Escaping Eternia Ch. 15 - Biker Battle - now polling

[misterbiz]

The night was cold as I stepped out of the empty apartment that I called my home last night. Half a dozen fires scattered throughout the city lit up the night sky as their smoke blanketed out the stars. It’s been a week since the outbreak first began. It all started with a homeless man. That one homeless man had attacked a man with a high position in some skyscraper or another. The homeless man was killed by police after attacking and infecting two more innocent people, the executive went to work and by the end of that day had broken down and infected three others. They went on to infect more and so on and so forth.

Within a week, the city had become complete and utter chaos and I have seemingly found myself completely alone in this hell hole. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve tried to escape on multiple occasions. I really contain no desire to stay behind in this cesspool of murderous cannibalistic monsters but you know how the story goes. Government hears about the zombie outbreak and decides that it’s a much better idea to just contain the situation instead of wasting money on developing some sort of cure for the bloody infection.

As I stepped out of my  most recent dwelling, I caught a sight of several of the damnable creatures staggering toward me. With a survivalist instinct, I reached towards the small handgun that I had found on a decomposing officer. Before drawing the pistol I thought carefully . I was down to one clip. A single solitary nine-millimeter clip  and considering the fact that I wasn’t in dire straits, I decided leave it, keep my last sixteen shots and just ran ahead of the shufflers. The night air was filled with the various moans and groans of the creatures that now populated Eternia, the city that I once loved. I strolled down the center of the abandoned roads as I made my way toward my destination. Joseph’s Food and Drug, the nearest source of nourishment.

I kept my eyes open as I traveled, narrowly dodging several more of the foul beasts that roamed the city streets. I kept my hand secured on the pistol that was tucked into the waistband of my slacks, never daring to remove it from what would surely become my lifeline.

After three city blocks of walking and evading, I stopped. Something felt off. I gazed around and found two creatures moving toward me. I drew my gun and placed a single shot into the forehead of each. After the rotting things fell, I couldn’t help but gaze around at my surroundings. The air was still. There were no signs of any other shufflers nearby and the only scent of decomposition clung to the duo that I just took out. Something was wrong. I should have at least heard the nearest group but the nearest groans were coming from  blocks away. Something was occupying the creature’s time. Something or someone was leading them away from me. Survivors.

That had to be it. There had to be some other incredibly lucky person in the city.  Not military. If the military began sweeping through the city, I’d be hearing more gunfire and at the moment, All I heard was the lazy wails of the damned. An amused smile crossed my face as I started back on my trek, the gun still in my hand. My stomach rumbled slightly as I walked, begging for the food, I’ve dealt without for the last twenty-four hours. I ignored the angry sounds my gut was making and pushed forward through the strangely empty city streets. After what must have been a half hour, I stopped again. The smell of decomposition that clung to every bit of the air was making my already disturbed queasy. Resting against a wall, I let out a sigh and listened for any nearby fiends. I didn’t have to listen long until I heard feet dragging along the asphalt. I lifted from the wall and looked around quickly. Five of them. Five bloody creatures coming up through a nearby alley. As soon as I managed to get the nine-millimeter aimed, I heard more a loud moan from behind me. I spun and saw another six turning a corner.

“Fuck,” I said as I pivoted between the two groups that were blocking me in. Aiming at the larger group I squeezed off three shots, taking out half of them.  As soon as the last one dropped, I dashed forward. I narrowly averted becoming a meal  and continued past them. I turned the corner they came from and was greeted by another large horde of them. “Shit shit shit.”

I slid to a halt and barely escaped  a pair of decomposing hands belonging to one well dressed zombie. After side-stepping the cretin, I quickly delivered a solid kick to its leg. The leg crack and bent in an unnatural fashion but the attack still went unfazed but the moaning creature. It turned toward me and just as it reached out again, I shoved my gun into its mouth and squeezed the trigger. Thick black blood sprayed onto me before it slumped to the ground. Knowing that standing around was a bad idea, I turned and continued to run away from the horde. I headed forward, quickly dodging several creatures along my way. Managing to actually get through a good number of the group, I ducked into an alley and raced through it. Appearing on the other side, I noticed only two standing just arms length away from me. I took out one with my pistol and was greeted with another face full of a bloody mist. The other one drew closer and was met with a large punch to the jaw causing part of it to fall off.

Without a seconds delay, I turned and continued to run. Once I was sure there was no immediate danger, I leaned against a nearby wall and took a breather. My heart was beating hard enough that it was all I hard as I stood and breathed heavily. As I rested I couldn’t help but eject the clip from my gun and look at it. I followed suit by pulling the slide back and double checking that there was one in the chamber. Once I was impressed, I slid the clip back in and nodded. 

“Ok. I started out with fifteen in the clip and one in the chamber,” I said aloud to no one imparticular. There’s nothing like a complete lack of civilization and conversation to make one appreciate their own voice. “I just used…let’s see… two…five…six...seven. Seven shots. Ok. Nine shots left. Fuck.”

I rocked my head back and let it collide with the brick. A slight stinging sensation resounded through my skull as I stood there, beating myself up for getting allowing the brain-dead bastards to corner me. It was insulting. Those undead cretins ganging up on me. I hit my head on the wall once more  before standing up and kicking the nearest trashcan.

“Fuck,” I shouted. As I stood on the curb after my kick, I felt my stomach rumble angrily once more. I sighed and looked around to try and find my bearings to get back on track. Not seeing any signs, I just shrugged and started down the street, in the direction I was sure the store would be in. As I walked, I found more sparse amounts of the undead. They must have all been in that street  coming for me or any other survivor. I strolled for another several blocks, moving past very few creatures without notice. It almost seemed too easy.

After a lengthy stroll, when I actually could make out the burnt out sign a few blocks away, another distraction hit.  A loud shotgun blast shattered the air, sounding as if it came from the next street over. I shot a gaze around before jogging forward slightly. I stopped suddenly as another gunshot rang through the night. This time it wasn’t a shotgun. It sounded more like some sort of rifle. I took one step forward and paused before looking to my side toward the direction of the gunshots.

Thoughts raced quickly through my mind as my eyes darted from ahead of me to direction of the shots. I could go  and quickly get food. Nourishment before I tried to find some way out of this god-forsaken wasteland. Then again a survivor means ammo and assistance. Not to mention conversation that I’ve been missing since this whole city went down the shit-hole. I closed my eyes and tried to think of what to do.

Ok. So what does the yet-to-be-named protagonist do now? Does he just say "fuck it" and get himself some grub? Try and find the survivors? Decide neither and looke for ammo?

Also: who could the survivor or survivors be? Are they even survivors? Did the zombies learn to load and use firearms? Has the military entered the scene? Are you annoyed by my questions?

Ok. In all seriousness, what happens? Whats a poor schmuck lost in a zombie wasteland to do? Any and all ideas welcome consider this is my very first IT.

[misterbiz]

Biz Bit: Sorry for taking so long with this one. Had some serious writer's block. And as promised here's some news. In two months time, The Sprinters Saga Part II: The Best in the Biz will be starting...yeah...so look forward to that.

I opened my eyes and found myself still lying on the ground. Though it did appear as if I was in a different place than I had fallen. Letting out a small moan of pain, I started to push myself off the ground. Reaching my hands and knees, a large foot stopped my progress at becoming vertical and shoved me back to the ground with painful force.

"I don't think so, buddy boy," a voice said. It was a male voice. A bit younger than me and definitely a quarter of my intellect. Definitely Lou Reynolds, my father's errand boy. "You know, Leon, you are a hard bastard to track down."

"Maybe for you, Lou," I said. "Then again, you couldn't find you own hands if you were holding a fucking map." A second later I felt the cold barrel of a gun press against the back of my neck. The feeling of the steel against my flesh sent a small chill down my spine but I made sure not to show whatever fear I felt.

"Is that so?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's so," I said. the gun lifted from the back of my skull for a moment before it came crashing back down onto my skull. Pain soared through my skull as it was sandwiched between the hard steel and the concrete. For a moment or two, I was completely dazed and disoriented. I blinked a couple times as the sensation of steel once again appeared on the back of my skull.

"Maybe you want to change your tone," Lou said as the sound of a cocking hammer floated into my ears. "You seem to forget that I'm the guy with the gun."

I let out a chuckle and smiled wide. "Yeah. And you forget that my father would have your head if you killed me."

"Please, your father sent me..."

"Let me guess. To recover me. To bring me back to whatever hole he crawled in to so he can dole out a bit of vengeance for his stay in the stone hotel. Take it from me, Lou. If you kill me, he'll kill you."

The gun disappeared from the back of my head and I heard several footsteps leading away from me. Slowly I started to push myself up Until I could see my surroundings. I was in a basement of some kind. A small pile of corpses sat in the corner though all of them appeared to be fresh kills. Scanning the room, my eyes quickly landed on my attacker. He was about six feet tall and quite scrawny. A messy mop of blonde hair sat upon his head. He was dressed in black jeans and chaps and was wearing a leather jacket reminiscent of the ones my father's minions wore. He strode across the room and stopped next to Ana, who was handcuffed to a radiator in the corner.

"Yeah but he never mentioned anything about the girl. Don't mess with me, man. I will kill her."

I looked at the still unconscious Ana and was immediately swallowed up with anger. A bloody gash sat on the side of her head and her clothes were in a mild state of disarray. It looked as if he had decided to get a good groping in while waiting for us to awake. As rage consumed me, I refused to let it show. I smiled wide and looked back to Lou.

"No you won't," I told him as I pushed myself up to my feet. "Because if you do, then I will kill you."

"Oh, listen to Mr. Tough Guy. You sound like you really believe that," he sneered.

"If you don't drop that gun, I'll prove it."

"You really think you can beat a bullet?" he asked. "Please, just how dumb can you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, I rushed him and slammed his back into the wall. Moving fast, I grabbed the hand that was clutching the gun and slammed it against the wall. With a loud yelp, He let go and the weapon clattered to the floor. Without skipping a beat I gave him a solid punch to the jaw and followed it up with a sturdy knee to his groin. As Lou grabbed at his soft bits, I grabbed the gun from the floor and pressed it to his skull.  A brief thought of sparing him popped into my mind but I shook it away before squeezing the trigger. Blood and brain matter exploded out of the other end of his skull before his body collapsed to the concrete.

"And its not about beating the bullet," I said as I stared at the body on the ground. "It's about beating the dumbass that can't keep his fucking mouth shut."

"Friend of yours?" Ana asked. I quickly looked over at her and gave a chuckle.

"No. Not a friend of mine. Quite the opposite in fact. He's my father's lapdog," I said. Crouching down I dug in his pockets until I found a set of keys. I scooted across the ground a bit and freed Ana from the radiator, setting down the gun as I did so.

"Where are we?" Ana asked as she stood up and looked around.

"No fucking idea," I responded as I looked around.

"Guns?"

"Got to be around here somewhere," I said. I scanned the room once again and noticed a small door in the corner of the room. It was about three feet in height and seemed to be at least two feet wide. It was the color of the cement and seemed to blend in with the rest of the basement. As I approached it, I noticed that there was some minuscule remnants of some sort of insignia. Carefully, I tried to open it. Locked. For a couple of minutes I tried various keys until I found a match. As I opened the door I found our supplies alongside a golden briefcase. I grabbed our supplies and pulled out the case. 

"Go see where we are," I said to Ana as I tossed her the keys. She managed to catch them and gave a nod as she headed up a set of stairs. As she left, I started to study the case. It was locked. As my eyes glanced over the locking mechanism, I could tell that something was quite different about this case. Instead of a regular numerical code, this one was a seven-letter alphabetical one. I let my finger trace over the lock before I heard Ana's voice from up the stairs.

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit," she shouted. I grabbed the guns, stood up and started across the room before glancing back at the case, wondering if I should grab it as well.

Ok. So does our hero grab the case? Go upstairs and come back for it later? Why is Ana upset? Does she see a big creature? Are they somewhere they've already been? Is a friend of hers dead? Some other random bad thing? What are your thoughts of the case? What could be inside? And why was it in the hidden room? Who owned the room? What was the insignia? Are you tired of my questions yet?

[Chinaren]

I had actually written my reply today when we had some issue with Tome! 

Anyhoo..

Welcome back!  We missed you! 

I say that she's bumped into some more of his fathers' friends, but there's something strange wrong with them.  Ooer.

Maybe inside the case is a secret formula to resolve the whole issue, but it needs a code which isn't easy to get, and of course, the ingredients aren't local...

Hehe.

[Thunderbird]

A great many vials await discovery inside the case - a biochemist's work on trying to come up with a vaccine against the disease creating the shufflers.  And syringes.  But... do any of these vials, labeled in differing versions, actually work?  Or could some of them even GIVE the disease if taken?

So, yeah, he takes the case and finds this stuff after battling through some invading shufflers under the command of that mysterious hooded fellow who had power over them.  Perhaps he's just trying to get that case!

[misterbiz]

now polling

[misterbiz]

I hurried back and grabbed the case before moving toward the stairs. I grabbed the gun from near the radiator and hurried up the stairs. I came to a dead stop next to Ana. We were standing in what appeared to be a pharmacy and standing in front of us was a small group of my father's men. Each one was clutching an automatic rifle and had it perfectly aimed at our skulls. They were all dressed in their traditional leather and was wearing their motorcycle helmets that were decorating with various spikes. Instinctively, my eyes bounced around the men, counting their numbers. There were seven of them. For a couple of minutes there was pure silence as me and Ana stood frozen, studying the threat in front of us. After a small eternity, I heard a small chuckle. My eyes drifted past  the thugs and caught sight of the man in the hood.

He was standing in the doorway a few feet back and was staring directly at me, allowing me to see under his hood. His eyes were a bright orange color and appeared to be glowing. A long scar ran down the right side of his face, coming down from temple, gliding past the edge of his eye and ending right above his mouth. His flesh appeared to be a pale gray color, making him resemble a lively shuffler.

“I must really thank you two,” he said. “I've been looking for that case for a while. Now, come give it to me and I'll let you be on your way.”

I looked down at the case for a moment then back up at him. This case was important to him for some reason. I knew that I didn't know much about this individual but I had a feeling that it was in everybody's interest that this case stay out of his possession. With a wicked grin I shook my head. “I don't think so,” I said.

The hooded man chuckled again and flashed an evil smile of his own. Something about that smile sent chills going down my spine. His teeth were a green color that reminded me a bit of pea soup.  His eyes stayed level at me as he took a single step forward and slammed the door behind him. “Pretty please?” he asked in a sarcastic manner.

“No. I think its probably best if I hang on to it. So why don't you just let up pass and in return, I'll take good care of it.”

“Poor pathetic, Leon,” the stranger said. “Always going against your best interests.”

“How the fuck do you know his name, fuckface?” Ana shouted at him as I opened my mouth to speak. I looked at her for a moment then looked back to Mr. Hood whose smile was now missing. He was now wearing a glare that I'm sure would have killed me if it could.

“Nevermind, little girl,” he snarled. He pointed directly at the case and took another step forward. “Give me my case or I will have these foul, vile, cretins take it from you.”

“Let me think about that. No.” I replied.

He growled and held out a single hand. “Fetch.” The thugs in front of me all dropped their guns and doubled over in agony. I watched as the leather spread and grew around them like a fungus, The helmets started expanding and fusing to their skulls, the steel spikes now resembling demonic horns. As I watched in horror, I lifted up the case.

“Take it,” I commanded.

“What?” she asked.

“Take the case and go into the basement. Lock the door too,” I told her.

“I'm not leaving you, dammit,” she barked. I lowered my arm and turned to her. I looked her straight in the eye and my grin vanished as worry took over my face.

“Yes you are. You have to protect this case. He can't get it. So get in that basement,” I said. She looked at me then to the case then to the basement.

“Fine,” she sighed. She grabbed the case and started down the steps before stopping and turning around. Without warning, she leaned up and her lips mad a quite pleasant connection to mine. “Just in case,” she said before running down the steps. After a stunned moment, I slammed the door and turned to the mutating thugs. I dropped the gun bag and dropped down next to it. Frantically, I started digging for some sort of better weapon. I pulled out a shotgun and rose.  I squeezed the trigger and blew one of the new beasts back. Black blood flew out from it that vaguely resembled motor oil.

Before I could act, another one of them grabbed the barrel of the gun and tore it out of my grasp. I looked in its direction and was met with a solid leather fist to the face. The next thing I knew I was flying back into the wall. I winced in pain and opened my eyes in time to see a beast charging at me. I barely managed to move out of the way of the creature and charged at its buddies. I rammed my shoulder into one and attempted to tackle it. The thing didn't budge and a great amount of pain shot into my shoulder as if I had just crashed into a wall. Something hard and painful crashed into my back and threw me to the ground. As I made a brutal contact with the floor, an idea popped into my mind.  Slyly I reached over and placed an hand on one of the automatic rifles. As I gripped it, one of the beasts started to lift me up by my collar. I brought the gun with me and as soon as I could aim it, I brought it up and filled one of their guts full of lead. The one lifting me let go and  I rolled onto my back as I landed.  I pumped out more shots and smiled wide as it dropped to the floor.  As I looked around, I noticed another starting to raise its foot so stomp on me. I rolled out of its way and onto my knees. Not wanting to give this thing another chance to attack, I jammed my gun into its crotch and squeezed the trigger. Its black blood sprayed on me as it dropped to the ground. I stood up and moved over it and finished off by emptying the rest of the clip into his face.

Before I could focus on another I was taken to the ground by another of them.  It made a loud gurgling sound as it pinned me, its hands fumbling for my throat. Looking around I noticed the shotgun, nearby. Quickly I fumbled for it, doing my best to hold off the vile thing's clutches. I managed to grab the gun in a lucky amount of time. Bringing the gun up, I managed to get it under the fiends jaw and squeeze the trigger. More black blood sprayed on me and I slowly started to rise.

“Enough,” Mr. Hood's voice roared through the room.

The remaining duo stood and simply stared at me. I looked toward the doorway quickly and saw that Mr. Hood was no longer standing there. The door to the building was still shut though. Cautiously, I looked around the room and saw that he was nowhere to be seen. I looked at the other tow things and finished each one with a shotgun blast to the chest.

I walked to the basement door and knocked on it. “Let's go,  Ana,” I said.

The door opened a moment later and she looked at me and nodded. I wrapped an arm around her, and returned the gun to the gun bag. I lifted the bag and started with her out of the building. Once out of the pharmacy, I gazed around the city streets. Trying to come up with some sort of plan. On one hand, we could just keep going, trying to find my father or Kobra. Or we could try to track down Mr. Hood and take him out to guarantee some safety.

Ok some simple question: What does he do now? Hunt down Hood? Hunt down Daddy? Ask about the Kiss?

[Chinaren]

Yay!  New chapter!  I'm halfway through, will finish it off later on, when I've more time Mr. B.

[Chinaren]

Well I don't know what's going on with Mr. Hoodie.  He has things under control and then buggers off.   

Anyway, I say they carry on with their original mission, which was... Er.  Forgotten! 

[Thunderbird]

Fun Chapter Bizzy!

My one crit:

I managed to grab the gun in a lucky amount of time.

  Seemed a bit awkwardly worded there.  I got the point and could think of myself sitting there struggling with the statement, looking for a way to reword it but ending up saying fug it and moving on.  Perhaps, "Luckily, my fingers found the gun with no time to spare."

But otherwise, this was great!  You had been saying you struggle with the blow-by-blow action scenes and I didn't see you struggling with it here at all.  Very nicely put forth, though there were times I wondered why the others were holding back - it seemed to cost them the fight.  But then I often wonder that with a lot of movies and such too so you're in comfortable company among many professionals there.  And it didn't detract from the scene. 

I kinda thought he was a goner when it began and was thinking you might've planned a surprise ending on us.  I was glad to see we made it through!

As for the DP... we need to find out more about the contents of this case somehow.  And soon.  But if we're to keep up with all this antagonism coming at us from every direction, we need to get back with the others so we have strength in numbers again.  And weren't we on the way to get some ammo and supplies again?

I also think he needs to start moving a bit closer to her but without saying it openly.  Start talking, getting to know each other... bond a bit.  She seems to like him and he doesn't want to come at it too aggressively here and scare the acceptance right out of her with any desperation.  Yep... that's right, it might be time for the story's characters to show some 'feelings'.

[Tainted Biohazard]

I see Thunderbird and Chinaren are here as well.

Having read the longer version here on Tome I must say I can see what you mean about your character, Mr Biz.  He does have a more heroic bent than I had taken him for.  I thik the decisions the others have made have helped to shape him in this regard and he comes through well by now.

While I agree with the others on some things here, I would like to suggest that now is the time to hunt down this hooded man before he becomes a bigger problem still.  Was there any recognition of him?  He couldnt' have been a man his father knew could he?  I wonder if we should try to meet with one of our father's old crew to see if this man has caused trouble for them as well.  But we should hide the case somewhere nobody would expect before putting it in danger of being captured by the hooded man again.

[misterbiz]

Now polling, peoplings

[Chinaren]

Tough choice this one. 

[Tainted Biohazard]

Voted for the less favored response apparently.  Nevertheless, I'm intrigued to see more down the road they determined - assuming more votes don't throw things in a differing direction.

[Silme]

I know this little bad boy hasn't been updated recently; but I figured I'd still comment now that I'm (mostly) caught up.  Glad to see the story progress with ever more sinister turns in the plot.  C'Ren made the comment earlier and I have to agree that as this story progresses your writing improves as well.  I'm getting a real sense of intrigue here mixed with the action.  Hope there's more undead mayhem afoot although I know you have a few projects going, so I'll be patient.  Maybe gnaw on a brain or two whilst I await the next installment

[Perry Tratchett]

I started reading this one last night (night shifts are usually a good time to read) and, although I thought the writing style was a bit rough at first, as Silme pointed out, it's improved as it's gone along.

I didn't realise this one seems to be dead, but in case you plan to start it up again, I'll say ask about the kiss as they go and hunt down the hood.

[Thunderbird]

I doubt its dead, its just the first version and he's working on a second version of it at the same time which I presume could get a little confusing to the author to consider both at once.  We got a bit slower here and I think his focus ended up on that one but I'm pretty sure he never intended to let this one go this long.  Am I right Biz?

On a side note... I'm still unsure which version I like better but I do like both and find them distinctly different from one another.

[misterbiz]

Yes...this one is not dead...As T mentioned...I am working on another. As Tome went semi-dead and one of my readers of this piece vanished (that's you, Silme) I chose to focus on the other one instead...but I will return to this one soon. Very Soon. I also plan to get back on Best in the Biz as well. Count on it.

[Chinaren]

Nice to see you alive and kicking Bizzy.  Or kicking anyway.

Wait, deja-vu.