RPG Population Zero

[Nessaja]

[FONT="Book Antiqua"]After Lon got up, and told them about Chase's plans to go into the city, Chiyoko got up too. She walked to the door and looked back to Ilya.


"Come on, Ilya. Let's go for a walk okay?"


Chase didn't even bother to look at Chiyoko, but Lon gave her an almost disproving and concerned scare. Almost as if he was trying to remind her of the danger that is out in the world today.


"Don't worry, Mr. Grosvenor. We won't go far." Chiyoko said, trying to reassure his worries. She was surprised though that she had called him Mr. Grosvenor instead of Lon. Maybe being around Ilya was starting to rub off on her. Or maybe she just wasn't comfortable around Lon yet.


Whatever the case, Chiyoko had to get outside. The tension in here was killing her. Besides, she wanted to have a chance to talk to Ilya without any interruptions. As Chiyoko stepped outside, she looked back. She then noticed that Ilya had been naked this whole time and had probably left her labcoat turned into makeshift blanket inside of the lab. She was possibly trying to make Chiyoko a bit more comfortable. Either that or she had realized how warm it was outside and decided to leave it behind. Regardless, she seemed a little more comfortable around Chiyoko now and that made Chiyoko happy. She didn't know Ilya much yet, but she didn't seem to be the one to take a naked walk with a girl that she had only met recently. She was glad that she had started to form a bond between one of the survivors. Especially the only other girl in the group.


"So, Ilya. Do you really not remember anything about being frozen?"


This question though, seemed to cast an unsettling look on Ilya's face. So Chiyoko quickly changed the subject.


"Hey, why don't we lay down on the grass right there? It's nice and warm out anyways." Chiyoko suggested, picking a good spot on the grass and laying down. Ilya followed her example.


After stretching and enjoying the sun, Chiyoko made an offhand comment about how nice the sun felt. Ilya, agreed politely.


"Anyways, Ilya. I just wanted to let you know that I don't know what's out there for us. In that city I mean. I just wanted to let you know that I will be here for you. We girls need to stick together anyways and" Chiyoko tried to lighten the mood by joking around with Ilya. However, at one of the worst possible times, her cluster headaches struck again.


She sat up and grasped her head in pain. Ilya tried to help Chiyoko up by taking her hand but Chiyoko just pulled her hand back quickly.


"I'm...sorry. Just...get someone please."


Ilya ran off but Chiyoko didn't notice. Normally she had to be alone when her headaches attacked, but so Ilya didn't worry she asked her to go bring someone. Hopefully this would only be another short attack. Someone came running over with Ilya, but Chiyoko was in too much pain to notice who it was.[/FONT] Edited September 16, 2011 by Nessaja

[Neko]

[SIZE="1"]

[SIZE="1"][b]?What?s wrong with her?? [/b]Ilya asked quietly, watching timidly with a concerned face as Chiyoko clutched at her head, hard enough to make her fingers go white. Lon and Chase (in her concern, she had called back for both of them) both looked on with different expressions, Lon, one of irritation and concern, and Chase of annoyance and indifference. [b]?Probably just feeling sick,? [/b]Lon offered as a suggestion, scratching his beard in thought. [b]?Still getting used to everything.? [/b]Chase shrugged, although what exactly this was in reference to was completely beyond Ilya. [b]?Maybe, but?she was like this last night, too?? [/b]Ilya recalled, remembering seeing Chiyoko in a similar state last night before the?incident at the lab. Lon muttered to himself, recalling for himself the close call he had last night. Chase shrugged. [b]?I don?t get what the big deal is. We?ve already established that we?re all different from normal people here. She probably has some kind of abnormal trait.? [/b]He shook his head, closing his eyes running through a couple of offhand possibilities. He glanced down at the girl, clutching her head in pain. Headaches this frequent?and with no other explanation as to the trigger?[b] ?Episodic headaches, maybe? Whatever it is, it?s probably disease-related, considering she was placed into the program like us. Something they couldn?t cure at the time.? [/b]A good explanation, he figured, nodding his head. Gave the poor buggers something to explain things with, and at the same time provided an explanation that implied that there was nothing they could do about it. Ilya glanced down as Chiyoko?s face, contorted in pain. Whether or not Chase was lying, didn?t matter in the slightest. Chiyoko was in pain, and one way or the other, there was nothing any of them could do to help other than wait it out. But still, it didn?t feel right to just ignore it because of that. [b]?Are?are you sure there?s nothing we can do??? [/b]She glanced back at Chiyoko nervously; she would probably be seen as a liability to the others at this rate, and they might be inclined to leave her behind if she became too much of a nuisance. Ilya wanted to reach out and touch her, hoping to find a solution in the Chiyoko?s past, but she didn?t want to invade her privacy without permission, and it was impossible for her to use her ability selectively to target specific memories. [b]?Ilya, some over here for a second,? [/b]Chase commanded, turning away with a slump of his shoulders that clearly signified utter indifference to the situation at hand. Catching a glimpse of his expression, Ilya knew that it would be best for her to follow him; when he?d had her pinned down earlier, she had been able to see it in his eyes that his threat was no joke. Even though she could, it hadn?t took looking into his mind to see that. She looked back hesitantly. [b]?Mr. Grosvenor, could you stay with Miss Chiyoko? Please...?? [/b] [b]?Huh, well, when you ask like that?? [/b]Lon coughed into his hand as if trying to cover up what he was saying. [b]?Be quick about it, it?s dangerous to stay out in the open like this for too long.? [/b]Ilya nodded her head in thanks before following Chase out into the road a bit. Standing out in the middle of the road like this felt a bit surreal to her; as she looked around, nature splayed out all around her, replacing the cold grey of the buildings she had seen in the pictures of her textbooks. Greenery grew out from the many cracks in the road, and moss and vines hung over and crept up and around the buildings that lined the road, decrepit skeletons of civilization as they were. There was something somehow?very beautiful about all this. All she had ever known was the world of grey in America, and the world of white cold in her home up in Russia. Warmth and life encircled them, replacing the mechanical precision of the world she had grown up in. [i]At least, until nightfall, [/i]she reminded herself. Even as pretty as all this was, there was no denying that they were now cornered in a world where they were no longer welcome. At night, green gave way to black, and the peaceful serenity of day was replaced by the cold killer instinct of the predators of the night. Chase stood in the center of an intersection, hands resting easily in his pockets ? although Ilya took the liberty of noticing that his one hand was resting lightly on the pistol in his jacket pocket. She stepped up to his side, her down. [b]?W-what is it??? [/b]she asked nervously, her voice shaking. If there was one thing here that terrified her more than the deadly predators that they had encountered thusfar, more than the almost alien surroundings of the environment they had woken up in?if there was one thing that frightened her more than that, it was this very man standing beside her. [b]?Not that I really care or anything, but what do you think of all this?? [/b]He nodded off into the distance, his gaze indicating the vast expanse of abandonment all around them. [b]?What do you think happened here? Can you get any useful answers out of that little head of yours?? [/b] She almost took offence to his remark, but instead focused on the question he had asked. She closed her eyes, thinking. [b]??We don?t know enough yet,? [/b]she answered hopelessly. [b]?There?s nobody here but us, and our only clues as to [i]when [/i]we are is the calendar in that lab, indicating that the lab, possibly even this whole place was abandoned in 2149, and that based on that statue, we can?t be any less than two hundred thirty-five years, seven months, two weeks, six days, twelve hours, twenty-one minutes, and thirty-nine seconds into the future, with all likelihood a lot further than even that. With a timeframe like that, [i]anything [/i]could?ve happened?? [/b]She shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head. [b]?We just don?t know enough yet.? [/b] [b]?Huh. Not bad reasoning, for a kid,? [/b]Chase sneered. Ilya almost felt as though he seemed unhappy about it. [b]?Well, [i]I[/i], for one, have got a few theories about this whole mess?? [/b]Ilya shifted uncomfortably, not sure if she was ready to try tackling the question of what had happened here yet.[/SIZE]

Finally :catgirl: Sorry for the hold-up, guys. For now, I've decided to get down to the whole 'discussion' business. Hope I didn't screw anything up.[/SIZE]

[Vicky]

[size=1][align=justify]Chase took a walk forward and dug his fingers into the dirt, pulling it up and letting it fall back down again. He looked up into the city a head, a fox's ears perked up before it darted back off. Chase sighed.

[b]"There are no bones. No skeletons. People left things here. I doubt everyone got up and abandoned the world; where would they go? There's no evidence of war, either. Except politic tension..."[/b] he wasn't actually talking to Ilya, more like musing to himself. [b]"There are no tanoy systems, or evidence of military presence, so the people weren't warned or asked to leave. Ha. The only thing I can think of is an insane virus that eats bones as well as flesh..."[/b]

He paused an laughed.

[b]"Which is just silly, really."[/b]

[B]"Silly?"[/B]

Chase raised an eyebrow. [b]"Yes. There wouldn't be animals around if there existed a flesh eating virus."[/B] He rolled his eyes. [B]"Anyway, you should go and get the other two. Drag Chiyoko if you need to... headaches aren't that bad. I'll wait here but I'm not waiting all day, there's a city to explore with answers in it."[/B]

Ilya paused for a moment but didn't move. Chase, although he felt bad for it, placed the tip of his thumb onto his pocket where the gun was located, not as a threat but as a reminder. Ilya nodded and moved off.

[I]"I don't know why it's so much fun..."[/i] Chase thought to himself with a grin. He took out his cigarettes to light one up but noticed, grimly, there were only about ten left. That wasn't going to last.

He folded his arms and waited for them, a slight question of whether Chiyoko was alright playing on his mind, but only because his chances of survival were better if the wolves had a choice between humans.[/size][/align]

[Mr. Blonde]

[FONT="Book Antiqua"]”Enough of this…” Lon picked up Chiyoko and threw her over his shoulder. He rose slowly and began walking in the direction he had seen Ilya and Chase venture off in, but he ran into Ilya a few steps along the way.

“Mr. Chase wanted me to fetch you two,” Ilya said, nearly under her breath.

”On our way, young lady.”

The old man moved slowly with Chiyoko slung over his shoulder; she wasn’t heavy but Lon just didn’t have the wherewithal he used to. His old bones were tiring.

“We’re going to keep moving,” Chase said; his hand still clenched tightly around the pistol in his pocket.

“Who put you in charge, sonny-jim?” Lon blurted out, leaning back against a pile of rubble.

“I don't need your shit.” Chase looked over to Lon.

“Why are you here? What do you hope to accomplish in this city?”

"Research; I want to know what the Hell happened here!" Chase raised his voice.

“Research? There’s nothing here. We shouldn’t be here either. Whatever caused everyone to leave or die might still be around, virus or whatever.”

”It wasn’t a virus,” Chase spoke softly now, seemingly dazed, as if the gravity of the situation was just beginning to dawn on him. “We need to fix this… I need to fix this…”

“There’s nothing to fix, everything is gone. No more talk shows, no more money, and no more people to kiss your ass and tell you how great you are. It’s only us; we’re all you have now.

“There’s people, there has to be!” Anger overtook Chase; he clenched his fists accordingly.

“Don’t do this to yourself, Chase.” Lon sat Chiyoko down, leaning her up against the pile of rubble. She tossed back and forth, still seemingly unaware of her surroundings.

“Scientific reasoning will explain this. There has to be something around here that will give us answers.” Chase now began to pace uncomfortably.

“I’ll help you look, Mr. Chase.” Ilya said, pulling lightly on Chase’s shirt sleeve.

Chase pulled his arm away from Ilya, staring down at her with disdain.

“What do you really want out of this, boy? What are you going to do when you find your answers… your people? Will you treat [I]them[/I] with such contempt?”

“I’m not doing this for them… I’m doing this because I have to, because… I don’t have to explain myself to you. I’m not the only one who wants answers; you’d be out of your mind not to want to know what happened here!” Chase snapped at Lon.

“Well isn’t that the pot calling the kettle crazy...”

”I’ve had it with you, old man.” Chase slowly stepped in Lon’s direction.

Chase pulled his pistol from his pocket and raised it in the air, pointing it directly at Lon. He cocked the gun and tightened his fist, his hand shaking just slightly.

”You gonna use that gun, boy? ‘Cause if you’re not, you better stick it back in your pocket.”

”Mr. Chase, put it down!” Ilya screamed.

”We’ve had enough killing, Galileo, put it down. We’ll make it through this…” Lon tried to reason with Chase.

”Don’t do it, Mr. Chase, all we have is each other. I don’t want to be anymore alone then I already am.” Ilya began to sob quietly, looking up at Chase.

Even Chiyoko managed to look over at Galileo, her face stricken with pain and distress, but a deeper sadness growing from within.

”Please…” The only word the young woman was able to utter seemed to hang on the still air.

Just then tears begin to well in the young man’s eyes. They weren’t tears of fear, or tears of sadness. He wasn’t particularly upset about any of this; he had always been quite successful at burying anything that resembled an emotion deep in the blackness where no one could know its existence, no these tears were of a more unusual brand. They could only be described as tears of humanity; never before had people spoken to him with anything but restrained contempt... until now.

He wasn’t necessarily moved by these emotions, but what he instead seemed to suffer from was a system overload, sometimes we’re only as cold as those around us, and in the face of such adversity and unmotivated compassion he had no choice but to break down. He had never remembered crying about anything before, and he would probably never cry again, but right now, at this moment, the tears came easy, almost natural to this man that always pitied the emotional fool. And for [I]that[/I] moment, if only for that moment… our survivors understood one another.

[/FONT]

[Vicky]

[size=1][align=justify]Chase used his weapon hand to remove the tear and dropped the gun slightly but kept his eyes on Lon. He wasn't all too afraid to raise his gun again and shoot him in the leg - it didn't matter anymore. But he didn't. He put the gun back into his pocket and looked over at Chiyoko, remembering she still had next to nothing on and would probably freeze to death without more clothing.

[b]"Do whatever you please. I'm going into the city. Would you like to stay here? Try and repopulate? Well you don't need my brains to know that isn't possible. What do we have to live for? Fuck all. There's a world out there with one big mystery to unravel."[/B]

He knelt down into the bag he had collected and pulled out a few items, the books especially.

[B]"Look at these. The books especially. Something happened, right, and we've got nothing better to do. She's ill and you're dying, old man; we were meant to sleep until that was fixed. So either we find out more, find more resources or we die."[/B]

He threw the bag back down and turned to move off. They could follow him if they wanted, and he secretly hoped they would. He would have to go back anyway for the bag.

[B]"We'll follow as soon as the young lady is okay,"[/B] Lon had spoke up.

Chase turned his head slightly and gave the faintest nod. He hoped they would be able to find him but, truth be told, he wasn't going too far. Just into the city for a look around.

He was tempted to light up another cigarette while he walked but he didn't. He kept his head down and breathed in and out, slowly, taking notice of the changing ground (it went from grass to concrete and grass and, finally, to concrete). When he was on solid ground he looked up to see buildings a head; a petrol station and a few boulders, a shop and a long road leading into the city. He turned back to see the others not too far away.

So Chase took a walk through the city with his hands in his pockets. Birds moved out and about the buildings at the new presence, the buildings that were drenched in decay and putrid natural pollution, almost crying dampness and chipped paint. The steel foundations outlived the concrete and wild plants or weeds grew morbidly - or even beautifully - up the sides and around the edges. Cars were left alone to rust and Chase saw a head the deers eating grass from the cracks in the road. They looked up at him and scattered.

He looked back to see if the others had come but they weren't here yet. Slowly he moved on looking at every alleyway, every turn and every little detail he saw, shoving it back in his eidetic memory. He cross reference and toyed with the images he saw to put the pieces together but, so far, it wasn't enough. He was just seeing decay over and over again.

Then he paused when he felt it. He didn't know why, or what it was, but he suddenly felt that this place was wrong. Terribly wrong; strange for a man with hardly any moral code at all.[/size][/align]

[Neko]

[SIZE="1"]There was a long silence after Chase left, as Ilya glanced around, stealing shy glances at Lon and Chiyoko. Mr. Chase was right, of course; there wasn?t anything they could do to further their situation until they had a better idea of what had caused this?whatever this was, to happen. But what could they do? Where to start? Ilya stared down at the floor, frowning. This was impossible, hopeless. ?But it would have to get done. Ilya straightened her posture, put a stern look on her face, and turned toward Lon and Chiyoko. [b]?Mr. Chase is right,? [/b]she asserted. [b]?There?s nothing more we can hope to accomplish here, it would be better to move on and find out what happened.? [/b] [b] ?I already told you,? [/b]Lon said impatiently, clearly irritated with Chase? attitude, [b]??I?ve already looked this place over up and down, since before you three even woke up. There?s nothing to find.? [/b]That man crossed his arms and sneered, almost as if in defiance of the very world around him, [b]?Nothing but rats and wolves and the laws of the wild.?[/b] [b]?We have to try!? [/b]Ilya replied, an edge of desperation in her voice. [b]?We can?t expect to stay here and survive for very long. At the least, we should find a less dangerous area.? [/b]She thought about what she had just said, hesitating. [b]??W-well, I-I don?t mean to say that your shelter is inadequate?? [/b] [b]?Well, it [i]sounds [/i]an awful lot like that?s what you?re saying,? [/b]Lon returned. He shook his head impatiently. Ilya bit her lip to keep it from quivering, a tear welling up in her eye. She rushed past Lon to go back to the laboratory one last time, rubbing her eyes to hide her weakness. [b]??Y-you think she?ll be okay??? [/b]she heard Chiyoko grit out behind her. [b] ?She keeps following that Chase kid around, she?s gonna get herself killed.? [/b] [i]I know what I?m doing, I know what I?m doing. [/i]She whispered to herself over and over again as she walked back down the road, if one could still call it that, back to the building where she had awoken. [i]I know what I?m doing. As long as I keep on their good sides, I?ll be safe. [/i]It was a weak reassurance and she knew it; in actuality she was terrified of all of them ? especially Mr. Lon and Mr. Chase. [i]I just have to be careful. Keep an eye out. [/i] Approaching the entryway to the building, stepping carefully around the shattered glass scattered near the windows, Ilya peered cautiously inside. The interior of the building was blanketed in shadow. Darkness. She hadn?t noticed it before, but in contrast to the bright daytime outside, this lobby could almost be described as foreboding. Intimidating. [i]Threatening[/i]. She glanced around as she stepped through the doorway, as if expecting to be attacked from out of the shadows. But there was nothing but the remnants of their morning fire and a few crumbs and seeds left behind from the fruit that Chase had gathered. Ilya sighed; compared to the obvious dangers that you could at least see outside, this was much scarier. With a bit of work, she found the labcoat that she had made into her wardrobe until she could find something more suitable. She threw this on, buttoning it up carefully. If they were going to get very far, they would need supplies ? tools, bags, weapons?anything that could be put to use. After a few minutes of fumbling around in the dark lobby, she discovered that the legs to the tables were made out of stainless steel, and therefore hadn?t corroded from oxidization. She also found a nice two-foot section of legging that was loose. With a few more minutes of pulling and twisting around the hinges, the pipe came free, and she tested its weight, swinging it a few times. It was definitely hefty for a girl of her stature and strength, but it still had some potential. The imprint of the pipe didn?t tell her anything, other than that it had been kicked a few times. With something that she supposed could be considered a weapon in a pinch in hand, Ilya took a deep breath and resumed her search. There was nothing left to be found up here ? The main foyer had already been well worn-in by her and the others when they?d set up camp here. The elevator didn?t work, so that left the underground area to search. She shuddered at the thought; back down into that nightmare of a place, huh. She straightened her back and got a determined look on her face. More importantly, she had to find more useful things, even if she was scared of what was down there. As soon as she stepped down those stairs, back down into the darkness of the lab, it hit her. That familiar dank, cold chill that she had felt as she took her first breaths in no less than a few centuries. The grime of overgrowth replacing cold metal over the course of unknown years, growing sickly and slimy and wet as it progressed down into the darkness where the only light was artificial, if it was there at all. That alien smell of rust and mold. After six minutes of slow, cautious fumbling along the wall, Ilya reached the locker room, which had retained some of its lighting, flickering as it was. She gripped the pipe tightly in her hand, glancing around. Little black beady eyes peered at her from the shadows, as if sizing her up. [i]Rats, [/i]she thought to herself nervously. She couldn?t fend off something like this. She took a cautious step forward, and the eyes scattered, accompanied by a skittering sound that faded away after four seconds. She sighed in relief. [b] ?I guess I?ll give a few more of these lockers a try?? [/b]she said to herself, examining the lockers to see if there were any more that weren?t locked that she had missed earlier. There were still two more, but there was nothing inside them but caked dust and tattered remnants of clothing. Dismayed, she shook her head and continued on. Through that nightmare hallway again that she had come out of in her first moments. The memories came welling back up to her as she felt her way along the unlit passage. The heavy smell of mold, dust hanging densely in the air, that choking feeling of wetness and blindness and closeness and [i]fear [/i]and [i]helplessness [/i]and [i]vulnerability [/i]that came with being in a narrow hallway in pitch-blackness. The memories of freezing cold that even now bit painfully at her inadequately-clothed body. In the flickering light of a ceiling fixture that was somehow still functioning, she saw her breath curl up in the air in front of her, the grime covering the would-be spotless walls. The word ?Cryopres? peered out from behind the green covering the wall. [b]?Cryopreservation?? [/b]she whispered to herself. So they weren?t kidding? Through the broken sealed door, and back into the freezer that she had woken up in. She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them against each-other to help warm herself. Narrowing her eyes, she resumed her search. Clearly, storage was not this room?s purpose. All that was in this room was wires and cables scattered across the floor, along with those faintly blue-glowing coffins that she was now sure were the cryopods that preserved humans were kept in. She squinted in the faint, flickering light, looking for anything that might be useful. She walked slowly up to the pod that she had been kept in, hesitant. She reached out her hand to touch the cold metal, but at the last second pulled back ? she wasn?t sure she wanted to see. There was another pod in the room, and she walked over to it, examining the surface. The glass in front of the face was broken, and inside? Ilya gasped, freezing. A human skull stared back at her through empty eye sockets. [b]?W-what is this??!? [/b]she asked aloud, her voice trembling in horror. She wanted to edge away, but instead she slowly looked closer. There were some scratch marks on the edges of the broken glass, and traces of what might have been blood at some point along the edges. Gulping, Ilya braved a peek further into the pod. The body was still partially preserved, the coolant fed intravenously through the veins slowing the decaying process to a near-stop. The face was clawed at, and there were many spots where the muscle and bone underneath were exposed. Ilya had never really seen an animal bite mark up close, but her instincts told her that what she was looking at was this taken to its logical extreme. Peering down, she was able to see all the way to the base of the pod, where the body had been eaten away at the most. She had a moment to ponder this before the cause became painfully obvious, her eyes adjusting to the dull-blue light coming from the inside of the pod. The bottom of the pod was filled with dead rats. And skeletons of dead rats. And torn apart pieces of dead rats. Ilya turned around, clasping her hands over her mouth. She felt something rise up in her throat, and a second later she was doubled up on the floor. [b] ?Th-this isn?t right?? [/b]she managed to cough, wiping her mouth off as she got up. She slowly stumbled back to her own pod, and saw the little scratch marks of small animals all over the glass panel in the front. There was a shallow crack where the scratching had almost worn through. She gulped; only a little further, and she would?ve been? [b] ?O-oh, yeah?I-I need to look for something useful?? [/b]she mumbled to herself, cringing at the bitter taste in her mouth. She stopped and peered curiously at the corpse in the pod. Leaning down, she tucked her hand into her sleeve and wiped away the thick coating of dust and grime that rested heavily on the smooth metal exterior of the pod. The stuff came away easily for the most part ? it appeared to be composed primarily of a metal that didn?t rust or decompose easily. Underneath one section of the grime she found a serial number. [b] ?Specimen no. A1-000-0000-00-000-06,? [/b]she read aloud. She remembered seeing the code up in the locker room. Without thinking, she ran back up out of the frozen room, tracing her steps back up to the locker room ? she had memorized the path, so even though it was dark, she didn?t have to much about in the dark hallway. She quickly found the locker. A1-000-0000-00-000-06. Dennis Wesley. She poked around a bit at the keypad, but quickly realized that it would be nearly impossible to randomly guess at the code. She sighed in irritation, banging the pipe against the keypad, which flickered for a moment. ?And also made a nice little dent in the locker door. She blinked, looking down at the pipe in her hand. Of?of course! The thought would?ve never occurred to her, naturally, but maybe if she applied enough force to the locker doors, she could force them open! [b]?Okay, then, let?s try it?!? [/b]she prepared the first strike, holding the pipe firmly in both hands. She swung, throwing all her strength into it, and the pipe rang loudly against the metal of the door as it broke into the keypad, causing a brief spark as the wiring cut out. The door didn?t break in, but the dent was considerably larger. [i]Alright, let?s try another?! [/i]She wound up again and threw her all into another strike. This time, one of the hinges came loose, and she smiled. With another, less forceful strike, the other hinge buckled, and the door came loose. Inside was a large totebag. She reached into the locker and gently took the bag out from the locker. Memories of the bag?s owner, Mr. Wesley, formed in her mind. She shook her head, embarrassed. It wasn?t her place to peer into other peoples? lives like this. She shouldn?t have even taken it. But right now she needed it more than mr. Wesley did, so she slung it around her shoulder. It was fairly heavy due to the man?s clothes, which had been stored inside it, but she managed. Regret still bothered her, so she quickly ran back down into the cryochamber, and stood in front of the pod with the skeleton inside. [b] ?Forgive me, Mr. Wesley?but I need to borrow this from you.? [/b]She fidgeted for a second before bowing politely, feeling somewhat ridiculous. Then she headed back up to the locker to see what else she could find.[/SIZE]

[Nessaja]

Chiyoko's cluster headache had finally cleared up. And finally, for the first time since it started, she had some clear thoughts. However, her thoughts surprised her.

[I]Run[/I]

She thought to herself. She wondered where that came from and tried to ignore it, but it was no use.

[I]Run! They let Ilya go off alone, they don't care about you or her. Get away and come back for Ilya later.[/I]

Chiyoko looked around. Lon looked over at her and she smiled, trying not to act suspicious. Then as he turned around and asked how she was feeling, she picked up Chase's bag and started running. She didn't know where she was going or what she would do without Chase's gun for protection and Lon's survival skills to keep her alive, but by some strange coincidence, she was actually running in the direction that Chase had gone. Her subconscious was probably trying to keep her alive, even while she was taking a big risk like this. Lon shouted after her, but she ignored him and kept running. After running for a bit, everything went black.

Chiyoko woke up, not knowing how long she had been out. Her head hurt, but it was because she had bumped it. It wasn't anything to do with her headaches this time. She must have bumped her head while turning around to see if Lon was following her. She decided to look through Chase's bag, but she had to do her business first. Which was a bad idea, because as soon as she started, she heard someone sneaking around. It was definitely a human though, so she had nothing to fear except for Chase's gun. That and the embarrassment of him seeing her empty her bladder. Then she realized that she still had his bag. What if he was angry with her and decided to leave her carcass for the wild dogs? Lon and Ilya wouldn't question Chase if he told them that some animals had attacked her and dragged her off. A shiver went down her spine at the thought of it. She just hoped it was Ilya or Lon who was nearby, and not Chase. That was her only hope at the moment. She had been stupid anyways for running off. Maybe she could apologize to Lon and everything would be okay. If not, she could never go back. Chiyoko continued her business and waited for the person, whoever it was, to show themselves.

[B]OOC: Sorry guys for the delay in my post. :animeswea I hope this is okay. Chiyoko is in the city by the way. So she should be close to Chase, but also not too far from Lon if Blonde wants to find her.[/B]

[Vicky]

[size=1][align=justify]He pulled himself up through the window forcefully and almost ripped his trousers (the front door, the obvious first choice for an entrance, was blocked with steel and rust). When his boots touched the floor of the house creatures jumped and leapt away, a few bats coursing out from an open wardrobe. It made Chase nervous for a second but he quickly shook it off; what was an animal to his intelligence? Nothing. And he had a gun.

The house was as expected. It was rusted and worn away, the front room completely wrecked and stinking of...

...what was that smell?

Upon noticing the smell Chase had to cover his mouth with his hand. His memory didn't recall anything like this, but the nearest smell to [i]this[/i] was the amorphophallus titanum plant. The plant that smelt like rotting flesh.

He pulled his shirt over his mouth and buttoned it up breathing heavily down onto his own chest. He didn't stay in the living room too long because he had decided, somewhat bravely, to follow the smell. It got more intense as he moved towards what he thought would have been the kitchen, reeking and reeking out the entire house. Had he no been full of dignity for himself he would have thrown up by now but, even when alone, he had to keep up the strong man facade.

Slowly he pushed the door to the kitchen open and jumped back when it fell off its hinges. He stared down at the blackened tiles, the insects rising from them and running off from the new presence. Chase's eyes rolled in the back of his head as he tried to keep the vomit down that had risen from his stomach.

[I]"Jesus Christ... Jesus..."[/I] he thought to himself.

When he opened his eyes he took in the scene; the kitchen full of green and black disease, rotting and dying, the walls bleached with that horrible little piece of nature. But his eyes locked onto one thing in particular, one thing that made him both scared, confused and disgusted.

A body. Sat at the table, head laid back, the skin a carapace now and some bones showing through from the flesh that had dropped off. The remaining flesh was black and chunky and the eye sockets were hollow, save for the worms that seemed to have found their way in there. The fingers were long and boney, placed on the table as if the person had been holding on for dear life, clothes hanging off, ribcage showing and hair grey now upon the skull.

Chase whimpered. He nearly through up again but managed to keep it back down, coming to a realisation: the body was [i]nowhere near[/i] even fifty years old.

He ran out of the house.

[B]"Lon! Chiyoko! Ilya!"[/B]

He ran as fast as he could back towards their direction with his head down. This had changed everything; they might not have been [i]alone[/i]. He kept running and running with his head whirring around with solutions and ideas, so much so that he tripped over his own feet and fell face first into a puddle.

He lay there and breathed. Breathed until he felt his lungs clear and his nose rid of the smell. The water ran off his face and he pushed himself up by his palms slowly, trying to get himself back on track, until he heard the sound of running water.

...were they really alone?

He would have to go and see.[/size][/align]

[Nessaja]

[B]OOC: Sorry guys, this has been long overdue. It will be my last post in the RP, unless Vicky revives it/starts a new chapter in the Audition forum. Also, sorry if Chase acts a bit too rough to Chiyoko, Vicky. I just wanted to add some more drama to the story so far.[/B]

[SIZE="2"]Chiyoko, with the bag a little distance behind her, watched the old doorway as the footsteps got closer. Soon, as she had feared, Chase walked in through the door. He looked at Chiyoko as she was squatting, and shook his head.

"So that's why I heard running water."

Chiyoko tried to play things off like nothing had happened. He obviously hadn't seen the bag yet.

"What?" Chiyoko asked. Then she made the connection.

"Oh yeah, that's thanks to me." She tried to laugh.

Chase started to enter the room, and before he saw where the bag was laying, Chiyoko stood up suddenly to hide it with her body before he noticed it. She was still busy relieving herself as she stood up.

"Anyways, come with me when you're done, Chiyoko. I want you to see something."

Chiyoko tried to fight a shiver as she remembered her worries about the wild dogs. She nodded, but Chase was obviously impatient. After a little bit, he turned and yelled at her.

"How long does it take you to take a piss?"

Chiyoko would have blushed if she wasn't so scared. Then, Chase grabbed her hand. He led her away, not giving her the time to finish. She would just have to go as they walked along.

Chase soon led her into another room, and what Chiyoko saw made her run back to where he had found her, not caring that she was still relieving herself. She doubled over and wanted to throw up. Chase followed her and obviously saw his bag. Because the next thing Chiyoko heard was him calling her a bitch. She turned around only to meet Chase's fist coming at her face. She was knocked unconscious and fell down a slope of rubble where some of the floor had collapsed into a room below. The urine trailed down her body as she was upside down on the slope.

When Chiyoko came to yet again, Chase was washing her off. She had a dream while she was out that Chase had continued to beat her. And maybe it wasn't a dream after all, because as he washed her, she noticed several cuts and on her body.

"So, you have a lot of tattoos in pretty private places. Why is that?" Chase asked, trying to make conversation.

All that Chiyoko could say though was "We created our own destruction."[/SIZE]

[B]Dun dun dun! Well, that's a little hint to my idea how the world ended. I'll PM it to you later, Vicky.[/B]