After the Apocalypse ☣ discussion

Andie crouched over the embers, her hands curled around the tiny flame as she blew air onto the twigs and debris trying to get the fire to start. After a few minutes of perseverance the fire finally took hold, licking over the fuel and branches they had collected. Nate was sat nearby, his arms wrapped around his legs as he stared at the fire.
"You okay kid?" Andie asked, sitting back on the ground by the tracks and leaning against the abandoned train carriage they currently slept in.
"Just hungry." Nate muttered, smoothing his filthy hair off his forehead.
"Here," Andie said quietly and handed over a packet of chips she's been saving in her bag. "Take em." She told him, wrapping her arms around her legs and taking a deep breath.
"Thanks." Nate said and ripped open the packet, crunching down on the food.
"Don't worry about it." Andie replied, "I was thinking of heading out and getting some more blankets and stuff, wanna tag along?"

At the sound of shuffling feet Wayfarer snapped out of sleep instantly. After the zombies took over... heavy sleepers died out pretty quickly. He slowly edged over to the hole in his "floor" that led to the subway tunnel below. Once his head was over the hole he cocked his ear downward and used the two, flat polished stones on either wrist to make a sharp CLACKING sound.

The sound reverberated throughout the tunnel, the echoes strengthening or weakening depending on what the sound waves encountered, their density and distance. All which painted a pretty clear picture in the pitch darkness for Wayfarer. Who hadn't even been BORN with eyes.

Two walkers. Approximately 6 meters away from his hidey hole. Moving slowly over the rubble.

Most of the time zombies didn't think much of his stones clacking together. It was too common a sound and often ignored, like now.

Heading in the direction of a homeless camp. Not good.... Sigh.

Wayfarer's hand reached out and unerringly found his quarterstaff. He silently lifted it from the wall bracket and stood on his haunches on the edge of the hole.

*CLACK*

5 meters. 1 meter spacing.

*CLACK*

3 meters. 1 meter spacing.

*CLACK*

First zombie nearly directly below.

*CLACK*

First walker passed.

Without so much as a whisper of sound Wayfarer dropped through 15 feet of air and landed directly between the two walkers, absorbing the impact with his legs like a compressing spring. His hands went up. Wrists crossed as they gripped the quarter staff. The walkers we're just starting to react to his impact on the tunnel floor. With a surge of sinewy, well trained muscled Wayfarer spun his staff, at neck level, directly over his crouched body. The knifes on either end of his staff made barely a whisper as their finely honed edges relieved each walker of it's own head.

Twins thuds sounded in the tunnel.

*CLACK*

Tunnels... clear.

Taking the rope and grapple out of his coast he threw it straight up to the waiting hook on ceiling of his hole. Grapple caught the hook immediately and Wayfarer scampered up like a monkey. Grapple and rope we're retrieved and replaced. Quarterstaff cleaned and replaced.

Wayfarer heaved a sigh and... went back to sleep.

Below the two walker corpses lay silently decomposing.. but they weren't alone. Several dozen of their brethren lay in moldering heaps close by. Just another reason the other inhabitants of the tunnels avoided Wayfarer's home. If zombies had any brains to speak of... they would have too.

Nate seemed to consider it for a moment as he chewed though the crisps.
"Is it okay if I stay here and keep watch?" He asked quietly and Andie gave him an assuring smile, reaching out to squeeze his arm.
"It's okay Nate, I'll go." She told him, standing up. "I'll be back in and hour, stay out of sight and if you hear anything put the fire out and hide in the carriage, comprende?" Andie asked tucking some loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear. Nate nodded and got to his feet, shaking out his clothes. He got into the carriage and sat down in the door way. "Good lad." Andie murmured and kissed him quickly on the forehead. "Stay safe."
"I will sis," Nate replied and Andie turned reluctantly away from their make shift camp. She ducked under the tarpaulin and climbed over the wires with tins attached that ran around the space. With a determined sigh she walked through the tunnels. She decided to detour, head a different way and see if she could scout out any new tunnels for them. The gun in the back of her jeans was a comfort to her as her feet made splashes in the puddles and the sound of her footsteps echoed through the tunnels.

Silent as a ghost, Wayfarer made his way through the tunnels. He didn't clack his stones though. He was familiar with this room. It was his foraging route, it lead to a collapsed in portion of cave where rats were plentiful and large fat mushrooms grew thickly. At the sound of footsteps, he froze. The sound was distinct. His own feet were thickly rapped in cloth and made no sound whatsoever.

*CLACK*

Nothing. Whomever or whatever it is, its not in direct line of sight to me. Sounds like boots in good repair. Surfacer?

Cautiously Wayfarer crept forward, towards the footsteps. The only sound he made, the occasional, innocuous sound of stones colliding...

Andie had been focusing on not tripping over her own feet when she heard the sound of movement down the tunnel. She froze, the hair on the back of her neck prickling and a chill running down her spine. Part of her wanted to call out hello but then it was likely to just be the sound of the place falling apart, either that or a walker. She took a deep breath and continued down the tunnel, it would be fine, she'd be okay. She had to be for Nathan's sake.

((FINE. Ffs. Women. So demanding. =_=))

The footsteps were quite loud now but another sound intruded as well. Nothing definite, just the sound of movement, ahead of the footsteps.

*CLACK*

Human. Female. Surfacer. he determined. The other sound he didn't know about yet. It wasnt in direct line of sight of him, so nothing echoed back. The situation was complicated so he decided to silently shadow the human female until things became clearer.

((Tehee :D))

Andie froze as she heard the sound again, she had a small flashlight in her bag and she hastily fumbled for the zip. Yanking it open she pulled out the small little cylinder and flicked the button a few times, "Come on, come on." She hissed, the bulb finally flared up and she shone it down the tunnel. Taking a few more steps forward she withdrew her gun and and crossed the torch hand over the gun hand, moving the light down the tunnel as she walked slowly forward.

Sigh. She's so damned loud. And that click. She must have turned on a light of some kind. Why didn't she just shout "IM HERE" to every undead within earshot...

Wayfarer didn't know what it was like at street level but surfacers almost never seemed to realize that light was BAD down here. It stood out more than a loud noise in the darkness of the tunnels.

Wayfarer tensed his muscles and waited to determine the consequences of the woman's actions...

Andie tried to ignore the fact that her hands were shaking as she continued down the tunnel. The water was still pooling around her ankles and she tried to push away thoughts of zombie rats or piranhas below the surface. She swallowed and swung the beam along the tunnel wall, it was grimy and it seemed she was heading away from the subway now. If it wasn't for the lack of any waste smell she would have thought she were in the sewers, but then the water seemed clean enough. She surmised she was probably near the water treatment plant but she couldn't be sure. Andie took a few more steps forward and froze as a low groan sounded in the darkness.
"Shit!" She squeaked, gun raised as the faces of several walkers appeared in the darkness. Andie tried not to panic as she fired blindly into the darkness, she managed to take out two, watching them go down but it appeared more were appearing by the second. Suddenly one of them raced towards her without warning, knocking her off her feet, teeth knashing infront of her face. She felt the warmth of spilling blood as it's claws cut into her arm and the smell of it's rancid breath on her face. Andie screamed and fired several rounds into the thing, kicking it off of her and stumbling to her feet. She checked her arm, just a scratch- and then she was running, blonde hair slick with water and grime, brown eyes wild as she stumbled through the tunnels, a hoard of very hungry zombies behind her.

((Waits for that Zac pretty boy to save her...?))

((Up to you, she don't need saving just yet, gonna throw her down a pipe and knock her out first..then he can come rescue her))

((Hmmm well Wayfarer isnt the type to NOT save her... and he IS watching... but I think I see a compromise.))

Shit...

Wayfarer thought sincerely as he rounded a corner, while following the woman, just as the loud bark of a pistol echoed into the tunnels. No need for his stones this time.

Holy God... that's a lot of Walkers...

He was about to run in and help her when the fading echoes of her gun showed him a group of zombies coming at her through a side tunnel. It was obvious she wasn't aware of them. The horde of walkers she was facing was fairly slow, however the ones coming at her from the side tunnel seemed to consist of nothing but chasers. They were moving quite quickly. He didn't know how she would do on her own against the small horde but she would have to find out. Those chasers had to be dealt with.

Quickly Wayferer tied his wrist stones to the middle of his staff so that they clacked every time he used it. Having done that he flashed silently off to the side tunnel, passing behind the woman by a mere meter without her noticing. The Chasers noticed. A steady amount of random clicks painted the scene in vivid detail for Kyle.



This is gonna be interesting.... he thought as he and the Chasers flashed silently towards one another.

Andie rounded a corner, skidding into the opposite wall, she pushed off if it, her feet pounding the concrete as she pushed herself fast through the maze of tunnels and pipes. Her breath wheezed out of her lungs and she could feel her heart beating like a hummingbird as her feet hit the damp earth. Andie's arms were burning with the effort and the scratch was stinging a little, not that she'd let that bother her. She raced on, taking a left followed by a sharp right turn. No matter how hard she tried though she couldn't seem to shake them, the blood on her arm was a big draw and she hastily tried to wipe it off to little avail. Hearing another undead moan she took off once again, her hair whipping around her as she splashed through the tunnels. She continued running until she was forced to stop, skidding to a halt as the pipe opened out onto a sickening drop towards a metal grate below.
"Shit, shit shit." Andie looked down, feeling the onset of vertigo. She turned quickly, the walkers were catching up closing in on her. Andie made her decision, she moved to the edge of the drop and swung down, getting her footing on the pipes that ran around the cylindrical wall, she could climb down it would be slow work but it was better than jumping and risking her neck or being eaten alive. Her numb fingers gripped the metal and she began her descent.

As Wayferer drew to within 4 meters of the lead Chaser he leaped straight into the air, knees drawn in and quarterstaff braced horizantally across his shins. Both he and the Chaser were moving at incredible speed so less than a second later the Chaser took the braced quarter staff directly to the forehead. A loud CRACK echoed against the walls of the tunnel as the zombie's head split like so much rotten cabbage. Gravity did its work as the Chaser toppled backward with great speed and Wayfarer landed on his knees astride the zombies head while his staff braced on his knees completely pulped the zombies head on the floor of the tunnel. His 6 foot long staff sticking out to either side tripped up two trailing zombies on either side and they went down with meaty thuds.

Wayfarer stood up in a rush and spun 180 sweeping a bladed end of staff in a blurred "U" shape directly downward to either side, neatly decapitating both fallen Chasers.

Three down... he thought as he turned back around to face the remaining 4.



The two on the right were almost directly infront of one another and Wayarer jabbed hard with his staff, like a spear, at head level and precisely impaled both through the forehead while taking a hopping step to his right to place his skewered victims between himself and the remaining two.

Then he wrenched his staff sideways in an incredible surge of strength and it exited both Chasers' heads through the side of their skulls.

Chasers were fast though and one of the remaining two lunged at his legs and managed to knock him backwards to the ground. He hit his head rather hard and felt a warm wetness at the back of his own skull. The Chaser's companion jumped over his downed friend and struck like a viper for Wayfarers head. If his stones hadn't clacked as he fell he never would have seen that whipcord strike. As it was he barely managed to wrench his head aside as both of the Chasers fists pounded into the ground beside it, putrid bits of flesh, stone and dust whipping into the air from the impact.

With an effort that almost tore his own shoulder out Wayfarer gripped his staff crosswise in his right hand and sent it plunging horizantally through the Chaser on top of him, right into his ribs, while also twisting his staff downwards. As the bladed edge blasted out the other side of the Chasers ribs it stabbed through the skull of the zomb on his legs, pinning it to the floor. Right between his legs.

.... fuck. Close one. he thought as he felt the edge whisper against his loin cloth.

That thought passed quickly though as he rolled aside, leaving the remaining zombie pinned through the chest and to the floor snarling and snapping at him from a distance of 3 feet.

Slowly Wayferer picked himself up. Brushed off the dust and found a conveniently large stone by feel off the floor. 2 seconds later the last Chaser was twitching on the floor with a sizeable chunk of masonry denting his forehead.

Well... THAT was exciting... lets go see if our Surfacer is still alive... he thought mordantly as he retrieved his staff and went clacking up the tunnel back the way he'd come....

Andie picked her way over the metal piping, being careful not to lose her footing. The metal was cold, grimy and somewhat slippery beneath her fingers as she edged her way carefully downwards. She was still a good distance up though and the ground seemed to be very far away. Dammit, stupid fear of heights she thought bitterly, climbing down another pipe. She took a breath and focused her attention on getting to the next pipe, it was little further away than the others and would require her to support herself with one hand so she could reach it. Andie took a breath and threw herself to the side, catching the pipe between her hands and sighing as she did so. It was only then that she heard the sound of groaning metal, shrieking in protest as it began to buckle beneath her weight. Scrabbling to get a foothold on the brickwork below she felt it come away from the wall so she was hanging precariously from the pipe still dangerously high up. Cold, stagnant water splashed over her face and arms and she kicked upwards in an attempt to tighten her grip. Her fingers were slipping though, cold, numb and unable to hold on. It was like slow motion for her, one moment she had a good solid grip on the bar and the next she was falling, the air rushing past her ears as she fell backwards towards the metal below. She heard her own impact on the grate before she felt it. The pain was unimaginable, a dull ache that spread throughout her entire body before it became fall blown agony. Her breath wheezed out of her lungs and unable to move her head she could only look up, see the height from which she had fallen and feel the warmth of blood on her temple as a greyness washed over her and she drifted into unconsciousness.

((Nice.))

Wayfarer passed the point where he originally had left the Surfacer.

CLACK, CLACK, CLACK

There were signs of a fight and a couple of of Walker bodies lying about. He found a patch of warm wetness too.

I hope she wasn't bitten... he thought with a shiver. He didn't like having to put down other humans.

Regardless he was just starting to continue in the direction she'd headed when he picked up a vibration. Freezing, he gently laid his hand on the tunnel wall. He felt something crash, metal it sounded like, further up the maze of tunnels.

Damn... he thought as he shot off like a arrow towards the sound of disaster.

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He'd been wandering the tunnels for almost a year. He thought. He didn't know his name. He didn't know where he was from. He didn't even know where he WAS except it the obvious fact that it was some kind of service and way tunnel system. He KNEW he wasn't human though, one look at the giant calcified clubs he had for hands and fingers told him that. He KNEW he craved humans... in a very basic sense. For food. The hunger was intense and spiked whenever he got so much as a whiff of live human. As far as he could tell all of the others like him, the rotting, shuffling, moaning mass of undead, were basically just animals. They couldn't think. They couldn't feel. So on top of knowing for a fact that he was a monster, he was also extremely alone. He couldn't conceive of a human who wouldn't run from him or try to kill him.

And the dead don't age, do they? I get an eternity of this... he thought and sighed at the familiar idea.

Today he was wandering a new section of tunnel. He didn't explore often. He didnt WANT to be in the tunnels. When he'd first became aware of himself he'd tried to make it to the surface. It had been day time and the sun had hit him like a sledge hammer in the face. He felt all his strength drain away and almost passed out right there, in the middle of the street. So the tunnels was where he was staying. Forever.

He noticed some undead here or there in the tunnels. Mostly walkers, a single screamer and 2 crawlers. They ignored him. He ignored them. He was just about to sit down and stare into the darkness for a couple hours or possibly DAYS when a loud CRASH sounded around the bend.

Zombies were slow moving and not particular bright. They didnt generally disturb things down here. He knew it must be a human. The other zombs around him perked up at the sound and started in the direction it came from. They knew it must be a human too.

He was suddenly TIRED of being the undead. The flesh craving bad guy.

"Fuck it!" he snarled in the dark and, being a Chaser himself, flashed passed the slowly convening horde to try to help some strange human he didn't even know.

Heres hoping he or she doesnt try to kill me before they figure out I'm on their side.

((Elle you wanna make Andie come to and be pinned to the grate? or should I just get on with the epic fight?))

((I don't mind, I might just have her wake up later haha...great writing btw :D ))

((Alright! On with my fight then!))

In no time at all he was at a break in wall into some kind cylindrical chamber. There was a human on the floor. Trapped beneath some heavy metal piping. An extremely attractive FEMALE human. The thought gave him an odd feeling just below his gut.

Glad to see I'm not ENTIRELY dead... he thought philosophically.

Looking up he noticed a mass of walkers looking down and making hungry noises. Zombies didn't have much of an instinct for self preservation so he knew that any second they'd start plummeting down the shaft to get at the fresh meat. He himself was barely restraining his hunger as the strong smell of warm flesh blasted his undead nostrils.

No dammit! he growled at his undead body. To his surprise his attraction to the female was actually helping. He had a firm grip on the hunger and he put his back to the human to check the progress of the horde who'd followed him up to the breach. There were about 5 walkers, with the chaser he'd noticed and the two crawlers were way behind, bringing up the rear.

Fan-fucking-tastic... he thought.

He couldnt hold them off on two fronts....

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Wayfarer followed the sounds of hungry zombies through the maze of tunnels and finally down a large pipe.

Clack. Clack clack. he quested gently.

There was a gap in the floor. She'd obviously fallen down it somehow. Even as he watched walkers began falling through empty space after her. He had no time to waste. Running at his fastest he ran straight for the group of Walkers, about 3 feet from them he veered sideways, up the rounded side of the pipe and used his own momentum to run part way up the wall and somersault right over the group and into the gaping hole....

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Just as he was giving up all hope of saving the female a firm THUD sounded behind him. He twisted around and saw an eerie sight. Two walkers picking themselves up, or trying to. Their legs had disintegrated with the impact. Before he could react though something even stranger dropped down from above. A man. Young. Covered in a tattered cloak. With a very long staff in his hands, bladed on each end. He had obviously just dropped down from above, he was absorbing the recoil like some kind of taut human spring. He glanced up....

That's at LEAST 30 feet... he thought giving a silent whistle. No time for that though. The odds had just increased quite a bit. He only had to fight on one front now and he moved into the leading chaser without a second thought...

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Wayfarer landed with a wince. The drop was greater than he'd thought. No harm done though, his legs and feet would be sore later though. Two walkers were already at the bottom, barely able to stand but the space was small and they were right next to the Surfacer, she was pinned and unconscious.

Two quick thrusts sent the two undead into oblivion and Wayfarer took a quick second to assess his surroundings.

CLACK CLACK

Circular chamber. One wall compromised. Exits into adjacent tunnel system. He could hear sounds coming from there. More undead he thought... until some meaty thudding registered.

Someones fighting them... he thought. Which was all he needed to know just then. 4 seconds had passed since he landed and he looked up just as the remaining 6 walkers above plummeted down in unison....

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He took the Chaser low. He knew, being a Chaser himself, that they were pretty tough customers. It was unlikely he'd take him out in one blow. The best move would to be take away its speed. A slow Chaser was a dead Chaser. When they were about 2 feet apart he leaned down and swung both of his macelike hands in a sweeping arc infront of him. Which not only took the Chaser's legs out from under him it took them clean off at the knee. Dead flesh and sockets of cartiledge splashing against the tunnel wall.

If brainless zombies could look surprised, the Chaser would have looked downright SHOCKED. He was a non threat to other zombies. Just another thing like them. The walkers a bit behind the unfortunate chaser paused for a second while he drove both hands into the back of the fallen Chasers skull. Obviously their primitive brains were reevalutating. Their conclusion? Threat. They rushed him en masse....

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What do you do when a wall of undead flesh is about to land on you like a planet?

You get the fuck out of the way. Wayfarer thought, answering his own question. Nimble as a cat he cartwheeled staight up against the side of the chamber. The sound of 6 decomposing bodies slamming to earth was something Wayfarer hoped he'd never EVER remember if he got out of this alive.

3 of the six Walkers had braced the fall of the three remaining. They got up straight away as the bottom three struggled to move at all. They'd obviously noticed him because he was their first target.

The chamber was pretty small so he couldnt get the finesses out of his staff he usually enjoyed.

Brute force it is. he thought.

He speared the middle of the trio right below his ribcage and pushed him to the right, effectively knocking two of them over. The unimpaired zombie came straight in. Using his speared walker as leverage he leaped in the air with both feet and pounded the attacking zomb, with both heels, directly in the pelvis. His lower half just melted. What was a walker, was now a crawler. The other two were still pinned against a wall and Wayfarer quickly pulled his staff out and used the flat of his blade to pulp their skulls against the metal. A quick step forward and he drove his heel through the newly made crawlers head. The remaining three walkers were up and about to chow down on some unconscious Surfacer. He as too far away to get there in time... so on a wild gamble he twirled his staff over head and let fly... a 6 foot long scythe of whirling metal decapitated two as it flew though the air and cracked into the back of the skull of the third, smearing said skull in half. He quickly retrieved his staff, still dazed by how well that had worked and went clacking to the other tunnel where he could still hear fighting.

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One sentient Chaser vs 5 dumbass walkers.

No finesse required. he quipped to himself as he waded directly into them. Fists flying. Flesh pulping. He was bitten several times, nips really, which didnt really matter at all. They didnt seem to like the taste of him. It was over in 2 mins. The crawlers in the back must have been smarter than your average zombie... they were beating a hasty retreat. Having eliminated the threat he turned around and dashed back into the chamber... just as the robed stranger was coming out.

He froze, as did the stranger who was emitting an odd clacking sound. Then that deadly staff came up in an overhead whirl, bladed end swinging for his throat.

"WAIT!"

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Before Wayfarer reached the adjacent tunnel all sounds of fighting ceased. A moment later a Chaser came storming through and Wayfarer barely recovered from his shock, but recover he did and swiftly made a bid to decapitate it... that is until it spoke. Shock washed through him.... he'd never heard of a talking zombie.

They were both perfectly still. Wayfarers blade was half an inch into the flesh of the things neck.

"You're dead." was all he could think to say....

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"Ya... well... you're blind." he responded.

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What... the fuck...

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What... the fuck...

The first thing that Andie was aware of was that fact that everything hurt, everything if that could have been possible. She wanted to open her eyes but the notion of doing so was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. Her lips parted slightly and she made something of a gasping sound, her breath seemed to rattle in her throat and she felt as if something was bearing down on her chest. It wasn't of course, there was nothing there but there was definitely something pinning down her right leg. Cold, metallic and downright heavy. Wake-up, wake-up she willed herself. It was strange, she could hear everything around her but nothing seemed to make sense. Am I dead? She wondered suddenly, wait no that can't be right.

Wayfarer heard the Surfacer gasp but he couldnt pull his eyes away from the Chaser. He didn't know what to do. Every instinct he had said he should just kill this thing and be done... but he'd spoken... and those sounds of fighting...

"... back up..." he ordered it.

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He didn't know what to do. The guy was obviously death on two legs, one quick look around the chamber told him that. All he could do was obey, so he slowly walked backwards until they were in the tunnel he'd just fought in...

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A quick glance down the tunnel told him everything he needed to know. This... thing, had just protected that Surfacer. The corpse of a chaser and several walkers were moldering away on the floor.

"What the fuck are you? Why did you fight them?" he asked softly.

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"I don't KNOW what 'the fuck' I am." he said despairingly.

"All I know is that I'm tired of being a fucking monster!" he nearly screamed.

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Wayfarer flinched at that yell. He held so much pain in it that he knew it was true. He thought quickly.

"Are you in control of yourself?" he asked.

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He actually took a minute to think about that. To his surprise, he was. He still wanted to eat both the humans, but it was more of a plaintive thought in the back of his mind than it was an overriding compulsion.

"Completely." he answered deadpan.

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Wayfarer thought about that. He sounded completely confident. He risked a quick glance back at the surfacer. She was injured. Possibly badly and that piping wasnt helping as it slowly crushed her. He couldn't lift it himself. He made a decision. He lowered his staff.

"Will you help me?" he said, pointing his staff at the woman.

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"You're goddamn right I will!" he said fiercely and together, one sentient chaser who hated what he was and a lonely hermit who didnt trust ANYTHING, not human, not zombie... bent over a helpless woman and tried to save her life...

Andie tried to move her head to the side, someone was yelling. She wasn't sure if it was just her but it seemed really really loud. Andie winced away from the noise and tried to distinguish between the two voices. It was difficult, they sounded the same when they came off the walls. She felt sick, Andie could feel her head spinning even without her eyes open and it felt like the grey fog was going to take over any second.

Together, Wayfarer and the Chaser, easily lifted the mass of metal off the Surfacer. It was obvious she wasn't completely out but her eyes were still shut.

As soon as they'd heaved the mess off her Wayfarer bent to check her.

For a blind guy he could "see" remarkably well but he still cut and bruised himself on a regular basis in the dangerous tunnels. He always carried first aid inside his robe. He was forced to use nearly all of it on the woman. There was a plethora of cuts and scrapes and a fairly serious head wound. He was a little worried about the long angry scratch too... it looked like it was from a zombie. There weren't any fluids or anything around it though and he judged she'd probably avoided infection.

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She's more beautiful than I thought... he thought as the robed stranger bent over the woman, administering bandages and disinfectant.

"I-Is... is she alright?" he asked neverously. The sight of the blood had spiked his hunger a little, but he was still in control.

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Flicking his eyes briefly at the Chaser Wayfarer said...

"I don't know. It looks mostly superficial. The head would is fairly serious but not life threatening. I'm worried about this scratch though, she might be infected."

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"No she's not." he said automatically.

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Wayfarer's gaze sharpened and he swung his gaze as back to the Chaser.

"How do you know?" he asked curiously.

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"I.... don't know." he said almost confusedly.

"I can just... tell."

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"Hmmm... well aside from that I dont know. We'll know more when she wakes up and tries to move. Ma'am?" he called gently to her.

"Can you hear me?"

Wow, that was loud Andie thought as someone's voice sounded nearby. Nate? No it wasn't Nate? Where was Nate? She swallowed and the fog seemed to lift a little, blinking wearily she slowly opened her eyes. Andie's vision was still a little cloudy and she gave her head a gentle shake as her vision cleared. Had she been standing and actually able to feel her legs the sight would have been enough to make her knees buckle. A zombie leering over her, pale eyes, corpse like skin. She let out a retching sound and tried to back away, only to recoil and wince as she realised that hurt a lot and she was going to be sick. Andie could feel her heart threatening to burst from her chest, she looked quickly from side to side and then up towards the gaping whole in the ceiling where she had fallen through. "Nate? Where's Nate?" She asked, turning to the human form beside her.

Wayfarer and the Chaser shared a look.

"Don't try to move to quickly. There were no other humans nearby when I.... when WE, saved you. Does anything feel broken?"

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He instantly felt shame and disgust with himself well up as the woman immediately recoiled from him. Still. This is the first time he'd had any really human contact in a year. He stepped a little father away from her and said...

"I won't hurt you. I promise."

Andie took a deep breath and tried to think clearly for a moment, his question seemed far away and distant. She looked down at herself and gently got into a sitting position. Andie stretched her arms out and flexed her fingers, everything felt okay it just hurt, an awful lot. She shook her head and instantly regretted.
"I don't think so, everything feels intact." She murmured, looking up at the guy. Andie flinched as she heard the zombie talk and she actually gaped at him. "Holy fuck it talks, why does it talk?"

He flinched and backed up even more, looking down at his feet.

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Wayfarer noted the Chaser's reaction and felt an unexpected surge of sympathy.

"That 'it' just saved your life. How about a thank you?" he said in a cold voice.

Andie opened her mouth and then closed it again, pushing her damp hair away from her face and peering up at the zombie boy. "T-thank you." She murmured, moving into sitting position and peering at the chaos of bodies around the space. "You two did this?" She muttered and then glanced up, "How far did I fall from?"

"I estimate about 20 feet. You're lucky you didn't break anything. And I did this. His handiwork is in the adjacent tunnel. It was pretty impressive." Wayfarer said.

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If he hadn't been undead he would have blushed. It wasn't THAT impressive. He'd just smashed them all til they stopped moving.

"You're welcome." he told her slightly embarrassed.

"Who is 'Nate'? I don't scent any other warmbloods nearby."

Andie looked at the undead boy, really looked at him. He wasn't as cut up as some of the others were, it was the eyes that gave it away though. She swallowed and looked down at her feet before looking up at him once again. "My brother, he's only fifteen." She replied in a hoarse whisper.

He felt an absurd defensive instinct right away.

"15? Where is he? Nearby?" he said straightaway, crouching and looking up.

What the hell... why am I suddenly wanting to PROTECT humans... 20 mins ago I wanted to eat them...

He was very confused. He didn't know what was happening to him.

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Wayfarer noticed the sudden alarm in the Chaser's voice and his brow twitched.

Seriously, what the fuck is this guy?

Andie's attention was drawn to the zombie boy, she shook her head.
"He'll be okay, he can look after himself. I just need to know that he didn't follow me down here." She said quietly, unsure about letting a zombie go off and retrieve her brother. "He'd probably blow you to pieces with a shotgun anyway." Andie muttered, carefully getting to her feet.

"Yes... that would be bad. I've already had one close call today." he said flicking his eyes to Wayfarer. Who then made a sounded that almost sounded like a chuckle...

"Who are you two anyways? Your names I mean. What do I call you?"

Andie brushed her hands on her jeans and looked between the two of them, "My names Andrea but everyone calls me Andie." She shrugged and looked awkwardly up at the ceiling.

"I go by Wayfarer."

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"I.... I don't have a name. At least I cant remember it..." he said embarrassed once more....


((Feel free to name him something off the cuff.))

"That's uh, interesting." She murmured and nodded as the guy in the blindfold told her his name. Andie looked to zombie boy and frowned ever so slightly, "You don't even remember what it begins with?"


((maybe later on, I feel like she should know him better first?))

"I dont remember anything before.... before I was this... this THING." he said disgustedly.

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"This is all very interesting," Wayfarer said "and its nice to meet you both but if you're well enough to walk I'd be happy to escort you back to your brother."

He cocked an eyebrow at the Chaser.

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"I'll come along too. The tunnels are dangerous for humans."

Andie nodded. "Okay," She went on, looking towards the tunnel that led out of the chamber, "I'm pretty sure it's this way." Andie murmured, taking a step towards the entranceway. "Shall we?" She asked wearily.

Both the unnamed ((wench)) Chaser and Wayfarer followed her out. Wayfarer clacking away at intervals and the Chaser silent as the grave....

((she'll get round to it))

It didn't take the three of them long to get back to the camp, they managed to avoid anymore zombies on the way back. Maybe it was because they had the zombie boy with them, maybe it kept them away. Andie contemplated this as they approached the carriage. The fire was low on the tracks and Andie could see the outline of Nathan sat in the doorway. "Would you two mind waiting here? Just for the moment, so I can talk to him quickly?" She asked.

"I have no desire to frighten him. Please do."

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"It seems safe enough here. No need to introduce me." Wayfarer said straight out.

"It passed time I got home. Please be more careful in the tunnels. Its very dangerous down here." and with that he went clacking off into the darkness... but not very far.

He was extremely curious about this sentient Chaser. He thought some stealthy observation might be wise...

Andie nodded, "Very well." She murmured, heading into the carriage. Andie grinned at Nate's expression and pulled him into a hug. "Hey kiddo, sorry I took so long."
"Are you alright?" He asked, looking up at her.
"Fine, fine..umm there's someone I want you to meet." Andie said and clambered out of the carriage, gesturing for the zombie to come over. "Nate this is....uh this is Daniel?" She tried, unsure if it worked out not. Andie shrugged and looked between the two of them. Nate looked murderous.

"Daniel is as good as anything I can think of." he said, then noting the expression on the kids face he held up his deformed hands and said...

"Woah Kid, take it easy. I'm a good guy..."

Nate scowled at his sister, giving Daniel a weary look before vanishing into the carriage. "Nate?" Andie called after him, "Uh, sorry about him, he's very anti-zombie." She muttered and flopped down onto the blankets next to the carriage, she leant back against it and looked at the diminishing embers.

Daniel didn't know what to say. This was too much. A year alone. A year in which his only "friends" were a bunch of mindless zombies. Now... humans. Several humans. And he was changing somehow. He was becoming more human himself. His hunger was quickly fading into a mere annoyance. He felt protective of the woman. He couldn't go back to being alone. He couldn't. He'd rather die. Permanently this time.

"I... I don't now how to say this... Andie. But... I've been alone for so long. I... don't want to leave. If you ask me to I will. But I'm good in a fight. I can sense both warmbloods and other undead. I'm not useless. You can use me. Can I.... can I stay?" he finished lamely.

Andie looked up at him and wrapped her arms around her legs, "I guess it would be okay..." She shrugged and frowned at the opposite wall for a moment, trying to work out the arrangement in her head. "I just need to know that I can trust you, if you so much raise a hand to Nate I won't hesitate to shoot you between the eyes." Andie told him matter of factly before gesturing to the seat beside her. "Sit down Daniel, please."

"I totally understand." he said as he sat.

"I'd rather die than be alone again. I don't know whats happening to me lately but Im feeling more human by the minute. I have zero desire to harm Nate or yourself. If I can be of use in anyway just let me know. I just dont want to be... alone. Thats it." he finished.

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Despite himself Wayfarer sympathized with... Daniel. He'd been alone a long time. A very long time...

Andie nodded, and rested her chin on top of her arms. "Well that's good to know." She murmured softly, rummaging in her bag and pulling out a packet of dried fruit. Andie placed a piece in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully, looking at him. "What do you eat?" She asked all of a sudden.