The World has Died

Chomps chuckled. "This...Whatever this is...It's got the whole world in a state of shock, a state of madness...All I know is..The world's not the same, and we'll be dealing with a lot of madness." Chomps had no experience with large crowds of insane people, but he was used to working with some really strong people when he used to be a professional wrestler. He kept close behind Stephen, taking the offered knife following him down the steps.
 
I continued on down the street, headed straight for the cathedral. There was nothing of note anywhere around, though there were a few strangers walking around here and there. I doubted anyone would really be headed into work, but I was sure there would be some people that would still walk dutifully to where they went every morning of every day of their lives. However, it would those very same people who refused to reconize that something had happened that would likely be doomed in the long run. The streets were clogged with cars that were now completely useless, but a horse and carriage could likely get along on the sidewalks with little trouble. The cathedral was now in sight, and I thought I heard KAle speaking to someone somewhere nearby, but what was really controlling my attention was a group of six people that appeared armed with pipes and planks, walking by. I was not overly fond of getting into a fight now, but as quickly as they came, they went, going after some other poor soul. I moved ahead, and waved for Chomps and Raiden to follow.
 
As Zeke stepped out of the cathedral he took note of his surroundings. It seemed the chaos had subsided in the sense that an almost anarchic rule had settled over the city. Looking to his left He saw a girl run into the man he had just followed out of the cathedral. A little father down the street he saw a group of six people armed with pipes and such walking in the opposite direction. Just then he heard something behind him and turned around to see two man walking towards with knives. "Hell, can't a guy get a break here?" Zeke growled grabbing the handle of his wrench and setting his feet.
 
Chomps followed behind Stephen taking notice to the group of people with pipes and planks. Looks like there was going to be a future tassle, good..He was getting restless and ready to beat down some people. But, he caught eye of a man holding a wrench being closed in by men with knives. "Wait..is that...Zeke?" Chomps was relieved to see his friend in good health and such, however, Zeke was in a bit of trouble. "Stephen! We need to help that man over there. He's my friend, Zeke and would be an asset to our group."
 
I glanced over at the man Chomps was referring to, and saw him getting ready for a fight, clearly taking notice of the large group, and of us. However, the large group moved on, and the man looked to be expecting us to attack him. "I think he's seeing US as the threat Chomps...Lets just get closer slowly and I'm sure he'll recognize you...I hope." I said, trying to keep from moving the knife to a more threatening position. I wasn't sure if this man was who Chomps thought he was, but he could just as easily be ready to turn on us and take our supplies, it wasn't a possibility to be ruled out. I was tempted to ask Chomps to shout out to the man, but decided it was a far wiser idea to keep quiet. I glanced over at the building next to the church, and slowly pointed to it. "There, that's it. There should be horses and carriages still inside. Whether there's still people or not is beyond me, but be ready for a fight."
 
The girl had quite an attitude, andthough it was slightly offensive, Desmond couldn't help but admireit. You had to have one when things went bad like this, but it didn'thelp her any. For all he cared, he could call her whatever he wanted.Whether she liked it or not was a personal problem because – to him– she was a kid. Age-wise he could tell, so it didn't matter.Desmond did want to tell her how not listening could get her introuble when he knew what he was talking about, though it likelywouldn't have helped considering that he didn't know the girl at alland could've made shit up for all she knew. So instead, he simplywatched as the girl began to scrounge up what she could and shovethem away to tote off for later.

Desmond seemed to onlymindlessly move towards her as she asked for more light, holding thetorch higher to spread the light across the room. He hadn't theslightest clue why since it was apparent that no one would'vesurvived, and anyone even slightly conscious wouldn't make itthrough. There was just far too much damage to allow it. A shake ofhis head allowed a drip of sweat to wick from his forehead, solelythanks to the torch's fire that radiated heat. Desmond, though hewatched the girl pace away, decided to hang back just a little moreto make sure she had gotten out before him, but...But what was thatsound?

Slowly, Desmond began to look up when he felt a smallbit of dust touch against the top of his head and hesitated for onlya moment. What to do, what to do? Apparently the smart thing to dowould to get out of the way, but he was thinking of the girl, first,but it wasn't necessary since she had been the first to actually yellout what was going on and respond before he did. She was ahead of himto get out of the way, and since he had been further from the exitthan anywhere else, Desmond could only turn and sprint, the torchclutched tightly in his hand as he charged forth and followed herthrough the train to its backside. The initial collapse sounded likea war within the heavens, complete with their own nuclear bombs andWMD's, but it was so much louder than what he thought it would be.The explosion in the engine was even worse considering how it echoedand rung hard in his ears, but he had to push through it, feetpounding against the rubber of the floor before he lunged for thedoor and dived, rolling on the ground and quickly recovering with thetorch still lit.

The dark was as if a blanket that tosseditself over the torch, seeming to try to snuff out the light thatoffended it, yet the flame kept lapping and rolling at the air,devouring the oxygen that it could feed from. Desmond looked forwardand could only see the faint traces of the girl's body in front ofhim and did the only thing he really could do. The torch was liftedhigh as he began to walk towards her, spreading the light furtheraround him to capture her within the radius until he was only a fewfeet away, his skin scuffed with dirt and small bits of gravel fromhis roll, but otherwise perfectly fine.

"Kid," he calledout, his voice echoing in the tunnel. "You all right? Can you movewell enough? Stay still and let me check you over."

(sorry for the delay. u.u)
 
"You know, kid is close enough to kiddo to warrant that consequence I was talking about earlier. Fortunately for you, I don't have a brick handy."


Kale stretched a little and looked herself over a little as he moved closer. A few scratches, nothing major. Mostly just dirty. She shrugged and looked over at him, letting him walk over to her.


"I'm fine. I don't need to be checked over. Why did you run this way? I told you to run for the stairs, now we're both stuck down here," she commented with a faint frown, picking up the bags that had gotten thrown. After everything was back in place, she eyed the pile of rubble. Well, there was no going back that way. She thought about what station they had been in, backtracking in her mind. Three streets, backturn from the sewer, skip the station under construction..


"Alright. We've got about half a mile to walk before we get to a station that we should be able to climb out of. Hopefully it's not all clogged up like this one.." she said, mostly talking to herself as she sighed and absently rubbed one of the scrapes that stung oddly.


"Ready?"
 
As the two men approached they became more noticeable. The one on the left looked like a local student and didn't seem to be too much of a worry if it came to fighting. The one that scared Zeke, however, was the man on the right. He was larger and more built and looked mean. Suddenly Zeke realized that the man on the right was none other than Chomps. Lowering his wrench but keeping it ready, he yelled over to the two men "It's about damn time you found me Chomps! I've been looking all over the place for you!"
 
"Zeke! Hang on buddy!"

Chomps dropped his bag near Stephen and ran towards the two men that were about to lunge forward on his friend. He tackled the man on the right without any sort of hesitation. When the man's head slamemd against the floor, Chomps unleashed a flurry of punches upon the man's torso and face. However, while he was focused on his victim..The other man with a knife stabbed Chomps in the shoulder-blade area. He screamed as he felt the knife lodged into him, instantly turning his attention to the man behind him. It hurt like freaking hell, but Chomps was used to unimaginable pain..The man tried to run, but Chomps grabbed hold of his shoulder and threw him towards a wall. And just for good measure, a heavy jab to the gut..

"Are..Are you alright, Zeke?"
 
I glanced over as two men from the small group had indeed noticed us, or at least Chomps's friend, and Chomps was quick to deal with them, needling virtually no help from me, not that I'd be overly useful anyway. I grabbed the things Chomps had dropped, and ran after him to the scene. "Well...glad you managed to find your friend Chomps. Zeke, right? I'm Stephen. Long story short, we're going to go grab some carriages from a tour company and flee the city. We likely will not be paying. Sound like something you'd been interested it?" I said with a rather lighthearted smile.
 
"Stephen, we've gotta keep moving..Course Zeke will join us..He's been a loyal bud of mine fer years! Let's get moving." Chomps tilted his head in the direction of the carriages. It was going to be great having Zeke around again, and plus his talents would come in handy if anything broke. However, Chomps was focused on getting to the carriages and getting the hell out of here. It was crazy enough now, having men attack Zeke like that and it would only get worse.
 
No sooner had Zeke spoken the words when Chomps rushed forward and swiftly dealt with two men whom had suddenly appeared behind him. "Damn am I glad to have you on my side Chomps!" Zeke said a little surprised. "O'Course I'll join you guys, the more the merrier right? Just don't try ta bum a cig off me and we'll be cool." Zeke said extending his hand toward Stephen. "As for stealing a carriage, why pay for something when you can have it for free?"
 
I smiled and nodded at the both of them. I lead the way to the tour company's stables, and simply walked in to open the door. The front of the stables were empty, and I quickly motioned for Zeke and Chomps to follow me to the rear of the small and already stiffing room. Air conditioning would be sorely missed. I made sure my knife was in a position ready to attack anyone behind the door, and motioned for everyone else to get their own weapons ready. I pushed the light wooden door, and it creaked horribly as it swung open, revealing the semi-outdoor stables behind it. There were six horses total, or rather, left. They were far from the heaviest of draft-horses, but we would have to make due. I saw a carriage with a broken wheel, and motioned from Zeke to it. "Looks like your help is needed sooner than expected." I whispered with a rather cheerful grin. I closed the door back up, and moved a crate in front of it. If someone really wanted in, there were multiple entrances around the back, where the carriages left, but it would deter most simple looters. "Chomps. I'll get the carriage entrance, and you watch the door we came in from. Let's not come this far to get screwed."
 
(I'm back, Sorry sorry sorry sorry DX)
Raiden was quiet the whole time. He helped when he was needed, and sat tight when he wasn't. He liked the quiet, Well enjoyed it more than sounds of ruin. He readied a kitchen knife out of his bag, he decided that he would do something for once and not be a burden like he believed he was at the time. He also watched the door just in case, although chomps ,being well suited alone, probably could handle it by himself. [Our group, Stephen,Kale...wherever she is...,Chomps, and now Zeke...] Raiden wondered what they all were before this madness happened, but didn't dwell on it too long because it would keep him from watching the door, even though he really doesn't have too.
 
Zeke walked over to the carriage and took a look at the broken wheel. It seemed the wheel was precariously placed on the axle. Grabbing his wrench from his tool belt he laid on his back and scooted underneath the carriage to get a better look at the wheel. As he started working on tightening the wheel back into place, he began to think about the situation. There was no power what so ever it seemed and people were going crazy. At least he hand found Chomps. Stephen seemed like an alright kid but Zeke doubted how useful he would be in a fight. Then there was the boy standing there by the door and not speaking. After finishing the wheel Zeke came back out from the carriage and stood up. "Well that wheel ain't yer problem anymore, my question is how in the hell do you geniuses plan on finding the horses to get this baby rolling?"
 
"Got it, Stephen!" Chomps watched as Stephen and the group began to salvage anything they could. He kept his eyes darting back and forth to make sure that there would be no trouble. Surely not though, Chomps was ready to bust some more heads if he had too. Following close by to the other men, making sure that everything was clear. I only hoped that we would get through fine and no one would come rushing through the other side .
 
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"Counterclockwise. That's always the right way they turn. Counterclockwise. Clockwise would just make it open, and we don't want that. I don't want that. Locks. Always counterclockwise." Her brown eyes darted from the pages of the book even though she only had a dim, sliver of light to see from. It was more than enough for her, blinding really, though she didn't ask much when it came to her books. The said books were piled around her almost like a fort, looking seemingly sturdy and impenetrable in the dark. If the door to the carriage closet opened, one would have seen nothing more than books stacked upon books. A simple kick would have them all tumbling to the floor. Still, Jasmin wanted to believe she was safe in the middle of her fortress of solitude. The works of Aristotle and Edgar Allen Poe would shield her from any dangers.

She was sure of it.

"Locks. Locks. No one knows how to pick locks,"she muttered, turning the page of the book she was looking down at. A few diagrams of an interesting looking doorknob lock were squeezed in somewhere to the side, but she was scanning the words instead. Her eyes moved more times than her heart beat, but it was worth it. The information she gained would help her. All of her books would help her.

She was sure of it.

"I do. I do now. I know it has to be counterclockwise. Not clockwise. No. That's the wrong way. That will locked you in. I'll be locked in again. Locked. Locks. Counterclockwise. Clocks. Time. Locks. Locks." She went without food for two days going on three.

"No one knows how to pick locks. They don't know to turn it counterclockwise. They only lock, not unlock. Only lock. Forever locked." Of course, she heard the sounds coming from the carriage entrance, but she heard so many sounds in those two days. She trusted no sound. She trusted no savior. She only relied on her books after locking herself in the closet farthest down the hallway. Only her books would help her during the chaos.

"Always locked,"she whispered, holding the book tightly to her with a shudder. "Forever locked."
[/DASH]
 
I motioned to the horses in the stables across from the carriage. "I know they aren't the best looking animals, but they'll be able to pull a carriage. I know we only need two, but I think we should bring all four, two people can ride them if they have to, but there's no sense in letting a beast burden go to waste, right?" And with that, I moved over to the stalls where the four animals were, cringing at the foul smell of shit and rot. Even after living on a ranch, I still wasn't use to the rancid stench of uncleaned animal pens. As I opened the stall of the first horse, I heard rustling and mumbling, but thought nothing of it. I gently moved to the right of the horse, a black mare, and managed to lead her to the carriage, where she quickly bent down to eat the grass. "Raiden, Zeke, see if you guys can get this girl hooked up to the bridle." I left the mare to be hooked up, and moved to get the second horse, a brown gelding, and heard the rustling once more. I glanced over to a closet next to the pens, and motioned to Chomps to come over. I pointed to the closet, motioning for him to have his own weapon ready, and I myself moved next to him, my own knife raised, ready to stab.
 
[Desmond's computer is currently broken. When it's not, I'll kick him into posting and then I'll post. Just an FYI to any who didn't know. :C ]
 
Chomps followed the group inside to the horses in the stables. "I agree..That way no one gets left behind and we can all keep up with each other." It would be a shame to leave a horse behind when we could take it with us and use it for a good purpose, better than just letting it starve here. Chomps looked over to where the rustling and mumbling was, sneaking over towards Stephen's position. Whatever was on the other side could be a possible threat so, I tightened my fists and readied myself before returning the nod to Stephen, letting him know he was ready to move on his go.
 
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