RadiationShack

[angrycactuar]

Hazel wasn't a stranger to the realities of a post-apocalyptic world, having spent all 21 years of her life just trying to stay alive. Given this fact, you would think that she had at least opened her eyes to the way humans behaved when faced with desperation, but that was not the case. Because of her selective naivety, she was now silently running as fast as possible down a hill from two not so pleasant strangers that she had tried to help. Hazel wasn't one of the survivors armed to the teeth with guns, so truthfully they were wasting their time searching for her, but telling them so would do no good and they would only realize she was telling the truth after searching her dead body.

Her chest felt heavy as she pushed herself to keep going. She was on the brink of losing them, she could tell by the fact that she could no longer hear their footsteps behind her. The young woman's backpack was heavy on her small, thin body and caused fatigue to set in faster than what would allow her to safely get away. As she began to feel the last of her energy drain, she saw an old abandoned house through the brush. A look behind her shoulder let her know that she had at least temporarily lost the two men and she quickly and quietly made her way towards the building.

The windows had been boarded up, however, the garage door was open just enough at the bottom for her to crawl under and take refuge inside. Once she was safe, she forced herself to keep moving to a hiding spot inside. In the corner of the garage was a very large, very ancient freezer. She breathed a sigh of relief after noting that it was big enough for her to hide inside with her bag.

Hazel crawled inside the freezer, which smelled of a mixture of rotting meat and mold. She propped the lid open slightly with her small metal box of bobby pins, which allowed her to watch for the two men without fear of being spotted. Panic seeped into her bones as she heard their voices outside the garage.

Go away, go away, go away, should have never even talked to you... She thought to herself, biting her bottom lip.

 

[Closer]

Kyle jerked up to a seated position on the bed upon hearing a semi shouted conversation between two men outside, peaking through the gaps in one of the boarded windows caused him to freeze with fear. Human contact is not something to take lightly, those who have survived this far have all adapted to a life devoid of civilisation, a life of extremes where the middle ground in which you would find most of the old traits of civilised humanity is null and void. Those who chose to trust and rely on others live under the strictest of order and everyone else relies on chaos, anything short of either is almost a guaranteed death sentence. Almost. It wasn't hard to establish what side of the spectrum two loud and armed to the teeth men in the middle of nowhere stood, and with the garage as the only quiet way in and out of this house things were looking pretty grim.

I suppose it would be too much to expect them to walk on, but seriously, what are they doing all the way out here it's been... well I don't know exactly how long it has been but it feels like forever since my last contact.

He moved quietly across the room and down the stairs desperately considering escape routes, his adrenaline had well and truly kicked in by the bottom as the conversation between the two men dropped and the sound of the garage door grinding on its hinges became prominent. Light slowly flooded the garage and seeped under the door to the lobby. They were in. Rapidly running out of options he dashed down one side of the hallway and into a dark room, this way at the very least they might check the wrong side of the house or split up and increase his chances of surviving a fight... He stood there silently, holding his breathe for as long as he could between breathes, back firmly against the wall.

Slow down, slow down, slow down. Just shut up heart it's in your best interest to shut the hell up !

 

[TiedInBone]

It was a particularly cold day in July after the fallout summers were unbearably hot and there was rarely any escape from it. That had been Drew's biggest concern about this trek through one of the vast wastelands of the radiated US. But as luck would have it the days had been cool since he'd left the safety of his compound; an old nuclear bunker where his church congregation had escaped to before the bombs landed. Drew was never one of the most devote christians and he had already decided he was going to leave when he turned 18, the fact he was nearly forced into an arranged marriage only spurred on his need to escape his fanatic community.

Drew was trained as a medic while in the compound and was finally getting to put his skills to the test. He had sustained several injuries running from the religious nutcases he once called his family and now he needed to use all of his knowledge to survive the seemingly endless journey for a less fucked up home. Tonight was the third night since his escape and at this point hunger was getting the better of him, his pace had slowed and his typical cautious nature was being overshadowed by his physical needs.
The sky was getting dark and Drew needed to find somewhere to hold up for the night, he had been moving towards a more active spot on the horizon, not much of a scenery but at least I'm free.

As dusk fell he approached an area of light vegetation and sat down beneath a withered branch clothed in a splattering of brownish dry leaves, took a moment to check his surroundings and drifted off into sleep...

 

[angrycactuar]

Suddenly Hazel was blinded by the light that was let in upon the arrival of the two unwelcome guests. Her heart began to race and her mouth almost immediately went dry at the sight of the heavily armed intruders.

The one on the left made a face and waved his hand in front of his nose, expressing his disapproval at the smell of the garage. As he did this, Hazel became a great deal more aware of the smell of the fridge that now served as her sanctuary.

They crept closer, pointing to this and that and commenting on things in the garage. The larger of the two men would occasionally lean over and pick something up before observing and pocketing it. The other one simply walked around, his left hand in his pocket and his right clutching his gun.

Just as Hazel began to breathe easier under the impression that she was most likely safe, one of the men crept alarmingly close to the refrigerator. She didn't dare move, but glanced over to the door that led into the house. It was slightly ajar, as if someone else had entered recently.

When the closer of the two turned his back and stared out the garage, Hazel grabbed her sewing kit and, remaining as quiet as possible, threw it with as much force as she could muster. It hit the door leading into the kitchen of the house, causing it to open all the way.

The two men, who were totally caught off guard, hastily turned and made their way to the door. One entered as the other watched. After a few moments, Hazel heard the braver of the two men call out and his friend quickly ran in to join him.

 

[Closer]

Rummaging sounds could be heard from the garage and the light streaming from the door into the hallway flickered with shadows, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have to fight to survive at any given moment and that thought terrified him. His left hand was tightly gripped on his short sword still sheathed upon his lower back and his jaw was tightly clenched. The loud noise caused Kyle to flinch and pull out his sword as the sewing kit crashed into the door forcing it slightly open and illuminating the hallway.

What the fuck was that, are they in ? Have they come into the house?

Kyle's face dropped as the kit hit the floor and slid across the ground, colliding with base of the stairs resonating a tinny echo throughout the otherwise silent ground floor.

Is that a.... Have they just thrown a fucking grenade who are these people ?!

He pushed off of the wall and dashed across the room sliding to a halt behind an office desk that sat near the corner of the room and then placed his hands behind his head and his head against his knees, his entire body tensed as he remained in this position for a good ten seconds before raising his head slightly in confusion. His quiet moment of confusion was interrupted by the now significantly louder footsteps of boots trapping bobby pins between the hard rubber soles and the marble floor, shortly followed by one of the men's husky voices calling to the other.

"You check that side, and I will look over here. Shout if you find anything."

Are they just here to loot ? How did they happen upon this place to begin with and why are they so intent on exploring it? Are they going to find me ?

So many questions running through his head with so little time to process them, the situation became a panicked blur as he cowered behind the desk within the dark room shaking with every footstep. He was in the closest room on the left if you enter the house via the garage and could clearly hear the man's feet stop and swivel as he peered into the first room and entered. This was it, kill or be killed, too late to think about anything.

If he sees me it will be too late, I have to utilise the element of surprise......

 

[CrimsonFang]

Courtney peered over the ledge of the roof building, her hand clasping onto the stone as her eyes followed the commotion. She knew she had heard footsteps, no, running and her curiosity got the better of her. She saw the figures duck into the garage of a nearby house and she ducked down again with her back against the ledge and her legs pulled up into her. She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut tight. She wished so hard to be able to ignore it, to act like she had seen nothing, to stay quiet and act like nothing had happened, to worry about her own life... but ...

She sighed and lean't her head against the ledge before easing her self up on her right arm. Blood soaked through her sleeve around the makeshift bandage she had made. The gash wasn't pretty, and it was now down to a dull throbbing but she would manage, like she always did. This was her constant reminder that not everyone had good intentions and she thought she'd do good to remember that. But still... If it had been her down there she would want someone to help her, she was still human. She clumsily climbed over the edge to the ladder and crept cautiously to the house.

Courtney stuck her head around the side of the house straining her eyes to see into the garage, her arm scraped against the building making her flinch. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears and it did nothing but make her even more nervous. She had seen them. Of course she had seen then, she could see a lot from her rooftop. A girl had run into the garage with two men following right behind her. Two. Not everyone could be saved she knew that but there was still a chance. She lowered her self to the floor checking for legs behind the garage door. The door to the house was open but she did not want to risk getting caught. She heard the men moving around in the house, it was now or never.

Her eyes roamed the garage searching, she was in here she knew it. Then she saw it. It was cracked just a bit to remain unoticable but years of hiding had taught her. Courtney eased half of her torso under the door her arm tucked into herself protectivelyand gave two short soft whistles. She stuck as close to the wall as she could her good arm making small motions to get the girls attention.

She kept her voice low just above a whisper. " Hey can you hear me, we have to get out of here, before they come back." Her mind kept screaming at her to leave, to run away, her hands were shaking and her eyes kept darting back to the house door. But she stayed put "hey."

 

[angrycactuar]

Hazel was in such a deep state of focus that she very nearly didn't hear the girl's softly spoken words. Because of the intensity of her concentration on the men who were now inside the house, she jumped slightly as she was spoken to.

Turning to get a look at the girl, Hazel's eyes widened and she shook her head. "You've gotta be careful, they're armed, chick," She whispered back to the girl.

Truth be told, Hazel felt a little bad. She had run up on this place in an attempt to save her own ass, but if anyone had been seeking refuge inside, she had led danger literally right into their house.

Quite the mental battle ensued. She had the chance now to leave with this girl, but her emotions and disgustingly caring nature were pulling at her heartstrings.

"What if someone is in there?" the redhead asked, glancing over in the direction of the voice. "Are you armed at all?"

 

[CrimsonFang]

Courtney's head whipped to the door when the girl jumped, checking to see if her movement had attracted any attention. Her eyes widened and her hands were trembling. She took a deep breath out when the doorway remained clear. The girls eyes widened at the sight of her and Courtney grimaced at her words. They were big and they were armed the universe was laughing at her right now. She looked behind her once more and then sighed again before sliding her whole body under the garage door using one arm to avoid her cut.

She was fully committed she came this far and she was not just going to bail. She crouched behind the fridge out of sight from the door and hastily moved towards it, not stopping until she was fairly close. The girl looked towards the door as if contemplating something. She could hear them stomping around in the house. Making a mess of what had been someone's home and it clicked.

The girl was worried that someone else could possibly fall victim to those men. They would be walking right into a lions den but... They couldn't just hide here all day and do nothing especially if they had been led to unsuspecting others. She looked to the garage door one more time... And then back at the girl. She had to...

"It's only right to warn them, I'll- I'll help you, we just have to stay out of sight, check every place we can for others without being noticed, I have a- a place we can go if we can get to it." Her voice was calm but She felt light headed at the thought of another armed confrontation.

She had no weapons, well not at the moment if you counted a length of chain wrapped around the handle of her roofs door. She lifted up both arms and winced at her forgotten injury. "I have two arms well one... And a half... Does that count? I'm sorry I wasn't really thinking I just saw you run in here and I..." She rubbed the back of her neck her other arm resting at her side her voice going from a whisper to silent.

She motioned to the house door. "We should probably... While they're you know... See if anyone is taking refuge here."She made a face at her jumbled words but met the girls eyes to show she was ready to make a move... Well as ready as she'd ever be.

 

[Closer]

The side of the room in which Kyle was hiding behind the desk was almost pitch black, the light from the garage just barely lit the area immediately inside the doorway making it very difficult to spot him dressed in full black attire. The man had arrived at the foot of the desk none the wiser, in fact he was now essentially looming over Kyle as he checked behind the desk with squinted eyes, His left hand was placed upon the corner of the desk and his other balanced the butt of his assault rifle that leant against his shoulder. Although he was still sweeping the room it would seem he had already at least mentally determined that it was empty which is why Kyle springing round the corner caught him completely by surprise, an ever so slight blur of movement in the dark room will have been the last thing he saw as Kyle plunged his short sword up through the diaphragm piercing his left lung and severing his windpipe simultaneously.

"I'm sorry it was either you or me, you shouldn't have come here."

Despite being face to face he couldn't see any features of the man in front of him, just the sound of his failed attempts to breathe accompanied by a warm splash across Kyles face. He turned his head away in disgust knowing all too well what this warm sensation was on his hands as he pulled his arm downwards allowing the man's otherwise slowly reclining body to now crumble to the floor, at this point Kyle's knees gave way as he too with the help of the desk fell to the ground. His breathing was slow and heavy and his eyes remained open until they became dry and his body instinctively blinked them, his fingers relinquished their hold on the sword in order to spread on the floor and hold up his torso as he looked deep into the darkness in front of him clearly forgetting the presence of the other male.

I had to kill him, there was no other way..... No other way.

 

[TiedInBone]

The cool breeze played through Drew's unkempt hair as he slept, out here it was peaceful, more peaceful than back home that was for sure. Back home I would be lucky to get more than a few hours, what with all the ruckus of 54 people in a set of rooms meant for about 30....out here nobody wakes me up to go to the minister's latest sermon, one every 12 hours seemed excessive even as a kid. Father Jacobs had always been a very influential character in the compound and it was only as I got older I realized he wasn't exactly the most moral of leaders....Stupid Father Jacobs if it....

'CRUNCH'

Drew woke up with a start at the loud sound he had heard, his eyes darted from one spot in the dim night to the next, each time to no avail, "What the hell was that?", as he got used to the darkness the once pitch black fog that surrounded him began to take shape and one of those shapes was very frightening indeed. Three men were trudging through the apocalyptic forest (which amounted to a few tiny tress and a loose, dying thicket nestled in long grass that went on for a few miles), one of them must have stepped on or broken one of the dry sticks trying desperately to grow here. They were already several feet in front of him somehow he hadn't been spotted, a massive stroke of luck as it appeared at least two of them had flashlights and had them scanning the ground. What are they looking for? They are searching but with purpose, that one in the front seems to be leading them somewhere. So why the flashlights? Were they from the compound, were they looking for me. Not like this. Fear spread inside Drew's body and his heart began to pound against his chest. The men were walking further from him now but he still could not shake off this fear, he peered around slowly expecting to see more men.....Nothing, he turned back to see the three men off in the distance only recognizable from the flash of their torches.

Sleep did not come back to him and Drew spent the next 10 minutes, sitting quietly, barely moving. By now the shock had passed and he had time to reason with himself, if they had been looking for him they wouldn't have come this way; remembering back to when he had left the compound, charging out across the dirt fields that surrounded his underground home, they chased him as far as the ruins of what was once their hometown, there Drew had lost them and laid a fake trail leading south while he continued north. So if not him what were they after or who?

Well I'm heading that way anyways....but maybe I'll give them a wide birth......yeah, good idea. With that he got up and walked after the men careful to skirt any possible campsites.


Their pace quickened after a little while and Drew struggled to keep them in sight, he thought he had lost them entirely until he heard one of them yell "There up ahead, looks like the lil bitch went inside!"

What have I gotten myself into?

 

[angrycactuar]

Hazel nodded to the girl, lifting an arm to prop open the lid of the freezer. "Alright, we've got to be as quiet as possible," She whispered. It should be an obvious fact, but you never knew with some people. She had seen many an idiot run headfirst into death because they couldn't be bothered to lay low and be patient.

With a deep breath, she stood up and stepped out of her safe place, leaving her book bag there in an attempt to remain as silent as possible. With each step into the house, her heart seemed to beat harder and faster, working overtime to keep up with her worries.

As the young woman entered the kitchen, the smell of blood and sweat smacked her in the face. Her sense of smell had always been stronger than those around her, which wasn't much of a positive thing in a post apocalyptic world full of death and other unpleasant smelling things.

The smell told her all she needed to know, that someone had just bitten it, and she needed to hide before she was next. Reaching a hand out, she lightly poked the girl as if to say "this way," and began slinking into the kitchen to hide in an open cabinet.

As she made her way into the kitchen, she saw the other man making his way back into the room. He was either stupid or blind, as he still hadn't seen her. She waited silently for a few moments and then when his back was turned, she moved with speed.

She pounced on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck as tightly as she could. Her strength was drained from the trip here and the exhaustion of fear, but it was as if she now had a second wind. The man struggled to grab her, but was unable to. His breathing became more labored and as the seconds passed, he seemed to give up. With one last gasp, he fell to the floor, lifeless.

Hazel relinquished her hold on him as soon as she realized he was dead, and she stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't like to kill people..." She said solemnly.

Sadly enough, she didn't have but 5 seconds to feel sorry for her actions before she heard a commotion outside. More angry men, by the sound of it. The voices of more than one man could be heard, which alarmed her. Reaching out, she lightly tapped her new acquaintance on the wrist and made a run for the kitchen. The house being as nice as it was, the cabinets were large enough to fit multiple human beings. She opened one and crawled inside, waiting for her acquaintance to do the same.

 

[CrimsonFang]

Courtney moved aside to give the girl room to get out of the fridge. It did not look like the most comfortable place in the world but it had certainly performed well for the moment. She nodded her head in agreement at the girls statement and quietly followed the girl into the house. Her nerves were on edge and she had her ears tuned for the slightest sound of someone approaching.

Stepping through the door instantly put her stomache in knots, nausea hitting her in waves. Her senses were overwhelmed and she quickly lifted her good arm to block her nose. Breathing through her mouth she mouthed "Oh God." It wasn't like she was unfamiliar with death and the ... Properties that came with it, she lived in this world as it was now but she didn't know if she would ever get over that smell it was awful.

She was brought back to the present situation when she felt a light poke in her arm. The girl was leading them towards an open cabinet. It looked big enough no problem so Courtney leaned in for closer inspection but as soon as she made a move towards the cabinet the girl sprung out of sight. Courtney whirled around to see what was going on just in time to see the thugs lifeless body fall to the floor. He was dead . Her mouth dropped open and her eyes felt as if they would pop from their sockets.

She was frozen. She'd never actually killed anyone with her bare hands, or directly witnessed it either. It was always hide, run and adapt that was how she survived. She took the time to really look at the girl now. They looked to be around the same age but Comparing them they looked so very different. Courtney probably looked like a weak little girl. She was beginning to think she had been surviving on luck up until this moment.

The girl crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't enjoy killing people... Well that was a relief, now a days it seemed that it was hard to keep your morality in tack. Courtney nodded her head remembering to close her mouth. She wanted to say something anything to show she was still on her side. It was them or us, and she'd prefer it was them. She briefly saw the girls face twist in sadness and went to put her hand on her shoulder but voices outside quickly brought earliers alarm back.

There were more of them?

They ran back to the kitchen. The girl climbed in the cabinet first and Courtney tossed one more look over her shoulder before stumbling in behind her. She had to crawl in backwards to keep off her arm and when she was finally settled she eased the door closed and then they were in darkness. She brought her knees up to her chest and turned her head in the girls direction straining her eyes although she knew it was hopeless. She kept her voice low.

"I know it probably doesn't mean anything coming from a total stranger ... But I still think your pretty cool, he would have killed us if given the chance. They have weapons and anything to even the plain field ...helps us." She couldn't possibly tell how the girl felt but she didn't want to see her beat herself up over it.

Courtney stuck her hand out before thinking and then lowered it back down. The girl wouldn't be able to see her hand. "My name's Courtney, nice to meet you." She smiled even though the girl wouldn't be able to see that either. The noise outside grew louder and Courtney bit her bottom lip. "We'll be just fine, hopefully the noise will alert whoever else is in the house. We'll be okay."

She was trying to comfort the girl but she felt that it was for her self just as well. She cradled her other arm in her lap. They wer e so loud... We're they in the house? What was happening out there?

"So I guess now we wait it out right? How're you holding up?"

 

[TiedInBone]

As Drew inched ever closer to the building the men had entered, he found his need to investigate diminish greatly as the house's detail actually came into view. It was small and the windows were boarded, somehow this pitiful place had survived the scavengers and scrappers of our new world, that is assuming those are real things and not another fairy tale told to us back home in a vain attempt to keep us under your thumb Jacobs. Drew lost in his inner mutterings had forgotten the situation and was brought tumbling back to reality when one of the men emerged from the building, shining his torch in an arc ahead of him before retreating back inside.

Maybe they found what they were looking for and are staying put or more likely they are settling in for the night, either way I have no intention of going inside. I do however need to find somewhere to sleep, somewhere I'm not as exposed as earlier. He spent a few minutes searching the area before he found what was left of a rusted old car chassis, there wasn't much of it left but enough to obscure his sleeping body at first glance. Setting himself up, throwing his jacket down onto the dirt beneath the contorted metal, removing his satchel (inside which he had his medical supplies along with all his other worldly possessions) he slid underneath the 'car' and after fluffing his makeshift satchel-pillow, snuggled into a comfortable (comfortable enough) sleeping position his eyes trained on the house and its more than suspicious occupants.

As Drew lay there, he couldn't help but think about the medical supplies he had rather uncomfortably wedged between his neck and the cold earth. He hadn't needed to use much so far just some antiseptic spray but he had been longing for a chance to really use his skills ever since he left, a medic who hasn't saved anybody's life is nothing to brag about and even though he had been the most gifted back home, now was the time to prove himself. You know part of me wants to get captured, they won't kill me if they think I'm a doctor and I'm not helping anyone at the moment.....this sucks.

 

[Closer]

Kyle didn't have long to question the humanity of his actions, two more voices had abruptly arrived within the garage and light from what he assumed was a torch could be seen seeping through both the boarded windows and door to the lobby, creating streams of light upon parts of the house that were previously shrouded. In other words Kyle had a huge problem on his hands. He had to assume that there was at least a third man based on both the voices and the sources of light making the grand total of immediate threats to his life stand at minimum of four. He quickly began to act as his adrenaline rebooted, his shaky hands searched the floor to find the corpse. The blood surged away from his fingers as they slid, eventually finding the body and dragging it behind the desk. He then reunited his sword with its sheath and scooped up the rifle that lay near where the body was previously before moving back up to his spot just inside the door. He knew torches would make hiding from the now larger group nearly impossible and that they wouldn't have to be a detective to discover the bloody mess that this room had become, given this, his options had immediately been limited to fighting and to be frank he didn't fancy his chances.

I wonder what I did in a previous life to deserve a night like this.

The voices got louder and louder with each passing second, from his earlier encounter he could tell that they had now entered the lobby. Kyle raised the rifle into his shoulder and aimed slowly into the doorway backing just far enough into the room so that the barrel would remain out of sight, clinging onto the hope that there might be a way out of this without a fight. As luck would have it the voices steered clear of his side of the lobby and began to head towards the kitchen.

Perhaps they have seen their comrade, wait a second. Hasn't it been a suspicious amount of time for them to have not communicated? If I want to keep the element of surprise then I have to act now.

He spun through the doorway and stepped carefully through the lobby with eyes fixated on the hallway leading to the kitchen, his hands held the rifle tightly and he pointed it awkwardly having never held one before, it was surprisingly heavy and cold on his fingers. Extra care to avoid bobby pins scattered across the floor allowed a quick yet quiet passage towards the garage and all seemed to be going well until he reached the doorway. Suddenly one of the men in the kitchen shouted a name and Kyle watched them both rush round the corner deeper into the kitchen, in the commotion he removed the emphasis upon stealth and placed it heavily into speed now pushing into the garage with the gun at his hip just in time to come face to face with a man holding a torch. The silhouette behind the light showed a tall man with what appeared to be a similar rifle slung over his shoulder and after a split second Kyle squeezed the trigger lacing the man in front of him with bullets as well as one side of the garage, the recoil kicked hard and he would have surely missed if he hadn't been so up close and personal. He threw down the rifle, leapt over the body and sprinted out the garage, quickly clearing the overgrown front garden and entering a large section of tall grass. He had covered about one hundred metres before a flurry of whistles began to fly past him and into his surroundings, he had barely enough time to lower his head as he ran before an impact to his left shoulder sent him reeling towards the floor.

"OH FUCK, OH FUCKING SHIT, AHHHHH."

 

[angrycactuar]

Before Hazel had even half a second to let Courtney's words sink in, an alarming amount of commotion appeared to be going on outside the safety of the kitchen cabinet the two of them were hiding in.

If there was one way to build a bond with someone, it was being faced with death and hiding from it together. Hazel had never been quite as scared as she was in that moment, her heart was racing and her throat was as dry as it could get.

As the two sat there in silence, she contemplated the depressingly limited amount of options she had right about then. Ultimately, she decided to keep her ass planted there in quiet. The young woman reached out and patted Courtney on the back lightly, as if to say "I'm here. We're in this together."

There was something terrifying about being a woman in this kind of world. She wanted to believe that all beings were equally doomed, but the truth was, the thought of what the men were capable of if they found her? That thought alone caused her chest to go numb with fear.

Just as the thoughts threatened to consume her, the man could be heard creeping closer. The sound of cabinets opening and closing to their left could be heard, and Hazel's heart stopped.

Suddenly, light streamed into the cabinet and just before she felt a tight grip on her arm, she looked over at Courtney. The man pulled her out and, gripping both of her arms hard enough that she couldn't move, looked her up and down with a disgusting look on his face.

In a moment of panic, she used the element of surprise to break free, push the man back as hard as possible (which sent him flying into the rusty ass stove) and grab Courtney by the wrist. Without taking a moment to hesitate, she pulled her friend out and ran out through the garage. Past her fridge, which she used her free hand to salute, and out into the driveway.

The man regained his balance and was right behind them faster than anticipated. He was much faster and just as she thought they might get away, he screamed at her to stop and aimed his gun at both of the girls.

With no other choice, she did as he wanted and stopped, lifting her hands over her head. "I'm sorry," She whispered to Courtney, trying not to think about what would happen to them now, thanks to her stupidity.

 

[CrimsonFang]

There was silence for a bit, not that it bothered her, Courtney let her head rest In her lap wishing that they we're back on her rooftop... Safe. She sighed and nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her back, then she calmed herself as best as she could in this situation and leaned into the comforting gesture. She had been on her own fighting to survive for sometime and she'd nearly forgotten that there were still good people out there... Human beings. The stress of the situation threatened to bring tears to her eyes but she would not cry, that would not help anything. This time she was not alone.

Just when she thought it could not get any worse the ruckus of rowdy men got louder, they were In the house, In the kitchen getting closer to where they were hidden. She began to tremble. Courtney put her hand over her mouth to conceal her heavy breathing, hoping that it would not give them away, because if they were found, nothing good could possibly come from it. Her prayers were left unanswered as cabinets were wrenched open and then slammed shut. The noise was drowned out by the beating of her own heart. She clenched the fabric of the girls shirt in her hands needing something to cling to. Her fear taking root. Suddenly light flooded the cabinet and the girl was wrenched out of her grip.

Courtney flew from the cabinet, ready to pounce on the man like a wild animal, or at least a very angry house cat with a injured arm and minimal upper body strength, when the man who had hold of the girl went flying back Into a rusted stove which had certainly seen better days. The girl grabbed Courtney by the wrist, leading her through the garage and out onto the driveway, they were nearly there, almost away, almost free when the man brought a gun into the picture. They came to a grinding halt, freezing right where they stood. He had a gun. Courtney cursed to herself, they were so close.

The girl looked as if she wanted to cry, like she was blaming herself for their predicament , so Courtney shook her head when the girl apologized, whispering " you have nothing to apologize for, this is not your fault.". They slowly turned around to face the man, the sick leer on his face making her stomache turn. He grinned at them waving his gun around, making sure they saw it, that they knew the situation. Courtney glared in return, her hands still by her side's. She watched as the girl lifted her hands in surrender in the air but Courtney stayed as she was. "That's right girl, I have the gun, anymore brave moves, and I'll put a bullet in you." His voice was just as ugly as the rest of him.

Courtney's throat felt dry and it proved difficult to swallow. She looked over at the girl then back to the man. He spoke again lifting one hideous eyebrow, looking straight at Courtney. "I suggest you follow your friends example." He lifted his gun a little higher. Courtney slowly raised her hands in the air. " We don' t have any supplies, nothing that would be of use to you, and we're not ver-" he cut her off midsentence . "Shut up , I didn't ask you any of that." She stopped talking, the glare on her face intensifying. If anything Courtney above all hated when people disrespected her.

She leant a bit closer to the girl, trying to move her mouth as little as possible, her voice a whisper. " I have a plan... Ok... On the count of three I'll make a run at him, and you run in the opposite direction, where the end of this drive way leads. There's a roof top three blocks away in an alley, the ladder is already down with a chain hanging from it. It' ll startle him and while he tries to collect himself you make your way to the roof, I'll make my way there later when I lose him."

He could not go after them both at the same time and Courtney figured running at him would make him focus on her and not where the girl was running. She could run In a zig zag, if he started shooting it would be harder to hit a moving target. It could work. Worse case she would get shot... Which would majorly suck, but at least the girl would get away, what better way to die then to do it helping someone? But she was kinda hoping that she would survive, dying would also majorly suck. "What are you whispering about!" The volume of his voice made her snap her head in his direction. She whispered to the girl once more. "How about it?" Not taking her eyes off of the man.