!" Reaching and grabbing Vlad in a bear hug, force enough to crush a car, "You see, now you be crushed to dust!"

"I... Don't... THINK SO!" Vlad mustered to yell, his cyan aura tight to his body barely holding back the crushing force. "I have one more joke you Iron Curtain dirt bag! Well, it'll only be funny to you I guess... They say the best offense... IS A GOOD DEFENSE!!!" With that the aura grew, as several blue spikes furiously impaled the Bear, blood rupturing from ever wound as the grip loosened and Vlad kick jumped off of the husk that was once a fierce foe. The husk fell to the ground with an earth shaking thud. "Ha, that was a horrible joke, I mean it can't even be considered a joke." Vlad said scolding himself as he picked up and sheathed his sword, "Well... I think he at least got the punch line. HA HA HA! HAHAHA HA Ha ha!!!" A sinister laugh escaped from Vlad that felt far too right to hold back.

[FourStringFingerSting]

Surprised that the brawlers were still unaware of his presence, Drake simply shrugged off the idea that anything had happened, and simply continued to watch from the dark corner. As he knelt down, Drake suddenly felt the presence of someone else in the room other than him and the other four men fighting...Someone close...Someone familiar...

This familiar presence was shortly complimented with a familiar voice. A soft, yet piercing whisper shot through Drake's ears like a sniper slug, and continued to slither into his mind like a snake. The voice was illuminated with an alluring, yet venomous charm. One Drake knew all too well. Smirking, he stood up with Ivan gripped firmly in his hands, maintaining a seemingly vulnerable stance. He knew the game he was about to play...her game. She'd gotten the best of him before, but Drake knew he would have her this time. She was the key to his most dire dilemma.

She would help Drake rid himself of this curse, or get her fucking head ripped off trying.

The intoxicating voice suddenly took shape, as a lithe young figure dressed in black and brown garbs approached Drake from the darkness. A hood and wrap concealed most of her face, but her eyes, piercing dark blue as they were, remained fixated on Drake, who couldn't help but stare back into them. Her eyes were like deep blue pools, and shot into your soul as though you were floating along in those pools for an eternity...and a man pulls a gun from his coat pocket and puts one right between your ears.

Concealing the intense rage that continued to build inside of him with every second he stared into those eyes of hers, Drake suddenly exhaled, let off another smirk, and simply spoke, "Hello again, Sable. What brings you to the mall on a day like this?" His teeth started to clench with every continued moment of civility. This woman destroyed him, and he intended to make her take it all back, or be destroyed as a result.

"Hello Drake, it's been a while. I figured I'd drop in and see how you've been...holding up. To be honest, I half expected you to be dead by now, what with everything that's been going on lately." Sable spoke, as she gestured back towards the employee's only entrance to the mall. She could tell this only continued to anger Drake further, and laughed.

"I know what you're thinking, and believe me, I intend to see this problem of yours out to it's bitter conclusion. Nothing you can do can convince me to take it all back. That's the price you pay for disowning me. Don't worry though..." She spoke, growing into a considerably sharper tone with every word.
"After it's all over, you'll get to say hello again to that slut you liked so much."

Without hesitation, Drake barreled towards her in a fit of blind rage, grabbing the collar of her cloak with a tenacity he did not know existed, and slammed her against the nearby wall. He spat in utter fury.

"Take that back you cold hearted bitch!" Suddenly, Drake felt an intense pain in his gut. Trembling, he looked down to see a small blade protruding from his stomach. Trickles of blood started to drip down and Drake fell to his knees, wrenching from the voiding pain. Sable, in disappointment, looked down on him and offered no sympathy.

"You'll see me again when I can tell that you're ready to talk." Without another word, she ran back into the darkness from where she appeared, and was no more. Drake, clawing at the ground where she had stood mere seconds ago, continued to gasp for help as the void of pain started to grow, the darkness in the room growing ever darker. Dripping pools of red blood replaced the image of Sable's piercing blue eyes. Ivan started to whine as his strings buzzed nervously, and Drake clenched in pain, not sure of he'd ever leave the blackness that continued to engulf him...

Now, more than ever, Drake felt alone.

[DDWRINKLE]

Chris gritted his teeth as he continued to pull Jennifer towards the now engulfing horde of ghouls. He now inched closer and closer to the group trying to keep his cool that close to the zombies. Jennifer whipped wildly about kicking and screaming and flailing her tentacles trying to do anything to escape, but Chris's iron grip held her in place. She turned to look back at Chris and saw how close they were to the advancing flesh eaters. Her eyes went as wide as they could go and she started to gasp for air as she raked at the ground to get away. \

"Please Chris! Let me go!" She pleaded with him but he couldn't quite hear her over the moans.

"You'll learn not to mess with me!"

He got as close as he dared and laid down on the ground. He hardened his entire body and waited while Jennifer was sobbing and throwing her body around like a fish out of water. The zombies reached Chris's feet, and began to walk right over his body. Jennifer turned whiter than a sheet and her screams pierced the stormy day. The rain pelted the reanimated corpses as they inched closer. She began to swat at the dead flesh with her tentacles. Slicing them into threes and fours, but it wasn't enough, there was too many and still advanced.

Waiting for their meal.

So close.

They cold hands reached for her leg

Silence . . . . . .

Then a clear *SNAP* Could be heard.

Jennifer choked out another scream and wrenched her newly broken foot out of Chris's grip. Limping away, she used her tentacles to propel herself forward into the dark stormy day. Chris chuckled to himself, a dark, deep rooted chuckle that made him feel a little sorry for the girl he just hurt. Oh well what's done is done. Now Chris slowly realized that on top of him was ten or so gasping ghouls, aimlessly searching for another target. Their numbers were growing and Chris was still looking for a way out from under them when *CRACK*

The roof of the mall just made a creaking noise like it was exhausted and couldn't hold up anymore. Chris panicked for a moment, but the inevitable happened soon enough. The roof gave way and Chris with the zombies fell through. He hit the ground with shattering force. Chris immediately stood up, punching and kicking the last of the ghouls that were alive. When the area was clear he looked ahead and saw that he was in a dimly lit hallway. There was a man on the floor hunched over in pain, Vlad was by a bear sized man, and past them was the red trench coat guy passed out on the floor.

There was also a lot of blood.

So much blood. . . . . . .

[FourStringFingerSting]

Drake could feel it.

The void slowly growing as the pain drug him further and further into the dark. On his knees, Drake could only hunch over and watch the blood drip down the blade and hit the floor. The sound of the blood droplets spattering on the floor echoed in his mind like water pooling in a cavern. The repetition of the sound only reminded him that death was approaching more rapidly with every drop.

Arg...Not good...The blade isn't in...too deep, so maybe I can...

Hesitantly reaching for the handle, Drake noticed something odd about this knife...Well, other than the fact that it was sticking in his gut. Upon close inspection, Drake could see the handle was wrapped in some sort of paper.

First things first...Better get this thing out of my gut before I really do die.

Carefully grasping his hand tightly around the handle of the blade, Drake closed his eyes, and started counting backwards from 10 in his head. This was going to hurt like hell. 10...9...8...7...6...5-

Suddenly, the ceiling collapsed several yards from Drake, and a good number of bodies fell through the debris. In shock, Drake looked down to see the blade in his gut was yanked out accidentally, and blood was rapidly oozing out of his torso. His vision started to fade at an alarming rate, and Drake could barely make out the silhouette of an infected lurching his way over to him. Luckily, the ghoul was struck down by something, as well as the rest of the zombies that had collapsed through the ceiling. His vision now far too distorted and fuzzy to make out his savior, he merely looked down at the blade in his hands, and unrolled the paper that surrounded the handle. Drake's breathing started to get heavier and heavier, as he struggled to remain conscious long enough to see what it had to say. The paper simply read "the heart grants all, reveals all, is all..." The image of 3 crudely drawn stick women holding hands is scrawled along the paper.

Before having the chance to determine what the message meant, Drake's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and his sight faded completely. He could only hear the sound of his breathing. It's all he could do to keep going.

Breathe...breathe...breathe...

[Gorudu]

Treck couldn't remember how long he had been limping through the sewer, but he decided it was long enough. Sweat and oil was soaking his greasy clothes, which hugged is chest and pits tightly. He had been following the voices for quite a while now, following a hope of rescue, but when he heard them, no comfort was found. Instead, a feeling of dread crept into his stomach, leading him around various curves and turns in the city. He was lost, and with his hurt leg and heavy body, he didn't think he could ever manage to crawl out.

Soon, Treck found himself at a crossing, with three ways to go. To his left, he heard the voices, calling for him to follow. To his right, a small pool of light was seen from above, where the road had apparently crashed.Too many choices, he thought to himself.

Treck hesitantly looked back towards the voices, and slowly walked the other way. After about a hundred feet of walking, Treck was at the light. There were broken pipes, ladders, and rocks, all leading up to a small hole that he might be able to squeeze through. He looked up, sighed, and gripped the pipes, tearing rock and metal like paper with his left arm.

Treck finally emerged into the light.

[GravePunchingBabyStomper]

Staring at the bloodied floor tiles, trying to cling to consciousness as vision fails him, Godric seems to mumble incoherently.

"Too.. much."

*Flicker.*

"I can hear the.. beating of my.. heart."

*Flicker... flicker.*

"It sounds.. beautiful.." he suffers a weak cough.

*Flicker..flicker..flicker.*

"I think.. I have enough. strength to stand.. Almost overexerted myself.. a trifle there," he breathes, placing a red stained hand to his knee as he begins lifting himself.

Awaken, Cross.

The man's eyes roll up into his head and he falls forward to the slick floor tiles like a sack of potatoes, sprawled out in his own claret.

[DDWRINKLE]

"Holy shit . . . . " Chris said under his heavy breathing. Both Cross and the new guy fell to the floor into puddles of their own blood. Vlad was still standing by the bear of a man and all Chris could do was stand and stare. Finally he lunged into action, and jumped over the crushed corpse landing right by the new guy. He turned him over onto his back trying to have him regain consciousness, but he was out cold.

"Shit", Chris looked around seeing the dagger, the note and the guitar.

"Wait a minute . . . ", he reached for the guitar and examined it a bit closer.

"We've met before haven't we", speaking to the guitar as if it would respond back. He wiped off some of the blood and realized that it was the guitar that he had put into the elevator. Stricken with a feeling of fate drawn courage he quickly swiped up the piece of paper and dagger and threw them into his pocket. The guitar he threw over his back.

"I'll keep this safe for this guy whoever he is." Before he could ask Vlad anything zombies started to fall through the hole in the ceiling he had made. Arguing with himself over whether he should move the limp body on the floor and risk him bleeding to much or if he should stand and fight. Yet, more and more ghouls still blindly walked into the hole.

"Well I hope this works!", He carefully picked up the bleeding body, not trying to shuffle him around to much, and put him over his shoulders.

"Hey! Vlad! Pick up Cross and let's go! We need to get the fuck outta here before we are over run with infected", He hoped Vlad still had enough left in him to help Cross.

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Staring at the ceiling and catching his breathe Vlad didn't notice anything around him until he heard that all too familiar sound of infected pouring into the room. "Ergh! More of you for me to cut down!" Vlad screamed at the horde, the battle with the bear pushed him into rage. As Vlad drew his sword to take on the countless infected, only with the thought of taking as many out as he could before they get him, his senses cleared a bit more. Taking another deep breathe he looks around, he sees Chris picking up a man he has never seen before and a bass guitar. Quickly looking over to Godric he noticed there were more urgent matters. "Damn." Vlad put his sword away and ran over to Godric, lifting him up. "Chris! Let's move. Now!" Vlad ran over to a fire exit, kicking it open with Godric over his shoulders he jokes to his 'brother' "Well I'm glad you haven't gained much weight since I last seen you." Vlad waited outside the fire escape hoping Chris could make it, he was in no shape to fight off a horde of that size, and he felt compelled to stick with Godric, especially considering the man's condition.

[DDWRINKLE]

Rushing out the door to meet Vlad, he reassures him with a smile. The blood from the guy on his back was still warm as the cold droplets of rain started to pelt his front.

"Come on! Let's find a shelter we can hold up in!" Without looking back for an answer Chris swiftly jogged through the parking lot that surrounded the mall hoping not to injure the guy on his shoulder too much. Glancing side to side searching for an easy way up onto the street. He found an exit way and headed up to street level. Although it was hard to see through the rain he could make out the city in front of him. Dodging groups of infected and occasionally looking back checking on Vlad, they made their way into the city streets quickly. Chris's back was starting to ache when he neared a a building that seemed suitable for them to bunk down in. It was an old three story drug store with apartments Tired, soaking wet, and mentally drained, Chris laid down the guy on his back against the buildings wall. He walked in alert and ready for anything. Blood on the floor was usually a bad sign, and this wasn't just a puddle but it was a pool of blood leading behind the counter. Chris jumped behind the counter and smashed the already dead ghoul waiting there.

"Shit . . . hehe." Chris chuckled to himself then proceeded to check the rest of the building everything seemed safe enough so he brought in the bleeding guy and told Vlad to head upstairs with them. When Vlad was upstairs Chris destroyed the stairs with a few well placed punched.

"And now we just wait . . . "

[FourStringFingerSting]

Everything faded to black for a moment. Drake was convinced. He was dead.

"Well...better I d-die this way then turn...into one of those f-freaks..." He felt like he was spinning, as if the world was turning upside down, and letting him fall into the sky for an eternity. He felt like he was...floating.

Patches of his vision flashed before him. He could see feet moving intently forward, and spots of blood trailing behind.

"Where am I going...?" Drake struggled to remain conscious as he felt his body being carried to some unknown location, the soft patter of the rain hitting his back only pushing his senses further than his current state would allow. His body was starting to go numb, but the voiding pain had calmed slightly. Drake had no idea what to think. He could hardly think at all.

"Okay...maybe I was being a bit dramatic...I'm not d-dead, but I'm definitely messed up...Hopefully I don't bleed to death. That would suck."

His vision faded in and out again, as he felt the sensation of being carried up a set of stairs, and the sound of them crumbling behind when the trek upwards has ceased. As far as Drake could tell, he was finally out of that damned dark room, and despite the fact that he was bleeding out all over his favorite shirt, he was going to be okay. Probably. He really liked that shirt.

His vision returned, as his eyes strained to finally regain their focus. He stared at the wall in front of him for a while, not even thinking to check his surroundings. It was...simple, but captivating. He almost started to grow feelings for it. As if he was in love with the wall that stared back at him with a dead stone complexion. Looking down for a moment, he noticed blood was still coming from his wound.

"Better get this bandaged before I really lose my marbles and start reciting vows to that wall..." Struggling to rip his shirt open and bandage himself up, he couldn't summon the strength to do it in his weakened state. Tilting his head to the side, he saw a guy that was around his age wearing a grey striped v-neck covered in blood stains just standing there, almost waiting intently for something. Drake called out to him.

"Hey pal...Could you gimme a hand here?"

[DDWRINKLE]

The rain hit the window in the other room, Chris was dazed and exhausted as he slowly became wrapped in his thoughts. Suddenly the unexpected happened. Chris realized the bleeding man had asked for his help. Chris rushed over to his side,

"Damn I thought you weren't going to make it through that one. I forgot to grab any kind of first aid on the way here. One second", he immediately headed to the only bathroom on the second floor looking for any kind of bandages. Underneath the sink was a small first aid kit with some bandages, hopefully enough to actually help. He headed back to where the man was sitting.

"These are all the medical supplies I could find. Your bleeding pretty bad but from only one wound so this should be enough to at least stop the bleeding." Chris suddenly had an idea, but hesitated saying it.

"Alright there may be a second solution, see I have this ability or power, whatever you want to call it, to soften or harden my molecular structure at will. With this I could possibly slip into you body and help your body heal itself a great deal quicker. The only problem with this is I don't know how much your body will take away from mine and I could get weaker from the process, but you would be fully healed almost instantly. So it's your choice, do you want to let your body heal on its own, or would you like me to help?", Chris didn't know if he regretted trying to help this total stranger or not, but he wouldn't know till he found out.

[FourStringFingerSting]

Drake was somewhat caught off guard by this guy's sheer generosity and willingness to help him out. Not only did he carry his bleeding husk to safety, he even was willing to risk injury to himself for the sake of helping his wound heal faster. Suddenly, Drake snapped back to his cautious self.

"Wait, what the hell? Did this guy just say 'slip inside of me?' Normally I'd make a joke, but I think he's serious. Does this guy really know what he's doing? I can't risk letting him fuck me up, regardless of what his intentions are."

Drake gladly snatched the roll of bandages and medical tape from the kid's hand, and nodded.

"Thanks for the gesture, but the wound isn't actually as d-deep as you might think...Thanks for the bandages though, these should heal me up just fine. Once I stop bleeding I'll be good as n-new..." Slowly wrapping the bandages around his wound, Drake scoured his surroundings with more detail, noticing the two men in the blue and red coats again to his left. Suddenly, it snapped in Drake's head that Ivan wasn't with him anymore. Still trying to be appreciative to his good samaritan, he glanced back up at him.

"So two things: One, what's your name? And two, where the hell is my bass?"

[DDWRINKLE]

"Awe shit sorry", Chris said retreating back into the first room on the left.

"Here it is", He produced the bass from inside the room, " and the name's Chris. Also by the way when I found you lying in a pool of your own blood, I found these laying next to you."

He pulled out the piece of paper and dagger placing it in his lap and waited for his response.

[FourStringFingerSting]

Relieved to see Ivan returned to him, Drake thanked Chris, who he now considered to be a friend.

"Thanks, Chris. I never did thank you for, y'know, saving me from that hell hole back there, so yeah. Thanks a bunch."

Suddenly, Chris withdrew the knife from his person that Drake himself had been all too close with not long before now. He also revealed the paper that was wrapped around the handle, and handed it to Drake, explaining that he deemed it important that he have them back.

Staring down at the paper, he read the writing scrawled on it once again:

"The heart grants all, reveals all, is all..."

Next to that, a crude drawing of 3 women holding hands...How strange, Drake thought.

Looking out a nearby window, Drake noticed the night sky was darker than usual, the rain still blasting against the pavement and silencing the groans of the undead prowling the streets outside.

"Looks like we're going to be here until morning, at the very least. Best to hunker down and let them disperse while we're waiting for the rain to pass." Drake picked up Ivan, and started retuning him, feeling slightly more refreshed with every tuned string. "So, I get the feeling we've got more in common than most strangers in this city would have. What's your gift?"

[DDWRINKLE]

Honestly Chris was relieved that the stranger had been so kind cause lately the people he's met in this crazy town haven't been as kind besides Vlad who ran off after Chris and him finally escaped the mall.

"Well ever since a couple of years ago I've been able to manipulate my atomic structure at will."

Without a second thought Chris punched a hole in the wall next to him. He withdrew his hand and showed the man.

"I can make it as hard as I want or I can become as soft as I want till I become a liquid. It comes in handy at times, but it's always getting me into trouble. By the way whats your name? and if you know about my powers then does that mean . . . . you have some too?"

[FourStringFingerSting]

Amazed at the sheer force Chris had shown by almost effortlessly punching the wall out in front of him, Drake couldn't decide whether or not he liked this guys style. I mean, sure, being in a 3 story building and busting out walls isn't the smartest thing to do, but it's so damn punk! Deciding that Chris was a trustworthy person, Drake picked up Ivan and held him appropriately.

"I'd show you, but not only do I want to avoid attracting more of those shambling freaks to our location, I'd like to take it easy in my current condition. When I start "playing" my blood really starts pumping. Obviously not a good idea when I've got a hole in my gut."

Drake stared over at the men in the blue and red coats, the one in red still seemingly unconscious.

"So what about those guys? Any clue what their story is?"

[DDWRINKLE]

"I met Vlad, the guy in the blue coat, in the mall and Cross, the red coat, I met outside the mall, but I know almost nothing about them. Hey Vlad! what happened to you guys when you left anyways?"

[SKAutomatic-Machinegun]

Vlad sat in the corner of the room, the near dead Godric laying against a wall. As Vlad just stared at his sword he replied, "We were attacked." he said flatly, "I don't know by who, Cross may be able to tell you when... if he wakes up, but honestly I don't care not like they'll be attacking anyone else." Vlad looked at Chris and Drake with a huge nearly cartoon-esq grin.

[DDWRINKLE]

Suddenly it dawned upon Chris. He remembers when he saw Vlad next to the big boulder of a man that he recognized him. "Hey, you know that guy you took out, Vlad? I know him. Awhile back I met this group of people who had powers just like us and they tried to get me to join their group. I would've, but something odd was going on between them. It was lead by a psychic named Levian. I think they were being controlled by him, but that giant was one of the guys with him, and I think he's trying to recruit others to join his cause. He said that they were trying to retrieve a very powerful object. An object called The Philosopher's Heart".

[FourStringFingerSting]

The Philosopher's Heart...

The name rang in Drake's ears like an echo down a long, isolated hallway. It stuck with him, strangely. It was as if he'd heard the name before, but Drake drew a blank as to why it felt so familiar when spoken aloud. He couldn't put a finger on it, but his mind was still so tired from the anxiety that came with his recent injury, and he ultimately dismissed his thoughts.

Clearing his throat, and leaning his head to the side to see out the window once more, Drake saw the rain, still unrelenting as it was, and heard it's soft hum pattering the roof of the building they had held themselves up in for the night. The sound of the undead wandering the streets outside was nearly silenced by the incessant calm the rain brought. Drake could feel the weight of his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. The rain always made him sleepy.

Glancing the room over one more time while his consciousness wavered from his tired daze, Drake noticed the room had gone quiet. It appeared as though everyone was comfortable staying here for the night, in an attempt to stave off the walkers until morning. Drake didn't mind, and simply tilted his head to the side again. The rain still pulling his eyes down with every continued drop, Drake slowly let himself relax. The sound of his heart beat and the persistent rain were now the only things that Drake could identify in the dark now. Sleep, sleep...Ivan could be heard humming in the night.

...

Suddenly, awake. The sound of a loud snap echoing out entered Drake's ears and woke him from his seemingly brief slumber. The rain could still be heard outside, as if mere moments had passed, and yet...Time seemed still. Drake opened his eyes and scanned the room.

He was alone. The others were nowhere to be seen.

In a confused panic, Drake snapped himself up to his feet, cringing from the pain of his almost forgotten wound. Drake rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the sleep. Grasping the glasses in his pocket, he fumbled to put them on, worried that everyone's absence meant something was amiss. Again as if from nowhere Drake heard the loud snap again, echoing from the staircase above. With caution, Drake grabbed Ivan leaning over in the corner, and slung him around his shoulder, being careful not to open up his wound even more. Drake noticed fresh blood starting to seep through the bandages around his wound already, knowing his blood was pumping from all the uncertainty.

Again, another snap from the staircase. Taking a deep breath, Drake slowly ascended the staircase, keeping his wits about him as best as he could. Looking up the stairwell, he noticed a strange presence in the air. The room was darker than expected. It was almost unnatural. Uncertain of what lay in wait for him, Drake gripped Ivan tightly. The presence he was feeling was a strong one. Not evil, but not necessarily good either. The only certainty was the dark, and it's unnatural thickness in the room. Reaching the top of the steps, Drake blinked for a moment. The snap echoed through the room once more, closer now. Drake turned to see the staircase behind him had vanished. He could feel the bandages wetting from the blood seeping out of his wound. Drake started to feel nauseous and lightheaded. The room would probably have looked as though it was spinning if Drake would have been able to see anything. Ivan started to hum nervously, Drake tightening his grip around the strings as though to silence the impending madness Drake could feel filling the room.

"Is this...a nightmare?" Drake spoke aloud, trying not to breath so heavily. Touching his bandages, Drake could feel the wetness of the blood sliding between his fingers. "Shit..."

Suddenly, in the distance, a light could be seen, cued by the sound of another loud snap. His eyes still fuzzy from adjusting to the darkness, Drake could almost make out the silhouette of a man sitting cross-legged in a chair near the end of the room.

"Why don't you come over here, boy? You look like you might need a hand." The man's voiced echoed loud across the room, but was filled with a strange sort of confidence and allure. His voice was more rugged, like that of a middle aged man, and you could hear the experience in every one of his words, as if he'd rehearsed this a hundred times. Worried about his wound, Drake fought his cautious instincts and slowly made his way towards the man, hoping he'd have some explanation of what was going on, or at least some damn gauze. The light that had dimly lit the room hovered behind the man's head, the faint light of the cigar protruding from his mouth teasing at his facial features which were still hidden by the almost complete darkness that still lingered around the two of them. The man was finely dressed in a formal black suit, complimented by a red tie with a charming heart pattern sewn in. The man's black dress shoes reflected the light behind him, being polished to an admirable sheen. Drake could make out the outline of a pair of designer glasses resting over the man's invisible nose. Everything about this man seemed professional, short of the strangely placed heart on his tie and his laid back posture while sitting.

Drake was now standing directly in front of the man, still struggling to see his facial features in the persistent thickness of the dark. The man laughed at Drake's frustrated expression.

"What? Having trouble seeing? Or do I have something in my teeth?" His laugh slightly muffled by the cigar that bounced around his lips. "Then again, I suppose seeing is believing." Drake grasped for words, but found none under his frustration and concern. What was this man on about?

Suddenly, the man reached into his suit and pulled out some bandages. With what Drake assumed to be a friendly nod, the man extended his arm out and placed the bandages in Drake's open hand.

"Thanks." Drake said simply, undoing the bled-through bandages already around his torso. Drake sat Ivan down on the ground next to him and took a seat on the floor; still in front of the man, but keeping his distance. "So, what's going on here anyways? You seem like you might have a good idea, from what I can tell."

The man pursed the cigar around his lips, filling the air around him with smoke. Drake started to choke slightly, the light around the man's silhouette starting to make him look more and more like a smokestack. The man sighed, and snuffed out his cigar, putting what was left back in his suit pocket.

"My apologies, I should know better than to smoke around company." The man's voice had a slight nostalgic sense to it, like he belonged in a past era. Sniffing, the man shifted his position in the chair to a more perplexed one, as if he was deep in thought. "It's not surprising you'd ask that. Unfortunately, I seem to be short on answers for you. All I can say is that the things that are taking place now are only baby steps in a grander scheme that's already coming to fruition. What these events are leading up to is something even I can't surmise, but will be shaped by the actions of you and your peers."

Drake had little idea what to make of all of this, as he continued dressing his wound. He only knew with certainty that this curse of his would continue to haunt him until he found Sable again, and made her fix all of this. Suddenly, his thoughts shifted to Chris, and the two men in the coats. What was their role in all of this madness? They must have stories too; their own goals to complete. His gaze returned to the man in the chair, his posture returning back to it's comfortable state.

"This city that you call a home is not what it seems, Drake." Drake was somewhat caught off guard by the man knowing his name, but shrugged it off as he continued to listen to what he had to say. "This city is an in-between place...A bridge, if you will. But it is also at the center of something much greater than both you or I. There are those that wish to unlock it's secrets, and rise in power. These people may seek you out, and may attempt to do you harm. I can't tell you if and when this may happen, but I assure you that they will stop at nothing to make sure that you don't stand between them and their goal...The Heart." Again, the words echoed through Drake's ears. What was all this Philosopher's Heart stuff about?

A slight chuckle came from the man again. "I suppose I'm getting myself a little worked up. Anyways, I suppose you'll figure everything else out for yourself, in time. You'll be fine. You've got some decent folk with you for the time being, it seems. Decent enough, I guess." The man reached into his suit and pulled out the cigar again. Retrieving a lighter from his coat as well, he lit the cigar, the loud snap ringing in the air again. "Forgive me, it's a horrible habit. Well, I guess you should be on your way. Thanks for the company, boy."

Drake quickly scooped up Ivan as he started to trip over questions he hadn't quite had answered.

The man interrupted, "Oh, and one last thing..." Holding the cigar in his lips again, the man reached out and took Drake by the hand, giving it a firm grasp and shaking with a trusting grip...His face drew closer to Drake, making the handshake a little more than uncomfortable. Close enough now to make out his expression, Drake could see his mouth stretch into a toothy grin. With a sniff and a final shake of the wrist, the man mustered up his last words:

"Welcome to the neighborhood."


- END OF BOOK ONE -

[Sponsored content]