The Hazed

[TheQueensGuard]

OCC
Info Dump

Isiah Belmont
Helicopter Crash Site - Wilderness
One Hour Ago....
The wreckage was a few days old, no doubt already looted by other scavengers. The infected had already moved on too for the most part, Isiah could tell due to the foot prints heading off back into the woods, towards Red Hill. Most of the bodies were picked clean, literally to the bone as the infected ate the remains of the corpses. The helicopter looked to be civilian, though broken apart and torn to hell, it didn't have any weapons on it.
Isiah flipped over the last body in the wreck, an older man whose arm had been snapped in two. On his chest in a pouch was a canteen, a necessity in survival.
I guess checking this scrap heap wasn't such a bad idea.
He muttered aloud to himself. Grabbing the canteen and lifting it from the mans body, the remaining water poured out of the side due to a slash caused by shrapnel. Sighing and tossing it aside, Isiah looked towards the horizon.
Storm clouds in the distance, with a hint of green in them. Lightning flashed in them, lighting up the green even more for a moment.
Elizabeth lets go. Haze storm will be here in an hour or so. Two if we're lucky.
Silence.
Elizabeth?
Looking around for his daughter, he sighed realizing she ran off again. The wreckage had been in two parts, no doubt she was at the other one. Making his way around the tail of the copter, he turned the corner to his daughter lifting a shirt from a suitcase and putting it against her hoodie, checking its size to see if it would fit her.
Looking at clothes? We came here looking for food and ammo, not more clothing for you to stuff in your bag. The storm will be here soon we have to find shelter.
Dropping the shirt with a sigh she nodded and turned to follow her father.
*Sigh* Its Eliza, not Elizabeth. For your information I was looking for food, the shirt caught my eye though.
Ignoring her, Isiah headed into the woods towards Red Hill.

Eliza Belmont
Abandoned Church - The Crossroads
Present Time....
The storm was still an hour out, its thunder booming to remind them of its presences. During the past hour the daughter and father wondered West, away from the highway and the field holding the helicopter crash site, and following the signs that read Lake Hamilton. The road they followed was mostly quiet, a few vehicles parked or crashed on the side of the road, but none held anything worth taking.
The pair traveled in silence, Eliza would hum a soft song to herself while her father kept a keen eye out for infected and other people alike.
Looking down at the ground, kicking a rock, she walked right past her dad who had stopped in the center of the road. Grabbing her bag and yanking her back, he pointed ahead.

The Cross Roads
You need it? We got it!
Population 300 0
Two Miles ahead

Someone had scratched the three hundred out, and in what Eliza hoped was red paint wrote in a zero.
Come on, we will go around it. Im getting a bad feeling about that place.
You're probably just over reacting! We need shelter and they got it. The sign even says so!
Eliza said jokingly giving her dad a smile. He glanced back over his shoulder towards the storm and nodded.
Fine.

Setting (OOC Read this Before Posting)
[spoili]
The Cross Roads is our starting location, everyone has to start in this area. You don't have to start in the center of it, just in the surrounding area of the woods.
In the center of Cross Road, there are four main buildings on the road.
Gils Gas Station

An old gas station, half of the building destroyed by what looked like a fire. The car out front was torn apart for its pieces, most of the gas has been siphoned out, along with most of the food inside. The doors on the front are chained up, but you can easily get in through the open wall on the side of the building, or the broken down door in the back.
Good Time Liquor

Across from the gas station is a liquor store. It looked to be in better shape than the gas station, no doubt newly put in right before the apocalypse. Its double doors are wide open, one hanging off its hinges. For the most part the store is cleaned out, bottles are broken across the place and most of the inventory is gone.
The Hunting Lodge

The store was picked clean of its guns and ammo almost immediately after the outbreak. While most of the hunter wear is gone, various bright orange vests and plaid shirts remain. Deer heads and stuffed bases hang from the walls, and unused duck calls and deer scents lay in their cases.
Faiths Calling Baptist Church

The final of the four main buildings in the Cross Roads, Faiths calling looks like it may have once been a fortress for the living. Surrounded by a fence, wooden spikes, and an old military tank out front, it looks relatively safe. The windows are boarded, and a flag waving Alive blows proudly.
Now, the gardens and truck out front are over grown with weeds. The tank is rusted, and scrapped for parts. The boards on the windows are rotting and hang at places. Inside reveals the true nature of the place, blood stains reveal this outpost against the undead has fallen and is no better than the other places in Cross Roads.
The Surrounding Area

Finally the area around Cross Roads is diverse. New housing districts are scattered just off the main road, and older shacks and homes are hidden in the trees. The Hazed no doubt stalk some place within the Cross Roads, hidden in the forest or the broken and falling apart homes.
[/spoili]

Isiah Belmont
Outside Faiths Calling - Cross Roads
Present Time....
Isiah gripped his shotgun tightly, one hand was out stretched and across Eliza's chest keeping her from running into the church. A flag blew in the wind that read Alive and Eliza was hopeful they found another group. Isiahs heart sank and his stomach hurt: Another group could be dangerous. Their inviting flag could be a trap to lure in others.
As the two drew closer, it was clear to Isiah that the owners of the church weren't Alive anymore. The boarded windows were falling apart. The flag was worn and torn in places. The truck and tank out front were old and falling apart. A few undead groaned softly, stuck through the chest with the wooden spikes stuck in the ground. Elizas hopeful gaze fell to a sad one after realizing this too.
Putting his hand down away from Eliza he sighed. Glancing at the other buildings, it looked like the Church would hold up the best during the storm.
Put your gas mask on and lets get inside. It should start raining soon.
Putting his mask on, and slinging his shotgun over his shoulder Isiah pushed open the old rusted gate. It creaked lightly before falling off its hinges, and fell to the ground with a small thud. Drawing his knife he made his way towards the front of the church.​

 

[NerienLarethar]

Thomas Shackleton
Crossroads Residential District -> The Hunting Lodge
Present Time​

The crack of lightning, followed swiftly by a series of loud barks, startled Thomas from his sleep. He sat bolt upright, though still somewhat tired, as a rumble of thunder in the distance warned him of an impending storm. He raised a hand and groggily made a gesture towards his dog, a cue for her to stop her barking for fear she drew unwanted attention to his location. Missy noticed his tired movements and gave up making noise, instead opting to scurry over to nuzzle him gently.

"Alright, alright," Thomas muttered quietly, "I'm getting up, just stop nudging me!"

Missy knew better than to annoy her owner too much, especially after he had just woken up. But she knew better than most what a storm sounded like, and she felt it was her duty to make sure he was up and ready to move before the clouds drew in around them. She watched quietly as Thomas finally found the strength to shake his exhaustion off and stand up, stretching silently to wake himself up properly. As he stooped to pick up his backpack, the floorboard beneath him creaked loudly and echoed throughout the abandoned house he had used for shelter overnight. Elsewhere in the house, he heard the clatter of something being knocked over echoing back to him. Instinctively, his hand reached for the knife attached to his belt, and Missy started to growl as if an intruder was nearby. The pair stood, frozen, almost silent, waiting for the sounds of the potential infected that had wandered in downstairs overnight. The sounds of scuffling reached the pair in their upstairs haven as they listened to the sounds inching closer, scurrying up the stairs towards them. Missy's growls grew louder as the wooden door started to swing open, creaking loudly as it did so. The dog looked ready to pounce as the door continued to creak open, Thomas gripped the handle of his knife tightly, preparing to charge forward and settle it in the skull of the infected, only to breathe a sigh of relief as a raccoon peered at him from the doorway. Missy's growls subsided, and she resumed barking once again, scaring the wild animal into fleeing down the stairs again.

"Shut up Missy. Keep barking like that and we'll have more than raccoons to deal with," Thomas snapped at his dog, desperate to keep her quiet before he resumed packing the remainder of supplies and making his way out of the room. She eventually gave up on her conquest of establishing dominance over the local wildlife and swiftly followed him out, bounding down the creaking wooden stairs and out the front door. In their haste to deal with a suspected Hazed issue, they had almost forgotten all about the incoming storm, though another rumble of thunder soon helped them remember. Thomas looked to the sky and realised they had very little time to find somewhere to hole up while the toxic clouds passed over. He clicked his fingers and Missy joined him at his side as he stepped off the curb and headed down the road, away from the residential buildings and towards the centre of Cross Roads.

---​

It didn't take long for the duo to reach their destination, and Thomas was relieved to see the empty shell that he presumed was once a bustling hunting shop. The Hunting Lodge stood before them, a mere shadow of its former self, with broken glass stuck in the wooden frames behind surprisingly sturdy metal bars. The doors, however, were strangely missing from the frame with no evidence of them laying either side of the threshold. I guess they were stripped down for firewood, Thomas mused to himself as he directed Missy to follow him inside. The interior was certainly in worse shape than the outside of the store, and it was evident the entire population had ransacked everything even remotely usable in the newly created apocalypse. Missy let her curiosity get the better of her and pounced ahead, rummaging through the broken weapon stands and shattered glass, hoping to find something useful for her owner. Thomas, meanwhile, had other ideas. He knew that if there was anything left that could be of use to him, it was most likely broken and would pose more of a liability than anything else. Instead, he opted to look though the remains of the camping section, praying to find something to aid him before the storm hit the town.

As he rummaged through the high-vis jackets and torn plaid shirts, he stumbled upon a perfectly preserved two-man tent, folded neatly and tucked away beneath a weapons cabinet, almost as if someone had hidden it there to collect at a later time. I guess they never made it back...Thomas thought silently, sparing a thought for the poor soul who no doubt got struck down by a storm...or worse. His thoughts for others, however, was caught short by yet another rumble of thunder, followed swiftly by a sharp warning bark from Missy. The storm had drawn in closer while they were searching the shop, too close for them to risk leaving again to find somewhere more suitable for shelter. He turned back into the shop, donned his gas mask and started setting up the tent he had found in the back of the shop where there would be more shelter from the rain and toxic gas. "Buckle up Missy," he muffled through the confines of his mask, "Looks like we'll be here for a while." His dog looked at him with a questioning look, as if she were asking if he was rally planning on camping inside but she simply waged her tail happily so as not to let her confusion show. She watched him for a while, before turning around and siting in the open doorway of the shop, watching carefully for anything that might present a danger to them while they camped out through the storm.

 

[Ravenbelle]

Dakota Santiago
Wilderness --> Crossroads​

She'd been an idiot for trusting it, honestly. Of course, in retrospect, a shack in the middle of the woods was the worst place to try and rest in. She was rewarded with a couple Hazed for her stupidity and now she had the bruises and a painful bite on the arm to show for it. She wished she had a better weapon. The bat was good, and she could use it well, but it was only good for close-range combat. She'd been promised a gun range trip on her 13th birthday by her late father. Her birthday was still months away.
She had already used some of her first aid supplies to clean and bandage the bite yesterday, but she didn't want to use more if she could help it. She had only left the apartment a few days ago and had already eaten too much of her reserves, even while foraging when she could. She had done what she could to prepare, but there was only so much she could pack and without shelter, especially with the storm coming in, she'd be a goner.

At least Turing was fed. She had prepared him well for this situation. She just didnt know she'd be the only one he'd be traveling with. But she kept walking, since her skateboard was near useless on the uneven dirt. Exhausted, but walking. She followed paths that had been used before, sure she'd once heard about a campsite or something like that they might lead back to. A building, even a tent would be better than nothing.

---
​

She had already put on her gas mask, shivering as the thunder rolled overhead when she found the fence. "Bolsillo," she mumbled. Turing climbed down her arm to her jacket pocket and curled up, with a couple squeaks as she zipped it up and left a small hole for air. There wasnt enough time to scout the perimeter, so she avoided the spikes in the ground and started climbing the chain-links easily and landed on the other side as quietly as possible.
Dakota took her bat off of her backpack and gripped it tightly with both hands. It was a fairly open area, so if there were Hazed, she figured she'd see them coming. Of the buildings she could see, the sturdiest seemed to be the church with the stripped tank outside and the old flag waving in the coming storm's winds.

Dakota jogged toward it quietly, keeping her back to its walls when she could, trying to find an opening. She didnt want to damage a window or her bag coming through the sides, but it seemed her only other choice was the front doors. She peered carefully around the corner, only to immediately hide herself again with a small gasp.
People. @TheQueensGuard They wore gas masks, which meant they were most likely alive, but that didnt mean she could trust them. Her first thought was to go search the other buildings and just steer clear of them, but they might have information she could use. And if there was anything she had learned since this had all started, it was that knowledge was survival. She hesitated. She didn't have much time to choose before it started to rain but if they'd noticed her, she was ready. Her arm throbbed as she gripped her bat tighter. Thunder cracked overhead. Dakota flinched, shit

 

[BookDragon]

Zipporah Wolfe
Crossroads --> The Hunting Lodge
Present Time
​

Zipporah tugged at the light rain jacket she had draped over her shoulders and pack. She could feel the storm coming in the way the winds picked up and the slightly sour smell in the air. Her arms were tucked up close to her chest with her hair in a tight but hastily done braid drooping over them. In her minds-eye she could see Emma walking beside her, as she so often did, kicking little pebbles as she walked. Zipporah always used to tell her not to do that as it would bore holes in Emma's shoes and piss off their father... what she would give to kick stones with her again.

A twig breaking behind her snapped Zip back to attention and with a flash of brief movement, her blade was in her hand, ready to slice as deep as she could drive it into whatever came her way. She spun around and sharp eyes swept the horizon left to right, careful to pause for any sign of movement. A sparrow flitted down from the tree twenty feet to her right and she kept an eye on it for a split second before continuing her scan. After a minute or so, Zipporah sighed and placed her blade back in its sheath.

"Don't waste your time on things that will waste your life." She mumbled to herself and straightened the straps of her pack. Her father used to always recite these words to her when she would come home trying to explain that her jeans were grass-stained from all of the beetles she documented that day or that her shirt had a tear from capturing a breathtaking view of a robin's nest. She shook her head, none of it mattered now. All that mattered now was getting to the next town to shack up before the storm hit.

She lifted her head and searched the sky, the low rumbles of not so distant thunder filled the air and she shivered in the growing wind. Off the her right she saw nothing but woods, to her left however, a small town, buildings and the remains of a few cars. Closer than the main heart of town she noticed a wooden building, sort of like a large cabin. Inside she figured it would be basically stripped but she needed somewhere to go. Pulling on her gas mask and tightening the straps, she headed for the building. She made her way to what looked to be the back of the store and found a door that was not quite chained shut, just enough space to wriggle through. Carefully she pushed her bag through and going feet first followed her pack through. Once inside, her eyes adjusted to the lowlight to find the building was stripped nearly bare, other than a few moth eaten vests and bottles of deer urine.

"Gross..." she whispered and stuck out her tongue as she stood and stepped gingerly over a long ago tipped over bottle of urine, its contents causing her boots to stick slightly as she walked. The sound of what sounded like a zipper made her freeze. Ahead of her around an old cashiers counter she heard a shuffling noise, and what sounded strangely like claws clicking quietly on the cracked tile floor. Zipporah's breath caught in her chest. Even if it was another group, she wasn't sure if she would fare any better than if it were a hazed fiend. (@NerienLarethar)

 

[Apeking4]

Jack Farmer
The Crossroads -> Good Time Liquor
Present Time

Jack had just left the gas station after finding it was empty when he heard the thunder. Knowing the gas station would be a terrible place to take shelter he look around and spotted the liquor store. He pulled out his knife and cautiously enter the store looking around to make sure there were no infected inside.

After he was sure none were in the building he put away his knife and he put on his gas mask. He turned to look at his dog that had followed him in and said Pluto his dog immediately looked at him go hunt. His dog dashed out the door to hunt for food which it would bring back to it's master. Jack stood at the end of the store and waited for Pluto to return.

 

[NerienLarethar]

Thomas Shackleton
The Hunting Lodge
Present Time
​

Thomas had failed spectacularly in his attempt to get the tent up. Although the contents of the bag had all been there, strangely the instructions were missing, and without them he had struggled to find the logic behind piecing the poles together correctly. The so called tent he had constructed was wonky to say the least, and certainly looked as if the smallest amount of pressure placed anywhere on it would cause the whole thing to fall apart and flop to the floor. Sighing for what felt like the umpteenth time, Thomas threw his hands up in the air from sheer exhaustion and decided to to attempt piecing everything together one last time. If he didn't have the tent up by the time the storm hit, he would at least be able to use the lightweight material as a blanket to help protect from the wind and rain. His gas mask would ensure he didn't become one of the infected roaming the streets, but it was still nice to be kept warm and dry while the storm dumped it's toxic weather on the town.

Naturally, Missy had been no help at all during his tent making escapade. She had sat quietly for his first few attempts, quietly watching him struggle, but she soon got bored and decided her time was best spent elsewhere. She had explored the front of the shop when they entered but that didn't stop her casting her eyes over everything one last time. The shop was remarkably still, the only movement that could be seen was the particles of dust floating through the few rays of sunshine the day had left. Missy's eyes darted from side to side, scanning briefly for anything useful she may have missed, but there was nothing. The shop had been stripped clean of almost everything. Gun racks lay bare, shelves were all but empty bar from a few boxes of ammo containing damaged bullets and crossbow bolts could be found all over the floor, snapped in half from a stampede of people desperate to arm themselves. There was nothing to be found up front so Missy turned tail and slowly padded her way to the rear of the shop, hoping to find something to cheer Thomas up while he struggled with the tent.

It would seem, at least to her, that her adventure to the rear of the shop could not have come at a better time. Her head down, sniffing the floor, she rounded the corner past the cashier counter and came face to face with a young woman. Instinctively, she dropped low to the floor as if preparing to pounce, and flashed her teeth as she let out a deep, guttural growl. As her growl continued she caught whiff of the woman's scent and realised she wasn't one of the infected, but that wasn't enough for her to let her guard down. Her growl quickly turned to barking, each bark louder and more vicious than the last. Thomas, who had just successfully managed to get his tent up, unsheathed a knife and jumped behind his dog to see what the danger was. He spotted the woman and grabbed Missy's collar to pull her back slowly. "Hush," he whispered gently to her as she replaced her barks with a more gentle growl again. He looked back at the newcomer, seeing she had managed to squeeze through the loosely chained back door. As he opened his mouth to greet her, his eyes fell upon the guns she was carrying and the words never quite formed. Not wanting a violent confrontation, he dropped his knife arm to his side but kept a firm grip on the handle of his blade. "I'm not looking for trouble," he announced to the stranger, "But if you start anything then I assure you I will finish it." Violence was the last thing he needed, especially with the storm drawing ever closer, but both he and his dog were prepared to fight this newcomer to their last breath if she posed even the slightest threat to their safety. (@BookDragon)

 

[TheQueensGuard]

Isiah Belmont
Faiths Calling - Cross Roads
Present Time....

The door creaked open, Isiahs palm pressed against it while his other hand gripped his knife, expecting a Hazed to lunge for him at any moment. Isiah squinted to see inside the dark church, though it was hard to see with so little light. Specks of daylight shined through the boarded windows where the wood was falling off, helping with the lighting some. The most light was coming through the open door Isiah held open, illuminating the first half of the building. He glanced back towards Eliza, who was going around the perimeter checking for breaches in the fence.
Isiah slowly entered the building, doing his best to keep the door ajar to allow light in. The door started to close behind him, before it caught on a broken piece of brick. Pulling the flashlight from his belt, it flickered on with a press of a button. He pointed the beam inwards, flashing it around the church. Trash, overturned tables and sleeping bags littered the floor, but no signs of blood or what may of happened to the survivors of the church. From the looks of it, any supplies that were hear were cleaned out long ago. A thump behind a door in the back of the building startled Isiah. Creeping towards the sound, his knuckles were white from gripping the knife so tightly. Slowly starting to open the door, he shined the light into the small room. Bright yellow eyes shined back, not the eyes of an infected, but the eyes of a raccoon. It hissed lowly before scurrying away up towards the roof, where it disappeared in a hole.
Isiah gave a sigh of relief and chuckled. Part of him was glad it was just a little creature and not one of the walking dead. The other part of him wish he could've killed and ate the creature, his stomach rumbling to remind him of his hunger. Shining the light into the room it looked like an office of sorts, with a broken computer on the floor and the desk slightly out of place. Behind him the groan of a door and sound of foot steps brought him out of his thoughts.
Looks like whoever lived here left on their own Eliza.
Isiah started going through the desk as he called behind him. The shuffling footsteps continued towards him.
We outta watch for the raccoon around here to. The bastards plump enough to get a meal out of.
He glanced over his shoulder expecting to see his daughter, but instead he met the hungry gaze of an infected. He pounced onto Isiah, who jabbed the knife into the throat of the infected. Despite the blade piercing through the side of the dead mans throat, its hungry maw chomped twice, eager to get a bite of the survivor. Pulling the blade free, Isiah stabbed again, this time piercing the undeads temple. It gave out one more moan before slumping over, falling to the ground. Pulling the blade free, Isiah shined the flashlight on the infected man. It was starving, no doubt hadn't ate in weeks, maybe months. His shirt was tattered and torn, exposing ribs that were nearly popping out of the skin. The mans shorts were tearing too, and it looked like the undead didn't have anything of value on him. Stepping over the body, and back into the main room Isiah saw where the undead had stalked out of. The door was still ajar, and old wooden steps disappeared down into darkness, down into the basement. Sighing, he took a step down into the darkness, shining his light down below.

Eliza Belmont
Faiths Crossing - Crossroads
Present Time....

As her father disappeared inside the church, Eliza started to make her way around. On the roadside of the church, the fence looked intact. Bodies of infected people slumped over on spikes and over the fence itself. Some of them were beheaded and all were unmoving, no doubt finished off by whoever had lived here. The bodies were rotting and didn't look like they had anything of value. Turning to the back of the church, Eliza gave a startled gasp. Bodies were stacked on bodies, their charred remains piled into a crude burnt out bonfire. The pile was several feet high, and taller than Eliza. The number of bodies in the fire was well past a dozen, though Eliza couldn't get an exact number: The bodies were charred beyond recognition, most were falling apart or already ash. A tear fell from Elizas eye as she covered her mouth in shock.
Facing the bonfire, a crude wooden cross was erected in the grass. A body was attached to the crucifix with chains, it too was charred and burnt to a crisp. Approaching the body, Eliza couldn't tell if it was a man or woman before. Across its neck was a chain and a cross hanging from it. The cross was melded with the skin and meat, almost entirely embedded in the corpse.

At first Eliza thought it was tears falling on her arms, before the loud clap of thunder made her realize it was rain. Coming back to reality, she swallowed her sadness and did her best to push the pile of ash and bodies out of her mind. Double checking her respirator, she made she it was secured properly as the rain started to pick up. Looking over the back fence one more time, it looked like it was still in one piece. The final side of the fence has a breach in it, several of the panels were on their side and muddy tire prints were driven across them. No signs of the Hazed though, which was good.

Behind her, she could her a faint humming come alive, and lights flickered on inside the church. Spot lights on the corners of the church came on too, and while it wasn't dark out quite yet were bright. Eliza was ready to head inside, the bulk of the storm was about to hit them, and Eliza didn't want to get drenched.

Isiah Belmont
Basement - Faiths Calling - Cross Roads
Present Time....
Each step of the staircase creaked and groaned under Isiahs weight. One by one he traveled down the steps, expecting at least one of the infected to come his way. He reached the bottom of the stairs, and to his relief none of the dead came crawling. He listened for a groan or gasp of one of the infected, but instead was startled by the loud sound of thunder coming from up the stairs. The basement was pretty bare, holding some cots, couches, a television, and various other things. Most were picked clean however. It was spacious and wide enough to hold several people. In the far corner was a breaker, and to Isiahs relief he spotted a switch on it that read.
Back up Generator
Flipping the switch, nothing happened at first. He heard a creaking above him and the buzz of a generator come to life. The lights flickered on in the basement, lighting it up some. Some of the lights needed to be replaced, but Isiah could see well enough to not use his flashlight. Satisfied with his work, he slipped his knife back into its sheath, his flashlight back into his pouch, and headed towards the stairs.
He climbed up them, less carefully this time now that he could clearly see where he was stepping. At the top of the stairs he could hear where the generator was coming from: Up above in the attic. Though the buzz wasn't quite a roar yet, it was louder up here than in the basement. Isiah looked around the debris an was apart to start cleaning some things out of his way when he spotted her.
It was a quick glance, but there was no mistaking a young girl peaking in from the window of the church. She wore a gas mask
Hey now, I'm not gonna hurt you.
He nervously said calling to her before his hand rested on the grip of his pistol.
As long as you and your folks don't try and hurt me.
He didn't see the young girls parents, but someone had to be around to help keep this girl alive. Right? Then he remembered that his daughter was outside, and they could easily be with her right now. He gripped his pistol tighter, but didn't quite draw it yet.
Storms here dad.
He recognized his daughters muffled voice, hidden behind her respirator. Eliza pushed through the door and brushed some water over her coat as she spotted the little girl. She glanced towards her dad, his hand on his side arm, then back at the girl. Keeping the door behind her open she knelt down to eye level with the girl and slowly took off her respirator.
Elizabeth!
Eliza held a finger up to her father. She gave the girl a smile, trying to show she was friendly.
Hey little one, hows it going. Looking for a place to stay dry huh? Come on in.
Get your mask on now.
Her dad demanded, taking a step towards her, who sighed and quickly put her respirator back on.
​

 

[Ravenbelle]

Dakota Santiago
Crossroads Church​

She heard the generator from which the light was coming from and hoped it was enough to cover the sound of her movement, but the survivors inside were too perceptive for that.

Hey now, I'm not gonna hurt you.

Dakota looked up at the storm clouds and sighed. There was nowhere else to go at this point anyway. She peeked into the window again, gripping her bat tightly below the windowsill and therefore out of sight from the others.

As long as you and your folks don't try and hurt me.

She grit her teeth and scanned the man in front of her with his guns and gray hairs. She didn't see dog tags around his neck so she wondered just how proficient he was with his weapons. Regardless, he didn't look trustworthy. But at least he had a weakness.

Storm's here, dad.

Dakota's gaze flashed to the young woman announcing herself as his daughter and tried not to make too many assumptions about how weak she seemed. Obviously she couldn't trust any of them, but she wouldn't underestimate them either. The rain started to wet her hair, but she didn't move. The woman approched her like one would a frightened animal. Dakota nearly told her to back the hell off, but then the idiot took her mask off! Dakota's eyes widened with shock and borderline horror while her bat twitched in a white-knuckled grip and this bitch had the nerve to smile like a kindergarten teacher.

Hey little one, hows it going. Looking for a place to stay dry huh? Come on in.

Well then, she had an invitation. But if this weirdo started turning, at least her dad wouldn't have to waste a bullet on her.
Shit, I'm not a fuckin' 5 year old. Seriously, keep your fucking mask on. Unless you want me to bash your head in. Cool? Cool. Dakota answered and instantly turned to walk in through the front doors, smirking as she imagined the shocked look on their faces. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the smartest move to immediately give up the scared little girl persona that could have forced them to feel sorry enough to care about and protect her, but well, that bridge was burned. She hopped over the Hazed body by the doors rather nonchalantly, given the white guy with the gun, and then closed the doors before kneeling to let Turing do some extra exploring, just in case. She unzipped her pocket and mumbled, Busca.
The ferret crawled out, yawned and scampered about the pews, avoiding the other humans during his search. Dakota stood and tilted her chin up, despite the ball of nerves in her stomach. "So. Thanks for the shelter, but just letting you know..if you try to eat my pet, I'll fucking kill you. she lifted her bat for emphasis, then hung it over her shoulder, not yet feeling safe enough to fasten it back on her backpack.

 

[BookDragon]

Zipporah Wolfe​

Crossroads --> The Hunting Lodge
Present Time​

Zipporah lifted her hands slowly and gestured calmly, "Look, I don't want any trouble either mister. I just needed a plce to be other than... out there." she nodded her head towards the open front doors and looked over behind the man to the tent in the middle of the floor. She noticed several o the poles were out of place and smiled slightly. "Having trouble there? I uh, I could take a look at it. I used to camp a lot when I was a kid..." Her voice sounded small through her gas mask and her hands were a little shaky. It had been a few hours since she had eaten anything or had a drink, she knew how important it was to stay hydrated.

Her focus snapped back to the man and the dog as the dog continued to growl at her. Bending down a little, Zipporah crouched down slowly and placed her duffle bag on the floor. She slipped her hand into an small pocket on the front of her pack and pulled out a single bone shaped cookie. "Here. I picked this up a few towns back. I couldn't believe I would need it someday but for some reason I wasn't able to leave it there..." She knew the dog probably would bite her if she tried to give it directly to her so she carefully placed the treat on the floor a few inches from the man's position in front of her.

Sighing slightly Zipporah tightened her strap and walked back to the bare wall to the left of the chained doors through which she had entered. There was a small shelving unit that had been left behind and the metal supports were twisted, leaving it lying on its side. There was just enough space beneath it to crawl under and huddle. She pushed her duffle bag in first and wriggled under the shelf feet first. She stopped halfway in so head torso was still visible and listened to the wind picking up once again.

"It's coming again..." she whispered more to herself than to the man and the dog. It had been quite some time since she had seen anyone else.... bedside Emma...who was always with her now. Zipporah felt a little awkward, like she had forgotten how to be human. (@NerienLarethar)