Forums » General Roleplay » Zombie Apocalypse: Death Road To Canada [IC]

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Talking. Gunshots. Shuffling, stumbling and groaning. More talking. Shouting. Chaos.

In the musty darkness of the trailer which served as a veritable fortress against the undead, Riley breathed a heaving sigh which morphed into a breathy groan. She cursed lowly, using several creative obscenities that didn’t even quite make sense. She let the steadily mounted rifle slide back into a more comfortable grip as she leaned back and stressedly massaged her forehead with the heel of one grimy hand.

”Oy I keep tellin’ em, an’ they ain’t @#$%in’ listen. @#$%in’ idiots, th’ lo’ of em. Dunno’ ‘ow they made it so long. @#$%in’ @#$%-@#$% dumb@#$%s.” She was muttering, presumably to herself, under her breath as she shrugged the hafty backpack off her person then proceeded to go rooting through it, having leaned the rifle against the wall for easy access, though it seemed unlikely that it would be necessary. The fools with their guns - Mostly that Asian dude - were attracting so much aggro that she and her little friend would be all but invisible to the dumb monsters even in broad daylight.

She was in no particular hurry, despite the roaring of undead demons and the angry rapport of submachine gun fire, and the occasional whoof of an arrow.

Riley didn’t care about those people. She didn’t.

She had found this kid, and had decided - much to her own chagrin - to take care of her. Maybe it was some need for retribution, though she had long since discarded her ‘moral compass’. Maybe it was the need for companionship or, more likely, meaning. A reason to keep living in a world where nothing mattered anymore.

But regardless of the reasoning behind her strategically terrible choice, it stood. She had taken on the kid. Decided, against her will and better judgement, that she had no choice but to look after her - even knowing the grave and very real danger of getting too attached to someone in a world that was ruled by death.

But one was enough.

@#$% everybody else. Especially anybody else who drags trouble along everywhere they go.

Yet even as she rehearsed the lines silently in her mind to the rhythm of a breathy string of mumbled vulgarities, still she produced from her bag one of the special treasures she had squirreled away for just such an occasion. A valuable thing that would be resources lost once she used it. Valuable resources wasted on the worthless lives of two or three strangers who at best she distrusted and at worst positively despised. That @#$%in’ Asian dude.

The darkness of the trailer was becoming familiar now as their eyes adjusted to it, and so it was that a second small sliver of light became visible, just barely slicing through what appeared to be the ceiling, but was actually the side wall of the trailer. It was the kind with a side access door - the man-sized entryway that would provide easier access to the cargo in tight spaces. A lucky break indeed.

Finding the relic she sought, Riley closed up the hefty backpack and stuffed the thing into her pocket, where it became one of a seemingly vast number of things hidden away in the vast number of pockets. Then she strapped the rifle snugly to the backpack, taking care to tie it down so that it would not make too much noise or shift about. Lastly she stood up, shouldered the knapsack long enough to deposit it on the floor beneath the little sliver of light which gave away the door’s position.

”Right then. Les’ you an’ I take our leave, like.” She said, addressing the younger girl for the first time in what seemed like forever, and talking in a voice that was hushed, but only casually.

For a moment, Riley stood with hands on narrow hips, looking upward with a contemplative expression. Gradually her frown became less thoughtful and more frustrated, eventually leading to another lowly spat curse.

All the things she had survived. All the skills she had acquired and honed. And now, at the end of the world, she faced her greatest challenge yet. A disadvantage so fundamental that no amount of willpower could force it to change.

Riley was

too

damned

short!

Even now, when vanity was a thing of the long forgotten past - her ’underdeveloped stature’ was haunting her. She hated the fact that the display of inadequacy made her turn a little bit red in the face despite everything else.

Huffing dejectedly, the redhead proceeded with plucking another priceless treasure from a coat pocket - the hand-cranked emergency flashlight she had murdered some harmless middle-aged woman for, in what now seemed to be a past life almost lost to memory. Using the dimmest setting, Riley illuminated the interior of the musty trailer just enough to find - by another stroke of nearly miraculous luck that she highly doubted was going to keep up for much longer - a load strap, conveniently dangling from the ‘ceiling’ within relatively easy reach of the door.

Placing the light on the floor and still seeming quite immune to the sounds of epic battle coming in through the walls, Riley looked to Serenity with a sober look that was obviously meant to be encouraging, but only ended up looking grim.

A’right kiddo, I’mma need y’elp wit’is’.” She said, glancing up to the door. ”I’mma get’che up m’shoulders. I need you’ta grab’onna that ‘andle an’ yank it an’ push up. It’ll be ‘eavy so hold’onna ‘at strap an’ y’should be able’a do it. Once it’s open, climb out, I’ll ‘and y’our bags an’ come up afte’ys.”

Riley looked the younger girl steadily in the eye then. It was the kind of meaningful, earnest eye-contact that spoke volumes on the dire nature of their predicament. She didn’t even realize she was doing it.

”Can you do that?” She asked, in a tone of voice which seemed to say both ’I won’t force you’ and ’You have no choice’.

And if she were being honest - Riley wasn’t even so sure that the little girl would be up to the task at all.

May I join))

may I join to please

For what seemed like hours had passed, but in reality it had only been ten minutes of silence. A deathly silence at that. A few times, Serenity could hear her newfound friend Riley re-positioning.

Serenity watched her. Her hands did not shake as she held the gun, she barely moved a muscle. Her eyes were focused and she was prepared for... attack. Or so it seemed.

The girl thought back on both men's words from outside. She didn't fully understand what they were saying, but from the look on Riley's face, they seemed to have known each other.

Serenity squinted her eyes, finally able to make out objects in the small space. At this moment, she didn't feel threatened. However, her heart was beating faster than she had ever felt before. At some points, it almost hurt to breathe.

She listened quietly to Riley's voice. Her angry tone made the young girl clench her jaw. Her eyes flickered between her friend and the door. It was as if they were both waiting for someone outside to make a move.

She heard Riley spoke then, her voice fairly calm. This seemed to have an effect on Serenity, she felt more relaxed in this particular situation. She listened as she gave her instructions. My help? Serenity questions in her head.

Serenity almost wanted to laugh out loud. She knew bigger people were more useful; they could hold guns, they were definitely a lot smarter, and of course they were much bigger and stronger.

The young girl was finally figuring out this world. You had to be tough to survive or you wouldn't last long. But how was a 10 year old girl going to learn all the means to live out here?

Serenity reluctantly nodded. She was going to prove she wasn't useless.

Riley hoisted her up on her shoulders, she felt wobbly at first, but soon felt used to the much taller height she was at. She first grabbed the strap by the top to make sure she was steady. Little light peeked from the opening at the top and she had to feel around for the handle Riley was talking about.

She quickly found it, pulling it just as she was told too. She pushes up on the small opening, hoping for it to easily open. However, it seems to not have been used much, causing it to be a little jammed.

She pushes a total of three times, using all of the strength her arms can take. It jerks open finally with a small popping sound. Serenity stumbles a second before regaining her balance.

Now, she has to climb onto the roof. Her arms ache from the intense pressure she had put on them, but she knows this is what she has to do.

She reaches her hands up, placing one on the top of the trailer. She makes sure she is balanced enough and does the same with her other hand. She begins to hoist herself up, using all the strength she has left.

Serenity makes it to the top, her arms aching and her temples forming sweat. Her breathes are heavy and she feels like she might collapse. "Okay," She says, almost out of breath. "You can hand me the bags." Her voice is a half whisper, but is not loud either. She can't manage to speak loud with her lungs begging for the oxygen she had lost.

---

She’d done it! Riley’s heart leaped - but it wasn’t over yet.

With a hasty thumbs-up to her surprisingly helpful little friend, she made to lift her bag and hoist it up to her - only to realize that it was absolutely not going to work. It was stuffed with so many valuable supplies that it was simply too heavy to lift any way other than with her center of mass.

But, she realized after struggling for a moment, that was okay. It just meant a slight alteration of her plan. ”We’ll grab’m later.” She said, giving up abruptly. The supplies, however priceless, were not as valuable as Serenity and, to a lesser extent, her own life. If the plan failed and they needed to flee, both of them being up top would be vital.

Riley again unstrapped the rifle from the bag and slung it over her shoulders. Then she stepped up onto the bag, using it as extra leverage, and began the humiliatingly lengthy process of trying to scale her way up. If she’d been just a little taller it would have been so much easier - but for Riley it was a matter of hopping, scrabbling, clinging, dangling, a little bit of flailing, one panicky near-fall, more scrabbling - and by the time she had finally grabbed on to Serenity’s hands and used all the purchase she had to assist in getting her up, she was just as sweaty and out of breath as her friend.

”Bloody good job kiddo.” She said earnestly through her own heaving breaths, lying on her back for several seconds and ruffling the girl’s hair before getting to her feet and surveying their surroundings from a better view.

It was a horrorscape, and immediately Riley understood why.

The ground was an undulating mass of undead, grunting and groaning and hissing, stumbling over each other, surrounding the trailer on all sides but one - which was the side that dropped off the center of the overpass they were perched upon. Ahead, she could see the Mustang or whatever it was, along with three figures, fighting a losing battle as the undead swarmed them, surrounding them, closing in like a whirlpool.

And she could see why - in the distance, hardly five or ten miles away, there stood a city. Unknowingly, the fools had been doing the single dumbest, most suicidal thing that survivors could do - they had been going toward a @#$%ing city! It was the number one rule - to avoid high population areas. Granted, she had been walking that direction too, but only because her home had been blown up. Their immediate danger was the new guy’s fault mostly, since he had come running from the city and bringing his problems with him, in the form of the teeming undead.

Riley sighed, digging in her pocket for the thing she’d grabbed earlier, panicking for a heartbeat when she feared she might have dropped it, then finding and withdrawing it. A black thing, rectangular, the size of a geriatric remote control, but thicker and with less knobs. It was a genuine, all-American Screamin’ Eagle™ trucker’s alarm clock. Guaranteed to wake up you and everyone else for a ten mile radius or your money back. One of the few valuables she had acquired by honest scavenging, and not by murdering someone for it.

”Cover your ears.” She said huskily, then took a deep breath and, with two fingers in her mouth, whistled as loud as she could. It was loud indeed, carrying at least as far as the survivors and their car. Many of the creatures stopped, twisting and turning stupidly in a dumb attempt at placing the new and interesting sound. Following that up, Riley snatched the machete and banged it repeatedly on the tinny surface of the trailer, turning it into a huge metal bass drum and shouting at the top of her lungs ”OY! OYOY YA’ DUMB @#$% @#$%HEAD @#$%S!” Followed by a string of profanity too creative and heinous to recount.

More and more were turning her way now - and with each one that turned, two more followed. It seemed that suddenly the other survivors were not so interesting to the demons, as all but the nearest to them were now beginning to shamble toward the shrieking redhead perched safely atop her thirteen foot trailer. There was no way they were getting her up there, unless they were intelligent enough to climb up the one pair of cars that would constitute the shouting girl’s exit route should all go well.

Then, once she had the attention of enough of them, Riley hit the button, immediately hurling it with all her might as far back toward the city as she could, aiming for a deep roadside ravine. At the same time, she dropped into a prone position, ensuring that she was out of sight from the stupid creatures.

The sound was deafening, putting all the ruckus Riley had made to shame. It was like an air horn, a train’s whistle and a jet engine combined. It was an evil, demonic screech, a wailing scream called up from the gates to Hell itself. Te combined cries of all the forces of the underworld, of all banshees and spirits that wailed in the night. It seemed almost to vibrate the ground itself. As the Screamin’ Eagle™ sailed through the air, the sound traveled with it, and zombie heads turned to watch it arc through the sky. It was loud enough to hurt them, or at least disorient them as it passed over, but once it had chuffed through the tris and into the ravine they were too stupid to do anything but follow after it like moths to the flame.

Crawling cautiously to the edge of the trailer, Riley watched as the throngs of zombies doubled back down the road from which they had come, walking into the woods, only to stumble down the steep embankment and into the ravine. She waited. Five minutes passed, and the sound was becoming muted from the number of them which had been piled atop it. After ten minutes, so many of them had heaped over it that it was barely a ringing in the ears. Still, given that the undead seemed to have enhanced hearing and were more sensitive to vibration, it was starting to act as a dog whistle - still audible, but much louder to them than to the living.

That, Riley supposed, was what it took to wake up a trucker.

When at last the only undead present were the several which were unable to move and a small cluster gathered some hundred feet away alongside the ravine, Riley stood. Beckoning to Serenity, she proceeded with climbing down the side of the trailer, helping her along the way down the short hop onto one car roof, then another, then the road.

After a quick return to the trailer depths that she might retrieve her hefty bag, Riley reemerged and tossed the girl her own, much smaller backpack and then made her way toward the group around the car.

Toward Serenity, she hadn’t seemed anything but her usual neutral grumpy - but as she walked into view of the others, machete in hand and pistol holster unbuttoned for a quick draw, she looked downright furious. The only sound now was the faint, distant squealing.

She was not exactly the picture of intimidation, standing at her small size and with a ten year old girl in bunny slippers following behind - but the expression on her face and the way her knuckles pressed white around the blade’s grip might have made up for the difference.Indeed, they might have shot her as she came determinedly toward, walking at an only mildly hurried pace - but she didn’t think they would and doubted they had the munitions left anyway.

When she finally reached them, she didn’t attack anyone. Instead, she stepped up to the car, swung the machete’s honed carbon-black blade and slashed the tire. For good measure, she stepped to the back and slashed a second tire, then she gave a long, hateful, contemptuous glare at the Asian before stepping around him and gesturing with the weapon at the new guy. ”Who th’@#$ a’you.” She demanded, her voice low, and threatening. She didn’t even wait for an answer. ”An’ why the @#$% d’you think it’s okay t’come down on people wit’at kinda’ trouble.” Her words were forceful now, but still low, through gritted teeth. Again, she didn’t let him respond. ”Y’know what you do when you got that many walkers afte’ya? Y’know whatcha’ do?”

Riley pointed forcefully at the woods, growling hatefully ”You go into the @#$%ing woods, and you @#$%ing die alone. THAT’S what. It is not they’ job t’protect your dumb ass.” Then, whirling on the other two - but mainly the Asian - she added ”An’ it ain’t my job t’protect you. But here I am’ doin’ it anyway.”

With that, Riley pointedly re-sheathed the machete, but did not snap the latch so as to keep it available for quick access just in case. When she continued, her tone was a little less harsh, though no less contemptuous. ”I ain’t lettin’ you take my @#$% an I ain’t lettin’ you keep followin’ me tryna’ take my @#$%, so I guess I’m stuck with you worthless sacks’a @#$% ‘till further @#$%in’ notice. An’ since I’m ‘parrently th’only @#$% here what knows how’a stay alive, you’s follow my @#$%in rules or you can go @#$% y’self, go’it?”

All the while, she had made sure to keep herself between them and Serenity. In many cases, it was only the worst of humanity that had survived the apocalypse, and the few remaining survivor camps were rife with rapists and pedophiles. With her boyish androgynous looks Riley wasn’t too worried about herself - even though it had happened - she was more concerned about the pristine little girl tagging along.

”Names. Now. I’m Riley. At’s m’lil’ sis Serenity-” Abruptly, her voice took on a tone more menacing than anything yet, eyes darkening with it so that for a moment, she looked like a cold blooded murderer. A very small one, but one nonetheless. ”An mark my @#$%in’ words. Any’a you touches ‘er, puts a finger on ‘er. @#$%in’ looks at ‘er the wrong way and I will not hesitate to rip your @#$%in’ throat out. Are. We. Clear.”

After hearing some threatening words and minatory acts from the oldman and of course the Asian, the horde finally reached them. And it seems they wanted to fight with them in spite of the fact that they had a car. He didn't understand. The only choise he had was to stay there and fight beside of them.

Surrounding by walkers in the woods is as dangerous and dreadful as wrestling with devil in the hell. Walkers won't reach him until he has that legendary bow!! But there will be no arrows soon or later. So he decided to use an arrow as far as he could. Means that to bring out the arrow he used to kill one of them from his head and using it again for another walker! Or he could just use his tiny knife!

When he was killing walkers, he was thinking about the car and why they didn't escape from that mess. The old man shouted "over here". And over here means the top of the car. So they got there. Surrounding on a high place (not so high) is better than fighting on the ground. However the tiny knife was usefull there, at least. The car that they didn't use for escape was being used as their breastwork.

He was killing them one after the other. Just like the two guys with their huge machete. What if he had a machete too?! Or at least a bigger knife.

It was so obvious that they will be dead soon. They couldn't hold it anymore. It was a Chevrolet not a truck. There was not such a place for three person on its roof. Also they were three and walkers were coming from four sides.
They were spending their last moments of their lives on the top of Chevrolet for nothing. They could just leave at the first moments before the fight begins. These walkers killed his people and now they're killing him.
Wait...
What was that?

A @#$%ing loud sound was coming from somewhere. It was so loud that he couldn't understand where it comes from. That harsh sound was attracting walkers to it.

By following walkers way with his eyes, he reached a girl. No. Two girls. One of them was a little girl and other one with red hair was a bit older. It seems just a bit because she was short. They were on the top of a huge trailer. She thrown that sound maker or whatever it was somewhere farther from there.

Walkers were almost gone and the girl was coming to them. He was thinking about his life that was being saved because of her and she is a savior. When he was going to thank her, suddenly she slashed two tires!!
Two @#$% tires!
It seems noone cares about having a car there. Or they didn't know the advantages of a car in a zombie world. Or they just hate a Chevrolet.

Their savior became their some kind of malicious chief or something. she was talking to them. He didn't understand what the hell is she talking about. She told the Asian "you know what you did when you got that many walkers after you" what does it mean?

By looking at the two guys faces he got that they known each other and that's why they didn't leave there. They were waiting for her but it seems she isn't agree to come with them and also she is ordering them to "follow her rules"? Who the @#$% is she think she is? A leader?

She told them she can stay alive by herself alone so why they would follow her? It was clear that they won't be agree with her "rules".

Leo gazed at the punctured tires and was thinking about his questions in his mind. Who are they exactly? In this world being with a group is better than anything else. Why she is running from them and why the hell they are trying to be with her? It was just so ridiculous.

"what the hell is going on here??" he asked and he was waiting for their answers in a fizzing sound of the tires.

The number of that things was increasing in a second and they just were surrounded by deads and there was no way to escape anymore. The only option was to stay and fight but for how long? As Kibaro noticed their high number, he hesitated to waste any more bullet and save them for at least making an escape route if the fight was endless.

He saved the three magazines of bullet he had and took out his machete and started taking them down by slashes and swinging down the machete at their head. at least it was a relief they had a safe place to stay away from the crowd of deads and in the worst case, some people to die beside (was not sure about the new guy.) them and maybe a good reason to die for.

The three men were getting more tired moment by moment, machetes and knives getting duller. There was a sea of blood and corpse on the ground. The kibaro hands were red from blood and every limb of his body was in pain and all the faces were tired from the fight but the deads were still hungry. as they kept fighting, they saw a variety of deads. Some were too young to die and some were old as hell but they all had one goal and it was scary but not for him anymore.

As they were fighting like stupids with disappointment, they were ready for death. These walkers were the death himself and they were fighting it! It was the matter of time for them to die and well, you can't kill death. It was all the red-headed girl's fault. If they wouldn't attempt to fallow her or just leave at the first place they all would be safe or at least not less than that.

While fighting, kibaro was also looking around in hope to see the red-headed girl but saw something else instead. a little girl with bunny slippers? but what the hell is she doing out here? It was right above the big wracked trailer but why? He was looking for the red-headed girl but instead... He remembered he saw a kid travelling along with the red-headed girl there is no doubt it's her companion that's for sure because there will be no reason for this girl to be here.

At the same moment, he saw the little girl, continued fighting with some little more of surviving hope and maybe to see the red-headed girl. And he was right he finally managed to see the red hair girl with his giant rifle. He figured he should help her and in order to do he took one of his SMG magazines and the SMG to help and after a little bit of fighting, he realized something in the air. What was it? Well not sure but whatever it was it was making sound and distracting those @#$%ers out of here. So that was her plan. Kibaro found out he must stop shooting or just stop making any sound and let her do whatever she's planning. Even she was smart enough to avoid fighting such a crowd especially with that little girl following her but look at them what they did just to find her. There was nothing for them to help the plan to go better, they just waited around to see the result.

The girl plan was successful and well after some minutes like ten or less, there was nothing left of them except some blood and crops. The girl finally decided to show her face with her follower following her tail. Guess just saved their A@#.

The first thing she did was to make the car useless with eliminating the tiers. well, they didn't have enough gas to go anywhere with it not after chasing her in a long road, maybe for some miles but nothing more. and they also got rid of its noise for sure.

The girl was just complaining about the situation but it was all over and there was no need to mention why they were there. "well everything ok now. If you would've come with us in the first place, none of these would happen but you took them out'a here so we're even. he said to the red-headed girl.

the red-headed girl introduced herself and her little friend and asked their name. She was "Riley" and the other one name was "Serenity" and she said she's her little sister? odd to see but anyway he had to say his name so said with no feeling "name is kibaro" thanks to the id card he knew his name and not forgot that one.

Now that zombies are gone and the car is out of work looks like there should be no more problem hut no. There is just a new guy with them and it's insane. Without any think took out his machete and put it on the new guy throat. That was true he helped them with all of these but some of those things were also there because of him and it still was weird and hard to trust him so said kibaro "should we kill him? If we kill him here no one would found his body among these corpses and what if he want's our things?" since he said why don't we run with the car it was very likely to lead them toward his group (maybe) so again he asked "do you have a group? What is your plan?" and this time kibaro was serious about it and ready to kill him.

Voices are trying to kill Phill before dead ones do it, yeah, it's kinda stranger to get killed by noises in the head instead of a bite of a walker these days. He stopped working with his gun and continue hitting them in the head with his machete, which is going to be covered with their blood completely sooner or later.

After killing some of them he is trying to discover how long they can make it on the car because they are coming from every side, every d$%@ side, and there's no way out.

Phill is not spending the first situation like this, he got saved on worse days in his life maybe that's why he doesn't lose his hopes and continue fighting. Some minutes spent and he doesn't know if that's his own blood on his body or no. He doesn't know what he will see after that. Every one minute he checks that stranger boy to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, he has to fight if he wants to see the next day, it's the only choice.

A little girl came out of an old trailer, what? Who is she?...oh god. No....no...
Suddenly he holds with head with his left hand and on the other hand, he has his machete holding it, voices in his head are going to be louder and louder. People screaming and babies are crying, gunshots, people running from something, bad memories that he can't forget in his life, again are trying to ruin him, in that community...something like camp for survivors...Phill saw himself walking around dead bodies with no hope and bloody face, with a revolver in his hand.

Wakes up from memories and come back to the present, but he just tried to do it, he can't. He can't see another kid getting killed by those zombies, he really cant this time.

Tears are coming down from his eyes again as he stops fighting and looking at the girl trying to help someone inside.
She is that girl when he noticed her, he felt better a bit, maybe she is trying to keep that kid safe, but Phill thinks that kid won't make it too long out here. That's why he is sad.

Clears his tears as nobody can notice that, continue fighting them until he sees that smart plan from that girl with red hair, they are gone now, so he finally knows what he was waiting for. Help arrived.

Phill noticed her, she finally trying to be a friend. "Phill" told them his name for the first time, hopes its a good start.
After he saw that his Japanese friend is trying to make sure the new guy won't make a problem, he just placed his hand on kibaro's left shoulder to tell him to "Chill out".
However, he totally knows that it's possible if he try to rob them. So he gives it to the group to make a decision about him.

---

She may have been offering her assistance, but there was nothing ‘friendly’ about this short, angry girl. She was a little four letter word starting with C, and her disdain for all of them seeped in every little glare of her steely grey eyes.

”Nah. Don’waste ye’strength.” She grumbled resentfully, waving a dismissive hand at Kibaro as he suggested killing the new guy. ”’E ain’t tryn’a @#$% us over. He’ jus’ @#$%in’ stupid. AIn’t so different from the lo’ of ya’.” She added, casually calling Phill and Kibaro ‘stupid’ without batting an eye.

She really didn’t have any intention of making friends with these people.
”Lemme’ guess, you was in a ‘old-out group, it go’ overran, an’ you go’ away, tha’it? Yeah, tha’it. Know why?” She glared at all three of them. ”Cause out ‘ere, big groups don’t last. Big groups is big targets. They’s clumsy an’ slow, and folk’ get picked off one a’time ‘till they ain’t go’ nothin’ lef’. You @#$%heads should know that by now.”

Relentlessly insulting. Her white-hot anger was gone now, so she wasn’t even speaking out of rage. She meant everything she said, it seemed. How were they possibly going to put up with the little brat bossing them around? Especially being so small - a tiny little ball of anger, hate and fire.

”Who gott’ map. Gimme.” She demanded, holding out an impatiently waving hand and snatching it from whoever handed it over. ”Any’a you’s from ‘round ‘ere? NAh, f’get it. I’m prolly’ th’only one knows ‘ow’a read a @#$%in’ map.”

Stepping over to the car, she spread it out onto the hood, looking the whole Pacific coastline. Turning, she looked around briefly and found an overturned highway sign - BAKERSFIELD 5 MI. - and using that, was able to point to the city on the map. Either digging out or being handed a red marker, she circled it. ”We’s ‘ere. Few kilo’ southlike. Old Man, where’s this ‘safe place’ s’posta’ be?”

Assuming Phill pointed to the place on the map that was his final destination, she circled it as well. ”’At’s a long walk.” She muttered, frowning. Not that it mattered - surely these fools would be dead long before they got even close - then she could go find somewhere safe for her and Serenity to hold up and -

She was thinking too far ahead.

Focusing her thoughts, Riley hunched over the map after taking another paranoid glance around to make sure they were still in relative safety.

With her finger, she traced an invisible line straight from their position to the general area Phill had showed her. The shortest distance between two points was a straight line, so that might have seemed the best route, but RIles shook her head. ”This won’t work. ‘At’s all desert. We’d be toast ‘fore we even got through Death Valley.” Go figure, a national park with a name like that.

Next, she used her finger to trace another invisible line up the long, yellow path that stretched up along the length of California, almost up the middle. She dragged her finger all the way up, into Washington, then Canada, and around in an arc to the East from there. ”This’s the best way. Anywhere there was never’ lotta’ people, not alotta’ walkers. Highways are clogged, but fairly safe t’walk like. But we stay away from cities. ’Specially big ones.” SHe pointed to San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Portland, Seattle, and several others.

Next, she pointed to the length of their main road - Route 5 - between Bakersfield and the San Jose area. ”Now, th’ain’t much out ‘ere. Mostly cactus’n’@#$%. So we might - might be able t’find a ride once we get back to I-5 and take it in this area. But we get aroun’ ‘ere-” San Jose; ”We ditch the’car, and walk rest ‘the way.”

And lastly, she pointed from Bakersfield, directly west to where they would meet up with I-5. ”We’s goin’ ‘ere. We’ll camp out on th’way. Find a cave or somethin’. Any questions?”
She asked deliberately, in a tone of voice that said ’shut up and don’t ask questions you bumbling fools’.

Without giving the map back, Riley instead folded it up carefully and slipped it into one of her many pockets. Then, looking to the west in the direction they planned to go - it would be a trek through rivers and woods, skirting around a lake - she noticed something that caught her interest.

Just at the base of the off-ramp, there was a building that seemed to mark where the road ended and forest began. It was a shabby old outlet mall with a small, empty parking lot and four shops built in. Three of them - the sandwich shop, nail salon, and hair parlor - were of no interest. The fourth, however - the childrens’ clothing store - caught her eye. Glancing back to Serenity and her perfectly inappropriate[ attire, Riley hefted her pack and began walking down the ramp toward the little shop.

”But first, I got an errand t’run.”

it was obvious that he is the only stranger there. and it wasn't good. they're not gonna believe him. trustworthy is gone forever in that world. and it seems that they're very cautious guys. especially the redhead girl. he was thinking about their behavior when he tell them about the rest of his group members. and their plan to go Canada.

the walkers were almost gone. he was going to tell them about his group and Canada when he felt a bloody warm sharp thing on his throat. that was Asians machete. he knew this is gonna happen. seems they want to kill him for a little suspect. all he had done by now was to trust the others and for his bloody @#$% perfect chance, the trusted guys were the good guys. now he need them to trust him. maybe its simple for him to trust anyone he saw at the first moment but they are different from him and this is gonna be a little difficult.

a some kind of a depressed old American man with a long beard. but a good shooter. there is a hidden kindness in his eyes that can be appeared anytime. and Leo hopes kindness be appeared at this time!
an Asian young boy about 20. with white hair. Leo guesses that he can be from China or Korea or maybe Japan. he always had problem with distinction of far-east people. those people are same as each other in Leo's mind. but he thinks that the guy is from North Korea! he has a little strange acting but he's a good fighter and that's all this world needs.
the other one was a short redhead girl. a bloody crazy girl. acting very huffy like some dictators and also it seems she doesn't trust anyone and whatever you do for her you are an enemy for her! Leo expected to be suspicious by her not that Korean or whatever he is.
the last one was a kid. a little girl. when he looked at her he remembered his own group kids. he remembered their death.

what will happen to her? he was thinking to himself when he heard someone said big group.
yeah,
it was the dictator. she is making a story about Leo's group and pretending that she isn't agree with being with a group.
he was thinking she is saying a group won't last in this world and she wanna to make it to Canada by herself? oh, she is not alone. she has a protector. the little kid! how she is gonna get there and take care of her little sis alone? she told us to follow her because she is doing this for our safety?! No you idiot! she needs our help and she is just pretending that she can do it alone. or maybe she can do it alone. maybe she had a hard past or she just lost someone.
who knows.

he got drowned in his thoughts of having a group or not? follow her or look for his friends? and many questions like that. suddenly when he came to himself he got that he is one of them now! what about his friends? it's so @#$% obvious that the redhead wouldn't be agree to look for some bloody dead bodies. yes, she will call his friends dead bodies because she has no hope for them to be alive. and she doesn't care about them because she hates groups.but he couldn't leave his friends. they're all he had and he has(maybe).

he watched his fathers death in front of him. he watched his group being ruined by walkers and he did nothing to save one. he just ran. but not this time. he can never forgive himself for leaving them behind.
they were getting ready to go when he finally started:

"I'm not coming with you... . there are still some of my friends out there. somewhere close. they separated from us some minutes before the walkers attacked us. im gonna find them. they are good people. trust me... or... don't.
but they have many things, food water guns ammo. i don't wanna you to follow me. and i know you won't follow me. we were heading to Canada. all of us. and we know about that safe place. when i find them and im sure that i will find them im gonna catch you in the way. or at least i'll see you in Canada. i hope. ..."

he was going to look for them when he said

"ah... Riley ... you said the groups don't last, and they're targets. but ... look at us. you are making a group. i thought that you hate to be with a team. cause they're slow and ... whatever. maybe you say this is not a big group and not even a team, i can assure you that sooner or later there gonna be more members in the way. what everyone needs is a group. at least i know something about the advantages of group. im sure you will understand that. not today, not tomorrow, but a day will come that im gonna tell you i told you so... . hope to see you again. good luck!"

he started to go again but he returned one more time!!

"and ahh ... by the way ... i'm Leo!"

this time he started walking to the woods and he didn't know that he wanted them to come or not but a thing that he wanted was being with friends.

The small girl continues to watch the many people around her. She felt intimidated at first, but soon learned that Riley would protect her. She felt some comfort in that.

Serenity’s eyes trail the guns in their hands. The large weapons that makes an ear screeching sound. She didn’t like them but already they seemed like a new way of life. One she would have to adapt to from now on.

She continues to listen to their conversations, not feeling a need to contribute. She felt slightly dizzy, remembering those... zombies. They reminded her a lot of when her parents were attacked and eaten alive right before her eyes.

Serenity looks at the three people before her. She frowns, crossing her arms lightly. She didn’t like the arguing, it reminded her a lot of when her parents fought in the middle of the night.

She watched the way everyone looked at her. It was almost a sympathetic look, like they were feeling bad for her. She may be young, but she wasn’t stupid. She didn’t like feeling useless.

She watched the Leo character return to the woods. Serenity had traveled those woods. For sure now she knew that they would be infested with zombies.

((Could I join?