490 replies to this topic

[Law]

Dr. Fred "Books" Jackson and Colonel Pete Pelham stood at the front of the small meeting room as the three "runners" filed in to receive their briefing. "Good morning," Books said with a nod of his head at each of the runners as they entered. Colonel Pelham just looked down at the file folder he held in his hands.

The meeting room, which was almost completely bare, smelled like warm bread and aftershave: bread, because the room was attached to the mess hall due to its proximity to the secure vehicle lot. It, like everything and everyone else in Castle, was one-hundred percent practical. The aftershave was Books'. That smell had practically become his defining trait in Castle. After three years of near starvation, scraping and scrounging at the world that was to eke out a minimal life, Books still always managed to smell good and to look distinguished, even in his threadbare sweater and creaseless slacks. Old man Books scratched at his graying head, his once proud afro cut down close to his scalp as a deterrent against lice, a nasty byproduct of living in Castle. He looked tired as he turned to the Colonel to begin.

Colonel Pelham, a stern man with a red face, a stiff back, and a permanent scowl, had been a mid-level manager in a construction company before the fall. Now, he was a colonel in the Castle hierarchy in charge of expeditionary runs. He stepped forward in his mismatched fatigues, clasped the file folders behind his back in military fashion, and addressed the gathering. "Good morning, team. The mission you have volunteered for this morning will be a run south into Highland county. Books' research has turned up a library there that may have some very valuable paper records and maps. And I don't have to tell you just how valuable those can be. Your mission is to retrieve any and all of these records."

Pelham didn't have to tell them; everyone knew just how valuable paper records were to Castle. The curse that fell upon the Earth three years ago didn't just bring dead humans back from the grave as mindless, flesh-eating zombies. The curse also brought with it "the murmurs." Every electronic device on planet Earth that gave off a substantial signal began carrying, giving off, whatever "the murmurs." The phenomena took its name from the sound that it made to the human ear, a maddening, unintelligible murmuring. It was broadcast on every station, every channel, across every satellite, through every computer monitor. The murmurs rendered all signaling devices completely useless. The murmurs also rendered anyone exposed to them for even a short period of time completely insane. Naturally, all electronic devices that could give off a signal had been banned in Castle. Without computers, paper records and maps were the only link surviving humanity had to the world that was . . . the only hope they had of finding likely places for other survivor settlements and repositories of the resources Castle so desperately needed to exist.

"The journey south should take several hours," Pelham continued. "And we don't expect much Zed activity along the way. The county seat in Highland, however, is another story. Over the last few months we have sent several scouting expeditions into Highland to look for the library. We found it, but the downtown area where the library is located appears to be a hotbed of Zed activity." Pelham turned to Books and handed him one of the file folders. Books removed a large fold-up map of the city and held it up.



"Who knows why those things do what they do, but they have turned downtown Highland into a f**king Zed family reunion." Pelham indicated the location of the zombie infestation by circling it on the map with his finger. "Your best bet will be to approach the library from the southeast, and then get in and get out quietly. Nothing will call zombie hell down on your heads like gunfire, so if you have to take some heads, best do it quietly. Cap will be leading the mission, and Dr. Jackson here will be providing technical assistance once you are in the library. Nobody knows more about Zeds than Books, and he knows just what kinds of records would best serve Castle, so talk care of the old guy." Books laughed along with the others and nodded. Pelham continued. "You kids grab some breakfast and head out of here as soon as you can. We've got the Blazer gassed up, and loaded down with as many supplies as we can spare." Pelham started to dismiss them but then raised his hand. "I know I don't have to say this to you guys, but I want to. Remember the drill. One, dead is dead. These zombies aren't the result of some virus, or voodoo, or anything like that. They are the reanimated remains of people who are D.E.A.D. They aren't your long-lost grandma coming back to you, and they can't be saved. Don't even waste a bullet to their skulls if you don't have to. Two, the magic number is 60. Sixty seconds is about how long you have before a freshly dead human will rise as a zombie. If one of you falls in the field, start counting and do what you have to do. We have lost too many good people that were trying to save a dying comrade who was past saving. We all love Books, but if he bleeds out in the back of the truck while you guys are tying to escape, the Zed that rises will rip you all to shreds without a thought. Three, beware the murmurs. Even a small battery operated radio will turn your brains to mush in seconds. Ear plugs won't help. Nothing will but distance. This library doesn't appear to have power, but I'm sure it was loaded with computers, radios, and a PA system. Be very careful. The murmurs are far more dangerous than any Zed. Got it? Good. Now go get the job done and come back in one piece."

[Law]

Three hours later . . .

The journey to Highland was painfully slow but to this point, mostly uneventful. The roads out of Castle were clear for the first few miles, because they were maintained by the "Engineering Division" of Castle's Civil Defense Force. Calling it a "Division" made it sound far more impressive than it was (like most things in Castle). The "Division" consisted of two guys with shotguns and a very fat man named "Gus" who drove a tow truck. The Engineering Division patrolled the streets outside of Castle's barricades for a few hours every day, grabbing up abandoned cars in Zed-free areas and towing them back to Castle to be used for salvage or as "bricks" in the Castle defenses. This had the happy byproduct of keeping the roads mostly clear for runners leaving Castle.

Beyond the jurisdiction of the Civil Defense Force, the roads grew increasingly worse until they reached the highway. Abandoned cars that blocked lanes and the occasional pockets of active zombies made negotiating a route to the highway difficult. During the slow collapse that followed the outbreak and the murmurs, no one was headed toward the cities, so the southbound lanes of the interstate were mostly clear all the way to Highland. The northbound lanes, however, were jammed with an amazing amount of carnage.

The Chevy Blazer cruised south down the highway at 45 miles per hour, just fast enough to get to their destination in a reasonable amount of time and just slow enough to react to anything that might appear in the road. The back of the SUV was loaded with gear. Cap, Books, and Sandy squeezed in the front with Cap at the wheel, and the rest were crammed in the second row of seats. Books held the map in his lap, but didn't speak. He just looked past Cap, out the drivers-side window, and stared at the staggering long row of cars, long abandoned and headed to nowhere.

[Synik]

The road caused the cab to bob a little and Cap's gloved hands gripped the steering wheel. He had an urge to say something, anything to break the silence. Nothing came to him, just the slow and oppressive push of another mission. His tongue was fuzzy in his mouth and the light was still too bright. Maybe he shouldn't have had one for the road last night.

He slowed a little as they crested a small hill, the last thing they needed was picking Zed jam out of the bumper. They'd lost a few cars - and teams - to people who though you could drive through the walking dead. There was only one way to stop them.... actually, no, there was more than that. Cap's mind cycled through the various ways of taking a zed's head off. Bullet, blade, blunt, explosive and that one time, sheer animal rage - his now dead buddy pulling an old lady's head off.

Cap pouted and worked his tongue over his teeth. There was a bit of breakfast stuck there and he didn't want it to stick into the chewing gum. It was his second to last strip and they still had a way to go. He turned the small bit of minty fresh compound over, resisting the urge to chew it out.

There was no distraction today. The weather was so-so and the radio long gone. Voids hung in the dash where someone had ripped out the radio. The headless stalk of a sat-nav was glued to the wind-shield. He smiled. Maybe it wasn't so bad. He'd hated them things with a passion. Use a damned map.

[PuppyCub79]

Looking at Cap and shaking her head, Sandy sighs and checks her weapon, making sure that everything was set and ready to go at a moments notice. Her focus clearly not on his driving, but making sure that if anything, she makes it out alive. Quickly checking the sights on her gun, she then holsters it, placing it back within arms reach.

Looking at the others and the silence, she finally speaks up "So, what's our ETA to arrival?" as she lets out a quick sigh and then a yawn. "I want to get in and out as quickly as possible. Dealing with the zed is not something that sounds to thrilling with the 'family reunion' that they are talking about. Hopefully we'll be able to not worry to much about them."

[Dehoffren]

A loud and slightly wet sniff emanated from the rear of the truck “What’s ETA?” came a gruff voice “That somethink that we have to sort out in the library?” asked Hoss, his eyebrows knitting together as he tried to figure out what Sandy had said. He wriggled in his seat gaining a little extra space as his ample flesh bumped against his companions’ thighs “’ope this don’t take long” he sniffed again and then wiped his nose on the back of his coat sleeve “That breakfast was tiny, it wouldn’t have even filled Ruddy up” a sloppy smile lit up his face as he thought of his pet mouse

[Synik]

Cap doesn't look away from the road. "About 10 to 15 at this rate." His voice is rough as if he's just woken up. Knowing Cap, it's probably the first time he's spoken. "See if you can find us a decent drop stop on the map, would you? Something wide open with no chance of murmers. A park or a field will do."

Edited by Synik, 19 January 2010 - 08:20 PM.

[Kimpossible]

Kate awoke from her boredom-induced stupor at the first sounds of strategizing. "The middle of the street works too," she blurted out at an excessive volume. "Keeps your noise pointed in the direction of your get-away, and you don't have to worry about getting stuck in the mud."

"I really should be driving," she mumbled, not intending to say that out loud. Kate had two volumes: "silent sulk" and "louder than appropriate." She had been in "silent sulk" mode for most of the trip. She hated being a passenger, and she hated sitting still. And it was hot.

Quote

“That breakfast was tiny, it wouldn’t have even filled Ruddy up”

Kate patted Hoss on the leg. "It's alright big boy. I'm sure we'll be back in time for dinner. I've got some candy stashed in my bag. We'll crack 'em open to celebrate our victory on the way home."

[PuppyCub79]

Sandy pulls out the map and looks at it to find a spot to get us located. She then looks back at Hoss "If you would have only paid attention in training..." she trails off while looking at Kate "I also don't think this is the time to get him worked up, especially if it has to do with a sugar rush" she chuckles.

She then focuses back on the map.

[arrowfodder]

Lori sat on the other side of Hoss, not wanting to bug man to squash her if they shifted in the van. Where the man was large, she was small, standing only an inch over five feet. Her blonde hair ran down to her shoulders, and her small frame always seemed to be twitching, like sitting still for too long was almost a punishment for her. Even her green eyes shifted from side to side, trying to find something to focus on. In school it had earned her the name Twitch, but now that the zombies had taken over the world she got to leave that little nickname behind. "I'd offer to share Hoss, but you know I don't bring a lot of food with me."

[Dehoffren]

“I likes the tastes of victory, ‘specially when it’s sweet” beamed Hoss back at Kate before scowling at Sandy “Hey, you fink I can’t hold my sugar or somefink” he said in mock anger. Hoss’s head jutted forward from his shoulders in a quick movement, he then twisted and turned his neck companied by a cacophony of clicks and joint popping sounds “Ah that’s better, too cramped in here for a big guy like me”

[arrowfodder]

Lori winced as she heard all of the joints pop in the large man's body. "Now that just sounded painful."

[Dehoffren]

“Don’t’cha worry me little britches” Hoss said patting the waif’s thigh and managing to eek out just a little more room on the seat “Nuffing hurts old Hoss, as loadsa zombie critter could tell ya” Hoss mused for a moment while his brain slowly mulled over the facts and added “Well if they still had their ‘eads they would”

[arrowfodder]

"I'll remember that when we run into them next time." Lori got quiet for a minute, drumming her hands on her knees. She wanted out of the truck so badly. She wanted to being doing something, anything. "Do you think we'll run into a lot of them this time? I mean, before there were so many of them you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting one. They've got to be dying off right?"

[Synik]

"You'd have thought a hot summer and winter would help them fall to bits wouldn't you," Cap interjects. "I don't think we're going to be that lucky. Some parts of down-town stink like a slaughterhouse gone bad. It's mess. We'd be better off with a good old fashioned T17. Just roll over the dead f***s."

Cap gives the piece of gum a chew, the burst of mint hitting his tongue like some dental orientated chemical warfare.

[arrowfodder]

Lori nodded. "I remember the smell when this all started. It was horrible. I still can't believe I survived. I thought for sure I was going to die, just like everyone else I knew." She clutched at her small necklace, the soft clinking of several saint medals being drowned out by the nosie of the truck.