The End is Probable, but Preventable. ~Saviour |M|

[Guest]

Susan panted as she hastened towards the back door of the once serene household, panicked by the gruesome event she had just witnessed. Her mind had run a-blank, and the only thing keeping her moving ahead was her instincts. She halted, and soon spun on her heels towards the cellar where numerous armaments had been placed, promptly slinging a bag over her shoulder and loading it with as much ammunition and weapons that could possibly fit in the moderately small-scale space available. Without another second spared, Susan was out the door, and rolling along speedily in her sturdy, rusty crimson pick-up. Making it out of the county, she exhumed a thick breath, pressing her head against the dull steering wheel. Floods of troubled thoughts crowded her mind, and she wondered if this devastation was occurring across the whole state, country, or world, even. She slid her phone from her pocket into her palm, and punched in Dale's number. Heart thundering, she awaited his answer anxiously.

(I hope this is all right.)

[Saviour]

[[ It's perfect ]]

Dale's hands were black with grease as he worked on the new engine he had acquired.
It was old and beat up, but the frame was a classic. He grunted slightly at the turn of a wrench at an awkward angle.
His grunt seemed to be mocked by a strange grunting sound behind him, and Dale's head shot up. He bumped it against the rusted hood and muttered a few curse words. Turning around, his eyebrows knit tightly together. The strange, olive colored skin of the creature was torn open to reveal its rotted flesh. "Hello? Sorry, I'm closed I'm not taking any-" He jumped to the side when the creature lunged at him. "Hey, back off" He said, his mind whirling. Dale glanced back and fumbled around with the key to his gun cabinet. The creature seemed unfazed, and its clouded eyes remained locked on Dale. He finally managed to get it open and he gripped the barrel of his sniper rifle in his hand. It was empty, he always kept it empty for safety. Safety, he scoffed, now it might get him attacked by some freak. He opened a box and loaded a few bullets into the gun. He glanced back up, and his eyes rested on the gnarled teeth of creature. Caught between the small gaps were fragments of raw flesh and his mouth was stained a putrid reddish brown color. "What the-" He wasted no time in raising his gun and pulling the trigger. The freak stumbled back slightly, and the wound in its chest drizzled blood only slightly. Dale frowned in confusion, and raised the gun to his shoulder. He aimed, and put a bullet between its forehead. It stiffened like a 2 by 4 and fell back with a heavy thud. Dale stood there in shock for a moment, then turned and gathered his guns and ammunition into a duffel bag. He left everything else as it was after he gathered some clothes, food, and water. He traded his guns, and pulled out his shotgun. He cocked the gun and left the house for his truck. A few other creatures had shuffled their way towards his home, and he wasted little time in shooting them down. He got inside his silver ford F150 and the engine roared to life. His breath came in more of a pant now as he backed down his dirt driveway and out onto the highway. The chime of his phone nearly made him jump out of his skin. Reaching over with his eyes still on the road, he dug the flip phone out and opened it. "Hello?" He said into the receiver, but it was more of a question than a greeting.
His breath hissed through the phone but not in a painfully loud manner.

[Guest]

"Oh, Dale! Thank the heavens!" Susan cried merrily into the device, his voice humming through the phone relieving her of her overwhelming stress and anxiety. "This is going to sound insanely stupendous, and maybe rather sick, but... a man killed my father by devouring him, and I'm certain this wasn't only a cannibalistic act. This "man" seemed pretty out of it, and he had numerous gashes and an odd tint to his skin, not to mention a limp and made an awkward unworldly groaning sound. It's like something you'd see in the movies, I'm telling you." she spoke in a jumble and her heart began to race just speaking of the incident.

[Saviour]

Dale almost smiled at how happy she had been to hear his voice.
He glanced into the mirror, and saw he had the entire highway to himself. He frowned and turned back to focus on the road. The yellow line fading into a dashed pattern, then back to the double line. He listened to her words, and shook his head even though he knew she couldn't see him. "I believe you. I almost made a nice lunch for some disgusting man. He was..." He hesitated on the words, and shook his head. This wasn't one of those Hollywood movies. He tried desperately to convince himself of this, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that those.. Things... Weren't much different than the horror film's undead. A shiver racked down Dale's spine and he returned to Susan. "Nevermind. Just... Where are you? I think it would be best if we stuck together" He said, and his eyes wandered from his windshield to his window. The Washington (hope you don't mine) trees were tall, and healthy. However, the peaceful feeling of the dark shadows seemed to haunt him now. He felt as though another.. Zombie.. Might just shuffle from those very crevices. He broke his train of thought shortly after that and looked ahead of him at the road. Dale wouldn't let his mind trail to such foolishness at this small setback. It was a small one... The CDC and government would have everything sorted out shortly. Right?

[Guest]

Susan furrowed her brows slightly as she steered her ancient Ford into the ditch that lined the outside of the highway. "Well, uh, I'm on highway 84 right now." she informed Dale, eyes scanning the road in a bewildered manner. "Odd there's no cars about. Normally this road is packed." she mentioned more to herself than him. Susan's eyes shot open when she had finally caught on to what he had uttered earlier into the phone. "Wait, you got attacked? Are you okay?" she babbled worriedly and nibbled on her cracked bottom lip. The saliva that sank into it stung, but she was fresh out of lip balm, and frankly, she didn't care. Keeping her lips well moisturized was the least of her issues at the moment.

[Saviour]

Dale's head bobbed in a slight nod. He had to be near here, since they would be traveling in opposite directions of each other. He glanced down at his speed, and noticed he was speeding. He shook his head, and looked back up at the road without slowing. With flesh flossed between the teeth of humanoid creatures, ten or so notches above the limit didn't really require much attention. He listened to her words, and forced a chuckle from his closing throat. He felt like doing little more than avoiding future confrontations with the creatures, and their strange movements. The scene replayed in his mind, and he tried to squelch the memory. He couldn't manage it, and the grunting and lunging haunted him. By the time the silence shook his mind, it had been about a minute. "Sorry, yea I was working on that old Plymouth Fury when I heard it. I didn't get hurt, I'm fine" He said, his words stern but in a reassuring note. His eyes halted on the outline of a car pulled over into a ditch, and he soon acknowledged it as Susan's. He swung his truck wide, then turned around and parked behind her car. "Bye" He said into the receiver, feeling a farewell wasn't necessary since they were so close. The phone snapped shut and he slid it into his pocket. He reached over, and his strong grasp found his shotgun. He took the weapon into his palm and stepped down from his truck. Holding the barrel down towards the ground, he walked towards Susan's door.

[Guest]

(I feel as if Susan's being a bit too motherly. - ~ -" Agh, Imma change her up a bit.)
A release of air flowed from the split of Susan's parted lips, a great deal of relief flushed over her worry. She'd known Dale for what, all her life? He had always been kind to her, even if such generosity wasn't mutual. There were few people who she'd even truly cared and taken thought of, and of course, now, Dale had pretty much climbed to the peak of the list. She gave a glance to her window and, upon the time seeing Dale, she stepped from out her vehicle to greet him. "What the hell's going on?" she questioned, tossing her hands in the air ridiculously.

[Saviour]

Dale glanced inside the driver-side window of her vehicle, then stepped back as she opened the door. He looked up at her as she spoke, and almost chuckled at her flailing arms. He shook his head and his hand tightened around the gun in his hand. Dale's hands were moist, which was rare for him. He placed the weapon in his left hand and ran his other over his blue jeans. "I've no idea, it's as though I'm in a stereotypical nightmare, but I'm not asleep. I do know that those... things... aren't friendly though. We need to find a place to hold out until things get figured out." He offered, the response little more than a hypothesis and suggestions. He let out a breath he was unaware of holding and glanced quickly around the pair.

[Guest]

Susan nodded briskly and tucked a bundle of strands consisting of hair behind her ear. "Right, right." she muttered, eyes tilted to the asphalt beneath them. "Well, I guess we could hide in the local emergency shelter." She raised her pointer finger to her lip and toyed with the dry skin that clung to her parched lips, cast away in a pensive sea of worries.

//Sorry about the post. D://

[Saviour]

[[ No problem, I didn't leave you with much ]]

Dale nodded absently at her comment, then shook his head as though in an argument with the devil and angel on his shoulders. "No, I don't think that would work..." He said, his teeth finding the inside of his lips and he bit against it to try to calm his nerves. "There's too many people there. I don't think we should stay where there is so much room for error. We both know these woods fairly well, right?" He said, his crystaline eyes turning back to the woman before him. The dark shadows licked at the emerald new leaves, sending a gripping anxiety throughout his veins. The change of his attention brought little relief.

[Guest]

{I adore your profile picture, and I'm soooo sorry for not hopping on replying to that post earlier.}

"You're right. You can't trust anyone, and I'm fairly sure there are plenty of people packed in that little shelter." Susan agreed. As soon as her long-time friend had mentioned trailing off into the woods, her gaze whipped back to the scrawny trees that stabbed through the clouds, them being on the opposite side of her rusty Chevrolet. She studied the lively vegetation for a brief time, and then, slowly, her sight hiked back to find Dale. She began making a mental checklist of what they needed to survive such strange times. A shelter. Weapons. Water. Food. She was sure they could patch up a nifty shelter, and Dale obviously had weapons. Water she was a tad concerned about. And what would they do for food? It would take a bit of adjusting to get used to scavenging an animal to slay, and then roasting it upon a fire. Not that she would stick up her nose at hunted game. "All right. The woods is a much more ideal place to hide." She glanced at the watch strapped to her wrist. "And we should probably get going before it gets dark."

[Saviour]

[[ Thanks =D And don't worry, I'm slow to reply because of school... ]]


A shaky breath expelled from Dale's muscular build, his eyes trained on those of his close friend. They never left hers as she scanned the treeline, and finally came back to his. Dale's jaw tensed, and his looked out to the forest then. His nod was barely visible. "We will have to travel back to town soon, though, for supplies" He commented, and his stomach tightened itself into a firm knot. How would they make it in town? IS there a town anymore? Should he go alone, and leave Susan in the safety of the shelter? He shook his head and looked back at her. Dale could see the worry in the tightening of her eyes, the strained appearance around her jawline and brows. They were depending on each other, but it was a never ending loop. When you are looking for someone for help, and they are turning to you, you find yourself back at the beginning. His eyes turned to the vehicles, and he pressed his lips together. "We should move the vehicles, in case they still have some sort of intelligence..." He said quietly, unsure of his suggestion.

[Guest]

Susan's gaze flickered between her little crimson treasure, and Dale, unsure of what to do. "Well, we're planning to take shelter in the woods, right? The trees look moderately cozy, being that they're mainly only a couple feet apart from each other, and I'm not entirely sure if this old thing could exactly plunder through trees, even at pedal-to-the-metal speeds, if what I'm saying makes any sense. So, if you're fretting about us being turned into roadkill by whatever in the hell those things are, there's no need to." Her eyes settled on her motorized baby, but soon hiked back to Dale, awaiting a response.


(I'm so sorry if this isn't as you expected. /.\ )

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