LIFE STORIES - SETH CLEMANS

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

>>INSERT SETH BACKSTORY HERE


The community center had all its furniture pushed against the walls, and almost thirty people
slept on the floor. On blankets, on couch cushions, in sleeping bags... People of all ages, and
a few small dogs as well.

A short man with big owl-like eyes and large hair ran in from the stairwell, carrying a radio.

Man-
"Snake! Dude! Get up!"

The man shook a tall slim man who was fast asleep on a scratchy blanket.

"Snake"-
"Kenny? Wh-what... huh?"


Kenny -
"There's a whole bunch of people here! Abdul what'shisface radioed it!
They're downstairs!"


"Snake"-
"Oh wow! That's so cool!"

"Snake" got up, he was still dressed in the same clothes as the day before, a slightly blood spattered
short-sleeved button up and jeans. He had been using his favorite scarf as a pillow, and now artfully
arranged it to cover most of the blood. He and Kenny crept out of the room, trying to not wake anyone else.

Kenny came barreling in from the stairwell, panting.

Man-
"Dude! Abdul, you were right! Look at all these people!"


Abdul-Rahman-
"Wonderful, Kenneth. Is someone else coming?"


Kenny-
"Yeah, Snake's right behind me."

He moved out, smiling and shooting finger guns at the cute ladies. Another man stepped out of
the stairwell more calmly, a tall man with green eyes and a subtly blood spattered shirt covered
with a patterned scarf.

"Snake"-
"Wow! How about that...!"

The tall man did a whistle to get everyone's attention.

"Snake"-
"Hi everyone! Welcome to 403. My name's Seth, and this is Kenny.
Please come to the top floor, we'll get you some breakfast and
you can sleep if you need to."

Ben-
"Well, there you go," Ben said to the Daiso gang. "The hospitality wagon has arrived."

Before leaving with the people going upstairs he turned to Abdul-Rahman.

"Looks like you've got an excellent organisation going here. We just spent the night in
an empty apartment, almost twenty people on the floor. We could've spread out more
of course, but we thought it would be safer to gather in one place so that a few could
stay awake and watch out for ghosts."

The good doctor moved towards the newest resident to emerge from the stairs, arms crossing
over his chest, duffle thumping his hip. He gave a pissy look to passers-by.

Dr. Victor-
"We had sleep, if you can even call it sleep. We had a WONDERFUL time! Tell me, is there
anyone here who is in charge or has the world succumbed to the hippie-dippy mindset of
communal living?"

The doctor leaned close, eyes narrowing.

"Do you have coffee? Hot, black, vitriolic java?"

The owl-eyed man overheard and butted in.

Kenny -
"Yeah Snake's the president."

Abdul-Rahman shot Kenny a dirty look.

Seth-
"Oh not really... well, actually we were planning on having a vote a little later.
It's been working out well as a joint effort so far, but I guess it does simplify things.
If you need help with something, you can talk to me. --and Coffee, yes, of course!
We're trying to cook up all the food that's going to spoil so there's going to be
a huge breakfast upstairs. Hope no one's vegetarian, haha! Well actually there's
a vegan option too..."

Micah-
"Uh I think I'm going upstairs, catch you guys later."

Micah moved casually up past the residents, giving a small awkward wave of hello.

"I'm Micah, great place you have here. I'm glad to hear someone is actually cooking,
the last place was take-out city.


Seth-
"Oh you're welcome! Nice to meet you. Yeah Chantelle's a great cook, it's going to be
a real feast."

The good doctor choked down a laugh.

Dr. Victor-
"Vegan? I seriously doubt anyone would attempt to continue such a load of social dribble. 
I'm sure all those lovely people will be dead in a matter of weeks anyways unless they have 
a steady supply of vitamins and supplements to keep their protein and iron levels sufficient. 
But, I suppose, only if they don't die protesting the 'ethical treatment of... well, whatever 
those things are.

"What qualifications do you possess to become the leader? Are you military? Do you
have extensive experience in social unrest? Do you have a shiny gun?"



Seth-
"Well, I'm not the leader..."

The doctor shook his head.

Dr. Victor-
"I don't want to be left with some incompetent bleeding heart who can't do what
needs to be done."

He moved away from the scarfed man, eyes burning with tears.

"Oh god, does someone have a cat? I can't stand cats. Are we now responsible for feeding
pets as well? I won't have my portion of food be fed to something that is more or less
a portable zombie snack with fur..."


Seth-
"Riiiiiight."

Kenny raised an eyebrow at the Doctor.


Kenny -
"Man chief, you got a vocabulary on ya. I think we need to get into the booze later,
and you gotta go first... and maybe second and third."


Seth-
"Oh Kenny, I'm sure these guys have had a rough time, no need to pick on them.
Um, coffee is just upstairs next to the barbecue. We had to make it the old fashioned way
but it's not bad, really."

With his soliloquy finished, the good doctor moved past the scarfed man, the avian-eyed man, and every other person on his quest for coffee.

Alex overheard the last scrap of the doctor's conversation. The man was interrogating
Seth and complaining about animals.

Alex-
"The just regardeth the lives of his beasts!" Alex called out as Dr. Victor left
to find coffee. "That means all beasts, Doctor, even cats!"

After a moment’s hesitation, Alex approached the leader apparent, Seth. 

"Excuse me, Sir, do you know what’s happening ... to the world right now?"
He lowered his voice almost conspiratorially. "Or do you think you know?"

Seth-
"Phew, it's really hard to say, isn't it? We saw the news report, Stevie got a tape of it.
I really don't understand it, but obviously something's gone seriously wrong with the world.
They were always going to say there was an emergency announcement coming, but it never did... Maybe we can talk more about it over breakfast?"

Seth and Kenny followed the Doctor up the stairs, Kenny already excitedly talking about
the hot ladies. Some 801 people began drifting in behind as well. At the very rear, Anna
and Jackson attempted to comport the guns into a less... gun-tastic looking pile.

Those just arriving upstairs found the large community center full of just waking up people.
There was a strong smell of maple syrup and cooking meat drifting in from an outdoor patio.
A large plastic banquet table was being unfolded by some men, and sleepy people looked
excited to see the newcomers. A few small dogs, a black and white Boston terrier, and two
tan French bulldogs ran around happily. Bright daylight streamed in from the open
windows and a slight smoke hung in the air from the barbecues.
Davin sat on a leather sofa in the community center, looking shell-shocked but still eating
some sort of sausage patties and drinking a cup of coffee.

Seth and Kenny caught up with the group. Kenny tried to stick around,
but remembered his guard duty and slunk away. Seth came to get a plate, and smiled at Alex.

Seth-
"Wow, a man after my own heart. Eat as much as you like, this food will all spoil in
a few hours so we might as well live it up now. After this it's Poptarts and Lucky Charms
until we learn how to hunt seagull."


Stevie-
"Wow, what are all these people like, Snake? Most importantly,
are there hot ladies?"


Seth-
"I'm sure there are some very beautiful young women, but you really should get to know
them yourself."


Stevie-
"Yeah, bad guy to ask, what was I thinkin'? Haha!"

The brash man snagged his food and headed out to the community center to meet and greet.

Seth moved back to the community center, and smiled at Dr V.

Seth-
"Did I hear that you are a doctor? That's really amazing, that's a vital role these days.
Let me know if there's anything I can do to make you comfortable, we need someone
like you to stick around!"

The doctor nicked a snack from the table, rolling it over his fingers before lowering it
to the floor. He sipped his coffee a little, the mug displaying its proclamation.
Dr. Victor seemed to sour again at the incessant talking, but once he realized some
of the conversations was addressed him, the authority came back to his voice.

He turned towards Seth, his eyes sliding down the bridge of his own nose.

Dr. Victor-
"My needs? Its about damned time someone cared about my needs and what services
I can offer. I need supplies to take care of these sick ill people. And a soft bed, clean
linens, hot water in a shower for decontaminating, a phonograph since I'm sure there
are not any music players which do not run on electricity. Maybe a locking cabinet
to keep the narcotics out of the hands of the more obviously afflicted souls of addiction?
I want some form of record keeper. I need a special person who has the skills of medical
coding. You know, just in case I can still bill for all this to the University Payroll.
A quiet space, maybe a king sized, pillow top mattress, down pillows. Private restroom
quarters are a must. And I need personal hygiene products, like toothpaste, and
antiperspirants and nail clippers. Maybe someone who can practice reflexology or
a massage therapist? Hmm?"

Dr. Victor rolled his eyes and returned to his coffee, the only one who really
understood him anyways.

Seth nodded as the doctor spoke, which surprised him.

Seth-
"Gosh, I should have written that down. There's a restaurant downstairs, it was pretty new.
Maybe we could renovate it into a clinic. There's a lot of stainless steel in the kitchen,
big refrigerator that's useless now but could become a cabinet perhaps. I'm hoping the power
doesn't stay off forever, but I guess we have to prepare for the worst. Today we'll assign rooms,
I'll make sure you get dibs on something good. Although, it may be unsafe to room by yourself
with all the monsters around. It's up to you though, of course. You should talk to Marie,
if you get the chance. She worked at UW Medical Research, but she wasn't a doctor
unfortunately. Maybe she can do this coding you're talking about."

Dr. Victor shrugged absently.

Dr. Victor-
"If you can't accomod- Wait. You'll give me something colloquially known as 'dibs?'
Oh, my. Ahem, well, yes. I suppose it will be sufficient for now. A new diner would be
sufficient, especially easy to keep clean from grime and rodents. I fear we will have
issues with rodents."

The good doctor leaned back in his chair, glancing about the room.

"Roommates never live up to my standards. I suppose if my safety is your concern,
I should begin interviewing- Oh, come on. I'll bunk with Micah. He's been through
a lot. And I hear he's going clothes shopping. Maybe this time he can get something
for me? It was dreadful. I had to examine everyone in nothing but a towel. And
I didn't even charge for it. A shame; I could have gotten paid for the show as well.
Is anyone going to eat this?"

The doctor picked up a half-eaten morsel and set it on the floor.

"Can't be wasteful, can we Mimi?"


Seth-
"Ah rodents, good thinking. So far its been pretty clean but we had to throw
a few bodies off the roof, zombies in their apartments, you know. --and one room...
eh... well we're going to tape that one off I think, it's a bit hopeless. We'll have to
work hard to make things sanitary.

Anyway, I'm just so excited for us to have a real doctor! We really need someone
with your talents and smarts. We're so lucky."

He smiled at the doctor. He was too chipper, but then again, he was complimenting
the doctor's intelligence and talent... Should be he be cranky or flattered? Or both?

Patti spoke to her immediate compatriots: Anna, tattoo guy, and Tyrone.

Patti-
"You should all get food while you can. I'm going to find someone to show me the grounds now. Tyrone, I'd like it if you'd come with me, but if you want food, you should go too."


Tyrone -
"Yes'm."


Anna-
"Don't gotta tell me twice. I hope they have bacon."


Jackson-
"Hell yeah. That leader guy Snake said they have vegan options."


Anna-
"Snake? ...That's a fucked up name."


Jackson-
"I dunno, he looks nice enough."

Tyrone-
"Got-dam, can you smell it?"


Anna-
"Almost can't over the sleep-sweat. It's like 'The Gorge' in here."


Jackson-
"Oh hey, Anna, you never got to see that Snake guy."


Anna-
"Not sure I want to meet someone with that handle."

Anna finally made it through to the community center, already crunching on
the last piece of bacon.

Seth glanced over, and smiled at the new people entering. He caught sight of Anna
and a strange look passed over his face, his smile faltering a bit.

Jackson-
"Hey there's the man himself. Word up, 'Snake.' So why's that your--"


Anna-
"Oh god no. NO."

Anna was nearly shaking in terror as she looked at the friendly man holding a cup of juice.
He, likewise, began to look like the blood was draining out of his face.

Jackson-
"What's wrong? You know this guy?"

Seth caught a hold of his wits and spoke with a hint of strain.

Seth-
"Ohh... I've seen you at the video lab, right? I uh, thought you looked familiar..."


Anna-
"Uhh...! Uhh...!!" Anna was flustered, and shook her head. "Don't...!"

Seth-
"Haha, remember that stupid infomercial we were in? With the tangle of electrical cords?
Haha, so lame. Hey just a heads up, Stevie's here too and he's always using those stupid
nicknames, you know how he--"


Stevie
"TIFFANI!!"

The brash goofy man grinned and clasped his hands to his heart.

Stevie-
"Oh man, I'm so glad you're okay! I was worried."


Seth-
"Stevie, you remember ANNALISE."

He glowered at Stevie.

Stevie-
"Yeah sure. 'An..na.. lise..'"

He spoke the name like it was completely foreign to him. Anna shook in terror,
and ran for the stairs.

Seth-
"Excuse me, Doctor..."

Seth ran after her, he was quite fast.


Bryce watched Anna and Seth run off with a dazed expression.

Bryce-
"Wow, weird."


Stevie-
"God damn. That ain't good for my self-esteem."


Jackson-
"But what was that? If Snake didn't look like such a sweetheart I'd think
I should be running after them."


Stevie-
"We were co-workers... Obviously she hated her job. I thought we were cool,
but god damn..."


Jackson-
"What the fuck was the job? Acting? I don't get it."


Stevie- (looking a bit shifty)
"Yeah, acting. You know how the biz is. Whatever, eat your tofurkey, muscles."

Seth chased Anna into the stairwell, and called out to her.

Seth-
"Anna, please...! Stop..!"


Anna-
"NO! Don't think so!"


Seth-
"Come on! I'm not going to tell anyone, you think I want anyone to know
that about me either?"

He kept running down the stairs after her.

Anna-
"What about fucking Stevie?! I'm getting the fuck out of here!!"


Seth-
"He's just a dumbass! He's not going to tell, I already chewed his ass out
for the stupid nickname shit!"


Anna-
"GRRR!!!"

She stopped, and turned around, pointing a finger as if it could blast a hole
in Seth's chest, giving him pause.

Anna-
"Tell me why I shouldn't get the fuck out of here!"

Seth held his hands out in a calming gesture, but looked quite anxious himself.

Seth-
"Listen, I got the same problem as you. I don't want anyone to know about
that either. This is a safe place though, that's why you guys came here right?
I will throw Stevie out a window if he fucks up, believe me. He's not a bad guy
he's just a dummy. Plus, this sounds stupid, but I don't know anybody here
besides you and him. I wanna make this a safe place, I really do."


Anna-
"If I leave on a bicycle, the world is my goddamn oyster. I could live off the
fat of the land forever. In here, looking out for people is just gonna hold me back."


Seth-
"Who's going to watch for you when you're sleeping? --and there ain't
a whole lot of fat in a day or two, all the food's spoiling. We don't know what's
going to happen, and what if tonight's worse? "


Anna-
*angry groan* "You don't think I could make it? Screw you man."


Seth-
"Come on, you've seen how many monsters there are. Don't tell me you
got here all by yourself either. "


Anna-
"I wouldn't be here if Squint Eastwood hadn't talked me into it. Fuck it...
But if it blows up, I'm out."

Seth sighed, and nodded.

Seth-
"Okay. It would be nice for at least one person to be calling me my actual name
anyway... if you remember it."


Anna-
"Ss...seth, right?"


Seth-
"Yeah, thanks. Nice to hear it."

He laughed wearily, and wiped his forehead.

Anna-
*Shook her head and sighed*" Get out of here... "

They went back to the sixth floor.

Anna walked through the Comm Center looking for a corner to sink into.
Jackson called out to her, then went to her.

Jackson-
"Anna! Anna, are you-?"

He caught up to her and spoke more quietly.

Jackson-
"You don't have to say anything about anything, I just want to
see you OK."


Anna-
"Ha. Right about now, that's a damn laugh."


Jackson-
"Whatever you want. I'll do a handstand. I don't know how to say this without
sounding cheesy or creepy, but you're the coolest person I've met since this started,
just really intense. I don't want to see you get in trouble."


Anna-
"Easy there, man, I ain't going anywhere yet."

Stevie saw "Snake" on the way back in.

Stevie-
"Hey, eh, Seth, come over here... I guess no talking about work, huh?
Fuck it, whatever you guys want. You know me."

Seth returned, to talk quietly with Stevie for a moment. He looked a bit exhausted, but relieved.
He went to get another plate of food and ate it like he hadn't eaten in three days, even though
he'd just finished a plate of food five minutes ago.


Seth seemed recovered from whatever scene had happened, and started making the rounds
greeting the new people. He chatted with Kaito for a couple minutes and then came by to say
hello to Sonya, Sandy and Ben.

Seth-
"Hi everyone, do you like the food?"


Sonya-
"Yes! It's very nice, thank you. We really appreciate."


Seth-
"Oh no problem, it's all going to go bad anyway. We might as well get our energy up now,
'cause there's a lot of work ahead. What do you guys do for a living?"


Sonya-
"Sandy and I work at Daiso, is a Japanese dollar store. Like Kaito does.
I am in school for engineer."


Seth -
"Wow! What kind of engineer?"


Sonya-
"Electrical engineering. I am in senior year... or... I guess I was."


Seth-
"Oh man, we could really use your help sometime. We have an idea--
if the power doesn't go back on, maybe we can make something that we can use to
power small electrical devices like phones."


Sonya-
"Oh yes, with kinetic energy. Like hand cranks. I could do this."

Seth smiled broadly.

Seth -
"Amazing! We'll have to talk more...?"


Sonya-
"I am Sonya. Thank you Mr. Snake."


Seth-
"Haha, um, "Seth." Thank you. -and you?"


Sandy-
"Sandy. Yeah I work at Daiso too. Nothing cool otherwise like Sonya, just an indolent hipster.
Former art student, current... uh, layabout."


Seth-
"Don't worry, I spent all my time on baseball and I didn't use that skill after college until yesterday."


Sandy -
"So are you like the boss here?"


Seth-
"No, actually we're going to have a vote a little later. I don't really see why, but some people
think we should have an official leader."


Sandy-
"Yeah, I hope we don't get ruled by some fucking pig or something."


Seth-
"We don't have any police here... (did he just mutter 'thankfully?') So how about you there,
you must be the warrior of the group?"

Seth smiled at Ben.

Ben-
"Well, I have been taking Kendo lessons, and happened to have my armour in the car.
But I'm not much of a fighter. Armour is a life-saver though,"
Ben replied, pulling up his left-hand kote arm guard from his belt and showing the teeth-marks.


"I'm actually a programmer, and I guess if we can get some electricity going,
that could actually be of some use. Maybe. If we need something programmed..."

                He smiled at Sonya. Not only did she have a useful skill, but it was one that could make his
own skills useful, despite the apocalypse. It was like they were made for each other! Or rather,
as if she was made for him. That wasn't quite as nice, but still pretty good. If it was true. But Ben
didn't feel too confident about the whole situation.

                Then he quickly realised that he should introduce himself as well.

 "Oh yeah, I'm Ben Hanson," he said, offering his hand to Seth. "I have an apartment on
the fifth floor."


Seth-
"Nice to meet you, Ben. I really hope more of the residents will come back,
I feel really bad breaking into people's places without their permission."

Depending on where one looked the light was dim or bright, with the areas not hit by the skylights
or shadowed by crowds going indistinct. There was too much noise and tension.

An ill-looking man was talking to a woman, interrupting the furious scribbling she was doing in a day planner.

The doctor fetched his own bag, digging out the supplies he needed. He gave Seth a look of revelation.

Dr. Victor-
"Maybe we should do this in a better location, hmm? Care to show us to someplace more appropriate?"


Seth-
"Hmm.. there's a kitchen back here. I'm afraid there's not many sanitary places,
but I think they've got a first aid kit in there. Once we get some things settled
we're going to start going through apartments looking for supplies."

Seth showed the doctor to the community center's kitchen, which was actually built like one
in a restaurant. Much larger than a residential kitchen, it had a variety of steel cutlery and
an over-large refrigerator and oven. It was relatively empty, and covered in white tile with
white counters. Seth poked around and found a blue plastic 'first aid kit' which had some
basic medical supplies.

Seth-
"Sorry, I think that's all we have for right now. We'll get you outfitted better soon.
That'd be on my top priorities."


Dr. Victor-
"This way, Volya. I think it'd be better if you just hopped onto the counter instead of trying to drag a chair."

Dr. Victor took the blue kit, giving it a discerning look, but nodded quickly.

"Thank you, Seth. This will be fine for now. I think... Yes! Just what I needed."

Seth left the doctor to his work, and exited the kitchen. He noticed Alex and Marie and smiled. He smiled a lot.

Seth-
"Hey champ, how's it going? What was your name again?"


Alex-
"It's Alex, Mr. Seth." He put out a hand to shake. "I know ... this might seem kind of trivial,
considering, but do you guys have a gym around here? Maybe some weights?"


Marie-
"Thanks, ahem..."No need for a gym. We've come up with a list of things to do
which will have everyone sweating blood by five o'clock."


Seth-
"Yeah, afraid we got a lot of lumpin' to do. We're going to start going through the rooms,
looking for useful items. Glad you're ready for some physical labor though, haha.
We'll need to move a lot of furniture by the end of the day, I'm sure. I know what you
mean though, I wish I had my jump rope with me..."


Marie-
"Actually, for now, could you help me in to see the doctor? My feet...."

Abdul came down from the roof with Patti. Thierry, a well-groomed physically fit
black man with a smooth demeanor, moved to replace him for the guard duty.

Abdul-
"Not yet my friend."

Thierry gave him a strange look. He noticed Patti's gun with distaste.

Abdul -
"We should begin the vote now, while everyone's together."


Thierry-
"If you insist." He spoke dryly with his smooth Euro accent.

Abdul began gathering people back into the community center.
Seth noticed what he was doing.

Seth-
"Yeah... the vote. Is everyone here?"


Abdul-
"Everyone is here, I am sure."


Seth-
"Susie's still downstairs. I don't see Bryce..."

Abdul looked exasperated as Seth sent some people to get the missing members.

Seth-
"So, we just have a raise of hands or something?"


Abdul-
"No, if we do things in this way, it will be only a popularity contest
and may not reflect the true merit of the candidate."


Seth-
"Oookay... That's good enough for America, but whatever. How else could we do it?"


Abdul-
"In an ideal circumstance a vote would be unnecessary, because democracy
is the last form of government you want when lives are on the line."


Stevie-
"What the hell man! Remember what country yer in, pal!"


Seth-
"Yeeah, might not bring that one up in front of the crowd..."


Abdul-
"*sigh* Nonetheless, whatever we can do to establish consensus would be the best.
Who can make the best case should be he who prevails."


Seth-
"Alright, how about whoever wants to run makes a 'proposal', and we show the proposals
without names on them. People vote for the one they like the best, and that person wins."


Abdul-
"That still favors the erudite, which is not necessarily a skill a strong leader requires,
but I suppose it will have to do."


Stevie-
"We gotta make sure the votes are public, so nobody stuffs the ballot box."


Abdul-
"That would intimidate people into not voting in a way they might perceive
is unpopular. It's unjust."


Seth-
"Okay, how about they write the vote on a piece of paper with their name, and we write
those up on the board. They won't know what the popular vote is until it's too late."


Abdul-
"You mean that names should not be attached to the proposals... Therefore all votes are
for anonymous candidates. I find that to be... as acceptable as it can be. Perhaps someone
should say something in favor of each proposal as well, on a volunteer basis."


Seth-
"Hmm.. maybe just particular people or everyone will assume the person who's talking is
the one who wrote it."


Abdul-
"Good point, but perhaps that's a risk worth taking. People may guess on the manner of speaking
as well, so it isn't exactly a blind test anyhow."


Seth-
"Hell, whatever. I thought a show of hands was fine, but let's see how it goes."

Seth got the crowd's attention, waving as the last stragglers arrived.

Seth-
"We're going to start the vote for leader. If anyone wants to run, come up here and
submit your 'proposal'. People will vote for the one they like the best."

Chantelle came upstairs with Susie and Bryce. Bryce had a small white object tucked behind his ear,
barely visible behind his hair. He also smelled weeded-out and had glassy red eyes.

Chantelle-
"Bryce, I can't believe you...!"


Bryce-
"What? I got this from a dispensary. I have a prescription, it helps balance me."


Chantelle-
"Really?"


Bryce-
"Yeah."


Chantelle-
"Maybe you should try like... meditation?"


Bryce-
"Not while I got medication."

Susie giggled. Kenny ran up to the late-comers.

Kenny-
"Whoa, wish I was where you guys were... This scene is dead. So to speak."

A buff young man waved them over.

Derek-
"Come on guys, we gotta vote! This shit is serious!"

As the group began to gather, setting up folding chairs or just sitting directly on the floor,
a stout black man spoke up.

Eddy-
"We're gonna do a vote, but there's no goddamn point in voting if we're planning
on leaving. Shouldn't we be asking who's even gonna bother staying first?"


Seth-
"That's true, people should be free to go as they please. Maybe we should just
go around and see who wants to stay before we continue."


Abdul-
"It's not safe out there, Eddy. It's just... madness to try to get out. Everybody tried to
do that at the same time, traffic is blocking every way out you could take."


Eddy-
"Not if I take a bike, rather go out there than be trapped here."


Stevie-
"Abdul's right, I mean those things is slow but... they're so goddamn many
of them."


Eddy-
"Yeah, perfect reason to not wait for them to fill up this building."


Seth-
"They haven't gotten in here yet... but I do think Eddy should be able to go if
he wants to. Anyone else too."


Thierry-
"I took a class on crowd dynamics in college, I think the large numbers might have
effects you're unprepared for if you try to leave."


Eddy-
"Whatever man. I'm gonna do what I'm gonna do. Anybody wants to come with me can."


Seth-
"Yeah, everyone get together here, and let's go around and see who's going to
stay or leave."

Ben-
"Oh, I'm staying."

He was pretty sure that most people would stay. At least most of the ones that had just
gotten there. But it didn't sound as if they'd just ask anyone who was leaving to speak up
and (maybe) join Eddy. Instead they were going to ask everyone? Oh well, it gave him
some more time to think things through.

He really wanted Patti to have a say in things, but even if she wrote up a proposal, there
was a chance that not enough people would go for it. So in order to increase the odds of
getting what he wanted, Ben figured that he had better write a proposal of his own.
It would also be a good way to get his view out to everyone, no matter who would end up
as the leader.

Everyone pulled up a chair or sat on the floor. Marie instructed some young guys to
pull over a large whiteboard for their use later. Seth stood, and posed the question.
People went around the circle, giving their answers.

Seth-
"Are you going to stay here, or go with Eddy?"


Thierry-
"Stay, it is the only thing that makes sense."


Sharma-
"I go! Dish is buersheet. Bee can dribe troo dose tings bery easy, why shtay
larked up in dish desh trop, bit a million zarmbies artshide?"


Thierry-
"Sharma! No! What are you thinking? Do you understand--"


Sharma-
"I arm not shtupard. Deesh zarmbies are shlow. I habe to go,
Erdy ish right."


Columbo-
"I stay! Are you fuckin' crazy man?! Sharma, you are an idiot!"


Floretta-
"Stay... Jaylyn needs somebody."


Chantelle + Zoe-
"Stay, of course! Zoe too." (Zoe nods)


Jaclyn-
"I'm going! You can't stop me. I can make it on my own."


Stevie-
"Are you nuts! You can't!"


Jaclyn-
"You just think I can't because I'm a woman! You don't say anything about
these men leaving!"


Stevie-
"Well...!! Somebody back me up here!"


Seth-
"She has the right to go Stevie. "

(Stevie slumped in his chair and looked miserable.)


Quentin-
"Me too, I'm leaving. I've participated in several bike-a-thons, it's not that hard."


Abdul-Rahman-
"I will stay, I don't even see why this is being posed as an option! It's suicide..."


Kerry-
"I will stay."


Daniel-
"...I'm not going out there..."


Susie-
"Stay!"


Kenny-
"Stay, all the fuckin' way."


Derek-
"Stay! People here need protection."


Bryce-
"...Stay."


Seth-
"Staying, of course."


Stevie-
"C'mon, we know there's only one sane choice right now. Stay here and outta
the zombie's mouths. What? It's true..."


Marie-
"Stay."


Davin-
"Sandy and Rex need me!"



Sandy-
"Aw, you worried about me?"


Davin-
"--Uh, sure, you too."



Peg-
"Stay, but only until we get the means to go look for our family!"


Jonah-
"Same as Peg."


Eddy-
"You know what I think."


Lilla-
"I'm staying for all these cutie-patooties! Haha...
You know who you are. *wink*"


Lashonda-
"...Stay I guess."


Ione-
"I'm staying for sure!"


Volya-
"Eh, I guess I stick around."


Hector-
"I dunno. I dunno right now. I'll keep thinking."


Anna-
"Just for the moment I'll be here."


Jackson-
"I'm going wherever Anna goes, so I'm here."


Tyrone-
"Hmm... I'll stay here for now."


Luke-
"I don't want to go!! Please!"


Seth-
"Calm down sir, you don't have to leave."


Luke-
"...Oh okay."


Basil-
"Mmm yes I must stay here to comfort those in need."


Sonya-
"I stay here."


Sandy-
"Yeah I seen it out there. I'm staying."


Kaito-
"I will stay with Sandy and Sonya."


Sarah-
"I'll go where Nat goes, but if he lets me pick, I'm staying."



"I-I don't want to go out there again."


"I’m staying," Alex called out. "And you guys who wanta leave better travel 
together. Please. If you got families who need you, stay alive for them."

He wondered if any clergymen resided among the group. Nobody wore a clerical collar
or garb, unfortunately, but perhaps Alex was overlooking someone. Maybe he'd ask,
once the proposals were read.


The good doctor turned a small penny over his knuckles absently. Counting the
number of people staying was causing more anxiety to well up inside him.
Retracting his lips, he spoke in a calm voice.

"I'm staying. I don't think any more running is going to solve anything. Certainly
cant outrun the ones who float or cause immobility with their looks. I suppose it is
human nature to pick fight or flight. I'm just sick of running.

"We stand a better chance in a localized area where we can learn what is truly going on.
Simply because there is no electricity or even possible government assistance does not
mean science and rational thinking have died out as well. We all can contribute to
ending this problem; anyone who runs is only going to add to the cause.

"We are not primitive beasts simply because society has fallen. I was reminded awhile ago
by someone that we are all human beings. Let's start acting like them instead of
succumbing to our antediluvian fears."


Seth-
"Okay then, so looks like the people who are planning to leave are Jaclyn,
Sharma, Eddy and you there, still thinking it over?"


Hector-
"I guess I'll stay for right now. I don't know..."


Eddy-
"You two, let's go talk."

Some pleading looks were cast to the vacating party, but they were for naught.
The three left the room to discuss the future.

Seth-
"Well then, the rest of us plan to stick together. Some want to have an official leader,
so we're going to do a vote. People who want to run have created a 'proposal', and we'll
present them to you with no names attached. Marie will read the proposals, and after
she's finished there will be a brief group discussion. Feel free to bring up the merits
or problems. After they've all been read, write your name and your vote on a slip of paper
and hand them to Zoe."

Zoe stoically held up an empty ice bucket.

Derek -
"That's crap! People should get to know who they're voting for!"

Seth shrugged and glanced to Abdul.

Abdul-Rahman-
"It is the only way, we must do this."


Seth-
Well let's go ahead then... Marie?

Seth took a seat, and Marie hobbled over with some assistance.
She stood in front of the whiteboard and pulled a folded piece of paper out of her pocket.

Marie-
"Ahem. Prop 1:

'We need order. It is obvious, when one reflects, that when the leadership is unclear,
all suffer. When two ideas for action are presented, knowing who to follow saves times,
time that can save lives.

We need a military style commander, to use strategy and leadership to shepherd us
through these dark times. It is important to create and enforce laws, without law
people become unruly and dangerous. Humans are possibly the biggest threat to us all,
and this danger should not be overlooked. Once the building has been properly secured,
I propose we expand, taking the fight to our enemy."




Derek-
"Just fyi-- That's not mine."


Marie-
"Let's refrain from speculation, thank you. Comments on this proposal?"


Anna-
"To quote Jack Black, that's major fascist crap."


Thierry-
"I may agree with your sentiment, but we should be respectful so as to not shame
anyone for voting their conscience. It's the only fair thing to do."


Anna-
"Meh."


Marie-
"We don't want to out the person who wrote this, obviously, but does anyone
want to speak out in favor of this proposal?"


Davin-
"Seems to address an issue that needs addressing and I can imagine others will
fall short on. Sometimes law enforcement is needed. People may balk at that,
but imagine what your life would have been like if criminals could roam the streets
with no fear of police. Not sure I'll vote for it, but it's a reasonable start.

To improve on it, I'd say it could use some mention of how the 'laws which must
be created' would be written not to impinge on personal liberty overmuch."

Alex raised his hand after Davin said his piece and asked, "What does this person mean by
enemy? How are we supposed to fight demons?"

Davin-
"That's also a bit weird. Hard to imagine waging war against... whatever the hell's
going on out there."


Stevie-
"Haha, funny you should ask, kid. If by demons you mean the possessed people,
we beat one of those. It ain't easy, but we didn't even need guns to do it."

Micah-
"Aren't you suggesting we're the fucking enemy there, so we should kill ourselves?
How the fuck does that work?"

Davin-
"Naw, in the proposal the writer says humans are possibly the greatest threat to us,
but I think you can safely infer that by 'enemy' this person is talking about the undead.
At least, I hope so."


Anna-
"Defeat all humans! The greatest threat. It's a proposal from a sleeper zombie."


Zoe-
"Two more swears. *sigh*"


LaShonda-
"Y'all are bein' pretty fuckin' ridiculous. It's a reasonable proposal.
You're makin' it sound like Mein Kampf."


Zoe-
"The swears just keep on comin'..."


Basil-
"A reasonable proposal you say? I can't wait to hear the one that paraphrases
'A Modest Proposal,' haha."



"Seriously folks, nobody's talking about throwing commies out the window here.
The 'enemy' obviously refers to any force that tries to hurt us. Zombies, ghosts,
mad-dog rapists, whatever." She paused before finishing her thought. "Not saying
I agree with the idea of going on the offensive, but let's give the proposal a fair
consideration on its face value, not whatever personal connotations we draw from it."



Tyrone-
"Hi Patti. Y' get some of this grub?"


Marie-
"Thank you Prop 1 writer. Proposal 2...

"If I was the leader, I'd make sure we had law and order. Like a line in the sand,
and across this line, you do not cross. 'Cause if we're in here for a long time, there's
gonna be law-breaking, and you know what we need. We gotta come up with a list
of rules, and everybody's on the same page. So we can find any bad guys, and they'll
KNOW they already screwed up because it's right there on the rules! We'll know
what the punishment is, and who's gonna carry it out.

Everybody gets an equal share too, and does the same amount of work. No slacking
off from lazy people and no eating all of our food if you're fat. We work together as
a team and know what to do, and what not to do. There's the line-- don't cross it."

So, comments? Concerns?"


Anna-
"Oh goody. More fascism, only this time with an amusing dash of stupid. Let's-"


Thierry-
"Please stop doing that madam."


Anna-
"Fine."


Volya-
"Sounds smart to me."


Columbo-
"...And the lady's case is made. NEXT! (quiet grumbling about 'eediots')"



Alex frowned when he caught wind of poor Zoe's comments. He raised his hand.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but I propose we stop cursing in front of children."


Seth-
"Yeah, let's try to keep it civil, please."

Thierry-
"Well, honestly, it isn't really covering some of the key issues. Punishment for
misdeeds may be important, but it certainly is not the only issue at stake.
The greatest cause of strife is poverty. If one had his or her needs met, he or she
should not have much cause to commit crime. The greater issue at hand is that
of safety, and simple needs like food and shelter."


Kenny-
"That's deep shit man, that's what I believe."


Zoe-
"*sigh*"


Bryce-
"I know kid. He's a salesman, not exactly the second coming of Socrates."


Kenny-
"wut"


Chantelle-
"Bryce, is this you being balanced?"


Bryce-
"Like a human fly."


Marie-
"Thank you Prop 2 writer. Now, Prop 3...

We work together to help each other out, and help rescue others. Everyone
works to their ability and we make this building a safe haven. People who
are sick, injured or disabled will be cared for. We will come up with a fair way
to share labor, to make things as simple as possible. Those that can, will go out
to find supplies and look for people in trouble, and hopefully find our loved ones.

Our ultimate goal is to find the cause of this disaster and how we can fix it.
Until then we try to bring safety and peace to our city. As a leader I would make
decisions with the help of a council, but all decisions are a group effort whenever
possible. If there is conflict, we deal with it on a case by case basis. Anyone is free
to leave at any time, for any reason. We have to stand together as humans with
compassion and understanding."

Comments?"


Sonya-
"That sounds good, but I don't understand every word..."


Sarah-
"It is good, Sonya!"


Columbo-
"Way to make informed decisions, ma'am, just listen to the tone of the words,
gentle and fluffy like a kitten's fluffy ass. This is for shit! Why don't we listen to
more proposals? NEXT!"


Thierry-
"Uh, not yet Columbo. I say it sounds very good, but one thing that seems a bit odd
is using ambiguous terms for the threat. I mean, someone has taken credit for
the attack. I shy away from speaking in militaristic terms, but the 'disaster' isn't going
to be 'fixed' so much as an enemy is going to be defeated."


Derek-
"I don't know about all that public defender talk, but it's obvious this guy is a wuss
that won't call a war a war. And people always start out talking about helping the
disabled, but then it turns into handouts for the lazy faster than you can say
"welfare check please!" Teach a man to fish already."


Thierry-
"Still, I find those most worried about the 'lazy' taking advantage tend to carelessly
harm the vulnerable. This is the first proposal to account for the reality of people
with differing needs."


Stevie-
"And the first proposal to not be cribbed from the Axis Powers!"


Anna-
*bit back a smirk*




"That all sounds reasonable, except the part about 'rescuing others.'" Patti used quotey fingers here. "If someone comes and asks for help, yeah, we should do that, but we shouldn't endanger ourselves needlessly running around this hellhole looking for people that may or may not even want our assistance."


Stevie-
Hey, anyone who doesn't wanna risk their ass can stay at home, that's fine.
But I'm gonna try to help people. If they don't want help, fine, but I'm gonna
let 'em tell me that to my face.


Daniel-
(seemed perturbed by the sound of Stevie's voice)


Peg-
"This is also the first to mention looking for family. That's a big deal to me.
I'm not staying if I don't have any hope of looking for my family."


Jonah-
(Nods in agreement.)


Tyrone-
(whispered to Patti) "Sounds smart to me, ma'am."

By the way Alex's eyes seemed to shine with admiration, it was clear that he wanted to
support the third plan, no matter who wrote it. He bristled when Derek called the guy
a "wuss" and started bashing "handouts". Of course, Alex felt compelled to speak up
(when doesn’t he?). In a tone that was only slightly holier-than-thou, he said,

Alex-
"Sir, this person doesn't sound like a wuss to me. Sounds like somebody who isn't
a selfish coward, actually. You want to call this a war? Call it a war against evil.
We won't win anything without compassion.”

Actually, his tone was VERY holier-than-thou.

Dr. Victor-
"Out of all the proposals I have heard, I truly appreciate this last one. Equal work is
important and working for our strengths is a must. I think its the only one that actually
addresses ENDING this plight, so why aren't we choosing this one? Hmm?

"I also think the weight of people wanting to find loved ones should be weighed by
the group. No one should be held down, but at the same time, no one should be volun-told
to go and rescue people. Scouting parties will be best. Communication is a must. But there
comes a time when reality must be accepted; unless we figure out WHY this is happening
and WHAT is causing it to spread, there is no real reason to 'rescue' people from one
situation into another, albeit slightly less, dangerous one."

Marie-
"Good points everyone, and thank you Prop 3 writer. Now, Prop 4...

"I was in FBLA and DECA, and everyone says I'm likable and a good leader.
Under my sound leadership, we can all get along and prosper. I'll use our synergy
to bring together those who don't see the ways we do. Eye to eye. When we master
ourselves, then we can master anything."

That one is nice because it is short. Comments?"


Micah-
"Uh huh, in English please? Sounds like a Star Trek nerd with a business degree."


Dr. Victor-
"I'm a doctor. I went through years of medical training. I know damned well that 
doesn't make me a leader. Future Business League of America. Nice! I was in the 
boy scouts, but they accept everyone. We should have put down personal neurosis 
on these things. It sounds like a megalomaniac to me."

The doctor leaned back, glancing at Sarah.

"Trust me. I'd know."

Sonya-
"I don't understand this..."


Kenny-
"If high school clubs are what counts, I'd rather have a football player,
or better yet, what's that sport with the sticks?"


Seth-
"Base...ball?"


Kenny-
"No no, the really big sticks with the little net thing on them? Not basketball,
smart asses. Oh never mind, the analogy is ruined now."


Bryce-
"I'm not sure if it ever counted as an analogy, or that it was ever not ruined..."


Dr. Victor-
"Lacrosse. It's a nativ- Bah, it's a violent game."


Kenny-
"YEAH! That's it. Oh man, that was gonna bother me all night.
Thanks man."


Bryce-
"What kind of violence happens in lacrosse? Do butterflies accidentally
get netted?"

Alex cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Doctor Victor, with a slight smile.



Alex-
It's a what?"


Marie-
"Well then. Thank you Prop 4 writer. Now, Prop 5... This one is a bit long
but it's got some good ideas.


"Unless we get killed, we will eventually run out of food and supplies. So we will
have to find resources and bring them here, or prepare to leave for a destination
where we can grow our own food and live off the land. In order to leave we would
have to become very good at killing lots of zombies.

Short term I think we should get settled and see what we can do about every little
thing that has now become a serious issue. Long term I think that we should prepare
to leave this place, or somehow make our life here sustainable. But as far as I know,
even the lowest vermin only thrives in the city because the city produces waste,
and without the vast amount of food that used to come in, there won't be a lot of
waste left for the rats, the seagulls and other animals we could catch for food.
Not unless they eat dead zombies, that is. And I'm not sure that it would be healthy
for us to indirectly eat zombies. And urban farming on the roof doesn't seem like
something that could feed this many people. Perhaps we'd stand a chance if we
could have free energy by chaining zombies to treadmills, but considering the
amount of zombies and treadmills we'd need, I don't see that as a solution for
anything major, like a dwindling food supply.

As for leadership, no one has all the answers, and even someone who has the
best answers might not be the best leader. I don't want to live in someone else's
petty dictatorship, and I don't believe in making rules before they are needed.
And while we can't have a direct democracy vote on every little thing, we should
be able to have someone list every decision that is made, put those decisions on
a piece of paper here in the community center, and if a lot of people disagree with
something, call for a discussion and a vote on that issue. And if the vote is really
close, that might call for a compromise, if possible. I hope that we'll be able to
focus on all the things we agree on, instead of focusing on our differences."


I'm not sure if that person is just offering a suggestion for how things should be,
or actually does want to be leader. I suppose we'll let her or him explain themselves
if they win.

Comments?"

Seth-
"This person seems really smart. Like you Marie, I'm not sure if they want to be leader or just
have a lot of ideas. I like that they're thinking about how we're gonna get energy, and what
happens when food runs out. Whoever it is, I think this person should be on some kind of
council at least. Dunno how they'd be as leader but yeah, real smart."



Dr. Victor let out a guffaw at Marie's latest proposal.

"I swear, I did NOT put that proposal forward. But, if the person would show
themselves, I'd give them a hug. Or slap them. Or both."


Kaito-
"I like this one... I think it proposes a secretary rather than a president,
and that seems good."


Sandy-
"I disagree with that, but whoever wrote this... I think she'd be a good secretary
for the president."


Kenny-
"At least the zombies on treadmills thing is hella funny."


Bryce-
"True that. I wonder who wrote this one?"


Marie-
"Thank you Prop 5 writer. Now, Prop 6.

"If we want to survive this insanity, we need to stick together, carry our own
weight, and help each other out. If we're all running around, doing our own
things, then nobody is watching anyone else's back. That needs to stop. I know
a lot of us don't take well to authority, but anarchy is weakness when you have
a strong adversary. This is not a time to be alone. We all need to respect each
other's boundaries and positions, even if we don't agree with them.

I'm certainly not advocating autocratic rule, in fact, if I had the misfortune of
being elected I would form a committee of qualified advisors to help form the
best ideas that optimally meet the needs of the community.

As for long term plans, I honestly believe that staying here is a very bad idea.
Food and water will only last so long and there's no telling how quickly this city
will become overrun. We're approaching the driest part of the year here and we
only have so much rooftop to gather water from.No, long term, we need to think
strongly about getting as far from major cities as possible. We need to
appropriate supplies that are vital to survival and get out of Dodge.

In the meantime, I would agree with staying here for a few days, maybe even
a week or two, but we need to NOT get comfortable. This building should only be
a temporary position to gather our strength and prepare for a potentially long trip.

While we're here, we need to fortify the lobby as much as possible, secure the windows
and roof as best we can, and set up a rotating guard shift. We should keep ourselves
on one or two floors, tops, so we can quickly warn everyone in case of an emergency.
Further details can be discussed at a later time."



This person expresses a lack of desire to win, so I will be curious what will happen if
he or she does. How intriguing.

Comments?"


Thierry-
"This is good because while this person is clearly in the grip of mortal panic, it reminds us
to take the threat seriously. Actually, I suspect this is from one of our new arrivals,
because we went through some of the specifics - food water and so on - and figured that
we can indeed stay here for a long time if necessary. Further, we determined that any trek
out of the city now would certainly cost more lives than staying. I dearly hope my friend
Sharma reconsiders, but I can understand wanting to reach your family in a time like this.
Well, that is my thought on the matter."


Davin-
"Who is this 'we' that determined all that, sir?"


Thierry-
"Chantelle, Marie, Seth, Stevie, and myself... Our combination of knowledge in disparate
fields allowed us to determine that we can provide water and basic nourishment,
though unappetizing, to far more people than we currently have. Further, by gradually
annexing nearby buildings, we can get even more resources, and that the zombie
population will certainly dwindle dramatically with time. You can look at the notes
yourself, though they're a bit rough at present. We'll formalize the report and put it
on the wall in a little while."


Bryce-
"Wow. You cats have been busy."


Seth-
"Some ideas I like out of this are that we should stick together, and that we should
consider how long we want to stay. I think we should stay until we have this place
as secure as it can be, so people can use this as a fort-- We don't know when help will
arrive, or if it ever is going to arrive. However, we should plan on moving in the future,
when it is safe. Who knows how long that will be though.

It will be good to secure nearby buildings as soon as we can, in case we ever do need
to evacuate."


Marie-
"Returning for the moment to the proposal, if we can, does anyone want to
promote it or critique it?"


Davin-
"With respect, I don't think your 'dwindling zombies' scenario accounts for
the source of the bastards - there are other things out there killing people, and any
security plan needs to account for that. As far as I know, there is no way to defeat
a ghost. All you can do is run. What happens when those get in here? I'm not ready
to run, but it might be a good idea at the end of it all."


Thierry-
"A vote in favor?"


Davin-
"Maybe. I'm thinking about it."


Alex-
"Uh, about those other things ... you guys said you defeated a possessed person. How?
When we met one of those, she flung me and Dr. Victor across the room like we weighed
nothing. And that was after freezing us."

He glanced down. Should he tell them about
the voices he heard, and how close he'd been to giving in and maybe becoming possessed
himself? It might be important, but he didn't want to be locked up and treated like a threat.

"Whoever we choose, I want to talk to the president about something, later."


Seth-
"Yeah, we can tell you more later. It took several of us, but we were able to interrogate
it a little bit. It pretended to be a normal woman for a while, but it went crazy and we...
well... yeah, more later."


Marie-
"Sounds like we're done with that one. Thank you Prop 6 writer.
Now, Prop 7.

"I believe we will be best served not by a single leader. The chances of
corruption would be too great, even in the best of circumstances and
strongest of characters; favoritism would be a greater burden in this
climate. If two persons of relative sound mind and disposition would
take the reigns, things could be just as solid as if with one leader.
As long as the group as a whole is maintained a priority, there will be
little room for debate in terms of actions.

If two people stepped up, it would be best. Prioritizing actions would be
able to be bounced off another individual; rational thinking would prevail.
People would be able to feel more secure with having two options to air
their grievances or bring issues to. This proposal is not written by a person
who desires to become a leader. As such, it is left open, and I will not name
the names of the two prospective leaders; but this proposal does have
specific people in mind; one male and one female.

Charismatic and driven with a good head. Cool under pressure, controlled,
and healthy.

Please make this sound better than it is."


Oh. I don't think I was supposed to-- Sorry. Anyway, comments?"


Abdul-
"Again with the proposals from those not seeking leadership. This vote will be more
complicated than code spaghetti and accomplish nothing."


Stevie-
"Fu-fff... Fudge it, it's what we got."


Zoe-
"Thank you!"


Marie-
"Comments? Anyone like to promote this one?"


Bryce-
"Are there really demons and zombies and stuff out there?"


Susie-
"Better believe it, sleeping beauty!"


Bryce-
"Damn that's weird. Hey, they should get a vote."


Chantelle-
"Less balance for you next time, young man."


Ione-
"Well since everyone thought mine was a laugh riot, I'll demonstrate my
rhetorical skills promoting this one. I think it's the first to propose a streamlined
compromise between dictatorship and anarchy, and the person who wrote it is
obviously very smart, and based on that I think their appointments to those
leadership positions will be well-considered and worthy."


Thierry-
"Well said, but I believe the truth is that it doesn't clearly differentiate where the
power of this oligarchy ends and the ability of the disempowered to 'air grievances'
or have freedom begins."


Ben-
"Having more than one leader sounds like a good idea to me. Unless those leaders
have strong opinions on how to run things, and are unwilling to compromise
when their opinions pull them in different directions."


Thierry-
"Another good point about that one, thank you."



Alex knew he shouldn't ask, but he was curious. To the intelligent young woman
(Ione), he said, "Laugh riot? Which one? I thought they were all pretty good."


IYW-
"Aww, thank you! That's really nice. I said-"


Marie-
"No speculating please! Let's obey the few rules we have at the
moment, OK?"


Ione-
"What's your name? I'm Ione."



"I'm Alex, Miss." He smiled back; it was his winning smile, the one with
the dimples. "You can tell me after the vote."


Marie-
"Ahem! Thank you writer of Prop 7, let's move on to our final proposal,
Prop 8. Ah good, this one seems short.

"No more shit like this. Everyone does the thing that makes sense.
It is always obvious. This is stupid. People in a group are stupid.
You are stupid.

Listen to me! Death is a rotten gray man with a hard-on for you.
I say, don't show him our pussy.

Thank you."


...Comments? Concerns?"


Columbo-
"This guy sounds like a sharpshooter! He cuts right through the sheet,
amirite? Yeah..."

He nods to the crowd, who stare at him blankly.

Alex gaped stupidly. Death had a raging WHAT? Alex made the sign of the cross
on his chest and glared at the odd little man.

He may have misinterpreted the glare.

Columbo- (shooting Alex the finger guns)
"Yeah..."


Ben-
"Yeeeaaah, I think the point of electing a leader is to counteract the fact
that people in a group are stupid. Right?"

                Ben wasn't surprised that the man received no support, but he kind of had a point.
So far there had been few disagreements, because indeed, it had been pretty obvious what
to do in most cases. But that would surely change once people got the time to sit around
and disagree with each other. Idle hands are the Devil's playthings, and that went for
idle minds as well.

Sonya- (quietly to Ben)
"Ben, no... He's strange man."

He'd almost been nodding off, when the last proposal was read out.
Micah broke out laughing, tears springing to his eyes. If the whole situation wasn't so fucking serious, he would have given the man his vote.
He wiped a tear from his eye and gave the odd man a thumbs up and a smirk.

"Best proposal of the lot mate!"


Bryce-
"It does address the heretofore neglected issue of the way in which
we display our collective vagina. I'm in."

Nat frowned a little at the last proposal, although he kept his thoughts to himself.
A few of the proposals seemed good to him, but he wasn't sure which he would vote for
in the end - and what if there was still another, more appealing one to come?

Nat planned to keep quiet until all of the proposals were voiced.

Sarah-
"Aw, it's OK, Nat... I think that's the last of it."


Sandy- (quietly to Sarah)
"I hope we don't have to live with that guy for long..."

The good doctor snickered, shaking his head.



Dr. Victor-
"And Sarah, I didn't make that one either."

Sarah- (continued to ignore Doc Vic...)


Davin- (laughing)
"Haha, hey doc. Which one did you write?
The treadmill zombie one?"


Marie-
"No speculation please!"

Marie-
"Well that was great fun everyone. Let's get to the voting. Zoe will pass around
slips of paper, please write your name and which prop you're voting for.
No discussion please, just give the slips to Zoe."


Susie-
"Why do we have to have our names on our votes?
That makes me uncomfortable..."


Marie-
"We don't want anyone crying voter fraud. Let's do this people."

Marie wrote on the board the prop numbers and a short reminder of what the prop was.

PROP 1 - Military style commander

PROP 2 - Line in the sand

PROP 3 - Rescue & Recovery - help others

PROP 4 - Synergy

PROP 5 - Zombies on treadmills

PROP 6 - Get out of Dodge

PROP 7 - Dual leaders

PROP 8 - Death has a hard-on



Dr. Victor-
"Not to be a nay-sayer but I want people to realize those who put forth propositions
for leader have all been voted out as a non-vote. It's like zero population growth.
This, then, in that respect, is left for a vote by people who have. I desire to become leaders.
Just tossing that out there. Unless the arguments made have swayed those with
heavy opinions, it truly is left to whoever made the best case in swaying the masses."



Kenny-
"Wut?"


Thierry-
"Perhaps he means to say that some that have proposed leaders that are not
themselves have split the vote? Some clarification would be helpful."

The doctor nodded.


Dr. Victor-
"Sort of. It's more like saying the writer of prop one will cancel out the vote
for the writer of prop two and so on and so forth."

Thierry-
"I see. Haha, though I suppose if they do not vote for themselves,
they may regret a loss by one vote!"


Ben-
"It would've been nice if we could have been able to rank each proposal
rather than split the votes on similar proposals," Ben said while thinking
about how to vote. "That way it would've been easier to vote for a general idea
rather than a specific proposal. But I guess it's too late for that now?"


Seth-
"Yeah I dunno why we didn't just do a raise of hands... *sigh*"


The doctor grinned at Davin.
"It's not my place to speculate on such obvious genius and ingenuity."


Davin-
"That's great, man. Zombies on treadmills. Ha.
There was a lot of good thinking in that one. It'll be interesting to keep addressing
those challenges and coming up with novel solutions. For example, to what extent
do we need electricity now? Fire isn't very efficient as a light source, but it's probably
best for us to be sleeping at night anyway...

Hell, I wonder if ghosts can see in the dark. Or zombies. Or how any of that shit is
possible at all.

Man, one minute I'm laughing and the next...."


Marie-
"Okay, I believe that's all of the votes. Well.. wait, Hector, are you going to vote?"


Hector-
"No... I don't know if I feel comfortable staying here so why bother..."


Marie-
"Well, alright. Now just to ensure complete transparancy, we will write on the board
every vote, and you can confirm that you are all marked down correctly."


Susie-
"What! Our names are going up there?"


Marie-
"Yes, no recriminations now... this is just to make sure no one complains later about fraud."

PROP 1 - Military style commander
Susie
Lashonda
Lilla
Abdul-Rahman

4 VOTES

PROP 2 - Line in the sand

Volya
Derek

2 VOTES

PROP 3 - Rescue & Recovery - help others

Sonya
Sarah
Anna
Jackson
Basil
Davin
Thierry
Chantelle
Kerry
Bryce
Seth
Stevie
Peg
Jonah
Alex
Nat

16 VOTES

PROP 4 - Synergy

0 VOTES

PROP 5 - Zombies on treadmills

Ione
Tyrone
Kaito
Floretta
Marie

5 VOTES

PROP 6 - Get out of Dodge

Ben
Daniel
Patti

3 VOTES

PROP 7 - Dual leaders

Dr. Victor
Micah
Kenny
Sandy


4 VOTES


PROP 8 - Death has a hard-on

Luke
Columbo

2 VOTES

Marie-
"This is all correct? If so, it seems that Prop 3 is the winner."


Jackson-
"Uh, Luke... Were you aware of what you were voting for?
The 'Death has a hard-on' thing...?"


Luke-
"What? It made sense. I mean, if Death has got a hard-on, I don't know,
I don't think we should show him-"


Anna-
"That's great Luke! I'm sorry you didn't win, but I'm sure everyone
will take that advice to heart."


Alex-
"Beati pacifi! Well, who wrote the winner?"


Chantelle-
"Think I have a notion, haha..."



Patti simply stood up slowly and walked into the kitchen.
Before anyone could find her in there, in this condition, she jumped to her feet and jogged to the stairwell and down towards the parking garage. She didn't belong here, but she wouldn't last five minutes alone. Where could she go? What could she do? Fuck!




The doctor slowly hung his head. Defeated because of a zombie on a treadmill. Patti brushed passed him, still smelling of saline perspiration and heat. Her increased body temperature sent a shockwave through him. He gave a sharp look to Micah and hollered loudly down the stairwell.

"Patti! Wait! Don't steal a perfectly good opportunity for an outburst of rage from me! Seth? A little assistance if you please?"

Dr . Victor plodded after the fleeing woman. Maybe she wouldn't have been th best choice for the female leader. I wasn't planning on sweating too much today.


Tyrone-
"Oh Patti, damn!" Tyrone joined Doc Vic in chasing down Patti.


Abdul-
"Dreadful. I mean this is foolishness. When our perimeters are breached and people are dying from a lack of decisive action, know I'll be available to set things right."


Thierry-
"If you're such a tactical genius, I hope that you will help us now. If you're not going to discuss your ideas with us because you don't feel comfortable without absolute control, I don't think it was a mistake to vote yours down. And yes, I think it's obvious which one that was."


Abdul-
"Of course I'll discuss plans with people. I'm not immoral. But the very notion of wasting time with discussion when orders would be more expedient illustrates the advantage of executive leadership."


Stevie-
"Jesus christ, It's hard not to start rippin' you a new one, but yeah.
We want everyone helping, so I'll stuff it."


Marie-
"Can we get the writer of the proposition in here? I'm guessing it was Seth. Does anyone...?"


Anna-
"On the balcony."

Sarah went out and called him in, coming back in herself afterward.


Marie-
"You wrote Proposition Three, Seth?"


Seth-
"Oh, uh, yeah I did." He smiled, looking just slightly overwhelmed.


Marie-
"I know you could use some time to compose yourself, but a few people are fairly upset
and could use reassurance. Is extemporaneous speaking one of your talents, or do you
need a few minutes to prepare something...?"

Patti entered the stairwell and moved down quickly, two stairs at a time. She rubbed her face with one hand, while keeping a tight grip on the railing to support her rapid descent.

>>GM

Seth had been out on the patio crunching on a bag of Bugles nervously, he still held it in his hand as he came out into the community center. He had won...? Well, he should be glad, but it sure felt strange. He didn't want to be in this position, why couldn't everything just work out naturally? The room seemed to be in a fit of chaos, and it was his job to straighten it out now. Ugh. Get it together, it's just like being team captain but the team is... really... really big.. and full of strangers...

He shook himself a bit and answered Marie.

Seth-
"No, I can talk now."

He cleared his throat, and sat down the chips, moving in front of the whiteboard to look at
the results for the first time. Wow! Really, that many people? A lot of people voted for
other people too though, if he thought of it that way.

Seth-
"Hi everyone," he glanced around the room, looking for friendly eyes to look into, to calm himself.

"I didn't really feel that a vote like this is necessary, but thank you for voting for me anyway. I know a lot of people voted for other options, and I want you to know that I really thought there was something good about... um, a lot of things that were said. I take everyone's opinion seriously.

We did so much yesterday, we kept this building safe, and we killed a terrifying and powerful creature. We learn more all the time, and I want to let you know that I truly believe we can overcome this terrible situation. Thierry mentioned that he found it strange that I didn't talk directly about the mummies, and said 'fix' the problem instead of defeating an enemy. I said that because while I want to defeat anyone who wants to hurt us, I don't know if that will be the way to put the world right again. The dead get up and attack, if we kill the mummies, will that fix that problem too? Will ghosts stop being born? I don't know. We will find out, and I know we can do it together!

We're going to figure out how to make this building safe, healthy and comfortable for everyone. We found a doctor this morning, and we're going to set up a clinic. We're going to work to find different power sources, and ways of getting food and water. We have enough food in this building to last us at least a week, and we have every tub and sink full of clean water, as well as water collection on the roof. Today you will get a room to share with whoever you choose, so I hope things can begin to feel as close to comfortable as is possible all things considered.

We have a lot of work today, and I think we should get to it. We can talk more about plans for the future, but we should work while it's still light outside. I'll ask some of you to form a council with me, and we'll have another meeting tonight. I can answer some questions, but let's not spend too long right now, please."

Marie gestured for Seth to help her up, which he did, and she assumed the floor.

Marie-
"The first order of business is to get our people back in the bottom of the north stair so
they can answer the door for survivors. Who is up?"


Kenny-
"Me and ... Bryce? How about it, sleeping beauty?"


Bryce-
"Haha. Why me?"


Kenny-
"I wanna find out what you were on last night, haha."


Bryce-
"Hell, why not?"

Marie nodded and they took one of the radios, heading downstairs. A "lowbatt" tone sounded from it.

Marie-
"Next the roof top guy, and if someone can figure out a way to charge these radios,
or a low-tech way to communicate from the roof to the bottom of the north stair,
we're going to need it quick."


Sonya-
"I can do! Show me the charger, please."


Stevie-
"That's great, baby! They're over here..." (He showed her to an area near the whiteboard
that was piled with boxes and miscellaneous items, and they took the charger stands
aside to examine.)

Marie was reading from her planner, getting volunteers for a great number of tasks to help with survival and setting the place up for zompocalypse-styled living. Eventually she came to an item of personal interest to Davin and Ben.

Marie-
"The people who live in these apartments, let us know which apartments are yours, so we don't pillage them without your permission. We need to gather any supplies we can from apartments, like we already did by filling your tubs with water and raiding your kitchens, and we don't want to violate your privacy any worse than we already have. By the way, sorry about that."


Davin-
"I didn't even notice the tub. But yeah, I feel a little weird about my place being raided."


Marie-
"Again, sorry, and from here on if anyone wants to keep their room to their self,
I understand. But you will need a roommate, in case of emergencies. Again,
we can't force you, but consider it before we go to sleep tonight.

Now who lives here?"

Davin, Susie, Thierry, Derek, Daniel, and little Zoe came forward. Stevie waved a hand to
indicate he was in, but kept working with Sonya on the chargers.

And on things went...

Seth-
"Strong guys and gals! Over here!"

Seth waved over any burly or semi-burly sorts.

Seth-
"We gotta get the alley and the back entrance more safe. It's a skinny little thing,
and the zombies mostly don't notice it, but when they do, it ain't great. There's a
big dumpster out there, we push it as far as we can one way. If we gotta retreat
inside a bit until it cools off, we do, and then we block the other side.

There's some cars out there, if we can bust the windows, put 'em in neutral and push,
we got road blocks for the other side. People can Dukes of Hazard over the top of them,
or open the door and climb through, but zombies aren't agile or smart enough to do it quick.
This'll all just be temporary, just until we can put up a fence or something else more civilized...."

So it went, and he gathered volunteers to go downstairs.

Alex will volunteer to help Seth and the other burly sorts with the work outside. He'll act like a weirdo and stare at the new president as they work, as if itching to say something, but afraid to speak up.

Alex, check out the back alley thread

                When he heard that they were storing water in tubs and sinks, Ben got worried. So when he pointed out which apartment was his, he decided to voice those concerns.

                "Doesn't water spoil if you just leave it in an open container? Doesn't it get filled with bacteria and crap? I've heard that the grog that sailors drank back in the day was actually watered down beer, because the alcohol would prevent bacteria from growing. So if we're going to drink that water, or use it for cleaning wounds, we should probably use all the alcohol we can get to keep the water from going bad."

                "Or did you use plastic wrap to cover the sinks and tubs? That would also prevent the water from slowly evaporating."

                As for helping out, Ben figured he should first get a look at his apartment, remove his armour and store his stuff in there. He thought he might regret that later, but figured that if zombies struck, he'd still have time to go back there and prepare before they reached him.
                Once he was ready to go to work, he joined the people going through apartments looking for supplies.

Marie-
"We've considered the spoiling & obviously boiling the water or using a small amount of chlorine in it can help with that, but I don't think we'd thought about evaporation. Thanks for your input, again. I'll make a note of it here and see if we can come up with something."

>>GM

Eddy Buck, Sharma Bari, Jaclyn Stephenson, and Quentin Pozzi came out of an empty apartment
near the Comm Center. They approached Marie and the remaining people.

Eddy-
"Marie. Who won?"


Marie-
"Seth... Snake. Anyway, he's already doing some work. You'll probably see him on the way out."


Eddy-
"Just like that, huh?"


Marie-
"Of course not. Just let any of us know if you need something. I bet most people will help you
automatically, but if someone gives you grief, just remind them that you're taking a big risk
and they should respect that."


Sharma-
"Dank you Marrey. I horp to shee you agarn."


Marie-
"That's sweet. I really hope it's easier out there than it looks."


Jaclyn-
"Just worry about yourselves, in the heart of Zombietown."


Marie-
"Believe me, I am. Oh, I need to let you know everything we've been able to find out
about the enemy, in case you run into something like a ghost..."

Marie transcribed her notes onto a paper for them, explaining things verbally as well before seeing them off.

Marie-
"Good luck, again."


Eddy-
"Same for you, like Jackie said."


Quentin-
"Anything I leave in my apartment you guys can keep. My old life seems a bit shallow now."


Marie-
"Your name is Quentin, right? I want to make sure I remember you guys well.
Even if things go well for all concerned, we're not likely to see each other again."


Quentin-
"It's been real."

>>GM

On the other side, the pushers saw an amusing/disturbing sight. The zombies approached the dumpster from the other side, but then backed from it slowly, apparently not wanting to get crushed as it came towards them. They stood watching, with their blank, unfocused eyes.

Derek-
"Haha! Crushy death coming for you, you fucking pricks!" He sounded oddly desperate,
like this type of activity was really beginning to wear on him, but he didn't want to admit it.


Jackson-
"Wow! This is crazy! Look at 'em go!"

>>GM


A shockingly skeletonized zombie was the first to appear in line of sight, its upper body somehow devoid of most of its flesh, its face looked like it wore a red ski mask. The lower half was wearing a black skirt and torn pantyhose. Seth made horrified expression, but stepped right ahead, and struck it with a powerful swing.
Its head stretched at the neck muscles and came part way loose, as it continued staggering forward for just a moment, and fell with a wet slap to the concrete.

Seth-
"GAWD! GROSS!"


Davin-
"Jesus fucking christ!" He was more shocked by Seth's zombie than anything
coming his direction. He kicked a short, broad lady zombie back a few paces
while he gathered his wits, then crushed it down with an overhand blow as it came back.


Thierry-
"Try not to think about it - just do it."


Davin-
"HOW?!"

Now five zombies came at the three men. They staggered, slow and cumbersome.
Davin quickly began to realize the average zombie was no threat to a human with
a stick that could see it coming.

Seth-
"I'd like to imagine it was just a video game, but it would help if they didn't LOOK at you. Ugh."

>>GM

Seth, Derek, Thierry, Davin, Alex and Jackson went outside for the dumpster duty.
The alley was thin and narrow, and completely deserted.

Jackson -
(in a near whisper) "Damn... where'd they all go?"

He was keenly aware of odd movements down the alley, but nothing seemed
to be taking note of them.


Seth-
(Quiet, but not as quiet) "Yeah, those things are too stupid to come down here
other than sheer accident or if they notice something. They forget what they're
doing and wander off."


Jackson-
"Huh. I guess we haven't had much time to figure out much about them.
Too busy running."


Seth-
"The ones that talk are the biggest problem. These guys are just like
flood waters we gotta sandbag out."

They approached a very large green dumpster, and Seth and Jackson fiddled with the wheels.
Indeed, zombies passed the alley uninterestedly as long as everyone held relatively still as they passed.

Seth-
"They're gonna like this though. Whoever wants to go to the end of the alley,
get ready to smack 'em back. I'm less buff than you fine specimens, so I'll go that way.
Heave-ho'ers, heave ho!"

Derek, Jackson and Alex (?) pushed the huge dumpster with a depressingly loud squawk.
Davin, Thierry and Seth ran to the end of the alley, waiting with their weapons. Seth used a
chipped golf club, Thierry had some comically exotic looking pole-arm that apparently was
actually useful.

Davin-
"I don't know about this plan." He was barely audible above the roar
of the dumpster over the concrete. "I have my reservations."

Zombies began to come into the alley, disturbing mockeries of the humans they once were,
bodies jerking as if in the grip of a bad drug.

Thierry-
"Use all of your strength. When they attack, strike to crush the skull
and any limb they put in the way."

Kenny and Bryce pulled up cinderblocks to sit on by the door, just as
Seth and company left to do their inscrutable mission outside.

Kenny-
"Good luck guys, just knock if you need in!"


Seth-
"Haha, well I'm sure we'll need in eventually. Thank you Kenny."

Kenny watched as they left, and made sure the door shut behind them,
pulling the chunk of wood through the handles firmly. Bryce sat idle, watching him.

Kenny-
"What'd ya think of that? "President Snake." Haha... we're really in an action movie now."


Bryce-
"For real."

They sat in peace a while, in the dull grey light filtering through the rolldown door of the garage.

Bryce-
"Did you really wanna know about my OD?"


Kenny-
"I mean, don't depress the shit out of me if it's like that, but...
was it accidental? Nah-- I guess that's pretty fuckin' nosy, isn't it.
I wouldn't blame you though, man. I mean, obviously that's
a big mistake but shit's fucked, bad."


Bryce-
"Yeah, yeah it was accidental... Semi-accidental. Um.. OK, it was about as
accidental as getting in a car wreck when you're driving 90."


Kenny-
"Oh yeah, I see. I mean, I drove 90 before, haha... Um.. So what happened?
You got saved by Mr. President? That's gotta be weird."


Bryce-
"Yeah... OK I don't really remember that part at all. I felt like there was some
kind of riot going on, and I expected to stop, but it just kept going.
Then there were people, and I had to go somewhere... and after that
I remember Susie talking a whole lot but I couldn't understand what
she was saying. I thought she was Russian."


Kenny-
"I had nights like that, haha... Well, what do you think about all this?
Pretty high tension, I ain't into it. I think it'll cool out though.
These new people are all high-strung but DAMN some hot ladies.
You see those cute Asians?"


Bryce-
"Oh... Oh yeah, they're just... peaches. Just.. the pips. The bee's knees."


Kenny-
"Ah come on. You only like white girls then?"


Bryce-
"Hahaha. Close."


Kenny-
"I dunno though. These new people... how many people are gonna come here? What if a total psycho gets in here? Fuck... Some of those props man, glad it was white Obama out there. Unless Snake's a secret psycho too. Ugh."


Bryce-
"Secret psycho. That's funny, should be the name of a movie."


Kenny-
"Yeah! Oh man. Movies. Are we gonna get to see movies again?"


Bryce-
"As long as there's liberty caps, I think we can make that happen."


Kenny-
"Maybe we can grow 'em out back..."

>>ALEX

Alex-
"Do you think they have anything left? I mean, anything left of the person? Like, uh, like personality or thoughts or ... Oh, God, don't kill anyone who looks like Mexican Nat. Y-you know Nat, right? Just don’t, please!"

Jackson-
"Man... you poor kid. I dunno man, I really don't think they have anything left."

Jackson spoke with a slight labor as they pushed the bin until it was scraping against the concrete walls.

Jackson-
"I think their spirit goes somewhere else. I think this is just the body,
being used by something evil. Like how Mary was. I bet Mary used to be
a normal woman, but her spirit is gone somewhere else."

>>GM

Somewhere behind Alex and the other pushers, someone wolf-whistled.

Anna-
"Hey tough dudes! Nice view I got here... if ya know what I mean! Haha..."

She casually walked over to the other side of the alley and watched Seth, Davin
and Thierry beating back zombies.

Seth hooked a business casual zombie by the back of his polo shirt, and tossed it to
Thierry, who jousted it through the neck with the point of his fancy looking pole-arm.
Davin just brutally crushed in the head of a middle-aged woman zombie, and it fell
face first to the asphalt.

Anna-
"Nice chops guys, mind if I join in?"

Seth glanced back for just a second and smiled.

Seth-
"Sure, come on in, Anna."


Anna-
"Don't go thinking we're best friends..."

>>ALEX

Alex-
*snort .... "Anna's pretty cool."

Jackson-
"Wow, I guess she patched things up with the president. Wonder what
that was all about in the first place..."

The noise of the dumpster was loud enough that Derek couldn't hear what
Jackson was saying on the other side of Alex. They jammed it at the end of
the alley, until it wouldn't budge as it hit a concrete angle. A very thin, veined
zombie arm swiped at them from behind, but it was hopeless to get anywhere
near them. If they pulled their bodies up over the edge a bit, they could look
over the top at dumbfounded and agitated zombies on the other side that
made strange gasping noises.

Jackson-
"Oh that's good enough for me."

Derek leapt up part way and flipped the bird to the zombies.

Derek-
"Fuck youuu and goodbye!"


Jackson-
"I'm sure they're terribly offended."

They turned around, watching Seth, Davin, Thierry and Anna wailing on zombies,
a small pile of corpses surrounding them. There was a small crowd of oncoming
zombies in the distance.

Jackson, Alex, and Derek started jogging toward the other group.

Kenny-
"Oh hey, you one of the new people? Yeah, the prez & some dudes are
blocking the alley."


Bryce-
"--and the little anarchist. She's probably eating chunks of zombies as we speak."


Kenny-
Dude! Groooossss!


Bryce-
"I'm not the one doing it!"

Patti could see through the very bottom of the closed mesh rolldown near the back door,
feet jogging back towards the building. She didn't hear any commotion though.

Alex-
"Anna, doing all right?"

Anna-
"Fine thanks."

She did an overhand swing with her rubber mallet, it collided with a thin woman zombie's face with a loud "TOK" and the zombie spun end over end to the cement.

Seth glanced back to see the other men were done with their work.

Seth-
"Great job guys. Maybe let's go back inside for a bit and let this cool off.
Then we can move the trucks."

The fighters fell back slowly, Anna almost seemed like she wasn't going to fall back at all.

Anna-
"Dudes! Get the door!"

Jackson reached the door first, and knocked. It opened, and he stood to the side,
holding it open for the oncoming warriors. Derek was in first, disappearing around
the concrete slab and down the steps.


Suddenly, there was a loud knocking at the door. Kenny scrambled to get up and get
the chunk of wood out of the the handle. Derek almost bowled him over running inside.

Kenny-
"Is it bad?!"


Derek
"God damn! God damn that was... hey bro."

Derek bent down, leaning on his knees and catching his breath. Davin jogged in next,
lightly misted with blood.

Davin-
"Hi Patti."

The others came in hurriedly, Anna hanging back to shove back zombies that attempted
to follow down the stairs. Jackson practically had to drag her inside.

Jackson and Derek held the door as Kenny put the wood block into place. It didn't seem
that difficult. Seth smiled and spoke up, he had a thin runner of blood going diagonally
across his face from jaw to forehead.

Seth-
"Great work guys! Let's catch a rest, and we can get out there and
move the trucks to do the other side in a few minutes."

There was a light scratching against the door.

Davin-
"*sigh* That's nasty work... Nasty. But they're not as scary as they were yesterday.
My problem's when we see those damn ghosts again"

Seth nodded.

Seth-
"We were lucky to not to see those last night. I'm glad you guys have
come around to tell us, I'm sure we can figure out a way to defeat them too."

Davin shook his head.

Davin-
"Bullets go right through them, I have NO idea what you're thinking."


Bryce-
"We'll give Pacman a super pellet."

Seth chuckled.

Seth-
"We figure out these zombies need their heads messed with, right?
So there's gotta be a way with these ghosts too, we just haven't figured it out."

The scratching on the door subsided.

Seth-
"Hey there's a water cooler in the lobby just upstairs,
feel free to go get a drink everyone."

He flopped on to the floor next to Bryce and Kenny, catching his breath.

Anna-
"Seth. I forgot... What did you do before we met?"


Seth-
"College baseball. English major. BA. Trying to get into the minors and failing.
Odd jobs. Bike courier for three months. Yawn. You?"


Anna-
"Art school."


Seth-
"That's right, I forgot. You a senior this year?"


Anna-
"No. Lucky too, or my show would be in like a month. That shit would suck
the suckiest of balls. Apocalypse before you get your stupid BFA? Damn.
Sucks to be them. But... I was just asking 'cause, I wanted to know where you
got your team spirit skills. I guess that was organized sports. Haha."


Seth-
"Yup. Team captain and everythin'."


Bryce-
"You're at least as qualified as dubya was."


Seth-
"Ha! Thanks for the non-pliment."


Bryce-
"You're welcome. There's just one thing we have to be sure of before your
dubya equivalency can be assessed, how well can you handle your coke?"


Seth-
"Ha. Not a problem unless I drink like, a 2 liter in one sitting."


Bryce-
"Nope, you fail. Guess we'll have to do the election again."


Kenny-
"Shouldn't be so rude, dude. Snake's got our backs."


Derek-
"Yeah, respect."

Seth wiped his face, smearing the blood trail even farther.

Seth-
"Ugh, yuck."


Bryce-
"Hey, don't you know your Socrates? The role of the gadfly is necessary
in maintaining the wisdom of a just society."


Kenny-
"Wow, that shit is deep."

>>PATTI

Patti-
"When you guys are ready again, I'll back you up. I'm gonna go get something.
I'll be down in a minute." Patti headed up the stairwell.

>>ALEX

Seth stretched on the floor a bit, Alex recognized the moves. He was probably just a contact hitter
with that build. Thierry came back with four small cups of water balanced.

Seth-
"Hey what's your favorite food everybody?"


Bryce-
"Oh man, do we really wanna talk about stuff we're never gonna eat again?"


Seth-
"Hey, don't think like that. I bet we'll get to eat anything we want eventually.
Maybe I'm just hungry, haha... Seriously though."


Bryce-
"If you insist, just to get it out of the way... Ice cream."


Derek-
"I can tell dude, haha!"


Seth-
"Ooh what flavor?"


Bryce-
"The high fat kind. Nyeeeah *he stuck his tongue out at Derek*"


Anna-
"I dunno if that goes with the spirit of the question,
I mean ice cream isn't really a food, it's a dessert, a whole different thing.
Everybody'd say ice cream."


Seth-
"Maybe Bryce REALLY likes ice cream. I like strawberry.
What do you like Anna?"


Anna-
"Hmm... Oh I'm lucky. Canned food. Black olives."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, you're Italian, right?"


Anna-
*stares* "Oh yes, that's totally racial."


Seth-
"I mean, that's like your family tradition or whatever?
Oh nevermind. Jackson?"


Jackson-
"Oh hm, watermelon. Not all the time, but y'know, when it's
time for a watermelon, it's awesome."


Seth-
"Aw yeah! In the summer... that sounds nice. Derek?"


Derek-
"This is mad elementary school man. Uh.. Fuck it. Steak."


Bryce-
"Overcompensating for something?"


Derek-
"I have no idea what you're talking about dude."


Seth-
"That's my favorite! I like any kind of meat... I'll eat a seagull if I have to."


Davin-
"Oh you'll have to. "

Seth glanced to Alex.

Seth-
"Oh yeah! I didn't really get to talk to you. 'Alex'?
Good job out there by the way. So, what do you like to eat?"

>>ALEX

Alex-
"Chocolate milk, but too much makes me sick. I mean ... Uh. I like Shirako."

Seth-
"Oh chocolate milk, yummy. I don't know what 'shirako' is,
is it like teriyaki?"


Derek-
"I think shirako is like... fish jizz, man..."


Seth-
"Fish have jizz? I thought they laid eggs."


Davin-
"Yeah they do, but it's all external. They just like, let it go in the water.
Big fish orgy."


Anna-
"Dude! Squinty! I thought you were the classy one."


Seth-
"But... Fish don't have penises, do they?"


Thierry-
"A penis wouldn't be required without intercourse. I would imagine
if they use some sort of stimulation, it's more like... tribadism."


Anna-
"Fish can't have tribadism, because they don't have legs. It's frottage."


Kenny-
"Holy crap! This is so depraved! I'm in a building full of sex freaks!"


Seth-
"Not sex 'freaks', people should be open about sexuality. Sex positivity!
Anyway... it's just fish. I don't think anyone has a fetish for that."


Bryce-
"Actually, Troy McClure did on the Simpsons."


Kenny-
"Man, I wonder if we'll ever get to the see the Simpsons again..."

Alex was relieved to see the conversation had moved on, with his reputation unscathed.

>>ALEX

Alex-
"If you ever miss the Simpsons, I can just about quote every episode from heart."


Anna-
"Eeeexcellent."

Anna tried to do a Mr. Burns impression.


Jackson-
"Sorry... that wasn't very good. Pretty cute though."


Anna-
"Oh, I always aim for cute. Ya bastid."

Seth turned back to Alex, standing up and stretching with the golf club behind his neck.


Seth-
"So what do you do, Alex? You a student around here?"

>>ALEX

"Ah, yeah. Seattle University. English. Baseball." He snickered again.
"But I want to be a fireman. You aren't a fireman, are you?"
Alex paused. Then, he asked, "And can you dance?"

>>GM

Seth-
"Haha. How about that! Nope, I am not a fireman. I can dance well enough
to not be laughed out of a club, but it is pretty dark in those places.
All the flashy lights too..."

Bryce got a funny look.

Bryce-
"Huh..."


Seth-
"Disappointed I wasn't on Soul Train, Bryce?"


Bryce-
"Soul Train? No.. that was before your time right, old timer?"


Seth-
"Oh yes, I'm totally 50 years old, lots of plastic surgery. Gosh."


Bryce-
"Hey um, Seth... What's your favorite band?"


Seth-
"Ohhh that's tough. I like a lot of stuff... Uh, don't laugh.
I love the Gaga. I'm not afraid to admit it, okay?!"


Bryce-
"Oh yeah, yeah... Lady Gaga..." *shifty look*


Kenny-
"Whoa, chicks gotta like that right? Seems like all the hipster boys are into Lady Gaga
when there's ladies standing nearby, haha."


Seth-
"Haha, maybe so. Hey what bands do you like, Bryce?"


Bryce-
"Hm. Lots of different kind of stuff. I have a soft spot for Slayer lately. "


Seth-
"What's that like?"


Bryce-
"Badass."


Anna-
"Eh, they're kinda boring."


Bryce-
"Depends on which drugs you've done."


Seth-
"Is that like heavy metal?"


Kenny-
"Aw man, why you gotta be so new Seth? Ya make me feel like a fossil."


Seth-
"Haha sorry. Bryce, are you a rocker?"


Bryce-
"I guess you could say that."


Thierry-
"I don't know, I hate to break this up but... do you think they've thinned out
enough for stage two?"


Seth-
"Oh yeah, probably so. I'll peek out there."

>>GM

Kenny opened the door, and Seth peered out, and slowly crept up the stairs.
He came back down about five seconds later.

Seth-
"Looks good to me. There's like one guy at the end of the alley but he didn't
even see me."


Thierry-
"Alright. Let's--"

The north stair door opened nearby. It was the expedition, the people on their way out.
Quentin, Jaclyn, Eddie and Sharma.

Thierry-
"Seth, perhaps we should put this on hold a moment longer."

Seth nodded.

Thierry-
"Eddy, are you four ready to leave, or do you need anything else?"


Eddy-
"No, we're good. We're just gonna take off."

He looked to the bicycle rack, and went towards it with some wire cutters.

Seth-
"The alley is pretty clear, we blocked the north end. Would you like us to
 clear an opening for you?"


Eddy-
"Oh that'd be swell."

Quentin unlocked his own bike, and looked back at Seth.

Quentin-
"Well, now you're the president huh? That's... just weird."


Seth-
*shrugged* President of one building... I feel hopeful though. I feel hopeful for you too."

Quentin didn't seem to know what to say. Jaclyn took a bike from Eddy, and turned to Seth.

Jaclyn-
"I know this is the best thing for us to do, but it's still good to hear that. Thanks."

Seth nodded.

Seth-
"Keep safe everyone. I guess we probably won't see each other again,
even if everything goes perfectly."


Eddy-
"That's what Marie was saying upstairs. It's true. Well, it's been real champ."


Anna-
"You're me in an alternate universe. I about 48% want to go with you."


Quentin-
"A quantum physics joke, haha. What is quantum-you going to do? Come with us?"


Anna-
"Mm.. no. I go it alone. I'm rough like that."

Thierry looked at Sharma very emotionally, and didn't say anything.
Sharma occasionally returned the look, and went back to sorting himself out. Finally...

Sharma-
"Vat Thierry?! Don't gib me dat lurk!"


Thierry-
"Stay alive old man."


Sharma-
"I bill! Gard."

Seth gestured for Davin and Thierry to come ahead with him to clear
the way for the bicyclists. Pretty much everybody left the garage except Bryce and Kenny.

Kenny closed the door behind the last bicyclist.

Bryce-
"Phew. Whatdya think? Are they fuckin' nuts? Or are we?"


Kenny-
"Both. Neither. Damn. What's the sane thing to do when
shit's totally insane? Beats me."


Bryce-
"...So you like Slayer?"

>>GM

Seth, Davin and Thierry moved to the end of the alley, dispatching the straggler
who still meandered around at the end. There was a vague moan from behind
this blocking dumpster at the other side, but the zombies had neither the climbing
 skills nor strength to overcome the obstacle. Quentin examined the bikes, and
advised Sharma on proper technique. Jaclyn looked nervously back at
the dumpster.

>>PATTI

"I'm the redneck. And a competitive shooter. The guns are in some bags in the community centre, with Hector. Take the camouflaged one with the clip on the stock that holds rounds. It can only hold two at a time, but it reloads quickly with that clip there. It takes the 12 gauge shells; you should take about forty or fifty rounds. The ammo isn't meant for taking down big game, so it will only be effective on a human skull at fairly close range, maybe twenty feet. I'm not gonna babysit you, I trust you'll only take as much as you need, you know we've got a lot of people to protect here. We can start making an opening here for you, while you get the gun."

The gun she described to him was the double barrel Citori, her least favorite for the purpose that lay ahead of them, but still effective.

>>GM

Jaclyn-
"I'll be faster than Eddy, but still not fast enough I think you guys
should start without me. I'll get it! What did it look like again?"

Jaclyn got the info and took off like a shot, not someone with a gravity issue like
burly Eddy. The alley outside was secured on one side by a dumpster, and as people
talked quietly and stayed close to the building, none of the few random zombies on
Harrison Street seemed to take note of them. Davin came jogging back from
dispatching one that had gone up the alley.

Thierry looked at the shotgun with distaste, but outside of anyone's notice.
Anna came up to Patti.

Anna-
"Wow. You've got mad guns. You think you'd ever try zombie bashing with sticks?
Might be easier on our ears. And save ammo."


Eddy-
"Don't annoy my gift horse in the mouth, if you please."

>>PATTI

"I'll take the suggestion under advisement. Ammo conservation is something we need to be careful with. We'll certainly need it more when we're leaving town than while we're here. That said, I don't plan on getting close enough to these things to get scratched or bitten, thank you very much."

>>GM

Seth walked back to take stock of the conversation, and take notice of the gun.
He didn't look overly shocked, but obviously chose his words carefully.

Seth-
"Hi, I don't think we met. Was it 'Patti?' If you don't want to get close, that's cool.
Maybe just hang back and if anyone needs any... uh, shooty help you can go ahead.
Probably don't wanna make any more noise than necessary though."

He nodded in an attempt to look reassuring, and continued back to the end of the alley.
He said to Thierry,

Seth-
"Oh yeah, wouldn't we need ear protection if we had guns? When I was a kid
and my dad made us go hunting, they always stuffed cotton balls in my ears
and they still hurt. I was like... 4, but still..."

Thierry-
"I wouldn't know Seth. Guns are illegal everywhere that I've lived for
more than two years."

Seth, Thierry and Davin made up the front as before, and went around the block
slightly to create a distraction for the bicyclists. Patti quickly moved out of the alley
and around to Westlake, horrified by the stupidity of this whole maneuver.
She stayed close to the building with the gun ready, safety off point down, watching
the fight.

There were about twenty zombies close enough to be a threat, and they instantly
began staggering toward the brash men. The guys ran to engage individual zombies,
not letting them cluster, and easily out-maneuvered them, also drawing them away
from the intersection with Harrison.

That was a less disturbing thing to see than the ripple effect. As soon as these zombies
began to move with purpose, zombies from farther away and farther still began
to notice. Hundreds more zombies a few blocks away began to shamble in their
direction.

Patti couldn't help but notice also that while the men were very effective at killing
the zombies, Davin and Thierry both sustained minor scratches.

The bicyclists emerged from the alley, waving at Patti and the others as they went.
As they rode away, Jaclyn jingled the little bike-bell and smiled.

Anna and Jackson ran out behind them and helped Seth and company finish off
the close zombies.

Seth-
"Hey, wanna move the cars anyway?"


Thierry-
"I suppose. So Derek volunteered his truck, but more than one vehicle
would be preferable, wouldn't it?"

The party fell back on Harrison, out of sight of the zombie hordes further away
on Westlake. Patti stayed facing Westlake, waiting for the hundreds to start
coming around the corner, not sure how long that would take.


Anna-
"Thanks for watching our backs Patti! We'll be quick."


Seth- To Thierry
"Yeah, check this one out..."

Seth jogged up Harrison a short way and pointed out a large Dodge minivan
with the back door hanging open. Davin stood near Patti with his weapon ready,
also a bit paranoid about the scene they'd made.

Davin-
"If you're gonna do it, do it already!"


Seth-
"Hey Anna, you're the lightest, wanna steer?"


Anna-
"Sure."

They ran over to the grey van, and Anna hopped in the back seat, climbing forward
to put the car in neutral. Derek and Alex got together and pushed, trusting the others
to take out any Terry Avenue zombies. Thierry and Seth ran around crushing a few
heads, but the zombies mostly moved out of the way of the car.

Alex & Derek pushed it into place in the alley, diagonally, but blocking the other end
for the most part, saving space for Derek's truck. Anna hopped out the passenger door,
on the alley-side.

Seth ran back to make sure they had things in order, and Davin joined Thierry near
Terry Ave, dissuading the gathering dead.

Patti saw a zombie stagger into view, but was somewhat relieved to see it shambling
as fast as it could in the direction the bicyclists went, ignoring her.

Anna-
"So ya just..."

Seth climbed through the back seat, from the outside, and opened the inner door
on the alley-side, hopping out.

Seth-
"Just like that."

>>GM

In time, between breaks and zombie bashings, they got Derek's pickup parked sidelong
beside the van, with only a minor scrape.

(That Derek had to flip about.)

They created a tunnel of cars, once could open one car door, and move through to the
driver's side, step out and and get in the other car and out the other side. (If one was of a
mind to, they could just jump on the hood and run across.)
The zombies could open the car doors if they really wanted to, so the inner car doors were
kept locked, because that particular requirement was beyond their minor cognitive capacity.

The alleyway was sufficiently blocked from view on both sides. The zombies could be seen
through the car windows, but if those in the alley spoke quietly, they went beneath notice.

Seth-
"Great work everyone! Now when we can, we can put a fence up, and move
the cars."


Anna-
"I'm really curious about this other building."

Anna gestured to the building that formed the other side to the alley.
It had a rolldown and two emergency exits. It had a bland, commercial design
and no readily apparent mark of distinction.

Anna-
"Imagine if we got that place cleared out, and lifted that rolldown.
It's not as tall as this place, but it'd really give us some room."


Seth-
"I like that kind of thinking! We should get in there as soon as we can.
It's a bit late today though, I think we should go inside and help."

Everyone was a little sweaty, but Thierry also looked emotionally exhausted.

Seth put an hand on his shoulder.

Seth-
"Hey, doing okay? Worried about Sharma?"


Thierry-
"And other elements. Don't worry. We'll talk about everything later."

Tyrone & Doc V moved on to the 6th floor, finding the meeting being set up. It was easy for Doc V to keep what he wanted and leave the rest in supplies without drawing attention.

Seth-
"Okay, let's go ahead and talk about ghosts. Who'd like to start?"


Sarah-
"I almost got killed by one. It's hard not to just freak out thinking about
those things, but my inner scientist tells me that we just have to try to get
 all the facts out without emotion. There's two different types of ghost,
there's these uh.. silent ones that glow and just look sad. They don't come
after you.

Then there's the dark ones, they don't glow as far as I could tell, they've got
these shadows all around them, and they try to touch people. Those ones,
if you look in their eyes, you'll be paralyzed. I think this happens to
everybody, it's not just a fear thing, there's something else to it. If they can
touch you, it's like they pull your soul out of your body, because right away
there's a ghost of you there, one of the .. sad ghosts and your body stays
there as a zombie. Just instant zombie status."

There was some concerned chatter.

Seth-
"So if you touch them you die. Now Davin said bullets go right through them.
Did it seem like they actually grabbed people then?"


Sarah-
"It's hard to say. It looked a bit like that."


Tyrone-
"Ah yeah, it's kinda weird. It's like... not like in the movies where they
just like transparent and then go through stuff like nothin'. It's like,
there's some kind of floaty liquid. When the bullets went in,
you could see a ripple, like it touched something. I remember that."


Seth-
"Can they go through walls?"


Sarah-
"Yes but for some reason, they don't. We saw one of the sad kind put its head
through a rolldown in the mall, but the dark ghosts just tended to go through
openings. I never actually saw one pass through something."


Stevie-
"Still, probably a safe assumption they can, given you saw the other kind do that."


Seth-
"It might be an explanation for why we haven't seen them though,
maybe they need an entrance to get in and we had all of the doors and
windows shut. Still like Stevie said, we should be cautious until
we can know these things for a fact. I wonder if in order to grab someone,
they become partially more substantial. If they can do that, I wonder
if they can be physically attacked at that time. We can discuss that more,
but what do you think would be the wise thing to do to avoid them?"


Sarah-
"The most obvious thing about them that could help tip people off,
especially in the dark, is the smell."


Seth-
"They smell?"


Thierry-
"This is starting to sound like they have a physical substance. An odor is
a molecule that touches scent receptors in your nose."


Sarah-
"Yeah, they smell very strongly... a kind of mushroom funk um...
but something else like a chemical, like nail polish remover or alcohol."


Seth-
"How bizarre... You can smell them before you see them?"


Sarah-
"Not always. I say for me about.. maybe fifteen feet."


Seth-
"That's useful information. So if someone was in a room where they smelled that,
they should wake up anyone, and run away?"


Sarah-
"Yeah, there doesn't seem to be anything for it. If they touch you, it's just over...
If they look at you, and you look back, it's over, but you can be distracted away
from it if someone covers your eyes. They usually move kind of slow, but they
can move fast. The only way we were able to survive them is to run away."


Seth-
"So what does this suggest to everyone?"


Sarah-
"Obviously we shouldn't go to sleep unless someone's watching out for
that stuff, until we know more."


Seth-
"So keep that in mind everyone, as we make our sleeping arrangements.
Does anyone else want to add a comment?"

>>DOCTOR VICTOR

Dr. Victor-
"I have seen what it was before it took over... er, well, killed someone. When things
started to go to a - when things took a turn down a- After seven pm yesterday,
I made my way onto the rooftop and I met Mr. Page, who was smoking. I thought it
was just an illusion or hysteria, but I saw a swarm, a dark, nasty, headshaped thing...
floating or flying through the air. It moved ever so slowly and was attracted
to people. Well, it was attracted to Mr. Page.

"As far as I could tell, it was silent... and I didn't ask Mr. Page if he had seen it because
I didn't think it was real. I'm sure he might not have even noticed it coming towards
him because it was flanking him, though I am unsure if that was it's- I mean, that is
what the black swarm intend- er, instinctive, er... I don't know if that is what the
 black swarm tried to accomplish. You'll have to forgive my lack of words because
I still am in the dark as to what it is or was or could be or..."

"There is something else I want to add. I have a theory, and I do not like what this
theory may or may not cause. Of all the victims, I noticed a pattern. Well, all but the
beat cop who drew down on Mary. They were all sick or had a weakened immune
system. I believe Mary may have been anemic or worse before she was afflicted.
I noticed that Doretta, I doubt I'm pronouncing that name right, was ill with some
malady as well as being diabetic.

"If there is a connection between a weakened immune system and these attacks,
it may mean we have a defense against them. Even more reason to go to that clinic
 and recover whatever we can. It is why I suggested quarantine when I mentioned
the flu. It is just a theory, but it may explain why an encounter Alex, a very healthy
and virile man, and myself had successfully avoided an untimely demise at the
hands of Mary."

The doctor kept his gaze lowered to the floor, his chin now resting on his chest. He sat down,
attempting to not crumple under the weight of his own words, a deep sigh escaping
regardless. He lifted his head to look at Micah and then back down to his horrible and
stained shoes. His expensive and now grotesque footwear almost made him want to cry.

Seth nodded to the Doctor sympathetically, assuming he was wrought with complex emotions for those lost.

Seth-
Excellent doctor, thank you. We'll have to take extensive notes about this, find out
everything about people who were possessed. We had assumed that Doretta was just
some kind of high-powered zombie who had pretended to be normal. This is more
serious than that, I see now. Perhaps if we can find out how this happens, we can learn
how it can be avoided or even cured.

I will tell you more privately at a later time. Now as for these ghosts, Sarah says it
 could happen to anyone. Eye contact and touch seem to be the keys. This other kind
 of ghost though, can they become the 'dark' kind? We'll have to find out more, there's
a lot left to learn.

Seth-
"Now I think it's a good time to talk about our sleeping situation.
It's probably a good idea to have at least one roommate. This apartment building
has 1-3 bedroom apartments, mostly two bedrooms. I'd like us to fill up
the 5th and 6th floor, and I think we should be able to do that. I'd recommend
choosing groups of at least 2, 3 preferably and 4 might be pushing it but possible.
Those who lived here before may consider moving up, or may stay in their own places
if they'd really prefer. Marie?"


Marie-
"Please come up here and write your names on the board as you form groups
of roommates, and we'll assign you to an appropriately sized room."

>>GM

Anna came up to Seth.

Anna-
"Hey, I think there's a hole in doc's theory about the possessed. Not that I have
a better idea, but I saw a cop get possessed who - as far as I could tell -
was perfectly healthy. At least until he said 'This flesh dies!' and blew his own brains out,
not that that stopped his wriggling... Ugh, anyway - Hole in theory. Whaddya think?"


Seth-
"Jesus Chri-- Wow. Wait-- 'This flesh dies,' damn!! Doretta said that too!"


Anna-
"Sonofabitch. Well... Crap. All these possessing freaks are getting their dialog
from the same source. But we don't really know how it happens. I don't think
Alex and the Doctor were saved by their health either. They were cut loose
when the cop shot at Mary, so it was more like they were saved by a distraction.
Though in defense of that idea, I don't know why she didn't possess them.
Maybe that was part of it."


Seth-
"Maybe they can only possess one person at a time. That guy had a gun,
and they didn't. They probably would focus on people with good weapons
so they could kill more people."


Anna-
"Because killing people turns them into zombies, and if the whole agenda was
genocide, that's it. Like direct orders from the Gutless Boy."


Seth-
"Gutless B-- oh the mummy kid. Yeah. Well, I don't know why our
Doretta got possessed, and not any of the strong dudes in there fighting her."


Anna-
"Again, how does this possession start in the first place? We weren't there for Mary's,
but we did see it happen to the cop. If somebody was riding around in your body,
you'd think they wouldn't be able to control their own body at the same time.
So why was Mary able to skitter around while the cop was doing stuff?"


Seth-
"Maybe it's just like making a new zombie, made a new... whatever they are."


Anna-
"I dunno. Oh my god... so, Doretta was somebody who lived in this
apartment building before the crap. If she was possessed the same way the cop was,
than that meant someone like Mary gave it to her, and you have another possessed
creep that's been in this building, that you didn't know about."


Seth-
"I don't know how that's possible. We locked all the doors right away,
and it happened in the middle of the night, no one came in or out..."


Anna-
"They can climb the walls and shit. Did she do that? Mary did."


Seth-
"Uh, only a little. She mostly just floated and tossed furniture around...
Her body parts crawled around..."

Anna held her head, cringing.

Seth-
"Yeah, not nice. I feel bad... I guess there's not any way to save her, she destroyed herself... 
but I hoped we could cure her or something. We got her tied up, she couldn't get away or
hurt anybody other than psychologically. Then... ugh. It was awful."


Anna-
"Mary talked to doc, I wonder if he can remember everything she said to him.
Maybe you put that together with what you heard from her, and figure something out."


Seth-
"Yeah, I'll have to get some good notes. There's gotta be something here...
it doesn't seem random, there's gotta be a trick to it."


Anna-
"Whelp, gotta find me a roomie..."


Seth-
"Hey maybe check with Susie, she's a nice lady, real chill."


Anna-
"Cool. See ya around chief."

Seth smiled, glad to hear the 'see ya around' part.

>>BEN

Ben-
"If those dark ghosts are some kind of gas or something, perhaps they could
be dispersed or destroyed with fire?" Ben suggested. "Maybe a torch on a ten foot pole?"

Seth-
*Seth blinked a few times* "Oh wow! That's a great idea, Ben was it? We'll have to
try that. Hey..."

He pulls Ben to the side for a moment.

Seth-
"I was thinking, would you like to be on my council? Did you write one of the proposals?
Whoever wrote the one about the treadmills, I thought I had to get that guy's smarts on my side.
What do you think?"


Ben-
"Oh, sure. Yeah, I wrote that proposal. I'd be happy to be of service."

Ben tried but failed to contain the happy smile of a student getting a gold star from his teacher.

Patti approached Seth. "I know nobody wants to acknowledge the utility of firearms here, but we've got three shotguns and four handguns that I think will contribute to a safer situation. At some point, you're going to have to decide what to do with them. I'm keeping one of each for my personal protection, and for the distinct possibility that I feel it necessary to leave."

Seth-
"Okay ma'am. Hm, how about we put them in the community center in the cupboards,
 and if we have some kind of attack in the building, we can go get them. Or if we go out
outside on a trip, we can take something.
I think it might be a bad idea for people to carry a gun, because of the threat of possession,
we don't want a possessed person to be armed and we don't know what causes possession yet.
I do appreciate it though, and you're free to do what you like of course."

She thought for a moment and added "It's not improbable that the zombie shit can be spread like a virus to the scratched and bitten, so you might want to keep a close eye on those people that paid the price for wading into melee with the things. Good luck, your highness."

Seth-
*looks slightly offended* "Uh, okay ma'am."

She approached Ben, who appeared to be hesitating to make a move with the Daiso girls. She guessed she could see how that might be awkward for a guy like him. "Hey, Ben. I know it's a little awkward rooming with someone of the opposite sex that you barely know, but I think you're one of the only people left here that trusts the gun nut enough to room with her. Unless you don't, in which case, I understand. How about it?"


Some looked like they might be about to form groups, or debating requirements.

Seth-
"I don't know Stevie, I think I'll be fine...


Stevie-
"No way! Seth... you yourself said it would be a good idea to have a roommate,
what 'bout the ghosts and shit?"


Seth-
"Uh... it's just... your place is so..."


Stevie-
"I know it's a mess, but c'mon! It'll be fun, like the odd couple."


Seth-
"You just want me to clean, don't you?"


Stevie-
"Don't be so cynical, c'monnn!"

>>GM

The sun was setting, and the building began growing dark. People began lighting candles and carrying them with them. Due to the still functioning sprinkler system, and remaining batteries in smoke detectors, torches could not be used. The blinds were pulled shut in every room, to ensure the light could not be seen from outside, and people continued switching out for guard duties on the roof, and at the back entrance. Everyone else began to settle into their rooms for the night, working out sleeping arrangements and chatting with their new roommates.


After Seth wrote his name on the board with a sigh, he approached the Doctor.

Seth-
"Hello there Doctor. Do you prefer 'Doctor?' Anyway, I'm really glad you're coming along
to the Research center tomorrow. If you get the chance, maybe make up a list of
medications we can look for. Marie wanted to go but I said no way with her feet like that.
She's going to make up a bunch of notes for us, and brief us, since she worked there.
 She bets there will still be a lot of employees holed up in there. What do you think?
 Is there something I can help you with?"



The good doctor muttered to himself as Seth approached.

"Uhm, it's Doctor Victor, but you can call me Doctor if you feel it is appropriate. If you
cannot feel comfortable with the professional title I earned through hard work and years
of slavery, you can call me Victor. I will make a list of medications since you asked for it.
I will see if Marie would transcribe them down and I can organize them verbally faster
than I can with scripting, since I cannot type and I doubt any of you have the ability to
read my handwriting."


Seth-
"Good idea, I will talk to Marie. I don't mind calling your Doctor, it feels natural.
I just worried it was something like calling you "Mister!" you know, haha."



The doctor flashed his teeth, his lips pulling back in a grimace; maybe a failed attempt
at a smile.

"Doctor humor. I want to address something, though. I don't wish to make this urgent
because of possible survivors stuck at ground zero. I hope that the place has been
blown out like an explosion in terms of people; you don't see too much fire at the
center of a fire ball. My urgency comes from the medications itself.

"I appreciate Marie and her intelligence greatly; I would have whisked her away to
work at my campus during different circumstances. I like a girl who can work and
broker no nonsense. I just don't think Hope is going to play a vital deciding factor in
 all this... at least with survivors."

"As for what you can do for me, I'd appreciate it if you weeded out anyone who would
be going with us that would place someone else's life above that of those all ready here.
I do not need to have the added burden of twice as many injuries due to, in part,
a mistake made when there obviously is nothing that can be done."


Seth-
"Marie thinks the employees will probably be taking care of themselves. They've a very
competent crew. I would invite them to come here, but if what Marie says is true, they
might have an even safer building than we do. Marie's only in the state she is because
she didn't realize what was going on outside before it was too late.

I'll keep that in mind though, I know it's serious."



Dr. Victor let his eyes drift over Seth's shoulder, rising on the balls of his feet to do so.

"What do you think of Ione? She put forth the zombie treadmill plan. I think she should
 come with us... or if not, I'd like to have her assist us in setting up plans for construction
 and development because she, too, has a great head on her shoulders. Just have to
keep her, er, well... Sorry, bit running from head to voice back and forth, tiring day,
lots of work..."


Seth-
"Oh you know, I think she actually didn't write that one. That Ben guy did. I asked him
to be on my council! Actually, while we're talking about it, I wonder if you would like to
as well? I figure you're the official doctor of course, but if you'd like some say-so in
other matters I would be thrilled. I understand that you'll be busy enough though.

Ione seems nice, I don't really know much about her. She's very friendly."



The doctor returned to muttering before adding,

"Who do you think is going to volunteer to go?"


Seth-
"I'm sure Thierry will, Derek will probably volunteer but I think he might be pretty
stressed out. I'm not sure who else, but Davin, Anna, Jackson and that Alex kid
helped outdoors earlier, so they might volunteer."



Dr. Victor nodded to Seth, his head lulling on his own shoulder.

"Oh, then that means she wrote... oh, word. It appears as if she may think I was making
an ass of myself. I don't hope she thought I was bringing more logic to the forefront
 instead of stepping on her toes. I hate when people misinterpret what I state; I do wish
 there was a way I could make sure more people were educated like I was. "

"Seth, I appreciate the idea of being on your council, but the practicality of it is rather...
uhm... non-existent. In fighting and circular conversations will spoil the fruit it may or
 may not bear. If there is any hope for real progress, you'd be better to forgo the council
and become your own thinking person. Ask questions rather than take demands.
A council is more like second guessing yourself in the end."

The doctor patted Seth on the shoulder.

"Now, about choice of room, since you did win, and by a landslide, I do recall your want
 to keep me here. And if that other facility has better defenses, and actual victims, it'd be
terrible. Oh, come on, don't look so scared, I wouldn't dream of leaving such a nice
facility as here with such a great crew."

The doctor shrugged.

"Some people, eh, Micah? No sense of humor."



Micah smiled at the poor man at the doctor's mercy.

"None, but then Americans are so serious. I'm sure we'll be fine, as long as it's got the basic
necessities. An expresso machine, oven, king size beds, surround sound, a gold-plated
bathtub, a spa, a pool. Just the basics you know?" He grinned.



"Oh, I all ready gave Seth the list. I suppose I should restate it just in case. I need a soft bed,
clean linens, hot water in a shower for decontaminating, a phonograph since I'm sure there
are not any music players which do not run on electricity. Maybe a locking cabinet to keep
the narcotics out of the hands of the more obviously afflicted souls of addiction? I want
some form of record keeper. I need a special person who has the skills of medical coding.
You know, just in case I can still bill for all this to the University Payroll. A quiet space,
maybe a king sized, pillow top mattress, down pillows. Private restroom quarters are a must.
And I need personal hygiene products, like toothpaste, and antiperspirants and nail clippers.
Maybe someone who can practice reflexology or a massage therapist. I hope that is accurate
 enough. I have a great memory which helped me get through medical school."

The doctor stuck out his bottom lip a little before adding in a lower tone,

"It's not always what I want to be able to recall, but I can repeat verbatim what Mary said
to me... her rant and gurgling tone is not something I want to experience again, though,
but since Marie needs the notes... I'll put my big boy pants on."


Seth- (to Dr. V)
"I think you'll like this room I found. It doesn't have a record player yet, but I bet we can
find one soon. Stevie worked out those hand-crank chargers too, so I bet we can get ipods
 and the like working in no time. As for your assistant, it's on the agenda. We'll start
working out roles for everyone probably tomorrow, unless you find someone you'd like to
ask yourself. As for massage, you might need to work that one out personally. It's all in
the way you ask, haha... "



The doctor let out a hearty chuckle, a sincere smile warming his face.

"Hear that, Micah? I am getting an assistant and music. I think this is going to be a bit better
than I imagined earlier."

He beamed at the younger man, full of vigor and vim.

"Let me show you the comfy chair we can bring up for my office. It looks like I'll get an office
in here two on the count of two bedrooms. And we're close to the stairwell. And the coffee.
I am glad Seth was such a good and gracious host to recognize my importance."

He clapped Micah on the shoulder and leaned to whisper,

"Don't forget about the cold package..."

>>GM

>> IN STEVIE’S ROOM

Seth hesitantly entered Stevie's apartment, carrying arms full of blankets.
Stevie furiously excavated furniture from under piles of pizza boxes and strange miscellanea.

Seth-
"Uh, you know I noticed there's no one in the apartment next door..."


Stevie-
"You heard what they were sayin' about ghosts! You wanna commit suicide, man?
We gotta do this thing. It'll be great, I'll just... clean up a little around here.
Been meaning to getting around to that anyway."

Seth glanced around at the porn clippings on the living room wall.

Seth-
"Oh is that Darla?"


Stevie-
"Eh, oh oh yeah, that's Darla. I admire her work."


Seth-
"I forgot she used to be on that side of the camera, haha.. how old is that?
I like the hair, so big."


Stevie-
"Oh man, geez that was uh... at least twenty years ago. I really like that look,
wish it would come back."


Seth-
"Ione has pretty big hair, but it needs more of that... swoopy stuff in the front."


Stevie-
"Yup, it isn't very long either, and I think she uses it to camouflage having a HUGE nugget!"


Seth-
"Hahaha, so bitchy. It's true though."

Seth tossed the blankets on a pizza box free couch.

Seth-
"So, like any of the ladies here yet?"


Stevie-
"Hahaha. *sigh* I mean... yeah and no. I'm a guy, I look around but...
mostly not my type. Rough circumstance too. It's a motherfucker about Tiffani though."


Seth-
*sigh* "Anna? Well, I see where you're coming from though. Damn she's
pretty snappy when she's in a bad mood. I think she's starting to come around
though. Told me "See ya around" earlier, that sounds promising."


Stevie-
"I just had a good attitude about work. I know it's easier for me, being behind
the scenes but, it feels like I'm getting called an asshole just for not hatin' my old job.
My yesterday job."


Seth-
"I didn't really hate it either, I don't want people to know about it though.
You gotta admit, kinda embarrassing right? I think it's probably harder for
women, too. People get the wrong idea about them and... well you know."


Stevie-
"It's easy for me to not think about it. Guess that's a problem."


Seth-
"Hey, just take it easy. She'll get over it, after she sees no one's gonna 'out'
her to everyone. She seems chilled out already, and it's a pretty un-chill circumstance.
It'll be fine."


Stevie-
"Haha. You... are irrepressible."


Seth-
"Hah, thanks? Hey so, what *is* your type exactly?"


Stevie-
"Oh I guess I'm pretty flexible. It's tempting to say the same shit everybody else says,
the hard bodies with the boobs but uh, but to be honest? Slim, but still soft,
medium sized boobs, flexible on race not as much into the sisters but that's... y'know,
whatever. Personality, believe it or not. I like somebody that don't make me feel bad
for nothin'. Lot of people want me to do that."


Seth-
"Daww, that's sweet. I'll keep my eye out. I might need a size chart for the boobs
though, like what's the range?"


Stevie-
"Oh, ha-ha. I don't need any help man. You know I'm smooth."


Seth-
"True 'nuff. Hey so... I gotta ask, who do you think is..."


Stevie-
"Ho ho! Already on the lookout yourself?"


Seth-
"Well, like you said, 'I'm a guy, I look around.' Also just for gossip 'cause that's fun."


Stevie-
"Hahaha. Um, I'm not very good at this. I gotta admit. Let's say, what about... that Bryce kid."


Seth-
"You're not just sayin' that 'cause he has long hair or something? Hmm...
I dunno actually. He's into that metal stuff but I guess that doesn't exempt you. Any hints?"


Stevie-
"Well, the long hair, and he's bitchy."


Seth-
"Bitchy, yes. Haha.. I'll put him on the suspects list. OK, who I DON'T think is gay is...
Derek, Kenny, that Indian kid Alex... Um, some of the new guys I don't remember
the names of... OK nevermind. Suspects are... that drama-queen doctor, his little
Australian "roommate", their little blond friend, Davin, Thierry, Daniel, that weird
old English guy... who'm I forgetting?"


Stevie-
"Wow! That's a lot! You think they might ALL be gay? That's crazy!"


Seth-
"No no, I mean... some of 'em, almost certainly. That's just where I'm starting
and then I narrow it down, y'know? Like I thought Jonah maybe, but then I found out
he's all sad about his wife and kid. Bam, off the list."


Stevie-
"Hahaha. It's easy to forget you guys gotta do this thinkin', whenever that comes up."


Seth-
"It's pretty fun at least. Easier nowadays, I'm sure. Oh but yeah, TOTALLY the doctor,
I think. That guy... hahah. Y'know."


Stevie-
"You think you'd go for him?"


Seth-
"Oh man, he's not bad looking, but SO high maintenance. Oh my god..."


Stevie-
"Hahahaha! Yeah he's a character. What is your type?"


Seth-
"Hm kinda like you, pretty flexible. I guess I'm into people who are different from me.
That's pretty weird for the gays, at least that I've known. Most people go out with
their clones sometimes, it's weird. Anyway, I used to go for black guys a lot. Now...
Hm, I like pretty faces of course... Not too big. Not like, the super butch guys, but I don't
like guys as skinny as me. Like that Australian, he's a little too much like, little brother
or something. Bryce is kinda little brother-ish too, but... I dunno, hehe..."


Stevie-
"Hahah, sounds complicated. But yeah, if you got any preference at all,
you're not likely to find someone who fits it perfectly, for anybody."


Seth-
"Especially now, ugh. Limited pool."


Stevie-
"Haha..."


Seth-
"Well, lemme help you toss that stuff... oh wait, is that still good? I can't tell."


Stevie-
"I say, if I can still remember when I got it, it's good."

Bryce poked his head in the door.

Bryce-
"Hey Mr. President."

Seth glanced over from the couch, and stood. Bryce noticed the rather... ornate decor.

Bryce-
"Oh man.. Tch.. classy!


Stevie-
"Hey, I thought I paid you to stay the fuck outta my shit, kid."


Bryce-
"That you did, and I am a man of my word. So I'll stand in the hall."

Seth got up to join him in the hall.

Seth-
"Hey, need something?"


Bryce-
"Yeah I was thinkin'... about that stuff with Doretta the other night."


Seth-
"It's pretty horrible, isn't it?"


Bryce-
"Somebody just brought up the subject of people going crazy and it
got me thinking... was that really possession like people were talking today?"


Seth-
"I guess so. I didn't know... but the new people said they saw the same thing,
even heard the monster say the same thing! It's really bizarre, I guess like...
a demon possesses them and takes over their body. Their monster got away though,
and even possessed another person."


Bryce-
"Oh like, it jumped bodies like in that Denzel Washington movie?"


Seth-
"Even weirder, it stayed in the original body, and possessed another one.
It even ran around in both bodies, doing different things. Maybe it's more like
an infection.."


Bryce-
"But they acted like, possessed. So we don't have any idea why that happens?"


Seth-
"Not yet, unfortunately. The doctor had a theory about health, but they saw
a healthy cop get possessed so... maybe not."


Bryce-
"So if that's true, maybe it all started with like one possessed person, and everybody
else had to come in contact with the possessed person."


Seth-
"Maybe, but how did that happen to Doretta? She was in her room the whole time,
nobody came in or out."


Bryce-
"Huh. Well if that's true, then I guess it could happen to anybody at anytime
as far as we know."


Seth-
"Maybe..."


Bryce-
"Shouldn't we like, all cover our fingertips with cotton balls and put on muzzles
and stuff just in case? Get rid of all the weapons?"


Seth-
"Hahaha... I don't know if that would help. We had trouble with Doretta
and she was pinned under a sofa. If someone gets possessed, that's just it I guess,
gotta tie 'em up... That's why I wasn't eager to get that lady's guns though,
when she offered them. I'd hate to see an armed Doretta.


Bryce-
"Guns?! I hadn't even thought of that... Think I'm gonna nail my door shut tonight.
Thanks a lot."


Seth-
"Hey, c'mon. I don't think it's all that bad. We had Doretta sure, but this place
has been pretty tight. Those poor new people, they saw ghosts and millions of zombies...
it hasn't been bad here."


Bryce-
"Well where'd they start out?"


Seth-
"The mall."


Bryce-
"Like Westlake. Y'know that street over there? It's called Westlake avenue.."


Seth-
"Well yeah, but I still don't think it's that bad. The ghosts would have
been here already, right?"


Bryce-
"Well, I just don't wanna see the possessed cop fundraiser parade rollin'
down Westlake with a twenty-one gun salute for us. Guess there's nothin' for it!
Have a nice night."


Seth-
"Geez."

Seth came inside and closed the door this time.

Seth-
"Stevie, you were right about the bitchy part at least, damn."

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The night seemed rather long, as people took turns staying awake, trying to read books
or stare out the window and not fall asleep, as their roommates slept fitfully. It was
surprising how DARK night was, without even the faintest hint of electricity. No street lights,
no sparkles of city lights in the distance. The windows were covered over with heavy curtains,
and candles attempted to provide their weak illumination. For those who peeked behind
the curtains, they were rewarded with the most brilliant sky they had ever seen, alive
with shimmering stars, no city light to fade them or drown them out.

Time passed, though there were a few scares, no fear was borne out.
Morning happened in slow motion, the sky fading in to a royal blue, and some had had enough
of trying to sleep, and just got up.

Chantelle set to work heating the pre-cooked bacon and eggs, and veg-bacon and veg-eggs,
and toasting all the toast. Zoe found the best jams that were nearing their expiration, and
they set up a nice breakfast. Frozen juices were now normal juices and were served up, perhaps
the last cold drink anyone would have until winter. Kettles of coffee boiled over the barbecue's
flames.

People filtered in to the community center to get breakfast. Early risers lingered around on
the sofa, sipping the old-fashioned coffee with bags under their eyes. Birds chirped
incessantly.

Kerry, Basil, Seth, Anna and Kenny were some early risers. Stevie had followed Seth and was
dozing in a lounge chair. Kenny was throwing back a lot of coffee.

Kenny-
"Goddamnit, I couldn't sleep. Everybody's making
too much noise."


Seth-
"Yeah, I only did a little... I kept having nightmares about mutant pizzas,
and then I'd wake up and go back to sleep, and it'd be like, naked ladies
with pizzas for boobs trying to get cheese on me..."


Kenny-
"Why would you have dreams like that? Did your mom eat pizza
while breast-feeding you or something?"


Seth-
"Stevie, apparently a boob and pizza fan."


Kenny-
"Ah. I can see that."


Seth-
"People were making too much noise? I hope it wasn't me,
I'm next door."


Kenny-
"Oh no, just... I think Derek was having some kind of night terrors.
Pretty freaky."


Kerry-
"Oh no... That's certain to happen more now. Do you think it was about
what's been going on?"


Kenny-
"I dunno, probably. I'd be halfway asleep and then
AUGHHH BOOGA BOOGA" and then he's asleep and I'm not."


Seth-
"Ohhh THAT's what that was. I think that was in my dreams.
Pizza ladies were screaming at me. Yikes."


"Kerry-
"Ah. I wonder if we'll have to reinvent psychotherapy."


Seth-
"Oh..! That's a good idea Kerry. I was glad we found a doctor,
but we could use a psychiatrist too, couldn't we?"


Kerry-
"In my experience there's such a mixed bag, we'd probably
find a bozo."


Seth-
"Heh. Well, maybe as we find jobs for people around the building,
being a counselor could be one. Nobody's trained, but I bet someone's
a good listener."


Kerry-
*smiles*

In time everyone but the laziest of lazybones (or the most exhausted of the exhausted)
were in the community center enjoying breakfast. Not present were Bryce, Luke & Volya.

When it seemed like most people were around, Seth stood on a chair to get everyone's
attention.

Seth-
"Hey! This isn't a meeting really, but just spread the word-- we're gonna start
a sign in on the board for jobs around the building. We'll figure out a rotation
for some basic chores, but it'll all be on the board! Also, me and some folks are
gonna go out to get some medical supplies today. When we get back, this evening
we're going to have a special treat for everyone for working so hard!"

Kenny-
"He's gonna give us Scooby snacks."


Derek-
*laughed too loudly*

Seth went around to ask some people to join him on the UWMRC trip. Thierry, Davin agreed,
Dr. Vic had already agreed. Seth looked for Alex to ask him.

Seth (wherever he finds Alex)-
"Hey you did really great outside the other day, and I know another ball player is
gonna be a fast runner. Wanna come with us today to get some medicine with the Doctor?"

Alex straightened when Seth praised him. 

Alex-
"Yeah! Yeah, that'll be good. And since it's Nat's birthday and all, maybe
we can keep an eye out for some gifts. Medicine places usually have
suckers and little teddy bears, right? For the kids?"

"--I mean, uh, the bear would be for Zoe. Maybe we can grab one of those
bottled Starbucks Frappuccino things. Nat was a barista!"

Seth-
"Aw! That's the little blonde guy right? You're such a nice friend. Well, there's
a secret thing going on tonight, I'm sure we can work in a little birthday fun
into as well. "

After a moment's hesitation, he said,

"Also, uh, we gotta hold a meeting or something later. I might've figured out
who's high-risk for possession."

Alex's expression became darker.

Alex-
"Seth, up there in Westlake, I was almost possessed. Look, we better stay
far away from churches, when we're out and about in the city. That's all
I got to say. And you keep an eye on me."

He touched his crucifix.

"I'm sorry. I think I know the warning signs, though.
Whispering voices ... if I tell you to kill me, then kill me fast."

Seth-
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry that happened to you, Alex. So you think they prey on
religious people? That's terrible... Doretta was very religious, that's true. I wonder
if knowing protects you though? You were able to fight it off, so maybe it's a test of
willpower too. Thanks for telling me, let's talk more later."

Alex-
"I was pitcher, no way I have your speed, Seth. But betcha that I can
throw something faster than a speeding bullet."

He most certainly could not.

"Anyway, I'm ready. Heh. I want you to remember some inspiring words
that someone else might have told you over the course of your lives,
and go out there and win!"

Alex laughed, for some reason.

Seth-
"Hey nice! I wonder if there's some kind of weapon that would
make use of that skill..."


Thierry-
"Throwing rocks? It works for baboons."


Seth-
"Might actually be hard to find rocks in the city-- OK this is silly.
I'll sleep on it, Alex."

The good doctor stretched a little bit. He listened to Seth's words with a mild interest, more giving
Patti looks as she assisted the others with the fence. When talk of the gun came up, he knew it would be
better to just let Seth play 'leader' and feigned disinterest. With a frown, he spoke sullenly.

Dr. Victor-
"I will hold the gun. I have been shown how to use it. I most certainly will not be using it
unless in the most dire of circumstances. If you have no faith in me, Abdul, that is one thing.
It is not wise to second guess Seth's judgement; keep your concerns to yourself until the
opportunity arises to address petty issues. I'd even go so far to say it is tactless."

Once the gun situation was settled, Dr. Victor payed closer attention to the actual plan.
It seemed sound enough for him. He did cast a singular glance towards Patti when he mentioned
slightly larger, slower group. The good doctor opened his mouth but clicked it shut. If Patti wanted to
go, she would have gone.

"I am ready to go. I can put the gun in the dufflebag I emptied. I hope they do not attempt
to make a spectacle of it all. Have you thought what you are going to say or how we are
going to appear? What do we prepare for their reactions?"

The doctor kept the questions quieter than the noises of the building, just in case nosy people
were listening in.

Seth-
"Good question Doctor. We don't have a lot to offer them, but I have a pack here with
a few candy bars and some bacon. Marie says their biggest concern is going to be a lack of food,
all organic fresh-made in their cafeteria and I bet it's already spoiled. --and who doesn't like
bacon? Also, I thought we could offer some information, in case they don't know some of
the tricks we know so far.

"I'd like us to present ourselves as looking for an alliance, rather than people in desperate need.
Lead doc might not be the most... generous, but I think if he believes we'll be useful people
to know later, he might be more so."

Seth, Thierry, Davin, Alex & Doctor Victor met outside to begin their trip after extensive briefing
from Marie about the building, potential entrances and exits, and more.

Patti, Abdul-Rahman, Peg & Lashonda were already beginning the fencing project. They'd found
a roll of wire mesh in the building supplies, and were constructing gates which would be put up
in front of the cars on one side and the dumpster on the other.

Abdul-Rahman- (to Seth)
"Are you certain this is safe?"


Seth-
"No. We need medicine, and we also need to get a lay of the land.
Gotta take chances sometimes."


Abdul-Rahman-
"You should take a gun."

Seth glanced back to his group.

Seth-
"Do any of you know how to use a gun?"

Thierry looked mad dubious, and Davin shook his head. 

Seth-
"I do. I'd rather not have to worry about having it with me though.
Doctor, would you like to carry a gun?"


Abdul-Rahman-
"Why? If you know how to shoot a gun, why are you having reservations?
Obviously you'd be more qualified than the doctor to use this weapon."


Seth-
"I don't have a holster and I'd rather not run with it tucked into my drawers, thank you.
If the occasion should come up for me to use it, I may borrow it from the kind doctor."


Abdul-Rahman-
"It just seems like people are allowing emotions to get in the way of doing the most sensible
or expedient course of action."


Seth-
"Uh huh..."

Seth-
"So when we get out there, we're gonna go left on Harrison, right on 9th and it's just
two blocks down. Dr. Victor, as you can probably tell, this is a fast group. Thierry's soccer,
Davin's a runner, I was center field, what position were you, Alex?

"Anyway, I understand not everyone's gonna have the same abilities, so we need to be
prepared to form two groups, a small fast group and a larger just slightly slower group.
I say small group is me and Thierry. We stick together until we hit 9th, and barring any
change of plans, Thierry and I jet straight down 9th and look for the way to get in.
We'll look for you, just keep on 9th and we'll meet up again. Now, any questions or suggestions?"


Abdul-Rahman-
"I can't even listen to this..."


Seth-
"Good, because I wasn't talking to you.."


Davin-
"Does Marie have any idea who's still there? What they're like?"


Seth-
"She wasn't sure, but guessed that her coworkers would probably mostly be there still.
She said they're a very capable bunch and would likely get the place pretty secure.

"The lead doctor is Doctor Franco, she said he's probably going to be in charge.
He's strict but she thought he would be understanding. The rest are various researchers
and doctors, and she thought they seemed nice for the most part.
They have security guards there through the night, and they are probably around still.
They are not armed."

"Any other comments or questions? Otherwise, let's get on the road."

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

LOCATION:

goo.gl/maps/7wByp

This campus takes up one smallish city blocks and is comprised of four buildings - one for
each corner. Three buildings are new stainless steel and green glass super-flat-sided
leviathans in the new mold, but one is a drab four story concrete thing, in some forgotten
brutalist architectural mode from the mid-to-late twentieth century. Venetian blinds are
turned down in every brown-tinted window.

Our path:

goo.gl/maps/RFctM

Seth and Thierry took a radio and ran ahead, essentially sprinting to the UWMRC campus.
They disappeared ahead of Dr. Vic's group (with Davin and Alex).

Thierry-
"Four buildings. Um, I take west you take east, meet on the plaza?"


Seth-
"Let's do it!"

The men charged past zombies without trying to swing on a one. Thierry disappeared up
Ninth and around the corner. Seth checked the main plaza side of the first building, ignoring
the zombies that began to stagger toward him with interest.

Inside, he saw a great deal of blood stains and odd filth in the lobby, but no bodies and nobody.
He went to the service side of the building, and had to hop a fence to round to the front.

With no entrances unlocked, he went on to the oldest building in the campus, on the northeast
corner. The front was next to Mercer, which had hundreds of zombies close by.

Fortunately, the cars and a few trees slowed their reaction to him, and then... He was out of sight.

Behind the building, there was just one door left to check.
It held for a moment, then opened! A startled guy was inside, with scruffy hipster locks and blue
hospital scrubs.

Scruffy Man-
"What? Who?! Don't!"


Seth-
"You worked here? There's still other people around?"


Man-
"Look, don't use this entrance! I was just gonna cop a smoke, man. You're supposed to
knock on the lobby."


Seth- (paused to catch his breath)
"Right, uh, which door is that one?"

A zombie drew near, a delivery guy for a water company, with one less arm.

Man-
"Yipes!" He tried to close the door


Seth-
"Hey go ahead and smoke man, I won't tell anyone!"
Seth pulled the door open easily, keeping the short guy from closing it.


Man-
"Man! Just go! I'll walk back to the lobby and let you in there, like they said!"


Seth- (Slipped inside, letting the door close in the zombie's face.)
"On 9th between the buildings, just past garage and up stairs." The guy was flailing like
a fish and whining. "Calm down!"


Man-
"I'm sooo busted, man!"

A voice came over his radio.

Seth, presumably -
"On 9th between the buildings, just past garage and up stairs. Calm down!"


Davin-
"Uh, Copy?"

The group ended up in a back stairwell with Seth and a whiny little blondish dude.

Whiny guy-
"God! You're the damned barbarian hordes! How many?! Do you have guns?"


Seth-
"Hey we're not gonna wreck up the joint, sheesh."

The rest entered, and Seth greeted them.

Whiny guy-
"Seriously? How many? Did you get that zombie out there?! Are you gonna
let him in?!"


Thierry-
"Sir, calm down--"


Whiny guy-
"People keep telling me to do that! But this is against procedures! It's highly irregular!"


Seth-
"Seriously, we were just in the neighborhood and someone where we are,
worked here too. We brought bacon. You like bacon?"


Whiny guy-
"Just! Stay back! How do I know that's bacon? Maybe it's poison!
This would be so much easier if you just went through protocols!"


Seth-
"We didn't know the protocol.. and no one answered the lobby door anyway."


Whiny guy-
"I woulda been back in a few minutes! I was just getting a smoke."

The doctor panted before and after his sentence so Alex could keep up with the commonality
of phrasing. Line after line of questions were rattled off by both the whiny guy and the leader.
Taking a rest leaning against the wall, the doctor pulled out his UWMC business card,
handing it to the man.

Dr. Victor-
"Look, if you hadn't noticed, protocol has been slightly suspended... and I think you're
smart enough to realize that now, hmm? If you have anything else to add, do it quickly.
You are not the one we want to see anyways. And... smoking will most certainly get you
 killed these days."

The man did a double take looking at the ID.

Man-
"Oh, doctor, I apologize! But yes, the acting administration has requested that we
only admit people by the main entrance... I should insist, but... OK, we'll go up
through the main lobby."


Davin-
"This looks like a stairwell to me, guy."


Man-
"Let's just go to the lobby and do the protocol from the top like I was supposed to,
if you don't mind..."


Seth-
"As long as it doesn't involve going outside again, lead the way..."

The scruffy, short blond man in drab blue hospital scrubs led a party of survivors through
a few winding halls, from the back stair door into the main lobby. A powerful antiseptic
smell almost completely masked the scent of early stage human decay. They looked
toward a corner and saw rigid bodies stacked like cordwood under some tarps. The man
noticed what they were looking at.

Man-
"We are totally going to do something about that."


Seth-
"Ain't my house, but might be a good idea anyway."


Davin looked ill and held his hand over his face as if he had a migraine,
while the man led them into another stairwell.

The man led them up the stairs, mercifully a bit less of a climb than the six floor apartments
they'd come from. The doctor mentally noted that the place was not swamped with riots of
undead and madness like he'd guessed it would be... Perhaps traffic in the neighborhood,
or the fact it was clearly labelled a research center, rather than a hospital. Indeed, this
branch only had basic emergency facilities, and not in this building, mostly taking patients
who were in clinical trials for various medicines. Most of the staff didn't even have medical
degrees, being biochemists of various stripes. Nonetheless, he was confident they'd have
ample supplies of the medicines he required.

They emerged into a very dark hallway and immediately had dimming flashlights and
tasers pointed at them by security guards.

Guard One-
"What the fuck, Lee? Bring an army up here? Everyone lower your weapons!"

The group looked at each other in confusion. Their weapons were all pretty low.
The doctor had the little gun in an outer pocket of his bag.

Seth- put the head of his golf club on the ground.
"Hey, we're not hostile! We got one of your employees back at our place,
got a doctor here. Just wanted to talk, maybe trade."


Guard Two-
"Not hostile?!" His face puffed with fear. "Then why'd you bring weapons?!"


Seth-
"..."


Alex-
"Because the Lord's Prayer doesn't really stop the violent undead. And we had to jog
 a short ways to get here." He put his pipe down and raised his hands peacefully.
"Have you seen a good looking guy named Emiliano recently?"


Guard Two- He looked embarrassed for asking about the weapons.
"Uh, missing persons? Shame we don't have cops anymore. Or fuckin' anything."

As the officer spoke, the doctor sneered. Such callous attitude in this place should be reserved
for the ones who bothered to learn something. And then Alex broke into him, and the doctor
wondered if this was going to be less convoluted than whatever was raising the dead.

Dr. Victor-
"Look. You can't be too careful these days. I doubt we have anyone who would disagree
with that fact. I am Dr. Victor. We were sent by Marie, one of the receptionists, to check
 the status of people and also see what supplies we can bring back to help with the
wounded. I hope you understand we would not have violated protocol just based on the
whims of some fancy. If you would be so kind as to direct me and my escort to the
resident physician or whomever else is coordinating efforts here? We are on a tight
 schedule."


Lee-
"Oh my god, Marie! I'm so glad she's alive. Sorry about the hassles, but the acting
administration is serious."


Guard One-
"Don't apologize Lee! We gotta present strength!"


Seth-
"Can we go in and talk to somebody?"


Officer One-
"Leave everything out here - no weapons. We'll let them know and then they'll let you
 in when they're ready. Lee?"

Lee left the room, poofy blond curls bouncing.

Davin-
"How's the job, fellows? Is the pay good?"


Officer Two-
"We have doctors and all their doctor shit. Feels pretty good with all the shit goin' on now."


Officer One-
"Shut up man, we don't have to explain anything to anyone."


Thierry-
"Seriously, gentlemen, this is nearly offensive. We aren't criminals."


Officer One-
"Everyone is a criminal. I'm a criminal. Shut up."


Seth-
"So you guys security before, or what? You got tasers, I see. That's cool."


Officer One-
"No small talk! We'll never have sports again and the weather sucks."

People waited in awkward silence for a few minutes, all throat clearings and muffled
seagull cries from the roof. Then Lee returned.

Lee-
"The administration will only see two of you! Go in, I'll follow."


Seth- turned to the group
"Dr Victor and me?"

The answer was obvious and the two went in, leaving the others standing with the security guards.

Davin-
"So how about those Mariners?"


Officer One-
"I said there ain't no damn sports!"


Davin-
"I meant, do you think they're alive? I bet Ichiro could dodge zombies all day long..."

Inside Doc Vic and Seth met a group of doctors and scientists, a few of which the doctor recognized, and had a reasonable working relationship with - doctors Green, Franco, and Feingold.



Lee came in and closed the door behind them.

Lee-
"That's the administration!"


Dr. Franco-
"Thank you, Mr. Semple. Doctor... Victor? An unexpected pleasure. Welcome to our office. And who are you?"


Seth-
"Hi, I'm Seth Clemans, the leader at the 403 building, where Marie Oshiro is now.
She was telling us about this building."


Franco-
"And you had Dr. Victor as well. What brings you here, and why the group of heavies
in the vestibule?"


Seth-
"We were interested in seeing if anyone was still here, maybe do a little trade or share
 information? Those guys are just what we needed to get here."


Franco-
"It's still bad out there? We'd hoped the military would have made some progress
by now."


Seth- (nodded solemnly)
"We had some hope that their numbers will thin out over time, but not sure if anyone's
going to come around to help."


Franco-
"By their numbers you mean the... afflicted?" Seth nodded. "Of course. Well, I'll introduce
our people. This is Dr. O'Connor, neuropharmacology, Dr. Green, a lumbar nerve authority,
Doctors Wallace and Feingold, endocrinology, Dr. Melange, neurology, Ms. Caldera,
molecular biologist specializing in oncology, and Ms. Parson, virologist. I am Dr. Franco,
head doctor on second shift, acting administrator. Dr. Victor, how did you come to be with
Mr. Clemans and what would you like to accomplish here today?"

Dr. Victor stepped up, slowly acknowledging his place to speak.

Dr. Victor-
"Thank you very much, Dr. Franco. I am pleased to see you all well in this time of crisis.
I, myself, had just made my way coming from the hospital and found myself stranded in
the mall. After a harrowing few nights with many bright and resourceful people, we made it
to a building not far from here. The decision was made to attempt to requisition supplies
for any possible wounded. At that end, we would need, at minimum, levaquin,
 vancomycin, syringes, saline, tubing, and some gloves. Lots of gloves. I'd possibly be
grateful for a few pairs of scrubs, too. It'd make the next few nights feel more productive."


Franco-
"That sounds like a sensible shopping list for the purposes you describe... I'm sorry for your
ordeal, ... Charles was it? Yes. (He turned back to Seth.) I'd be more leery of you and your
 requests, but Ms. Oshiro and Dr. Victor are good support for you. In fact, we'd be very
generous if we could have Ms. Oshiro herself in trade, and especially if we could have
Dr. Victor."


Seth-
"... Uh, trade people?"

Franco's own people looked a bit creeped out by the phrasing of his request.

Dr. Victor-
"Ladies and gentlemen of the administration. Allow me to thank you once again for
your hospitality. I am once again blessed to be among equals in intellect and
undoubtedly superiors in terms of your fields. While the field of emergency medicine
has been recently glamorized over the years, I know you all appreciate its vital role
in medicine. I truly see the potential among you all, as well, to aid and assist many
people who are under your care. You may also have the ability to help the afflicted
 individuals and other people with similarly compromised immune systems.
For that, I am humbled.

"I will state the obvious, I cannot speak on behalf of Ms. Oshiro; I can only attest to
her current state. She is physically unable to make the journey, and I will advice her
against it in the immediate future for purely medical reasons. I will relay your
wellness and safety to her upon our return."

The doctor stepped forward and placed a hand on Seth's chest.

"There is no need to continue the ruse any longer, Seth. I think they know exactly
what kind of person it takes to do the near impossible especially considering the
circumstances. There is definitely no fooling these people; and I appreciate your
concern. I am sure you have me for my ability to heal in these circumstances.
For that, I am flattered. However, being the one physician who is making a difference,
I cannot abandon my friends and underlings.

"I am expected back to our secure facility shortly, as I have mentioned to your
officers. I will be able to assist you in the interim for any immediate issues you or
your loved ones or patients may have. I know that when we work together with our
collective resources, we have the ability to help each other. I also know that we have
nothing, especially not time, on our side for the present.

"I will consider the offer as well, because I believe it to be a fair offer. I know you
would share information more freely if I come into your fold; what your combined
efforts have all ready uncovered is most enticing indeed. Unfortunately, my own
retinue would not understand the abdication so suddenly. I would appreciate the
opportunity to deliver to my patients some show of good will. I know we, as
 sophisticated men and women of the medical field, are above any petty show of
power. I humbly await your decision."

The doctor stepped back to Seth's side, giving him only one quick side-glance before
resting his hands by lacing them together at his waist. He tried to forget how sweaty
he was running by praying the sweat which formed on his forehead was too insignificant
to be visible to the assembled panel.

Seth raised an eyebrow at the doctor and shrugged. He pulled the bag on his back to
one shoulder.

Seth-
"...We have some bacon and candy by the way. I heard it's all organic fare here,
so that might be nice, huh? Haha..."


Dr. Franco-
"Hmm, interesting."

His eyes looked back and forth between the men slowly, trying to understand what exactly
was happening. He addressed Dr. Victor first.

Dr. Franco-
"Thanks for letting us know that you'll talk to Ms. Oshiro and consider our offer.
We hope to see more of you in the near future. I believe we could probably spare
most of those supplies, within our limits. I'll have Dr. Green help portion a
reasonable amount to you, because we will obviously need some of these things
ourselves.

Perhaps in the spirit of generosity which you've come here today, we will share
what we know in exchange for what you know, freely. We will accept all of the
generous offerings you mentioned.


Dr. Green-
"Bacon." (he smiled deeply)


Dr. Franco-
"--as a payment for the medicine. Now, Mr. Clemans-- we only know what we were able to glean from various media sources before the power went out. Does your building, anyone that you know of know more information about what's going on?"


Seth-
"A lot of what we know is just from firsthand experience, unfortunately we've not
heard anything from a broader viewpoint. Collectively we've seen several different
types of enemies, and have some idea of how to defeat or avoid most of them.
Would you like to know about that?"


Dr. Franco-
"By 'enemies' you mean the afflicted persons with diminished vitality and increased
aggression? By types do you mean there are variants on this pathogen? Please let me
know if I'm using too much jargon for you."

(Seth got the sense talking about 'ghosts' might be a bad idea, so he decided to couch it in
vaguely scientific terms.)

Seth-
"Uh, in a sense. There are some other unexplained phenomena. I haven't seen it all myself,
but we heard about some kind of black gas that can enter buildings through windows or
other holes. It kills on contact, but it can be smelled before it is seen-- something like fungus
and acetone or alcohol. Doctor Victor saw that, maybe he can explain it better.

Also, we saw a woman become... maniacal, maybe a variant of the 'pathogen' as you said.
She had much greater strength, and could speak still. Very destructive and difficult. We've
heard other reports of the same thing happening, usually with the religious. Talking about
demons and the like, maybe some kind of psychosis caused by the disease? If you see that,
 it seems best to restrain the victim, but unfortunately in our case the woman was
successfully self destructive.

A man at our building was bitten by one of the afflicted, and he seems to be suffering from
no worse effects than if he was bitten by a human, so I guess the disease doesn't spread
that way."


Dr. Franco-
"Hm, we can't rule it out completely, but the broad dispersal has suggested something
to our virologists that may be of interest to you. Would the experts here care to
enlighten the Doctor and Mr. Clemans about what we know?"


Ms. Parson-
"I specialize in viruses and as yet, since the power went out, we were unable to locate
any known pathogen in samples from the victims. For all we know, it could be chemical,
or bacterial... but the vector is the most mysterious element. I believe the disease was
disseminated broadly, perhaps airborne, and that all of us have an infection.
What causes it to manifest is the death of the host body. Unfortunately, these deaths
have been spread by the violence inflicted by the earliest victims.

Dr. Green-
"Just lemme say, I'm pleased to see you again Charles, and I hope we can talk again
under more pleasant circumstances. What I know, is that the victims are somehow
capable of locomotion through unconventional means. It's like the nervous system
itself is no longer necessary for muscle action. We can't make any sense of it.
But usually, severe trauma to the cervical reason of the spinal cord will
incapacitate a victim."


Seth-
"We've found anything that penetrates the skull works."

(A few of the doctors and scientists looked a little ill at this description of violence.
Dr. Melange, who showed no such reservation spoke next.)

Dr. Melange-
"Yes, I believe any change of pressure within the cranial fluid is sufficient to cause
incapacitating damage to these reanimate corpses, but there is the greater mystery!
The victims become reanimated corpses. Nothing like this has ever been seen before
outside of the province of science-fiction. We no longer have the ability to use
ninety percent the equipment in this building. If there is a pathogen at root,
we'll likely never know, but I have some theories that could be tested by different
means, and arrive at a better understanding of the phenomenon.

She closed her eyes in reflection for a while, with a slight smile, and looked back at Seth.

"Is Dr. Victor going to function as the general practitioner of your building until such
a time as he perhaps will decide to come over here?"


Seth-
"Yes, we had plans to build a clinic..."

Dr. Melange-
"I think that some people may feel more comfortable being treated by a female doctor,
and would like to offer my services with such."

(Some gasps and "Ohs!" from the crowd.)

Dr. Franco-
"No. Dr. Melange, we've discussed this. We need everyone we can have! We need
everybody on the team to keep this hospital running. How could you think that
joining some collection of refugees with no clinical control would be a better
course of action than staying in a medical facility?"


Dr. O'Connor-
"Bebe, don't go! We really need you!"


Dr. Wallace-
"What, you think you could get some kind of better deal?"


Dr. Franco-
"Let's not speak in such terms, Marcia. Dr. Melange, ...what can possibly lure you
away from us? We're your coworkers!"


Dr. Melange-
"I'm sorry, I just don't think you're going to give me the license I need to conduct
my experiments. If Mr. Clemans turns out to not be an ideal person to work with,
I can find someone else. I'm not going to let myself be held back by your
conservative methods."


Ms. Caldera-
"Bebe, I've almost gotten microscopes working again! I'm sure we can get these facilities
in much better shape with a little more work. Think of what you'd be abandoning!
I-I'd... miss you."


Dr. Melange-
"Aww. Tell me, Mr. Clemans, where is this building?"


Seth-
"Just a couple blocks away, on Westlake. 403, across from the pizza place."


Dr. Melange-
"See Maria? I'll be right next door. What do you say Mr. Clemans?"


Dr. Franco-
"I won't let you go! We were just talking about adding staff, and I'm not going to let
this clinic get chopped to pieces!"

Dr. Melange looked at Seth, smiling, looking a bit like Garfield due to her curvaceous
proportions as well as the shape of her eyes and mouth.

Seth-
"Dr. Victor, you said you could use some help before. What do you think?"

Dr. Victor-
"Surely, Dr. Green, you understand the gravity of the situation better than anyone else; all bacon aside. Maybe we can get back out there and come up with a name for that charity run?"


Dr. Green-
"Sure thing, doctor. I'll help you sort out those supplies in just a bit. We can grab
 some Skittles on the way..."


Dr. Victor-
"Dr. Feingold, you've been quiet. I know we don't exactly have similar interests,
and I promise you I did not put you down as consult for the dead patient."


Dr. Feingold-
"I'm just amused by this whole crazy scene. Good luck with your patients,
my man."


Dr. Victor-
"Fellows, thank you for the opportunity to help our people."


Dr. Franco-
"Charles, I hope to see you again really soon. Melange... Dammit."


Dr. Melange-
"You know where to find me, Bob."

With a heavy sigh, the doctor spoke once more.

Dr. Victor-
"I do not want to cause tension, especially now that Mr. Clemans has given away
our location. I would be delighted to have your assistance, Dr. Melange. I, too,
have a desire to become more proactive in ending the pandemic. There are several
who would appreciate your knowledge added to mine. Thank you very much.

"I understand the constraint this puts the rest of you on. Especially now, I wish there
was a way I could devote my time between the two buildings, but I do not think at
present it is possible. Maybe, in time, our efforts could be combined. In the meantime,
I would like to propose weekly, or sooner, meetings to convey our findings in a
joint venture. If we have the capability of communication, which we all took for
granted not three days ago, we could keep in contact as the need arises."

Dr. Victor crossed his arms, placing his hands underneath his armpits. Shaking his head,
he glanced at Dr. Franco with a small look of disinterest.

"Is this suitable for you, Dr. Franco?"


Dr. Franco-
"I'm amenable to that, as long as you can muster a security team to get you here...
Our human resources aren't what they used to be. Mr. Clemans?"


Seth-
"Well, we got here this time, didn't we? I think we can handle that."


Dr. Franco-
*siiiiigh* "Well, you can't say it wasn't interesting. Dr. Green? Mr. Semple?"


Dr. Green-
"Let's get you gentlemen your supplies."


Dr. Melange-
"I'll go grab my purse and join you."


Seth-
"Sure, we'll wait outside."

Seth, Doc V, Doc Green, and Lee went out to where Alex and the others were waiting.

Officer One-
"Lee, what the- Oh, Dr. Green. What do you need?"


Dr. Green-
"I'm going to take these gentlemen to get some supplies. For the moment, we're waiting for
one more person."


Officer One-
"If you say so."


Davin-
"Good work, guys."


Seth-
"Oh, we got another surprise for you..."


Davin-
"Huh?"


Dr. Melange-
"Hello boys. I'm ready for the road."

Dr. Melange was five foot eight, but slightly taller than Dr. Vic in her spike heels, and was
bigger around than anyone present. She was dressed just a bit provocatively, enough to be
off-putting to some and enticing to others. The low-cut shirt and high-waisted skirt were
closely fitted and just professional enough to not cause a scene.

Seth-
"Everyone, this is Dr. Melange. She'll be helping Dr. Victor and lending us her
scientific expertise. (He glanced at her) Oh that's a pretty necklace, Dr. Melange."


Bebe-
"Aww! Thank you Mr. Clemans, and thank you Dr. Green, I think we're ready."

Dr. Melange eagerly corralled the men into the stairwell following Dr. Green, leaving
the security guards to fume on their own.

Bebe-
"I just wanted to say, that I am so glad to be joining a group where I can say
'ZOMBIE' and 'REANIMATED CORPSE.' Ugh. These people can't just call a spade
a spade and it's all "the afflicted with signs of blah blah blah." We all know what
they are, why pretend?"


Davin-
"Wow, so, uh, you're coming with us, Dr...?"


Bebe-
"...Melange, as the man said. Yes I am."


Davin-
"Interesting choice of footwear."


Bebe-
"You go to war with the shoes you have, not the shoes you might want..."


Thierry (quietly to Seth)-
"What's going on, Seth?"


Seth-
"Dr. Melange wanted to come with us and I thought y'know, we could use a lady doctor..."


Thierry-
"Oh yes... Women's health. Very important. Is that what she does?"


Dr. Green-
"She's a neurologist."


Thierry-
"Oh."


Seth (fell back a bit to talk to Dr. Melange)-
"Dr. Melange, what sort of services do you think you would be able to provide?"


Dr. Melange-
"Oh, any old thing. I have the same basic training as a general practitioner,
just not much experience as such. One thing I want to grab on the next floor
is a few reference books. The internet will be sorely missed. But most of what
 I need for the job is under these blond tresses."


Davin-
"What kind of doctor are you?"


Dr. Melange-
"A neurologist, like Robin Williams in 'Awakenings'?"


Davin-
"Oh, good movie."


Dr. Melange-
"I know! We're so glamorous."


Seth-
"Oh, we were talking about maybe getting a counselor for the building!
Would that be something a neurologist could do?"


Dr. Melange-
"Not exactly, but I can help you find out if aberrant behavior is related to
subtle brain damage, or a textbook degenerative condition...
But I'm a good listener!"

The party reached the second floor, and Dr. Green led them to a formerly refrigerated
supply room. It was intensely dark, but he had a very bright flashlight.

Dr.Green-
"OK, Charles, let's look at the supplies... Might be a bit slow-going without the light,
but you're familiar with our system, right? We'll make one more stop on the first
for the gloves and other odd items."

Most people hung back in the hall, for the cold comfort of dim, filtered sunlight.
Near the back of the crowd still, Seth and Dr. M. talked more.

Seth-
"So Dr. Melange, do you think-"


Dr. Melange-
"You can call me Bebe."


Seth-
"Oh really? Dr. Victor wants everyone to call him 'doctor'. I thought that would be
something like calling someone 'mister'."


Bebe-
"Haha. I don't know him, but I guess I will soon... Some doctors are really sticklers
for formality, but I prefer to be more personable."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, that's great. So, Bebe, you said you wanted to perform experiments.
Do you think you could find out how to stop people from becoming zombies?"


Bebe-
"I don't want to make any promises, but yes, there are still possible experiments
that don't require autoclaves and perfectly sterile conditions. It's time to think
like the people who invented Science. I'm excited to begin."


Seth-
"I'm really glad to hear that. We're trying to set up a clinic in our building.
Maybe we could reserve part of it to be a lab, too. If there's anything I can do
to help you, I can also make any special accommodations you might need..."


Bebe-
"Oh, no no, I don't need anything special. Just give me time and space when
I need it. And I may be able to recruit an assistant of my own from your people.
Medical expertise is less important than good work ethics and communication
skills."


Seth-
"Oh sure, I bet you can find that. Well I'm excited for you to join us."

She smiled at him, like Garfield in an uncharacteristically good mood.

Alex-
"I'm Alex, Doctor Bebe," he offered. "You're a neurologist? Do you think, uhm,
do you think any of these undeads still have thoughts? Like pieces of their old selves?
And I couldn't help but overhear that you are looking for an assistant. Ione is really
good at communicating. Maybe you can talk to her."


Dr. Bebe-
"I wouldn't have thought these undead have thoughts, but Seth here tells me there are
different types. It may be true of the others. But zombies? They are in a very sad state.
Certainly the thoughts that endear you to a person are all gone. Don't think twice if you
need to end one.

Ione, hm? Sounds lovely. But I think I'll just meet everyone and see if I click with anyone.
Maybe I could click with you."

She winked, looking rather like an overweight Alicia Silverstone. Alex grinned and returned
the wink. 

Dr. Victor saved a few words for Seth as well.

Dr. Victor-
"We should be very well stocked. I just have to get more gloves, syringes and everything
else non-pharm. You going to get us through this all right? I just wanted to say if I stepped
on your toes by my little display, I meant well. Sometimes, people with bigger heads than
even I have don't like to be told what the news is from some pretty slugger, if you know
what I mean. Intellectual equals stand together as, uh, thick as thieves, so to speak.
No harm, no foul."


Seth-
"Honestly I wasn't even sure what you were going on about back there, but it looks like
it all turned out as you say." He shot the doctor a finger gun.



Alex-
"Oh, aha! You think of the best nicknames, Doctor Victor. I like Slugger better than
Snake. You're not like a snake at all, Seth. They're too cold-blooded, you know,
and they bite. If I had to choose an animal for you, uh, maybe a collie dog or
something cool and friendly."


Seth-
Seth looked just slightly concerned as Alex started talking about nicknames,
but then seemed to calm a bit. "Oh yeah, I like that one better too. Maybe you
could try to get that one to spread around at home a bit. It's way more
appropriate, yeah."


Dr. Bebe-
"Slugger? You play baseball as well as golf?"


Seth-
"Mm? Oh, hahaha! I only play zombie golf. But yes, it's an athletic team we've got here."


Dr. Bebe-
"I'll say... I don't normally go for the musclemen, but your crew looks like
something out of a movie... It's a little perverse." Indeed, Seth's crew here were
abnormally well endowed with biceps and such. She looked around at the
players like they were race horses on parade.


Seth-
"Oh, well what is your type then, if you don't mind my asking?"


Dr. Bebe-
"Hm, I like variety. And I like people who like me. I'm funny like that."

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Alex-
 "That party's important, Mr. Thierry. We can't stop appreciating the good parts of life,
like ... like Nat. He was born today, and that's worth celebrating. And I've killed a lot of
undead, yeah, but Dr. Bebe's right. They're not people anymore. They don't got souls,
and the souls are the important part."

Alex lowered his voice.

"Still ... if you see my friend, please don't kill him."

With a smooth, well-practiced move, he took out his wallet and opened it to Emil's picture.
He had better pictures on his cell phone. Why'd he throw that away, again? Idiot ghost.


Thierry-
"Oh, a party? I hadn't even heard of it. It does sound like a good idea... Oh... Young man,
don't worry about that. What are the odds we'll run into anyone familiar? Pretty good
for me because I worked in the neighborhood, but most of you came from elsewhere..."


Bebe-
"Oh, you. I told you, it's not him! They'll make the decision easy for you. This lovely
Korean lady made me lunch every Thursday for a month until the other day, and when
I saw her last, all the personality had fled her face and she was trying to eat people alive.
I was grateful when they rendered her body inert with cudgels."


Davin-
"Yeesh, what a conversation. Can we talk about anything else?"

Alex nodded at Davin's suggestion. 

Alex-
 "Uh, hey. If you guys find any presents for Nat," he said, "just pile them outside
our apartment."


Seth-
"Oh yeah... So Chantelle made a cake, and maybe you can go through some of the
supplies and see if you see something he'd like. I figure he seems shy, so he won't
like a big 'Surprise!!' from everyone in the world. There's an empty apartment on
the 6th floor, I told Chantelle to set up a table with the cake and some decorations...
When he shows up to the party, just take him in there with whoever you think he'd
like to have a party with, and you can surprise him. Wish we had more time to
wrangle him something nice, but I bet he's not expecting anything. That's a nice
thing you're doing."

Dr. Victor left the closet with a sheepish grin.

Dr. Victor-
"Seth, I'm all set."

As the doctor met with the rest of the group, Bebe shook Dr. Green's hand. After everyone
said their goodbyes, they gathered in front of the back door.

Seth-
"Dr. Melange, on the way here we formed two groups: a faster small group and
the slower group. I know with those shoes you won't be able to go too fast, so
I think we'll do that again. Thierry and I will go ahead and try to clear the way
a bit, and then fall back to join you again, repeat as necessary. What do you
think, Thierry?"


Thierry-
"I suppose, it's what we can do. It would probably be better just to get you
some different shoes..."


Dr. Bebe-
"Oh enough waiting around, it's not that far. Let's just do it, I have long legs."


Seth-
"Alright, here we go!"

Seth opened the back door, thankfully clear due to the blocking shrubs. They took the trip
down the stairs slowly since they were as yet invisible.

When they got out on to 9th, it was not the case. Seth and Thierry broke right, and tried to
draw the zombies towards them, rather than the slower group. Davin cracked a
Northface-Fleece wearing zombie in the face, and it spun around comically.

Her high heels sounded like horse hooves - KLOK KLOK. (Anyone with a good memory
would recall any high-heels sounded this way, not just ones on Amazonian beauties.)
She walked quickly, but could not manage a jog in the five inch spikes.

The slower group had to slow themselves considerably to stay near her. Zombies
wouldn't have been able to keep pace, but some were coming from angles that let
them get close. Too close!

Davin-
"Oh my god! It's Stewart from ops. Damn... You were always such a nice kid."


Bebe-
"Does that even look like Stewart any more? Just do it."


Davin-
"Shut up lady!"

Davin clonked the zombie on the head with the blunt end of the fire-ax until it fell.
He rolled the body over with his foot as they passed.

Seth and Thierry fell back, meeting them at the end of 9th. A few corpses lined the sidewalks
like sandbags.

Seth-
Just two more blocks!

Thierry and Seth had to run around madly now, this way and that, trying to get zombies
before they got too close. People got to see Thierry's soccer skills on display, side tackles
and the like. Seth had gotten on the wrong side of a juicy zombie and had blood dripping
off his chin and running down the side of his head by the time they neared the building.


They came in via the "tunnel of cars" Seth had devised. Anyone fit to climb over hoods
and roofs did so (most zombies lacked the dexterity to follow), and others got into a car,
closed the door behind them, left it locking the door behind them, did the same to the
next car in sequence, and so on. The zombies could open doors, but couldn't figure out
how to unlock them.

They entered the alley before Abdul's crew was finished working and before Micah's
team returned with the booze and food, heading to their rooms or the comm center
before the scene described in post 191 of the 6th floor thread.

Use the remainder of this thread to describe what your characters do in the time
leading up to that part of the evening.

After a short breather in the garage, people began to disperse to wherever they
wished. Davin hadn't been enjoying the company and was quick to jet upstairs.

Thierry-
"You need any help, Dr. Victor? I can carry that bag for you."

Seth kept a pace with Dr. Bebe as they went upstairs.

Dr. Bebe-
"That was exciting. Good to be indoors, but oh for an elevator..."


Seth-
"Yeah, unfortunately most of our business is on the sixth floor. Once you're here,
I don't think you'll have to do too many outdoor trips, though the clinic will be on
the first floor. Sorry about that."


Dr. Bebe-
"First floor you say? No, that's actually ideal. Are there any abandoned apartments
up here that still have furnishings, perhaps?"


Seth-
"Oh yes of course, we've been trying to arrange roommates for people because of the..."
He paused for a moment. "Dr. Melange I hope you'll understand but I didn't want to say
some things in front of the group, I thought they might take it the wrong way. We've seen
some things that aren't explainable by science, at least as far as we can tell. We've heard
of ghosts that can kill by touch. That's why we have the roommate situation."


Dr. Bebe-
"Now that is exciting. Has anyone here seen them?"


Seth-
Yes, actually, Dr, Victor and his group are the ones who told us about them. We haven't
seen them in this building. We have a reason to believe that they have to enter the
building physically like anything else, so if the building's secure, they won't get in.
But we don't honestly know.


Dr. Bebe-
"So roommates to take turns sleeping or watching out for the grim reaper? Eerie!
And if they can be seen then they are indeed a physical phenomenon. This is what
I'm most excited about at the end of it all. In the last four centuries, scholarly
people have tried in vain to find a way to measure the ineffable - the weight of
the soul, that sort of thing. Now that it is appearing to us as a physical phenomenon,
we finally can measure it. I intend to."


Seth-
"I'll have to give you the full briefing when we get a chance, give you all the information
we have on different creatures. I'm sure, as you know, these special 'beings' are much
more dangerous than your typical sluggish zombie out there, so do be careful."


Dr. Bebe-
"I will be."

They finished walking upstairs and Seth took her to Marie's room. He dropped her off there,
and went to Stevie's room to clean up.

Later...

Seth arrived at the party after 'showering' and changing into some more appropriate clothing.
He couldn't find any pants that fit his inseam and waist measurements, so he had to settle for
some too short women's black trousers, and wore an over-sized white button up on top
with one of Stevie's ties origamied into a bow.

Stevie-
"Hey! Ready for the party? Lookin' rather dandy."


Seth-
"Hey, thanks! Oh... you know, I wanted to tell you something..."

He pulled Stevie aside.

Stevie-
"Uh, what's this about?"


Seth-
"I was just thinking... I feel pretty confident we're not gonna get jumped by ghosts since it hasn't happened yet, right?"


Stevie-
"Why... d'ya mention ghosts old chum?"


Seth-
"It's just... there's that apartment next door, you know? I think I'd just feel more
comfortable if--"


Stevie-
"What! No! Roomies! The odd couple! Just a couple guys hangin' out havin'
good times! C'monnn!"


Seth-
"Aw Stevie. You know I'll hang out with you still. Hey what if one of us wanted to
take a sweetie back to our room, you know?"


Stevie-
"What if--what if you're gonna get got by a ghost huh? Huh? What if ghosts do
come here? What are you gonna do?"


Seth-
"Maybe I'll get one of these little dogs running around, maybe it can like,
bark if it sees a ghost?"


Stevie-
"What if the dog decides to take a nap? You never know when a dog's gonna take
a nap. If I was a dog, I'd take a nap when you were taking a nap."


Seth-
"Man I just, I couldn't sleep... It'll be right next door, you know?"


Stevie-
"Why couldn't you sleep? It's perfectly comfortable in there. We could make it better!"


Seth-
"C'mon, you know people are gonna start sleeping in their own rooms soon.
I should claim that place while I still can! We'll be next door neighbors, like
Seinfeld or whatever. You can come sliding in through my door being all wacky!"


Stevie-
"Man! I always wanted a cool roomie. And I had one-- for just one night! I didn't
take advantage of that to have a cool party or somethin'..."


Seth-
"Hey we have a cool party now, right?"


Stevie-
"It's not the same man... It's just not the same. Go on, get outta here ya bastid!"

Seth sighed and smiled, and they entered into the comm center.

He walked towards the dance floor, glad it was dimly lit so people couldn't see his
highwater pants. Maybe they would just think he was stylish, wasn't that a thing people
were doing now? He'd have to find better shoes though, blood stained Adidas were
not exactly formal-wear.

Abdul got up in his grits.

Abdul-Rahman-
"Seth, I wanted to address an issue with you, if you don't mind."


Seth-
"Okay, it's a party but it might be good to get something out of the way early on. Shoot."


Abdul-Rahman-
"I shall endeavor to keep it brief. Ms. Greene came to this building with
a number of handguns. I talked to her briefly about acquiring one, since
I am trained to use such. She said that she would prefer to consult with
the leadership, so I thought I would just approach you myself. Would you
be amenable to myself and other trained individuals carrying sidearms
in the event that defense becomes necessary on short notice within
the compound?"


Seth-
"Hm.. I feel strange about that given the issue with possession. We don't know
what causes it, and if someone is armed when they are possessed, they could
really hurt a lot of people or themselves."


Abdul-Rahman-
"I've heard a theory or two and they all seem to suggest that a person such as
myself is not the prime target of such spiritual attacks. Whatever the case,
I'm sure we'll solve that mystery, but before then we should be prepared for
anything."


Seth-
"Well, I guess so. Okay, just you for now though, and make sure people don't
see it, and you keep the safety on."


Abdul-Rahman-
"Very well, very well. I'm certain this will improve our response time.
I will of course, only do so with Patti's permission as well."

Abdul resumed his watch.

Seth moved to the other side of the dance floor, feeling a bit irritated but trying to get back
into the spirit of the festivities. A loud KLOK KLOK KLOK sound came through the chamber
as if a horse was walking in from the stairwell. Seth turned. He got a face full of Bebe.

Dr. Bebe-
"Hello Pretty Slugger."


Seth-
"That is quite the nickname I've got! Hello Dr. Bebe, what do you think of our
humble home?"


Dr. Bebe-
"Humble it is, but lovely. I will of course need a place to stay."


Seth-
"Oh of course, just stop by Marie's room, she's our planner, room 608. She'll get a room assigned for you. It'll be pretty bare to start but we're getting things more squared away all the time, we'll be sure to get you a good room."


Dr. Bebe-
"Well I'm pleased as punch. There's music playing, you're standing on the dance floor...
a beautiful woman is looking into your eyes, soulfully. What do you do?"


Seth-
"Haha, what else is there to do? Dr. Melange, care to dance?"


Dr. Bebe-
"I'd love to."

She was nearly as tall as him in her heels, they were the tallest couple by a long shot.
She moved right against him, with no modesty whatsoever, and swayed to the music,
now some dark electro jam. She whispered to him...

Dr. Bebe-
"Does everyone know you're gay?"

He made a slightly startled expression, but smiled slowly. He spoke quietly back.


Seth-
"Is it that obvious?"


Dr. Bebe-
"I'm tempted to say I knew because every single man I dance with gets an erection--
but, I just have nice gaydar. I just imagine that might be a problem for some people,
which of course would be a problem for civilization as we now know it. People can be
pretty bizarre."


Seth-
"Yeah... I've been hoping to keep it fairly hush, not that I'm closeted or anything.
I'm hoping with the right atmosphere it's not going to be an issue, but I don't look
forward to the time that it is."


Dr. Bebe-
(Nodded)"Well, I'm glad you've considered it. It tells me that you're really on top
of things."


Seth-
"So every guy you dance with really gets a boner? What's your secret?" (He smiled)

...

Seth-
"Thank you Dr. Melange, that was fun. I suppose I should leave you to the eligible bachelors."


Dr. Bebe-
"Ah yes. I think I'll have to get in line for Alex, haha."


Seth-
"He's a hot commodity, that one. Good luck doctor. "

Seth excused himself as Ivan was walking on to the dance floor.

Seth-
"Oh hi, you're one of the new folks? I'm Seth, the leader here."


Ivan-
"Oh! How did you get that job generalisimo?"


Seth-
"Haha, voted in. Marie getting you set up?"


Ivan-
"Yeah, I'll probably have to end up rooming with that Ashley guy. It's fine.
I guess we really didn't get introduced. I'm Ivan. I'm a driver, so if we need to
go into Mel Gibson mode..." (He flashed him a peace sign.)


Seth-
"Good to know, we might get to do a bit of driving yet, you never know. Let me know
if you need anything."

Seth glanced around at the crowd, and recalled since he'd mentioned Marie, that she must be
in her room. He headed that way and poked his head in the door.

Seth-
"Hey guys. Having fun yet?"


Zoe-
"It's alright. We should have more candy though."


Marie-
"I'll take that under advisement. Mr. Clemans?"


Seth-
"There's always room for candy, I say."


Marie-
"Very well."

She rooted in a desk that was positioned near the couch, and gave the little girl
a bag of M&Ms.

Zoe-
"Peanut? Lame..."


Seth-
"It's got more protein!"


Kerry-
"Seth! Pleased to see you in one piece after that adventure today. --and you brought
a doctor, that's nice."


Seth-
"Yeah that went about as well as we could have hoped for, really. I hope every job
goes that smoothly!"

He came in and sat on a kitchen chair. A little dog came running up and jumped in his lap.

Seth-
"Haha! Oh, you're a cute one. This your dog too, Zoe?"


Zoe-
"Frank's my only real dog. Benji is visiting, 'cause his owners aren't here anymore. He has a friend that is hiding right now."


Seth-
"Oh yeah? Hm... They need an owner huh? I'm going to move in to my own apartment,
maybe I could use a brave little dog like this for protection. Am I worthy?"


Zoe-
"Oh great! He can be like Bo!"


Seth-
"Yeah! The first dog, aw... So he has a friend too? Another dog or a cat?"


Marie-
"Yeah, Bob is a Siamese cat, and he's glued to the back of our toilet."


Seth-
"Aww..."


Kerry-
"Maybe we could take a pet if they get along with Cocoa."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, you're rooming with Floretta, Daniel and the little baby right? How are things going there?"


Kerry-
"Floretta is good, but she likes to avoid the crowds. Daniel's still a mess."


Zoe-
"If you can't say anything nice..."


Kerry-
"He's a very nice mess."


Seth-
"Aw... Well, I think the two of you will be really good for him. I'm glad he's got someone else around, poor guy. If you could think of anything I could do to help, let me know."


Kerry-
"I will, and if you need anything from any of us, well, Daniel's probably in no shape,
but I'm still highly competent and you saw Floretta working today probably."


Seth-
"I'll keep that in mind." (He smiled.)


Marie-
"--and you're always welcome in my office."

She gestured about the place.

After they were done chatting, Benji followed Seth out into the party.

Seth came in to the kitchen, with Benji trailing behind.

Seth-
"Hi guys, oh man... Look at this food... I forgot how hungry I was."

He looked around surreptitiously and went for a cupboard, electing to fill a ceramic bowl with candy, Lil' Smokies and various gourmet concoctions, instead of the requisite stack on a napkin technique.
He tossed a Lil' Smokie to the dog who caught it in mid-air.

Seth-
"--and that's the last one you ever get...!"

Hector-
"Don't be cruel mang."


Seth-
"These are too good for dogs. Well, yeah I guess that's kinda cruel, haha...
OK, he gets leftovers though. So how are you three? Enjoying the party?"


Volya-
"Oh yeah. It's really good. Maybe I should go dance with sexy chicks."


Seth-
"There's a lot of them out there. Take a chance, man."


Volya-
"Alright!"


Hector-
"Yeah... I guess I can't wallflower forever."


Seth-
"There's a lot of nice folks out there. Maybe play a game or something.
Tyrone's got dominoes going."


Hector-
"Dominoes... why not. Thanks chief."

Seth nodded to him as the two left.

Seth-
"Micah, right? How are you tonight?"

Micah was tucking into a couple of the Hors d'oeuvres.

Micah-
"Seth isn't it? Yeah not bad. Making my way through some champagne,
It's all good. How about you?"


Seth-
"Good good, I've got a new little friend as you can see. We got a new doctor today
on our trip, I don't know if you heard. I hope she'll get on well with Doctor Victor.
You're rooming with him, right? Did you two know each other before?"


Micah-
"Hahaha, I don't think the doctor really gets on with anyone. Yeah I am, but I didn't
know anyone before the shit went down. I was just bumming on a holiday from the
MS Amsterdam you know?...Lucky me, right? Pick the one day the world ends to take
a holiday. Anyways, what did you do before the world fucked itself over?
Got any family?"


Seth-
"Oh wow, you worked on a ship? Chantelle said you were a really talented chef,
so I'm imagining that was your job then?

I've been in Seattle for a few years. Tried to get into the minor leagues for
a couple years, no luck. That's baseball, by the way. Since then just... odd jobs really.
I'm from Ohio before that, never went back after I left for college. It's kind of a rural,
conservative area where I came from. I didn't get along with my family. Feel bad for
some of my friends around here though, they're mostly up on the hill.

It must be really hard for you, all your friends and family back home are so far away.
Were you close with them?"


Micah-
"Yeah, I'm a Sous chef. I miss my friends and family sure, but we didn't leave on the
best terms. Me and my uncle had a few issues, you could fucking say. So you got
a partner? Are you and Steve, You know? You seem tight."


Seth-
"...BAHAHA! Oh that's rich, kid. I guess that's what I get for poking about you and
the doc. Well played, sir."

The good doctor  brazenly made his way over to the two guys by the bar, grinning and
narrowing his eyes like a saucy fox.

Dr. Victor-
"HEY! Micah! There you are! Sheesh, come on, boy, get it going! SETH! Wow, you
look amazing. And, is that a regular tie you managed to... woah, you're talented.
You know who was asking about you just now? Ione was. See?"


Seth-
"Hello Doctor, wow you're in good spirits today, that's nice to see. Ione eh?
I wonder if she needs something. I was thinking about giving her some kind of
position in the cabinet, like H.R. or something. She might like that."

The doctor took the opportunity to wave at Ione while raising his glass to her from the table.

Dr. Victor-
"Anyways! I thought it'd be all cute and teenagery if you brought her a drink-y-drink.
She seemed like she wanted to have some fun, but didn't know how! Go on, man,
Mr. Leader, don't let her get all frumpy in the dumps. Load her up on something great.
I hear she can put Lilla under the table on the sauce, if you know what I mean."


Seth-
"Haha, I think she's a mormon... she'd probably just prefer hot water."

The doctor gave Micah the macho head nod, lifting his chin suddenly. As Dr. Victor reached to
refill his drink, he made sure to insert himself between Seth and Micah as much as possible,
reaching now for champagne and grenadine.

Dr. Victor-
"We all have so much to learn about each other. Everyone is very, very interesting.
Dr. Melange might just chew up every guy at this party in those heels, but I'm not one
to judge harshly."

He turned towards Micah.

"What have you been up to? Did you get all this fabulous alcohol for us? That's so nice,
Micah. You make me feel like a kid!"

The doctor reached out and cupped the other man's chin, with a wink.

Seth-
"Hello...! Well, don't let me get in the way you two. Have fun. "

Seth got his food and headed back to the party with the little dog.

Seth noticed the relatively bare patio, and thought he might get less of a beef about his pile of snacks out there. He stepped on to the patio, balancing his food and a large glass of Jagermeister. Benji followed, his toenails tapping on the metal floor.

Bryce-
"Oh, hi Chief. That's funny, just the guy I was looking for."


Seth-
"Yeah?"

He sat at Bryce's table, setting the piled bowl of snacks in the middle.

Seth-
"Have some snacks. There's uh... some of everything."

Kaito glanced over, and seemed to think people talking would cramp his James Dean
style badassery. He flicked the cigarette to the ground, and strutted with a solitary "Nn."

Bryce-
"Uh haha... yeah I'll have something. Hey... I'm having a bit of trouble with Derek,
about the supplies."


Seth-
"Oh? What's going on, do you need something?"


Bryce-
"I do, but... it's a pharmaceutical, and I've got this ridiculous reputation around here already, like I'm Tommy Chong."


Seth-
"Maybe I can go get it for you, what is it?"


Bryce-
"It's just an anti-D-- anti-anxiety drug. I'm uptight."


Seth-
"Oh really? You seem relaxed to me. Sure, I could get it for you, what's it called?"


Bryce-
"Carimsidol. Believe me, in another day I'm gonna be a big mess."


Seth-
"You're out?"


Bryce-
"Yep."


Seth-
"Oh because--" (he looked uncomfortable, remembering something.)

Bryce shrugged.

Seth-
"Yeah I'll get it. It might be a good idea to try to step down though, who knows how long
we'll be able to get that kinda thing."


Bryce-
"I dunno. Let's talk about it later. If you can get it. I'll wait here."

Seth got up, leaving the bowl behind.

Seth-
"Hey, watch my food? You can eat some, just... save me the Li'l Smokies okay?"


Bryce-
(laughed) "...Okay."

Seth came out to the supply area, drink in hand and with a little dog trailing behind.
He saw the supplies had been apparently shoved into cabinets which were locked shut
with bicycle locks. He walked over and idly poked them.

Derek approached.

Derek-
"Need somethin' chief?"


Seth-
"Oh! Someone asked me about getting them a medicine, an anti-depressant. Those things got a nasty side-effect if you don't step off of them first."


Derek-
"Bryce?! Man, that dude's just looking for a score."


Seth-
"Of anti-depressants? I don't think you can get high off those."


Derek-
"You don't think, but you don't know. Man, those guys are like scientists,
figuring out how to get high. He'd be doing it off fuckin'... Cool Whip or something."


Seth-
"Well, maybe I can dispense them to him. Just one a day or whatever the label says."


Derek-
"How do you know? You don't have any proof."


Seth-
"They give those things out to everyone these days. Whether he's really got the issue or not, you still have to step down to get off them or you get pretty screwed up. Maybe that's why he acts... like that."


Derek-
"What? Nah, he's just a punk. Alright, well you wanna deal with that stuff, you deal with it. This one's for the drugs, I got 'em in this one right here. Just take that stuff, and lock up when you're done."


Seth-
"Uh, thanks."

Seth bent down and started sorting through the pill bottles, sipping on his drink.

Jonah-
"Hey what do we have going on here?"


Seth-
"Oh, just... *sigh* Someone needed some medicine. Derek's being pretty strict about dispensing."


Jonah-
"Hm. What kind of medicine? Not diabetes medicine I hope!"


Seth-
"Oh no, God... they'd be in trouble, yikes. No, just some anti-depressants."


Jonah-
"That's still pretty bad. I hadn't thought about it, but maybe we should ask everybody if they've got something they need like that. Maybe they could talk to the doctor and come up with a plan for stepping down, and we can know whether there's something absolutely essential we gotta be looking for out there."


Seth-
"Yeah we got the Medical Center, they might be willing to trade for medicine again. Good idea Jonah. Hey..."

He found the bottle he was looking for, and stood up.


Seth-
"I was thinking, we could probably use a counselor around here. I was going to ask Kerry, but maybe we could use two. You're really calm, I think you could do well at that. Would you like to do that instead of some of the usual chores?"


Jonah-
"I feel a little weird...! Um... Well, I'm not really cut out for heavy lifting. I'll do it. If it turns out that I suck at it, you can always fire me."


Seth-
"Haha, I doubt that. I think, just listen to people's problems, no need for psychoanalysis or whatever. Let's talk tomorrow, we can set up a schedule for everybody."


Jonah-
"Okay, will do."

Seth locked up the medicine and went back to the party.

He returned to the patio, shaking the pill bottle between his fingers.

Seth-
"Well Mr...--Ms. Sabin, (he read off the pill bottle) here's the stuff."


Bryce-
"Alright. You're a lifesaver dude. This is why you're the president."

Seth sat at the table, laying into the remaining snacks.

Seth-
"It's about half-full. A friend of mine stepped off these kinda things when his insurance stopped covering it. You're lucky these are hard caps, you can just cut 'em down. Go like, half for a week, a quarter.. a quarter every other day..."


Bryce-
"Geez... I dunno man. There's a lot of people doing stuff like that. I think I could probably just run through the remains of civilization's Rx, couldn't I?"


Seth-
"I thought these kind of things were pretty mild. Do you think they make a big difference?"


Bryce-
"Haha... The apparent effect is mild but as you know, the withdrawals are awful. I just need something, life's just too much for me pretty often."


Seth-
"We're going to have some counselors, do you think that would help?"


Bryce-
"Ugh, haha... Counselings huh? Hasn't been much help in the past. But if I run out of this shit, I'm gonna need it, haha."


Seth-
"I can help you divide these up, it really helps with the withdrawal."


Bryce-
"I still don't know if I wanna do that. Okay, alright. Let's do this crazy shit."


Seth-
"When we go out for medicine, I'll keep my eye out, but I think it's best to not be dependent on it."


Bryce-
"You'll be seeing a whole different side of me in a while, haha..."


Seth-
"What's that like?"


Bryce-
"You'll find out..."

Back inside, Chantelle had a good pace on the bicycle. She turned the music's volume down briefly to make some DJ talk.

Chantelle-
"Get into the groove, ladies and gentlemen! We're going to keep it hot for now, but in just two tracks I'm gonna spin a slow jam, for all young lovers!"

On the patio, Seth sat cross-legged in the chair, and the little dog hopped on to his lap. Somewhere in the background some electro music beeped and blorped. He crunched on the snacks, and gestured for Bryce to take some as well.

Bryce-
"Alright..."

He finally began dipping into it, grabbing candies.

Seth-
"I'm glad you're going for those, I'm not as into the sweets."


Bryce-
"They say these things will last forever, but chocolates usually have an expiration date. I find that disturbing."


Seth-
"Oh hey, I'm gonna be even more your neighbor now. I'm moving to that empty apartment tonight, the one next door."


Bryce-
"Oh wow... Things didn't work out where you were?"


Seth-
"I love Stevie like a weird uncle, but... I dunno how hygienic that place is if you haven't built up an immunity."


Bryce-
"Yeah that's.. haha, I know something about that. So, I was wondering something the other day."


Seth-
"What's that?"


Bryce-
"Are you gay?"


Seth-
"..."

Seth paused with a Dorito poised halfway to his mouth, and glanced over very slowly with a dubious look.

Bryce-
"What? You know... I'm gay and I just thought, you know. What's the matter?"

Seth laughed and put the chip down.

Seth-
"Oh, okay. It's just weird that I'm getting called out pretty hard at this party. I was hoping to not be totally out there, in case anyone's a freak about it, since I'm leader. But yeah..."


Bryce-
"I hadn't thought about that before, that's funny. Heh... Yeah. I hadn't really thought about freaks in the apocalypse, I just figure everything's good now. I mean, what's the point?"


Seth-
"Yeah I hope people can chill out over time, but you never know. Wasn't three days ago we'd never have a gay president. Well, anyway."

He smiled a little.

"--Just curious then?"


Bryce-
"Oh yeah I wasn't... hitting on you or anything. It's just, good to know who your options are... and I'm liking the odds so far. Kinda funny, lot of gay people showing up here."


Seth-
"Oh? I'm doing my inventory, yeah could be a lot. TOTALLY the doctor, right? I practically saw him smooching on that Australian kid."


Bryce-
"Yeah and that guy, I asked him and he said yeah. So he's definitely gay and the doctor is a gay Dracula for him. Then there's you and me... Four... three... that's like one in seven people or so."


Seth-
"Well maybe some of the people weren't gay before, if you know what I mean. Haha..."


Bryce-
"Hahaha... Well, here we are. Gay kings of the apocalypse, gazing out on our kingdom of ruin."


Seth-
"You're funny. Yay my list is becoming more complete. I think there's a lot of gay ladies too. I wonder if this is gonna be the LGBT mecca."


Bryce-
"Ah... I hope Capitol Hill is alright."


Seth-
"Man, no kidding... Ugh."

The little dog whined as he stared at the plate of food, Seth ruffled his fuzzy head and tossed him a cracker on the ground.
Bryce suddenly sat up a bit, peering out into the darkness.

Bryce-
"Those um, possessed people... can like, crawl on walls right?"


Seth-
"That's what they say."


Bryce-
"Um, I think I'm gonna go hang out inside."


Seth-
"Okay, yeah it's kinda dark out here."

Seth and Bryce returned indoors.

Seth sat down the empty ceramic bowl on a side table. Chantelle played some kind of high-speed remix of 'Heartbeats' by the Knife.

Seth-
"I wonder if she'd take requests..."


Bryce-
"Hey, so as the president you're not allowed to dance with dudes?"


Seth-
"Hm. You know I never thought of it. That's shitty. It's pretty dark and there's a lot of people. You wanna sneak in there?"


Bryce-
"Yes. Yes I do."

Bryce grabbed Seth's hand and lead him over the dance floor. They found a good spot somewhat obscured by Chantelle's bike to boogie up. Benji ran around happily sniffing people's feet and looking for dropped snacks.

Seth leaned in close to Bryce.

Seth-
"Haha, our new doctor's got quite the line up to dance. Who'd have thought the the Gay Dracula's little man would go for it! I have to admit, it's pretty fun. "


Bryce-
"Yeah... Pure chaos. This is the sort of thing I can find fun right now, but would have me running to my room without that stuff. Like, too much to take in."


Seth-
"Really? Aww... Well, crowds aren't for everyone anyway."


Bryce-
"What have we gotten ourselves into... This is still pretty unbelievable."


Seth-
"The whole zombpocalypse thing? Yeah... I don't even want to try to understand it. Just gotta do the next thing, you know? It's too much to take in all at once."


Bryce-
"I still don't get how any of it's possible. I know a little bit about that stuff, magic isn't real."


Seth-
"Maybe it's real now. Wait... did you try to cast spells before?"


Bryce-
"Oh don't be silly. Well, kinda I guess."


Seth-
"Oh my god, you're a wizard! That's so cute."


Bryce-
"Magic isn't real. Okay... like, Bantam Skylark books publishes the fucking necronomicon, and you can wear a funny hat and say "Zi-dingir Ana Kan-pa" but that doesn't mean a fire demons going to appear, or a zompocalypse."

Seth shrugged.

Seth-
"Guess we gotta learn more. In the mean time, you better get back into this groove, kid, before I go request some Gaga and everyone starts puking rainbows."


Bryce-
"Fuckin' A."

They danced for inspiration and shit.

Chantelle-
"Alright folks, that's right, it's time for the slow jam! Get your sweetie and get close!"

"Unchained Melody" started up.

Seth-
"Uh, this might be a bit weird..."


Bryce-
"No foolin.' Imma go drink. Peace."


Seth-
"It's been real."

(Bryce went to the boozy corner...)

Meanwhile--

Anna-
"I dunno if we're ready for Unchained Melody yet, Jackson."


Jackson-
"Fair enough. Maybe I should get in line for Doctor Bebe, haha..."


Anna-
"Ha... Rock on man."

Seth walked around the bike carefully, moving past Anna. She snagged him by the lapel.

Anna-
"You gotta dance to the slow jam, and if you ain't got somebody you're deep with, you gotta dance with somebody that has no interest in boning you. You're it."


Seth-
"Ha.. I'm always well regarded for my lack of desire to bone people. Sure."

Anna and Seth started dancing to the slow jam, and time went by... so slowly, and time could do so much.

Seth-
"I wish I had a pink puffy dress for this one... and wall of bangs. Gotta have wall of bangs."


Anna-
"Ugh. I swear. The wigs I had to wear were at least thirty-five years old."


Seth-
"Yikes. I know that makeup kit smelled funk-ee. I guess I was lucky that I usually didn't have to wear anything. At all. Bleh."


Anna-
"Yeah, no talking about work."


Seth-
"Well how are things going? I wanted to invite you out on the trip today, but wasn't sure if you were ready for more Seth time."


Anna-
"Yeah... Sorry about that. It's still pretty freaky. Then there's *that*." (She gestured out the window.)


Seth-
"No joke. I saw how you handled 'em though, you do better than most of those guys."


Anna-
"Oh yeah. I've got a little bit of riot experience. I could put that on my resume now."


Seth-
"You're talking to the right person then! Just let me know, next outdoor thing, Anna's on my list."


Anna-
"Oh really? That's cool. Hey you think it's a disease?"

Seth shook his head.

Seth-
"We talked to those doctors a bit... I don't think so. Well, at least not in anything but a very abstract sense. It's like everyone has it, and the way you become sick is to die. I don't think a living person can catch it."


Anna-
"That's good. Y'know, I don't even know what to think about it, but that's one less thing to worry about."


Seth-
"I feel pretty confident about the ghosts too. I don't think they can get in here, they gotta go through holes or doors or whatever. That smart guy, with the glasses, he had a clever idea too. I'm gonna try it-- use fire on those things."


Anna-
"What makes you think that's clever? No offense to that guy..."


Seth-
"Well, you can't touch 'em right? Can't shoot them or hit them, but that blonde lady said they smelled all funky, like chemicals. Maybe they're flammable? It's worth a shot, I think."


Anna-
"Damn. I wonder if they'd at least be afraid of fire. Like candles or something."


Seth-
"Yeah... huh! I wonder if that's another reason we haven't seen them here? All the candles around."


Anna-
"Well I hope so. I don't even wanna think about that crap until I have to."


Seth-
"Hey I won't bug you about that Jackson guy, but he seems real sweet."


Anna-
"Yeahhh... It's kinda weird. Hitting it off with somebody with the shit going on? Then all of a sudden, your neighbors are people you know. They're in your grits with expectations and stuff."


Seth-
"Yup, we've gone back a century or two. Kinda strange. I dunno though, I think it's nice for people to get together. It's stressful and scary, people can help each other out if they need it. Speaking of which... Seth gestured with his head towards the boozy corner.
"Tooootally got hit on by little guy over there. Heheheh."


Anna-
"Geez! Word gets around fast! You don't think... anybody's seen your work do you?"

Seth made a face.

Seth-
"OH GOD. Ugh! Damn I pray to zombie Jesus no. These fucking tattoos, I just HAD to get one on my forearm. No no no. Ugh."


Anna-
"Shh... Just uh, hope for the best. Has anybody looked at you like that might be true? You probably don't have anything to worry about."


Seth-
"No... I don't think so anyway. Yikes. Now I'm wishing I could've had a cool wig."


Anna-
"Here we are talking about work again."


Seth-
"Yeah let's go back to bitchy gossip, that's what I'm best at. GUESS what I saw the Doctor do..."

Chantelle did her DJ styles...

Chantelle-
"How'd you like that folks? Well here's another blast from the past!"

The Psychedelic Furs "Love My Way" came on.

Seth-
"Well, that was fun Anna. Ooh next time you should dip me! That would be cute."


Anna-
"The mechanics of that boggle my mind."


Seth-
"Looks like our respective interested parties are at the moment unattached. With the music less... Prom-esque, shall we?"


Anna-
"Great! Jackson...!"

Seth made his way to the boozy corner, and Anna & Jackson started a'boogyin' again.

Seth stopped for another drink, and came by the dim corner where Bryce sat alone, drinking some manner of wine.

Seth-
"Wine huh? They always give that away for free at parties."


Bryce-
"They give it away for free at this party. Actually, I'm just finishing off people's bottles. For some reason, people always leave like.. a quarter inch in the bottom. It drives me crazy!"


Seth-
"Isn't that called the "dregs?"

He sat on the sofa, with the glass of dark liquor.

Bryce-
"I... I have no idea why."

He put down the bottle and picked up another one.

Seth-
"Hey Bryce, how old are you?"


Bryce-
"Wait-- this isn't about the alcohol is it? That's just silly."


Seth-
"Wow, you're under 21? I was just curious. Don't tell me you're a teenager..."


Bryce-
"Don't be silly. I'm legal in Germany."


Seth-
"So you're over like, 16?"


Bryce-
"Not age of consent, age to drink! Wait, is it 16 in Germany? I'm 20!!"


Seth-
"Phew. Got me nervous there."


Bryce-
"N...nervous about what?"

Seth chuckled like a guy in an old movie, and took a drink.

Seth-
"...Nothin.'"


Bryce-
"Oh, haha... Mr. President, are you enjoying the party?"


Seth-
"I think so, yes. It was a little weird at first, but it's pretty nice huh? I like meeting everyone, seeing people have fun. Can you believe we have music? Little blinky lights? Jagermeister? What's next?"


Bryce-
"Good question. What can they do with these crude aproximations of our once mighty civilization? I'm hoping for ice cubes. No no.. I'm hoping for ice cream."


Seth-
"What would you do if someone was able to get you ice cream?"

(He looked maybe a little saucy, it was pretty dark though.)

Bryce-
"Oh well... it depends, if it was mushy, you know where it gets kinda foamy? I don't know if it has something to do with carrageenan or something. I would kick them in the nuts. But, if it was good, straight to oral sex."

Seth laughed.

Seth-
"Hey if we get ice cubes, we can get ice cream. Or at least... soy cream or something. Damn, might have to get a cow."


Bryce-
*sigh* It's just never gonna be the same again. Does sweetened condensed milk in the cans have an experiation date? Hmm..."


Seth-
"Oh good idea! When I was a kid we'd just eat that stuff out of the can."


Bryce-
"Geez! That's disturbing. Did you live in the projects?"


Seth-
"No way it's like the bottom of a cereal bowl, all milky and sweet. Projects... more like, the house from Night of the Living Dead, with less friends and more siblings."


Bryce-
"Oh! No wonder you got to be president."

The doctor stormed in, a snatched bottle of something or other tucked into his shirt. He threw himself on the couch, huffing a bit at the brisk pace and not due to his current emotional train wreck. He twisted and pulled at the seal before gnawing at it with his teeth.

Dr. Victor-
"Fuck, this is hard to get when your drunk! A lil' help, please?!?"

The doctor thrust the champagne at Bryce, his eyes staring down the bridge of his nose at the boy. The doctor tried to cover a sniffle with a cough, but only managed to suck in a small gasp of air.

"Hurry! Before I get all sad or something and it becomes your fault!"

Bryce & Seth
" "


Bryce-
"Yeah, um... I think I could do that. It's kinda like..."

He took the bottle, and did a twist maneuver with his shirt, and handed it back.

Bryce-
"Ta da... No tears now."


Seth-
"Doctor, are you okay?! What's wrong?"

The doctor began to gulp down several swigs before coming back up for air. He then let loose an unprofessional belch and wiped his lips on his sleeve.

Dr. Victor-
"I'm gay! I'm fucking gay and while I have attracted swarms of women of various kinds like flies on shit I can't even get a little foreigner to kiss me. And he is so fucking toasted it makes me look sober! And I'm not fine with finally accepting myself only to be rejected inadvertently by another hot guy on the roof! The world is ending and- and-"

The doctor began to sniffle and just quieted the sobs the best way he knew how- alcohol. He felt as classy as the crazy cat lady on the Simpsons.

Bryce-
"Oh.. don't be like that man... man....!"

Seth ran over to comfort the doctor, putting a hand on his back.

Seth-
"Oh my gosh, Doctor! It's okay! Hey, c'mon... maybe we should get you to your room."


Bryce-
"C'mon, you know everyone here is gay! It's like the Castro or somethin'."

Seth gave Bryce a 'don't out me' look.

Bryce-
"It's just-- it's just other fish in the sea is all I'm sayin'."


Seth-
"Hey Bryce, maybe let's help the doctor to his room..."


Bryce-
"Oh sure."

The doctor shook his head quickly.

Dr. Victor-
"You are not going to kick me out and lock the homosexual away! It is not a quarantinable condition! I'm not going out into the room.by myself! I'm perfectly *sniff* capable to handle this!"

Dr. Victor burrowed his back deeper into the couch, possibly trapping Seth's comforting hand.

"I still haven't done my Napolean Dynamite dance yet! You bastards aren't going to ruin my coming out party! This was for me and I will not be drug off like some princess unless I am scooped up carried and defiled in my bedroom. I am the one who will get the last laugh! Who the hell does he think he is anyways?"

The doctor began talking with the champagne bottle, bubbly goodness sloshing around and sputtering on the floor.

"I am going to drink the pain away like a respectable gentlemen, make Micah jealous by making out with a girl, and promptly weep about this tomorrow when I have the after affects of my ruined plans all over my hand, chest, and bed sheets. Any takers on breaking my delicate man-cherry?"

Bryce-
"Oh man, maybe you should just rest there. But I wouldn't count on making out with anyone in your condition."


Seth-
"Yeah... Err..."

Seth found himself pulled into an awkward position by the doctor's flopping around, and had to yank his hand free. He put his hand on the doctor's shoulder again, with a manly pat.

Seth-
"It's not such a big deal is it? It's 2012... It's not like an Oscar Wilde novel, man."


Bryce-
"True that."

Bryce looked with appreciation at Seth. The doctor nuzzled himself on Seth's shoulder, coughing back a wave of drunken emotion.

Dr. Victor-
"Look, Seth. I am OLD. O-L-D and I spent MANY years putting myself into a spot where I could do some good. And I never took care of my personal needs, like love or even friendship, really. Everything was planned... calculated. Even this, even yesterday... each step carefully and tactically planned out. I had not time to romance for myself. It was all an act. An ACT! You're both young and you have so much going for you. I just wanted a kiss for the end of the world. Maybe I should just... dance? Is that what the gays do to make themselves feel better? Hmm?"

Seth patted the doctor like a very strange modern Pietà.

Seth-
"Gosh yes, just dance you crazy guy. Drink some water and I'll go request some Gaga for you or something."


Bryce-
"If I dance with you, don't make me regret it."


Dr. Victor-
"Oh, Bryce, I'm a wonderful dancer! If there is one thing I can do, it's dance and perform cardiac lavage. Well, that's two things, but I shouldn't do them at the same time... not after the last time."

Laughing, he gently grasped Bryce's hand.

"I won't break him, Seth, that's your job!"


Bryce-
"Say wha, wha?"

With that, the good doctor pulled the young man out onto the dance floor, still clutching the bottle in the other hand.

*They went to the dance floor thread*

Seth
"... "

Seth finished his drink, and tried to dry the Doctor's tear stains from his shirt with a napkin. He came over the dance floor to request a song...

Seth sneaked around the backside of Chantelle's bike.

Seth-
"Pssst, do you take requests?"


Chantelle-
"You know it! *huff puff* Yeah!"


Seth-
"You got the Gaga? The uh, Doctor wants to hear it."


Chantelle-
"Oooohhhhh! I think, if it's okay, we go wayy back. 'Cause all I got is Poker Face. I bought it for my niece, and it's just on my iTunes...."


Seth-
"No need to explain. I'm sure he'll appreciate it."

---

Chantelle-
"This one goes out to the gamblers in the corner!"

Then, it got all Gagaish up in that piece.


Seth came over to the now un-entangled Bryce.

Seth-
"Wow, what a party..."


Bryce-
"This... is... why Carimsidol and dregs."


Seth-
"This scene is a bit... fierce for me, and not in the fashionista sense."


Bryce-
"I know, what do we do? What can we do?"


Seth-
"Hm, maybe we call it in. Want to be my moral support as I move some stuff?"


Bryce-
"Fuckin' A, yes, very much so."

Seth and Bryce bid adieu to Chantelle and others, pick up the sleeping Benji and leave da party.


Seth poked his head in the door to Marie’s room, with Bryce behind.

Seth-
"Hey, I thought I could come pick up the kitty--"

He saw Stevie.

Stevie-
"Oh, gettin' pets."


Seth-
"Yeah, I thought the little dog might be good ghost protection. Hey... I hope no hard feelings."


Stevie-
"Don't remind me... Guess I'm gonna need a pet too."


Zoe-
"We're running out of pets! You guys should find some pets outside."


Kerry-
"You don't want to go outside Zoe, it's a little scary out there..."


Zoe-
"I know, but these guys will. Bring a dog whistle!"


Stevie-
"Good thinkin' kid."


Seth-
"Yeah, if we see any pets, we'll bring them back."

Zoe left, and came back with a small bundle in a towel, she handed it to Bryce.

Bryce-
"Thanks kid. Zoe right?"


Zoe-
"Yeah, you're nicer than that Australian guy. He always says curses."


Bryce-
"Yeah... Well it's nice that you get to have your old room."


Zoe-
"Uh huh, when my parents come back Marie will lose her office though."


Bryce-
"We'll look forward to it anyway."

He tried to not look at anybody, and escorted the bound ticking claw-bomb to the hall. Seth smiled and waved goodnight to everyone, joining Bryce.

Zoe-
"Bob is a pretty cat."


Kerry-
"I could hardly see him!"


Zoe-
"He's siamese-y."

Seth grabbed a few scratchy blankets and a couple flat pillows from the supply area, and he and Bryce hurried to the empty apartment to release the scared cat.
They got inside, and closed the door, leaving the room almost entirely black. Benji was running laps around the empty living room.

Bryce-
"I'll let more moonlight in for the moment."

He opened the blinds all the way up.

"Ah, a little better."

Bryce carefully set the cat down, and unleashed it from its prison. It was a medium sized Siamese cat with a black face.

Seth-
"Aww!"

Seth moved to light a candle, and the cat darted for the hall, hiding next to the bathroom door and letting out a little yowl.

Bryce-
"Wow, so you're just not afraid of ghosts at all, huh?"


Seth-
"Mm, not really. I mean, we've never seen them here. I think that guy was right too, I bet they hate fire so they keep away from the candles. How about you?"


Bryce-
"It just doesn't seem possible to me. I mean, if ghosts are real, how would fire hurt them? There aren't any stories about that."


Seth-
"There's not stories about them smelling like mushroom schnapps either. Go fig."

He lit every candle from his pocket, and left them on the counter top, dimly lighting the room with orange. He tossed the blankets and pillows on the floor.

Bryce-
"Alright. Guess now that we've got this light, I should close these curtains. Don't wanna let wall-crawlers know we're in here."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, for sure. Oh hey, that Alex kid told me something-- he thinks people are more likely to get possessed if they're religious. What do you think of that?"


Bryce-
"Huh... I guess if possession's gonna be real, and you go with the stories as your guide, the only places that's happened is in religious communities. But, how religious do you have to be, and what religion?"


Seth-
"I dunno, he said... he almost got possessed, something to do with hell. Like he had visions of hell, but someone distracted the monster, so he didn't get possessed."


Bryce-
"Huh... I dunno what to make of that. I mean I'm not exactly spooky Mulder here."


Seth-
"You watched that? How old were you?"

Seth flopped on the floor after spreading the blanket out.

Bryce-
"Uhh it was already in reruns. I think the series was over."

Bryce sat Indian style next to Seth on the blankets. Benji came over and rolled around on a pillow.

Bryce-
"Yeah... Uh, I ... think I need to be unconscious. I dunno about my room right now."


Seth-
"Heh, how afraid of ghosts are you? I could stay up for you maybe, if you are."


Bryce-
"Oh that's nice. Nah... I think I'm gonna keep taking a chance. It's a whole building full of people to choose from. I'm sure they'll get somebody else first."


Seth-
"Hahaha. That's how I think! Plus, we got brave Benji here. Bet he just hates ghosts."

Benji rolled happily on the pillows, panting.

Bryce-
"Yeah... Derek disappeared in a scene earlier tonight. I don't like tip-toeing around his ass."


Seth-
"Man, I'm glad we're getting counselors soon. That guy..."


Bryce-
"Oh, you think he can't handle it?"


Seth-
"I wouldn't blame him, but... yeah, he's pretty on edge."


Bryce-
"Guess I'll have to keep an eye out for him."

Seth stood up, and pulled the tie off, and kicked his shoes in to the empty room.

Seth-
"How about that doctor? That was pretty thrilling."


Bryce-
"Hahaha! Seriously... Did everybody come down from Capitol Hill?"


Seth-
"Birds of a feather I guess. So, anybody your type?"


Bryce-
"Hehehe... I don't really have a type."

Seth took his shirt off, and tossed it over the non-fiery counter. He wore an undershirt and had a tattoo of a cartoon ghost ala Pacman on one arm, and a series of stars on the other forearm.

Seth-
"Everyone always says that! Well, I can't blame you, I don't really either."


Bryce-
"Well, y'know... if it's a toss up between all the madmen tonight, I think I hit the jackpot, tiger."


Seth-
"Oh? I guess I better dispense some coins or somethin'."

He laid on his side next to Bryce and tossed a pillow next to himself, displacing King Benji from his throne. Bryce smiled.

Bryce-
"Don't mind if I do..."

He snuggled next to Seth.

Seth-
"--How about that, we're only reasonably tipsy, and relatively clean, about to engage in pleasant slumber... I can only imagine what sort of sordid activities that new lot are getting up to. That Doctor's going to be glad Facebook doesn't exist come tomorrow."


Bryce-
"Hahaha... yeah, death to social media."

Seth put an arm around Bryce and sighed into the pillow.

Seth-
"No more mutant pizzas... sorry Stevie, this is way better."

Bryce didn't understand, but he was too cool to ask. Seth closed his eyes and listened to the sounds of Bryce breathing, and Benji tap-tapping around in the empty kitchen. Bryce opened his eyes, and looked at Seth.
Seth breathed through his nose slowly, and had a slight orange glow around the top of his head from the candlelight, and dark shadows cast from his eyebrows and cheekbones. He smelled like the strange licorice-y booze and just a little sweaty.

Bryce thought to himself, I hope that cat doesn't curl its whiskers on a candle. We're probably going to wake up looking like Pompeii victims.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

This night seemed a bit faster, though there were some sudden starts-- the cat yowling, the dog jumping on someone, a creak or a door closing...
Bryce kept being reminded of where he was and feeling awkward but pleasant about it. Seth slept pretty heavily luckily and didn't need to shift around much. He generally kept an arm behind Bryce's head, and sometimes an arm on top of him too. At some point the little dog curled behind their heads to sleep as well. Bryce eventually fell into a deeper sleep and there they remained until...
Seth's phone chirped like electronic crickets, and he stirred, reaching for it as Benji yapped. The sky was a royal blue and a vague light from it was already filtering into the empty living room. He turned the phone off and lay flat again pulling Bryce close like he was an extra warm pillow. He still seemed half-asleep.
Bryce pushed his way out gently, and sat up.

Bryce-
"Ahhh why'd you set the alarm man? Where does anybody have to be anymore?"


Seth-
"Mm I thought.... should get up when I used to. Gotta... work out..."

He sat up stiffly and blinked a few times.

Bryce-
"How do you feel? Don't you think yesterday was enough of a workout?"

Seth stretched his arms and made uncomfortable faces.

Seth-
"Ugh... I wouldn't have thought it was... but maybe it was. So stiff argh..."


Bryce-
"Hmm do you have a candy bar around here somewhere?"


Seth-
"Oh, hungry? I think I put a Twix in my shirt pocket over there."

He stood slowly, and went over to the kitchen sink and pulled off the saran to splash his face.

Bryce-
"Okay, that's it. That's what I needed, and now I tell you, I have a secret power."

Seth pulled his shirt off to wipe his wet face.

Seth-
"Secret powers huh?"


Bryce-
"Yeah, for sore muscles. I took a massage class at college."


Seth-
"Aw yeah! This is what the post-capitalist world is all about, bartering for services. I'm into it."


Bryce-
"Yeah yeah, I might want to value those services cheaply, because I only showed up for one day of class, and it wasn't the first one."


Seth-
"Well, anything'd be nice I'm sure. Better than Benji running around on top of me all night at least."

He came back into the room, tossing the candy to Bryce and laid down on the blanket again, with his shirt off still.

Bryce-
"Boy, you aren't modest. Not like you'd have to be. Oh that's kinda funny... You wax your body hair. You can see the little stubbles."


Seth-
"Ohh... yeah. Y'know, some people are into that. I'm obviously going to grow it in though. What do you think?"


Bryce-
"That seems like a pretty extreme thing to do because 'some people are into it', but yeah... whatever you like man."

Seth felt like he dodged a bullet.

Bryce-
"Alright, let's commence to implementing my semi-learned technique."


Seth-
"Go for it, sensei."

Bryce administered an inexpert massage, which was occasionally annoying but occasionally just what the doctor ordered. He alternated between little karate chops and the more typical rubbing.

Seth-
"Not bad, worth a Twix I think. I'm not that into Twix."


Bryce-
"Maybe I should have charged more."

Then-- there came a rapping at the door.

Bryce-
"Eh..!"

He was torn for a moment, between pretending he was just being a post-apoc masseur, and hiding-- and then he went for the other room.

Seth-
"Aw man..."

He tossed the shirt over one shoulder and went for the door, Benji yapping and running around. He encountered a Chantelle.

Chantelle-
"Hey... somebody's putting guns in the community center in a cabinet and I thought you should know about that."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, I talked to that soldier woman about that. Well that's good, I guess I should go check it out."


Chantelle-
"Yeah, I dunno. It feels a little weird to me, but I guess I got cookin' to do. Back to the old grind."

Chantelle backed out into the hall and started plodding towards the stairs.

Chantelle-
"Later boss!"

Seth closed the door, and noticed a lack of Bryces. Bryce poked his head out of the bedroom.

Bryce-
"Is it gone?"


Seth-
"Yes, you poor sensitive soul, the boogey Chantelle is gone."


Bryce-
"Hey, she has very scary hair. Don't judge me."

Seth hopped up to grab the door frame, trying to test its workout suitability.

Seth-
"Eh, not strong enough."

He hopped down.

Seth-
"Hey thanks for hanging out with me last night, that was fun."


Bryce-
"Oh yeah, no prob. I mean, it's really cool that we got so many gay guys here but... those guys are fuckin' nuts."


Seth-
"I might not phrase it that way, but yeah. They're very... odd."


Bryce-
"That's generous. Well alright, I guess I'm going to sit around the community center and wait for breakfast. Heyy... I get up there early, I can sign up for some bullshit duty. Great!"


Seth-
"See the benefits of getting up early?"

He winked and gave Bryce a friendly pat on the back. Bryce smiled.

Bryce-
"I am going to sleep for at least four hours today at some point."


Seth-
"Good, conserve your energy. You might need it, haha."

Seth went back to the sink to continue washing, and Bryce wondered if that last line was flirtatious or ominous.



The night passed with various people taking guard duty and attempting to clean up the mess left by the party. Nothing particularly eventful happened, except for some SWEET LOVIN PERHAPS???
The new work sign up was on the whiteboard-- presumably many people would take similar jobs to the day before. There was a new special job, to do a run to the nearby city hardware, to gather necessary tools and supplies for the electrical work.



(The location: goo.gl/maps/FWtMH PS-- Alex, look what's next door! ;D )


Two groups would go to make scavenging faster. Seth penciled a few names of people he wanted to ask to join his group, and Abdul-Rahman had already added his.


Seth caught up to Bryce after he'd changed into some semi-fresh clothes, his only pair of jeans getting a chance to line dry on the roof for awhile. Chantelle had mixed up some instant cocoa and was warming some pre-cooked bacon.

Seth nodded to Abdul-Rahman, and poured himself a cup of cocoa. Abdul came over.

Abdul-Rahman-
"Well, things seem to be coming together. That was a good idea to keep the guns in a central location."


Seth-
"Yeah, I figure if we get some sort of attack we can run and get them, and we'll know where to guard if someone gets possessed."

Abdul nodded.

Abdul-Rahman-
"I... hope we have coffee."


Chantelle-
"Come and get it man!"

Seth glanced over the work sign up and came to sit by Bryce with the cocoa.

Bryce-
"Hey, I get a personal visit from the president."


Seth-
"It's pretty exciting, isn't it? Get the job you wanted?"


Bryce-
"Yeah, I'm all about it. They're just gonna have to hold me back."


Seth-
(a little quieter) "Hey how are you feeling?"


Bryce-
"Huh? Why do you ask that?"


Seth-
"I dunno, you seem fine. I just wanted to make sure."

Bryce looked a little disturbed thinking about that.

Seth-
"Sorry. I won't bug you."


Bryce-
"No, um... I guess it's important to know stuff like that. I told Kenny about it. I was just fucking around. I ain't gonna get anybody hurt, I sure the hell ain't gonna go out on missions and stuff."


Seth-
"It's okay, I wasn't asking because I want you to do work or something. I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay because..."

He shrugged and smiled a little coyly.

"You can tell me if you need anything."


Bryce-
"Hm... Ice cream. Just... we need refrigeration."


Seth-
"Yeah, we're going out to get some tools and stuff today. Gotta be able to keep that seagull meat for longer."


Bryce-
"Oh man. I hope it doesn't come to that. I bet those guys are riddled with amoebas and mercury and stuff."


Seth-
"--And meat! Haha... Actually, I'd rather eat a Canadian goose. Or a pigeon."


Bryce-
"Eww, I don't even wanna think about it. Get outta here-- and, I love you."

He sipped his orange juice.

Seth blinked a few times, and assumed he'd misheard, got up to check on the bacon status.

Bryce-
"This needs vodka."

The good doctor stood once again close to the board, but with his ears peeled to the room. Something in both senses bothered him. Bryce emoted something about vodka and Thierry was not listed. He knew that meant Thierry was probably on some guard duty still; and that meant he'd be staying with people in the 403 building. That would be nice. The doctor caught up with Seth, keeping a wary distance from the bacon.

Dr. Victor-
"Seth, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I have some things... well, I guess I should just wait for Dr. Melange. Have you seen her? I'm sure she must be one of those people who didn't have to worry about sleeping by herself, hmm?"


Seth-
"Oh yes, I haven't seen her yet this morning. I'm not even sure what room she's been assigned... I'd imagine you two will be working on setting up the clinic today, Jonah and Kaito spent yesterday cleaning so it should be in a lot better state today."


Dr. Victor-
"In any event, I doubt these defibrillators we obtained will be of any true use; once you're down... you're down. And I think there might be some useful parts in this for a battery storage. After all, it does just store the charge before unleashing it completely. There may be some way to save the stored charge and release it as needed. Like a car battery. I'm no engineer, but I think it'd be a good start... not to mention using car batteries as well."


Seth-
"Good thinking, I'll mention it to Stevie today."

The doctor broke up his rambling with a slurp of coffee.

Dr. Victor-
"Chantelle, this is amazing. Are these the beans I gave you yesterday? Oh, it tastes like heaven. Aren't mornings just so much better these days?"


Chantelle-
"Hope it stays this nice, might be less nice when we have to eat seagull bacon, haha."

The doctor gave her the coffee salute as well.

Dr. Victor-
"In any event, Seth, I was also wondering if Thierry was on guard duty today?"


Seth-
"Yeah, him and Davin both are kind of on a 'break' day. I figure we should rotate who goes out, who has big jobs and what not. If you'd like him to help you out in the clinic, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you asked."

Seth crunched on the reheated bacon, sitting in a chair on his feet, next to Bryce.

Stevie-
"Hey! It's my pleasant young gentlemen. Good morning. Let us feast on the last protein of man's world."


Seth-
"Good morning Stevie. Ugh... I hope we get more protein or I'm going to be looking like Skeletor in five minutes."


Stevie-
"Yeah you got that high speed metabolism. Where'd you get that from? Are you part Masai?"


Seth-
"I think my peoples must have been living in the land of milk and cheeseburgers. Maybe we can hit a GNC and I can get a protein shake IV going."


Bryce-
"Man, you guys are freaks. Trying to get my drink on and you're speaking Martian at 75 rpm."


Seth-
"We're quippy, Bryce. Like wacky characters in a movie. Anyhow, ready for our big trip Stevie?"


Stevie-
"Yeah! I really feel like I'm starting to get the hang of the katanas. It's weird at first, it's not... intuitive. I guess I didn't watch enough Kurosawa movies."


Seth-
"You look like a real pro when I seen you use those things. I feel like I'm using left handed scissors with that club, but it gets the job done. I'm worried the head's gonna break off though and I'll be left with just a pokin' stick."


Stevie-
"Poking... a lot of time with my katanas, it's better to stab 'em in the eyeball than try to chop anything. Why not take the head off the club and use it for poking?"


Seth-
"Hey that's not a bad idea. I'm usually just crackin' 'em in the heads, but maybe a sorta... spear would be good. Like... I could poke 'em in the guts."

He crunched on the bacon.

Bryce-
"Oh man! You're putting me off my eggs."


Seth-
"Oh sorry... Maybe just pretend we're talking about playing Castlevania. We gotta whip brick walls to make turkeys fall out."


Bryce-
"I need turkey..."


Stevie-
"You know at the hardware store, we could put some nuts over the end of the golf club, get something to sharpen that pokey part... then you could use it to club 'em and also still have the stabby bit."


Seth-
"Yeah! That's getting your post-apoc resourcefulness on! I won't be able to be a hit at the country club though, what a shame."


Stevie-
"Ahh the country club, I'd love to go hit the green and see all them snooty ass fuckers staggering around with golf balls in their eye sockets."

Seth laughed.

Seth-
"Maybe we'll get the chance one day..."

Abdul noticed Ashley looking for the leader and pointed out Seth. They went over to him, where he stood with Stevie.

Abdul-
"This is Seth Clemans, the elected leader of our group in this building."


Seth-
"Oh hi! Yeah, I don't think we met." (Shakes Ashley's hand.)


Abdul-
"Seth, this is Ashley, I don't recall the last name, sorry."


Ashley-
"Ashley Cassius, a pleasure to meet you."


Seth-
"So, since you're new here, you should talk to Marie, if you haven't yet. She's kind of the brains of the operation. We've mostly been working on getting this place secure. Haven't had any breaches so far, so it seems to be working. What do you do, Ashley? Anything you'd like to do around here?"



Ashley-
"I'm a good shot, and pretty good with the pipe if you ask me. I'd be happy to cover you all. I don't know that much besides maybe fixing a car." He says simply. "I'm a pretty good hunter though. " He looked over at Abdul, and Patti and then back to Seth.


Seth-
"Good, good. Welcome to the team!"


Abdul-
"Hunting is not necessarily the best preparation for this situation, but it is better than many have. I am certain your experience the last few days has prepared you well."


Abdul-
"Ashley is going to come with us on the mission to the hardware store. Anything you'd like to tell us about that?"


Seth-
"Yeah, so last night you probably noticed, we've got rudimentary power generating systems. We're going to this hardware store nearby to pick up some supplies that should help us expand on it. I figure while we're out, we take two groups, and if one spots clear, the other group can look in other buildings nearby for any useful supplies - or whatever the situation demands."


Abdul-
"Very well."


Stevie-
"Welcome to the wreckin' crew, Ashley!"

Seth-
"Well, let's finish talking outside, shall we?"

Seth, Stevie & the rest of the hardware crew gathered, and went downstairs. Others milled around and went to their various jobs.

Seth, Stevie, Abdul-Rahman and Tyrone met up outside with their weapons, chatting and discussing their plans for the jaunt. The expedition teams got their appropriate equipment and went to the alley, dumping a Volya in the clinic on the way out, and borrying a pistola back from El Doctor. 


Micah rolled and gave a dirty look to Ashley. He was extra disheveled and booze-stinky.

Micah-
" Morning folks, sleep well? Any blistering hang overs to speak of? Anyone get fucking lucky?"


Stevie-
"Oh yeah, I sexed up like, everybody. It was gonzo."


Abdul-
"That is simply distasteful."


Tyrone-
"Seem like I started drinkin' after ever'one, an' got bit worse'n ever'one. If zombies start t' eat me, they can have me."


Micah-
"My head is fine, but man do I feel fucking seedy. I woke up with a beagle puppy on my bloody neck. Could have been worse I guess, I could of taken the dance floor a la the doctor."

Tyrone-
"Now that looked like fun, y'naw?"

Alex joined the alley group and stood near Micah as they prepared to leave and entertained himself by pretending to shoot stuff with finger guns.

Abdul-
"OK, my team - Patti, Ashley, and Tyrone - we are the ones with firearms so we may prove vital. On the way there, let Seth's team do most of the engaging, but be ready to support them by the most prudent means. But as Patti said, conservation of ammunition is ideal.

Wait for Seth's group to move out first, then follow."


Seth-
"Ya gotta run up to them, don't wait for them to come to you. It confuses 'em and keeps them from clustering - as long as you're fast enough to get out of sight quickly. The longer we're in the open, the less any kind of strategy will be of any help.

Micah, I heard you were handy yesterday but I also heard you had some bad times on the way out of that mall, so just take it easy if you gotta, and work up your nerve to help us at your own pace. We'll just run out bashing every zombie within, oh, fifteen feet of our route, and get inside the building quick like a bunny. When we're out of the open, we can just pick off whatever handful saw us go in & we're golden.

After that, maybe Abdul's team can explore the neighborhood a bit, without getting too far away, and pick anything that looks useful.

Any questions before we take off? Is everyone ready?"


Ashley-
"I'm ready."


Patti-
"Sounds good to me. One thing I was thinking we should get is some more MagLites and batteries for them. They have strong beams and can double as a weapon in an emergency. Obviously, they're pretty heavy as are the D-Cell batteries, but I think it would be a good investment of energy. Maybe you could get the rechargeable battery packs so we can recharge them on a bike or something. Just a thought. They should definitely have those at the hardware store."

MEANWHILE...

Bryce went on the roof for guard duty, relieving a semi-conscious Kenny.

Bryce-
"Hey bro, I kinda wanna do this job."


Kenny-
"Whoa... I must be having a very unrealistic dream."


Bryce-
"Oh how long have you known me? You don't know if I'm always lazy."


Kenny-
"Shouldn't look a gift horse... uh, however that goes. Later man."


Bryce-
"Later."

Bryce moved quickly to the back edge of the roof, looking down in the alley, spying Seth and company.

Ah, there you are. He thought to himself.

He could see the tops of their heads, and if he strained his senses, could make out the sound of hushed voices. Beyond the fences he saw sparsely milling figures, jerking their way aimlessly through the streets.

Damn...!

He rubbed his head and looked back at the group sharply, waiting for them to leave.

What am I doin' up here? I guess I should see what those guys go through, what's it like out there? I'm gonna lose sight of them though, this could get really stupid. Staring at buildings, hoping to see them come out the other side. --and what if something happens? Do I wanna see that? *Sigh*...

BACK ON THE STREETS...

Seth-
"Alright, everyone set? Let's go!"

The group ran along the sidewalks, avoiding crowds of zombies when possible. They came upon a pile of rotting corpses along the way, gathering a large swarm of insects. Seth pulled his scarf over his face, and they continued.

Seth-
"Ugh... I should go out here and burn these sometime."


Micah-
"Because burning rotted corpses is such a pleasant bloody smell..."

MEANWHILE...

Bryce-
"Ah, pretty good work blocking off the alley. Hmm... What are you crazy guys doing? What do you even need out there? All those guns... someone's gonna get their damn fool head blown off. Oh I can see it now... They'll go in one of those dark ass buildings, they'll be going through the aisles, someone comes around the corner... BLOAW! How do you like me now? Oh shit... they're going. Ah... I shoulda gone up the ladder to the other side of the roof."

He ran toward the Westlake side, and awaited for them to emerge.

BACK ON THE STREETS...


Patti charged her first zombie just a few seconds out of the alley, a Geek Squad employee shambling about on a shattered leg. She swung the hammer, missing slightly, but tearing the creatures jaw off and sending it flying. She couldn't quite recover quickly, as she had expected more resistance to her swing and had too much force behind it. She spun a 360 as fast as she could, driving the hammer into the topside of the creature's skull.

She pulled back and charged to the far side of the street, where a garage worker in coveralls with a tire iron sticking out of his chest stumbled towards them. She dispatched "Jesus" with a sidelong blow to the temple.

She moved back towards Ashley and Tyrone, who were taking care of business themselves.

Patti-
"We don't have far to go, just a block and half. It's the bright yellow-brown building on the south-side of Harrison up there."

Alex suddenly noticed something of potential interest to him, right next to the place they were going! A richly yellow-painted building with a bold sign featuring a cross! Kaufer's Religious Supplies!

Seth, Alex, and Stevie were doing most of the running around - work Stevie wasn't quite cut out for - trying to preempt zombie mobbing with strategic strikes. Stevie used his katana to stab in temples and eye sockets, saving the chopping action for if he ever got a good shot lined up - hard to do on the go. Micah was able to let Alex do the heavy bashing, by sticking with him.

Abdul-
"Our technique needs work... We were too slow! Fortunately the traffic jam at Denny hinders many of those who have taken notice of us."

Alex froze in his tracks in front of Kaufer's.

Alex-
"Hey! We should go there! They probably have wine and cand … wait, what day is it? ...SHIT! Ahhhh no, Micah, Micah, I'm damned ... I ate so much meat! Pig meat, bird meat. What do I do? You have to help me! Tomorrow's Easter!"

Clearly agitated, Alex clutched at his hair with his free hand.

Seth-
"Oh man! I forgot too. Maybe we can dye any leftover eggs in the refrigerator with Zoe tomorrow. We can hit the religious store on the way out."

With some helpful kicking from Abdul, Seth got the door to City Hardware down. The inside was of course, pitch dark, and tightly packed with narrow aisles.

Seth-
"This place isn't that big, we may as well split up and make use of our grand entrance. We can hit the religious store on the way out. Abdul & Company, want to go somewhere else, or just load up here and book on out? Stevie's search is gonna take a long time. Why not have one group grab some big stuff and tear out of here? They could go back home, stop somewhere else... whatever. Might as well use this big group to our advantage"

Alex raised his hand.

Alex-
"I'm up for that, Seth. Me and whoever can load up here and stop for other stuff on the way back."


Seth-
"Sure, you could load up one of these carts. They aren't very big, and might make a racket but we could run 'em home faster than in our hands."

Seth and Stevie went to the electronic components aisle with the flashlight. The store was very quiet and tiny on the inside, but jam-packed with supplies.
Micah found the aisle of garden tools, and found a boxed and disassembled small chainsaw, as well as a variety of small sledge hammers, hammers, saws and the like.
Patti found the bolt cutters, and moved to go back outside-- though the crew had gathered a small crowd of interested parties outside, who waited for them.

Stevie sat on the floor, gesturing to components for Seth to toss into the "SAVE OUR PLANET" duffel bag they picked up near the front. Seth nodded to Patti's ideas and pulled his scarf down at last.

Seth-
"Yeah, there's an alley around the entire back, you could run them around that way, or feel free to head home if you got your packs loaded already."


Stevie-
"Uh, um, end caps for wires. Those little cone things. We need more uh them."

Seth poked his head outside.

Seth-
"We might be a while going through these electronic supplies. Why don't you guys go on ahead? You can leave a cart outside the barricade, go do what you like."

MEANWHILE...

Bryce-
"Just like an isometric view video game... like Diablo. What character class is-? Damn! Yuck! This can't be fucking real."

He watched the zombie fighting with dismay. What else were those people supposed to do? He couldn't help feel a bit of sympathy for the undead at this point.

Then again, he was very concerned about the safety of those guys - especially Seth.

"Man, Bryce, what is wrong with you? Don't be ridiculous this early. You don't know him from ... ugh."

Bryce watched the group disappear around the corner, and out of sight.

"Oh damn damn damn..."

He was imagining all manner of fates befalling their sprites on this ugly world map.

Realizing they'd probably be at their present location for a while, but unsure of it, he ran downstairs and bolted to the north stair, then climbed the ladder to the north roof.

Looking down he was frantic for a few moments, then eased into a more steady flavor of anxiety.

"Come on, you freakin' maniacs. What could possibly be so important or interesting over there? I heard they wanted parts for more electronics, but how fuckin' important could iCrap really be now?"

The minutes stretched and groaned. He saw a disturbing amount of zombies taking interest in the main entrance there, and pictured them walking through doors wide open, taking turns sexing the 403 team into the Z-street Gang.

"That's just wrong, Bryce."

At last! The team returned. Wait, no that was just the black lady and weird new guys and Tyrone and... They were just running around doing that Diablo shit for no discernible reason.

"It's not like one of them is gonna drop a cool magic item!"

Finally, people seemed to be coming back, but it wasn't everyone. Still, based on the dilly dallyin' zombie-wrasslin', he had to assume nothing too horrific had transpired over there...

"That's a safe assumption, right? Ugh! Abdul you sculptured facial hair freakbag, why aren't you Seth?"

At last! The team returned! OK, still no Alex or Micah, but close enough. Bryce ran along the roof edge, watching the party's every move. They left the carts outside the barricade and moved over the car hoods, leaving the clumsy dead frustrated.

"Are you lunatics done yet? Seth! I see you. What are you thinking?"

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

>>GM
Eventually everyone got back to the 403, safe and sound except for a few scratches, and with a pack of goodies to share with the others.

Seth-
"Great job guys! Hey does anyone want to go out burning bodies with me? Might be good to do it before the birds get to them."

(GM NOTE: This conversation is meant to be the wrap-up for the expedition, but you're havin' fun with your violence and such, so ... just wrap up how you got over the finish line. Assume you left the carts outside at first so you could come back and grab the stuff with less of a zombie crowd later. The barricade is too hard to quickly unload through.

We'll assume only Alex and Micah are not back yet when this happens.)

Abdul-
"I'm not sure why the need for the continued risk... After all, this isn't a medieval siege where the bodies could be catapulted in by an enterprising foe."


Tyrone-
"It's a good point, chief. What d'ya say?"


Seth-
"Every time we come out here we're going to have to see them. It doesn't seem respectful to leave them like that. You know, there's birds and dogs and ..."


Tyrone-
"I feel ya, but I also got t' do dishes later. It's more 'n I feel up to t'day."


Abdul-
"Sentimentality... Well, I cannot disabuse anyone of heartfelt beliefs, even if I think they may be problematic. Good luck."


Stevie-
"I'm wiped, stupidly enough. Gotta get my endurance up for stuff. Sorry, man."


Seth-
"Oh well... I'll go check upstairs."

(GM NOTE: Anyone else want to burn corpses with Seth? If not, proceed to wherever you'd like in the building and describe the sort of stuff you feel like describing, or wait to RP until something interesting happens, as you like.)


>>ASHLEY
After they unloaded, he approached Seth. "I'll go with you. You need someone else to help guard your back." He flipped the pipe up, and then caught it with his other hand. It wasn't really something he thought about, but he should be more careful with these simple gestures.

"It might sound stupid, but I'd really like to keep that chainsaw. The big one. We don't have gas for it yet, but I might steal some from my car at some point." He grins, and though he was thinking of better uses than cutting plywood... they were probably going to be using it to cut wood. And nothing else.

>>GM

Seth-
"Oh cool, thanks man! Ashley, right? I'll run upstairs and see what we can get for ignition, and be back down."

Seth looked relieved that someone else had volunteered, before he took off up the stairs.


>>GM
Seth came running all the way from the ground floor, looking for Chantelle.

Seth-
"Ch-chan..."
He held up a finger for a moment, catching his breath.


Chantelle-
"Hi...! What... are you in a hurry or something?"


Seth-
"Well, I--I dunno, haha. Just used to... *pant* running everywhere. Gotta burn-- uh, something. Any--*pant* ideas?"


Chantelle-
"You don't need to burn calories! That's ridiculous! You're skinny, nutrition is at a premium now."


Seth-
"...Oh! Hahaha. No, I have to burn some bodies. Errr... Sorry. Well, I do. I thought you might have some old cleaners or something flammable."


Chantelle-
"Yuuuch! Check with Derek."

Derek was guarding the stuff.

Seth-
"Hey man-- got any less useful stuff I could use to start a fire?"


Derek-
"Uh, oh. Stuff that's good for nothin' but burning? Yeah... We actually set some stuff aside for that, 'cause y'know, fire's for light and such."

He indicated a currently unlocked cabinet.

"Everything on the top shelf there is expired nose spray, other kinds of bull crap."


Seth-
"Thanks man."

Seth got a few bottles of cheap hair spray and stuffed them into his pockets.

Derek-
"What uh... whatcha gonna do with that stuff, Prez?"


Seth-
"Oh you know there's a lot of bodies out there. Better to take care of it now rather than later."


Derek-
"...Suit yourself."

>>GM
Seth was about to take off running for the stairs when Bryce came strolling out of the hall from that direction.

Bryce-
"Oh hey. You look like you're busy. Whatcha gettin' up to there?"


Seth-
"Oh umm... Gotta do some clean up out there, you know."


Bryce-
"...What? Give some zombies spongebaths?"


Seth-
"No uh... Burn... bodies."

Bryce gave him a disturbed look.

Bryce-
"...Kay."


Seth-
"Man, everyone's giving me that look! It's better than leaving them out there to get torn apart by dogs, huh?" He shook his head and held an apologetic hand up. "Sorry. I was just getting the business. Did you need some help?"


Bryce-
"No... Tch, that's kind of a... well I guess that's very respectful of you. You gonna take the crew back out?"


Seth-
"Nah, they didn't want to except that one new guy."


Bryce-
"Huh... You should ask someone else at least."


Seth-
"Good idea, might get a bit hairy out there. Hm..."

Sandy and Davin were moving by, trailing a cute dog.

Seth-
"Hey Davin, wanna help me with a semi-thankless task? I'll thank you at least!"


Davin-
"...What-- uh, guess I got nothing else going on today, starting to feel bad about that. Taking out the poop buckets? I'm just kidding we don't have poop buckets. We should really start using poop buckets, think about all that water."


Sandy-
"I know!"


Rex-
"Yipe!"


Seth-
"Well, maybe slightly more dignified than poop buckets but not much less disturbing..."

He led Davin down the stairs.

Sandy-
"Hm, I wish he'd been more specific. That's mighty big of Davin to sign up for an unspecified disturbing task."


Bryce-
"You don't wanna know..."

Bryce had gone down to the 6th floor long enough to find out Seth was going right back out again. As he climbed the ladder on to the roof, he grunted, and he got up there.

Bryce-
"Siiiiiiiiigh."

He walked the roof's edge, and peeked out into the alley, waiting for Seth to re-emerge. Seth came out with Davin, a few moments later.

Bryce-
"Burning bodies... bet that attracts more zombies to the neighborhood. Then they gotta kill those guys, and burn them... It's like some kind of Greek hell... thing. Endless zombies. Meh."

He rubbed the sides of his head and picked up the walkie-talkie.

Bryce-
"I'm going crazy. I should take somebody with me."

He radioed the backdoor crew.

"--Mm breaker breaker, charlie charlie. Rooftop to down under. How's the weather?"

VOICE-
"I thought this was gonna be something serious! Don't fake me out, jerk."


Bryce-
"Sooooorrrrrryyyy! Well, have a nice day babycakes. I'll be sure to let you know if the muffin-man comes a'knockin'."

>>GM
Seth came back with Davin, and a few scarves to pass around the group.

Seth-
"Thanks a lot guys, I know this is gonna be a dirty job, but you know how the saying goes. I'll light 'em."

He handed Patti and Ashley large old cans of hair spray, and produced a long handled 'torch' that had been used upstairs, a former broken table leg.

Davin-
"We're torchin' corpses. Christ that's disgusting. Thanks for lettin' me know what this was about."


Seth-
"Sorry man. Won't be as gross as if we let the animals get to them."


Davin-
"Ughhgh. *sigh* Well Patti, we're workin' together again. Just like the old days. ...However many days ago that was."

Everyone ready?



>>ASHLEY

"I'm ready." He says simply, and holds onto his pipe, shifting it around in his hands. It was, at least clean now.

>>PATTI


"Hrmf. S'ko, gethiss dun." She adjusted the scarf. "Yeah, I'm ready."

>>GM

Davin-
"Oh Patti, you're not nostalgic at all! I guess talking about '80s television shows is off the table."


Seth-
"You guys are funny. OK, let's go."

The zombies were still a bit thick where they'd come from, so the group began around the opposite side, climbing around the cars to get to some of the zombies that had been killed in the alley earlier that week, and pushed off to the side.

Seth-
"Ugh, that one was the worst."

He gestured at a zombie missing the top half of its skin, that Davin recalled.

Davin-
"Gahh... Man. You can pick 'em. Will a little fire do, or should we soak 'em?"


Seth-
"Let's move quick, it'll probably keep burning, and we can always uh, finish the job later."

Davin used a bottle of expired breath spray, along with Patti and Ashley, and Seth lit the pile of bodies with the burning table leg.

Davin-
"Minty."


Seth-
"Not for long, let's get a move on..."

>>GM
The four survivors moved around the block, torching bodies and cracking wise to maintain their sanity. Seth tended to flip the bodies face down if they weren't already, and that made things a little less emotionally devastating.
Terry Street had a very high concentration of zombies, so their work there had to be cursory, and involved hiding partway through. For anyone who may have been confused about the concentration of zombies, Davin said one word of explanation:

Davin-
"Amazon."

>>ASHLEY

Ash didn't say a word when the zombies became thick, and he seemed more visibly agitated. He found himself unable, or unwilling, to say anything at the moment, and stuck close to the others, making sure he was between Seth and Davin and the zombies. His new motto was only kill when necessary.

>>GM
The four moved from point to point around the building, only having to hide for a few minutes at the time, and keeping zombie killing to a minimum. They decided they might have to go out again and re-torch anything that hadn't burnt through, later on. For now, they returned to 403, feeling like they'd at least accomplished something.


>>GM
Bryce watched as four masked survivors moved from corpse to corpse, lighting them ablaze, sometimes hiding from the zombies and continuing on.
There were many angles that he could not see them from, as they moved around the building, and once again, his imagination filled in the blanks. As the little team went out of sight, they almost certainly would have encountered a Frankenstein monster, who would have opened things up by punching Patti's head off. Davin's heart would've been broken forever, and he would have watched helplessly as Frankenstein's monster grabbed the new guy and used him to bludgeon Seth to death.

Bryce-
"Fuckin' Frankensteins...."

Bryce watched as they came more clearly into view. Seth flipped a body over with his shoe, and lit the corpse ablaze with the torch, as the others sprayed at it with various colorful cans.

Bryce-
"Made it through the Frankenstein gauntlet. Well played, Mr. Clemans. Well played."

His hands were shaking slightly from the tension. The zombies loomed near the torch team.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Seth got a drink from the kitchen, and went out on to the patio, closing the glass door behind him. Below, the zombies sounded a bit more irritated than usual, some light groans making their way all the way to the 6th floor, plumes of smoke dissipating into the sky.
He plopped down on a patio chair, and shook the luke-warm glass of Jager, wishing he had ice cubes to clink.

Bryce emerged, and sat down with an apple juice.

Bryce-
"That isn't apple juice you have there. Must be good to be president."


Seth-
"Haha, that *is* true, on occasion."

He smiled and tipped his glass to Bryce.

Bryce-
"Ah. I'm sorry, I'm a little weirded out."


Seth-
"Oh, about what?"


Bryce-
"Oh that, man... you were out there, with all those *sigh* all that fighting. All those monsters..."


Seth-
"You were worried about everyone?"


Bryce-
"Well, I mean yeah a little but... mostly it was that you guys-- I mean right now, here you are. You don't look like it's affected you at all. I just don't know how you can have that cool attitude. It's not a compliment, it's more of a... concern."

Seth laughed a little bitterly, looking down at his drink.

Seth-
"I'm not exactly singing karaoke right now, am I? Anyway, I'm pretty used to doing things someone might find objectionable, at least now I can do them so someone else doesn't have to."


Bryce-
"...Things people find objectionable? Were you like, in the mafia before or something?"

He shook his head, and took a drink.

Seth-
"Well, no need to worry, but thanks."


Bryce-
"*sigh* Well, in for the night?"


Seth-
"Yeah... we pissed those zombies off good. Better let them cool off. Anyway, I'm sure that's not what you wanna talk about."


Bryce-
"I dunno... yeah, you're right. Umm.. yeah I didn't really have any conversation after that though. Hah..."

Seth gave him an amused look.

Seth-
"..Hey, what do you like to eat? I remember the ice cream."


Bryce-
"Haha. You like food a lot. What would you eat, if you could still eat anything?"


Seth-
"Hmm... I'm worried that we'll never get to have hamburgers again, or steak... at least, cow steak. Mashed potatoes with butter, chocolate cake..."


Bryce-
"Wow. That is an all-American diet you're interested in there."


Seth-
"Well I am from the mid-West. Also, I ate a lot before, and was still this skinny. What if I can't eat that much?"


Bryce-
"Hmm.. I mean, y'know on one level a guy could be jealous of that, but damn. Never thought about what that means for the apocalypse. Hope you don't end up looking like a zombie, someone might accidentally pop you in the dome."


Seth-
"Ugh... Yeah, I hope not either. I just thought I'd look weird and get weak, but now I gotta worry about that too. Thanks bud." (he winked jokingly.)


Bryce-
"Well y'know, I'm always looking out for people like that. It's my calling."


Seth-
"Your calling huh?"


Bryce-
"Yeah. What'd you do-- I mean, socially. What function does a Seth Clemans serve in his circle of friends? Designated driver? Hair stylist?"


Seth-
"Hm... Y'know I wasn't really very close with many people. Usually just the party attendee, the guy to add on to a trip to the game... A bit adrift, I guess."


Bryce-
"*sigh* Yep. Well know you're the guy to be. That's somethin' else."


Seth-
"Do -you- think I'm a guy to be?"


Bryce-
"Nah nah... 'cause if I -was- you, then I would not be able to seduce you."


Seth-
(smile) "Oh..? That what you're up to?"


Bryce-
"Eh, I just like to keep my options open you know..."

Seth-
"Oh? What are your options then?"


Bryce-
"Y'know, I'm pretty much a player, right? *Everybody*'s an option."


Seth-
"Even Dr. Bebe?"


Bryce-
"Please. You know what I mean. I could get any man, straight or gay, all on my jock."


Seth-
"Even crazy Dr. Victor?"


Bryce-
"Him most of all."


Seth-
"But would you want craziness all up on your jock?"


Bryce-
"I wouldn't necessarily want it, that would just be my options y'know. What about you? What do you want all up on your jock?"


Seth-
"Hmm... I guess I'm not really a player. I like knowing all about everyone just because, but I'm not sure who I'd want all up ons."


Bryce-
"That's what you say now. But I'm pretty sure you got some opinions, and eventually you won't be able to keep yourself penned up like that."


Seth-
"Haha... You're funny."


Bryce-
"Funny? Or so smart, it just blew your mind?"


Seth-
"I don't know if you'd have to be *so* smart to do that."


Bryce-
"Aww.. Don't talk less of yourself..."

Abdul obliviously strolled up, and walked out on to the patio, closing the sliding door behind himself.

Abdul-Rahman -
"Gentlemen, good day."


Seth-
"'Good day" Abdul. Nice job out there today. What'd you think?"


Abdul-Rahman-
"Well thank you for the compliment. But I did want to discuss some things about that with you."

Bryce noticed the pistol on Abdul's hip.

Bryce-
"Did you used to be a cop?"


Abdul-Rahman-
"...No. Oh, the firearm. It used to belong to a cop."


Bryce-
"Eesh."

He sat in peace again, while the conversation continued.

Abdul-Rahman-
"I thought I'd picked a good team today, but I think they might be a little rough."


Seth-
"Rough?"


Abdul-Rahman-
"Unprofessional, or inefficient in the prosecution of their duties."


Seth-
"I guess I didn't see them at work."


Abdul-Rahman-
"Patti was alright, but still, untrained. I guess there's only one thing for it, and that's experience."


Seth-
"Yeah, we just got civilians. Most folks around here never even held a gun before."


Abdul-Rahman-
"Yes, I don't know how to begin training people at hand to hand combat. It's a very important matter."


Seth-
"Well little runs outside seem to work okay. Nobody got hurt."


Abdul-Rahman-
"There were more close calls than I would have preferred."


Seth-
"I guess we could do some morning training, though that's gonna wear people out as much as going out will."

Abdul shrugged.

Abdul-Rahman-
"I just wanted to address the issue. Put a 'bug in your ear' as it were. I feel we are far from prepared for a real threat."


Seth-
"Well, I'm all ears. You think of something we can do, just let me know."


Abdul-Rahman-
"Hm, good good. Allow me to tell you about the training I've experienced in the military..."

Bryce shifted on his seat into a deep slump and let out the sigh of ages.

Suddenly, the elevator came to life, rolling up to the 4th floor floor, and opening for no one-- and closing again, continuing up. A strange mechanical hum echoed through the room, and it took a couple moments to place it-- and to place that it should not be a sound they were hearing. The elevator, on its way up.


These people were present in the community center as the strange phenomenon took place, as well as PCs Ashley, Patti, and Micah! Forgotten on the patio were Seth, Bryce, and Abdul. Sandy assumed a stance protective of Rex, and held his muzzle shut as he tried to bark. Derek got all manly with Patti and stood ready with an aluminum bat.

Derek-
"Looks like there's power on inside the elevator! Look at the light..."

Derek got close to the door, peeping at the crack.
THEN!!!
Something glowing and horrible passed through his body completely, moving so quick in this moment that it passed through Patti as well!


The ghost was of a mature, overweight blonde woman, glowing slightly from within, with strange lines all over her face and body like scars from lethal injuries that should not have healed. Her dress was torn in several places.

Ghost-
"..."

The ghost continued into the community center! People backed away in terror, but none could think to run. Sarah squeaked out a partial sentence, but remained frozen.

Sarah-
"Don't look into its - !!"

It floated, dragging its feet on the floor, trailing drops of pink fluid, and headed to the patio doors.

It pushed them open! The immaterial thing opened the doors as anyone else would, and went out onto the patio!  

Again, people just have a few moments to react. Patti is back up, and so is Derek!

Derek-
"It's fucking Doretta! The possessed one we killed!"

He came out into the path she'd cleared through the middle of the room, ready for action. 

Bryce-
"A-abdul... I think we can, y'know, imagine. Ya just do the high punch and the low kick and the northern fist and whatever, just... the long and short y'know, 'cause it's not like you're describing it to us right now, on the patio, is gonna make us into kung-fu gods. Y'know?"


Abdul-Rahman-
"Please, I just meant the structure of it. Class sizes should be small, it's not necessary for the instructor to be an extremely effective fighter, if they know how to communicate with people and the basics. We should find out what abilities people have, and arrange this."


Seth-
"Sure... Hey maybe you should go ask that Patti lady, she's all wearin' fatigues all the time."


Abdul-Rahman-
"Actually, she was just wearing a rather fetching and colorful outfit. Some sort of athletic gear."


Seth-
"Uh, gotta mix it up sometimes. Maybe you should tell her about this all..."

Abdul leapt in alarm at the new arrival on the patio, backing quickly into the corner.

Seth-
"Mrs. ... Doretta?"

Seth stood and stepped backwards from the chair. Bryce jumped out of his seat and moved behind Seth.

Bryce-
"Don't look at her eyes! Wait... You just did. Huh."

Seth took Bryce's arms and backed up with him against the patio railing, making room for the dead woman. She moved to the table Seth had been sitting at, and her feet touched the floor. She stepped into the chair, as if going to relax like a living person would. Her expression was strangely peaceful.

Abdul-
"Is this one of the harmless, silent ghosts?"


Seth-
"I guess so!" He looked at the ghost, who was silently sitting. "Maybe she's at peace now?"

Ashley came running out, and Abdul pulled him to the side of the door, saying

Abdul-
"We are not sure, but she seems... peaceful."

The air was rife with the mushroom and alcohol scent that the others had described to them.

Abdul-
"What is this?"

Doretta's ghost began to glow more deeply, and her peaceful expression seemed almost exultant. Light passed out of her body, dissipating into the dimming sunset sky.

Abdul-
"She is passing on to the other side!"


Bryce-
"Uh.... She's still ... Still there."

She had remained in the seat, light passing out of her body, until all that remained was nearly dark as a silhouette.

That's when the groaning began, and her wounds split open luridly, spilling black gore like coffee beans from Juan Valdez's bag. She opened her eyes!

Doretta-
"Grrrrrnnnnnnn Ughhhh... *splut splut* Ngggg..."

Ashley tried to push Seth to the door and out of the room. Save the leader, this might turn ugly fast, whatever was happening. Ashley found himself with the ghost in between him, Seth & Bryce, on the narrow balcony. She floated up a foot off the patio, dripping ichor and chunks of flesh dropping off her like Autumn leaves.

Abdul-
"Shitshitshit--"

Abdul pulled his gun, and pointed it dead at the black phantom that lurched toward him.

Seth scrambled to grab the golf club that still leaned against the table.

Seth-
"DON'T LOOK AT IT IDIOT!"


Abdul-
"..."


Doretta-
"Kkkkkkkkkyeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...... krrrrrrrrrrrr..."

Abdul stared helplessly at the blood-slicked, glossy eyes of the phantom, and she tumbled forward at him, planting two rapidly skeletonizing hands on his shoulders, her face inches from his.

Seth-
"NO!"

Seth struck at the ghost with all his strength, jabbing through it with the head of the club plunging through the black cloud, just as Abdul dropped to the the ground. The club clanked loudly as it grazed the railing on the other side, the head catching between the bars.
Bryce skittered into the far corner of the balcony.

Bryce-
"Just get away from it you idiot!!"

The ghost seemed stuck in place with the club impaling its torso, but started flailing, drips of black gore splattering over Seth, Ashley, and Abdul's prone body.

Seth-
"FIRE! Someone... Get it! It'll burn!"

Some gathered around the patio to watch with horror at the scene on the patio. The ghost had suddenly turned dark and gory, and now was attacking people. Abdul fell as the ghost touched him, and Seth attacked it with the golf club, somehow managing to impale it, and keep it in place, though the ghost twitched and spun, spraying gore everywhere.

Sarah-
"It's sticking!? How?!"


Luke-
"Well how about that. Ya just gotta... poke it."

Ashley stumbled to the doorway in hopes of getting Patti's attention, she did, after all, take all the lighters, and there had to be some in the kitchen. He can't reach Seth from where he is, but he has started to fret. He attempted to open the door, and shouts inside.

Ashley-
"WE NEED FIRE. "

Someone had to know what to do, and where. He wasn't even sure where fire was as he stumbled back inside covered in...goop.


Micah looked back at the barbeque set up helplessly. He ran over to check for anything that could create a decent flame. A box of matches, which wasn't going to help without some kind of flammable gas.

Micah-
"I HAVE FUCKING MATCHES, ANYONE GOT SOMETHING BETTER OR FLAMMABLE?" He yelled out across the room.

Seth heard Micah yelling inside about matches.

Seth-
"JUST LIGHT IT! HURRY!!!"

The ghost was thankfully facing away from him as it nearly twirled upside-down, chunks of sticky black gore splattering the environment and him.
Bryce just stood against the back railing, shaking his head, and looking at the twirling madness.
He whispered...

Bryce-
"Don't let it touch you."

Micah grabbed the matches and raced out to the patio. The thing was even worse up close, Micah began retching as he made his way to the chaotic scene. He stopped short a couple of metres and began trying to strike a match.

The first match broke uselessly in two but the second lit up and Micah threw it on the ghostly corpse.

Derek-
"Fucking A!"

Derek ran outside after the others, bat in hand.

The second match almost fizzled, but with the ghost firmly held in place by the golf club, that alcoholic vapor soon proved portentous indeed, as the ghost exploded into a fiery ball larger than any of them had expected. Seth dropped the club in shock, and stumbled backward. Tatters of orange rimmed ectoplasm floated around like so much burnt newspaper. Bryce grabbed on to Seth from behind, pulling him into a tight embrace.
The air was black with the choking scent like burning leaves.

Seth sighed, and closed his eyes with relief, as the cinders faded and fell from the air.

Derek pushed his way on to the patio, aluminum bat in hand, and shepherded Micah back inside.

Derek-
"What's going on--"


KRAK!

A gunshot startled everyone, and Derek dropped to the side, clutching his shoulder. Abdul clumsily stood from behind where the ghost had been, and began firing at random with his police-issue Glock. KRAK! KRAK!

Abdul-Rahman-
"...."

Ashley turns around from trying to enter the community room, and now risks being shot by trying to disarm zombie Abdul without any weapons. It was a bold move, and he hoped, one that wouldn't get him killed by either teeth, blood or bullets.

He'd try to get him in a hold and wrench the gun free. It's a very sudden movement on his part.

Micah, Seth, and Bryce had to do that John Travolta / Samuel Jackson thing from Pulp Fiction, when the gunman fired a bunch of shots at close range and all missed.

Derek crumpled at Bryce's feet, still on his knees but in pain.

Derek-
"FUCK!"

Ashley jumped on Abdul, probably pissing off Patti who would otherwise be shooting the dude right now. At first, he felt like that went off without a hitch. Then he felt a crazy sensation like the top right fourth of his body blew away in the breeze, and someone set fire to the hole that was left.

Abdul-
"..."

Ashley had zombie Abdul in a bearhug and on his back, but could no longer be sure if the weapon arm was disabled, because his own arm was disabled.

Behind, Seth and company saw the zombie's gun arm flailing around. Seth ran to help, grabbing the gun from Abdul with all his might.

Micah slumped onto the patio floor and began crawling towards one of the tables to hide. 

Seth-
"Get this guy away from here!"

Seth gestured for someone to move Ashley. Bryce pulled him off of the groaning man, both men a little startled, a ribbon of blood came out of Ashley's chest. Indeed, Ashley had been shot, in his right collar bone.
Abdul lurched toward Seth with his face slack and Seth kicked a chair at him to keep him back. He noticed the group watching from behind the glass.

Seth-
"Don't look at this!"

Seth waved his hand at the people watching from the 6th floor. It was almost certainly to no avail. He gave up, and pointed the gun at Abdul's zombie, and fired twice into its head at point blank range.

Bryce held Ashley in his arms, looking up at others with a pleading expression. The face that said "What the fuck do I do now?" Derek lurched to his feet.

Derek-
"Argh... I need help..."

Jonah moved to help Derek, and Kerry surprisingly had the strength to help Ashley out of Bryce's arms all by herself.

Seth flipped Abdul's corpse face down, and sat the gun on a table with a dark look.

Seth-
"..."


Kerry-
"Let's get these guys into the comm center. Put pressure on entry and exit wounds, and send somebody for the doctors."


Seth-
"Thank you Kerry."


Peg-
"I'll go get the doctors!"


Jonah-
"I'll help carry anything they need to bring back."

--and a few people took off for the stairs.

Seth leaned on a chair for a moment, breathing through his nose.

Bryce looked at him.

Bryce-
"We need you man. Help out with these guys."


Seth-
"...Y-yeah. Can you get a... blanket or something for him?"

He gestured with his head toward Abdul's body, but wouldn't turn to look.

Bryce-
"Y-yeah-- uh, yeah."

By now, the comm center looked rather crowded, and people began helping any way they could. Ashley, and Derek were brought inside, and Seth and Bryce followed.

By now even more people were in the Comm Center, brandishing weapons and seeing if anyone needed help. Derek and Ashley were brought inside while Peg and Jonah ran to get the doctors. Bryce tore down a sheet that was hung during a party, and brought it outside to cover Abdul.

Stevie-
"What the fuck is all this?!"

Breathing heavily and wiping sweat from his brow with the back of one hand, Alex burst from the stairwell and into the community center, as Jonah and Peg passed him.

Alex-
"H ... hey ... what ... "

It took a moment to register the fear and tension; he saw gore beyond the patio glass partition. A body was covered, as if ... Alex made the sign of the cross on his chest.

"What happened? Who is that?"

He pointed to the covered body.

Sarah-
"Abdul... A ghost got him... It used the elevator... Uh, it's gone now... Just gotta help these guys."

Seth came out into the comm center, and didn't even have a chance to wipe his face before he had to start assigning people to different tasks, and assuaging worries.

Seth-
"Give these guys some room, unless you know first aid... Hey, no, people are already going for the doctors, it's okay..."

Word quickly spread about what happened, shared to those late-comers. It was strange to hear the story being whispered in hushed voices. Seth had to close his eyes for a moment to regain his composure.

Alex, Stevie, Sonya, Ivan and many more had arrived, and were doing their best to be helpful.

Ashley-
"I can walk... Urh...my arm's gone bad."

Ashley limped around and tried to twitch his injured arm.

Kerry-
"Ashley, STOP MOVING. Thank you. Alex, dear, I'd love the help. Now Ashley, stay sitting up, sit still, and we can keep your wound covered. The bullet went into your chest, but probably not inside the lungs. There is no exit wound, so it's still...."

Nearby, others tried to help with Derek while he grunted and complained loudly.

Derek-
"OW! Fuck! ARGG!"

Micah wandered back into the crowded Comm centre with a bleak expression.

Chantelle approached Micah, and touched his shoulder.

Chantelle-
"I think we're going to be OK now... I... You got a ghost! They said those couldn't be hurt... That's amazing."

Micah grinned weakly at her.

Micah-
"Thanks, who'd thought a match would do the trick huh? Seth and the others were bloody fantastic...poor Abdul... jesus."


Chantelle-
"I know! We know how to get ghosts now, but what a price to pay..."


Ashley-
"Damn. One hell of a day." 

Arriving late to the 'party', Ben asked around to see what had transpired. Once he'd gotten the gist of it, he started to offer his thoughts to anyone who'd listen.

Ben-
"So demons become glowing ghosts who then become dark ghosts who are extremely flammable? Huh. I guess we might want to get those long poles with torches after all."

"And this woman lived here, and then just went around as if she was still alive? Maybe that means that ghosts who didn't live here won't be invading this building? Would be some relief. Unless Abdul comes back to haunt us. I guess we don't really know what happens to people who have been killed by ghosts, unless that's what zombies are."

"Either way, I guess it might be a good idea to put away all the guns into storage. I'm going to have to revise my assessment of them. They're not very good against zombies with all the noise, and they're worse than useless against ghosts. Maybe they're good against demons and armed human attackers, but when those are not around..."

Seth nodded to Ben, finally getting the chance to wipe his face on a curtain while no one was looking. He spoke quietly to him, the din of the over-excited crowd easily making their conversation somewhat private.

Seth-
"What I don't understand, is how she changed... It was like she just had a sit down, and became peaceful.. Like she was going to rest or something, THEN she transformed. Why? Do you think that was some kind of special spot for her? Is that what ghosts are trying to do? Why?
Anyway... I guess we know now, you were right. Fire worked. I don't think we would have lived it if weren't for your smarts there man. I wasn't even thinking straight and just... I guess you can impale them too? ...You won't hear any complaints from me about the guns. I thought they should stay in the cabinet, or if someone insists, with the safety always on. Fucking... Abdul, god damn it. Trying to shoot at a ghost?"

He shook his head and put his face into his hand a moment.

"...I guess you shouldn't speak ill of the dead. Forgive me."


Stevie-
"Forgiven!"

Dr. Victor turned, shaking his head once Derek was safely tucked wherever.

Dr. Victor-
"Seth."

The word was spoken softly, and he peeled off his bloody glove to rest a hand on his shoulder.

"I don't want to make an ass comment, but... damn it. I'm no good at this. You did what you had to do. Nothing more nothing less. You're still the only person who could be a decent leader. Your emotional response is, well, reassuring, but best held short for now, please?"

The good doctor went over out to the Patio, looking down. He let out a low sigh.

"I will take him downstairs. Columbo, Micah... maybe they can help me? Dr. Melange, go and prepare a space... if this is all right with you, Seth?"


Seth-
"Thank you Doctor. Please do anything you need to do your job, both of you."


Bebe-
"But of course. It's what we're here for."

A magic Columbo materialized in a whirl of unearthly vapors.

Columbo-
Oh yeah, man. I got this covered. Don't need more than two guys to move one stiff, amirite?

Abdul's body was moved to the nether regions of the building, the two gunshot victims were treated and set up in their rooms with the understanding given to their roommates, that they should try to keep an eye on them.
The community center and other areas were cleaned to the best of everyone's ability, and everyone set about their nightly duties. The last person out of the community center was Patti.
The community center was empty, save for the night watch, strolling through.

Seth went back out on to the patio that evening, keeping his candle low and out of sight. He never did get to finish that drink earlier, and he figured no one would think to look for him out here. He glanced at the corner where Abdul had been, and noted that it seemed remarkably clean. He flopped in a chair and took a long sip, listening to the sounds of wind rustling through the trees, and the faint moan of the dead.

What an eerie world.

Stevie had been trailing behind him earlier in the evening and found him again easily enough. He sat down near the man.

Stevie-
"Heeeeey, can I drink out here too?"


Seth-
"Oh, yeah, of course man..."


Stevie-
"Ahh I'm sorry yer havin' a rough day, but I heard you know how to fuck up ghosts now. That means there ain't a thing out there we don't know how to take."

Seth knocked on the table.

Seth-
"Damn, it's not wood. Well, I guess that's true for the moment at least. That ghost... did you see it?"


Stevie-
"No. Me and Sonya got up here right as the gunshots were going off."


Seth-
"It was Doretta, I mean-- I'm sure you heard that already. But it was her, remember her? So weird... I felt like I should be able to talk to her."


Stevie-
"She started out... more normal and then, got all gross and freaky?"


Seth-
"Yeah, well as normal as a ghost can be I guess. She opened the damn door, and closed it behind herself! She just like, floated to that chair and sat down, lookin' all blissed out. I was thinking, wow, maybe she can go to rest now? Figures..."


Stevie-
"So a ghost can start off like those quiet ones were talkin' about, and then turn into one of those dark ones? That's what happened? What caused it? Just happen with time?"

Seth shook his head.

Seth-
"Something happened... maybe they want to go somewhere special. I don't know what's so special about up here, but maybe... I mean, she took the elevator up here, musta been important."


Stevie-
"Like, if they get to a place, a specific place that was important to them when they were alive, then they can kind of... it's like their good part moves on and leaves nothing but the dark part."


Seth-
"Maybe... yeah that's a nicer way to think of it. Better than thinking they just turn evil."


Stevie-
"I don't... I dunno man. Do you think that's somethin'... from inside of us? That's what a soul is?"


Seth-
"*sigh* I dunno... I guess we're no wizards so maybe we shouldn't worry about it. Doretta... she couldn't like, talk. She didn't even react when I said her name. I can't think that was really her."


Stevie-
"Hm. That's the other thing that's weird too, you'd think if a soul was a funky combustible weird thing, that humans would smell weird like that more often. I dunno what those are."


Seth-
"Yeah, I don't think that's a soul. Don't happen every time someone dies either, we never seen one before. It's just another monster."


Stevie-
"Why do we get those? How can we predict what will turn someone into a ghost and what won't?"


Seth-
"Bet we'll find out sooner or later... Well. G'damn. Little more corpses than I wanted to see today, y'know?"


Stevie-
"Fuckin' A, brother. Y'know... you saved my ass like, seven times, and I don't think I've been able to return the favor yet."


Seth-
"Aw, it ain't about bein' even. We just look out for each other, that's what friends do!"

Stevie nodded.

Stevie-
"I'll be lookin' out alright, I'm still pretty amazed how B.A. you are. I... did not know that about you."


Seth-
"Wow really? Thanks! I guess it's nice all that time sittin' around the studio reading "TRUE ADVENTURES" mighta paid off. Haha..."


Stevie-
"Haha... Yeah. You see what happens to the supposed badasses of the world, like that Abdul cat. It's somethin' else that really makes a difference when the shit goes down. I dunno what it is."


Seth-
"Just luck, maybe. Right before, that guy was givin' me and Bryce the War and Peace version of all his military training." (He shook his head slowly.) "I still don't know what to think. Feels weird. I'm just a guy, you know? I don't even know how I'd fare in a fist fight with anybody here, including the ladies!"


Stevie-
"Seth, if it's an consolation, I bet you could kick the ass of any lady in the joint."


Seth-
"Haha... except Marie. And Patti. Those are some tough broads."


Stevie-
"Yeah, maybe so. This.... is... pathetic! We need ice."


Seth-
"I knowww! I was just thinking that the other night. It's not the same."

Seth and Stevie rambled a bit longer, before they turned in for the night.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

There was a knock at Bryce's door!

Bryce answered.

Bryce-
"What now?"

It was Seth, changed into different clothing and with still wet hair from bathing, presumably.

"Oh um, sorry about that. We aren't being attacked by giants, are we?"



Seth-
"Haha... No. I just thought I'd come see our laid-up young man."


Bryce-
"Yeah... Derek. Come in."

Seth found Derek on a bed that had been moved into the living room. Kenny, semi-torpid, nearby.

Seth-
"Is he awake?"


Bryce-
"Uh... not really. Sometimes he'll say some weird shit. You should check out that cat,
it's huge. It's also a total whore-cat, it'll do anybody."


Seth-
"Just my kind, haha..."

Seth picked up the large furry cat. It was instantaneously purring.

"Aw yeah, good for the self esteem."

Kenny blinked and looked at Seth.

Kenny-
"Oh! Uh, oh yeah. Zombie watch. If Derek taps out, and starts bustin' shells, Pshoo pshoo!
Brain exploding fist. It's one of my used-car salesman skills."


Seth-
"Haha.. He on some pretty good meds?"


Kenny-
"What? I haven't been touching the stuff."

Derek-
*snort snore*

Seth came a little closer with the cat to look at Derek. He seemed hale, perhaps the reason
why Kenny felt free to be jokey about it. His chest rose and fell steadily, and his breathing
was clear.

Seth-
*sigh* "Good sight to see. Hope that new guy's doing this well."


Bryce-
"I'm pretty sure Ashley's was worse, but uh.. he'll probably be fine."

Seth shook his head, and closed his eyes.

Seth-
"I dunno man. What would we have done differently? Was this as good as things
could have gone? I don't feel like it..."


Bryce-
"Nah, I mean... I'm not sure. I was out there, and the only way things could've
gone better, was if we knew more about ghosts beforehand, and we didn't."


Seth-
"Yeah... Let's hope we don't have to learn everything the hard way."


Bryce-
"Yeah."


Kenny-
"What else is there to learn? Hope not much. Creeps we run into been fancy enough."

Seth shook his head slowly.

Seth-
"Yeah. Hope so too."

Kenny looked back at Derek, and started to settle back down again. Bryce gestured for
Seth to go a little bit further into the room and sit down.

Bryce-
"Really... No way. No way we could've done anything better. Although, my advice for
the future, if we don't have a pokey stick, the second you see a ghost, even if it's
a mute ghost, flick that Bic.


Seth-
"For sure. I'm glad that little nerdy guy talked to me about that, we woulda been fucked.
I wasn't even sure if it would work, but he was right."


Bryce-
"Yeah, and Sarah gave us the warning about the eyes, though apparently that's just
the dark ghosts, that's why Abdul was fucked."


Seth-
"Guess it coulda been worse. Yeah. Hmmm..."

He snuggled into the furry kitty cat.

Bryce-
"Her name's Jenny."


Seth-
"This is nice, my cat's not the snuggling type yet. *My* cat I say, ha... Maybe their owners
will come back tomorrow, who knows."


Bryce-
"Yeah... Guess it's still early enough to hold out hope."


Seth-
"You lived here with your parents?"


Bryce-
"Ah... I dunno. I was just here temporarily. I haven't had a place that was really mine for a while."


Seth-
"I bet your parents are fine."


Bryce-
"I... really don't even wanna think about it."


Seth-
"Sorry..."


Bryce-
"What about you?"


Seth-
"My parents?"


Bryce-
"Yeah..."


Seth-
"Hah... they're on the other side of the country, might as well be in China. I don't really care.
That's cold, uh.. I mean, I talk to them once or twice a year maybe, just my mom usually.
Christmas call, you know. They aren't worrying about me, I 'm sure."


Bryce-
"Why wouldn't they be worrying about their only kid?"


Seth-
"Oh no, they got others. Two brothers who are still in state, one who isn't and a sister."


Bryce-
"Oh, I dunno why I assumed that. I'm an only kid."


Seth-
"Yeah I went to college here and never went back. No one seemed to mind that hard, though
I'm sure they'd prefer if I went back for holidays."


Bryce-
"Oh, guess they can't blame you now."

Seth laughed a little bitterly, and went back to petting to the friendly cat.

Bryce-
"I wonder if it is better out in the suburbs. I dunno enough about what's going on, but a lot of
people seem to think that it would be. Maybe there's whole countries that haven't been hit."


Seth-
"Maybe... Yeah, gotta be hopeful. The trouble for them might be down the road, they run
out of food... we got lots to eat around here, lots of places to scavenge."


Bryce-
"Yeah... it's complicated. Some people were saying that we oughta get the hell out of here.
What do you think of that?"


Seth-
"...I don't know. I go out there, I don't know how someone can do it. Where would you go?"


Bryce-
"Oh you know, I'm sure they're all picturing us going to some compound in Montana
or something."


Seth-
"Heh, yeah. I dunno, I really want to help people. I think there's a lot of people around here still,
you go far away... there's no one. What do you think?"


Bryce-
"Y'know, it was weird... This was some kind of attempt to kill everybody, how well has it worked?
Will there be more? I wish I knew more. Maybe I don't..."


Seth-
"You're a smart guy... you were quick to figure out that stuff with the ghosts.
I bet you'll figure things out before the rest of us, certainly before me."


Bryce-
"Oh man... I just don't want anybody to rely on anything... that has to do with me. Haha...
Too much pressure."

Seth smiled and shrugged.

Bryce-
"Well, what are you gonna do with the rest of your night?"


Seth-
"Oh yeah, I should go visit our other sickly boy."


Bryce-
"Alright. You will be missed, sir."

Seth gave him an amused sidelong glance.

Seth-
"Likewise."

And then, he was gone. Bryce sat in his seat.

Bryce-
*sigh*

He shook his little fists.

"Argh. I better seduce that guy before he gets his fool ass killed."

Later, in Ashley's room...

Seth-
"Heyy! Look at that, up and at 'em already."

Seth let himself in and closed the door behind himself.

"Think you're doing a lot better than Derek already. That guy's like practically fresh outta
high school too, you win man! How are you doing?"


Ashley-
"You're awfully friendly to a fool. It hurts, it will take a long time to repair. I'm slowing
down in my old age." He gives a grim, strained smile, and then looks at Seth thoughtfully.

"You were the man of the hour. I'm glad that you are our president. You and Patti and
Micah are men of action. I'm used to pain, just not this much."

Seth-
"Aw! Don't be hard on yourself. Not like someone expects a ghost to be armed.
Thank you though, I'm glad to hear you are still confident in my skills. I was feeling guilty
that I just got blood splattered, shoulda caught a few scars bare minimum.
There's always next time..."

He smiled and leaned against the wall.

"Well just tell anyone if you need anything, and we'll get it for you! Favorite chocolate...
impromptu puppet show.. it's yours."

As Seth and Ashley speak, Alex kneeled in front of the little crosses and recite most of a burial mass
he once heard (or as much as he can, before he's interrupted, because it's really long).

Alex-
"Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis ..."


Seth-
"Hey now, healing will be your most important job of the moment, so don't slack on it! Maybe you can be a rapper now, you've got all the credentials."

He watched Alex doing his prayer for a moment with an inscrutable expression.

"We can get you some around the homestead work in the future, but we need all the able bodies
we can, so heal up, my good man. Don't be afraid to send for anybody if you need anything,
nothin' so important going on today it can't wait. Speaking on that, I'll get out of your hair
and let you get some rest."

He gave a little smile and a wave, and moved for the door.

Ashley-
"Seth, what is your last name? And what did you do before this? You have a good air of command,
and you're calm under pressure."

He seemed to think that made a good leader out of Mr. Seth.

Seth almost lingered a moment too long before turning with a calm face.

Seth-
"Oh, of course, haha. Seth Clemans. Well up 'till recently I wasn't doing much worth mentioning,
but I almost made it to the minors before that. Team captain in college, center field. Thanks a lot sir, I really appreciate your encouragement."

Later...

The doctor stepped out the restroom and glanced at the people waiting.

Dr. Victor-
"Dr. Melange, one of your patients is here. Seth, please come on in."

He motioned Seth into the door behind him, holding it open awkwardly, obstructing the passage through
unless Seth walked underneath his outstretched arm.

Seth ducked beneath the doctor's arm, giving him a light poke in the ribs as he passed.

Seth-
"Make a better door than a window, huh doc?"

Dr. Victor didn't look like he was smiling, but he did let loose a half-cough/half-chuckle at the contact.
He offered a slight shrug of his shoulders as the door fell shut. He reached for his pen quickly, jotting down
a few short notes.

Dr. Victor-
"Well, since you aren't part of our original group, Mr. Seth Clemens, I will be doing a full exam.
If you would please remove your shirt and trousers and have a seat on the stool. The first part
will be mostly verbal. I promise I won't bite."

He tried to smile but still seem worried, the pen clicking several times in his hands.

Seth-
"Oh good, that's why I picked you instead of that Dr. Melange... Haha. Just kidding. Or am I?"

Seth took his clothes off without too much modesty, and folded them loosely. He was quite thin but
obviously make efforts to develop his musculature on the upper body. He had a variety of small tattoos
on his upper arms, including a cartoon ghost, and he seemed to have shaved his body hair. A swimmer?

Dr. Victor-
"Age, height, weight please. Birthplace?"


Seth-
"Uhh lessee... 25, 6'2", about... 160? London. Not England, Ohio. Ha."


Dr. Victor-
"Do you have any illnesses or medical problems? Any medical history to speak of, surgeries, diseases?"


Seth-
"Hmm not really... some problems with the rotator cuff but not a big deal if I'm not playing ball."


Dr. Victor-
"Do you have any allergies? Do you know what you were immunized with as a child or
have you received any additional shots, for going over seas or tetanus?"


Seth-
"Up to date on everything as I recall... Haven't been overseas but saw a lot of sports docs
and they get on your shit about that, so I'm sure I'm good."


Dr. Victor-
"All right, this is where we become best friends."


Seth-
"We're not best friends already? Aww..."

The doctor approached Seth slowly, hesitatingly. He put on a fresh pair of rubber gloves, glancing down
at the tile floor, averting his gaze. He began gently touching Seth's neck, just under his jaw line,
and glanced in his ears.

Dr. Victor-
"Have you been subject to any weight loss or gain? Any fatigue, fever or chills? Any vision problem
or coughing? Any nasal discomfort?"


Seth-
"Uhh... probably going to lose some weight when I'm not downing protein shakes
three times a day. Otherwise, okay."

The doctor moved his fingers across his shoulders and underneath his arms.

Dr. Victor-
"Any nightsweats or skin rashes? Any irritability or sensitivity to lotions or creams?
You have tattoos. How old are they? I have ink myself, on my shoulder."


Seth-
"Oh yeah? Ooh what is it? An anchor? Newest of these is a few months old, that one on
the shoulder. The stars are couple years now."

Dr. Victor paused, leaning up suddenly. He shook his head.

Dr. Victor-
"This is more about you and less about me. I apologize. Anyways..."


Seth-
"Nah, this is fun.  "

He moved to Seth's abdomen, gently applying pressure on the sides, rolling his fingers back and forth.

Dr. Victor-
"Any stomach pains, abdominal discomfort? Are your bowels and bladder regular?"


Seth-
"Yeah, I get stomach upset in the morning... Honestly we don't really eat as much as
I'm used to, haha. Otherwise, okay."

Dr. Victor looked at Seth, eyes locking for a moment before he broke away.

Dr. Victor-
"I'm going to listen to your heart and lungs now. It's a bid archaic, but it still works."
He placed his head against Seth's back, listening to his heart. "A couple slow, deep breaths please."
The doctor moved around to Seth's chest, holding him in place. "Your heart is fine,
but it's fast... odd. Let me listen one more time."


Seth-
"You're making my heart race? Haha... I think there's songs about that one, doctor.
Just kidding. "

Plunking his head against Seth's chest, the doctor let out a hum of interest.

Dr. Victor-
"Sounds fine now. Good. Any musculoskeletal issues... I mean, broken bones, sprains,
strains, dislocations? How's your shoulders, any discomfort there?"


Seth-
"Not really... other than the cuff issue. That's more for pitching though, don't come up
much in... Haha... 'pitching.' Uh, anyway, nah, it doesn't bother me day to day."

Dr. Victor picked up his clipboard, seemingly more interested in the notes he was taking,
or avoiding any more eye contact.

Dr. Victor-
"So, this is your time now. Anything you want to ask, professional or personal, Seth?"


Seth-
"Hmm... It's kinda interesting having to have a one on one relationship with your patients
outside of the workplace huh? It's like some kind of old-fashioned village. What do you
think about that?"

The doctor shrugged.

Dr. Victor-
"I am still getting used to it, Seth. It takes a lot of getting used to, and I am not one
for accepting new things often. I do applaud your work, though. I think you saved me
from Dr. Franco and his evil schemes of whatever he was planning for me to perform.
I'll even take this examination as a good sign of opportunity to help some of these people."


Seth-
"Oh man, no problem. That guy... eh, he seemed like a creeper. I'm really glad Marie
didn't come with us, he woulda snatched her up in a second."

Dr. Victor offered a weakened smile, looking at Seth and appraising his slender body.

Dr. Victor-
"The tattoo... it's of a raven coming to rest from flight."

The doctor rolled up his sleeve on his shoulder, exposing the tattoo on his upper arm.

Seth-
"Oh nice! Wow, were you a goth, doctor?"


Dr. Victor-
"I got it after... well... I'm not sure, but you're the leader so I'll just expose this
to you instead. I was burned as a child over a vast portion of my body. My... my back
is pretty much gone, and I have a scar on my sternum... Because of this, I have...
I have an aversion to fire, pyrophobia to be precise."

The turned his back to Seth, pulling off the scrub top. He wasn't frail, but he certainly had
a lot of scar tissue. When he turned back around, the chest had a pink almost pentacle shape
in puffy tissue just on his breastbone. There was lettering going down the side of his left hip,
opposite the raven on his right arm. ~...ot be unseen~

Seth-
"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry..."


Dr. Victor-
"I share this with you in confidence, mostly because I fear it might be used against me
at some point. Because the ghosts are flammable, I am at a severe disadvantage, and
quite possibly cost lives..." The doctor put the scrub top back on. "I don't want to burden you
with anything further. Are there any other questions you want answered? I'd give you honesty
about anything that happened if it would ease your troubles."

He let the last phrase seem more assertive and sympathetic at the same time, hoping not to mention
Abdul directly, but still wanting to extend a guarded empathy.

Seth-
"Wow... yeah thanks for telling me about that, doctor. Do you think there's any way you can
work towards...? Maybe that's asking too much. Well, you seem cool with candles, and that's
the biggest thing. I don't know for a fact, but I'm betting the ghosts are gonna stay away from fire.
Maybe you should tell Dr. Melange about that one too."

He thought for a moment, still sitting around in his briefs, though with his legs demurely folded.

"Yeah that was some crazy shit last night. I think the worst part is that I wasn't getting along
with that guy. He's the only reason that I'm leader now. I was fine with things as they were but he...
*sigh* It doesn't even seem real. I guess that's a good thing. What do you think? I'm glad you believe
about the ghosts. It's easy for me to imagine you being like those guys at the research center,
me having to twist words into pseudo-scientific jargon. I'm really glad about that."


Dr. Victor-
"Seth, I appreciate the sentiment." He placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding slowly.
"To be honest, it is best to realize you were both heading towards the same goal of survival
and protection. I still stand by science, but I know full well now that even the realm of
metaphysical life is very much a part of our present. If you need anyone to talk to,
just let me know. I'm.. I'm glad you won the vote, though I might have had my doubts..."

He shrugged absently, hand still resting on Seth's shoulder.

"I put forth the dual leadership proposal, but I'm glad it failed. To be honest, I was going to
have you be one of the co-leaders anyways; you're a very charismatic and attractive man, Seth,
and you command a lot of respect by your abilities in both directing and participating."


Seth-
"Ohh...?" He smiled slowly, and looked at the doctor sideways. 
"Hey uh, do you remember anything that happened at the party the other night?"

The doctor nodded, moving his hand to show the tattoo on his hip.

~That which is seen cannot be unseen~

Dr. Victor-
"I have what is known as an eidetic memory... I see things as they were every time
I think about them... it's why I have the issues with fire I do and I can't get over them
as easily as... as most people can their fears by exposure. I won't go into the details,
but they are far from pleasant... so..."

Did Dr. Victor just blush?

"Yes, I know I came out and made a fool of myself... protecting Ione from Alex's vulgar comment...
and I know about how forceful I was on Micah... and how I came out to pretty much everyone
more or less. I remember the look on Bryce's face when we danced, the smell of Ione's hairspray..."
He bent down a little bit, eye level now with Seth. "Do you need a refresher?"


Seth-
"Heh, um no... I remember too. I just wanted to say..."

He looked around for a moment as he formulated his thoughts.

"I mean, I got stuff I'd rather people don't know too. I think it's really cool you came out
after all that, that's why I wanted to know. I was hoping it wasn't just drunken honesty,
y'know? Anyway, hey, we should talk more with like, clothes on and stuff. Talk about cute boys
or whatever."

He winked, and got up to dress.




Later...





Seth began going through vacated apartments, looking for furniture to bring to his new room.
It wasn't that difficult to drag a few chairs up the stairs, but as soon as he found a bed, and sofa
that he liked, that presented more of an issue. Today, no one had any special tasks planned,
which meant everybody was probably in their room or in the comm center. He remembered that
Jackson guy was a bit old, but had some good muscles. He found him slouching in the community center,
catching his breath after doing some chores.

Seth-
"Hey my good man... oh I hope I didn't catch you after you're already worn out.
Guess that's what happens when you're the most visibly burly fella around."


Jackson-
"What? Oh haha.. no, I was just washin' dishes."


Seth-
"Oh good. Hah yeah that can wear a guy out. I was wondering if you could help me
move some stuff upstairs? I'd really appreciate it."


Jackson-
"Well, how can I say no to the president?"


Seth-
"You are allowed to say no, you know..."


Jackson-
"I know! But I just don't know how..."


Seth-
"As president, I must take advantage of ignorance. So shall we?"

He lead Jackson down to an apartment on the fourth floor which had a rather spare
IKEA style sofa and a large four-poster bed.

Seth-
"I'm tired of sleeping on the floor camp-out style. I got everything I could handle
by myself, but this sofa and bed prove a bit much for me."


Jackson-
"Well, that's what we're here for, help each other out."

He cracked his knuckles.

"I'm ready when you are man."

Seth tried to lift the bulk of the sofa, but found he was better as a manueverer as they moved
around corners and up the stairs.

Seth-
"So how's Anna doing?'


Jackson-
"Ah ha! The truth comes out!"


Seth-
"Ohhh come on."


Jackson-
"I can tell, you feel kinda the same I do. Just coming from a different side. We both know her
a little bit, but not a lot, and we're both concerned about her. You wanna know what I know?
I think maybe that's a fair trade for what you know."

Seth rolled his eyes a little but smiled.

Seth-
"Well, I can't tell you everything, because she would kill me dead. Likewise, I'm sure.
So, non-death bringing things I can tell you... hmmm..."


Jackson-
"Maybe you do know more about her than I do. Makes sense, I only met her a few days ago.
I mean, aside from in passing before that."


Seth-
"Well you probably know some of this, but yeah, she's an art kid, anarchist...
We got along okay before, probably didn't like being reminded of work though
so we didn't hang out much. Maybe I seemed like too much of a jock, I dunno."


Jackson-
"Hm.. okay... that's what I know, but I expect you'll give me more than that after I tell you.
See how far we can push this... Well, she's more serious about the politics than the art,
and sees the ways things happened as a chance to make the world better than it was.
So she wants to make sure that if things start to look creepy, oppressive, or especially
profit-driven, that she's ready with a brick."


Seth-
"Haha, yeah. Sounds like her... Well, I know she don't get along with Stevie which
just *breaks* his heart. It's too bad, I know he's a weird ol' dude, but he's real sweet underneath."


Jackson-
"Yeah... I get the impression that she thinks basically, everybody she worked with
was some kind of... uh, malevolent foot soldier of the patriarchy?"

Seth laughed as they plopped the sofa into place in his room, and headed back for the bed.

Seth-
"Oh yes. Totally. Yeah... That's pretty cold."


Jackson-
"Hey, what can ya do? Um, she... had some kind of problems in her past, like...
she was a bit of a wild child, her family hated her, maybe she had problems with other kids
too as a teenager, there's something really dark that went on there, and she's like... strong now,
but maybe there's a little vulnerability there. Like maybe everything that's bad in her old life,
has been replaced in her mind with what's bad with society as a whole."


Seth-
"Yeah... It does kinda hurt for us, 'cause... y'know, whatever she felt, other people feel too.
We all got problems. Ah well. I didn't really know, before. I thought we got along okay,
I mean, I didn't work closely with her or anything, but say a 'hello' or whatever.
Shoulda guessed though, maybe. I asked about going to see her art show and she
didn't want me to go."


Jackson-
"Yeah... It's weird, she's got this strange combination of being VERY direct and honest
about how she feels, and also just secretive as a Colombian cartel when it comes to
certain issues. But I think she's okay, she's just feeling a little confined right now."


Seth-
"She's probably still scared I'm gonna blabber every little thing about her. There's not much
for me to blabber though, and I certainly ain't gonna get myself in trouble in the process.
You like her a lot?"


Jackson-
"Hah, what's not to like? She's hella fine. I'm an old bastard."


Seth-
"Haha. Ahh, don't be so hard on yourself. Anyway, I'm sure she must be at least a bit
sweet on ya if you know that much."


Jackson-
"Well, I guess it's good to get a second opinion about that. And you guys seem to get along
a lot better than I ever woulda guessed based on seeing how you met here."


Seth-
"Yeah. Hah... Me too. I'm glad, I like her."

They started maneuvering the bed down the hall.

Jackson-
"Like I said, what's not to like? Some people are just like... I dunno how to say it, like rockstars.
Just larger than life. Some of them, it's just a big act, a bunch of bullshit. But I think she's
the real deal."


Seth-
"Awww! You guys are too cute."


Jackson-
"Well okay. If you won't tell me the hot dirty secrets, you'll at least have to tell me if you
find out what she thinks about me."


Seth-
"Scout's honor! I like having an excuse to find out anyway, muahaha."

After Jackson and Seth finished moving furniture, Seth offered him a candy bar, and they drank
room-temperature Cokes that were stored in the refrigerator ironically.

Jackson-
"This is actually almost cold! I'm going to pretend that it's colder than it is."


Seth-
"Yeah! I thought about storing some pops down in the garage. Used'ta do that back home."


Jackson-
"Yeah, that'd totally be worth the trip."

KNOCK KNOCK.

Seth waggled his eyebrows briefly, and hopped up.

Seth-
"Boy, I wonder who's come to see my fabulous new furniture?"

He opened the door.

Bryce-
"Heyy... I heard some furniture moving, and was... uh--"

He noticed Jackson, and gave him a 'what are you doing in here' look.

Jackson-
"Hey kid. I just helped Seth move his furniture, and now I'm reaping my
rich rewards. *SLUUUURP*"


Seth-
"Hey yeah, come on in and sit on my newww sofa! I'll share this pop with you.
If you don't mind getting cooties or whatever."


Bryce-
"Mm.. okay."

Bryce flopped on the sofa. They sat in a row, equidistant from each other, Seth, the axis on
which the world revolved.Jackson slurped the pop, and cast his gigantic eyeballs in the direction
of the other two men.

Jackson-
"So, um... Yeah."

Bryce looked back, slowly turning his head to face Jackson.

Bryce-
"Were you gonna offer to start a circle jerk or something?"


Jackson-
"...Maybe I'll be hustling along... I uh, y'know. Yeah. Just... it was great talkin' to ya Seth...!"

He skittered away before Seth could respond.

Bryce-
"Oh good, he's totally straight."

Seth glanced over slowly.

Seth-
"...I call his pop."


Bryce-
"You're welcome to it. I bet he has some kind of freaky Thailand herpes, but okay."


Seth-
"Oh you."

Seth picked up the pop, and started to scoot away from Bryce, now that there was room.
Bryce moved his legs up on to the couch, and rested his head on the arm.

Bryce-
"Ahh.. this is the good life. Hey are we getting the day off because of Jesus?"


Seth-
"Huh-- oh yeah! It's Easter. Damn... No, just a coincidence, but good timing I guess."


Bryce-
"Oh man. Are we gettin' the day off because we had to kill Abdul yesterday?"

Seth winced.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to say... I'd *rather* it was because of Jesus..."

Seth shook his head.

Seth-
"Nah, it's okay. *sigh* Oh hey, you go to the doctor yet?"


Bryce-
"No... I'm not looking forward to it. He's probably gonna bug me about that-- whatever."


Seth-
"I asked 'cause... I think he was totally checking me out. Heheheh."


Bryce-
"Ha... man. Yeah, that was the world's weirdest dance."


Seth-
"He remembers every moment of it too! He told me."

Seth made a " " face.

Bryce-
"Jesus! How-- how did that come up?"


Seth-
"Oh I was just tryin' to be nice, like, ask him if he remembers the party 'cause he was so wasted..."


Bryce-
"-and he told you he remembers the whole thing, even though he was sloshing around
the environment like sea-sick Morrissey?"


Seth-
"Yup, 'a-dick' memory or something."


Bryce-
"Like photographic memory? Y'know, if you had one of those, you could be a stone retard,
and ace medical school."


Seth-
"...Very good point, my man. Good point indeed."


Bryce-
"I need... I need more candy in my life. What'ya got? If you don't mind my asking."


Seth-
"Oh hmm lemme see..."

He rifled through a fancy jar he'd sat on the counter just that afternoon.

"I got these mini ones... I don't like anything but dark. That good? Got crunch, peanut..."


Bryce-
"Oh y'know, damn... I'll take anything. Kinda like straight chocolate, Twix...
Twix is probably best, unless there's Rolos."


Seth-
"Oh good, I'll know what to get to bribe you."

He tossed Bryce a couple mini chocolate bars.

Bryce-
"Mmm man, I gotta savor these babies."

He unwrapped one, and put it in his mouth, and just sat there, moving his lips slightly,
looking at Seth. Seth hopped up on the counter, and smiled crookedly, watching him.
Bryce couldn't help but smile, but he tried to keep it subtle, tried to be cool.

Seth-
"Haha. You're cute."

Bryce finally finished the candy.

Bryce-
"I know, it's one of my talents."


Seth-
"So I got you candy, what are you gonna get me?"


Bryce-
"Oh I'm gonna get you something. I'm gonna get you something all night long, baby!"

Seth laughed.

Seth-
"What does that even mean?"


Bryce-
"I dunno... my seduction skills have fallen flat today. *sigh* I'm going to eat one of
these candies, I'm sorry."


Seth-
"You tried to seduce someone today?"


Bryce-
"Ah geez! You didn't even notice? That's how flat they are. Like flapjacks."


Seth-
"Be careful, or Dr. Victor's gonna seduce you. I think he was totally going for it."


Bryce-
"You're just trying to fuck with me dude. I mean, we know zombies and ghosts are real,
but Draculas are NOT okay?"


Seth-
"He was totally giving me the glad eye, I swear."


Bryce-
"Now he's trying to seduce you? Keep your stories straight, but seriously,
what happened?"


Seth-
"Oh well, he's all, checkin' out my tats, and shows me his... Like one that's on
his lowwwwer hip. Man. That guy needs to get laid."


Bryce-
"Haha! Oh my god. What a guy. That guy is.. some sort of freaky Dracula no question.
So as a Dracula, does he have a tattoo of like, bats and stuff?"


Seth-
"Close, a crow! And like, some Latin writing stuff and I thought I mighta seen
a pentagram."


Bryce-
"*sigh* I guess you'd have to be a sorta morbid type to get into the medical profession."


Seth-
"You got any tattoos?"


Bryce-
"Nah... You got some, don't you? Look at this.. Are you one of those guys who's got
some kinda deep meaning for them all? Like, 'the stars represent space...!'"


Seth-
"Haha, not really. I wanted to get sleeves done but never got around to it. I just liked...
I dunno, cute stuff, like this ghost-" He rolled up his sleeve, "Well now I don't think
ghosts are so cute, but I got it 'cause I liked Pacman."


Bryce-
"Oh man, video games. Well I wasn't the worst at Pacman but, you gotta be a freak
to be really good at that one."


Seth-
"I was kinda good when I was a kid, mostly just liked going to the arcade though, ha.
Lots of boys, you know. I play some Mario Kart now."


Bryce-
"No no, you do not play Mario Kart now. Yup, we're back to analog fun."


Seth-
"Ah don't be so dark! They're charging shit, we could get it on like, a DS!"


Bryce-
"Hm yeah maybe. Hey... So uh, I dunno. What'dya think? Here we are... end of the world...
Reasonably sized gay community... Resources to squeak by for a while... If you were to like,
say, somehow, live for five years, what do you 'spose you'd want out of life? Relationships,
stuff like that."


Seth-
"Wow that's a deep question."

He stretched back on the sofa, and put his feet over Bryce's lap to the other arm.

"Hmm... I hate to say but in the past, I was always most interested in having fun.
Just, work whatever job gets you good money, get nice stuff, hang out with people...
Now, there's a lot more at stake. You'll laugh if I say I wanna figure out how to cure
the zombies, or like, kill the bad guys."


Bryce-
"Curing the zombies seems pretty freaking hopeless, you gotta admit."


Seth-
"Well yeah. But-- maybe we can save the people who are still alive."


Bryce-
"Mmhmm. Well, I dunno... what do you think about other stuff though?
Like, personal stuff. You actually don't wanna have a relationship or anything like that?
Just wanna... do the rounds if you feel like it? Not that there's anything wrong with that."


Seth-
"I'm not sure. Maybe, maybe not. It might be nice to be in a relationship, life's a lot
different now. Well, what about you?"


Bryce-
"Heh. You know what that sounded like to me? That sounded like, when you're talking
to somebody who really prefers to keep things casual with everybody, and they get
the impression that if they're honest about that that somebody'll be turned off,
so they lie about being open to having a relationship just to keep their chances,
you know what I'm sayin'!"


Seth-
"Ha! Aren't you a judgmental one?" He poked Bryce with a foot. "Well, I honestly don't know.
I never had a good "LTR" before now, but I wasn't really trying. Gotta admit, shit's pretty
different now, right?"

Bryce-
"Ehh.. It's weird, I kinda feel like nothin's different."

Seth gave him a O__O face.

"Well I wasn't gettin' shot at by zombies before, but... *sigh* I did spend
a lot of time doing this. You know what I mean?" Layin' around on the furniture.
Bullshittin' with people."


Seth-
"Okay, maybe things aren't too different for you, but... they're pretty different for me. Dig?"


Bryce-
"Yeah. Well... either way. Whatever course your sexy adventures take in this new regime,
let me just say-- I intend to seduce you, before Dr. Victor does, and if, by some freaky chance,
Dr. Victor beds you first, I'm gonna have to get all of Patti's handguns, and use them
in succession on my head."


Seth-
"... ..."


Bryce-
"No pressure or nothin'."

Later...


Seth was sitting on a sofa in the Comm center eating a hot dog sandwich while Benji begged at his feet. Bryce was looking wigged out and tried to smooth himself before going over.

Seth-
"Hey! All clear? Get your diseases cured?"


Bryce-
"Diseases? No... I... he said somethin' weird, he even contradicted himself.
He said it was your idea to do physicals."


Seth-
"Hm? Eh, maybe not directly, I don't remember."


Bryce-
"Uh huh... Well, in that case, it is all your fault."


Seth-
"Didn't go well?"


Bryce-
"Coulda been worse. I was frank, and he didn't go all high school guidance counselor
on me, but still... wotta freak."


Seth-
"He's eccentric! That's what they say if somebody is weird and rich."


Bryce-
"But nobody's rich now, so what does that leave him?"


Seth-
"Oh yeah. I guess he's just weird."


Bryce-
"Haha. *sigh* So.. where you headed to?"


Seth-
"Just eatin' this sandwich. I really hoped I could score some hot find in the fridge...
something no one else would eat, but.. they're too good. They got everything."


Bryce-
"Geez, uh... I would be trusting Chantelle, just eat anything she prepares 'cause y'know,
this raiding the fridge stuff becomes more disturbing and deadly by the day."


Seth-
"Yeah... I'm just... hungry."


Bryce-
"Y'know, I think we're gonna have to start getting more food then."


Seth-
"Guess so. Maybe tomorrow we can go out and start raiding more places."


Bryce-
"Yeah, check out Whole Foods."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, somebody said they saw naked people in that hotel by there."


Bryce-
"Say what?"


Seth-
"That Patti lady. She said she saw naked people there. I guess."


Bryce-
"Like that hotel over the top of Whole Foods? Well crap, they probably already got
everything good."

Bryce stretched and watched Seth eating his weird sandwich.

"Is that any good?"



Seth-
"It's okay. It's like.. four hot dogs and some relish on this bread, kinda stale.
Want a bite?"


Bryce-
"Tch, uh... yeah, I'll take a bite."

Seth handed him the sandwich. Bryce took a nibble and shook his head, handing it back.

"Eh, thanks. Maybe I'll just eat the relish with a spoon."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, like a welfare salad."


Bryce-
"Yeah... You grow up poor, Seth?"


Seth-
"A little. More... rural than anything, if you know what I mean."


Bryce-
"Huh... Yeah I know funny guys that are all reminiscing about hot dogs and macaroni and stuff.
That ain't me, but I guess I better get used to it now. Count ourselves lucky if we get
macaroni and cheese... produkt. With a 'K'."


Seth-
"Hahah. Oh yeah, your folks are like... landlords. Pretty fancy."


Bryce-
"No... I mean, Dad's in real estate and my Mom was... technically manager for
these apartments. My Dad's just a lawyer."


Seth-
"A lawyer?! Wow..."


Bryce-
"Not even the kind that ever goes into court."


Seth-
"You're a city boy for sure though, hah... My Dad was a 'contractor' as they say,
but not a very good one."


Bryce-
"Y'know, I guess his skills are probably more useful now though. It's not like my parents
can do shit for me anymore, haha... Time for everybody to do things a little different."


Seth-
"Yeah never thought baseball skills'd come in handy. I was a bike courier for about...
two weeks. I know how to ride a motorcycle because of a different delivery job...
Kinda funny. Guess it might be useful to have no steady career."


Bryce-
"Well maybe if you'd been doing stuff, haha. Eh, I shouldn't talk too much smack
about myself. I'll let other people do that for me."


Seth-
"Oh that doctor talkin' shit?"


Bryce-
"What? Oh, not exactly. No he's just being a creepy weirdo, but I know somebody--
fuckin' Derek. That guy... is a huge mess. Which is hilarious, because I'm sure he
thinks of me as being the bigger fuck-up of the two of us."


Seth-
"That guy's pretty high-strung."

Derek walked into the room.

Derek-
"Hey dudes."


Bryce-
"Ohh... hey... Nice bandages Frankenstein. What are you doin' out of bed?"


Derek-
"Got a job to do."


Seth-
"Oh we don't want you putting your health at risk though. Is there someone who could
take over for you?"


Derek-
"I'm fine... I don't know if I trust anyone else. Y'know it's not like sitting here on my ass
is gonna bust open my arm."


Seth-
"I suppose so, but be sure to listen to the doctors."


Derek-
"Tch. Yeah. Well, thanks Prez. Anybody need anything? I got a system. I know where
everything is, and how much of it there is."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, we ever decide what to do with jewelry or other useless shiny stuff? Might be fun
to dole it out and use it to decorate with."


Derek-
"What? Man.. that stuff's important. It's gonna be real valuable when people start trading again.
I got -that- in a treasury box."


Bryce-
"Oh boy, yeah. Y'know, you just keep an eye on that stuff 'cause hoo-ee man. Gold prices are just..."


Derek-
"Don't be a smartass dude."


Seth-
"Hm.. oh yeah we got any Jager left? I think I'm the only one who likes it."


Derek-
"Yeah but I think anything that ain't wine should be rationed 'cuz there might be some
specific medicinal purpose that Jager's better for than... that other stuff."


Seth-
"Huh... Just give me some booze damn it."


Derek-
"Ehh.. I guess that's down to the doctors and the chef and everybody said they were okay with it
not being rationed right now so fuck it but-- I tell ya... We oughta save this stuff."


Bryce-
"Oh boy, yeah. Y'know, you just keep an eye on that stuff 'cause hoo-ee man.
Jager prices are just..."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, or how about the black Goldschläger market? It's got real gold..."


Derek-
"Ugh, take this and get outta my face."


Seth-
"Thanks."

Seth got the pitiful remainder of a bottle of the liquor, and made a bee-line for the patio,
not even stopping for a glass. Bryce walked behind him like a Marx brother.


They stepped out on to the patio to escape the annoyance of der SupplyMeister Derek.

Seth-
"Ugh."

He slumped in a chair, with the bottle.

Bryce-
"You're the president... of the Jagermeister. There can be no dispute."

Seth unfastened the lid, took a small drink, and handed it to Bryce.

"Yeah... yeah... I'll do it. I really don't like the way this stuff tastes."


Seth-
"Oh? I like it.. Makes me feel like I'm in an old movie or somethin'. What do you like?"


Bryce-
"I like... the goose."


Seth-
"Haha, you must just like getting drunk."


Bryce-
"Mm.. Pretty much. Just that ain't the reason you're into the Jager there?
Pretty ill taste."


Seth-
"Nah, I like it. Been nursing that bottle the whole ZP, and still have some
left don't I?"


Bryce-
"Yeah... I guess so. ZP? What's this?"


Seth-
"Oh haha... yeah some folks been saying that, I like it. "Zompocalypse."


Bryce-
"Oh good grief. Well, gotta get used to that, it's probably still the best way to deal with
a situation like this, is have a sense of humor."


Seth-
"Yeah. Sorry... maybe it's still too scary for you?"


Bryce-
"Maybe... Ha... Yeah. Look at us. Gotta have a drink, in the same place where
madness transpired."


Seth-
"Yeah, it ain't the patio's fault."


Bryce-
"Ha, I guess not. Man, hey uh... how uh, how well do you hold your liquor there?
Gotta ask."


Seth-
"Not bad, I'm a skinny guy though. I don't throw it back."


Bryce-
"Ahh.. hmm well.. it could be important information for me to have, if I'm to carry
through with my evil schemes."

Seth laughed and gave Bryce an amused look.

Seth-
"You're a funny kid. I don't think you usually -tell- people that you're gonna
seduce them, do you?"


Bryce-
"What? Well y'know what Morrissey thinks about being shy and coy. I say...
why not? Let the prey know that the hunt has begun, it's more sporting."


Seth-
"Heh... That worked for you before?"


Bryce-
"Y'know, now that I think about it... I've never had to seduce anyone.
Everybody comes to me..."


Seth-
"Oh yeah?"


Bryce-
"Yeah. I guess I'm pretty much hot. But, that does mean my skills are untested.
Any advice for how to seduce you?"


Seth-
"How to seduce myself?"


Bryce-
"Mm-hmm, what's worked for people in the past?"


Seth-
"Hmmm be a black baseball player..."


Bryce-
"Tch... eh... Nope. Wow, you done it with black baseball players?"


Seth-
"Haha, yes, more than once. Let's see... Look different than me in some other way.."


Bryce-
"I'm a lot different from you in some other way. Well, I'm not like Wilt Chamberlain
over here, that's a difference."


Seth-
"OK, well that's a good start. How about... be some kinda badass who lives on
the edge?"


Bryce-
"Well yeah, you never know... I don't care whether I live or die. That makes
me unpredictable."


Seth-
"That is pretty romantic, though it's pretty sad too."


Bryce-
"It isn't sad, it's cool. I mean, if I got nothin' to lose, I could just karate kick
a motherfucker straight in the jaw, and then put my hands around someone's waist
and tongue-kiss him and swing out a window like Errol Flynn. You never know
what's gonna happen next."


Seth-
"Oh...? Well, there isn't anyone to karate kick around here, so I guess that one's out."


Bryce-
"I'll kick the doctor."

Seth took a drink and handed the bottle back to Bryce.

Seth-
"It's a deal."

Bryce took a drink, passed the bottle back and sat with his hands on his knees.
He breathed deeply for a few moments.

"I'll take an IOU, you know. You don't gotta kung-fu the old man right this second."


Bryce-
"Oh! Yeah yeah yeah... 'course. Just uh... that's what that was about, yeah."

He scooted his chair right next to Seth's.

"Hey... come out to this patio often?"


Seth-
"Actually yeah, I do."

Seth casually put an arm up on the back of his chair, turning towards Bryce.

Bryce-
"Funny, I've never seen you here before... besides that one time... 

I think I would've noticed...!"

Seth laughed quietly.

Seth-
"Oh yeah? Notice what?"


Bryce-
"Notice someone so beautiful that he just... lit up the place."


Seth-
"Oh? Seems a little dark out here still, but thanks."


Bryce-
"Ah, it's the eye of the beholder. You're putting out sexy beams that are only
perceptible to others. So tragic, but maybe we can get some mirrors out here
to reflect thy glory. ...It sounds ridiculous, but I'm at least half serious."


Seth-
"You're funny."


Bryce-
"Mmhmm... So uh..."

He cozied up to Seth.

"Are we gonna make out or what?"


Seth-
"Okay."

And they did. They leaned against the back wall, conveniently out of sight from
the comm center proper. At first they were tentative, feeling out each other's lips,
but it got more serious. Tongues may have been involved, but no one inside got to
know that, did they? Bryce suddenly stiffened, and pulled away from Seth with
a crazed look on his face.

Seth-
"What?"

Bryce pointed.

Abdul-Rahman-
"..."

Floating a couple inches off the ground, the vague phantom moved to the door, opened it,
and closed it behind himself. In the community center, Benji began yipping and barking.

Seth-
"Motherfucker..."

Seth slowly crept from the patio, eyes flitting around for a weapon to use. He saw Ashley,
and made eye contact, nodding.

Dogs-
"BARK BARK YIPE BARK WHINE!"

The ghost drifted aimlessly, moving towards the stairwell.

While the ghost's 'back' was turned, Seth grabbed a mop that leaned against the
dining room wall. Bryce stood nearby, hands on Zoe's shoulders.

Bryce-
"Hey uh..."

He turned her around.

"You shouldn't look at ghosts."


Zoe-
"I looked at him, nothing happened."

Seth walked quickly with the mop, and with a sudden movement, ran the ghost through
with the thick wooden handle. It instantly began shuddering and lashing around with
thin foggy wisps.

Abdul-Rahman-
"...!!"


Seth-
"Anyone, got a light?!"

((FILL IN))

Seth let the mop clatter to the ground, and stepped away from the swirling tatters as they
disintegrated to the floor. He watched the praying Ashley with with an inscrutable expression.

Seth-
"..Don't worry... I'm sure we will do that to any of us."


Zoe-
"Where'd he go?"

Bryce pointed out the little crispy bits as they tumbled away and turned to powder.

Bryce-
"Whoa... A roasted marshmallow."


Seth-
"That wasn't really Abdul, Zoe. That's just a ghost, you know?"

The dogs began to finally calm, running around and sniffing everything though.

Zoe-
"I dunno, doesn't a ghost come out of a person when you die though? Like your soul?
What happens if you burned up his soul, does that mean he doesn't go to heaven or hell?"

Seth shook his head.

Seth-
"That's not his soul either, or we could talk to him, right?"


Bryce-
"It's like he's your reflection in the mirror, your reflection isn't a person. It just looks like you."


Zoe-
"Ohh.. my reflection doesn't float around and smell bad though."


Seth-
"It's just like a zombie outside Zoe, those aren't people any more."


Zoe-
"Hmm I guesss.. They still look like people..."

Derek came back from the bathroom, and looked at the mop.

Derek-
"That's my mop stick dude."


Seth-
"Yeah, I impaled a ghost with it while you were taking a leak. Sorry."


Derek-
"Shit, really?"


Bryce-
"It was fantastic, we'll tell you all about it later... Peace."

Seth patted Bryce on the back friendfully.

"Oh yeah, so we were talking about something outside, right?"

He strutted off, and Seth followed casually.



Seth and Bryce returned to his apartment, the sun was beginning to set and the room
seemed dim. Benji followed them and ran inside, still seeming nervous from the adventure
earlier. Seth started lighting candles.

Bryce-
"Ah man... geez! What the hell ghosts?! Think that patio's cursed or something?"


Seth-
"Hah... not anymore, maybe. He did die there."


Bryce-
"How many times does a person have to die?"


Seth-
"I don't know... maybe because he got killed by a ghost, he gets to be a ghost. Or.. got to be a ghost."


Bryce-
"Does that really get rid of the ghost, or do you think even after that they might come back?"


Seth-
"I don't know... well, we'll find out I guess."

He picked up a small tray of candles and moved them to his new coffee table, and sat on the couch. Bryce sat on the couch too.

Bryce-
"Ahh.. I dunno if I'm gonna recover from that one."


Seth-
"Scary?"


Bryce-
"How.. how do we keep ghosts from getting us in our sleep? Now that I've seen them, they're fairly alarming."


Seth-
"Well, both times they went outside, where we don't have any lights. Bet they don't like going near fire, like candles."


Bryce-
"Hmm how near is near? Guess there's only one way to find out. Terrible terrible trial and error."


Seth-
"It's been a few days, I only ever seen ghosts out there. I mean, there's probably more, but both of those were from people who died in here. I don't know if we'll see more. Hell, maybe they're drawn to me."


Bryce-
"*sigh* I don't know... I don't know what to think about any of that. There's stories about some people are mediums, and ghosts might be drawn to them. Y'know, like Whoopi Goldberg in that one movie."


Seth-
"I'm sorry you had to see that. Both times."


Bryce-
"Oh yeah, like you could've done anything about it. Ha... Do you think you might be a medium? Do you think spooks and freaks are drawn to you?"


Seth-
"Not really. I think it was a coincidence. Maybe that first ghost just liked that spot, and then the other guy died there so that's where he showed up. I don't think it's anything special."


Bryce-
"Hm... So... I guess, the lesson is-- don't get killed by ghosts, don't get possessed and ax murdered and you won't turn into a ghost."


Seth-
"Yup."

He put his arm around Bryce.

Bryce-
"Well now... you um, you wanna pick up our conversation where we left off?"


Seth-
"Sure. So it was something like..."

He moved closer, and put his hand on Bryce's knee. A Siamese cat suddenly jumped on the arm of the sofa and stared at them. Bryce stared back at it.

"Aw! That's Bob. He doesn't usually come out."


Bryce-
"Ugh... Cat... I'm busy here."

He put a fist out, in front of the cat. The cat rubbed against it, and started purring.

Seth-
"Aww!"


Bryce-
"Aw geez."

Seth got up and moved to the kitchen.

Seth-
"I think we need more booze after all that. Want some wine?"

Bob the cat got on Bryce's lap, purring.

Bryce-
"Sure..." He looked at the cat. "What's your agenda, cat?"


Seth-
"The dogs were barking at the ghost. I wonder if cats know anything too."


Bryce-
"I... doubt it. Or if they did know something, I don't think they'd do anything about it."


Seth-
"Not a cat fan?"

He came back with two plastic cups and a bottle of cheap red from Serious Pie.

Bryce-
"I guess I like 'em alright, probably better than dogs but... I know 'em well enough to know, they're stupid jerks."


Seth-
"Haha aw... You look like you get along with Jenny. I thought you seemed like more of a cat person."

He poured the wine, and Bob suddenly ran, skittering across the kitchen tile and into the bedroom.

Bryce-
"There we go, freedom."

He took his wine in hand and rolled it around in the glass and smelled it.

Seth-
"You're so fancy."

Seth drank it like it was a glass of orange juice.

Bryce-
"I was just thinking about what the ghosts smell like. This is sufficiently different to make me not think I'm drinking ghost jizzum"


Seth-
"Ewwww! Hahaha..."


Bryce-
"Nope, nothin' like that at all. Now, if you get into the mushroom wine, you might lose some people."

They sipped their drinks for a moment, peacefully. Seth gave him a sensitive look, and touched his hair, pushing it back from his face.

Bryce-
"You really do want to continue our conversation from earlier...!"


Seth-
"I feel like this is going to summon Godzilla out of the Puget Sound but--"

He leaned in for a kiss. Bryce accepted and returned the kiss, touching Seth's face and neck. This time, no ghosts, no rude interruptions.

...


Bryce leaned back after a few moments.

Bryce-
"Oh hm, yeah haha.. that's probably a good start... What'dya think man?"


Seth-
"Huh?"


Bryce-
"Y'know, like... save something for later y'know... seduction... phase one complete! Err, I mean two, I guess we're phase two."

Seth leaned back and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, rubbing his forehead.

Seth-
"Oh.. yeah... sure okay."


Bryce-
"What's the matter?"


Seth-
"Nothin' haha.. yeah, I forget you're pretty young, huh."


Bryce-
"Young..?! What does that have to do with anything?"


Seth-
"No no, you're right. I guess... I'm used to hanging out with sluts, hahaha..."


Bryce-
"Well, sorry to disappoint."

Seth dug around among the couch cushions until he found his shirt.

Seth-
"Well, you wanna go back to your room or...?"


Bryce-
"Nah, we'll hang out. Maybe find out a little about you. I mean, if you're cool with that."


Seth-
"Sure, something you're curious about?"

He pulled his shirt on, and let Benji jump up on the couch next to him.

Bryce-
"Ha-ha... I dunno, what do you think? Is there anything I *should* be curious about?"


Seth-
"Heh.. Well, I don't know if I'm ready to show you my tell-all yet, but we could get started."


Bryce-
"Yeah... well, what do you do in your spare time here?"


Seth-
"Haven't had a lot of spare time, honestly. Trying to get this apartment looking like a good place to stay, chatting to people, playing with the pets... I like reading, I usually go out on the patio because that's a good quiet spot, at least from humans."


Bryce-
"Yeah the monsters out there... little bit depressing, gotta admit."


Seth-
"I could understand that. I guess I'm pretty good at tuning things out. I'm reading this book about spies in Cuba, it's pretty fun. I like that kinda stuff."


Bryce-
"Cuban spies huh? You don't think your day to day life is adventurous enough? Well, I guess that's so unrealistic that it makes this seem reasonable by comparison. Those stories.."


Seth-
"Yeah, it's like old man books, haha. Maybe it'll give me a good idea. I read a bunch of survival books, and that stuff on the Discovery channel. It came in handy, actually."


Bryce-
"So if we need to infiltrate the commies, you'll learn how to seduce their dark skinned women?"


Seth-
"Well what do you do, fancy man?"


Bryce-
" 'Bout the same. I got a bunch of romance novels... They describe some pretty impressive... fellows, and their lusty exploits."


Seth-
"Hah! I could never get past all the weird euphemisms in those. Maybe if I get bored enough. I like to read about guys wrestling Grizzlies or whatever."


Bryce-
"What? You don't like to hear about guys wrestling sensitive but tempestuous women with a fierce spirit that could never be tamed?"


Seth-
"Hmmm.. maybe you can give me the Cliff's Notes version."


Bryce-
"Haha, well. Let's see.. The one I'm reading now is about... Cla..rissa Sterngale, who was born to privilege, but fell on hard times when..."

He described the operatic mis-adventures of Clarissa (?) Sterngale and the lusty pursuit of her by a strong-jawed rake Lionel Brisbane. He made sure to include specific dimensions for Mr. Brisbane's genitals as his memory of the writing could provide.


Seth-
"Hahaha wow. So do you identify with the heroines in those?"


Bryce-
"Well yeah, y'know. Why not? They only describe them a little bit, you know, yadda yadda big boobies whatever. They're always getting swept up in manly arms and all that."


Seth-
"That's cute."


Bryce-
"Seriously, huh. Is it cute? What's cute about it?"


Seth-
"Oh you know, you're a little sensitive guy. It's cute!"


Bryce-
"Huhhh... cute you say. You don't think I'm like, like a little bro or something do ya? 'Cause I am NOT a little bro. I am a raven-haired rogue."


Seth-
"Little bro?"


Bryce-
"Yeah you know like, sorta 'friend-zoning' but whatever. You don't think I'm some stupid kid right? I tell you..."


Seth-
"Why would I think that?"


Bryce-
"You said 'cute!' Cute isn't sexy. Sensitive is sounding like 'nice guys finish last.' I tell you, I don't finish last. I am a jongleur of love. Whatever that is. I think that's a tough thing, isn't it?"


Seth-
"You worry too much. I just say you're cute, 'cause you're cute. Why isn't cute sexy? I like guys who are different from me. Y'know... you're kinda femme. I like that."

Bryce whipped his head to attention.

Bryce-
"Sayyyyy 'femme?!' How would you think such a thing?"


Seth-
"Sorry... I didn't know you didn't... *sigh* Is there something wrong with being femme?"


Bryce-
"Well yeah! I'm a gay dude! I'm all about, y'know, dudes! Doin' it! Involving me, because I'm a dude, who would be doing it with dudes!"


Seth-
"But you just said you read about the fancy lady heroines and identified with..."


Bryce-
"Uh uh! No! Don't even think it! Man... am I not going to be able to tell you about stuff that I think is fun or silly because you'll all be like 'Bryce is a chick!'"


Seth-
"Oh come on... *sigh*"

He put his head in his hand.

Bryce-
"Wait wait, I'm sorry... Forget I said all that. Obviously I can't be fussy and defensive if I want to continue my operation of seduction. I gotta play it cool gotta back it up.. just forget I said anything. So Cuban spies huh?"

Seth smiled slowly.

Seth-
"Can I tell you you're cute, and have you know that's something good? I don't wanna offend you. I like you."


Bryce-
"Hm, in your head, can cute also include sexy?"


Seth-
"Well of course! It's like... charming, appealing.. I can like you in more ways than one. I also think you're sexy, obviously!"


Bryce-
"Good good... it's nice to know that we have some mutual sexfulness going on. I can thereby deem, seduction stage two, a success! Mutual sexfulness achieved! Do you think I'm a raven-haired jongleur of love?"


Seth-
"I'm not entirely certain what that is, but it sounds good."


Bryce-
"Alright. Man you're ... mighty fine. You know that? You probably get dudes all over you, all the time. That's gotta be a little hard to handle."


Seth-
"Aw that's sweet. Well, sometimes.. I mean, before, if I went out to a club I knew I could get laid if I wanted to. Whether it was someone that I wanted to get laid by... I didn't do that much lately. You know, it's hard to find someone who you like to be around all the time. I was hanging out with Stevie more than anybody, 'cause he's funny."


Bryce-
"So what's funny about that guy? Is he like, schadenfreude fest or does he actually have a bunch of sexist and racist jokes that just work whenever you're in the right company?"


Seth-
"Oh a little of everything! He's kinda like... a funny uncle, you know? Sometimes people are funny but it's too specific or about stuff I don't know about, but he can just say silly stuff and it works. Plus, he had a lot of free time, haha."


Bryce-
"Yeah, well that's nice to have a friend. I get along with some people but I dunno anyone who entertains me that consistently."


Seth-
"Hey so... You wanna go lay down or something? Kinda cold without the heat..."


Bryce-
"Yeah! Today's just been... balls. Look at that."

The sky outside was an extremely dark periwinkle.

"Hell yeah, mm... gonna reap the rewards of Jackson's labor."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, I gotta talk to that guy and make sure he's not creeped out about circle jerks every time he sees me..."


Bryce-
"Hahahaha...! Ahhh.... I like doing stuff like that. It's one of my weaknesses as a jongleur. I can't get that word out of my head today!"


Seth-
"Hey I wonder if I can pick you up."


Bryce-
"Ha! Knock yourself out, stretch."

Bryce got into the position to be bench pressed.

"This is so not gonna work."

Seth scooped him under the legs, and tried to balance him over a shoulder.

Bryce-
"Uh! Uh yeah.. that's a little uncomfortable."

Seth tried to carry him into the other room.

"Oh yeah! Yup, here we go, mm-hmm... point proven!"

Seth gently dropped him on the bed. WHUMP.

"Ah see! There we go."


Seth-
"That was fun."


Bryce-
"Oh well, yeah totally. I was rockin' it y'know. It was like being on an airplane."


Seth-
"Maybe you could ride on my shoulders."


Bryce-
"Alright-- maybe next time. *sigh* OK get over here and let's get rid of this coldness."

Seth kicked his shoes off and got into bed, Benji jumped up as well and ran around, barking.

Bryce-
"What's so exciting, animals?"


Seth-
"I dunno, it's kinda exciting. Woof woof."

He grabbed Bryce under the blanket, and squeezed him.

Bryce-
"Ahh..."

He smiled.

"Okay, you know I find it hard to relax sometimes, but right now? I'll take it."


Seth-
"Good. Hey what's it feel like to have long hair? I never had long hair."


Bryce-
"Why didn't you have long hair?"


Seth-
"I'd look like Bowie from Labyrinth. Too wirey. You have nice hair."


Bryce-
"Well thanks. Yeah y'know I only have long hair 'cause I'm kinda lazy about cutting it, but I like the way it looks. It's hip right now."


Seth-
"Oh yeah. I wonder what's gonna happen... Are people gonna look like Mad Max and get weird punk styles?"


Bryce-
"Yeah! That seems like a lot of effort. I bet it doesn't happen. But people do have a lot of time on their hands."

Seth held him close. Bryce had his eyes closed at first, relaxing with all his might, which as he said, was not easy for him. A minute passed, and he opened his eyes. He looked at Seth, who had his eyes closed, Benji sitting behind his head and sleeping.

Bryce thought...

"Man... that guy's got big eyes. So many eyelashes.. pretty romantic looking. What am I doing here? How'd I get in this situation? Oh yeah... he's the only gay here who isn't a Dracula or a foul-mouthed misanthrope. Well, I'm a misanthrope anyway. Tch.. look at you, I do not belong here. No question. Beautiful guy, nothin' apparently wrong with him... I am definitely in the wrong place. Maybe he'll turn out to be like.. some kind of psycho partner-beater. I'll have to get a post-apocalypse restraining order on him. No way... More likely the other way around, ha. What a cutie... Too nice. I'm probably gonna get unreasonably outraged about that at some point. "

Seth's eyes slowly opened, and Bryce quickly closed his own, pretending to be peacefully resting.

Seth pushed back Bryce's hair and did that whole cute 'kiss on the forehead' thing. Bryce fluttered inside.

Seth thought as he looked at the 'sleeping' Bryce.

"I hope you will be okay. I don't like that we keep getting interrupted by spooky things. 'Seduce' me, haha. Funny little guy. Man, of course you're gonna hate me calling you cute, 'cause you totally are. Cute, cute.. I can think it all I want in my head, take that! Ha!"

He remembered finding Bryce, that first day. Him answering the door in such a stupor that Seth had actually raised a weapon, thinking he was a particularly well-mannered zombie.

"Why would you do that to yourself? I don't buy that it was all just 'whatever, I don't care if I live or die.' You're like some little fairy tale waif, wake up to find yourself in a world of zombies. Damn... I'm the first person he saw after. I wonder if this all feels like some strange dream... I hope that isn't why--"

He involuntarily sighed a bit, but played it off like it was out of relaxation.

Bryce's eyes popped open again, he looked at Seth and thought-
"Wow, yup, he's still there. What a sight. Wonder is he my arm candy or visa versa?"

Seth-
"Hey do you want to spend the night again?"


Bryce-
"Oh heh... um, yes and no... I really shouldn't while Derek's laid up."


Seth-
"Oh? He's feeling well enough to go annoy us upstairs."


Bryce-
"That's true. Well that also means he's probably awake enough to be a little bastard to me if he thinks I'm up to no good."


Seth-
"Mmm.."


Bryce-
"Yeah, yeah they will."

Bryce carefully pulled himself up, until he was sitting on his elbows.

"Ah. I feel like this whole end of the world deal's gonna be more complicated than I prefer, somehow."


Seth-
"Oh?"


Bryce-
"Yeah. What do you think? Y'know, people's perceptions and stuff like that."


Seth-
"Yeah it' feels like... high school or something. Not great. I don't know.. It feels stupid to have to hide being gay, I mean, here? Now? But... I guess it might be necessary. *sigh*"


Bryce-
"Well, it won't go on forever. You can bet on that."

He sat the rest of the way up, and ran his fingers through his hair. He looked at Seth meaningfully. Seth rolled on his side, Benji getting up and resettling again.

Seth-
"What's next then?"

Bryce smiled.

Bryce-
"That's for me to know, and you to find out."


Seth-
"Hah... it's part of your dastardly game, isn't it? You're like a Backstreet Boys song come to life."


Bryce-
"Which one's that?"


Seth-
"Oh come on. "Quit Playing Games with My Heart"... that was Backstreet Boys, wasn't it?"


Bryce-
"Shit... I'm a Backstreet Boy. Great. I've become my worst nightmare."

He got out of bed.

"What a cruel world."


Seth-
"You could be a member of 'NSYNC..."


Bryce-
"Well, *sigh* I guess that's what it's come to 'cause, you know what time it is... it's time to say... (He mouthed silently) "Bye Bye Bye."


Seth-
"Groan."

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Seth came into the community center with Benji, and went out onto the balcony where Chantelle was cooking. On his way out, he nodded to the others present, at this point including Basil, Patti, Kerry, Jonah, and some others. They mostly still relaxed in side chairs and on couches. Benji scampered away from Seth freely, heading off into the south hall.

Benji-
"YAP!"

The dog re-emerged into the community center, with a wired-looking Bryce. They seemed to be involved in a psychic conversation. Bryce - Dog whisperer.

Bryce-
Hey it's you... That must mean, el Jefe is in the house.

Benji gave him a seemingly thoughtful look with his brown dog eyes, and watched him carefully.

Bryce-
Hey ya little fuzzy, maybe if breakfast isn't ready, you can hang out with me.

Bryce went in the community center, Benji following behind. He heard the sound of conversation on the patio, and walked up to the glass inner door, looking at the Seth and Chantelle beyond. He couldn't hear the words, but he could tell Seth was telling Chantelle a joke by the rhythm of speech.

What joke is that, he thought, he listened and tried to figure out based on the connecting words. Why did the chicken cross the road?

He thought, it was some sort of country-ish joke about bad cooking. Chantelle laughed at whatever the punch line is, though she laughed about some pretty lame things sometimes.

Bryce-
Ah the wit. You wanna be the star of the scene Mr. Clemans, but that won't last for long.

Outside could be heard...

Seth-
"What's your favorite chocolate?"


Chantelle-
"Wow, I hadn't thought about it. Chocolate mint's alright. Chocolate covered bacon is NOT as weird as you might think."


Seth-
"Oh I could imagine that. Hmm... I wonder if we'll find some Nutella..."


Chantelle-
"That stuff is perfect! Ooh I hope we can find some."


Seth-
"Me too, I'll eat it on anything."


Chantelle-
"Hahaha, I bet I could think of something you wouldn't eat it on."


Seth-
"Okay, maybe not... fish. But other meats maybe."

Bryce went out onto the patio, Benji waited behind. The patio maybe making him nervous with the sounds of the dead more audible to his dog ears.

Bryce emerged onto the patio in the cool shadow cast by the morning sun at the building's back. Chantelle and Seth chatted while she worked furiously, flipping little flapjack-like things.

Seth-
"Hey! I don't usually see you up this early." He smiled. Unlike Bryce, he was wearing different clothes from yesterday.


Bryce-
"Yeah, well y'know. Some nights you can sleep, other nights... I didn't even have to deal with that sort of stuff though." He gestured at the world beyond and below.


Seth-
"I was just talking to Chantelle about chocolate. What's your favorite? I know you like ice cream, but what else?"


Bryce-
"Oh haha. Pretty much whatever. What were you guys talking about, about chocolate?"


Seth-
"I was hoping we'd find some Nutella. I was just thinking about how that's nice for breakfast, like on waffles or whatever."

Bryce wondered if there was a possibility of becoming Seths' roommate. Perhaps it was too soon, too weird... What was going on?

Chantelle kept flipping the odd looking little patties on the grill.

Chantelle-
"Oh yeah if you found some baker's chocolate, bring that to me! We can have chocolate chip pancakes."


Seth-
"I will in an instant! Oh man... I better go sit down or I'm gonna start grabbing those things straight off the grill."

Seth poured himself a glass of orange Kool Aid from a jug on a patio table, and went back inside with Bryce. Benji eagerly followed.
Seth went into the kitchen, and poured a small bowl of cheerios with soy milk.

Seth-
"I don't like this stuff very much but I better eat this or I'm going to go crazy. I'm too hungry."

It was relatively quiet in the comm center, but it didn't seem like anyone was listening too closely.

Bryce -
"Say chief, good morning right."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, good morning." He smiled at Bryce.

Bryce-
"Ah, yeah, it could be worse. I'm not too bad."


Seth-
"Did you sleep okay? I don't usually see you up this early."

Bryce-
"No... I'll blame Derek."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, you got two roommates. I bet that's kind of annoying. I never had roommates since college. Poor Stevie... but yeah."

Bryce-
"Yeah roommates, totally their fault. The bastids."


Seth-
"So what's your plan for the day?"

Bryce-
"Hmm follow you around, get into adventures."

Seth smiled broadly.

Seth-
"Ohhh? You gonna try to get a VP gig?"

Bryce-
"Yeah maybe I should straighten up, fly right, get corporate."

They came back out to the seating area, Seth eating his cereal before he even sat down.

Bryce wondered what could possibly be going through Seth's head. He was so complicated... Then again, maybe Bryce just had a head full of bad wirings, imagining all kind of ridiculous phantasia for the minds around him. He saw Benji and looked at Seth for the decision - let him jump up or push him away. Seth let the beast jump up on his lap, holding the bowl above his head.

Unduly kind to animals, Bryce noted.

Seth-
"What would you have for breakfast if you could have anything?"

Bryce-
"A box of ice cream sandwiches. You?"

Seth-
"Haha. You love the sweets. I'd have ... biscuits and sausage, gravy, and bacon, and soft-boiled eggs, and a waffle with strawberries, and chocolate milk."

Bryce-
"So much food you'd go crazy and eat the dog by mistake."

Seth-
"Hahaha. No, that's what'll happen if Chantelle doesn't get the food done sometime soon." crnch crnch crnch

Bryce-
"So hey it doesn't look like there's very many people around here right now. Why are you such an early bird?"

Seth-
"Just used to it. Before school training when I was a kid, getting up early to work out later... Now I just get up and eat breakfast, ha."

Bryce-
"Oh? You think you might start to lose your figure?"

Seth-
"Maybe not in the way you're thinking... I usually eat a lot more than this, if you can believe that."

Bryce-
"Geez, you're one of those guys huh. Yeah I guess I can believe it. What are you gonna do with no food? Or less food..."

Seth-
"Yeah... I hope it's not going to be a problem. That Patti lady wanted to start everyone working out in the mornings, but I'm not sure if I even have that much energy. I guess I better get to scavenging the other buildings around here."

Bryce-
"Yeah might be a good idea. See what's close at hand."

Seth-
"Do you not like skinny guys?"

Bryce-
"What? Oh... Nah, I mean it kinda depends. Probably look better wearing clothes than otherwise."

Seth-
"Heh... I'll just wear a big sweater all the time, to hide my shame."

Bryce-
"A lot of people want to be too skinny. You'll probably get bonus boner points from uncanny quarters."


Seth-
"Boner points, huh? I wonder what I'd get if I cash those in?"

Bryce slowly turned his head toward Seth and looked at him meaningfully, soulfully. He cocked his head to the left and said,

Bryce-
"Boners."

Seth-
(laughed) "So you gonna follow me around today? Gonna follow me everywhere?"

Bryce-
"Maybe just for a day, to see what it's like. The adventures."

Seth-
"Even if I go outside?"

Bryce-
(looked serious for a moment) "I'll probably chicken out at the last minute, but, uh... yeah?"

Seth-
"Oh I know somethin'! We could go look at this new building we secured. You never been there. We probably won't even run into any monsters."

Bryce-
"I heard Ivan say there's like mad corpses in there."

Seth-
"Ohh, yeah, that wouldn't be very romantic would it."

Bryce-
"You know you have a bunch of boring stuff to do around here. Might as well do it."

Seth-
"Well, maybe we go look at one of our neighboring buildings... I can protect you."

Bryce-
"Like I said, that might go as far as me following you downstairs and hanging out in the garage. I dunno."

Seth-
"Well, OK. Until then..."

Bryce-
"Hey... What would, um, ... What would you do for a date, if we didn't have any special considerations at the moment... If you could do whatever."

Seth-
"Oh, I like that kind of question, hm..."

Bryce-
"Do you just like it because it gives you another chance to come up with food?"

Seth-
(laughed) "Only in part. It's fun to use your imagination. Hm, let's see, ahh, we'd have to go for a drive, so I could impress you with my car. And... If it was a nice day, go somewhere outdoorsy like a wetlands or something, and look for animals. And... Picnic food..."

Bryce-
"But of course. Tiger tails and beouf bourgogne, with white wine and four loko."

Seth-
"How about you?"

Bryce-
"Um, I'm more of a nocturnal guy. We'd go to dinner, maybe at a restaurant in a fancy hotel, so we'd be right there to be able to get a room. We'd watch TV. If they had a good deal on the adult channels, we'd watch a bunch of that stuff and joke about it. Talk a lot, do some stuff... Y'know."

Seth-
"Well that sounds fun too. Hm, I wonder how much of this stuff we'll be able to do in the future. I bet a lot."

Bryce-
"You think so? I can't imagine how."

Seth-
"Well, if you think about it, we could get a hotel just as easy as anywhere, just gotta secure it. Driving may be more of an issue, but one of my goals is to fence off this road out here. I bet we could do it. Then we could use the garage, go for a drive."

Bryce-
"Madness! Well, good to have goals, I say."

Chantelle laid out the first round of breakfast goods.

Seth-
"Oh boy!"

Bryce-
"Haha, I can't believe you said, 'Oh boy.' That's cute."

Seth-
"Oh thanks. Hey, see, 'cute' is a good thing." He lightly punched Bryce's arm.

Bryce-
(smiled mega-awkwardly)

Zoe-
"It's time for the big council meeting, isn't it? Where is everybody?"


Thierry-
"Having an easy morning. Patience..."

Zoe-
"Ms. Oshiro!"


Marie-
"Ms. Rake. I'm afraid your services will not be required at this meeting. Elevated security clearance, you know?"


Zoe-
"Laaaaaaame!"

Zoe took Frank out, leaving the adults behind, now Marie, Stevie, Thierry, and Chantelle.

Marie-
"Could you run and get the rest, Thierry, if you don't mind?"


Thierry-
"Surely."


Chantelle-
"Hey y'all!"

Ben finally arrived, after having answered a call of nature. Maybe it was jitters before the big meeting? But despite the unplanned delay it seemed as if he wasn't the last one. Phew!



Ben-
"Hello, people!"










All - "Hello, Ben!"

Seth-
"Bryce will be assisting me today, so don't mind him, and it looks like we're ready to call this thing to order. OK? Good.... Thanks for meeting with me today everyone. I'm hoping we can do this pretty often. I promise these won't run horribly long. I know we all have important things to do. To start, do any of you have any questions or concerns about the meetings themselves, or the cabinet?"

Thierry-
"Well, these appointments were made without process, and so may attract some displeasure with the populace. Secondly, that the meeting is being conducted in relative secrecy may play on the minds of the, shall we say, excessively vigilant members of our collective."


Seth-
"Good concerns. Well, I figured the cabinet wasn't even necessarily a formal body, more like just the people I trust and admire the intelligence of. There are others too, but I trust you all to give me precise and pertinent advice the most. Yes, the privacy might strike some as being shady, but I figure the more public something like this is, the longer it's going to drag on, and nothing that happens here is going to be landmark decisions, I'm sure."


Stevie-
"Sounds good to me, champ."


Marie-
"Likewise. The purpose, as I envision it, is merely to make some decisions about the execution of goals we had already agreed to in a more open environment... Like when we agreed to try to divide labor fairly in public, then in privacy I was just writing the rotation chart. Not a big deal."


Thierry-
"Fine. Proceed."


Seth-
"Okay great, so for our first meeting, maybe we should start out by just making a big list of every potential goal we have for the building and our members. No matter how crazy! We can lay them all out by category, feasibility, and urgency. Obviously urgent things go first, and back burner stuff is there to inspire us. Marie, would you like to transcribe?"

Everyone raised any concerns that they remembered from the previous meetings and conversations with people. These were reduced to a list as described.

During the conversation, Ben mentioned these points, in brief:



Subject: Ghostwatch

                "I've been thinking about ghosts, and how we're watching for them at night. Now, I don't believe that we're in a lot of danger of ghosts coming back to the 403 building, but if they do, and we've only got a single person awake in each room, and that person happens to look into the ghost's eyes, then that would basically turn the entire room into zombies. From what I've heard of the ghosts we've had, they might seek something that puts them at ease, and then some part of them is released, leaving them aggressive and dangerous. So perhaps the only apartments that run even a slight risk of being haunted are the ones where the people have died somewhere and might want to return for their pets or loved ones. I don't know if the risk is worth worrying about, but I wanted to bring it up in case it is."


Subject: Printing pamphlets

                "I went to the offices on 2nd floor and checked how much power a desktop copier required, and it was something like 600W. If we wanted to run one of those we'd have to connect it to four bicycle generators. I guess that could be done, but it might be too much trouble compared to just writing the pamphlets by hand. If each person wrote one pamphlet per day, we'd soon end up with more pamphlets than we could spread to our neighbors. And then they could keep the process going."


Subject: Long distance communications

                "It would be nice if we could establish communications with other cities. I don't know if we could get a satellite modem working, or if those satellites need a connection to some central facility which is now without power and therefore silent. There's also radio, if someone has managed to maintain something like that."


Subject: Portable power generators

                "I guess a radio transmitter might require a lot of power, but survivalists love their portable power generators, don't they? Perhaps we could get hold of a generator somewhere, and get gas from all the crashed cars in the streets?"


Subject: Construction vehicles

                "And speaking of those blocked streets, perhaps we should try to get hold of some large construction vehicles so we could clear the streets for easy travel? And also roll right over any zombies that are out there. We might not even have to do this ourselves if we can locate someone who used to work with machines like that, and someone who knows where some machines are parked right now."


Subject: Playing with zombies

                "Right here we could start experimenting with ropes from the roof, and dangle various objects and see how zombies react. I was thinking we could try to use a bag of empty cans to lure them away from our entrance when we're about to leave. And if we want to get fancy, we could drop down heavy objects attached to ropes, and then pull them back up again for another attack. That seems like a safe way to kill zombies, even though it might be much harder work than just hitting them. But eventually we should be able to clear our own section of the streets."[/quote]

Seth-
"So first things we want to do seem like...

Ghost watch - Is there a better way?
Secure/explore our neighboring buildings
Clear streets - secure neighborhood. Construction vehicles?
Get more people
Go to hotel where people were spotted, say hello? Alliance?
Printing how-to pamphlets? How? Also, missing people flyers
Finding missing family for Jonah/Peg & others -- or help them to leave?
Power generation - get gas-powered generators.
Gas - collect as much as possible - siphon on streets?
Find more food! -- Make trips to likely locations
Long distance communications - radio, etc.
(Ben had mentioned an idea to curb zombie population, or at least distract the things, near the building. Seth said he'd address that soon but didn't write it down on this list.)

That's a good start. We'll discuss these individually, but I have a few pressing concerns I'd like to get into first..."

Seth turned around wrote two phrases on the whiteboard, adding to the list at the very top.

"Find the mummies and kill them"

"Kill as many zombies as possible, as fast as possible"

He turned around. Stevie whistled. Marie crumpled. Thierry chuckled.

Seth-
"We all saw that video right? I don't know if killing the mummies will stop this all, but we have to find them and figure out what's going on. Any thoughts?"


Stevie-
"Badass."


Thierry-
"That does speak to the concern around the campfire, that the mummies may cause further damage as long as they're out there. Proactive leadership, thumbs up."


Marie-
"..."


Chantelle-
"That sounds like a bit of a tall order. You think we could do that?"


Seth-
"Not in a day of course, probably not even in a week. I have a feeling they're not just going to let things lay as they are so we need to know what we're going to do about that. It might seem impossible, but we need to figure out the root behind the problem if we hope to ever stop this."


Chantelle-
"Again, you think we can stop this? I mean, even if we knew how this started, it's just... this huge thing, so big! It's like, creepy magic or something. Are we creepy wizards?"


Seth-
"Not yet... but that kid in the video, what was he... 13? If he can learn magic, I don't know why we couldn't."


Ben-
"Magic? Well, I don't know where to find out about that. In the movies our library or museum might have had ancient tomes of dark secrets, but I'm pretty sure they don't actually have stuff like that."


Chantelle-
"Yeah, I know some people who tried to do magic... I won't say it's all fake, because it's mostly the same as religions like Catholicism, where you put your intentions into a ritual, try to do something spiritually meaningful. But it does seem like, if the magic books you can find in the library could do this, it would've happened sooner."


Ben-
"And since we don't know where those mummies are, I'd say the best we can do at this point is to share information with others and see if anyone else has seen one. Though, there was some initial explosion or something at some building, wasn't there? Maybe that'd be a place to go look?"


Stevie-
"The explosion! We heard a little about that but I didn't have the whole news coverage on my recording and no one else in the building was able to tell us much about that. Some kinda black gas coming out of the Columbia Tower. You saw the news that night, right? What do you remember about that stuff, Ben?"


Thierry-
"Nonono, I do not think we should go to the Columbia Tower. It's in the heart of the disaster, so would be very dangerous. I'm willing to undertake a risky venture, but need a better motivation than 'slim possibility of useful information' to get me there.

I think there may be a better way. Does anyone suppose that children's records at the Department of Education include photographs? Perhaps we can find an archive, power it up long enough to look through the images for this child. What do you think?"


Marie-
"Now that is a compelling idea. Hm... I half recall hearing that there are 50 million children in schools in the US, which is, what, a sixth of the population? Sounds right-ish. We can eliminate about half based on gender, and assuming we're medium populous for a state, how long would it take to skim through a half million pictures?"


Thierry-
"Depends on the interface. Proprietary software is unlikely to have easy browsing ability. If you have to open every file individually and scroll to some midpoint on the page, easily five times as long as if you could just look at a bunch of pictures on one screen. Assuming, generously, we could get five people looking at once, mmm, maybe a week to a month of labor. This sounds less promising now..."


Seth-
"Well, also, you think you'd recognize that kid if you saw him? Probably a lot of kids look like that, when they're not covered in blood and digital artifacting. And if we did know who he was, would that even help? It's not like we can look him up on Facebook or something."


Thierry-
"Presumably his DoE file would have an address, which is a starting point, but yes, this is looking pretty pathetic. I retract the idea."


Seth-
"No, no, that's the right way to think. This is an incredibly weird problem, so it needs incredibly weird solutions."


Stevie-
"How did they do this in the first place? Did a certain amount of people just get killed outright, or was the dead starting to come back enough to cover the world in zombies? The possessed guys helped kill some outright, same with ghosts. And what was that stuff at the Columbia Tower?

I'm sayin' if we knew the way they went about it better, we could figure out places they had to be in person, and even if they're gone they mighta left clues."


Marie-
"That's a bit of a reach. Can we shelve this for now and move on?"


Seth-
"Wait, we wanna find out more. Maybe instead of goin' right there, we try and find some footage. There's all these news stations right around here. They must've got the video, so that's one place that seems pretty likely for us to find some hints."


Stevie-
"King 5! It's on Dexter like two, three blocks away, and it's the station I recorded anyway! Let's do it!"


Marie-
"OK, we'll plan a mission for some people to investigate there. Next item... kill as many zombies as possible... Ideas?"


Ben
"For zombies I'd recommend big construction vehicles. Just roll right over them, back and forth, until they stop moving. The bigger, the better, but even a regular snow plow set at decapitation height ought to work wonders."


Marie-
"I can already tell this part of the discussion is going to be spectacularly vile."


Seth-
"I like it. Maybe if we were in some kind of enclosed place, like a big garage, so it wouldn't get hit from all sides... Keep all the zombies in the line of destruction."


Stevie-
"A wide alley like the one behind us... Seems like there's alleys like that running in a straight line through this neighborhood parallel to Westlake all the way to Mercer."


Chantelle-
"No way we can get a snowplow. I couldn't even guess where those are kept, but I doubt it's close to here. But there's a ton of construction... I wonder if those things need special gas? I still don't like ideas as well that involve people going out there in the zombie world, but I guess most of these ideas are gonna be like that."


Marie-
"OK, I've noted that we should try to sequester some construction equipment for later use, if possible. What else?"


Stevie-
"Chokepoints. Except the Somme and other horrors of modern war, seems like most of the times in military history when a small force wiped the mat with a larger one was because the invaders were stupid enough to send troops into a well-defended chokepoint, like a bridge or valley.

This enemy is real stupid, so we get a bunch aware of us and coming at us through an alley, single file or close to it. We put 'em down one at a time for as long as it takes before they remember self-preservation or we run out."


Chantelle-
"I don't think they get tired and we do, plus people have to get so close... I don't like it."


Thierry-
"They seem unlikely to cluster that conveniently as well. Then there's Ben's idea of getting their attention and dropping weapons on them from the roof."


Stevie-
"Lawn darts, hehe."


Marie-
I don't want to be an unnecessarily pessimistic voice, but that seems rather difficult and inefficient. It's about 60 feet, so they'd have a lot of time to get out of the way."


Chantelle-
"So you need a fast weapon. How about javelins? Javelins on ropes! Is that harpoons? Anyway, they'd cut through the air faster and be easier to aim than heavy stuff."


Thierry-
"I'm starting to like this notion."


Seth-
"Hey, ropes. I thought what if we get three people or so. Two people have a rope. They run on either side of an alley or road, zombies would be too stupid to get out of the way of the rope. They get knocked down. Person behind the rope runs up, two in the dome. *pshew pshew* Best part, quick getaway. All you need is a rope and a gun."


Stevie-
"That one sounds fun, but I think you'd need a pretty crazy running crew to volunteer for it. Good luck!"


Thierry-
"Lure them into a building and shut the doors. Put a big sign outside that says "Do not open." What do you think? ..."

Nov 17, 2012 23:46:34 GMT -8 ◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊ said:

Stevie-
"The explosion! We heard a little about that but I didn't have the whole news coverage on my recording and no one else in the building was able to tell us much about that. Some kinda black gas coming out of the Columbia Tower. You saw the news that night, right? What do you remember about that stuff, Ben?"

Ben-
"Uhh... Not much. Now that you mention 'Tower' I remember why I was thinking of a tower or some sort. I'm not even sure if I heard it from that news cast or if it was someone at the mall telling me about it. I think someone said something about bio-terrorism. "

Stevie-
"How did they do this in the first place? Did a certain amount of people just get killed outright, or was the dead starting to come back enough to cover the world in zombies? The possessed guys helped kill some outright, same with ghosts. And what was that stuff at the Columbia Tower?

I'm sayin' if we knew the way they went about it better, we could figure out places they had to be in person, and even if they're gone they mighta left clues."

Ben-
"Huh. Maybe that's why all those cars crashed into each other? Because the people in them were possessed or turned into zombies? Seems a bit stupid even for panicked people to cause pile-ups in every intersection."

Chantelle-
"So you need a fast weapon. How about javelins? Javelins on ropes! Is that harpoons? Anyway, they'd cut through the air faster and be easier to aim than heavy stuff."

Ben-
"Javelins don't sound that easy to aim. I was thinking of luring a crowd to a set position, and then dropping a fridge or something on them. Though preferably something that's sturdier, since a fridge would break apart. Do they really have enough sense to get out of the way? Wouldn't they be too fascinated by the rattling bag of cans? Well, that's what I'd like to find out."

Seth-
"Hey, ropes. I thought what if we get three people or so. Two people have a rope. They run on either side of an alley or road, zombies would be too stupid to get out of the way of the rope. They get knocked down. Person behind the rope runs up, two in the dome. *pshew pshew* Best part, quick getaway. All you need is a rope and a gun."


Stevie-
"That one sounds fun, but I think you'd need a pretty crazy running crew to volunteer for it. Good luck!"

Ben-
"I don't see why you'd need the rope if you have a gun? And I sure don't see how you could clothesline a horde of zombies; after each one the runners would lose momentum. And if it's not a horde, how is it any faster than just running out there and ganging up on them? Apparently they're not contagious?"

Thierry-
"Lure them into a building and shut the doors. Put a big sign outside that says "Do not open." What do you think? ..."

Ben-
"That could work, but it seems kind of inefficient. First we'd have to scout the building, and then we're probably going to quickly run out of suitable buildings. You know, unless we manage to create some kind of elaborate maze that just pulls in zombies until the building is filled to the brim. Literally.

We could probably lure them in with a living and breathing human taunting them from a safe position, and when enough zombies have gotten inside, the bait could just climb up on the roof or out of a window along some prepared escape route. Possibly using ropes.

Oh, wait. It's coming to me... What if we could attract a huge horde of zombies to the front of a really tall building? Like an infinite horde? And then we lure them up the stairs to the roof, and then we lure the line of zombies to the ledge and get them to step over it and fall down like lemmings? Surely that would crack some skulls?"


And Ben had more, less impressive ideas:

"One pretty simple method might be to use whatever high ground might be available. Get a gang together, leap up on crashed cars and such, and attract some zombies and kill them as they try to climb up on the cars. Would be really great if we could do it from a truck of some kind, because there's no way any of these shambling zombies could climb up on one of those. At least not before they get clubbed.

Athletic people could even get a harness of some sort and climb up on a structure, fasten some grappling hook or such, and then sit at a comfortable height, feet against the wall and act as both live bait and death from above. Eight feet up, with a long club? Not sure if the club should be fastened to the wrist to keep it from being dropped, or if that would be too risky in case the zombies grab for it. Maybe a spear would work better...

We could probably build a suitable wall around here, that would offer complete safety while still giving easy reach with clubs or spears. But do we really want a huge pile of dead zombies near where we live? Seems better to kill all those zombies somewhere else, preferably downwind from us.

The nice thing about construction vehicles is that they'd be able to traverse the rolling hills of dead zombies that any massive slaughter would create. Even if you could kill a hundred zombies without them touching you, if you're not on a moving vehicle, you're going to have find some way to get around without having to wade through a hundred corpses. And if someone does decide to sit in a harness, they'd better be prepared to climb a bit higher as the pile of dead zombies build up underneath them.

Perhaps it might be possible to build some kind of portable fortification that could be carried in pieces and then assembled quickly on top of a car? Like wooden walls that could form a small and extremely safe fort from where a few guys could stab and smash until they got tired. Maybe even use guns?

Perhaps try to do it near a building? That way people could climb inside if they get too tired before the zombies stop coming. Maybe we could even find a building that's already got windows high enough from the ground to be safe, and yet low enough that they'd allow zombies to get poked by spears. Still, there would be the inevitable build-up of corpses, so mobility seems to be key."


Marie-
"This is getting to be a bit much for me. Can we move on to the next topic?"


Thierry-
"Deep apologies, Marie. I feel the need to mention one more method. The garage under the nearby Amazon buildings - the one with the tall towers and skybridge - That would be very easy to control the entrances to and have a huge amount of space to work with. Set up a non-electrical way to operate the gate. Admit zombies as long as you like, close the door when you like, and deal with them at your own pace in an isolated but wide open space...

Well, I suppose there are many ways to do this. What do you say we simply set a quota of zombies dispatched per day, that we must collectively meet or exceed whenever possible? Twenty a day seems a humble goal, one hundred ambitious but doable. What do you think?"


Seth-
"Maybe we do as many as we can one day, see how hard it is, and set our goal based on that."


Marie-
"So noted. I'll schedule a day for zombie genocide soon. Next..."





The group addressed the rest of the list. The meeting took a little over an hour. There were no huge revelations, but a lot of plans and ideas were formulated...

Ghost watch - Is there a better way?

This was very hard to get a consensus on. Some people just weren't willing to lose sleep over it. A night watch of two people with fire patrolling the occupied floors seemed as much as the larger group was willing to commit too.

Secure/explore our neighboring buildings

With the idea that the population was likely to expand as people were rescued, most people favored the idea of securing near buildings in a similar way to the 403.

Clear streets - secure neighborhood. Construction vehicles?

Seth especially wanted to figure out a way to start securing / fencing off entire streets, that would allow free travel between secured buildings. That worked well with Ben'd idea to get into construction equipment. Indeed, the neighborhood had major construction projects left hanging, so lots of fences, barricades, and vehicles for the task. Others felt this seemed a bit early to be talking about that.

Get more people

How to help people the best? Invite people from small enclaves with insufficient resources to join up with 403, save isolated survivors, establish good relations with other groups. Aside from having more active recon missions, not much more came of this line of conversation - for now.

Go to hotel where people were spotted, say hello? Alliance?

Ben amused people by telling them what he knew about the balcony nudists. After a bit of debate, they decided to send two people as runners to scout the place before sending an envoy proper, and then to keep the numbers low. Seth was insistent that the group should have a handgun in case of meeting the possessed dead, but agreed it should stay out of sight.

Printing how-to pamphlets? How? Also, missing people flyers.

Seth had a notion to start advertising who was at the 403 building, so that loved ones would know where to find them, and hopefully start a trend within the region. Ben's idea for "How to Kill Monsters" fliers was well received. But both required printing technology or wrist killing labor.

Then Seth remembered something Anna had once told him - Cornish College of the Arts had a printing program, which used pre-electrical technology! An old-school printing process, just a few blocks away! Some idea of a mission was drawn up.

Finding missing family for Jonah/Peg & others -- or help them to leave?

Marie explained that she had been passed a note from Peg, trying to explain just how powerful her need to know about her missing partner was. It was a difficult, tragic situation, which was undoubtedly shared by others in the building.

Seth said the first order of business was a recon mission, maybe on motorcycle, to look at the routes out of town. It was generally agreed to.

Power generation - get gas-powered generators.

This seemed feasible to find. Stevie particularly felt that a lot of buildings might have miniature generators for emergencies that could be excised and brought home. Actual building generators were of course too large, but some might yield useful parts.

Gas - collect as much as possible - siphon on streets?

Another mission for scavenging crews. Not too difficult to arrange.

Find more food! -- Make trips to likely locations

This had already been arranged, but Chantelle and others had some opinions about how to go about it that were discussed.

Long distance communications - radio, etc.

((Care to research this Ben? I suspect without relay towers, even very long range "ham" radio would probably not work. I could be wrong.)) Mostly, people were pretty convinced there were no authorities left to contact, but it still seemed like a good side project.

The meeting got tense occasionally, but it was good to air the ideas that people had previously only exchanged in passing in the halls. Seth thanked everybody present...


(I could try to google around for info about ways to communicate without assistance from the electrical grid, but I'm content with having this be futile. Not sure what Ben could research in the current situation? Maybe he could try to locate books that describes how HAM radio works? That just doesn't seem to be something that Ben would know.

And he wouldn't know exactly how satellite modems work either, since he's never needed one. And the technological requirements of such equipment would likely be online, which is now inaccessible. I could also imagine that he'd need an account with username and password before he could even connect to a satellite, never mind finding out how to connect directly to someone else. With no internet, that'd end up being pure guesswork. If the story needed it, he could've just 'teched the tech', but there are many hurdles that could make anything too difficult.)



                "Oh no, I wasn't thinking about contacting any authorities. I was thinking of contacting other survivors in other cities, or wherever someone may have some way of communicating with us. I figured it could give us an idea as to which areas might have been left unharmed, and if anyone out there could tell us something we don't already know. Someone could have seen a mummy or something. Or if we become the first ones, we could tell others about it. Same thing as the pamphlets, really, but long distance."

Thierry-
"Good ideas. Let's see what we can do about making them happen!"

The meeting was adjourned, and people drank room temperature cokes and ate iced oatmeal cookies. Bryce slumped in a chair, holding his mouth, brow furrowed.

Stevie-
"Buck up, kid."


Bryce-
"Huh. Yeah, maybe I should do that."


Stevie-
"Or mope, ya wiseacre."

Stevie moved on to chat with Marie.

Seth-
"Hey, what did you think? You feel alright?"


Bryce-
"The halls of power man, they are too heavy."


Seth-
"Well, you don't have to be my assistant if it's too much."


Bryce-
"Y'know I said I was gonna follow you around on a random whim, with no forethought, but I still feel like I should finish what I started. If I can."


Seth-
"I'll be happy to have ya."

Bryce resumed his pose.





tab Ben wondered if his zombie-killing ideas had been too much. Evidently they had been too much for Marie. The thought of streets covered in dead bodies brought him back to the time he'd seen a clip of a snow plow pushing around droves of emaciated holocaust victims, bodies tumbling over bodies in a rolling wave.
tab The scene had only lasted a second or two, but the idea of treating dead people like so much garbage had seemed revolting to Ben's young mind. Then he'd viewed the same clip later in life, and it hadn't looked nearly as bad. There hadn't even been as many bodies as he'd remembered. So apparently he had grown so used to the image in his head that it was no longer shocking.
tab Though to be sure, it would look even worse if they actually used a construction vehicle on a zombie horde. Any such vehicle would become completely covered in splattered blood, and the streets might become difficult to make out beneath all the bodies. And perhaps they might later come to regret every zombie they killed? For some reason that they couldn't possibly know about right now?
tab Ben's mind kept running along, but he felt that he had shared enough of his thoughts for the time being.


The meeting dissipated! Bryce and Seth went out to the community center, followed shortly by Thierry and Chantelle, and so on.


The cabinet meeting had dispersed from Marie's office, and most of the people who had been present for it were now in the community center. Marie told Ivan and Anna to go as runners, to "case" the Pan-Pac Hotel, before the envoys were sent.

Thierry approached Seth and Bryce.

Thierry-
"Well now, I guess it's time to decide what you want to do with the rest of your day. Time permitting, I may escort Dr. Victor to the UWMRC later. Since you've been stricken from the hotel mission, what do you think you will occupy yourself with, Monsieur President?"


Seth-
"Well, I wasn't stricken from the more local expeditions, so, maybe try and hit a coffee shop?"

Thierry-
"I somehow don't see you holding to this prohibition for long. On a scale from the generals in Black Sabbath's 'War Pigs' to Star Trek's Captain Kirk, I would rank your desire for frontal action far more Kirkish than Marie might prefer."

Seth-
"Yeeeeah, pretty much. Kinda hopin' no one is able to get in there somehow, at least for the moment."

Thierry-
"What would you do differently from our hypothetical failed mission? Never mind, I suppose you can't answer that until it happens. I'm not sure whether to wish you good luck on that, but good luck."

He went on, signing himself into an envoy position.

Bryce-
"That was the most syllables I've ever heard in a 'from this to that' scale-type thing. Dude must be a genius."


Seth-
"Yep. That's why he's on the council!"

Bryce-
"You really wanna go outside today? What do you wanna do?"

Seth-
"Yeah, y'know, we could get some chocolate syrup, some cake-pops or somethin' ... I wonder if those are still good."

Bryce-
"See, I don't know how you can have an easy-going attitude about it. I saw it from the roof once. It's crazy."

Seth-
"You saw it? What, the zombies?"

Bryce-
"No, people going out to fight the zombies. I was on patrol on the roof... I thought, it looked like a video game, except, when I thought about what it must look like down close, it wasn't very cool."

Seth-
"Aww... Nah, it's okay, once you get used to it. The ghosts feel scarier to me. You can just like, run past a lot of them."

Bryce-
"Well, maybe I'll find out today."

Seth-
"You don't have to go out if you don't want to..."

Bryce-
"I know... I'll know when I get downstairs."

Seth waited for Anna and Ivan to get back before gathering his crew for a separate restaurant run. Some time passed...


Then, Anna and Ivan returned.



Bryce-
"Wow, you guys are sweaty. How did it go?"



Anna-
"Fuckin' pigs, man!"

Ivan-
"The constabulary was represented in that establishment."

Seth-
"Cops? Wh-- okay, little background?"


Ivan-
"We got down there, got up to the plaza. Just tried to make like we were scavengers, 'cause we didn't figure we'd be able to find out anything useful from a distance. So we looked in a few doors in neighboring businesses, while occasionally peeping the hotel. We come back to there. There's some surly looking dicks in those neon yellow and black cop jackets."


Seth-
"Obviously some pretty stupid dicks too, pretty sure being visible is not a good thing. So then what?"


Ivan-
"There really weren't many zombies there in the plaza. It's like, feng shui or somethin'. Anyway they just glared at us, and they were definitely armed. I don't think anyone who goes over there's gonna exactly get a welcome mat."


Seth-
"Well, good to know. Sheesh, I hope we find some more friendly people soon. So you guys think... send a couple dignitaries over and say 'hello' but don't expect much?"


Ivan-
"Yeah. I think so."


Anna-
"Why even bother? I mean, they got guns, they can defend themselves.. and they clearly don't give a shit about people that are outside, in it."


Seth-
"Hm. I'll check with the second group and see if they want to bother."

They nodded. Anna looked at Ivan.

Anna-
"Tell me you're gonna take a bath."


Ivan-
"You know it baby."

She headed to her room and Ivan took off the other direction.

Bryce-
"Man, what do you think? I heard that rumor about cops... You think, bad news?"


Seth-
"It would be good to find out, at least. This kind of situation, people might get dangerous. Probably better to do this now than later."


Bryce-
"Ya mean, check in at Coptown before it turns into Jonestown?"


Seth-
"Yeah... Well I'm thinking if there's frolicking naked people on balconies, it probably ain't all that nightmarish inside, but you never know."

They went to hunt down the second group. They didn't have to go far, finding Sarah and Thierry right away.

Seth told them Ivan & Anna's findings.

Thierry-
"Ah. So how many people do you think should go? Just one or two to not prick up any defenses? Maybe Marie's recommended three?"


Seth-
"Yeah, like you say, don't want to look threatening. Do you have an idea of who should go?'


Thierry-
"Hm well, three people.. Sarah?"


Sarah-
"I'm really curious about them but.. I know Thierry will be able to charm the pants off of anybody. Tyrone will probably get more respect out of them."

She looked at Nat.

"I think we can sit this one out..."


Thierry-
"--and our third, Mr. Ashley?"

(Ashley nods?)

Seth-
"Sounds good to me, be careful, and remember we just want to find out what we can but it's not worth any risk."


Thierry-
"Certainly. Well Ashley, let's just roust Tyrone and head on out."

*********

Seth and Bryce returned to plotting their restaurant run. Bryce was still uncertain as to whether he would really end up going.


Another day, another dare. Seth and his team came down to the alley, preparing to do their restaurant run...



Seth assembled his team of scrappy leftovers. Davin would probably have signed up for the hotel mission, but missed the posting. Seth found him in his apartment. Filling out the roster was Kenny and maybe Bryce. They rallied in the alley.

Kenny-
"What are we up to today, cap'm?"

Seth-
"We're gonna get some food at the closest places. I think I saw a Jimmy Johns on the corner, and then the Starbucks next to that."

Kenny-
"Wow, I guess we'll get the cart again. Conveniently, it should be just outside the cars here, unless a zombie ran away with them."

Seth-
"Hopefully we'll find a lot, so if we do-- we just load up as much as we can get, and we'll set the rest near the doors and send someone else to come grab 'em later."

Davin-
"Sounds like a plan, Stan. I kinda wonder about the safety of stuff like this when I'm first starting to set out, but everything's turned out pretty well so far, and we could definitely use the supplies."

Seth-
"Yup, this is a short trip too, so shouldn't even be as intense as that UWMRC trip."

Davin hefted his club.

Davin-
"Let's do this!"

Seth glanced back to Bryce with a questioning look. Bryce shrugged. Kenny jogged toward the barrier and started to surmount it.

Seth-
(Quietly to Bryce) "Just stay close to me."

He nodded and looked pretty nervous, holding his club close to his body. Seth moved towards the cars, and moved past the barrier, and waited for Bryce on the other side. Davin came over first, landing softly, and headed over to the carts with Kenny. They looked at Seth expectantly. Seth waited to help Bryce over if he needed it. Bryce suddenly came clunking over car roofs and slumped off the last one on to Harrison street. Seth looked back to other men and nodded toward their destination.

The four moved from point to point around the building, only having to hide for a few minutes at the time, and keeping zombie killing to a minimum. They decided they might have to go out again and re-torch anything that hadn't burnt through, later on. For now, they returned to 403, feeling like they'd at least accomplished something.



Another day, another dare. Seth and his team went on a run to a few neighborhood restaurants...




They ran down a narrow but surprisingly clean alley behind Westlake, rolling the carts. Zombies were up in grits on occasion. Seth watched the back, letting Bryce be in the center, behind Davin and Kenny. Bryce looked around madly, obviously very uncomfortable with the situation he found himself in. Various corporate undeads ambled at the crew and Seth was able to knock them down or dispatch them with superior speed. Once they were partway through the alley, Davin let go of his cart, and hustled up ahead to engage a few zombies coming the other way. Bryce just looked on, stupid.

Seth-
"Let's just leave the carts back here."

He ran a be-sweatered zombie through a bit too fiercely, and had to push another one back with his hands while he wrenched the spear out. Bryce was still waving his head around uselessly.

Kenny-
"Focus bro! Just stay with me."

They formed again on Seth and looked for the best way to go. There was a large glass set of doors labeled "320 Westlake" that seemed an easy entry compared to the handle-less doors that surrounded them. They tried it, and it was unlocked. They hustled inside the dark entryway. Davin and Kenny ran up to the corners, peeking out on Westlake and ducked back inside.

Seth-
"How does it look out there?"


Davin-
"Eh, could be worse. See if we can't get in doors."

There were a handful of doors here, including a restroom. The door closest to Westlake seemed to be the one to the coffee shop. They couldn't help but attract the attention of zombies on Westlake, who began their awkward shamble and tried to form a mob. Seth moved toward the coffee shop.

Seth-
"Gotta block that front door! Fast!"

Inside of the coffeeshop was poorly lit with the tree-shaded front and lack of power, and the thin space they had wedged this Starbucks into was rather dim and pathetic. Cordons still stood inside to try to manage the crowds that would never be. Three zombies were slumped over counters and furniture, feeling unmotivated until our heroes had arrived.

Seth-
"Kenny, Bryce, do the front door!"

He and Davin moved to dispatch the listless zombies. Kenny snagged Bryce by the arm and shook him a little bit.

Kenny-
"Hey bro, don't crap out on me now!"

He snapped his fingers in front of Bryce's eyes.

Kenny-
"Yo, let's do this thing, man."

Bryce shook himself loose but didn't seem to know what to do until he saw Kenny start to move furniture to block the entrance. Davin and Seth caused a small clatter as they killed the coffee shop zombies, knocking over a small table in the process.

Davin-
"I always hated this Starbucks anyways."


Seth-
"It's so small... I hope we get a lot of bread at that sandwich shop."


Bryce-
"Yeah, I don't know what to think. Well if they got ciabattas and english muffins, they probably got an idea of what it takes to keep that stuff fresh."


Seth-
"They might go stale but we can get croutons out of it at least."

The front door was being weakly beat on by a middle-aged hippy lady and a ponytailed male zombie with crooked glasses, but Kenny and Bryce had pushed enough of the IKEA-esque tables against it that their feeble assault was no match. Bryce kept trying to move tables, even though Kenny was satisfied.

Seth came over and put a hand on Bryce's shoulder.

Seth-
"Hey let's see what they got here, huh?"


Bryce-
"H-yeah... If they don't have gold pieces and magic swords, this isn't worth it."


Seth-
"Aww.. how about cake pops?"

Sure enough, the plexiglass display case had a few slightly melted cake pops in it, though a thin streamer of blood was obscuring the view.

Bryce-
"Disgusting..."

Seth moved behind the counter and pulled a pink cake pop out, and put it in his mouth.

Seth-
"Heyy alright."

Davin began moving the syrup bottles closer to the door. There were several bottles of gourmet sodas and mineral water floating in the melted former ice. Kenny pulled out a bottle of Jones soda, and cracked it open. Seth could see Bryce still standing near the front, transfixed by the cretins outside.

Seth-
"Hey Bryce, help me with this?"

He turned around and crept back through the store, extremely cautious near where the bodies had fallen. Seth presented him with a small green object when he got behind the counter. It was a gourmet chocolate bar, still in the wrapper.

Bryce-
"Thanks...?"

He regarded it as though he didn't know what to do with it anymore.

Seth-
(quietly) "Put that in your pocket, hon. We take the stuff we want out of here."


Bryce-
"mm-- okay."

He put it into his pocket and looked around eyes carefully avoiding fallen zombies which sent them in useless orbits.

Seth gently moved him toward the lake of floating sodas.

Seth-
"Fish those out and put them by the door."


Bryce-
"Yeah..."

Davin looked at Bryce with a hard squint which the young man did not notice, and then he looked at Seth. He moved over to help Seth lump large cans of coffee beans, and started to give him the business.

Davin-
"Hey uh, I know you made some good decisions, presidente, but what have we got this kid here for?"


Seth-
"Well, I thought it'd be good to get everybody used to this sort of stuff. It was a short trip so I thought, y'know."


Davin-
"Y'know... maybe you shoulda got the competent people used to it before you brought a shell-shocked Bambi out into the shit with us. Just... throwin' that out there for your consideration chief."


Seth-
"Yeah yeah... I know."


Davin-
"Uh huh. As long as we understand each other."

They gathered the supplies near the back door, loading up pockets with whatever small items could fit. Kenny sat on a chair, finishing off the electric blue soda.

Kenny-
"Hey, Bryce... It's not that hard, man. Ain't you ever been in fights before?"


Bryce-
"Uh... No not really."

Kenny-
"Really?"

Bryce-
"Yeah... never came up."

Kenny-
"Shit, dude. If you never get in fights, shouldn't you have some kind of cool wisdom, like Caine from Kung-Fu?"

Bryce-
"Wait... I don't get it. Uhh... what does Kung-fu have to do with not.. fighting. Nevermind."


Seth-
"Okay guys, let's get this stuff out to the carts... Eh, let's leave the beans by the door so we can fit more bread."


Davin-
"Hey! Little help you two?"

Kenny and Bryce got into motion with a little more sense.

The men loaded the carts up with cans of syrup, bottles of soda and cartons of evaporated milk that didn't seem too funky. Seth gestured for Bryce to push one of the carts this time since it took a little less oversight. Bryce seemed to be slightly relieved to be in the open air. The alley was zombie free at the moment. Kenny went up along side Seth for a moment.

Kenny-
"Hey, y'think maybe it would be a good idea to take a break and have Bryce wack a zombie under controlled circumstances? Like, get one to come into the alley and let him have it?"


Seth-
"Hey that's a good idea... I'll see if he's ready for it."

Seth went over to Bryce.

Seth-
"Hey, how do you feel right now?"


Bryce-
"Oh you know, uh... little fuckin' crazy. What a scene... Are we gonna get rollin' here?"

Seth-
"Do you think you could fight a zombie?"

Bryce-
"Uh.. I dunno. If I had to. What are we talking about?"

Seth-
"You see, there's not a lot of zombies here. What if we got one in here, and let you get it. We'd all be here, so it wouldn't be dangerous, we could get it if it's too much."

Bryce-
"Oh I-I don't think I should do that today..."

Seth-
"It might make you feel better, they're really not hard to kill. Just go for the head."

Bryce-
"Yeah.. Um, yeah God, but still... I-I just can't believe you're even askin' me, it's y'know... That's kind of some heavy shit to lay on someone at the last second."

Seth-
"It might come up at the last second."

Bryce shook his head.

Davin-
*sigh* "Hate to interrupt your picnic ladies, but we got problems the longer we stay out here. Let's just move it."


Seth-
"Okay, let's go."

He shrugged to Kenny. Kenny shrugged back. They began rolling the carts down the alley.

Kenny-
"Bryce man... Maybe some other time."


Seth-
"Oh I wonder if we could do some kind of training for that.. just go around the alley y'know?"


Davin-
"Save the discussion man!"


Kenny-
"Hey you're kinda bossy with the president there..."


Davin-
"Well maybe I should stop in the middle of Harrison for a chorus of 'Hail to the Chief!'


Kenny-
"Whatever, dick."

Seth tried to not laugh.

They had to bust down a back door to get inside the Jimmy Johns. It made so much noise that three zombies found their way into the alley. Davin walked down to them, did a quick feinting maneuver, and knocked one down hard. Another tripped on it while he kicked the third in the gut, forcing it back. He crushed the heads of the two on the ground while the third composed itself to come at him again, and he took it out with a powerful upswing, like a cartoon of a baseball player.

He came back nodding to Kenny. Bryce had already followed Seth inside.

The place smelled a bit like zombies and garbage. Seth put his scarf around Bryce's face. Bryce glued himself to a wall, gesturing to movement in the restaurant. Seth had to go on, and meet some Amazombies for lunch. They were partially devoured polo shirt wearers, leaking hideous substances all over the seating area.

Seth stood back, his golf club having been converted into a spear. He had the reach to not have to risk contact. They staggered over and he just jabbed them in the heads, one after another. They fell like sacks of crap, and he pulled down a huge banner to toss over the pile.

Bryce-
"Like Diablo... They won't randomly drop cool items, so why bother?"

Seth-
"Ya gotta bother cuz otherwise they're up in your grits. It's more like Resident Evil."

Bryce-
"Loot. Wait, maybe they do... I'll give you something if you check their pockets for smokes."

Seth-
*laughs* "Better be something good." He did it.

Davin-
"Alright, let's block the front and check out this kitchen."

Kenny moved up to the front door and jammed it with chairs and such. A few zombies wetly tried to work on the windows around it.

Kenny-
"Sorry, dudes. Not yet."

The people inside went to work. Seth gave pocket contents to Bryce, who proceeded to carefully wipe them with napkins.

Bryce-
"This stuff is gold!" He pocketed the cigarettes and miscellany.


Seth-
"I didn't know you smoked."


Bryce-
"Dealers shouldn't use the product."

Seth shook his head and joined Davin in the kitchen.

Davin-
"Done pallin' around with the chuckleheads now?"


Seth-
"Man, you're just bustin' my chops today, aren't ya?"


Davin-
"Sorry, I'll feel better when we get back in one piece."

Seth and Davin gathered bread and other food that still seemed edible, as well as raw ingredients like a bread dough mix, flour, and so on. They tossed the items into garbage bags, piled in the middle of the room.

Davin-
"I don't know, goin' out for a bite in the neighborhood seems somehow less pleasant than it did last week."


Seth-
"Yeah, I might wait until I get home to eat these." He gesticulated with a slightly soggy breadroll.


Davin-
"I just hope these porous bread products didn't absorb any of the scent in here."


Seth-
"Oof, me too, now."

They heard a ruckus in front. Kenny was slapping the door and waving his arms.

Kenny-
"That's right, you creeps! You too, baby! Come to papa!"

Zombies heeded the call. Bryce panicked a bit while he tried to reinforce the door barricade with chairs and such.

Seth-
"What is this?"

Kenny-
"Ever see the original Dawn of the Dead?"

Seth-
"Uhh..."

Kenny-
"It'll make the back door easier to deal with."

Seth-
"Oh, OK."

Davin-
"If they don't bust down the storefront first!"

Bryce jumped at a desperate lady with most of her skin grotesquely abraded as she slammed the glass near him.

Seth-
"Alright, let's get this food outta here."

Everybody grabbed all the bags they could haul and moved out the cramped way to the back alley. Indeed, zombies at both ends of the alley seemed to be following other zombies to the excitement Kenny had caused at the front.

Kenny-
"Man, that's so cool!"

Davin-
"Don't get cocky, kid."

The trip back was uneventful, such that they felt unrushed at the barricade. Bryce got inside quickly and took up the end of the chain as people passed the goods inside. Seth and Davin stayed at the first positions, with Seth ready to knock out any undead he needed to.

Davin-
"What do you think of the haul, chief?"


Seth-
"Pretty good. I'm glad the coffee shop idea seems to be a good one. We'll have to remember that in the future. How about you, my good man?"


Davin-
"I woulda turned up my nose at this stuff last week, but now I'm thinking... What can our little gourmet come up with using these syrups? I'm ready for it."

Seth smiled. The neighborhood zombies didn't think much of him, toiling in their peripheral vision, and he didn't have to kill any more before coming back inside.

***

Later, Seth's men got inside and had the back door guards radio for some help hauling stuff upstairs. They lingered in the alley.

Kenny-
"I wonder what that syrup tastes like if you drink it straight."


Bryce-
"Ooh, now I do too."


Seth-
"I hope it never comes to that. But, mixed drinks?"


Kenny-
"I wish we had a liquor store around instead of these wineries. That grapey shit's gonna get old."


Davin-
"I somehow don't see our drunks letting it acquire some vintage."


Kenny-
"Whatever dude."

Bryce sat down, leaning against the wall. Seth went and sat next to him. He gave him a soft look. Bryce was pretty distracted, but finally caught it. He knit his eyebrows.

Bryce-
"I'm a fuckup, man."


Seth-
"Aw, come on. You don't gotta do stuff like this. You don't see everyone signing up for these jobs, do ya?"

Bryce-
"Even so... I bet any of those girls that came from the mall would've done better."

Seth-
"That was your first time out in it. I mean, really, have you been outside since it happened? I think everybody's pretty fuckin' scared when they see that for the first time."

Bryce-
"I saw two ghosts and a zombie without leaving the building already. I just... I kinda suck."

Seth-
"Did you really think you'd be a man of action? That's not everybody. Doesn't have to be everybody."

Bryce just nodded to get people off his case.
And so it went! The men got their help and packed everything up to the community center.


After a lot of labor, the second restaurant run crew settled into the comm center with drinks fetched by Ione. Seth was on the scene! Anyone want a word with the big man on campus?



Patti plopped down on the couch next to Seth.

"Anything interesting happen on your trip? 'Cuz we had a doozy."

Seth-
"Oh nothin' too thrilling. Got some good stuff though. So what happened to you guys?"

"So, we got plenty of good stuff, some veggies, tubers, lots of flour, some tequila, some meat, and other miscellaneous things of great value.

When we were done, we thought we'd stop at the gym to get some resistance bands and kettle bells. Turned out to be not such a great idea..."

Seth-
"What, did somebody pull a quadri-sep-timus...?"

"When we were there, we ran into a new kind of zombie. First, the guy was roided to the rafters before he died. Second, he moved fast and in full control of his body, not like the shamblers. He still seemed mentally slow, but he was so fast and strong, it hardly mattered. It took two bullets-no, three bullets to get through his damned skull."

Seth-
"Wow, damn. I seen some zombies movin' fast from the roof, but not up close. Wonder what makes them be that way. Nobody got hurt I guess, so good job!"

"I think Alex tore a nail and I'm starting to think there's something seriously wrong with my arm. I'll see the doctor when he gets back from his trip."

Seth-
"Yeah, good idea. Hey, we should write down some of what you guys found out, for our pamphlet. Hope that doesn't come up too much, though...."

Seth- (to Bryce)
"Damn, super zombies. Whatcha think?"


Bryce-
"God damn. I'd say 'What is this world coming to?,' but that seems a bit quaint."

Seth-
"I wonder is it like, somebody becomes a zombie before they die? That would be freaky. I wonder if any zombies could talk. Or if, like, a wizard could talk to them?"

Bryce-
"Assumptions all over the place. One, as far as we know, bein' a zombie depends on being dead. There ain't an infection, or Volya would've been turning this into Soviet Necropolistan. Two, we were thinking possessed lady was a talking zombie but that seems to be something different altogether, and I think it would be a better question to wonder if there's any other types of undead out there. Seems likely now. And Three, what makes you think wizards are real, aside from the mummies?"


Seth-
"Gosh, I was just wondering. You should use your imagination sometime, Bryce. It's fun."


Bryce-
"..."

Ashley and Tyrone came in to the community center. Dr. Melange intercepted Ashley, insisting on checking out his wound. That left Tyrone to explain the Pan-Pacific Hotel situation.

Seth-
"Hey, how'd it go? You're all back in one piece, I presume."


Tyrone-
"Oh... oh man. I'd almost rather not talk about it."


Bryce-
"That good, huh?"


Kenny-
"So did ya see the tits, bro?"


Tyrone-
"Nah man. I saw some people in bathrobes.. Blonde lady, Asian dude."


Kenny-
"That was totally them! Dude! What was she like up close?"


Tyrone-
"Mm.. hot I guess..? She was British."

Kenny was bouncing on his heels.

Kenny-
"Oh man! That's hot! She'd be like... a blonde Amy Winehouse or somethin'."


Seth-
"Was Amy Winehouse supposed to be hot? Wait, err... as fun as that part was, more importantly, I'm guessing trade negotiations didn't go well. I guess you don't need to get into any annoying details, but did you learn anything? Who did you see?"


Tyrone-
"Hm. I learnt that Ashla was a personal trailer for the police. They all knew him, but were pretty much dicks."


Seth-
"So just police, and the Asian guy and blonde lady?"


Tyrone-
"That's the color and the shape of it."


Bryce-
"That's a pretty good album."

Thierry finally came into the room, still smacking himself in the neck with a towel. He came over to the couch.

Marie-
"Ah, lieutenant Harrison. Report!"


Thierry-
"Well, the enclave is run by a gentleman with well advertised nudist proclivities and a copious supply of marijuana who has the solid support of a paranoiac corps of policeman. He seems to be confused, a little paranoid himself, and while he's willing to take in strays, he's not willing to open trade relations."


Seth-
"Wow..."


Kenny-
"WOW. Aside from the pigs, that sounds pretty cool!"


Thierry-
"Imagining how they're managing to eat, supply themselves with what their addicted to and secure the loyalty of those police officers, I'm imagining that it's not very cool."


Seth-
"Yeah, what must that guy be like? So the Asian guy is the leader? How does a pot head get a bunch of cops to be his watchdogs?"


Thierry-
"We live in interesting times."


Anna-
"Yeah that's pretty freaky. I really do wonder how he's got those cops on a leash. Maybe he's a cop himself, and he just went all Apocalypse Now in that joint."

Jackson laughed.

Thierry-
"Well he said his name was Edgar Pan, but he didn't--"


Anna-
"Edgar Pan?! EDGAR PAN?? Chinese American dude, about yea high? Generic Asian guy haircut? Always has some lady or another on his six?"


Thierry-
"...I can't imagine there's a lot of 'Edgar Pans' in this city. Would you care to elucidate?"


Anna-
"He's my fucking professor! He's not even the real deal, he's an adjunct. He's always getting chicks to get coffee for him and stuff. He's a disgusting patriarch bastard!"


Jackson-
"Wow... How does he... the ladies just like him?"


Anna-
"I dunno how guys do that shit, but it's disgusting. He's such a lazy weasel! Total shit at his job. He's only in there because he's an 'art star', and he's only an art star because his parents were rich fucks, but he thinks that makes him solid gold. Some kind of fuckin' genius."


Bryce-
"Sounds like an all American winner, born with a silver spoon cradling his balls."


Seth-
"Wow so he was just at that art school nearby, I wonder how many people are living there. Did you see any signs of that?"


Thierry-
"At the street level, no. Although, we had to kill an unfortunate number of young, stylish zombies."

He looked down.

Anna-
"Aww... Man."


Seth-
"I'm sure some of your classmates survived Anna, especially if that lazy guy did."


Anna-
"I bet he survived! Over a mountain of their fucking corpses."

She shook her head.

"Guess I can't talk about it."


Marie-
"Any time you feel like you can."

She nodded.

Seth-
"Well sounds like they're not doing a very good job of clearing their area. They're just in that little round about, aren't they? They haven't made any attempts to barricade it?"


Thierry-
"No, it seems not. Although we certainly left an obstruction at the entrance."


Tyrone-
"Patti left a car there, if anyone wants it. Wasn't hers though... Nevermind."


Seth-
"Well, I guess even if they're not amiable, doesn't sound like we gotta worry about getting raided by them or some other nonsense. We can just leave them alone and keep our eye on them."


Thierry-
"I agree with that assessment to an extant. That should be a wary eye though, those policemen are armed."


Seth-
"Thanks for your work you guys, sorry it didn't turn out better. At least we ruled that one out. We'll have better luck next time."


Tyrone-
"If you say so."


Thierry-
"I've got to get down to the clinic. If you need anything further, I'll be back in a little while."

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

As Seth and his runners offloaded the pantry supplies onto Chantelle, people began to give chatter at the, about events.
The buzzing of chatter around the community center was becoming less focused, letting individual conversations get lost in the susurrus. Seth and Bryce were approached by Peg.

Peg-
"Hey, I'm sorry but I was hoping to hear something today about... You know."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, we talked about that today at our meeting. Well, our first step is gonna be to do some reconnaissance, to see if there are any roads that are unblocked. If not, then go from there, figure out how somebody can make a trip. You lived pretty far away, didn't you?"

Peg-
"Yeah... South Everett. Really close by car, not that long ago."

Seth-
(nods)"Peg, do you have any ideas how you might be able to get there if the roads are blocked?"

Peg-
"I'll go on foot if I have to... A bike, I guess."

Seth-
"OK, well we'll check all the main routes, see how far you could get that way. I'll understand if we're too slow for you, but I want to give you as much help as we can, make sure you're as safe as you can be."

Peg-
(nodded grimly)"Can we do some recon tonight or tomorrow?"

Seth-
"You know, how about you and me go out on a motorcycle tomorrow morning? What do you think?"

Peg-
"OK! I'll find out what I can about riding motorcycles tonight!"

Seth-
"Oh, you can just be on the back of mine. I know how to ride."

Peg-
"Well, just in case. I wanna see if anyone can show me the basics."

Bryce-
"You're bad to the bone, madam."

Peg-
"I know! I'm gonna be like that lady in 'Rose is Rose'."

***

Seth still had to field some questions and comments about the failed hotel mission, which he did with his usual optimism and cheer, though in brief. Bryce looked to the side a lot, not engaging people directly. He was clearly uncomfortable. Seth got him aside for a moment.

Seth-
"Hey, you OK?"


Bryce-
"Sure, man, sure."

Seth-
"You don't look OK. What do you wanna do?"

Bryce-
"Maybe get out of here for a bit."

Seth-
"OK. Maybe we can go to my room for a while. Maybe you should change your clothes."

Bryce-
"What? Ugh, sorry. Yeah, I could use it."

They went to the 5th floor. Bryce took a quick sponge bath and changed in his apartment before Kramering in the door at Seth's.

THE NEXT AFTERNOON:

Bryce Kramered in the door, wearing a floppy armed collared shirt, short shorts, and socks.

Seth-
"Close, but I think you need to be wearing a little bit less to complete your 'Risky Business' costume."


Bryce-
"Huh. OK, don't know what that is."

Seth-
"Oh man, are you too young for that? Well, trust me, it was a hilarious reference."

Bryce-
"Yeah. You don't seem all that old. You sure you aren't just makin' references that are before your own time?"

Seth-
"Well, maybe a little. How old are you again?"

Bryce-
"Ehh, twenty."

Bryce could see Seth starting to do some mental calculation.

Bryce-
"What's on your mind?"

Seth-
"Oh yeah I guess I probably shouldn't do that. But I did forget you were that young. I wouldn't have been offering you so much booze."

Bryce-
"You're shittin' me, right?"

Seth-
"Well, guess I won't get arrested for corrupting the youth these days. Hey, how ya feelin'?"

Bryce walked across the floor and flopped into a chair, draped over it like a coating of apathetic moss.

Bryce-
"A little better. Crowds, man. What about you?"

Seth-
"Oh I'm fine. Well, thanks for asking. Do you think it's weird that I'm fine?"

Bryce-
"Should I think it's weird that you're fine?"

Seth-
"Of course I wouldn't think that... I can't believe you went out today."

Bryce-
"Oh... about that. Huh..."

Seth-
"Well, I think you did good. It wouldn't have been even a big deal if it was just you and me. Davin's kind of judgmental."

Bryce-
"Huh. I don't know... It's all pretty crazy. I'm kind of in a daze right now. I feel like I should be real worried about something but I don't know... Oh yeah.

Seth, are you gonna try to drive to Everett?"

Seth-
"Aw, I don't think that's even gonna be possible, unfortunately. I figure we take Peg out on the bike. I heard every road is blocked. I take her around, show her, and come back. I'm kind of eager to see what it's like out there too."

Bryce-
"A motorcycle is gonna get so much attention... Are you sure you really wanna...?"

Seth-
"I think we can do it. They're slow. A motorcycle is fast."

Bryce-
"I guess... Just, all of that going out there, in that... It's too crazy. Maybe we can figure out how to ... kill street zombies in large numbers, like with bombs or something, and just stealth 'em for a few months until there's less around."

Seth-
"Aw yeah, that's a smart idea. I wonder how many we'd have to kill to thin them out. I bet not that many."

Bryce-
"Yeah, so just do that for a while before you start running around."

Seth-
"Well, I'm sure didn't wanna come in here to talk about zombies."

Bryce folded his knees up and embraced them.

Bryce-
"Heehee... It's easy to forget. It's still jackin' up my mood, I think."


Seth-
"Maybe we should take a little nap or something."

Bryce-
"Yeah... Yeah okay."

He stood, and slightly staggered toward Seth. Seth put an arm around his shoulder and gave him a gentle look.

"Hey. Wanna go to the bedroom again?"

Seth-
"Always."

Benji ran around their feet and leapt onto the bed before them, scampering all over the place. Seth opened the blinds to let in the afternoon light. It was not quite golden hour, and the overcast sky cast the room bluish with deep shadows. It nearly stung Bryce's eyes after growing used to the dim candlelight in other places. He rubbed his head and looked around. Seth sat on the edge of the bed, and pulled off a tight knit sweater, (probably a woman's) and kicked off his sneakers. He wore a pair of too short jeans and a pale undershirt. The room was very spare, with only the neatly made bed, a desk with a variety of unlit candles, and a small side table next to the bed with an empty glass of water.

Bryce-
"Is that light gonna make it hard to take a nap?"

Seth-
"Oh, you actually wanted to take a nap?"

He smiled.

Bryce-
"Heehee...!"

Bryce looked out of sorts for a moment.
"I just, uh ha.. I was telling the truth when I said my mood was a little... zombified. You know what I mean? Maybe something else could help me forget that."

Seth-
"I'll do whatever you like."

Bryce-
"Ugh. Maybe you could scrub my brain with a brillo pad, I just can't stop thinking about the strange things people expect you to be able to do right now."

Seth-
"Aw. C'mere you.."

He laid down with a flop, and Benji skittered over his torso before running down the hall and back again. Bryce went to Seth and leaned on him. Seth put an arm around him, he smelled like bar soap and was very warm. Bryce closed his eyes and snuggled into him. He mumbled-

Bryce-
"I can't think straight."

Seth-
"You don't need to think about anything. You don't have to do anything..."

Bryce-
"Yeah but... I mean.. when I'm on the roof and I could see, it's like... I dunno where the spawn point is, they just don't stop."

Seth-
"You don't have to go out there again."

Bryce-
"Yeah but what about you?"

Seth-
"I'll be fine. I've been out there pretty much every day."

Bryce-
"Yeah but it's just so, there's just so many of them. It seems too risky."

Seth-
"Aw, you're worried about me?"

Bryce buried his head and spoke very small.

Bryce-
"Yeah, just a bit."

Seth chuckled quietly and held him close.

Seth-
"I'll be really careful for you, okay?"

Bryce still covered his face and leaned on him a bit.

Seth-
"Hey come on... I'm not gonna do anything dumb. If it looks too risky, I'll turn right back around."

Bryce just nodded and stayed snuggling, silently.

Seth pulled the blanket up with his foot and wrapped it around Bryce. He closed his eyes and outside the world was surprisingly quiet, the wind blew gently and the building creaked slightly with muffled conversation around them from other rooms. Bryce eventually un-buried his head and looked at Seth.

Bryce-
"Hey... you come here often?"

Seth-
"Once a day at least."

Bryce-
"Hey-o! Wow so.."

He unpinned Seth and sat back, arms behind his head looking at him.

"So you do? Well hm, how does that work exactly?"

Seth rolled on to his side, leaning on his hand. He smiled cheekily.

Seth-
"You're not that young, are you?"

Bryce-
"Oh please. I just meant, what's your technique? Y'know... the Little Mermaid, the Stranger, whatever."

Seth-
"Haha... Nothing too exotic. How about you?"

Bryce sat on the edge of the bed and looked over.

Bryce-
"Hm, I dunno if we should just talk about things. We should maybe demonstrate for each other's edification."

Seth got a slightly uncomfortable look for a moment, but seemed to cover it up quickly.

Seth-
"Not even gonna buy me a drink first?"

Bryce-
"Hah... I don't think we have anything left at our place. Whatcha got in here?"

Seth and Bryce split a half bottle of wine, drinking straight out of the bottle. It was a cheap red, but it was one of the few drinks that tasted okay being room temperature.

Bryce smiled.

Bryce-
"Sir, you've got it goin' on."

Seth-
"Well thanks! I feel pretty lucky. I got one of the hottest guys in the building in my room, and he's not even a scary Dracula or nothin'."

Bryce-
"Aww.. You think I'm one of the hottest guys?"

Seth-
"Uh huh. You're gonna punch me if I say you're cute, so I'll say you're very lovely. You have a nice face."

Bryce looked coy and looked at the bottle for a moment.

Bryce-
"Well you know, the only reason I'm here, because you are *the* hottest guy in the building. Not just 'one of.'"

Seth-
"Ohh really? You're gonna give me a big head. A big somethin' anyway, HEY O! Haha... That's sweet. Am I really your type?"

Bryce-
"It's hard to say, I don't really have a type but.. If there is an objective standard of beauty in the world, you got it baby."

Seth-
"You're too sweet. Hmm..."

He leaned over to open the desk drawer with a gangly arm, and pulled out a partially eaten chocolate bar, folded up in its wrapper.

"--While we're being decadent."

Bryce-
"Yes! We will live like kings." (He affected an Orson Welles accent.)

Seth broke off a chunk of the dark candy, and held it in front of Bryce's lips. Bryce opened his mouth, projecting his lower lip slightly in that erotical faux-communion scene way. Seth placed the candy on Bryce's tongue delicately and moved in close. Bryce understood what this manuever was going to be about. He faked like he was going to just keep the candy for himself, pulling it into his mouth, then got the kiss. Bryce let the moment last. Nom nom nom. Before finally, breaking away. He looked at Seth with big eyes and demure body language. Seth rubbed his lips together, trying to not smile before unchocolating his teeth. Bryce shifted in his seat a little bit and then reached over and took Seth's face in his hand and kissed him some more.

Seth reached an arm around him and held him close, putting the other hand on Bryce's mostly bare leg and feeling up his soft skin. Bryce kept touching Seth's face, sometimes stroking his hair, his cheeks, his neck, as they kissed. His face was soft but for tiny, light grains of facial hair on his upper lip and chin. These men were eyelashy, and could feel each others lashes trace across their skin as they moved. Seth's hair was coarse and closely cut in the back and his hands were a bit rough but he moved them gently. He moved one underneath Bryce's oversized shirt, and ran it along his side. Bryce likewise started holding Seth more around his bony torso. Seth leaned back a moment, and moved to unbutton Bryce's shirt. Bryce moved to help accomodate and the shirt was quickly tossed on the floor.

Bryce pushed Seth farther onto the bed, and crawled toward him on all fours. He lay down beside him and they got back into it. He tangled his legs with Seth's and groped the man's pelvis. His face was playful but bright red from the shift onto their sides. Seth felt him up, enjoying his soft pale skin and smooching on his neck. Bryce had little muscle tone and was just slightly chubby, perhaps baby fat. His modest body hair was wispy and soft to the touch. Seth found him to seem rather tiny compared to the usual guy he had groped on, and very soft. With the pale skin and black hair and eyelashes, he felt like he was making out with some adorable male Snow White. Bryce felt Seth's sinewy body and the coarse hints of regrowing body hair to be terribly exotic - he's been with guys that had some combination of these things, but - maybe because of the weird new circumstance of the world - he felt like Seth was some kind of beast man, a human goat with a horse-like pelt and muscles. Seth's face looked to him like that of a fallen angel, his bristly hair like a broken crown.

Seth had a hand on Bryce's lower back, above the shorts, and fiddled idly with the waistband before pushing the other man's pelvis against his own. He pulled back a bit and spoke quietly.

Seth-
"What do you think?"

Bryce-
"This shit be hot to death, kid! What d'you...? Unh... Yeah. Mm hm."

Then things happened, as you can imagine.

***

Seth-
"You like that?"

Bryce looked at him.

Bryce-
"Uh, yeeeeahhhh... That's what I'm here for. Seduction, phase three, complete!"

Seth-
"Ooh what's phase four?"

Bryce-
"Hm, something to do with robots I think."

Outside the overcast sky was turning a creamy gold as the sun began its obscured descent into sunset, and the light was luscious and orange-y, the mythical and fleeting golden hour. Seth touched Bryce's chest gently, both of them too hot and sweaty to want too much contact, but wanting to feel close anyway.

Bryce-
"Ahh... This is good. I... have no complaints. Well, I should probably go back to my stupid roommates tonight."

Seth-
"Yeeeahh... Hm."

He rolled on to his back, the strange artistic lighting slicing a bright yellow outline of his profile.

Seth-
"I wonder if it really would be safer for everyone to have a roommate..."

Bryce rolled his head toward Seth.

Bryce-
"Ohhhhhhh? Goo onnn...!" He was doing somewhat of a Harvey Feirstein impression.

Seth-
"Well.. Do you think it's too soon?"

Bryce-
"It's just about expedience, and convenience. Safety. It's not like some huge commitment or nothin'. Why... Anybody could do it."

Seth glanced back to Bryce, the light catching in one green eye and making it look like an eerie bit of jasper.

Seth-
"Well, if I had a roommate, they'd have to meet a few requirements..."

Bryce got shifty-eyed.

Bryce-
"Uh oh, here it comes."

Seth-
"They'd have to love my pets..."

Bryce-
"Mmm... the jury's still out on that one. Ya bastids." Bob's eyes glinted from the end of the hall.

Seth-
"They'd have to be at least moderately neat. I don't want any more pizza boob dreams. Better than hellhole, at least."

Bryce-
"No pizza boobs. Check."

Seth-
"-annndd... mm, look good in hot pants."

Bryce-
"Hmm... hey well, I've got 'em. Is it too soon?"

Seth-
"I dunno. Maybe... maybe we consider it for a while longer. Yeah ain't that the kiss of death for a relationship usually?"

Bryce-
"What's that?"

Seth-
"You know, moving in together."

Bryce-
"*siiiiigh* Yeah, I think you're right about that one, presidente. So back to the roommates with me?"

Seth-
"Well, I'd be happy to have you stay, but I'm probably going to take a nap, so I don't know how entertaining I'm going to be."

Bryce-
"Yeah..."

He looked into the wall blankly, fingers twitching on his chin as he was lost in thought. Seth got up to retrieve his pants. Bryce followed suit and put his clothes on.

Bryce-
"Um, well, I guess... I'll see you around, then?"

Seth-
"Yeah." He gently pulled Bryce close, and hugged him. "Hey, thanks for today. Not just that, although that was great. Thanks for goin' out, too."

Bryce-
"Really?" He looked nervous.

Seth-
"Yeah, I'm glad you tried it. That was brave of you."

Bryce-
He smiled sheepishly. "I guess so. Weeeeellll.... OK, I go now."

Seth-
"OK. See ya."

Bryce left and Seth went to take his nap.


Bryce came in the door and quickly went to his bed. Kenny and Derek were fortunately not around to mock him. He lay down on his face, arms curled at his side, and flipped out for five minutes.

When he came to his senses slightly, his mind was spinning. Man, he needed to get into something...

Bryce thought-
Oh my GOD! You're so fucking lame! What was that shit? How do you not know how to do a basic freakin' sex act? What kind of homo are you? I've totally blown it! He hates me! He was sweet. It was a brushoff! It seemed sincere. It was a sincere brushoff! You suck! AAAARRRRRGGGGGGH!"

The evening crept in like a bastard, and left him hungry and weak.



***

Another crisis, someone pounded on Seth's door. He groggily snapped out of bed and answered.

Seth-
"What's up?"


Kerry-
"Action outside! A man being chased by zombies!"

Seth blinked and nodded, and began to move out, but Kerry stopped him.


Kerry-
"You don't need a shirt and shoes, but you might want a weapon."


Seth-
"Right, right..."

---

After a few rounds with our heroes, the battle looked more like this:

Kaito floundered under a zombie pile, until the newly freed humans turned their attention to it. Thierry, Stevie, and Alex yanked the zombies off and threw them into the waiting weapons of several other living people... It was a rout! Hip hop hooray ho! Etc.!

Seth came out to the street, looked around, and shrugged.

Seth-
"Jesus christ. A guy can't take a nap apparently. Well, I'll burn 'em."

Thierry gently pulled the doctor out of a pile of zombie ruin that he was nervously stomping on, and reoriented him.

Thierry-
"Let's see your patient, okay?"

That shit was done! Everyone got inside to clean up and etc... Seth ended up putting off the burning to go see to the Sharma situation as things became more clear.

Seth, Columbo, Thierry, and Doctor Victor went to the clinic!


Dr. Victor was pulled into the clinic by Thierry, still a little disoriented. The weariness was marred on his face as he still clutched his bleeding arm against his chest. He caught a glimpse of Dr. Melange, or rather her distinctive footfalls first followed by her ample bosom. Attention was brought back to Sharma, however, as he now occupied the stretcher.



As his arm fell down to his side, he swiftly strode to Sharma’s side, surprised he didn’t have to move Jonah or Columbo out of the way. He tried not to touch the older man and attempted verbal communication first as long as he was out of other physical distress. The rubber gloves all but appeared upon his hands. Sometimes, even the doctor was surprised how smooth his voice transitioned once he was fully in work.

The room quickly got a bit crowded, with Thierry, Columbo, Kerry, and Patti sitting or pacing nearby, corralled to the side by Dr. Bebe. Only Seth was allowed very close by as Dr. Victor began the examination. Melange stepped out to get people the word, all the fighters needed to check in for at least brief examinations.

Dr. Victor-
“Sharma, I’m Doctor Victor. Is everything all right? I’m going to have to ask a question which may seem out of place… What is your least favorite vegetable?”


Sharma-
"I don't like eggplantsh. Sure, the zarmbie test. *siiigh*"

Dr. Victor began the basics of injury trauma, checking pulses, respirations, wounds or bleeding, and then working towards more inward disruptions, heart, lungs, et al. He allowed others to speak once he was sure things would not degrade in terms of his condition further.

Sharma was severely winded and overworked. His legs would probably be stiff to near uselessness for a week. He was beaten and scratched. Most of the blood wasn't his own and wasn't very fresh.

Dr. Victor-
“All right, guys. Let him have a breath and some water. Columbo, get something from the kitchen, please. Sharma, you are a lucky man tonight…”


Sharma-
"Nobardy got h-hart trying to shave me?"


Seth-
"No, everyone's fine, just a few scratches. We were very lucky. When you're ready, can you tell us what happened?"


Sharma-
"Ben dere's less beeple in here. Dank you."


Seth-
"Alright folks, this is important. If you can please leave, I'll let you know what we find out."


Dr. bebe-
"You heard the president! It's OK. It looks like your friend is going to be fine. Why don't you all rest in the restaurant lobby, through those doors? Same with you brave fighters. I'll come out with you and clean up your owies, OK?"


Thierry-
"Sharma! We love you no matter what. I'll see you soon."

The onlookers and scratched up fighters are hustled out to a darkened restaurant lobby, which they help to light with the sources at hand, before settling in to wait. Only Doc Vic, Seth, and Sharma remained.

Seth-
"You can say whatever you like, take your time."

Seth nodded, and sat by Sharma, talking quietly.

Seth-
"I'm sorry, that's terrible... So Jaclyn is... and Quentin and Eddy may still be out there, but that was a while ago? The bikes and guns are gone, and all the ways out of town you looked for were blocked? I just want to make sure."


Sharma-
"Yesh yesh. I carnt think about it. I'm going crazy."


Seth-
"We'll you're safe now, we'll have Kerry come by when you're feeling better to talk to you. She's very good at making people feel better. Do you need anything right now besides sleep?"


Sharma-
"Ehh.. no. No... Dank you."

He made that little whimpery face. Seth nodded to him, and stood, moving behind the screen where Dr. Victor bandaged himself. He spoke very quietly.

Seth-
"I could interrogate him on every way out of town they tried, but I'm going out there myself tomorrow and might as well look for myself. I don't want to bother him any more than I already have. Is there anything you need from me?"


Dr. Victor-
"No. Yes... well... You're going out tomorrow. Can you scout for something? I'm sure it has all ready been pilfered and I don't want... look, if you see it, just note where it is. Look for an ambulance. That's it. If you can remember where it is, we can get some stronger drugs without the risk of the hospitals. And Seth, I know I don't have to tell you to be careful, correct?"


Seth-
"Ambulance, check."


Dr. Victor-
"He's going to be fine. I... I regret what I said about the guys who left, now. I'm not one to regret anything, but... I regret that. Seth, you be careful, okay?" The good doctor pulled one of the comfortable seats over. and sat down, wincing as his forearm grazed the chair arm.


Seth-
"You thought they might have been right to leave before? I don't know, no one knew... I don't think you need to regret that. I can't imagine there's no possible way for anyone to get out of this city. I don't feel hopeful about the routes north, but that's just one way to go. I will be careful though, doc. Don't worry."



Dr. Victor-
"You know, Seth, I don't think the name of the game is 'second guessing' right now. I have a lot of, for lack of a better term, shit in my past to confront. And I don't know your story, either, but you're significantly younger so... no, I won't discredit you based on age. But, trust me, there are plenty of things that have gone wrong for everyone over the last five days and nights. The fact that we're still here having this conversation should be merit enough to your skills... all our skills. You will safe more people than probably anyone else here. Except if they come down with chicken pox. Then I'm the hero and you can be the number two."


Seth-
"Haha, will do doc. I'm sure you're gonna have your work cut out for you too. I just gotta go ride a bike and snap some photos, no big deal, this sort of stuff takes a lot of smarts and hard work."

He put his hands on his hips and looked thoughtful for a moment.

"If you need anything, you just give me a holler or send someone. I think my nap was pretty well ruined so I might as well go find something to do. Hey when you ever get a drop of spare time in the future, we should do something. You're a fun guy. Maybe get a drink or play a game or somethin'. Well, I'll get out of your hair now..."

Dr. Victor smiled warmly after the exchange, buttoning his shirt slowly. Something made him squint with a peculiar look on his face at Seth, but he quickly shook it out.

Dr. Victor-
"I guess that is because you've the busiest schedule at present. Why don't you just stop by after the ride; well, after all the pressing information is done and all the people who need to be informed are informed and all the other questions and problems and concerns that have arose in your absence... I see your problem. But, I guess the president doesn't get to declare his own free time too often. In any event, I'm sure I'll look you up at least to give you updates and ask questions and bring up problems and concerns."

He chuckled a bit, finishing his shirt and moving to the doorway.

"Seth, you're all right. Just remember you have the right to shut all this shit out for a night or two, as well. God knows we might need another moral boosting party, less alcohol of course, but something to aid in getting everyone in better spirits."

"Hey, not to jump on the bandwagon for monopolizing your time or anything, but... you sent Thierry out on a few missions. Like, recon missions or something. I'm not cut out for the whole 'charm' thing, but, the others at the UWMRC have been treating a lot of people and sending them out. I think I can get one of the doctors to help look out for Quentin and Eddie. Maybe do some social networking and all that... to help people find other people. It sounds a little far fetched but you never know, right?"


Seth-
"Hey good idea. Maybe once Sharma is feeling better we can have another bash. Wasn't that great last time? When I get back tomorrow we can have a meeting and I'll run over what we found out, but you're right, it could use a little cheer too. I'll see if Chantelle could whip up some hors d'oeuvres or whatever.
--And about the networking, that sounds like a good idea. We were talking at the council about making flyers, with everyone who's looking for someone, and who they're looking for, and distributing them, and posting them around town. Good ideas all around, let's talk more about that tomorrow.

Well, good night man."

He clapped the doctor on the shoulder friendfully and moved out to the lobby where the waiting gawkers and friends anticipated him.



Some time later, Seth knocked on Bryce's door. Kenny answered the door.

Kenny-
"Hey, it's the president. Hail to the chief, Snake."


Seth-
"Never thought I'd be 'President Snake' ... How about that. Any of your roomies around?"

Kenny-
"Yeah, everybody's home. Wanna get your assistant? Haha."

Seth-
"Sure."

Kenny went in and Bryce came out. Hey-O!

Bryce-
"Hey, well, what's up, man?" He was clearly trying to play cool.


Seth-
"Hey wanna get a snack with me? I didn't see you earlier with all that madness."

Bryce-
"Madness, huh? Nothing in the building again, was it?"

Seth-
"Oh, no. Somebody came back."

They went to the community center.


Seth and Bryce came in, the evening dark and cool. Braziers flickered in the cavernous space, barely illuminating more than the moonlight through the skylights. The men each carried a candle.

Bryce-
"Jesus. No wonder all the night owls are turning into day birds. It's the motherfucking Mines of Moria in here."


Seth-
"Yeah.. I kind of like it in a way, it's nice to have some places to be alone sometimes."

Seth moved to the pantry, and dug out a half emptied bag of Doritos secured with a chip clip, and a can of only slightly colder than room temperature Coke. He handed the chips to Bryce, and they took a seat on a comm center sofa.

Bryce-
"This takes me back to the first night, it's like a freaky campout in here."

Seth-
"I'm surprised you remember-- ..."

He made a face like he thought he'd said something awkward but couldn't think of a good segue.

Bryce didn't seem to notice.

Bryce-
"Yeah... I was starting to clear up by night. Just a little bit though."

Seth-
"I was worried you were upset when I didn't see you earlier, I guess lots of people don't know what happened yet though, happened pretty late."

Bryce-
"What happened?"

Seth-
"Remember Sharma? He was one of those four people that left the day we did the vote. He came back."

Bryce-
"Just one of them came back. I guess that would be pretty upsetting to some. I didn't really know them. It's kind of creepy to think of people that you even have a passing acquaintance with out there.. like that."

Seth-
"Well, only one person had died for sure. Poor Jaclyn... The other two, he wasn't sure about."

Bryce-
"Geez. What a mess..."

Seth-
"I hope people aren't going to be too discouraged. Those guys didn't... Well I think that it was unsafer than what we're doing. No one here has gotten hurt while going out yet."

Bryce-
"Yeah, that's right. All the people that got shot, did that without leaving the building."

Seth-
"Heheh, always count on you to look at the bright side of things."

Bryce-
"Ahh I was just yankin' your crank man. Nah... we're doing the best we can."

Seth smiled and sipped the Coke, handing it for Bryce to share with him. Bryce sipped the soda, and sighed, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment and then opening them again.

"I wonder when the ghost patrol's gonna come through the room again."

Seth-
"Oh yeah. I dunno... I wish we could train dogs to do that or something, haha."

Bryce-
"Yeah... The lazy curs."

Seth pulled his feet up to sit on them cross-legged style, and looked over at Bryce, his expression unreadable in the very dim candlelight.

"Gotta get in your yoga?"

Seth-
"Heh... Hey uh, how do you feel?"

Bryce-
"What do you mean?"

Bryce stared at his candle.

Seth-
"I dunno. In general. Right now."

Bryce-
"...Um, a little.. weirded out."

Seth-
"Mm, that's appropriate. About...?

Bryce-
"Well... y'know. Sometimes you do something... early stage courtship, then you're left wonderin' whether it was cool or a disaster or what's gonna happen next."

Seth-
"Aw. It was definitely cool. Take it easy, man. We're on our deserted island, just like in all those hypothetical situations. How about that? "

Bryce-
"Oh... 'who would you have with you if you had to choose one person...' But nobody got a choice! We're all here with Columbo."

Seth-
"Yeah. Nice to find people you get along with though. Never thought I'd be on the deserted island with Stevie, but it's not bad once it actually happened."

Bryce-
"Yeah, I just came here 'cause I didn't have anywhere to be. Helping out my stupid parents and the entire universe changed around me. This building changed around me."

Seth-
"That's gotta be weird. Yeah, I got up and went to work and... no one was there but Stevie. I end up coming here, never knew when I woke up that I wouldn't be coming back. I wouldn't have worked out beforehand, that's for sure, haha..."

Bryce-
"Yeah, so all your shit is out there somewhere. Your apartment's probably a freaky enclave."

Seth-
"I know, it's kind of embarassing to think anyone might be rummaging through your stuff, y'know? All my food rotting in my refrigerator, or getting eaten by strangers."

Bryce-
"Yeah, those motherfuckers. What are they getting to eat, do you remember?"

Seth-
"Oh man... sooo much protein powder, hah... Think I had some bananas, old takeout, bunch of health food shit. I did have a lot of goodies though, that makes me sad. So much candy. A big jar full of Good 'n' Plenties..."

Bryce-
"You like Good 'n' Plenties? I can't do Good 'n' Plenties. Black licorice tastes like .. I dunno."

Seth-
"See it's good for us to have different tastes. I don't like the rich stuff, so you can eat that and I can eat all the sugary weird stuff."

Bryce-
"I always imagined that lady parts would taste like black licorice. Somebody gave me that idea and I think that was probably somebody named Tyler."

Seth-
"Haha I never tested that one either, pretty sure they don't. They don't smell like it... Uh, anyway..."

Bryce-
"Yeeeahhh.. No I can't do Good 'n' Plenties, and I can't stop talking about them now either."

The door opened down the hall. A voice from a guard speaking with anothe guard.

Guard 1-
"Tee hee... You're the worst!"

Guard 2-
"It's a'ight boo. You know how we do. Hee hee hee..."

Guard 1-
"You aren't gangsta!"

Guard 2-
"That's right, but I might be a mack."

The guards emerged into the community center.

Guard 2/Ivan-
"Hey y'all, it's the druidic ceremony."

He waved his flashlight around at Seth and Bryce.

"Y'all gonna sacrifice a cat?"

Seth-
"Nah, we're gonna sacrifice these Doritos though. Pretty cool."

Ivan-
"Cool. Hey president, see any ghosts?"

Seth-
"Nope, think we're clear in here."


Guard 1/Susie-
"Oh good! Pretty spooky in here without a real flashlight, you guys. Maybe you'd be safer in your room with pets and stuff, if you've got 'em."

Seth-
"Good point, guess my midnight snack runs are riskier than they used to be."

Bryce-
"Well you guys seem to be enjoying yourselves. What is it, the funhouse effect? Little bit of spooky that makes you feel a little excited?"

Ivan-
"Just might be. 'Course, it could get really un-fun really quick."

Susie-
"Don't be a downer. Let's go back to the roof."

Seth-
"Can you guys see anything up there? Any lights in the distance or... anything?"

Ivan-
"Just a tiny bit. Probably like you got, sometimes you could see ghosts and shit, pretty far away."

Seth-
"I wonder how many enclaves there are around. Guess we're good at hiding our light, maybe they are too. Well, me and Peg are gonna do a survey in the morning, maybe we'll be able to know more then."

Bryce-
"Survey? Like.. go door to door and have people fill out a questionaire? That ain't what you were talkin' about."

Seth-
"Haha. Rate your opinion of the undead on a scale from "Augh" to "Brainsss"? Nah, we're just gonna go around on the bike, check the bridges first, and then just get a lay of the land until we can't stand it and come home. I really don't think those bridges are gonna be passable."

Bryce-
"I still think that's fuckin' CRAY-zee..."

Susie-
"Yeah, that sounds pretty dangerous, Seth."

Seth-
"Oh no, we'll take the motorcycle. It goes fast, I'm pretty good. I was a courier for like, a month. Heh. If it looks too hot, I'll come back."

Ivan-
"Commmander in Chief Vin Diesel. Kick the asses, take the names."

Seth-
"Haha, will do. I'm real curious what's around here. Gotta be more than just those punks over at Pan Pac."

Susie-
"I'm sure you'll do great."

Susie and Ivan began to make their way out.

Bryce-
"Man... Fuckin' sad stories. Lost people. Fuckin'... zompocalypse. Fucking mummy kids."

Seth-
"Yeah! I can't believe... this morning, everyone looked at me like I was crazy when I said our top priority should be finding those mummies so we can kick their asses."

Bryce-
"I looked at you like you were crazy too. That's a hell of a line item."

Seth-
"Well yeah, we aren't gonna do it like tomorrow. But we gotta try, who knows if they'll ever stop if we don't get them first."

Bryce-
"Somebody else out there's gotta be trying to do it and in a better position to do something about it. It seems kind of crazy for us to make that one of our priorities."

Seth-
"Well... It's one of *my* priorities at least. I know we gotta take care of daily stuff, but if we're doing anything, we should at least be trying to find out what the hell happened so we can figure out how to stop it. Maybe there are some people trying, but why shouldn't we try too?"

Bryce covered his eyeballs with his hands and shook his head.

"*sigh* Well anyway, don't worry about it. It's not gonna happen tomorrow like I said. I do wanna get out to those news buildings, oh oh, I should try to loop by them on the bike tomorrow."

Bryce-
"I don't even wanna think about the fact you're going out there on a noisy ass motorcycle tomorrow. I have no idea how I'm gonna keep it together."

Seth-
"Aww.. I'm sorry. You're worried about me?"

Bryce-
"Oh don't let it go to your head, dude. Yeahh.. It's just so... violent. So fucked up. It's like, the world turned into a horror movie and you're going into the basement after having sex."

Seth-
"Haha... sometimes you gotta fight the monster in the basement I guess."

He put his hands over his eyeballs again. Seth put his arm around his shoulder. Bryce gave up, and leaned on him, draping an arm over his lap.

"It'll be fine, I promise."

Bryce-
"As if you can control that. *sigh* Whatever. Crazy dude."

Early, early in the morning...


Chantelle hadn't even come in just yet, though dull sounds of stirring could be heard from her end of the floor. Peg sat on a couch in the darkness. Asleep with her eyes open? She didn't register Seth. He stopped by the pantry and packed up a few water bottles and snacks (ahalf-eaten bag of Frosted Mini-wheats) before stepping back into the main room and lightly clearing his throat. She looked over to him, head swiveling weakly on her shoulders.

Peg-
"Seth? Oh, oh, is it time?"


Seth-
(nodded) "Yup. It's gonna be an adventure."

She rose slowly to her feet, and assumed control of her senses quickly.

Peg-
"I'll need something to eat other than Tums before we go. It'll just be a second."

She grabbed some pieces of bread in the kitchen and smeared them with margarine, and turned to start eating them as they went. The two left for

...

THA STREETS!



Peg and Seth were coming back from another dead end, the last of the day. The sun was up fully now, though there was still the chill of morning in the air. Amusingly, the zombies were at least a bit more sparse than they were in the evenings, as though they hadn't woken up yet. They were starting to thicken more already, sometimes falling or snatching at the bike as they drove by, or wandering in front of it, creating a couple close calls. Seth was a fairly sure driver though, and wasn't racing down the uneven roads.
They drove along the shoulder of Eastlake, en route to home. Peg was collapsed into Seth's back, both of them numb from the motorcycle ride and hunger. Seth rolled to a stop near a series of docks. Small white boats were still moored here. He doffed the helmet, and tapped on Peg's. She pulled hers off to hear him.

Seth-
"Hey, I was thinkin', I wanna go look at those boats. Maybe that'll be a way up north. And we could get a good view from that dock too. Maybe get some pictures of across the water front this direction."

Peg shook her head, adjusting to the new information.

Peg-
"OF COURSE! FUCK! I'll take a fucking boat. Duh. There ain't gonna be a traffic jam on the goddamn Puget Sound."

They got off the bike and shook out their limbs, patient as zombies approached. Peg looked at Seth.

Peg-
"Should we...? Maybe just let 'em follow us out there?"

Seth-
"Yeah, let's see if they can swim, haha."

They walked out onto the docks, staggerers closing in behind. A few turns and they found a long straight dock - just what Seth wanted - heading out onto the water. The first zombie reached them. Seth poked it in the chest with the blunt end of his spear, and pushed it off the dock. It began to "drown," a process that would last indefinitely without air, or until it lost buoyancy or found a way back onto the dock. It was a disturbing sight, but that was the norm lately.

They continued, walking a bit more briskly, their feet clunking on the motley wood, finally reaching the end of the line. Some of the zombies were too stupid to figure out a direct path, but a few were beginning the trip. Peg readied her maul and headed back halfway to wait for them. Seagulls cried.

They shoved the lurching figures into the water, sometimes having to push them down into the water with their weapons, the air still in their lungs leaving them too afloat for their liking. One zombie, a young woman with still running mascara actually gripped on to a rope to keep from sinking, and Seth had to smash its fingers to get it to let go. It didn't feel good.

The boats bobbled next to them calmly. These weren't the huge yachts or high-tech speed boats further down the lake, but old fashioned wooden boats, though they were all painted fresh white and well maintained. The end of the dock seemed strangely separate from the city, and it provided a rather amazingly clear view of the panorama of the lake. Seth began filming a video with his phone, as the occasional splash of zombies in the water sounded below their feet.

There were no boats on the water, other than those moored at distant docks. There were a lot of docks, with varying sized boats on both sides of the lake that stretched before him. Most buildings nearby weren't more than a few stories tall, a noteworthy one nearby with mysterious letters "AGC" on it, was taller than any other around. He could see the smokestacks of the equally mysterious "Zymogenetics" building. He could faintly see the Aurora Bridge on one side, but not the wreckage they had seen earlier.

Directly across the water was the open fields of Gasworks Park, which seemed somehow peaceful. He could see all the way to the U District, some especially tall buildings standing out easily against the skyline. He could see flocks of various birds, mostly as black forms in the sky and mostly quite far away. It was towards the U District that he saw a flock of birds that somehow disturbed his senses, and didn't seem to move naturally. They were large, too large... He filmed them a moment, but found they disturbed him too much to consider carefully, and moved on.

He noticed faint wisps of smoke here and there around town, possibly more in the U District than closer by. The most uncanny thing from a modern perspective was the stillness of the traffic. All cars abandoned, no planes in the sky and no noise of anything electrical or mechanical. The boats
clunked against the dock in a incongruously merry noise.

Peg-
"Hah. Well I'm glad to see you have faith in my abilities. I got the last of them."

Seth-
"Of course!"

He laughed and stopped filming.

"Sorry, got distracted by this view."

Peg-
"That's just really funny to hear. The view is more distracting than flesh eating ghouls?"

Seth-
"Ha... Weird times. Want some mini-wheats?"

Peg-
"Yes. You think of snack food, and you think of string cheese, but all the string cheese is bad now."

Seth-
"At least we'll get our fiber."

They sat on the lumpy wood of the dock, the sound of the boats clunking and the water lapping againt the poles, and they crunched on the dry cereal, drinking lukewarm water from the bottles.

Seth-
"I wonder if anyone knows how to use a boat back home. If not, bet we can find someone."

Peg-
"Worst case scenario, I'm pretty sure I could kayak the whole way."

Seth-
"Daaamn.

Peg-
"Oh it's not that bad on the water. Well, kayaks are pretty fast."

Seth-
"It's more peaceful than I thought it'd be out here. Maybe that's not good."

Peg-
"Oh yeah... You'd think house boat types would be living out here. Where did everybody go?"

Seth-
"I think they're around, just too afraid to go outside, I bet."

Peg-
"I guess. *sigh* What about airplanes?"

Seth-
"Well, if they were gonna use 'em, they'd probably be in Montana now, or wherever someone would try to go."

Peg-
"Yep. Well, I was REALLY hoping to get somewhere today. I have to admit, I'm pretty disappointed... and.. I dunno. What can you do?"

Seth-
"I guess it really is like Sharma said. Good to confirm it I guess. I think this boat idea is a good one. You can do this Peg. Even if everyone thinks it's crazy, I know it's what you gotta do."

Peg-
"Yeah. I think when I get up there I'm gonna have to just go it alone. You can drop me in Everett with a bike, let me work it out."

Seth-
"Even after Sharma and them? Do you think it'll be different there?"

Peg-
"There's no highways between the waterfront and where I'm going, that means there's no clusters like that. I'll be able to get through, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to come back or anything like that."

Seth-
"We'll miss you, but I understand. If she left somehow, you go find some other people to live with okay? At least until you can set out again."

Peg-
"I-I can take care of myself. It won't be a problem."

Seth gave her a slightly exasperated look, but nodded and went back to crunching on the cereal.

Peg-
"Well... You ready?"

Seth-
"Sure. Man... I wish we could go outside in peace more. I miss the sun, even this one."

He gestured at the feeble white orb in the distance, that tried to light its way through the clouds.

Peg-
"Yeah... I know what you mean."

She picked her maul up off the dock with a heavy whump. They walked lightly down the dock to minimize the clunk of their feet, but zombies were sparse in this area now that they'd thrown the nearby ones into the water. They fought their way through, clearing their way to the motorcycle of anything close and creepy.

As Seth started the bike into motion, he noticed a clearing of cars on Fairview. He gestured that way, the motorcycle too loud for communication. He assumed Peg agreed, and they took off.

Fairview was spotty, but had openings, they drove diagonally through a large empty parking lot, and in a near semi-circle around a snarl of abandoned cars. They came to a confusing triangle of buildings, zombies were close here, snatching at the bike, and Seth lost his bearings for a moment, going down a steep incline on Terry. Something caught his eye in a large blocky building but it was quickly gone as they sped by. He did a loop around the small island in the middle of the road, and came back around.

A massive strip of butcher paper was plastered against the windows on nearly the top floor, held up with with blue tape. Across the paper had been painted extremely large words.

PLEASE HELP US MONSTERS DOWNSTAIRS.

The two riders were suddenly jarred by a movement against the glass, beneath where the sign had been tacked up. First one figure, then more. The lower half of the windows opened and pale skinny arms waved at them in desperate motion.

Seth heard a muffled "Oh God" from Peg's helmet-y region. He took his helmet off, and raised his arm to wave at them, and held up a finger, trying to gesture 'we'll be back.'

There were at least three people, white teenagers, though there were some other figures behind them, nearly invisible in the darkness. The kids waved their arms in frustration, but Seth noticed they weren't yelling and screaming despite their terrified expressions. Too afraid of what was downstairs? He looked at the lower floor of the building, but it was completely dark without power.

Seth-
"Shit... shit! Can we do this? Should we stop home?"

Peg-
"Absolutely!"

As they sped away, Peg kept waving the 'one more minute' hand in the air, looking backwards at them until they were out of sight.

Seth ran into the community center, moving furiously, out of breath. He was a little splashed with blood, but not gore drenched. He went straight for Derek.

Seth-
"Gotta-- shotgun. Please."

Derek nodded, and entered the combo on the bike lock that held the gun cabinet shut.

Derek-
"What's going on?"


Seth-
"People in trouble.. the art school."

People began to gather around, like meerkats.

Derek-
"Oh.. zombies?"


Seth-
"Hope.. that's all. Something else, maybe."

Derek shook his head, mystified.

Seth addressed the group standing nearby. He spoke loudly enough that anyone in the nearby rooms could hear him as well.

Seth-
"We need some help. The art school around the corner, some people stuck on the top. They had a big sign about "monsters," hope it's just zombies, but I don't know."

The sound of various doors nearby intermingled with the murmured and spoken responses. Anna hopped off an exercise bike.

Anna-
"Alright. That's my school, I know my way around there. Let's fuckin' go."


Seth-
"Anyone who's going, you gotta be fast. We gotta just run our asses off, 'cause we can't stop to fight on Denny or we're dead. That place is a death trap."

Bryce-
"..."

Bryce stood, mute now for two minutes, frozen on his way to say something to Seth that could never materialize. He looked at them gravely, as they geared up to leave.

Derek brought the shotgun from the cabinet, and handed it to Seth.

Derek-
"Do it to it, chief. Wish I could go too, but... y'know."


Seth-
"We gotta go fast. You find anyone else who wants to help, meet us down in the garage, but we're gonna be gone in a minute."

He and Anna took off for the stairs.


Seth met up with anyone going out on the rescue mission.

Anna-
"This is my stomping grounds man, I know the way we should do this. There's a back entrance on Denny. It's on the third floor, the stairs are inside, no windows so it's gonna be dark as hell. This way we skip the 2nd, less we're on them the better. We can go straight up. What floor were they on?"


Seth-
"Not the top one, the one right below, with all the windows."


Anna-
"Art students. Poor babies. What the hell they talkin' about 'monsters', are they just scared of the zombies? I could see that, but we can't count on it."


Peg-
"Everybody gets a road flare."

She started handing them out.

"We get in there fast as we want, the road flares should last the whole time. Ghost stabbing."


Seth-
"I don't think they're injured, but they're probably gonna need a lot of help. Be prepared to do a lot of fighting. Let's take bicycles and then stash them on the other side of the car maze. There'll probably be some slow people so they can use them on the way back. The kids' sign said "MONSTERS" and I feel like they'd say "ZOMBIES" if they just meant zombies, you know? We gotta be prepared for anything. If any of you have a gun, leave the safety on, and only use it for the big stuff. You know what I mean."

"Alright, let's go everyone. Just run, don't stop if you can help it."

The runners all moved to the alley, taking deep breaths to psych themselves out for the sprint.

The group met up outside, the day was dismally overcast and slightly chilly, but dry. Seth, Anna, Peg and (...) shared looks with each other and nodded.

The runners took off, clambering past the barricade, and onto the street. Seth was a very fast runner, and took up the lead, Anna just shortly behind despite her stature.

Ashley followed behind, and noticed the zombies seemed stunned by humans just running past them, and looked unsure of what to do. Some staggered weakly after them, others just turned their heads to watch, in a disturbingly human-like gesture.

Everyone moved too fast to mess with zombies as they sprinted down the back streets, and they quickly hit the car maze on Denny. Seth jumped on the hood of a Subaru, and helped Anna up. She pointed to the back entrance of the building, already clearly visible. Zombies sluggishly reacted, turning bloody heads and lazily staggering over, but were swiftly daunted by the obstacle course of the abandoned cars.

The small team moved through the cars, as quickly as possible, up and over and climbing and hopping off the other side. Anna gained some ground by running over hoods and trunks with abandon, making a very loud noise.

***

Bryce ran to the alley side of the roof, ignoring Jonah on guard duty. Jonah came up behind him.

Jonah-
"Hey, what's going on? I just noticed the guys got back.."


Bryce-
"Can't talk. They're gonna run back and do something stupid."


Jonah-
"Oh? That's right, can't talk. I'll... leave you to it."

It took a moment, but several runners emerged from the back entrance, and run they did. Bryce watched them disappear on to Terry Avenue, and waited for them to come back into sight. They passed through his field of vision briefly, and then were gone again.

Great!

He stood at the edge of the roof, waiting, his mind racing.

Here we go again... Monsters unknown. Is it gonna be a bullet-proof muscle zombie? What the fuck Seth? Can't handle this can't handle this can't handle this...

He thought of the people, running off into danger at the art school. He saw them bust down the door, run right in, the ghost of Andy Warhol with a hand missing shot a bunch of blood at the out of the stump. Maybe it was Jackson Pollock.

Motherfucker... It kills on contact. They all turn into ghosts.
Probably like, end up in a painting. Like an episode of Scooby Doo or something. Crazy bastards. Bet Seth and Anna worked together at Crazy Motherfucker & Robinson studios.

He continued to spin crazy scenarios, alternately cursing Seth's name and pre-emptively mourning him. He eventually dropped to his knees and leaned on the edge of the roof, peering over like a little Kilroy.

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}

Dr. Victor crept up the stairwell on the south side of the building, announcing his presence with a loud slurp of the cooling coffee. He moved slowly towards the pair of men, watching Jonah separate from Bryce's side. A puzzled look slid over his face when the boy dropped to his knees, and the good doctor snorted. Finding religion at the end of days?

Moving up to the youth, he made his approach a little louder than necessary. He crouched down to his level, gazing at the warriors as they took to the streets.

"You doing okay, Bryce? Bryce..."

Bryce turned just briefly at the sound of the Doctor's voice, and then went back to watching the streets below.

Bryce-
"Huh? Y-yeah. They're going out. Even after last night. Some building full of monsters to save strangers. I don't get it... They're gonna die."

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}

Dr. Victor sucked down more black vitriol shrugging a little. He didn't mind staring at the back of his hair to communicate; the facial looks of the scared child would always promote the need to exert some form of power over him. This way, he could pretend it was someone else. Even... well, he could at least try and treat him like someone who needed someone to talk this through. Right, like Dr. Victor would be the one to talk to. No time like the present to try and build more bonds, right?

"They are going to do what they think is right... and I might have gone with them if I had been asked. It sounds crazy, but I'm not one to go and rescue strangers... I made that clear earlier. But, there's somethings that have happened which have changed my mind a little. All we have left in this world are people now... and we can't ignore that need."

He squatted down, into a seated position, his knees creaking a little as he shifted.

"You look like you don't want to talk about it. Well, can I have your ear to listen?"

Bryce-
"Eh..."

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}He wondered if he should wait for a snarky remark, but spoke anyways.

"I came up here the other day to stare out at the sky and really look at what I've done with my life. And it was pretty much a shit choice; I became so confined in my job that I lost the woman I loved. --"

Bryce-
(Biggest eyebrow arch in the universe.)

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}"I can't go and fix that now by calling her on the phone. I can't go and let those thoughts in my head hold me back and keep me a conniving angry man."

"I won't let whatever is going through my brain be the reason what we have here in this building will fail. And I did that by helping a person I had no idea about. And I'll keep doing that because it is the right thing to do. She was my world, and I won't have the peace I thought I'd have."

Bryce-
"Well, that's pretty intense bro. I uh, it's hard to think right now. I'm just-- my head is full of Frankenstein monsters ripping our homies apart."

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}"Bryce, I don't mean to ramble, but, if there is anything I can tell you, even if it just makes you less worried, ask. I asked you before and you looked like you were going to jump out of your skin."

Bryce looked at Dr. Victor, probably for the first time, in a way that recognized his humanity, but he probably didn't have a very high opinion of humanity.


Bryce-
"I think I'm as good as I can be, given the circumstances, but thanks."

Then he whipped his head back to the direction of Cornish, and the nothing that he could see.

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}

Dr. Victor looked down at his mug, then held it out towards Bryce.

"Want some? I doubt it will really help with anything but it's all I have right now."

Bryce thought immediately of a lazy-eyed weirdo at the bus station offering a canteen of unknown contents, but didn't say anything about it.



Bryce-
"Nah, you should drink that. I mean, it's all you got, right?"

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}"Anyways, you should just verbalize your thoughts."

Bryce-
"No one ever accused me of having tact."

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}"I'm serious. Give it a voice and listen to it. Sometimes, if you say it out loud it puts it into perspective. Care to give it a try?"

He leaned back, setting the mug on the edge of the roof.

Bryce-
"Do we gotta?"

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}"Linda working at the community center would probably be gone in seconds by a ghost... she had a thing for stubbornness... she fell down a pit on level three and landed in a spike trap. Linda got blown up by a creeper because she thought she could rehabilitate it, screaming my name as her house falls around her in clumps of planks, dirt and gravel... You play Minecraft, Bryce? Very addictive."

Bryce-
"That's what verbalized thoughts sound like? I had no idea. I guess what's going on in my head isn't thought. That's just as well, thinking is over-rated."

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}

Dr. Victor chuckled, shaking his head. He felt his tone shifting into something less dangerous, but pursued this angle of communication as a means of intervention. Maybe he needed to hear what the black and white truth was?

"No, probably not. I wanted to give you a springboard to jump from. You think you're the only person who has a level head in this building. You think the most dramatic scenes about what might be going on out there because you don't want to think of what actually might be going on out there. Your ability to have irrational thoughts is a defense mechanism to prevent the real from getting in.

Bryce-
"Bzzt. Wrong. I don't actually find myself to be terribly rational. What's next?"

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}"You're not the smartest, but you're clever. You've gotten a lot of what you want by using your wits. And it is that wit that's holding you back. You don't want to get up and face things because it is easier to pretend you have no desires about anything than to face what is bothering you. You are worried about the others not because you care of even really like many of them, but because you don't want to be alone like you were four days ago. You had an accidental overdose on pills because you thought you were smarter than the pills and prescribers. You probably had an idea to cruise through college but really just want someone to latch onto to carry you through because you think..."

"Because you think you don't deserve anything better for yourself... because you don't matter enough."

Bryce-
"Oh so very wrong. It could be interesting to see what someone else imagines is going on in here, but I'm finding it difficult to be interested right now..."

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}He scratched at his sleeve, tugging at the bandage.

"Tell me when I get close."

Bryce-
"It's really more simple than all that, and probably not worth thinking that hard about. Hey, do you think there's Frankensteins out there? ...In your medical opinion."

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}

Dr. Victor frowned, shaking his head.

"Bryce, you can deny all you want whatever it is or even take pride in how wrong I am. I know you're bright enough to know what I'm getting at."

He stood up, sitting on the edge of the roof and moving his head lower, like an inquisitive owl. The good doctor tried to move in line of Bryce's fictitious stare."

"Bryce, what are you really worried about?"

He returned Victor's stare, starting to look a little cranky himself.

Bryce-
"...'Cause I'm in like with Seth. We totally boned, dude. I'm like... I dunno. Am I entitled to be worried sometimes? Right now, those guys are down there gettin' torn to pieces by Frankensteins, and we're just up here yammering away. I can't handle it..."

He shook his head, eyeballs bugged out, exasperated. He got up and moved to the south east corner of the roof, wedging himself into the corner, Kilroy-ing it up over the edge again, crumpling into a tiny ball with his knees tucked up to his body and his pale hands wrapped around the edge of the concrete.

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}

Dr. Victor was a little stunned by the response, unmoving at first at Bryce's departure. He shot a very confused look at Jonah, and then scooped up his coffee for some deep thought drinking. Striding, he moved again next to Bryce, sitting against the wall he was leering over, almost as bunched up as he was.

"It's okay to be worried, but you aren't just worried. Does he know about the way you feel? Does he reciprocate it?"

Bryce-
"Takes two to bone, doesn't it?"

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}"You can be as upset as you want but you're only torturing yourself in doing so. Do you want a Widow's Walk built? Bryce, if you really are in the throws of like why not take that and become productive with it? Won't Seth be more thrilled by your assistance around the 403 building than if you just spent the time up here waiting for him?"

Bryce just jabbed a finger out, and pointed it at Dr. Victor pretty hard, but didn't look in that direction. His body was rigid and the tip of his finger was bobbing slightly like a seismometer. His voice was an octave higher than it usually was, and cracked a bit like a record popping and scratching.

Bryce-
"You're crazy man! You're CRAZY! What do you expect?! This is what normal people do, isn't it? I mean, in like, movies and shit! I'm like... some pigtailed chick on Little House on the Prairie with tears in my eyes thinkin' about papa down there with the Grizzly Bear or whatever. This is a reasonable course of action! This thing, that I'm doing, here! "

He moved his hands back toward the edge of the building.

"Get off my tits, please!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}The good doctor let out a sigh, shrugging absently.

"He likes when people help each other, right? Why not help someone do something around here for a change? Its not like you have to go around confronting your fears for him, but even helping Chantelle or maybe Lashonda or hell, I'm sure Columbo would like a break from Dr. Melange... I know people aren't your thing, but I think that would be a good way- no, a better way to spend your time."

Bryce-
"Did we talk about my medications? I seem to remember us talking about my medications. I'm stepping down off my anti-anxiety meds. I think I'm doing about as well as can be expected! Or didn't I already say that?"

He glared over his arm, his bicep covering the lower part of his face like a ninja mask, or a Dracula cape. His eyes were wide.

"Knock it off...!"

SPOILER: Click to show

{AWKWARD DR V}

Dr. Victor didn't seem phased, though did shift a little bit away, but that was because his present location had been more uncomfortable than he originally thought. He spoke in the cool words he often did while practicing.

"Bryce, it is not what normal people do. The way you are up here is what I would do and obviously you know I'm" he used the air quotes for emphasis, even though he didn't give Bryce his vision, " 'Crazy' so doesn't that put another hole in your situation? You're not pining after him, you're addicted to him."

He moved back, turning his vision to the wide-eyed starer.

"You don't have anxiety, Bryce, you're over compensating like a twelve year old fisherman telling a tale of how huge the fish was. Want to keep the aggression and angst you feel because it's the cool thing to do these days? You have a choice here and now with what to do with the rest of the future. You can suck it up and go back into your little ball where all the dreams and unicorns frolic about, or you can grow the fuck up and do something, anything, like a non-movie-person does."

Bryce-
"Holy... fucking... shit!"

He tossed himself to the side and jumped up, running a little limp armed for the stairs, his hair flopping around in unison. He tore the door open and ran down the stairs with loud feet.



Bryce got into the room, locked the door and grabbed a chair and jammed it under the door knob. He paused, looked around again, and grabbed the bed that was sitting in the living room and pushed that against the chair.

He went to the corner by the windows, and thought to himself.

There should be a fucking chair over here. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PLACE?!

He kneeled on the beige carpet and looked out the window, seeing a very good view of the building across the street and little else.

I don't know what that crazy bastard was hoping to accomplish, but at least he got my mind off that shit. OH MY GAWD! Freakin'... Doctor Draculas! Crazy ass damn... stuff!

He started daydreaming about what if scenarios, what if his family tried to come back for him. It was ridiculous to imagine. He saw his mom, imagining something like June Cleaver transplanted into Night of the Living Dead.

She came to the back door and said "Oh could you please let me in dears?" and in pausing for the pleasantries, she got munched on by zombies. They'd bring her inside, she'd have three gaping holes in her back. There'd be so much blood it would run down to the ground, soaking the floor. She'd say "Oh don't mind me, I'll just take care of myself...!" and Melange and Dr. Vampire would be like "No you gotta get sewn up and stuff" and she'd be like "I don't wanna be a buuuurden to anyone... I don't wanna impose!" and they'd be like arguing with her and Dr. Vampire would be like "This is what people do, we gotta sew you up like a grownup and stuff! It's because you had rutabagas for breakfast, isn't it? Get with the program old lady!" and she'd be like "oh no no, I'm fine, really." and he'd be like "You need to face your problems!" and she'd be like "Noo it's fiiiine..."

--and that's when she turns into a zombie.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

The runners clambered over and around the cars, listless zombies moving toward them jerkily. The feeling of many eyes looking at them from every direction painfully distracting. A few zombies were actually trapped in cars, or between them. Seth gasped loudly as he ran over a car, and a corroded arm reached out for his pant leg from between two smashed hoods. The skin was burned off in large chunks, and the rest of the zombie's body completely hidden, presumably smashed between.
Despite the rate at which this fast-paced tactic depleted their energy, it was amazing how much ground someone could make just running past zombies. They were gathering though, and followed them up the hill to the school.

Anna waited for the stragglers to catch up, into the small parking lot which was at the top of the short but quite steep hill. There were still a couple couple cars parked here in the lot, no one would ever come back to take them home.

Anna-
"Stairs gonna be pitch black. See this?"

She fiddled with the road flare until she brought it to life in a shower of fluorescent pink vapor. Then, she jerked the back door open, it was still unlocked. She went in first to the nearly black hall, and the others followed behind, not wanting anything to follow them in if they dawdled.

The hall was cast in dim pink light, thanks to the road flares, which everyone began lighting up. The walls were white, and the tiles were glossy, catching the light and reflecting it brilliantly. At the very end of the hall was a faint light coming through a window, otherwise the hall was windowless. Was there a subtle movement at the end of the hall? The bizarre flickering light made it very hard to tell. It was quiet, at least, as far as they could hear over the hissing road flares.
Anna gestured for everyone to follow her, and she quickly ducked through a push door, and into a narrow stairwell.

The runners moved their way up the cramped stairwell, which turned at right angles every ten steps or so. They turned two times per floor, trying to listen over the hissing road flares and the clack of their own feet on the steps.

As the group ascended the stairs, the pink lights hissing and bobbling around, creating thick black shadows that stretched and loomed as they turned corners, the people in front stopped short, Micah and Alex nearly slammed into the back of Peg and Anna.

They heard it, a faint cry in the distance. A woman's voice.

Anna-
"Upstairs! The 5th!"

They hustled up the stairs, and Seth and Anna took up the front, slamming the push door open and stepping into the hall, quickly trying to get their bearings.
The walls were white here too, and overcast light filtered in from a window behind them, but the end of the hall was completely dark, hidden from their view. Large prints hung on the walls, human sized depictions of small objects in black charcoal. A giant corn kernel, a dried bit of thistle... There was a strange scent of a chemical, perhaps some kind of dye or paint.
Seth and Anna stepped forward, holding up the pink torches forward, but the darkness seemed impermeable, unnatural. Suddenly, there was the twisting shape of movement in the darkness and a small figure came running from it, like it had just been a black curtain the entire time. A girl with blonde hair and an ornate leather jacket looked at them with wide eyes. There was some kind of dark mark on her face, though she didn't appear injured.

Young lady-
"Y-you're real?! Oh God!"

She spoke with a faint British accent, her voice dry and cracking.
"Upstairs now! They won't follow us there!!"


Seth-
"Upstairs? That's where the rest of you are?


Young lady-
"If you blokes stand around talking much more, you'll get to see yourself. Come on!"

She started to move for the stairs they'd just come from and stopped short. One of the huge paper prints seemed unreasonably dark, and looked for a moment like a giant Rorshach test, but the charcoal was spreading like ink. It became a huge black blot. Something within it glinted and the runners realized it was a dark face emerging from the surface. The smell of ammonia in the air shaded toward something more earthy...

It looked like a teenage Asian girl with long hair (remarkably neat), which swung in smooth curtains around her shoulders as she stepped out of the art. Her eyes glimmered in the pink light. From behind them, Anna suddenly barked

Anna-
"Oh shit!"

The ghost scent began to overpower and the road flares sparked in the fumes. From the formerly featureless darkness there was now the glimmer of multiple eyes. They seemed to float like in a Scooby Doo cartoon. A faint airy noise of their wordless voices and they moved towards the intruders.

In the cramped space of the concrete stairwell, the pink flares made the world look like a garish portal to hell. It was hard to stay coordinated at speed, and careening off the walls a bit was the fastest way to go.

Anna-
"Just this flight!"

She opened the door and held it, some daylight at each end of the floor making it a considerably less disturbing realm to enter. Everybody spilled out into that hall.

After a moment of getting a grip on their selves, everyone realized they were still alive, and the dark ghosts indeed had not followed them up.

Young lady-
"See? I have no bloody idea what stops them."


Anna-
"You realize we'll have to destroy them to make it out alive, right?"


Young lady-
"Destroy them? How the hell are you supposed to do that? I've seen them. They touch you and you become one of them. I know some of them. They were with us before."


Seth-
"We've killed them with fire. That's why we got these." He gestured with the flare. "If you knew they were down there, why were you there?"


Young Lady-
"Oh, you're the motorcycle guy, aren't you? I thought I'd try to find you. Didn't think you could make it through. No one else has."

The hall here was painfully white like all the others, but was covered in small pieces of art that made it seem more like the art academy that one might expect. The young lady plopped on the floor, too exhausted to stand.

There was a stainless steel elevator at the end of the hall that would be of no use to anyone. The window a the end of the hall looked out onto Denny and had a stereotypical Seattle view, with a bit of the Space Needle poking out from behind buildings.

Alex crouched next to the young woman, fished a protein bar from his pocket, and offered it to her.

Alex-
"You better eat this - probably not much food up here, right?"


Young Lady-
"Oh god, thank you. You're ... beautif..." She couldn't continue and sobbed a moment while weakly accepting the food.


Peg-
Peg wiped a tear from the corner of her eye at the sight. "Hey, Seth, do you think there's any chance of just running for it, torches first, or should we come up with a plan to fight all those things?"

Then there was the sound of feet slapping on tile, and they beheld a vision of wild-eyed young people looking at them with emotional expressions of relief and excitement.

Tattooed boy-
"Nora! Oh God I thought... *choke*"


Skinny girl-
"Y-you're the motorcycle people! We saw you! We thought--ohh *sob*"


Dreadlocks guy-
"How did you get through them? Maybe.. do they let you up here but not down? No one ever comes back..."

Two girls watched in the back, silent but with big eyes.


Alex gingerly put a hand on the crying woman's shoulder. Poor thing. She probably lost many friends that week ... her Emilianos and Micahs. But at least there were other survivors! Five others, by the looks of it.

Alex-
"We should ... make a lot of fire," he suggested. "Really. A lot of fire. Does paint burn like a candle? I mean. Um. Hm." Where was he going with this?


Seth-
"We should go somewhere comfortable for a minute, and we can talk. We have a little water and food."


Tattooed boy-
"R-really?! Are the monsters still down there? That's why you're talking about fire, huh... Wait. What would you do with fire?"


Skinny girl-
"Burn the building down? I don't think there's any way we could jump!"


Young lady-
"They say that you can burn the... ghosts I guess."


Anna-
"Yeah, like I said, let's find a comfortable place. Is the upstairs good? What do you know about it?"


Curly haired girl-
"I don't think there's anything upstairs. Yeah, there's chairs and stuff."


Anna-
"Yeah, let's go up where those fancy rich bitches hang out for their meetings. C'mon baby."

She helped Alex get the young lady to her feet.

The kids weakly walked up the stairs at the end of the hall, passing by a bunch of white plaster sculptures of grasping hands that were attached to the white walls rather eerily.
They moved in an uncanny way, that the 403 crew had not seen before. Malnourished, scared out of their minds, they wavered and trembled and looked like human ghosts.

The stairs here were plushly carpeted, and there was a large skylight above, casting the floor in the gray light from above. They stepped out on to smoothly polished wooden floors, several different open areas on each side which seemed to be corporate meeting spaces. There were plush leather lounge chairs, and well framed art that did not seem to be student work. There was even an honest to goodness grand piano sitting in the middle of the floor.

Dreadlocks guy-
(to Anna) "Wait, you--You're in sculpture, right?"


Anna-
"Yeah, and video. I mean, I was. God..."


Tattooed boy-
"I don't wanna even talk about it. My show was next month. Next month. It's still over there, all my work. Just waiting..."

His eyes lined with tears and he shook his head. Everyone came to rest in a darkened room that was surrounded by windows with the sheer cloth shades drawn, only vague filtered light coming in from behind them. They sat in squishy leather chairs.
Seth pulled out three water bottles and handed them to the kids, and the rest of the bag of mini-wheats.

Skinny girl-
"We were drinking out of the toilets..! I mean, at least we had that or we would be dead..."


Seth-
"You can come with us, we have a nice place you can stay. Lots of food, your own rooms..."


Asian girl-
"They won't let us go! We'll never get out."


Peg-
"No! We know how to destroy them. They're afraid of the fire, we can get through."


Seth-
"It's true, I've killed more than one ghost with just a lighter."


Anna-
"See? Really. Just calm down. That's why we're up here, right?"

The kids sipped on the water, and looked around at each other and the strange new friends.

Dreadlocks guy-
"You were the motorcycle people, wh-who was on that? Who saw us?"


Peg-
"It was me and the president."


Seth-
"Yeah, I'm Seth and that was Peg on the back. We're from a building a few blocks from here, there's lots of people there."

Everyone took a moment to introduce themselves.

Ibi-
"Oh... okay. Well, you can understand we're kind of scared, doubtful that we'll be able to make it out. What... what's the idea then?"


Seth-
"We just go straight down the stairs, we didn't see anything there. The ghosts stay away from the flares."

He gestured at the pile of burning pink they'd left scorching a dark spot onto the fancy wood floors.

"We get outside, we'll help you get to our building."


Ibi-
"What do you know about the monsters? You found out that they catch fire... Are all of the monsters like that?"


Anna-
"No, I mean there's zombies.. ghosts.. there's uh, this sort of possessed people that crawl around on the roof and stuff. Fire really was only for the ghosts as far as well know."


Seth-
"You can keep them out though, our building has been pretty safe."


Nora-
"Possessed people? Oh my god... What a nightmare. Is that what HE is?"

The 403 group looked around, confused.

Briar-
"Nora, are you sure that that was real? Maybe it was a just a zombie."


Nora-
"He talked to me! He told me to go back upstairs or something bad would happen."


Alex-
"The demons enjoy fear and pain, I think. They also KNOW stuff. Secret things about people. But, uh, Seth, what's that trick you used? Possessed guys can't answer personal questions so well? If you ever feel paranoid, that helps."


Seth-
"Yeah we just ask them some personal questions, or like, weird stuff that only a human would know. Like.. "Favorite ice cream topping?" I'm not sure if it works, but we haven't let one get past us that way. We just tied up the last one... Uh, anyway, Nora, what did you see?"


Nora-
"Just... this weird guy downstairs. I think I seen him before but I don't remember. He said it's not safe down there, we should stay up here, blah blah. He creeped me out so I just ran back upstairs."


Casey-
"Estephany said she saw some guy before she left. I hope... *sigh*"


Peg-
"Aww. Well, we're gonna do it right this time. We know more than anybody that you've known yet. We're prepared. We're all gonna get out of this alive, no question."


Mega-
*whimper*


Anna-
"Creepy guy, kinda acting inappropriate for the situation, seems to be hanging out in monster town without getting attacked... sounds like the possessed people before they start getting extra gross anyway."


Seth-
"Yeah, we know what to do with those..."

He nodded toward his bag sitting on a table, which had the barrel of a shotgun sticking out of it conspicuously.

Anna-
(whispers to Seth)
"Soo how religious are you?"


Seth-
"Sheesh."


Peg-
"So I brought this up downstairs, should we make an effort to kill a lot of ghosts first? Go down there with fire, move slow, and come back? Or should we just charge through torches out, hope it works out?"


Seth-
"I say we just go. We got up here, we can get down."

Peg nodded, and noticed a worried look on Mega's face. She looked at her kindly.

Peg-
"So we'll go through fast, but if something does happen, we'll be ready for it. Don't worry about that. Like I said, we've destroyed ghosts, and worse things than that."


Anna-
"So we gotta make like muskoxen on the nature shows, keep all the sick kids in the middle when we're on the stairs. When we get out in the open to the car maze, maybe we should just have a buddy. One kid to watch after.. or whatever the math is. Maybe Seth can get two since he's the original badass."


Seth-
"Aw that's sweet."

The kids took the group down to the painting studio, so they could gather their belongings. They saw the reverse side of the butcher paper hanging from the windows. It was a huge room, the center filled with racks of paintings. A few of the students stopped to gaze at a piece of art for a moment before returning to packing. There were a few scattered wrappers and some empty bottles on the tables, including a large empty jar marked "BREAST MILK-- DO NOT DRINK".

Casey-
"We just slept on our coats on this floor, we didn't wanna leave these windows."

He gestured at the paint splattered hard cement.

"I'll be really glad to have an actual bed. I don't care if I have to share it with ten people."


Chelsea-
"Aw that would be kind of sweet, like husky dogs!"


Seth-
"Heh, um, we have a lot of beds, but feel free to make your own arrangements."

They met out in the hall, the students had their bags, and stood nervously.

Peg-
"So maybe we just buddy up with whoever you feel comfortable with?"

She looked at Mega.

"So when we get outside, you can stay with me and I can keep you safe until we get home."


Mega-
"Okay..."


Briar-
"Anna, I wanna go with you!"


Anna-
"I've got no problem with that."


Ibi-
"I'm a big guy, I don't think anyone here could carry me if I needed it, heh. I'll just tag along with Seth."


Casey-
"I'll go with um, Seth too? If it's okay?"


Seth-
"Of course."

Seth nodded to Anna, and moved to the stairwell door. He pushed it open, revealing the gaping darkness inside. He moved inside, everyone holding the door open for each other until they were all in the concrete echo chamber.
Seth and Anna moved down the stairs surely, quickly but not even at a jog. Everyone's eyes darted around, looking for something terrifying to loom out of the twisting shadows caused by the road flares.

People had a more difficult time than before speaking above a whisper. They strained to hear anything unnatural and dangerous above the soft roar, screech, and patter of their nervous footfalls.

Anna-
"What are the odds they let us out without a fight?" She spoke very softly between breaths. "We're a pretty fiery crew."

Seth suddenly came to a halt, Casey bumped in to him full bore, and almost knocked him forward. The strong smell of sulfur coming from the flares concealed the scent that would have preceded what they saw. A dark shape gently bobbled around the 5th floor doorway like an errant balloon.

Casey-
"...Angelina....!"

A pale face looked up at the name, as though with recognition. Smooth dark curtains of hair floated gently next to the face of a young Asian girl, like she was just relaxing in an invisible bath tub. Her eyes glinted in the pink haze.

Angelina (?)-
"Ehhhh...."


Seth-
"Don't look at her!"

Time should have had the decency to stand still for the drama, but did not. The forward momentum of the group barely broke as they faced the gallery of human ruin.

                                                      Anna-
                                                         "No."

Her torch blasted weird green and orange sparks for a moment as it sank into the liquid substance of the sad dead girl. She burst like a hydrogen balloon and Seth and Anna kept walking through the burning scraps.

Anna took nervous note of the fact her road flare was dimmed to about half strength by that use.

Casey-
"Oh my GAW--"

Seth gave a glance over his shoulder, and shook his head at him, and Casey closed his mouth with a little whimper.

Then two more sets of glinting eyes showed themselves, their faces warping with the unnatural blackness and the wavering pink light.

The creatures unfolded from the ceiling like seaweed from under a rock. The Cornish kids sank beneath them to avoid the touch of the dead. The hopeless looking vaporous things resembled a young man in a janitor's uniform and a teenage boy with his cheeks hollowed out to bowls. They keened like dogs in a kennel. Peg and Alex's torches puffed and shot sparks.
Seth stuck his torch out and sliced it diagonally through the air at the oncoming dark billowing creatures. They seemed to swell larger for a terrifying instant and then they too erupted into black burning tatters. A swirling miasma flew into Seth's face, his torch down to a pathetic tiny flame.

Seth-
*cough* Damn it..!

He had to drop the sputtering torch to wave the sparks away, and the group continued on.

How far were they? They lurched at uncomfortable passes, careened off walls, herded like cattle through chute to hell.

An unholy blast of metal blasting apart and screeching hinges sent a shock through the crowd. Somewhere below something terrible was happening. The frightened began to surge back, but Peg stifled them long enough to shout to Seth.

Peg-
"KEEP ON OR GO BACK?"

Seth-
"I'll go ahead!"

Seth twisted around to pull the shotgun out of the bag, Casey stared at it like he'd just pulled a severed head out of the rucksack.

Briar-
"Oh my god oh my god!"


Anna-
"Hush!"

A loud clatter suddenly made all voices insignificant. It was like someone was throwing desks in the stairwell, and they were falling upward.

Seth ran forward and down the stairs with the shotgun, into the darkness. Anna ran after him, holding the weakened remains of her torch to light his way.
Suddenly the desks stopped falling upwards, and merely banged around in place, somewhere below.

Only a couple seconds passed before Anna came running back first, with Seth following behind her.

Anna-
"GO BACK NOW! TAKE THE FIRST DOOR INTO A HALLWAY NOW!!!"

It was hard to redirect a crowd in a cloistered space in the best of circumstances, but these kids sprang in reverse like human fleas.
There was hardly a moment to register what was going on, before everyone spilled out into the fourth floor hall.

Anna-
"There's another stairwell at the end of the hall, just one more floor!!"

This hall was neatly empty, some large posters of very clean typography lined the walls, not that anyone was looking at that. The group ran so fast they skidded several feet past their destination at the other end before righting themselves.

BANG! Behind them, the door they had come from was tossed open, and three plastic chairs were flung out like shrapnel from an explosion.

Seth-
"Go!"

In the new reshuffling, Anna ended up in the lead with Briar, followed by Peg Casey and Ibi, then Seth Nora and Alex, then Micah Mega and Chelsea. As Anna and Briar crowded into the stairs, their limbs were jammed and battered by the tiny space. Briar slipped and flew into the darkness, slamming against a wall and somehow still staying on her feet. Anna was sympathetic but couldn't let them slow down. She caught the girl by the arm helping her get right and going.

Anna-
"Can someone pass us a good torch up here?!"

The torch surfed the crowd and found its way to Anna. As she was turning to see it come, Briar froze in her tracks. The surging crowd pushed her forward off the stair and she fell into the face of the dark ghost that had paralyzed her.

Luckily she fell with her hand leading, and she had been holding the still somewhat fiery remains of Anna's torch. The party once again found itself walking through a pyrotechnic display, as a portly former drama major became a ball of fire. Alex saw Anna backlit by the flames, turning her away from him with the torch in hand, looking like something out of a music video.

They went on, things going well for a flight and then... without realizing it at first, they all walked into a patch of utter blackness. The flares disappeared from sight - but they could still hear the soft hiss and feel the heat.

Anna's voice-
"Just touch somebody, stay together... We're almost there..."

YES! The third floor! AKA, street level for the back door, where the party came in. Natural light and the road flares come into view as the people rush out of the stairwell.

Anna doesn't hesitate to run out the door into the parking lot, followed by the rest.

***

Alex-
"Micah? MICAAAH!" Alex wildly glanced around the area. No sign of Homeboy. "MICAH, HANG ON!" He looked for any remaining flares. "I need fire! I need the shotgun! Seth, we have to save him! Please!"


Nora-
"We gotta go back, I'll go look for him!"


Seth-
"I'll go too."


Anna-
"Hold up! This is crazy! We aren't all going back where THAT was. You two macho dudes go ahead, We'll just like.. hide here but if you aren't back in five minutes, we're gonna go home without you."


Peg-
"That's kinda brutal, but yeah. I agree. Hurry, guys."

Seth nodded to Alex, and kept the shotgun at the ready.

Alex calmed down when Seth agreed to launch Special Operation Find Micah.

Alex-
"Thank you." He quickly wiped his face with his fashionable yellow bandana. "H - he probably got lost when the lights went out ..."

Alex followed Seth back to the building, flare and sledgehammer at the ready.

The two men hurried back into the hall. Daylight turned grey as it came in behind them, shining on the waxed concrete floor like dirty water, fading to complete blackness partway through the hall.

From the far end of the hall was a faint glow from some kind of window, partially obscured. It peeked over a drop off of some kind - maybe stairs?

Seth-
"We definitely lost him on the stairs.. Guess we gotta just make our way up and look."

Seth went to the stairwell, opened the door easily, and was back in the claustrophobic gloom. Alex followed him in, waving the flare.

Alex cringed when they entered the stairwell, half-expecting to find Micah sprawled motionlessly on the stairs or, even worse, lurching around with dead eyes like one of those zombies. But the claustrophobic space - what they could see, anyway - was completely empty.

Alex-
"Seth, being terrified makes Micah sick. So he probably stopped running to barf. And then maybe a ghost chased him back upstairs. If he's hiding ... I don't know what to do. How can we find Micah without shouting? Stupid. I'm stupid. Should have held his hand or something. Damn it."

Kateri Tekakwitha, please send us a sign! Please, please! I'll do anything for a sign ...

Seth spoke quietly as they ascended the stairs.

Seth-
"We'll find him. He'll know we're looking for him, so he won't go far. We'll go all the way to the top if we have to..."

He adjusted the shotgun in his hands at the last part.

"If you see something fucked up, you'll know it when you see it, just run downstairs. Don't hesitate."

They walked up the stairs more cautiously this time, the light dimmer from only Alex's flare. Seth's face was very tense, and his eyes darted around at the shadows. The stairs were eerily quiet, the hiss of the flare was uncomfortably reminiscent of the sound of lit dynamite in the movies.

Alex climbed the stairs directly behind Seth, with the light held out and up.

Alex
"Fuuhcked up?" He pronounced the curse word awkwardly, even in the tense situation. "Jesus, so there was a demon here ..."

Before his thoughts ran wild and made him sick, Alex tucked his crucifix under his polo and concentrated intently on the back of Seth's head; the short-cropped hair was pinkish in the flare light.

Quietly, to the back of Seth's head, he said, "You're a good man."

Seth chuckled very lowly at Alex's words.

Seth-
"You can tell me I'm good when the three of us get out of here alive..." he said without turning.

The stairwell seemed very quiet. They could hear slight creaks of the building, their own footsteps and breath and the hiss of the flare was a roar.

When they hit the fourth floor, there was a very dull noise of a racket coming from an inscrutable location, perhaps the other stairwell.

Seth-
"Should we check th--"

Before he could finish whispering to Alex, they heard a sudden clatter of footsteps running up the stairs.

Alex-
"Micah!? MICAH!"

He started charging up the stairs, but paused to check that Seth was following.

Seth-
"What the--"

Seth hesitated for just a second, before running after Alex and up the stairs. Alex saw the 6th floor door just closing, and pushed it open with an overly loud bang.

Alex and Seth came running into the 6th floor, weapons drawn. Right in front of the door, Micah lay, slumped against the wall with a bloody face.
The hall was quiet, and seemed about how they'd last left it. The two men scrambled to the un-moving man, checking his pulse to find him alive, but unconscious. Blood had trickled out of his nose and mouth, and soaked the front of his shirt a bit. He seemed otherwise unharmed, to the eye at least.

Seth-
"We gotta get him out of here... He's a pretty small guy, maybe we can carry him?"


Alex-
"Yeah, he's not much heavier than one fifty. I can take him. Just won't be able to fight."

Seth put the shotgun away and took Alex's flare.

Though the situation was urgent - the demon and its ghost army could be moments away - Alex cautiously pulled Micah's limp body from the wall and ground to avoid exacerbating hidden injuries. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he arranged Micah across his shoulders via the old-fashioned fireman's carry technique. This unfortunately required the use of both hands: the sledgehammer was discarded.

Alex stood straight with a grunt.

Alex-
"Uhh. Heavier than I figured. S'okay. I won the couple's carry race with Carly twice."

Seth nodded and looked at the stairwell door in anticipation.

Seth-
"Let's go!"

Seth moved into the stairwell torch first, and held the door for Alex. Once Alex was inside, he took up the lead position again.

The stairs were getting old. Black black black, pink flare light on the shiny grey concrete between dark voids, narrow passages, the hiss of fire and the squeak of shoes and the healthy huffs of their breaths. They were definitely starting to feel the exertion again.

Seth-
"I wonder what this guy saw. After everything,
you'd think it'd take a lot to make a guy pass out."

Another odd noise gave Seth pause. Was that coming from right in front of him? He angled the torch differently and saw... Scraps of plastic and metal, sliding over the wall like an oil slick, dripping upwards? There were only three floors to get from the 6th to street level, or six flights of stairs.

If the chair monster was near, would it be worth the risk to just try to get down there?

Seth-
"We gotta just go! I'm gonna run ahead but I don't want to leave you in the dark...!"

Seth dashed down the flight of stairs and peered around the corner to the next. As Seth took off, Alex stared at the moving scraps of rubbish like they were the world's most poisonous and aggressive spiders.

Alex-
"Shout ... if stuff starts ... flyin' around!" His speech already sounded labored. "I can go down the stairs fast with Micah, but if we got to run back up to escape tele ... telekinesis ... that won't be easy."

He followed at a quick pace, though the weight on his shoulders made Alex feel clumsy, and he strained to see in the faint light. One foot after the other. No time to be afraid. The staircase wound on and on.

Suddenly and surreally, Alex felt like Sir Galahad. Yeeeah. He was Sir Galahad escaping a damned castle with the evil lord's prisoner. Would that make Seth King Arthur? Well, look-wise, Slugger probably made a better Lancelot.

Absorbed in the fantasy, Alex's fear ebbed, and his pace quickened.

As Alex neared the next landing, Seth raced down to the one after it and paused. Alex could see Seth, but not what he was looking at, his face contorted in concern and strain, searching. ((ooc- chris wrote these clunky phrases. my bad.)) Sir Galahad felt a moment's unease hauling the evil lord's prisoner past the inverted cascade of mysterious debris, but then it was done...

Until the next set of stairs brought them close to that wall again. Flowing around the cracks in the corners of the stairwell, shards of chairs, moving like a fluid. Seth stood next to it, looking down to the next level, looking up to see Alex's progress.

Seth-
"Come on champ! One more!"

As before, the stairs grew darkest before the last step, unnatural shade dimming the pink torch to practically nil, Alex having to test each new stair with a foot to make sure he was stepping right, until...

Success! They emerged into the grey-lit lobby and hustled to the door. Seth held it open for Alex with a look of pride.


Back in the parking lot behind Cornish, Alex and Seth were greeted by Anna and the rest. Micah stirred! Nora helped him to his feet.

Nora-
"Wake up, buddy. It's time to go, mate!"

They got ready to brave the car maze again. Just as they were about to leave...

Anna-
"Hey, Seth, who is that guy and should we be rescuing him too?"


Seth-
"Um..."

Inside Cornish, just past the glass in eerie half-light, stood this guy...

Creepy Guy-
"..."


Seth-
"... Uh, he looks like he's comfortable where he is..."

Alex felt damn near intoxicating jubilance as they stepped from the castl--college and into fresh air. When Homeboy regained consciousness and started squirming, Alex knelt and let Nora help him up. Then, he pulled Micah into a brief but crushing hug.

Micah-
"I thought you died. Don't do that. Don't die, please."

He broke away from Micah and clapped Seth on the back friendfully. "MVP, man, that's you. Most valuable playaaaa."

Seth-
"Oh yeah! I guess we all made it out alive. You can say that now. *finger guns* Back atcha!"

Seth tried to forget the ghoul inside and collected his buddies for the trip back.

Seth-
"You all haven't been outside since it happened?"


Casey-
"No, I guess not."


Ibi-
"Just for a few minutes... Look at all these cars, god..."

The youths began to take notice of the corpses, moving and still, in the near vicinity. They clearly had a growing sense of alarm.

Seth-
"This is gonna be scary but if you keep running, you'll be fine. They're slow and stupid, and just remember - They're not people anymore."


Casey-
"Uh... Let's go before I freak."


Ibi-
"Yes!"


Seth-
"The fastest way is to climb over the cars. Can you do it? I'll help."


Ibi-
"I think I'm too weak... I'll have to go between."

Seth nodded and picked up his spear, which was leaning against a wall. He led the way out to the street.

At Denny he leapt up on a car, helping Casey up, and told Ibi they'd stay close and try to clear the way. Ibi picked out a path and started moving between cars. He occasionally had to stop to steel himself, when coming to close to a scene of carnage. Casey could amble over the cars, but in his weakness looked a bit clumsy.

Seth supported Casey with one arm, to keep him upright, and kept his spear ready in the other, looking out for danger to either of his charges.

Casey-
"Thank you, Seth."


Ibi-
"This is horrible! حفظ الله لنا!"


Seth-
"We're real close! Just get through and we're nearly there!"


Ibi-
"Of course! I'll do my best."

Seth held Casey's arm as they walked across roofs of cars. Ibi's chosen path needed to get him past a zombie, tangled in a seatbelt, but thrashing out its window with a partially eaten arm.

Seth steadied Casey to stand on his own for a moment, and hopped off the car to the sidewalk. He ran up to the zombie and speared its head through the window. The arm spasmed fluidly, then clattered off the window frame and disappeared into the derelict car.



Ibi came out of the car maze and helped Casey down, both taking extra care with hunger-weakened muscles. They looked at Seth gratefully and continued.

Casey-
"Seth... If we don't uh..."


Seth-
Seth put a comforting arm on the young guy's back. "Everyone's gonna make it."

Indeed, many of the others were already making good time. The street was even more clear of zombies than expected, since they seemed distracted with something a few blocks north of the 403 building.

They came around the corner to see Anna and Peg putting the finishing touches on some zombies, while Alex and company began to move through the barrier into the alley.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Ashley tried to ask the names of the newcomers, but he only got as far as Col. Teddy, his son Wil, Wil's fiancee Kaya, and Monty (the guy what was sassing on Col. Teddy), before the chaos of the Cornish bunch made individual conversation impossible.


Seth-
"Well everybody, we got to get to the clinic. It's just on this floor. We'll get you checked out."


Wil-
"You've got a clinic? A doctor?"


Seth-
"Yeah, just inside. We got two doctors, actually... I'm Seth, the leader of the building here. Guess y'all are a new bunch, too?"


Wil-
"Thank you so much! We really need to see a doctor, especially Kaya."


Seth-
"Well I'm glad we found ya! Let's get inside."

Everybody who's anybody went to the clinic for some old-fashioned gawkin' and talkin'. Ben and Sonya came up on the group just as it was disappearing inside. Away to the clinic!

Dr. Bebe-
"Wow. What a lovely bunch of new faces! Who wants to find Dr. Victor for me?"


Davin-
"I'll do it. Didn't get much of a workout this morning anyways. Wil, you guys are going to be fine now. I'll be back in a jiff."


Wil-
"Thanks, Davin."


Dr. Bebe-
"Nurse Columbo, get all the water you can, then help me get them cleaned up."


Columbo-
"Right on."


Dr. Bebe-
"Everyone who isn't a patient, please stand over by that wall. Now Seth, be a dear and explain the situation?"

Seth-
"Well, I think it went something like..."

*screen goes all wavy and fade to black*

...

*Fade in from black*

Seth-
"...So that's the long and short of it."


Dr. Bebe-
"That's really interesting. Especially that part in the middle, between the first sentence you said and the last one. I think my life will be forever changed by those words."

Everybody got checked out. Colonel Teddy's family was in very poor health, and stayed with Dr. Melange. After some inspection and care, the Cornish kids were cleared to go upstairs with strict instructions to get fed something soft and palatable, and drink lots of water. Some set to work setting up bedrooms for them on the 5th floor, they would stay in the two remaining three bedroom apartments there.

By this point, most of the running crew were out of the clinic. At the end of it all, only Melange, Columbo, Col. Teddy, Wil, Kaya, and Davin remained.


***

Bryce was awakened by a banging at the door. He stirred from his place on the floor.

How the fuck did I fall asleep? Whatever, I needed it.

bang bang

Kenny's Voice: "Don't do it man! There's uh, lots of reasons to live."

bang bang bang

He went to the door.

Bryce-
"Hang on, motherfucker! Just gotta move some shit."

he moved the furniture out of the way, leaving it in a convenient mess.

Kenny's Voice-
"Oh good. Man. Stay with me. You can make it through this, bro!"

Bryce-
"Don't be stupid, stupid! I'm fine. Just keepin' out draculas."

He got the door open.


Kenny-
"Oh shit man, don't tell me we have draculas now, too. Did they bite somebody yet?"

Bryce-
"Just that Micah dude, as far as I know."

Kenny-
"Shit, man... Man, wait. Are you yanking my crank?"

Bryce-
"The yankingest. Welcome back to your humble abode."

Kenny-
"Damn I thought you were a goner. That woulda been real depressing."

He came in and sat on the hastily shoved bed.

Bryce-
"I don't aim to depress, believe it or not. What's up man?"

Kenny-
"Oh yeah, those folks are back. We got some new people. Pretty sexy!"

Bryce-
"Oh yeah, sexy art school kids? I take it by your tone they are relatively intact? No zombie-ism or infected wounds?"

Kenny-
"Not that I saw. Yeah, you should go see 'em. It think they're hanging around in the community center. I just meant to come in here and brush my hair - make a good impression, if you know what I mean, haha."

Bryce-
"Art school, huh? I wonder what their orientations are?"

Kenny-
"Oh, right right right.. I always forget that, that you're
representin' the rainbow. Well, one guy probably is... He's hangin' all over the prez. Like that's gonna happen!"

Bryce-
"Damn. Guess I gotta go lay the law down."

Kenny-
"Good luck, man."

Kenny got up to go groom his unruly locks.

Bryce-
Shit. Really? I never thought of that... Seth goes out and
rescues people all the time, they'll be falling in love and shit. Son of a bitch!

Bryce comported himself, tried to forget Dr. Acula was likely to be at hand upstairs, and went...

TO THE COMMUNITY CENTER!

Briar, Casey, and Ibrahim felt the need to get acquainted with their eager new neighbors. A sort of impromptu party was under way, with each a bit of a celebrity. Bryce found his way through the crowd to Seth, who was in a conversation a new kid (Casey), Tyrone, Kaito, and Basil. Basil was at his Brylcremiest.

Basil-
"...Tender young fawns in a darkened glade full of dagger-toothed wolves. Dreadful."

Tyrone-
"That's some damn poetry, man."

Bryce-
"Hey. New kid."

Seth-
"Oh Bryce! Yeah, we got, like, six new kids! This is Casey."

Casey-
"Hi! Oh my gosh, everyone is so nice here."

Bryce-
"Your 'gosh'? Trying to avoid offending anyone?"

Seth-
"Hey, if you guys need a break, you don't have to meet everybody tonight. We'll all be here tomorrow. You've all been through a lot. You should take care of yourselves."

Casey-
"Oh no, I'm fine. We're just so glad to be here. Everyone's already done so much..." The young man got sparkly-eyed.

Bryce-
"I know, the whole action hero thing. Good job, Seth and friends."

Kaito-
"Nn"

Tyrone-
"So I heard some people talkin' about ghosts. What did y'all get up to over thera?"

Casey-
"There were SO MANY GHOSTS. I think Seth exploded at least four of them."

Seth-
"Yeah, I expect we'll probably find more buildings like that in the future. Not a single zombie, but lots of ghosts. Oh there was something weird too... Like, some kind of... I dunno man. Some kind of other undead, can't figure it out.
I don't know all the details but some serious weird shit..."

Casey-
"What about that part where you went down the stairs with the shotgun and like desks were flying around and exploding out of doors. Don't tell me ghosts usually do that!"

Seth-
"Oh yeah, that was new too."

Tyrone-
"*whistled* Damn, chief. Good work gettin' out alive. What was that thing like, again?"

Seth-
"God it was kinda hard to say because it was so dark and we didn't stick around, but looked like every piece of furniture in a classroom glued itself together and was bein' tossed around by a tornado. Flingin' chairs and desks like they were hockey pucks."

Basil-
"It beggars the imagination, sir. I cannot quite imagine it. These are most peculiar times."

Bryce-
"So, like, a messier version of the rearranging chairs in Poltergeist... or maybe some telekinesis stuff like in Akira or Carrie..."

Tyrone-
"Carrie was a cute movie. Sissy Spacek look like a baby frog in that. Jus'... Cute."

Kaito-
"Telekinesis? Would that be something a ghost can do?"

Bryce-
"Maybe it's how Doretta moved the elevator."

Casey-
"Oh wow, we really have no clue, don't we? I hope we'll catch up eventually. Bryce, you seem really smart!

Bryce looked incredulous, as inconspicuously as his snarkodaemon would allow.

Seth-
"You guys will catch up quick, I'm sure. We've just been outside more."

Basil-
"And watched a few more creature features, evidently. Bravo."

Bryce-
"I owe it all to weed."

Kaito-
"Nn. We should grow some of that."

Casey-
"Oh, you should talk to Ibi! I think he used to do that, back at the dorms."

Bryce-
"You guys just might pull your own weight after all."

Casey-
"Oh yeah! We'll do anything! We're just so grateful. Whatever we can do to help!"

Basil-
"Hmmm... Anything, you say...?"

Tyrone-
"Damn, it's kinda weird now. I oughtta get a ... us some drink. Who wants some?"

Everyone agreed alcohol would be appreciated.

The group enjoyed some rather random mixed drinks that Tyrone passed out.

Seth asked Casey about his art and other lighter subjects, and Casey rambled excitedly. He apparently even, after everything, still had a lot of school pride. Basil creeped, yea, from Hell's Heart he creeped, but lo, this mixed company made it more tricky to corner a baby bird. Bryce decided by measures that these new kids were going to be bad news ... Too much pep.

Casey said

Casey-
"Well I'm sure it seems kind of frivolous, but we're not exactly warriors, so maybe we could offer our services as artists. Maybe make some things to make the building look nice."


Bryce-
"Huh. Yeah, there's all kinds of stuff to do, that doesn't take an advanced degree. Dishes are a bitch."


Basil-
"Services you say...?"


Tyrone-
"Oh lord, there it is again."

Casey-
"Well of course we'd do the normal stuff too. Whatever anyone else is doing, I just mean, what else we could do to show our respect and gratitude."


Seth-
"That sounds really cool, this place is so dreary. We don't have a lot of materials, but there's still some stuff sitting around in the abandoned apartments."

Casey-
"Briar totally specialized in assemblages! We can used found
materials, anything! This place will look great!"


Kaito-
"Art is good. I have a lot of respect for art."

Tyrone-
"Yeah, Kaito likes the artists."

Seth-
"Well sure, you guys go nuts. Everything left in the building wasn't something we knew what to do with. Don't wear yourselves out though. We need everyone healthy."

Casey smiled broadly with perfectly aligned teeth. He looked a bit dark under the eyes, but enthusiasm was animating him very well.

Casey-
"You got it."

Bryce sank a little more inside.
Damn kids. What the hell?

Basil-
"Brilliant. Bang on. It sounds like you'll be quite welcome here, young fellow."

Tyrone-
"Bangin' doesn't pay, Basil."

Seth-
"Man, those tattoos are so cool. I wish I woulda got more of them before the soup went down. Hey, that Jackson guy is a tattoo artist... Maybe we can get one of those machines runnin'."

Casey-
"Oh yeah! That would be great. My backpiece still needs some shading done."

Bryce-
"We should all get prison tattoos like '187 on all Ghosts' and stuff."

Casey-
"*laughed* I'd totally do that!"

Kaito-
"Nn."

Tyrone-
"I was Corrections for a while, that shit ain't vera funny."

Bryce-
"Oh, I'm sorry. That was insensitive of me."

Tyrone-
"I was bullshittin'... It's pretta funny."

Seth-
"You guys seen the stupid tattoo on my arm? It's not even funny."
He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a pac-man styled cartoon ghost. "Maybe I put a little gun on the side of its head, and little red lines over there..."

Basil-
"That's grim, sir. Grim indeed."

Bryce-
"That's how we roll, biotch."

Basil gave a funny look to Bryce, as if noticing him for the first time. Bryce didn't notice.

Casey-
"Oh I think it's cute. Did you design it?"

Seth-
"Oh yeah. It's one of three things I know how to draw. The other two are a star and one of those 'Kilroy was here' guys."

Bryce-
"How would you illustrate a bathroom wall personal ad? You're no kind of man until you can at least crudely render the male anatomy. Maybe the art kids can teach you."

Kaito-
"Ha."

Seth-
"I know how to draw more than that, but those are the only things I know how to draw well. I don't think I can do other things justice."

Casey-
"Drawing is not that hard. It just takes practice. Maybe if anyone's interested, we could give people art lessons."

Bryce-
"Easy there, tiger. We get it already." He constructed a strained smile.

Dr. Victor took leave of Basil to intercept Seth for a brief moment.

"So, is this an impromptu shindig or shall this become a more formal occasion? The day is young, right? No point in trying to do anything else, might as well have a good time. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are of age among the new group and I've checked out the Colonel and his family. What do you say, Seth?"

Seth-
"Oh well, you know we're not big on formality here. I think it'll just be a little meet and greet. No need to dress up or anything."

"I think I should spare a word with Alex on manners at least. I do hope that whole thing between him and Ione has blown over. I wonder if she's still loitering about with Lilla?"

Seth-
"I'm sure it's fine. He's a charming young lad. I'm sure those two will be here in a moment if they hear there's new people to chat to."

"Say, I guess I should see Marie at some point and maybe Kerry or Floretta will take a turn helping Zoe off to bed tonight? She needs some spirits and to let that sass all fall out. Patti, too. Oh, look at that! She took her hair off. Letting your hair down... taking it off... close enough, right?" The good doctor offered her a raised glass and congenial smile.

Seth-
"Yeah a lot of people talking about makeovers these days. How long until the assless chaps, amirite? Haha."

He gave Seth a good pat on the back. His face a little less bemused than before as he added, "Micah, he's going to be all right..." Even though it came out as a question, it held the firmness of a statement.

Seth-
"Oh good. Didn't see anything too life-changingly nightmarish then, I'm guessing."

Tyrone-
"Help me Kaito, I'm surrounded by white people."


Kaito-
"Nn... no."


Tyrone-
"Jus' kiddin' folk, you're all lovela. Hey, who wants a drink?"


Sarah-
"I do! Thanks!"


These guys-
"Us too!"


Tyrone-
"I'm a have my hands full."

Things progressed and digressed but hopefully didn't regress. Meanwhile, Bryce came over to Seth and touched his arm firmly.

Bryce-
"Hey, uh, I have business with you. Gotta, like, work out my assistant contract." His eyes were a bit wide.


Seth-
He looked confused for a moment. "What? You don't have to... Oh, sure. Wanna go talk somewhere?"

He extricated himself from Doc Vic &/or whoever and they went toward some couches a little ways off. But they didn't get far before they got a face full of bulgy-eyed fuck!

Col. Teddy-
"EX-cuse me, sir. I am given to understand that you are the elected leader of this outfit, correct?"


Seth-
"That's right. You're part of our other new group. Do you need something?"


Col. Teddy-
"A proper appraisal of the circumstance, I'd say! I'm an officer in the United States Army. I haven't been properly debriefed since this madness began. What do you have to say?"


Bryce-
"It's better to burrrrn out than to fade away."


Seth-
"Ah, uh, yeah. We really should have a group meeting in
the morning. Has your family been set up with a room?"


Col. Teddy-
"Yes, well, but still..."

Colonel Teddy annoyed the shit out of themfor like five minutes before they managed to bail.

Seth-
After he was certain Teddy was out of earshot, he said, "Man, what a bitch."


Bryce-
"For real. Real recognize real. But that's neither here nor there. Work with me."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, what were we talking about?"


Bryce-
"Negotiating my contract. It's pay to play. Or just getting the hell out of here. I wanna talk to you. For real."


Seth-
He glanced at the Cornish kids, noticing they had begun to look like wax sculptures. He got everyone's attention while Bryce shrank away. "Y'all can stay and chat, but we should probably let these kids get to bed. It's been a rough day."


Ione-
"Awww! OK, President! We'll take care of them! "


Sarah-
"Really, we will!"

People began to comply, and Seth went with Bryce to the 5th floor thread.

Later on, Seth and Bryce popped out of the stairwell and stood awkwardly in the hall near both of their respective apartment doors.

Seth-
"So, wanna come in, talk?"


Bryce-
"I dunno... uh, yeah, guess it's better than here or there," he said gesturing to his own place.


Seth-
"*concerned look* Are you OK? Did something happen?"


Bryce-
"I ... I don't know how to talk about it. Don't wanna sound like a jerk."


Seth-
"Oh. Ohhh. You don't want to... Maybe you don't wanna come in then, huh?"


Bryce-
"Wait, wut, ... Holy shit, the things I've said could be interpreted that way, couldn't they? Urm, yeah, I wanna come in. Sheesh."


Seth-
"Oh. Shall we?"

They went into Seth's apartment!

That evening, Seth and Bryce came into the apartment together to
find the animals animalling. They proceeded to human.

Seth moved about the apartment doing typical chore-like activities, such as feeding the cat. It seemed for a moment to be uncannily normal, save for the details of the candlelight, and the refrigerator being used for kibble storage only. Bryce found what was becoming his usual spot on the couch and did his best to relax.

Seth-
"So, what's goin' on? You look pretty serious."

Bryce-
"Just had a shitty day. Needed to be around someone who is not stupid and not a crazy fucker."

Seth-
"*laughed* Well, thanks for not thinking I'm stupid or a crazy fucker. I like to hear that. So what happened?"

Bryce-
"Nothing exceptional. Just... hella annoying. Hey, you got up at stupid o'clock, does that mean you're going to crash and burn soon? Not like you spent all day sipping Manhattans at the country club."

Seth-
"Yeah, I'm probably gonna feel that tomorrow. Maybe I'm still running on adrenaline. I'd like to take a bath... I'll be up for a little bit though." He put down food for the pets. "Hey, you wanna go lay down for a bit?"

Bryce-
"Yes. Yes I do."

They went to the bedroom, moving candles with them. Pets followed.

Bryce-
"Having the little dog here... Reminds me of 19th century art."

Seth-
"Oh yeah? I don't know much about that. I don't think I've talked about art so much as today, ever."

Bryce-
"I don't know much about it either, but like, engravings of dudes in knee pants... Always seemed like they had a small dog around."

Seth-
Flopped on the bed. "They're pretty good company."

Bryce-
Followed Seth to Pillostan. "Ugh, ugh, ugh. I'm glad to be in here. I didn't have a very good day either, though it feels petty compared to your crazy exploits."

Seth-
"Hey everything worked out for me. What's wrong?" He put his arm around Bryce.

Bryce-
Bryce snuggled up to Seth, and let out a deep sigh. "Fuckin' people are all on my tits... Stupid Jonah asking me stupid questions, then the worst... Doctor Dracula thought he could ABC after school special my ass into being a productive member of society or something. Holy shit."

Seth-
"What? Like, did you fall asleep in the middle of the community center with a sombrero on your head?"

Bryce-
"No, but that sounds like fun. Man... I don't know how everyone knows about what I was doing when the shit happened, but it's like they all think I'm gonna die or something. And it's not like they even really care. They just don't wanna be bummed out by it, or have some self-righteous trip about that kinda shit."

Seth-
"Yeah, maybe we need to get more pets... Give people something else to think about... Well, I'm sorry you had a hard time."

Bryce-
"Well, I wanted to say that to someone, but now I said it, and I guess I don't really wanna talk about it. So..." He hesitated, then continued. "I don't like to think about you going out risking your ass, especially after Sharma got back like that, but... you should tell me about it. I guess I just can't help but be curious about the world out there."

Seth-
"Oh yeah, you know it's crazy, but it's not like I go out there by myself, unarmed, like that poor old guy. We found those kids. Now I can't help but wish I could go to every building in the city. Think how many people are trapped. Kinda depressing. I guess we can only do what we can do, right?"

Bryce-
"I guess so."

Seth-
"They were drinking out of the toilets and I don't even know what they were eating. Pretty sad. Hey, but they're all alright now. Maybe you can make friends with some of them? They're around your age, I think."

Bryce-
"Don't ABC me, dude. I got enough friends."


Seth-
Seth hit him with a Neil DeGrasse-Tyson pose. "I was gonna ask what you thought about 'em but now I'm not sure I should."

Bryce-
"So far all I talked with is that Casey, and he is too desperate. I hope he chills out a bit, because he's super obnoxious. Well, I guess we probably have a difference of opinion there..."

Seth-
"Oh, yeah, they're just like little lost kittens or somethin'. I'm sure they'll take it easy eventually. Well, that wasn't really what you were asking about, was it?"

Bryce-
"The world. Some weird mummy dudes made a bunch of zombies and ghosts to try to kill everybody. How's that going for us?"

Seth-
"Well, we haven't lost anybody yet! Well, at least, not going out... Um... You know the zombies aren't really that big of a deal if you've got a posse and weapons. It's always something new though. That new ghost, or whatever it was... That was freaky shit. It's like, what do you do to forty-five metal stools that are comin' at ya? I feel optimistic though. We got those kids out and nobody got hurt."

Bryce-
"But still... You went out looking for ways to get north, and all you found was roads blocked with cars and dead people. You try to come home without incident and we find out there were two buildings right next door with trapped scared people who coulda died without your help, so now you gotta wonder about everything. What do ya make of all that? I mean... What are we gonna do?"

Seth-
"Well, we just go around, help as many people as we can, and see what we can find out. We haven't gone to those news studios yet. Maybe we can find out more about those mummies. And then we find them, and we kill them."

Bryce-
"Oh, that's all? Nevermind then. I think I'll open a lemonade stand on Westlake. Let the good times roll."

Seth-
Seth gave him a look. *siiigh* "You're so negative. I've been out there and I feel confident."

Bryce-
"Mm-hm. OK." He pushed his head into Seth's chest and curled up tighter.

Seth-
"We can do this. Everybody workin' together. Everything will be just fine."

Bryce-
"Mm-hm."

They snuggled and rested for a few minutes before Seth had to bug.

Seth-
"You alright?"

Bryce-
"As good as I can be given the circumstances. I oughtta have that tattooed on the back of my neck today."

Seth-
"Something I can do to help your circumstances...?"

Bryce
"Ohh? Uh... What's that?"

Seth-
"I dunno. Anything you wanted me to do to help out? "

Bryce pushed back a bit and looked him in the face.

Bryce-
"Mister president, whatever could you be suggesting?"

Seth-
Seth smiled and looked faux-nonchalant. "Oh well, y'know, I wanted to take a bath, and we really should be trying to conserve water... Maybe we could share?"

Bryce-
"Well, that does sound sensible. And pleasant. Let's do. "

They prepared the bath...

Somehow they cobbled together a warm bath, and got in quickly to take advantage of that warmth. They sat at opposite ends of the tub, legs tangling in the middle.

Bryce-
"Ahhh...."

The candle-lit bathroom was extremely dim, so that when the light flickered, it created a natural strobe.

Seth-
"Hey, this is nice. Don't need as much water to fill the thing up."

Bryce-
"We can measure our displacement and junk. Ya never know when you'll need that."

Seth used a bottle of shampoo from the edge of the tub. "Almost seems like we shouldn't have something as high-tech as shampoo, given how things are. Guess some day we'll run out."

Bryce-
"I guess so." He drummed his fingers on the surface of the water absently. "Hey."

Seth-
Looked at him, face lit strangely by the candles on the countertop.

Bryce-
"Uh... I'm embarrassed. Hard to tell in this light, I know."

Seth-
"Aw. Why embarrassed?"

Bryce-
"Well, because I screwed up so bad the other day. At the thing. We did. That I didn't do so well. That we did."

Seth-
"Oh... Aww... Don't even worry about it. You just need practice."

Bryce-
"No, I don't know... What if I practiced and didn't figure it out quickly and someone got all bored of me and disappointed because I was a crappy lay and then I had to get ditched or something?"

Seth-
"Aw jeez. Well, there's other things to do, you know? Maybe something that takes less manual dexterity, to start."

Bryce-
"How would you work your way up to that?"

Seth-
"Maybe you could observe, and learn by example?"

Bryce-
"Oh? I don't know if that would work, but it sounds fun."

Seth-
He took a moment to rinse his hair, by dropping water on his head. He splashed the water in front of him. "Hey come here."

Bryce-
"Um... OK." He awkwardly turned around in the tub and slid closer to Seth.

Seth put his arms around Bryce and pulled him close, up onto his lap, his wet hands on his torso. Bryce was obviously tense, but still soft to the touch. Seth tried to ease him to lay back against him. He did so.

Seth-
"So it's been like a week since you met me. What do you think?"

Bryce-
"I think... what if it was all a dream? Part of me knows there's no way I'm getting Patrick Duffied, but you came in at the same time as all these impossible things. It's like the OD killed the part of my brain that kept the world right, and eventually it could go back to normal, and you'd disappear with it."

Seth-
He rubbed Bryce's arms and shoulders. "Aw, that's kind of cute. That's a hell of a way to meet somebody, huh? Well, obviously I feel real sad for ya, but it's kind of cute too. It's like you're Snow White. I don't know what that makes me in that analogy, but cute nonetheless."

Bryce-
"Prince Charming, apparently... Well, that's obviously one more reason to doubt the reality of it all. Snow White's plot seemed like the wish-fulfillment of a crazy person. It's like Snow White was a real person and all the people that came and went in the plot were figments of her imagination."

Seth-
"Hm. So would you rather have things be normal? No zombies, no nothin'?"

Bryce-
"Just to have it not be like... everybody's dead... Yeah, of course. But it's tempting to feel special just for being here."

Seth-
"Well, I hope we can help you feel normal sometimes." He put his hand on Bryce's ribs.

Bryce-
"Mm... That feels normal enough, haha." Bryce relaxed a bit more.

Seth slowly moved his hand lower. Bryce let out a little moan of pleasure.

Seth-
"Now you don't have to take notes, but maybe just observe."

He ran his fingers over Bryce's belly on the way, and lightly felt up his euphemism.

***      

Bryce-
Bryce fell back on his duff and slid back to the other end of the tub. His head fell with a deep exhale. "OMFG yeah. Is this the oval office or what?"

Seth-
"It is kind of oval, isn't it? That's a good one." He washed his face with a couple splashes of water. "I liked that, you're really cute."

Bryce-
"Mm... And of course, you're the sexiest thing since sliced sexybread. Thanks." He lolled his head on his shoulders and ran his fingers through his hair.

Seth-
"Phew, let's get outta here before we freeze."

He hopped out of the water and stood outside the tub, drying off in the candlelight.

Bryce stared at Seth's junk like a creepy sexodaemon in the dark room.

Seth-
Seth seemed oblivious to the appraisal. "Hey want to spend the night? It's nice to have someone to hold. I really liked that the other night."

Bryce-
Bryce shook his head and started to get out. "Uh, hm. I dunno. How serious were you about tryin' to be semi-closeted here? Those dudes I room with aren't total idiots... But yeah, I'd like that too."

Seth-
"Mmm... I guess I'm caring about it less and less the more monsters I fight. Maybe just for a nap... Hey c'mere."

He helped Bryce out of the tub, and wrapped him up in the towel like a Bryce burrito. He hugged him playfully, and it became especially apparent how much taller he was than Bryce, about half a head taller. He could easily wrap his arms over the top of Bryce's shoulders without raising them much.

Bryce felt weird about it, but let himself be manhandled. Oh man, so emasculating... But comfy.

They finished getting ready for bed, the room was cold and they quickly dove for the blankets, shuddering. Benji barked and ran around on top of them. Bryce trapped the dog under the blankets.

Bryce-
"Hey. Hey! Knock it off, ya freakin' dog. Ya freakin' dog!"

The sun was finally out in all its unenthusiastic April dreariness. Various workers-outers were sweating to the oldies and jostling their businesses around, and Chantelle arrived to begin cooking breakfast. People drifted in and wandered about, waiting for their toast to finish toast-ifying.
It took a bit longer than normal, but Seth came slumping in after many others had already eaten, unshaven and a bit groggy seeming. He chatted with Marie for a few minutes, and then wrote on the white board: NO OUTSIDE MISSION TODAY.
Everyone set about their usual duties, including guarding. Ashley realized it was his turn, along with Patti, to guard the back door.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Seth appeared from the south hall and was hailed by three people at once. He made a friendly but dismissive gesture and mumbled to himself.

Seth-
"Damn. Where's Bryce?"

He turned and left.

Tyrone-
"Hey man. Why aren't you out dancin'?"

Kaito-
"All the ladies... Not my type?"

Tyrone-
"Maybe you ought t' get out more."

Kaito-
"Nn."

Kaito stopped fiddling with his music equipment and went with Tyrone to help set up the games.

Seth-
"OK, here goes..."

Seth knocked on the door. No response. He called Bryce's name. He waited a few moments.

A Bryce appeared.

Bryce-
"Uh... Hi."


Seth-
"Hey... You gonna wear that to the party?"

Bryce was wearing a tank top, his short shorts, and an open bathrobe.

Bryce-
"Aw, man. I don't know... Do I have to go?"


Seth-
"Aw, I'd really like it. Are you feeling OK?"


Bryce-
"I guess. Just... Not feeling sociable."


Seth-
"It'll be fun. It's just a casual little get-together. We haven't had one in a long time. Didn't you have fun last time?"


Bryce-
"Depends on your definition of fun."


Seth-
"Aw, c'mon, sourpuss. You can boogie up with me."


Bryce-
"I... I guess I should. *sigh* Give me a few minutes."

Seth waited inside the door.

Seth-
"Hey Jenny. I'd invite you to the party too, but it might be a little too noisy for you." **pet, pet, pet**


Bryce-
"Alright. This is as good as it gets. Let's do this junk."

Now he was wearing a turquoise velour long-sleeved, collared shirt, with thin goldenrod horizontal stripes. And his short shorts.

Seth-
"Alright! Slutty's good."


Bryce-
"How is this...? Nevermind. Let's go."


Seth-
"Hey what happens if you get, you know, excited when you're wearing those? Gotta go face the wall?"


Bryce-
"..."

Seth-
(whispers to Bryce) "Hey, you look really good."


Bryce-
"Thanks... I... still feel kind of freaky. Uh, maybe we should get something to drink."


Seth-
"It's the reason for the season or whatever. Let's! What's your flavor?"


Bryce-
"Something hard."


Seth-
"Hey you just had that last night huh? HEY O!"


Bryce-
"That I did. That I did..."

They go to booze it up.

In the kitchen stood Ben, Sarah and Stevie.

Stevie-
"Hey! It's beloved leader."


Seth-
"Hey guys! Gettin' loose yet?


Sarah-
"Like a goose. Oh! We should have some of that."


Seth-
"Oooh I like how you think. I haven't got a seagull yet but those guys are nice and fat. We need more meat. Cute hair by the way."


Sarah-
"I was talking about vodka, but that too."


Stevie-
"We got hard rockin' people, this is the enclave to beat!"


Seth-
"Yeah, I wonder what those 2200 Westlake people are like... Doesn't look like much of a party though. You got it Stevie."

Stevie raised a glass.

Stevie-
"All thanks to the president! What did Kenny call you?"


Bryce-
"...White Obama.... Ugh."


Seth-
"Haha, well I wouldn't be far if it wasn't for everyone else's work! Sarah here, you're a total maniac! On every committee, doing every job... You're our miss Congeniality, bare minimum."


Sarah-
"Aww.. Thanks. I'm glad to be of service. Don't forget the boy wonder."

People said nice things at Ben.

Seth-
"Well I'm excited for this week, we have some good things lined up. I can't wait to get to the next news studio, I just know we'll find something there. Are any of you looking forward to anything?"


Sarah-
"Looking forward to this taking effect."

She tossed back a drink.

Stevie-
"Yeah! Going up in that Amazon space, cleanin' it all out. Man, if we could take over those towers... We could look down on the whooole neighborhood."


Seth-
"Ooh imagine if we could get to the needle! Well, that would really only be for fun, might as well go to the Columbia tower if we were that ambitious."

Bryce looked like he was zoning out.

Stevie-
"When you're right, you're right! Heyy look at this stuff!"

He waved a bottle of tequila.

"I can't believe no one's got into this yet."


Seth-
"There's a first time for everything, hit me. Ooh we got any more of those Mexican sodas?"


Stevie-
"Jarritos! Nah, but we got Jones soda. Green death flavor."


Seth-
"Oh well, if it's got food coloring and sugar, lay it on me."

Stevie did his Tom Cruise from cocktail bit.



                Ben liked having nice things said at him. And he was very interested in hearing more about Seth's quest for knowledge, as he too was looking forward to finding a solution to this big problem the city was having. So Sarah's idea of 'hiding in the kitchen' had turned out quite well, though he wasn't planning on joining her in heavy drinking.

                "Do we have any cranberry cider or something like that?"

Stevie-
"Oh we got some cranberry juice anyway, maybe mix it into that Martinelli's if you're the designated zombie killer tonight!"


Seth-
"Hey Ben, you think you're gonna come along to the news studio? We were also thinkin' of going to that 'Bunge foods' building down the street. Don't know what kind of 'foods' but sounds promising."

Bryce and Seth wandered from the kitchen after hearing the rock music.

Seth-
"Hey Bryce, is this something that you like?"


Bryce-
"Oh yeah, Sabbath. It's Grandpa music, but in a good way."


Seth-
"How do you dance to this kind of thing--"


Casey-
"Oh hi guys! How's it going?"


Bryce-
"...Oh hi."


Seth-
"Hey Casey, having fun?"


Casey-
"Oh yeah, it's great. Everything's been pretty cool tonight."


Seth-
"The art looks really good. Which one did you do?"


Casey-
"I did the pale imitation of Georgia O'Keefe. Although, she didn't do much in large scale, so I'm bringing something new to that idea."


Seth-
"Wow that's so cool, you artists... It's amazing. Not like you got a lot of flowers around here to paint. Really great."


Bryce-
"Oh yeah, it's almost as awesome as that humpback whale stuff. That's pure '70s gold."


Casey-
"Nah, the pure '70s gold was used in the black painting. Ha-ha! ... Hey so uh, what are you guys up to?"


Seth-
"Hmm.. Not much really."


Bryce-
"We're busting def moves in this cut."


Casey-
"Oh? Well maybe... Maybe we can hang out and chat for a bit, it's a party after all."


Seth-
"Sure, that sounds fun."

Casey walked Bryce and Seth towards the couches, and they sat a little distance away from the girl couch. Bryce fidgeted furiously, seemingly unnoticed. Casey petted a tiny kitten that curled up on his lap.

Casey-
"Hey, alright. What do you think? Everybody's enjoying themselves. So Seth, what do *you* think of our work in here?"


Seth-
"Oh well I'm no art major, but it obviously looks a lot better in here. I hope it will help us keep having more parties! It's been too long."


Casey-
"Yeah, I mean... The stuff that went on at that party! I don't think any of us are gonna forget it."


Seth-
"Yeah, remember when Columbo said that joke? Phew... Good times man."


Bryce-
"Oh man, Rashomon burns me again."


Seth-
"Huh?"


Bryce-
"Nevermind."


Seth-
"So Casey, you think you'll ever venture out of the fort here?"


Casey-
"Oh... I guess it's getting safer out there, but it's still kinda scary. I just... Well you're all doing a great job, and we're all really grateful."


Seth-
"Aw, that's sweet. Well, don't be too worried. Like you said, it's getting so you can practically take a stroll out there."


Casey-
"Yeah...! Wow, so now that we have tattoo equipment for Jackson, do you guys think you'll get any ink done?"


Seth-
"Oh for sure! I'm really excited."


Bryce-
"Uh, and I'm totally excited to see what Seth gets done."


Seth-
"I have this idea, right...? What if we could figure out *magic* tattoos? Like, ones that keep ghosts or zombies away!"


Bryce-
"...Who's gonna teach you magic, the mummies?"


Casey-
"Wow that's cool that you think that could work. I guess art really is transformative."


Seth-
"Yeah! Like... maybe if we just throw a bunch of symbols on there, one of 'em will work! I'll do a little research first, but even if it doesn't work, it should look cool I think."


Bryce-
"I seem to remember a movie with something like that in it... Yeah... Guy had crosses all over the place. It was that dude from Event Horizon."


Seth-
"Huh, dunno. Anyway, Casey, are you gonna get anything else? Probably don't have much room huh?"


Casey-
"Oh actually I've got a lot of room! Not like Jackson. Of course I'm really too shy to do facial tattoos, but I might go up the neck more."


Seth-
"Oh yeah, don't do the face! That's for prisoners and like... people without nice faces like you."


Casey-
"You think my face is nice?"


Seth-
"Ha you don't know that already?"


Casey-
"Nah, it's just nice to hear. Hehehe..."


Bryce-
"Yeeeeah... So Casey, what would you get tattooed on your neck?"


Casey-
"I dunno, I was thinking about some kind of flowers... maybe a bee... I dunno yet. Tossin' it around."


Bryce-
"Sounds like you've definitely decided you want to do that. You got plans for every part of your body there?"


Casey-
"Oh... Don't be silly."


Bryce-
"What if it turns out there's like, nothing we can do to be truly safe from ghosts, and like the only thing you can do is get tattoos on... our wangs. Are you gonna get a wang tattoo?"


Seth-
"Haha! Oh Bryce..."


Bryce-
"Yeah... Seriously though. Would you get your wang tattooed?"


Casey-
"Of course.."


Bryce-
"Oh, okay. Well, would you do it for... aesthetic-sake?"


Casey-
"No...! I mean, unless someone had a really good idea."


Seth-
"I think it'd have to be a really good idea for that... Hey Bryce, what about you then?"


Bryce-
"What? Oh... I'll get tattoos, yeah sure. But only tastefully done. Y"know... vetted by a commission of the most fashionable people available."


Seth-
"Wow really? You're old enough to get tattoos already, aren't you? You don't have any..."


Bryce-
"One, don't treat me like a kid. Two, I didn't have very fashionable people available."


Seth-
"You gotta take a chance for personal expression, right Casey? Even if you end up with a regrettable Pacman ghost."


Casey-
"It's not regrettable! Okay, everybody *could* have regrets about any given thing in life, so I guess anything is regrettable, but I think it looks nice."


Seth-
"Aww thanks. I still think I should mod it with like... some kind of ghost hate speech."


Casey-
"Hahaha, right on. Hey Bryce, you seem like you'd be good at coming up with some hate speech. What do you think?"


Seth-
"Hahaha, he is!"


Bryce-
"Verrrry droll. Veeeerrrry droll."

The party was dim, the most powerful light sources frittered away to nil. Braziers amplified with mirrors at least allowed people to navigate the floor with their feet, while colorful party lights maintained the festive air. Still, it was becoming more sedate, and people were disappearing.

Chantelle had ceded the stage to Kaito, who played something like the soundtrack to Dead Man on his electric guitar.

Seth was studying his bottle of Jagermeister. It remained resolutely empty. Strange ghosts hung about him like icicles. Icicles of ardor. But hotter than an icicle, because that's cold. Maybe more like a stalactite. Or two.

Casey-
"Oh man, Seth, you really went crazy tonight. That thing you did an hour ago, damn. People aren't gonna let you forget that."


Bryce-
"I already forgot it. Give the man a break, Joan Rivers."


Seth-
"Man, yeah, it's always drama with you teenagers. It's just, gotta take it easy man."


Casey-
"Man, I'm sorry."


Seth-
"Hey, hey heyheyheyhey hey..." He held his hands up to try to help communicate. "What's everyone gonna do for porn now?"


Casey-
"HahaHA! See? You're so wacky!"


Bryce-
"That's a legitimate question, Sunshine. Why can't you take shit seriously?


Seth-
"See just started thinking, so much of it was all on the internet. Does that mean we have to go back to, like, hard copy? Were they even doing that shit anymore? And does that mean, like, like, in order to get new stuff we'll have to, like, use a printing press? That's... crazy..."


Bryce-
"Answer the man, genius!"


Casey-
"I, I don't know! Um... Seriously?"


Bryce-
"He's lost his mind... The man has no brain..."


Casey-
"Hey, you don't have to be a jerk all night."


Seth-
"Printing, you know, it doesn't have to be a bad thing. It could be like a Renaissance, for the industry. It'd be, like, making it more personal... Could lead to some clever innovation. What would you guys like to see?"


Bryce-
"Anything you'd keep under your mattress, huh huh."


Casey-
"Um, I prefer stuff to be really respectful. Tasteful, like erotica - not porn."


Seth-
"Oh, yeah, yeah, of course. Respectful. You know honestly, I've found the raunchiness of the end product doesn't necessarily relate to treatment of the actors. It's just part of the act, you know? Think like when you're in a scene where people are calling you names or pulling your hair, it's not real. Those guys are perfectly swell, sometimes..."


Stevie-
"Hey-O! GentleMEN. Greetings from the fish bowl. We drink the drinks here. Snake the rake, I want to see you drain a lake!"


Casey-
"OK, I'm... Too tired, I'll see you guys around."


Bryce-
"Don't let the door..."


Stevie-
"That kid's A-OK. Probably has a pierced dong, but that's the future, man."


Seth-
"Oh wow, ya think? Huh! That could be pretty hot..."


Bryce-
"Oh hellz naw!"


Stevie-
"Yeah... So... Howzitgoin'?"
Pigeon-
"Blooo! Blooo!"


Bryce-
"Man, what a night. I hate parties."

                                                                   
Stevie-
"You clearly did not drink enough. What's your poison, kid? I'll getcha some next time we go out."


Bryce-
"Thanks, Stevie. Uh... Whiskey."

                                   
Stevie-
"You got it, man! I think Tyrone Lashonda and me killed the last bottle pretty quick, but I'll set some aside."


Bryce-
"That's very generous of you."


Stevie-
"No prob- Uh... Are you looking for something?
Volya-
"No man. Just admiring your hairs."


Seth-
"Oh yeah yeah, so Stevie. Porn. What's its future? I was thinkin' like... what. Dirty comics? We can get printers running, we gotta do like Gutenberg or somethin'?!"

Stevie-
"Tijuana bibles... That's what they're called. Like comic where you get to see Blondie's cans, or Popeye bonin' a mermaid."


Bryce-
"Why, the possibilities are limitless!"


Volya-
"Sounds boring. In future, no one uses porn because everyone gets to fucks like all the times. Is Utopia."


Seth-
"Wow, how future is your future? But for real, what if like... there was no one hot around? And fetishes! What about people who got used to not being able to get off without dressing up like a character from Goof Troop?"


Bryce-
"It's like a portal into my nightmares!"


Volya-
"I don't believes fetishes are real. Everyone knows everyone just gets woman, suck on her toes for fifteen minutes, and shoots on her feet. It's how fuckings is all about since the Dawn of Times."


Stevie-
"... OK."


Seth-
"Oh yeah for sure. Whoa, all those ladies wearing flip-flops... HEY O!"


Bryce-
"I'd fux with it. Any fetishes in your closet Sir Stevie?"


Stevie-
"Ladies in combat boots."

                                                           
Volya-
"That's just sick, man! Ooh, it's the cat."

Volya chased the pigeon away.

Night had been held at bay by the festive spirits in the Comm Center for as long as possible, but now it swarmed around the remaining people's feet like an endless snake. Seth, Stevie, Marie, Bryce, and Basil relaxed on the couches.

Stevie-
"Another mild bacchanal. Dionysus sighs."


Marie-
"No, no, don't say that, Stevie... Lots of people are getting laid tonight."


Basil-
"Oh yes... It was a veritable orgy, I'd say."


Marie-
"Now that's just creepy, Bazz."


Basil-
"Haven't you heard? Apparently, I'm a 'creeper'."


Stevie-
"That's what the little ladies at the studio were callin' 'em these days. Used to be 'pervs', now they're 'creepers'."


Bryce-
"...In the parlance of our times..."


Seth-
"I dunno, I'd almost wish something exciting would happen, but maybe non-exciting is good, huh?"

***

Of the zombie genocide crew, only Seth, Lashonda, Stevie, and Ivan remained in the community center, and it looked a like Seth and Stevie were getting organized for a little excursion.

Nora-
"Car tunnel... that's quite brilliant, as usual. Those buildings all have the wide multi-door entrance, but we can block off the outer parts and open the middle. Come on out, creeps!"

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

These guys were up to no good.

Stevie-
"Well, everyone took off like a herd of turtles this mornin'. What the hey,
we're gonna have the B Team..."

Seth-
"My Dad always said "turd of hurdles" which he thought was real funny.
Wait, we aren't the A Team? I thought you were Mr. T..."

Stevie-
"That's true, but... Ah, just who we need. Anna! Hey!"


Anna-
"Um... Yeah, what?"

Stevie-
"We need helldivers, baby. Whaddya got?"

Anna-
"Who do you have so far?"

Stevie-
"Just me and El Jefe."

Anna-
"Yeah, think that's BA enough. I'll sit it out.
All of Ben's people split?"

Seth-
"Yeah those guys are on a tear."

Stevie-
"Who do ya got?"

Anna-
"I bet Davin and Sandy are still around, and Kenny's a twerp,
but he's good. Should fit right in with you knuckleheads."

Stevie-
"Thanks for the help!"

Seth-
"It's true, 100% knuckle up here, the surgery to get those fingers
removed was brutal."

Anna-
"Gross. I'll find Davin and Sandy."

Guys-
"Heyyyyy"


Kenny-
"Whoa, it's the president! Who do you want me to deep six?
Say the word and it's lights out."


Seth-
"Oh cool, I've always wanted to be a corrupt official! Well, not this time my good man.
We just wanna head over to that 'Bunge' place 'cause it has the word "food" on it.
Seemed like a good idea. Might have food in it. Or something."

Kenny-
"I bet by now that food is ill as fuck. Yum. Hey, let's put vap-o-rub under our noses
and wear bandanas, y'know?"

Stevie-
"Right on. OK... Now we just need..."


Davin-
"Reporting for duty, chief."


Seth-
"Right on! Now it's more like.. the A PLUS Team, amirite? Anyone?"

Seth wore his usual gray beanie, a black raincoat that was just a bit short at
the sleeves but otherwise well-fitting, underneath he wore an oversized black sweater
with a large red pentagram that no one had claimed. He wore black jeans cut off
messily mid-calf, with tall striped socks beneath and his gradually more
disgustingly blood-stained Adidas. He didn't bother covering his face but had
a tub of Vapo-rub in his pocket should he need it. He carried his strange
home-brewed golf club spear, and had an unlit torch tucked in his belt.




Stevie had his katanas and a tunic made out of a rain slicker, worn over sweats.
Not gonna let another suit get ruined! Also had a road flare for ghosts.




Kenny wore a black t-shirt and jeans and a green Whole Foods apron that he
always used for this work (cleaning thoroughly after every use.) He had his
heavy mace and a road flare.




Sandy brought her mace and road flare, plus a few vandal tools in case of emergency.
She wore a camouflage jacket over an apron, black jeans, and combat boots.
Helldiver styles. Her bandanna was anarchist black.




Davin favored his trusty axe, and like Seth was wearing a slicker for gore.
Underneath he had a t-shirt and workout pants a shade classier than gathered
ankle sweats, thank you. Like the others, one ghost flare.

Posse to the Bunge Building, so big we walk in twos. We're getting dirty looks from
those other sucker crews.


Terry Avenue was wide open. The scorch marks from on-spot cremations were diluted by
rain into a general blotchiness upon the street.


The BA crew walked calmly across the street, quietly joking and looking around for trouble.
Disappointed crows eyed them furiously, wishing they were zombies. A short walk down
the road, and they were at the building. Three loading docks faced them, two with rolldowns
and one with double doors. The doors would likely be the easiest to jimmy.

Then Sandy noticed someone had already done the work for them. The door was loose
on its hinges.

Sandy-
"I guess if someone's in here they're cool with random people
strolling in."


Seth-
"Let's be careful, never know what these other people could be like...
I'll go in first."

Seth propped the doors open with loud creaking. The BAs lined up behind him.
He leapt up onto the dock and looked around quickly for ghosts and such.

The area was some kind of loading dock, adjacent to a warehouse. In the near
distance, palettes of something that should probably remain plastic wrapped
sagged in an unseemly way.

Kenny shined a small flashlight to and fro through the dock, and the area seemed
still and quiet. Seth led the way, looking this way and that and listening carefully
for monsters or other people. There was a slight creaking from the floor above.
Seth nodded to the group, and they followed the sound.

Davin-
"There is definitely someone or something up there."

They had to pass useless freight elevators and found there were two stairwells.
One was small and rusty metal. The other was broader, made of concrete.

Seth-
"I don't think monsters jimmy open doors, so I'm betting on people.
I think we should make ourselves known, never a good idea to sneak up
on someone who is possibly armed."

He moved to the bottom of the stairwell, and called out.

"Hello? Is there someone up there?"

The more paranoid among them winced at the loud sound of his call. Upstairs
shifting floorboards could be heard. Davin readied his axe.

A reply sounded from upstairs.

Unseen speaker-
"Hello? We're here. Who are you?"

Seth-
"We're a few people who live nearby at the 403 Building. We came to look for food.
Who are you?"

Unseen-
"Oh! We're a few people from El Corazon down by the offramp. Looking for whatever.
Should you come up or we come down? ... You should come up. That would be great."

Davin (quietly)-
"Holy crap. What a bunch of jokers."

Seth-
"Okay...! I'll come up first..."

Seth shrugged to Davin with a chuckle, and started up the stairs, keeping his
spear tip low.

The others followed a few paces behind Seth. Tall windows had the place lit well,
but moodily, like a set from "Fame" or "Flashdance." Big barrels and palettes of
stuff were piled around a fairly open central area. Three people stood there,
backlit by the window. The strongest looking man and the skinny woman carried
hockey sticks, and the scrawny man carried an axe like Davin's. They seemed
friendly enough.

Guy in Middle-
"Hi, I'm Brian! How is everybody? This is Kat and Kyle. I'm glad I'm not named
Kevin because then we'd be the KKK, and that's just in bad taste."

Seth moved to the side to allow his comrades in, leaning his spear on the floor and
taking in the strange young kids in front of him. Brian, the stronger guy, seemed to
fit in with the whole 'Flashdance' theme, he was even wearing leg warmers over
his jeans. The skinny pale haired kid, apparently 'Kyle', wore a slightly bloodstained
army jacket.

Seth-
"Well how about that. We're doing alright, nice to meet you kids. So this is Stevie,
Davin, Sandy and Kenny."


Stevie-
"Hey, and this handsome fella is our duly elected Presidente, Snake C- uh,
sorry, Seth Clemans!"

Brian took a step closer and cocked his head, his expression unreadable with the backlighting,
then folded his arms and bounced on his toes like a goofy kid.

Brian-
"Handsome? I'll say!"

Pretty much everybody but Davin was pleased to meet these people and looking genial,
so Davin did his best to check his reservations and grin tightly.

Kat-
"Technically, I'm the leader of this group, but my people got voted out back at
the bar. Now our 'presidente' is Jordan Tran... Boring! Hey, you guys are hot!
How's life treating you?"


Seth-
"We're doing as well as one can expect in the post-apoc and all.
How about you? What's El Corazon?"


Kyle-
"Guh... don't even wanna talk about it man... It's a shitty little
all-ages club by the on-ramp."

The pale-haired kid spoke in an amusingly flat, gravelly voice.

Sandy (whispered)-
"They think we're hot, Dav. That can't be bad."

Stevie-
"Hey, maybe your place sucks, but you guys are alright!
You seen the whole place yet, or is this as far as you've gotten?"


Kat-
"This is as far as we've come. But man, I don't know. Looks like everything here
is rough grains we'd have to boil the shit out of to use, and our kitchen isn't up to it."


Kenny-
"We have a cool kitchen."


Brian-
"Maybe you guys can hold onto this stuff and have us over to eat
sometimes? That would be pretty cool. "


Seth-
"Oh hell, you could come over today if you wanted. We're just around the block.
If you wouldn't mind helping us with these crates, we could make you some
dinner. We just had a party last night, but there's no reason not to have another one!"

Brian-
"Oh. My. God. That would be AWESOME."


Stevie-
"HaHA! We got some new friends!"


Kat-
"Hold up now! We can't disappear for too long. Don't want people to worry
about us at home. We'll just help you get a load over and hang out for a little while.
What do you think?"


Seth-
"Of course! Sounds good to me. I'd love to know more about what's going on
at that end of town. Well, let's not shoot the shit here when we could do it
somewhere much less.. uh.. Flashdance-y."

A little while later, the back door crew radioed the roof and much ruckus broke out.
Celebration! Bunge was a jackpot of grainy goods, plus some nice young people to meet!

After people moved the supplies as needed, they settled into the Comm Center to
hang out. The people who went to the AGC building would be getting back soon. 

Seth, Stevie, Marie, Kenny, and Susie were the central people in the crowd around
Brian, Kat, and Kyle. Drinks were had.

Brian-
"Oh my god! It's like we've been in a creepy hobo camp for a decade and
suddenly we get ten minutes in the penthouse suite!"


Marie-
"It's not that awesome. But thanks."


Kyle-
"He was talking about relative awesomeness, and you can't make that call
because you haven't experienced our level of suck."


Marie-
"Good point. You're smart."


Kyle-
"Uh, thanks."


Seth-
"Is it really bad there? Gosh... I feel bad asking you to help us.
Is there something we can do to help?"


Kat-
"Aw, you guys are saints! Big sexy saints."


Stevie-
"I love the way you guys think!"


Kat-
"We can make do, I just... don't mean to make it sound all *that* bad. But...
you can come see for yourself sometime, I'm sure you'd be welcome.
Jordan is very friendly."


Seth-
"Do you have enough to eat at least? We should make you up some care packages... 
Hell, I'll help deliver them. Good to see that end of town anyway."


Brian-
"Oh my god. You'd come to El Corazon with us? Mm.. I don't know, should we do
that today? That'd be like, really intense. I know, I'm probably going to flip out tonight.
Maybe I'm flipping out already."


Kyle-
"Brian flips out too easily."


Seth-
"Haha, oh you kids are cute. Well, we'll see how things go. I certainly don't want to impose.
So, what's life like on that end of town?"


Kat-
"Oh you know, it's a lot of zombies. A LOT of cars. The cars are good 'cause it means
we can get around on foot easier than clumsy dead guys. And... we got into some
buildings nearby, get whatever we need. It's not that bad."


Kyle-
"Well that's a matter of opinion. I mean, we're in the shadow of Capitol Hill.
That place is straight fucked."


Seth-
"Oh no... Well, I guess maybe we had a clue about that. We got some people from
that art school, Cornish? It was a nightmare... Up the hill's even worse then?"


Brian-
"Oh my God!! Cornish is a nightmare? That's horrible!"


Seth-
"Well luckily we got everyone out of there in one piece, but yeah... stuff I never
even seen before. Didn't even make sense."


Brian-
"The big building, at Lenora? There's not a lot of people I know that would be there.
Still, it's horrible. Who did you save?"


Seth-
"Oh did you go there too? We got a few kids, I think they were all art students."


Stevie-
"Yeah one of the guys that helped us move the stuff upstairs. Yo Ibi!"
(he hollered into the crowd)


Ibi- (from a distance)
"What was your major?"

Brian kicked up a fabulous leg into the air for everyone to see.

Brian-
"Dance!"

People laughed and held their bellies like the cast of Scooby Doo after
some wacky hijinks.

Seth-
"Kat and Kyle, you students too?"

Kat looked sheepish.

Kat-
"High school... But I'm 18, okay?"


Stevie-
"..."


Kyle-
"Yeah... We're high school kids, but we're pretty tough.
I musta killed like... 80 zombies by now."


Seth-
"Yeah that's good! Well, I had no idea, you're all so mature.
Is it mostly kids back home?"


Kat-
"We started with kids, and some of the people hiding nearby still call us
'the El Corazon kids', but a lot of refugees came in and now the leader is
a grown man. Just like everyone wanted. *rolls eyes*"


Seth-
"I'm sure that didn't feel good. That's too bad. Well, you like him though?"


Kyle-
"Oh... he's a champ."


Brian-
"He's great a real... people person!"


Seth-
"That's good, I hope I'll get to meet him. Well you kids feel free to
wander around the place, we've got a lot of nice people. If you don't
like people, there's pigeons on the roof and chickens on the second floor."

They laughed good-naturedly, Brian perhaps a little too hard.

Kyle-
"Ya know, Mr. President, I didn't wanna ask, but by now i'm too curious.
The pentagram on your shirt...."


Seth-
"Oh yeah! I forgot I was wearing this. I thought it was cool, but no one else
wanted to wear it. Dunno why, we got demons walking the streets but
a pentagram is too evil? I don't get it."


Kyle-
"Oh, alright. That's cool. Pentagram is a real thing, y'know. It's got spiritual
significance to some people. So in a way, it's a little like, wearing a cross when
you're not a Christian. But, at least you're not a total goofball about it.
Like, all those assholes wearin' Misfits t-shirts that never heard of the band."


Seth-
"Ohh is it something from your religion? I didn't know, I thought it was just
a heavy metal thing. What religion is it?"


Kyle-
"It's nice of you to ask. I'm a Satanist."

As Seth and Kyle talked, Bryce slipped into the seat that Brian had vacated.

Seth-
"Oh wow, really? I didn't know people were really Satanists.
What's it like?"


Bryce-
"..."


Kyle-
"Oh yeah, y'know, it was the only philosophy that made sense for me,
based on my studies of the different faiths in our culture. I took a
comparative religion class at the community college last summer."


Seth-
"Wow, that's really interesting. I don't think I ever did anything like that
on my summer breaks. So what's so cool about Satanism?"


Bryce-
"Yeah... what's a kid your age doing in the community college?"


Kyle-
"Trying to get extra credit so I can get the fuck out of high school. But Satanism, see...
it's all about freeing yourself from the oppression of this Judeo-Christian culture.
It's like, one could say one was an Atheist, but then you're still playing within the rules
they've made for you. I say, it's not a strong enough stance to take against the lies that
have held us down for so long."


Seth-
"That's interesting! So what do you *do* as Satanist? I always heard that stuff about
sacrificing cats or whatever, but that's just ridiculous, isn't it?"


Kyle-
"Yeah, sometimes there'd be a ritual that'd involve some kind of sacrifice
but as a lay-follower of the church, I don't find much need for that sort of
ceremony. It's just the teachings of LaVey and others help inspire me and
inform my ethics."


Seth-
"Cool, Bryce here listens to heavy metal but he's not a Satanist. There's lots
of songs about devils though, that's pretty cool."


Bryce-
"Yeah, y'know, umm... I feel slightly out of my depth in this conversation
somehow. But uh, pleased to meetcha?"

Marie-
"OK, I've got to know. Kyle, mind you, I'm not much of a Christian and don't
mean to denigrate your beliefs, but I have to know what you think of... The demons.
I mean, people are getting possessed by demons. Doesn't that make you think maybe,
Satan is a bad idea?"


Kyle-
"Magic is real, the supernatural is real, I know that. But I also know this, there's no such
thing as an immortal soul. Those demons are full of shit. Basically they're just another
kind of monster out there, they got nothin' to do with me or what I believe."


Seth-
"They really just possessed people's bodies, you'd think they'd be running around with
goat horns or whatever if they were from hell. Maybe they're just a really creepy kind
of zombie. Now what do you think about the ghosts, Kyle? I sure hope I'm not
destroying people's souls when I light them on fire, but what are they?"


Kyle-
"I don't know. But, I think when you've got a monitor that gets burned out and
there's still an image on it, they call that a ghost too. "


Seth-
"Like how a zombie isn't a person anymore, even though they look like it?"


Kyle-
"Kinda like that."


Marie-
"So all of this isn't enough to put you in doubt that there might be an afterlife,
and that you might have hell to fear?"


Kyle-
"Of course not. Eternal life is just a lie invented by priests to convince people
to put up with shit while they're alive, and that ain't me, man."


Seth-
"It's kinda weird we got all these bad creatures around, but nothing's good.
There's no like, helpful, cute monsters. I feel ripped off. Where are the fairies
and angels and shit?"


Kyle-
"Yeah, it's obvious to me that if god's real, and this is his shit parade.
He isn't gonna throw anyone a bone, no second coming, no angels...
that's an immoral god, and even if hell is real, the moral thing to do is defy him
and go there."


Seth-
"Damn, that's intense."


Bryce-
"Wow. Your parents suck, don't they?"


Kyle-
"Eh. Could be worse."

Everyone saw Alex's fancy moves.

Kyle-
"Whoa. Life is just too damn exciting sometimes."


Bryce-
"My brother from another mother."


Seth-
"Wow, Bryce never likes anyone! You should be proud of yourself Kyle."


Kyle-
"I'm ecstatic. This is my ecstacy face."


Bryce-
"It's like looking in a mirror."


Marie-
"Kyle, Bryce, whichever one of you just came here today,
I can't tell anymore... It's been a pleasure. "


Kyle-
"Thanks, ma'am."

Brian sat down again near Seth, on an ottoman to avoid displacing anyone.

Brian-
"SO! Hello again, President Snake!" He smiled broadly.


Seth-
"...Oh heh, Stevie did call me that, didn't he? Seth's fine, thanks."


Brian-
"Oh, jeez, I'm sorry. Really. Hey, I just wanted to tell you again how amazing
your place is. You must be an amazing leader."


Seth-
"Oh well that's sweet, thank you. Everyone does really hard work,
I'm just the one who gets the credit, haha."
Bryce-
"You're chipper. Seems like we meet a lot of upbeat people at the
end of the world. Weird that."


Brian-
"Well, I'm just impressed to see how well gays are doing for
ourselves. Gay pride!"


Kyle-
"I couldn't tell. That's cool."


Seth-
"Jesus, do you just have gaydar like whoa? How does everyone intuit this
so quickly? I don't have a secret rainbow pin on me, do I? Was it because
I referenced Flashdance?"


Bryce-
"What the fuck, yo?"


Brian-
"Yikes! You guys aren't, like, secret, or..? No, obviously not. I'm really sorry,
I don't want to make a bad impression because I really do respect your
work a lot ...Seth, and I just-"


Kyle-
"Don't blow a gasket, man."


Kat-
"I'm sure he understands, Brian. "


Seth-
"Eh, yeah, it's okay... I'm not like, really closeted but y'know,
there's some conservative types around and I'm the leader so...
Well, it's okay. New subject anyone?"

Kat was distracted by another conversation for a moment, but held up a finger
indicating she was about to say something to Seth...

Kat-
"We really oughtta get going, guys. It's been awesome, and let me just say,
come to El Corazon sometime real soon, OK?"

Brian groaned in defeat and Kyle looked at the two in his inscrutable way.

Seth-
"Oh for sure! It was great, I hope you enjoyed yourselves. Chantelle's packing you
some good snacks, and feel free to help yourselves to some wine, we have plenty.
I know you're all under 21 but it's a brave new world. "


Kat-
"I love it! Except for the bad stuff. But never mind that. This is great!"
Brian-
"You guys rule!"
Kyle-
"Hail Satan, man."

Seth and Stevie walked with the youths on their way to the stairs, waving genially at Patti
and Ashley as they went. The departing folks left a bit of social disarray in their wake,
with the place looking like a party that had just been called off right as it began.

[◊◊BLOODBEASTER◊◊]

Seth was in a position to make the formal greeting and toast, or whatever.
This is what he said...

Seth-
"So glad to see everyone here! What good luck, we have this wonderful food here
to share with our new friends. To all the new folks, I really hope you'll enjoy it here,
and we can all work together to make this a safe place for everyone, and to destroy
the mummies. Thank you."

The newbies were totally on his page until the last bit, whereupon they cast about with
confused expressions.

Emmett-
"Um, pardon me sir, but I'm not sure I understood the last bit?"


Seth-
"Oh yeah, we'll have to fill you in on all that stuff. Basically,
those are the bad guys. Well, the extra bad guys."


Bryce-
"Uh, don't think this bunch is the Dynasty Warriors you were looking for."


Seth-
"Oh, no way, every person is important. All of us can do our part
to defeat evil."


Davin-
"You'll have to excuse the president. He seems to have confused the unspeakable monsters
that have decided to exterminate us with the last boss in Final Fantasy."


Emmett-
"Uh, yeah... We won't be expected to fight, will we?"


Seth-
"Oh gosh no! Plus, we aren't going to find the mummies in a day or anything.
But, I do have a trip to the news studio planned, if anyone wants to join me tomorrow..."


Ashley-
"...I am ready to go after the mummies, but how will we be rid of them if they
easily defeated the military, and instantly killed many, many people, Seth?
I agree it must be done, but how, Sir?" He stands strait. Very straight, and his
attention is suddenly rather intense. He pulls his other hand out of his pocket
and places it at his side.

Seth-
"Well, they did all that, but they didn't do it personally, I think. Didja see the video?
He was just a kid, maybe 15 or something. I don't think they're expecting anyone to go
right for them. They send out these monsters, but I bet you they don't even imagine
someone's gonna track them down."

"Perhaps we should start on smaller monsters, and demons and see if we can be rid of them somehow."

Seth-
"Oh certainly, I don't think we're gonna find those guys in a day anyway. I am curious
where those demons go in the daytime, no one's ever seen them except at night, right?
Maybe it's like vampires."


Bebe-
"Ah, it has been a while since you've seen the manual. The Westlake Mall refugees saw one
in the day time who seemed on inspection to be both dead and possessed, but didn't use her
powers until after dark. The one you fellows encountered here did not seem to be possessed,
nor dead, until after dark, so... Confusing. Still wish I'd had a chance to see a specimen,
firsthand. *sigh*"


Marie-
"You, good doctor, are crazy."

"I will join you tomorrow, Sir."

Seth-
"Great! I just hope it goes better than the last news studio. They all got the tape,
we gotta find something sometime."

Ashley looks very serious, and then he kneels.

"Seth, Sir, I will go whereever you want me to go, and I will help you attack these creatures.
I do not care if they are huge monsters, or if they are mummies. We may not save the world
with just this city, but we will create a start, and perhaps some hope. I think they are biding
their time, and hoping we wait in fear. I will not be cowed so easily."

Seth-
"Aw, now that's the spirit. Why can't everyone be this enthusiastic?"


Bryce-
"Because we're not all comic book characters?"

Ashley exhaled, and stands straighter, seeming to have regained control of himself,
or something of the like.

"I think I want to complete this mission with Patti in the meantime. I have Derek with me."
He remarks simply.

Seth-
"Whoa, at night? I guess this time of year the days are long, but I'd be careful about dark.
We know of one type of monster we only see around then, and that's just the one we know about."

               
                Ben-
                "Count me in as well, Seth!"

Seth-
"Rockin'! I have a good feeling about this one!"

Jet (apparently)-
"ARP ARP ARP ARPH!"


Bear-
"WOOPH WOOPH."

Aiden reined in his beast. People continued to feast.

Casey-
"Hey Seth. Just wanted to say I think it's really amazing that you are so
passionate about getting the mummies. You're really brave."


Seth-
"Aw, well that's nice. I really think we can do it, with luck and a lot of work.
I got the impression some people think it's a silly idea..."


Casey-
"Silly? No way. It's just ... next level. People don't expect it when you,
uh, kick it up a notch?"


Bryce-
"Bam, as it were."

The tables started to get cleared and things started to fritter away. Alex was,
in a way, the life of any party. He was loud enough that it made people feel compelled
to get louder, so when he left, things faded fast.Casey maneuvered around
Seth like a killer bee, with Bryce being Bee-Off^tm. Seth and Stevie were standing around
when Del came over, dragging Emmett.

Del-
"Hey, Mr. President. Is this a good time...?"


Seth-
"Hey, new guys! Sure, what's up?"


Del-
"We had some concerns, and Emmett is being too much of
a wiener to be up front about it."


Stevie-
"Oh? Do tell, mon frere."


Emmett-
"Uh, well, sorry about the weird introduction. But thank you Del. Let's see...
It's early for us to tell, to know anything about you guys or this place. I just wanted
to know... Whether it's going to be difficult or dangerous to live here. Please don't
take offense. Just... What can you say about the risks?"


Seth-
"Well, we do the best we can, but there are always risks. More so if you go outside
regularly, I'm sure. Honestly, since the first day, we've only lost one person,
from a ghost attack. We didn't know how those worked back then. You never know
what's going to happen, but we all work together to make sure people stay as safe as
they can. What do you think?"

Emmett-
"OK. There are other risks, too. I'm not sure the best way to ask this question...
Different people have different abilities and needs. How do you feel about helping people?
Or letting people do things differently if they need to?"


Seth-
"Well gosh, of course! That's the only humane thing to do with a big group of
folks like this. People work to the best of their abilities, and do what they can.
Some people do less physical work, and just help as they're able. There's lots of
different work for people to do. Does someone need a special accommodation
or something?"


Emmett-
"Yes, somewhat. Perhaps we can discuss things more privately. But let's start with
what we can discuss openly. Labor. Someone asked if we've got any useful job skills,
so we could start to talk about that sort of thing..."

A day after the time warp began...

Seth woke up to see Bryce curled up on a chair near the bed.

Bryce-
"Good morning, sunshine."


Seth-
"Hmm, looks like I've got sexy gremlins busting into my room at night.
What's shakin'?"

He sat up in the bed and stretched sleepily. Bryce looked sheepish for a moment,

then smiled.

Bryce-
"Hey, I was in here last night....


Bryce-
"You know, yesterday was fucking insane. I feel like we all aged six months during it.
The CEO of Amazon tried to eat Steve Urkel so they shot him in the head, shoved him
out the window, and set him on fire. We had a Satanist over for brunch. Patti singlehandedly
extincted the Canadian goose for our delectation. And Anna ransacked the twinkie factory
to seal that deal. Oh, and some crazy shits went out after dark on a crazy voyage for
flippin' protein powder."


Seth-
"Yeah, I don't even know man... That Satanist was pretty cool anyway."


Seth-
"Hey think we'll find the secret clue to find the mummies today?
I bet we will find something!"


Bryce-
"Ugh. I don't know. How far away is this damn place
anyway?"


Seth-
"It's down by the science center, that tacky old building with all the windows.
See, all these studios got the kid's video right? There's gotta be some clues.
Even like, an envelope with an address, you know?"

Bryce-
"That's even farther away, in territory we don't know anything about!"


Seth-
"We'll get to know it then! I could go by there on a bike first and check it out
on my own if you're worried about it. Peg and I got a good lay of the land that
way last time."


Bryce-
"Never mind. It's just... it's even farther than those meatheads went
last night. I don't know. Forget it."


Seth-
"Everything's worked out so far, hasn't it? I'll be fine, don't worry."


Bryce-
"An impossibility, but I'll do my best..."

A new day dawned, breakfast was hoppin'! The newbies came around and felt like solid gold.
 After a quick bite to eat, Seth gathered his Helldivers for the news station run.

He gathered Anna, Ben, and Ashley on the patio to discuss. 

Another day... Seth gathered his Helldivers to discuss the news building run.

Anna was looking as sexy as possible for someone in shapeless black and camo paramilitary
threads could, little reddish brown sunglasses gleaming like expensive insect eyes in the morning sun.
Ben and Ashley were however they were. Seth wore his usual combination of over-sized black pentagram
shirt too-short pants cut off raggedly mid-calf, over the top of tall socks and blood stained Adidas.
He sat backwards on a patio chair, leaning his chin against the back and sipped a small glass of
dark liquor despite the early hour.

Seth-
"So do we wanna take bikes at all? Motorcycles?"


Anna-
"I say bikes. I wish we could drive a car, but those days are gone.
Hey, what's in the glass, Johnny?"


Seth-
"The dregs of the last of our Jager. I'm gonna cry next time I gotta drink
plain ol' Jack. Ugh..."

Anna-
"Do we have to bring a gun? They still creep me the hell out. We still don't know for sure
whether people can get possessed in the day time, and I watched a cop shoot himself
in the motherfucking head back at the mall. Frankly, I don't know how Patti managed to
forget seeing that, or not be affected by it."


Seth-
"Yeah, it's a hard decision, isn't it? What if we keep one in a bag unloaded, so if the worst
should happen, the affected person will at least be slowed down on their shooting spree."


Anna-
"... I guess we didn't have a problem with the shotgun you brought to Cornish.
I don't know... I just remember that so clearly."

Seth-
"Well I'm not bad with one, so who's our innocent in this bunch?"


Anna-
"Don't be coy, Ben. Wanna gat?"

Anna-
"Whoa, you guys are givin' me a headache. Me and Sandy got Nora to tell us about Amazon.
I think you guys coulda got out of that one without a gun. The trollish ghoul kept it tucked
til the last second, right?

It's not worth considering every if in the Universe. You'll never get anything done.
Let's just make a decision and jet.

By the way, Ashley, I really do prefer bicycles to motorcycles. They attract fewer zombies,
and there are a lot more zombies out that way than here. And they aren't as maneuverable
as bikes if you have a barrier."



Seth-
"Yeah I tell you when I went out with Peg on the bike, we had zombies snappin' at our heels
the entire way. No fun. So no gun then? Just wrap it up in a paper bag like an old fish?
We could always have two guns on two people and then just hope someone can cap
the possessed guy before he causes too much damage. Hahaha..."

Anna-
"God, don't mess with me Seth! Just put that shit in a fanny pack
like Patti and call it good."


Seth-
"Maybe we should start calling them 'fanny holsters', hahahahaha.
Okay, maybe I shouldn't drink this early..."

A relatively sunny morning, low mist still hanging in the sparse bowers of Denny Park.
The streets were empty enough. Seth's helldivers - Seth, Anna, Ashley, and Ben -
rode their bicycles out onto Westlake. They rolled a short distance and turned west on John.

Anna-
"We'll have to turn left on Aurora and right onto Denny's horrible ass. It'll be stop and go.
We might have to throw the bikes over cars or use side roads and parking lots for short ways
to follow the street, as blocked as it'll be. Still, it's just a few blocks and a right on 4th to get to
Fisher Plaza. Marie asked around and it ain't exactly where you and Stevie thought it was."


Seth-
"Huh."

Seth was quiet. Was he rummy? Well, he was pleasant at least. As soon as they got out onto Aurora,
things began to get a bit undead in this cut.

           


Anna-
"We outtie y'all!"

As the group rolled along, the zombies arranged themselves in an annoyingly diffuse pattern,
making avoiding them completely harder. Seth wheeled off to the side, and a bit slower, unfastening
the spear which was velcroed with a strap to his shoulder.

Seth-
I'll probably regret this but I've always wanted to try it at least once...!

He picked up a little speed and held the spear with one hand, trying to clothesline a reedy thin zombie
with an embarrassing furry hipster hat. He apparently didn't have quite enough speed as he struck it
with the spear, and veered to the side, nearly falling off the bike. The zombie tottered away unharmed,
though seemingly a bit offended. Seth righted himself, laughing self-consciously.

Seth-
"Okay don't do that move, guys..."

Anna did some crazy street biking trick leaping off the ground and bouncing her front tire off
a zombies chest, knocking it into the barrier so hard it was rendered inert.

Anna-
"You're welcome to try that one."

The area was helpfully lined with overgrown trees and bushes, making hiding the bikes an easy task.
The front of the news studio had many different entrances, but one was inset into an alcove,
with the words "FISHER PLAZA" above it. The roof was covered in large satellite dishes, and the building
was covered in reflective windows that glowed white on the overcast day.

Seth moved toward the main entrance. The pavement here was clean, at least the rain had probably
washed any blood away weeks ago.

goo.gl/maps/oKN6M

Seth-
"Well, let's just get in there, and start from the bottom and work our way up.
King 5 had all those burned out floors, but this building looks a lot less wrecked up
from the outside at least. Let's hope this one works out."

Seth quietly took things in, nodding his head. He approached the stairs. Anna went in first,
followed by Ashley, then Seth, then Ben. There were windows in this stairwell, and a lemon yellow
diffusion of sunlight made the walk up to the next floor warm and not unpleasant. Only a faint bit
of the first floor death stench followed them, and a few flies dotted the windows.

In the lobby that the stairs emptied into, The floor had a directory . They checked it out.

Thinking about it, evidence could be anywhere, so while they started with places named
"Records 002" and "DatLib C," they resolved to look everywhere.

Seth-
"Ugh, it's not the Ring you guys... It totally would've said "SEVEN DAYS" or something first.
That's a totally different genre."

Anna-
"What, it's all ghosts coming out of video tapes, or wells, or closets or whatever.
Same genre if you ask me."


Seth-
"No no, I mean like, zombies. Zombies plus J-Horror? Too complicated. This is more like... 
Dawn of the Dead. Well, hopefully not that bad. Hey maybe in Japan they have scary little girls
ravaging the cities?"

Anna-
"We'll be fine. We're on the same floor and it's not that big of a building.
Just give a shout."

She went one way with Ashley and Ben went the other way with Seth...

Seth had a tendency to open doors quickly, to reduce the sense of suspense. Once begun, it quickly
became apparent it was going to be completely impossible to conduct a truly thorough search.
For one thing, much of the data was inaccessible. The majority of information was in cryptically
labelled beta tapes. The organization didn't make much sense.

But they didn't need to look at every single thing, if they could figure out the chronology of it all.
They sat down to do some homework, in the dim light.

Seth-
"I have a feeling kids weren't gonna send something via beta tape, but that footage
didn't look like Youtube either. I feel like when we find something, we'll know it."

Seth flipped through a few papers idly before shaking his head and looking over to Ben.

Seth-
"This had to be the last thing they were doing. Not like they'd stop to file it away,
you know? Don't you think if you were a scrupulous news reporter, and you had the time,
you'd leave something for people to find?"

Ben-
"Yeah, possibly. I agree that they probably wouldn't have had time to file anything away,
but likewise they might not have thought about survivors coming here after everyone was
dead or gone. Not unless they decided to evacuate in an orderly fashion, or after a longer time.
Then someone might have left a diary or something. Or a bunch of sticky notes scribbled
full of info. Maybe we should leave these archives for now, and just go take a look at the offices
where people worked?"

Ben looked around at all the information trapped in unusable media. Certainly didn't seem
like the place to be.

Seth-
"Yeah, sounds good. Feels like if we're gonna find anything, it's gonna be obvious."

Ben and Seth had found a beta tape dated to the time of interest! They packed a beta player and
some cables with it, and went back into the hall, where Ashley and Anna stood.

Anna-
"Wow. You got goodies. Whaddya think?"


Seth-
"We came all the way out here, let's make sure we've seen
everything, right?"

Seth said that the treasure so far was pretty light and they may as well just press on.
They did! The next floor had a few abandoned items of technology that might have records
of knowledge - a cellphone, a laptop, etc. They fired up the laptop, which still had a minuscule 
charge, to see if they could just leave it behind (who needs one more bulky item?). Indeed, it
seemed to have nothing of use on local drives. It was Ben's job to try to parse that information,
for speed. It was spooky looking at the "MyPictures" of a person likely dead.

Ashley had noticed a splotch of black mold or mildew on the ceiling in one room, but didn't
think much of it at that time. He'd seen a lot of that stuff in his various missions.

On the floor after that, there was a disturbing sight. One room had a massively moldy sag from
the floor above, so huge that it filled the entire center of the room.

Anna-
"Gah! I don't care if Gutless Boy's secret diary is in there. Fuck that room!"


Seth-
"Aw, c'mon Anna! I guess you can stay here if it bugs you, but we gotta look
at everything."


Anna-
"Yeah... I'll be here. With my non-moldy lungs."

Ben and Anna waited while Seth and Ashley braved the nasty nasty room.

It seemed to be a room full of electronics, support systems for a studio perhaps, but not the
control booth itself. Either way, Seth was very thankful that the power grid was down,
looking at the tangles of water damage and wires.

Seth went ahead and used a torch for light. It seemed like every time they'd encountered
dark ghosts, it was in a poorly lit space. With his scarf up, there was no telling the smell of
a ghost from the rest of this hellishness.

Ash saw the world only as Seth's back, black with shadow and ringed with the pink glow of
the flare. He followed the man around the the bend. On the far side of the bulge from where
Ben and Anna waited, steady dripping from the ceiling created menacing glints in the
darkness. Seth waved the torch, looking for trouble, then moved on.

As Seth passed the drippy patch, Ashley noticed something else dripping out of the ceiling,
just barely visible at all.

It was a pair of grey slimy feet, quivering slightly as they descended.

As Seth wheeled around to look, his torch came close enough to the feet to throw sparks -
those feet were putting off fumes.

Before they could be properly immolated, they jerked back up into the ceiling and
disappeared. The sudden movement made both men jump.

Seth-
"..."

On reflection, that was clearly a dark ghost. Maybe you guys will see it again upstairs.


"...Hm. Well, I hope we do not see it on the way back. Now what is this thing?"

he looks at the mold, frowning, his face still covered with his shirt. Did you find anything?"

Seth-
"Not unless you were looking for a big ball of fungus."

Ashley and Seth came around the edge of the bulge, Seth's flare hissing softly,
and met up with Anna and Ben again.

Anna-
"What was the hubbub, bub?"


Ashley-
"Not much, Sir."

Seth-
"Grody ghost feet? Dark ghost got away. Maybe we'll see it later."

Ben-
"I guess ghosts are to be expected. I hope we don't run out of flares."

Ben started to keep his eye out for a long stick he could tape a flare to.

Ben easily found a light broom handle to use! Nearby it is a mop missing its own handle.
Probably the mop handle was taken as the more effective weapon, but the broom handle
only needs to hold a torch - not hold up to thwacking.

Anna-
"True that. I hope it ain't as crazy as Cornish or REI up there."

Onwards and upwards! The problem on this floor is readily apparent. There is a stain
spreading out from under the door of Studio B, darkest at its origin and fading to invisibility
as it reaches the part of the lobby nearest them. It looks like the relative darkness is relative
quantity of mold or mildew, worst the closer one gets to the source of the water damage.
The floor here is stable, but you know in that room it is probably total mush.

In the middle of the floor, a neatly folded piece of paper has the KOMO4 letterhead,
surrounded by arrows in red Sharpie. Was it left there on purpose?

Seth went to pick up the paper with little hesitation.

Anna-
"Read it out loud."

He did so.

Seth-
"It's in a woman's handwriting, I think. 'Don't go in Studio B. It's fucked up in there.
Also, I assume you're here for information. We don't have much. King 5 got the scoop,
and KIRO 7 is closeby. They might have more than we did. Take care of yourselves.
And if you see Steve Pool, trust him. He will help you. The following is a list of the people
working here that night, and their status as of the time we left:

Dead -' There's a big list here. Um, plus some people injured, and ... Oh look, Steve Pool is alive."


Ashley-
"Do you think Steve Pool is still here?"

He has no idea who Steve Pool is, though frowns at the long list of dead.
Then Anna was right, but it had been confusing enough he could not really be sure.

"What do you think, Sir?" He stands straight and watches Seth quietly.

Seth-
"Well I doubt he's still here, or he probably would've come to say hello.
Man! Steve Pool! That guy seems so nice."


Anna-
"I know! Those eyes!"


Seth-
"Well it says 'he'll help you', I wonder what that means? Is he like, some rogue good-doer
in this crazy world? That's like... so inspiring."

Anna-
"I think it's safe to assume they left the note because they were the last to leave,
taking the injured with them. Maybe Steve Pool is their leader, or he went a separate way.
I guess the real question is do we wanna take this note's word for it and skip the rest of
this building, head over to channel 7? Do we have a moral duty to burn the ghost in
Studio B if we can?"

Seth-
"I hate to say, but I am curious what's making that big smooshy thing
in the ceiling. I'll go in there.. who's with me?"


Anna-
"Dammit. I don't want to, but fine."

Seth went up to the door of Studio B.

Ben moved with the others to the Studio B door. Maybe that black 'smooshy thing' wasn't quite
as natural as Anna had said? He got ready to light the flare on his staff, and waited for a sign
that it would be needed. He also wished he had brought a scarf, but he hoped that breathing
through his nose would catch most of the spores that may be in the air.

Ben-
"Well, I'm ready. Let's see true horror."

Anna-
"Oh hell no, Ben. Here."

Anna gave Ben a black bandanna to put over his nose and mouth. Then they got
under way...

Seth glanced back at his compatriots for just a moment, before pulling the door open.
His torch was still lit from before.

Darkness. Not as overpowering as they might have expected from the blackened state of
the window bubble, but very dark. Mold. Mildew. Horror. They used their face masks,
but it was still hellish and disturbing.

Seth kept very quiet, and crept forward into the darkness, holding his torch up high, and
quickly looking between the floor and the ceiling, looking for danger.

His foot found danger. Before he got three steps in, he noticed the floor had gone soft, and
sagged in a massive pit. He nimbly stepped back and appraised the situation. No one
was able to follow him in yet.

It would be possible to walk along the outside of the room, but very carefully, and not
without some risk of the floor collapsing anyway.

Ashley was finally able to see into the room. To go in, he'd have to be single file behind Seth,
or single file the other direction. Ben and Anna couldn't quite see in there yet, with dudes
in the way.


Ashley walks single file behind Seth, without following him too closely, eyes to the floor,
holding a flair. He holds his crowbar in the other anyways, and keeps a hand out to grab
Seth if he ends up slipping off into nothingless down the floor.

Seth gestured for Ashley to hold back, the more bodies on the weak floor, the riskier it was.
Anna was peering out into the room but didn't enter.

Ben could also peer into the room, and the great slime pit taking up the majority of the floor.
He could tell the blackness inside of the bubbled window (from this side looking more grey)
was only scorching from the fire. The room's appearance was consistent with Anna's theory
about water damage from sprinkler heads. But it still looked and smelled like some kind of
exotic religion's conception of hell.

Seth kept close to the wall, walking slowly. His flare caught a movement in the dark.
Everyone seemed to notice it at the same time. Down in the pit, zombies began to stir.
The horrible mold-crusted beings held up arms like beggars seeking alms, blackened
glistening flesh sliding off to reveal gleaming bone. They began to groan, and try to grip
the floor. Could their movement cause a collapse?

Seth skittered back to the wall, wondering how bad could a floor collapse be? What if the
whole thing went down and he was sent down into a writhing pit of zombies? He reached for
something on the wall to cling to, finding some kind of equipment rack bolted there, and
tried to decide what his next move was. He looked back at Ashley with a serious expression
while he pondered the rotten situation.

Down below, the zombies couldn't find purchase, but kept pulling chunks of floor and
sheets of slimy mold in on themselves. The scene was thoroughly vile, making the dim
light merciful.

Seth nodded. Suddenly, Anna shouted

Anna-
"SETH! UP!"

Ashley and everyone else looked above Seth's head at the ghost! Seth bent back at
the waist, tearing his eyes from the zombies in front of him to look up at the ceiling.

As he looked up, his torch came into contact with a half naked, half eaten floating
gray woman - the likely owner of the mystery feet downstairs. Seth's eyes locked
with her dead orbs, and the greasy sparks from the flame tearing her apart singed
his open eyes.

He almost lost a grip from the pain, and found himself blinded by persistent pulsing lights.
He dropped the torch, holding his eyes with both hands, and stumbling against the wall.


A mysterious sound abruptly rose above the din of moshpit zombies and drippy horror,
as if someone had turned on a television to an evening news report, but it was muffled
and full of static.

Anna-
"What the fuck is going on?!"

Ashley is now VERY SORRY he said this was a good idea, and reaches out quickly to grab Seth with his free hand and pull him away from the edge, and back towards the door. he'd try to find something else to anchor himself to in the meantime.

He issues no orders to Seth, as he's fairly sure that Seth is smart enough to know to hold onto him in the meantime.

"Seth! Are you alright?"

Ben-
"Eugh."

With Seth's flare on the floor that was being torn away by zombies, Ben figured he'd better
light his flare after all. Then he tried to gauge the situation in Studio B. Did it look like Ashley
and Seth could get away from the wall and get out of the room, or would someone need to go
downstairs and break open the sag and kill those zombies?

"Those zombies are practically on the floor below us, aren't they? Inside that thing?"

Seth wordlessly accepted Ashley's help, still arghing from the pain.

His torch rolled into the zombies, causing no small excitement there. Above that,
a new menace came into sight - A shadowy form of a man's upper body, wearing a blazer,
arms folded as if on an invisible desk. Droning static emerged from him, and a jumble of
word fragments in the rise and fall rhythm of the nightly news.

It was motherfuckin' Dan Lewis!

In surprise, Anna had neglected to avoid his eyes and stood entranced!
He very slowly slid forward, as if his phantom desk was moving.

Ben-
"Gah!"

Ben had been busy fiddling with his flare, glancing at the zombie mosh pit, and talking to Anna.
So when she froze, he was ready! He quickly put his hand in front of her eyes.

"I guess this is what my long stick is for..."

Ashley tries to drag blind? Seth alongside him and back towards the door, too far away to stop
Anna from staring at the creature, whatever it was. A ghost? A monster? Something terrible
had found them.

"BEN don't let her look!" He cries, and brandishes his flare in the creature's general direction.

He had been looking at the floor to try to avoid the others, and to watch the zombies in the
meanwhile. He scrambles to hold onto his flare.

Anna-
"GAH! Uh, thanks Ben! Burn that fuckin' guy!"

Ashley managed to get Seth to the door and Anna helped him get out into the hall His flare
brandishing was for naught due to the ghost being out of reach. Now Ben had the terrible
challenge of crisping ghostly Dan Lewis without accidentally looking in his eye!

Ben-
"Here goes... something."

Ben carefully stepped forward, waving his flare-on-a-stick in the air in front of him, while keeping
his eyes down on the floor. The terribly dangerous floor. Damn. He should've had a rope tied
around his waist for this. Good thing the stick wasn't that heavy though. That way it was much
easier to reach out with one arm and poke around without looking.


Ash stumbles due to not being able to see that well, but holds out his flare in case the ghost comes
close. He was not willing to risk death by touching it just yet. It seems as if Ben is the man of the hour,
and who better to be. He dips his head low, and leads Seth on, simultaneously obstructing his view
of the ghost.

Anna-
"Here you go!"

Anna held onto one of Ben's back belt loops to steady him. The ghost advanced! A little ways out
in the hall, Seth sank against the wall, squeezing his eyes and trying to blink.

Seth-
"S-some water... please..."

As Ben focused on the floor, the shadows about the ghost could be seen in his peripheral vision.
They'd changed, and were now flickering like a film reel coming apart. Something different
was happening. Would he be able to tell where or how to hit the ghost with that flare?

Ben-
"Oh, crap. This is some kind of tricky ghost, isn't it? Show us the news, anchorman!"

Ben started waving his stick around a bit more to the sides, and up, and down. Hopefully he'd
catch something, somehow. Hopefully the ghost wasn't quick and nimble. Hopefully...
Well, it was all he could do, wasn't it?

"Think of the ratings, man!"

Anna pulled back on Ben's pants hard. The ghost must have slipped past his stick maneuvers!
As he fell back, the torch accidentally came in contact with a dark tendril...

Dan Lewis- "this just in , and then also, a desecrated anglerfish, fourteen survivors, and now sports"

Dude went up in flames! Ben heard the satisfying *thwoosh!* as he was pulled out into the hall.
Now the only sound from the room was the pathetic lost souls of the zombie pit. Ben, Anna, and
Ashley watched Seth pouring lukewarm bottled water straight into his eyes. It ran down his chin
and, realizing he was thirsty too, he drank some.


He is fairly sure that Seth is in no danger of seeing the ghost at this point, and flails his torch in
that direction regardless whether it is in reach or not. Can never be too careful. He flicks back as they
light up the ghost, and frowns quietly. Ben. That Ben is quite a guy, he never knew.

"...Did you get it?" He could not really see what happened, but assumed that that was it.

"Seth Sir, come on...keep a hold on me."

Anna-
"Oh man, are we fucking done yet?"


Ashley-
"We are done now, I think...Sir...Seth Sir, are you alright? Can you see?"
He still holds his flare firmly, but far away from Seth's eyes.

Ben-
"Wow. He almost got me, didn't he? If you hadn't pulled me back that way..."

Once again Ben survived by falling to the floor, saved by a woman much cooler than him.
Team work!

"So... Yeah... Are we done? Is there anything in that room worth the effort?
We could probably go downstairs and whack that black, moldy sag until it bursts,
and lets out those zombies. We could kill them, and that should make the room
safe enough, perhaps?"

Seth-
"I... yeah... maybe..." His voice sounded a bit hoarse and weak.


Anna-
"Can you see? Are you OK?"

He cleared his throat. His eyes were hella red.

Seth-
"Erh, yeah. Yeah, I think. Anyway, We're done here. Let's go over to
that other studio."


Ashley-
"Hrm, yes."

He agrees, and goes with them to the other studio. In the meantime he fusses
over Seth and Anna's well-being, and provides more water and one of his
cliff bars to them both.

Ben was relieved to see that Seth wasn't going blind or anything, but those eyes did
look quite worrisome.

Ben-
"You're going to let a doctor have a look at those eyes when we get back, right?"

Seth-
"Sure thing, Ben..."

They kept any torches going that they could and went across Denny to KIRO 7! ...