The Awakened and the DEAD

[Lex'Talionis]

? ? ? | R Y O K U

Tattered, limp, unhinged lay the home's front door. Such a marvelous reflection was its entrance to its overall state of being. Thirsty for the alluring plum lurking somewhere inside, motionless corpses donning rotting skin soused in merciless cauterization could be found ostensibly attempting to claw their way further into the house's depths. Something brought them to an immediate halt, ceased their actions swiftly. Scorched and melted was the refrigerator, contents spilled upon the kitchen floor. Meats were consumed, portions of bone left to share company with discarded condiments.

Upstairs did a pup anxiously nap. Fatigued, he could hardly help it; though, he awoke swiftly enough following the vivid, mental image of mall ripe with flame and abruptly, the screeching face of death that belonged to one of Them. It stirred him out of his slumber, the thought being permanently if he could help it. Eventually, this creature's anxiety would lead him downstairs to pace about. A glance towards the window resulted in the intact, translucent surface beckoning him to peer past it. He did so, though not entirely easy was it to remain in the position he was by utilizing the ledges as footholds.

Catching sight of a familiar face resulted in him tumbling backwards in embarrassment, oddly enough.

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

2 Hours Ago

Mei's brow was knitted downwards, her eyes squeezed shut as though she were trying to juice the agony from her brain. Yet it was impossible. In her comatose state she would have to endure whatever she was going through until it ended. But where was she? Where could she be confined for six months without the heed of 'Them'?

There is a large explosion and it rattles throughout the area. Its origins seemed to be some sort of plane of unknown affiliation. The exact area it had hit was unknown. The force was potent enough to sap the strength away from the bed's springs and legs and cause her and it to plummet unexpectedly towards the ground. Her eyes crack open immediately.

She starts with a deep breath. Pushing herself up and plastering to the wall to her rear. Her golden eyes sweep around her vicinity only to find that the darkness wasn't there contrary to being there. She looks around with bald confusion as her fingernails rake at the paint peeling off of the wall. She pulls out the tubes and needles stuck in her and feels over herself to check if anything else was on her. She had questions, for this place apparently wasn't familiar to her, but she seemingly had better ones.

She looked out the window to see the areas apocalyptic state.

“I woke up from a nightmare... To another nightmare?”

She begins to walk around, holding onto her sides.

“But why was that one so fickle? Why were my bullets so slow? Why were there so many rapists? Why did I have cat ears? Why was everyone so stupid? What was the purpose of a makeshift Medusa rip off with uncharacteristic powers? Ugh!”

Her flustered expression begins a little more serious. “I can see perfectly. What happened to me?” She hears a sudden crashing noise somewhere upstairs. As she tensed up she then knew that this was the basement. Her lips played into a frown as she slowly made her way up the stairs.

The first thing she seen was a quadrapedal monster tearing of the skin of another being with its teeth. It was eating another human. The house was filled by sounds of tearing, gurgling, and growls. She trains her eyes on the monstrosity with immense shock in her eyes only to find out that she could visually fixate her eyes on it and zoom up. This caused her ability to see in the dark to disperse, thus she quickly stopped.

Scooting up the stairs she sees an old fashioned sniper rifle laying on the floor. It was bloodied and looked like it was recently used. Crawling over she picks it up; the model was lightweight and she could identify it as a Mosin-Nagant. She looks sharply through the scope and kneels down as she aims towards the creature's mutilated head. Upon squeezing the trigger the bullet is spit from the chamber and through the cylindrical body of the firearm. It strikes the skull and cleanly goes all the way through, killing it instantly.

- - -

“What a filthy state state the world's in.” Her fingers pry at the window of this tattered house. “It makes me sick.” She says apathetically as she turns and resorts to getting in through the unhinged door. As she walks in she mutters many things under her breath as she nonchalantly steps over corpses. Her fierce eyes differed little from what they usually were like. Then she spots a dog that had a peculiar reaction when she walked in. Her grave expression lightens a little as she smiles slightly disarmingly. “A dog? In hell-on-earth?” She becomes bitter once again. “The only species that deserves this are humans, anyway.” Petting the canine with a now extremely contemptuous and bitter expression was now the most odd thing about her.

[Lex'Talionis]

? ? ? | R Y O K U

The world found itself within an endless duration of sodomy. Beauty was fleeting, evanescing at a quicker pace than a bladder could rid piss. Such emotion was sullied simply by contacting the planet's very air. His fall was quickly accompanied by an effort to place himself upright. He found himself peppered with self-directed words, eventually finding himself beneath an affectionate hand of a familiar face. Wrong this was. He had to say something, though heavy was a looming anxiety. He knew this girl from school. Only her was it he liked. Everybody else could die for all he cared and apparently, that was exactly what had happened. "Mei...it's me, Damon. What happened to you? You disappeared. I thought you were dead like most of everybody is..."

Damon Pranger; juvenile tumor of disorder. Unbalanced, abusive to animals. An outcast. He spoke in a manner rather alien. Newfound balance?

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

She reels back a little when she hears that it was Damon before her. It would have been much harder to believe given that the world were in normal circumstances. For now, she seems to cope with the abnormalities of a talking dog. Her eyes narrow with confusion as she spun her attention to her side. “I don't know. I'm not sure how long I've been out for, I just woke up two hours ago.” She shrugs her shoulders. “The last thing I remember is being hit by... something.” She derives from her apparently scrambled memories. She looks back towards Damon and elevates a single brow. “What happened to you?” After a pregnant pause she asked.

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

A blink born of surprise ensued following Mei’s response. Hit by something? Just woke up two hours ago? Though, her question posed just as relevant, just as necessary. The topic shifted from her to him and little he could do about that. A glance retreated to his own body, then back to her. Would truth be skewed? No doubt, especially to who he was speaking to. “Raphael went batshit for no reason and bit me,” he admitted, assumedly talking about his dog. “After that, I felt this overwhelming pain. Almost blacked out. That’s when I started to change…” The story was impossible to believe even with the world as it was. Reanimated bodies were one thing, but this? “It took everything I had afterwards to stop this…maelstrom inside my head and more to not lose my sanity after I saw myself!” He raised a paw. “Now look at me…” A subtle smile was detectable, though it was not apparent as to why it had surfaced. Humour was amazingly found in this development, but for those with knowledge of this ill-fated child, it might be relatively easy to bare witness to the justice that was, in this instance, irony.

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

At this point Mei was looking towards Damon as if he had nine heads. That meant the degree of oddness she was looking at him was enhanced than the normal nine heads because it was like looking at nine, crimson dog heads. Her head had sloped to the side as she knelt there before the canine. Her eyelids flicker several times in broad blinks as she wipes her hand vertically down her face. Her expression seems to become weary.

“Was the dog radioactive?” Her humour was about as dry as tanned leather. She rises to her feet and walks over to the window she'd tried to get open before. “So what you're saying is that an animal bit you and then you metamorphosed into a puppy.” Her voice didn't imply it was a question due to the sparse emotion put into it. There was a fair amount of disbelief, though.

“I guess it's not too farfetched. I'm personally under the notion I was bit months ago, woke up from a comatose state, and developed supernatural abilities as a side dish.” Her memories would at least allow her to recognize that the trauma caused to her had been the result of a bite.

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

His bestial visage was rather sombre when bearing her verbal response. The situation made it difficult to determine whether jest was at play or not. Her words implied disbelief, but expected it was; an understatement for such a reply was the only one feasible by the sane. Though, the dismissal of his sincerity weighed rather heavy upon him, especially as she implied what he expected her to believe was far too much. Shortly afterwards, however, implications of believe emerged; though, to call them mere implications is yet another understatement. Bitten as well? That past surprise overtook him again and clearly, he was enticed by each word she spoke. Supernatural abilities? His response to her was stalled, crippled by the spawning of fearful hesitation.

“I think…” he began. “I have those, too.” His eyes darted sideward, pained by the ridiculousness of it all. Abruptly, the mood shifted as he returned his sights upon her. “But it’s cool, ain’t it? Pretty bad trade off, but c’mon…Watch this!” He drew a breath and exhaled, expulsion rip with a modest stream of flame. “I breathe fuckin’ fire! FIRE!!” A grand, impish smile had been equipped. Suddenly, that old persona of his was all-too anxious to bleed into his words. “Gets me hot every time I do it!”

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

Her eyes had been trained well on the canine before her. They had been curious and the pupil seemed to be dilated slightly and was reflecting off light like a racket would a tennis ball. When she seen the fire so abruptly it was like seeing a computer monitor after sitting in the dark for thirty minutes. She hisses in pain but doesn't make any verbal outburst as she attempts to halt the progress of the sudden light by twining her fingers in front of her face like a vampire would versus sunlight. After her small episode she looks at the remnants of the conflagration and realizes she had stepped away from it after having been startled to some degree.

“I forgot to turn night vision off. It really augments light that hits the retina.” Her eyes accustomed to it respectively now so she wouldn't be victim of pseudo blindness anymore. The abruptness was probably what made seeing bright light stiletto her in the eyes. It appeared that she didn't even have to elaboarate directly on her powers because inadvertently, she just did. “So these feel like natural abilities... and not things that require extensive training?”

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

The majority of her rearward retreat was missed for his attention rested solely upon the flame he had expelled before turning sideward. Though, returning it to her showed that his abrupt outburst was not something she was prepared for. Inadvertently, she had revealed exactly what she had been bestowed with. It was that ability’s mention that prevented an appropriate reply to the pain he had apparently been responsible for delivering. “Night Vision?!” the canine echoed in excitement. “I got that too! And just like you said, natural. No trainin’, just…easy to discover. Just noticed somethin’ different about my eyes. Well…” He thought for a moment, apparently, eyes retreating to their respective corners as he allowed his gaze to stagnate upon a portion of lonely floor. “I was colour-blind and had pretty shitty sight, actually…until I got pissed off about it, then it changed. I also got pissed about not bein’ able t’ open the fridge. Then it bust into flames. Maybe y’ just need t’ get mad—Oh, by the way…Mei? Would y’ mind callin’ me…” Another period of mulling, though brief, followed. “Ryoku instead? I don’t want whoever’s left knowin’ about this. Also, don’t wanna explain it anymore…”

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

Mei seemed to be in some pretty deep thought until his words had penetrated the small mental barricade. To be specific, the ones that had asked her to call him by a pseudonym rather than the one she knew him by. Her reaction would be a brief nod.

“Sure, Ryoku.” She would say. Her word doesn't go lonely for too long. “Well I'm always angry. Maybe that's why this is always on. Apparently my powers don't include spontaneous combustion.” She glares towards the fridge like it had been responsible for shooting her pet cat. She seems to crane her head back after a while and her eyes are stricken with naked surprise.

“It just zooms up far, like a camera or telescope. When I concentrate, I can almost see the fridge's atoms. It's like the abilities are meant to supplement my abilities, because...” She gestures towards the large rifle on her back. “This is the only thing I know how to use, and these powers conveniently aid the use of it.” She taps her lip. “I wonder if my parents are dead.” She asks nonchalantly.

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

A subtle jolt rinsed him though, introducing the beginnings of a severely watered-down double take. Sure, the details of her powers were intriguing, but spouting something of that magnitude with such indifference was hardly expected. “You…wouldn’t be bothered if they were?” Ryoku asked cautiously for no doubt was he treading dangerous ground. Vexed he did not want to make the girl he favoured; though, concerns of that nature were endued in vain. Just look at him!

“I dunno where mine is,” he somewhat lamentably admitted. “Treated me like shit, called me a fuck up…wanted’em dead.” Could words transcend saturation of knavery of such a degree? His gaze rose along with his drooping head, ostensibly dismissing the past subject all together. Doubtlessly, continuation would have resulted in physical fracture, loss of whereabouts within a bedimmed sea of crushing sorrow. “I dunno what t’ do, but I don’t wanna stay here. They’re gonna get me eventually if I do.” He paused. “I keep seein’ Mic Mac when I sleep. Why?” The question seemed to not be directed at Mei, but himself.

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

Her hand would position on top of Ryoku's head with a faint but good to allay her previous hazardous demeanour. “While I was comatose I was dreaming and the scenario made me sick.” The white haired girl would say as she looked squarely ahead of her with her aureate eyes.

“Everything was the opposite. Bullets went slow and every woman seemed to be bisexual. My family was dead but oddly was resurrected by a rat named Mosquito. My point is, in this dream my family was humble. Apparently my Dad even gave me an old school revolver. In reality, I only care about my Sister. They expect far too much of me to the point where if I had gotten an eighty instead of a high ninety I would be punished as though it were a crime.” After her story she elevates to her standing position once again. She shakes her head with indifference though a blank expression in her pale gold eyes that looked slightly sombre. The memories practically cascaded through her burnished irises. Despite her apathy she was but a window to her emotions.

“We'll go there, then.” She decides. “To Mic Mac. Were you there recently?”

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

He would come to know the weight of her hand once more. Degrading? No, the display of philia was apparently appreciated. Though, he simply, though subtly allowed his head it sink humbly with the added weight. From there, Ryoku’s attention clung to the dream Mei was describing. The idea of all woman being bisexual was interesting to say the least, but the pacing of the story hardly allowed for him to stagnant his thoughts upon that petty detail. Even so, he possessed no comforting words to say, but doubtful was the idea that Mei was seeking any.

A destination had been decided. With him? The pleased, though impish flare his expression exhibited appeared mirrored by the inadvertent, side-to-side swish of his tail. He had to repeat the notion to be sure. It was certainly a first for someone to willing travel with him; or rather, with the likes of him. “No, wasn’t there for a while, but…with me? You sure? You remember who I am, right?” He eyed her suspiciously.

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

With her finger she softly taps her forehead. She didn't look so good; it was as though she had a migraine. A pain of course comparable to a rock being stuck in the skull. Her brow becomes distinct and folds slightly unerneath the weight of her abrupt agony. “I have...fragments of my memory here and there.” Her words are apparently doubtful. “The trauma must have messed with my head.” Torture's grasp began to loosen on her tightly knit brow as she apparently got over the pain.

“You're Damon Pranger. I recall malicious, ironic rumours. Perhaps they were true, but ever since the media started shoving rumours down my throat I've started believing them less.” It was easy to tell that she was experiencing some degree of amnesia from the trauma she'd received before. It only made how this all was apparently aroused from a simple bite all the more enigmatic.

“I need to stock up on some more bullets, anyway. This thing is low on them.” Previously she had counted how many she had available and it was a low numeral.

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

Ryoku’s head drifted in miniscule retreat as signs of numbing anguish appeared. Fragmented memory? She drew from the remaining pieces his name before highlighting his defining flavours, though evidently not without summoning forth tremendous ache. Better it would likely be if he were to prevent himself from provoking her from traveling down memory lane in the future. His efforts did quell his concerns, though, so her own were not without purpose. Little weight did it bare, but turning an eye to their surroundings, why would such details matter?

“Okay, but how do we get there?” asked the pup of fiery paints.

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

“I'm not too sure.” She admits with a light sigh. “I have limited knowledge of how to drive a car, but if there's none nearby that work, it looks like we'll have to travel by foot.” She takes out a bullet from her pocket. It was thus declared that was where she'd been storing them; the ones that hadn't been deposited into the gun's bullet chamber yet. She glares at it with remarkable hostility.

“This little ammunition won't get me anywhere.” It was that moment that the when she dropped the bullet back into her pocket she only loosely noticed that five, when she only took out one, had descended from her palm. Alerted, she takes the rounds out by the handful. “What the hell?” She keeps her eyes trained on the metal cartridges as she continues to pull them from her pocket like soup with a serving spoon.

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

“We have one,” Ryoku replied. “It’s in the garage. Keys are on the ledge over there.” Convenience was surely relieving, though wasted was the vehicle to this point. Certainly, he was unable to drive it in his current state. His words trickled into the duration Mei spent playing with the ammunition she had stored in her pockets, though her surprise alerted Ryoku that something was amiss. Eventually, the amount of bullets she was extracting transcended what was possible. “It’s…” he stuttered. “Just like Sarutobi’s technique, Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. It’s like we’re livin’ in an anime!” Nonsensical would his ramblings be to most. “There’s nothing to can’t do is there, Mei? I guess there’s nothin’ stoppin’ us now!” He scampered over to the entrance to the garage. "Let’s get goin’!”

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

Mei takes in a monolithic breath as she processes this within her mind. “O-Okay.” She utters as she walks over to the garage entrance with those eyes now broad with shock. Conveniently the garage door itself would already be open, if not her actions would be deterred. Her eyes are aimed at the car. She looks at her hands nonchalantly as she continues her way over.

Those hands are placed idly on the car. Out in front of the garage door another car of the exact same appearance would descend presumably from above and slam against the ground. She used her ability to replicate matter to create another vehicle for transportation. She did not, however, clone the set of keys. She coughs heavily as a bead of sweat rolls down her forehead. Mei was notably barefoot considering two hours ago she hadn't much on besides what a hospital patient would be wearing.

“We essentially have an unlimited supply of cars.” She opens up the door and then the back door, standing outside to await for the crimson canine to get in. “Although larger objects take more effort to clone. I assume there's a limit to the size of items I can replicate.”

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

His strides led him to the rickety car. He stopped to turn to face Mei who doubtlessly followed within his wake. Great interest had seemingly been pooled within her hands. Understandable for a blend of will and touch could result in the duplication of, at the very least, ammunition for her gun. Funny how he had yet to question why or how she came to possess such a weapon. Though, the sudden development of a dozen or so powers appeared a lot more distressing.

Fleshy mittens pressed against the car itself before the soundings of the descent of something heavy and housed in metal became rather apparent. Whatever had happened did so outside of the garage. Ryoku was a tad too short to see, so he exited from whence he entered swiftly, soon finding himself looking upon a copy of the car housed inside. “Holy shit…” was all he could push forth before noticing a collection of ever-decomposing bodies moving towards the recently spawned vehicle. From wide to narrow, his eyes darted from each rapidly, each bathed in a coat of cauterizing flame as his gaze discarded them to move elsewhere.

“If we’re goin’, we better get goin’ now,” Ryoku said with his head partially turned towards the innards of the house. The aimless wander of many-a-body suddenly did not become so aimless, though still did they require time to reach the car as the pace they were going.

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

Her nose crumples underneath the bite of the rotting stench the undead bodies carried. Mei appeared to display displeasure specifically in her eyes as she looked towards the essentially filthy, degraded and mutilated corpses. She takes the sniper rifle off of her back and makes sure it's in range of access as she would make her way towards the car.

Promptly she would open the driver seat's door with nimble use of her other hand that holstered the key. She needed not to open the passenger door or the back for Ryoku could easily get into the vehicle's interior by leaping in through her side. By this time the keys would be driven into the ignition. Her eyes flicker across her pale scelera as she attempts to locate the many different things inside the car. Fortunately the recently spawned automobile was facing the road; she wouldn't have to back up to decelerate their transportation time anymore.

The door closes with a thunderous kiss. She hits the leverage near the steering wheel and the windshield wipers come to life. “Shit.” She curses as she turns them off. Her coordination of things in here was little to none and it showed. A little bit frantic she simply slams the slightly scraped skin of her barefoot into the gas pedal after the leverage thing to her side onto D, which she figured meant drive, and began to speed through the horde, splashing thick blood across her windshield as if she were going through a carwash.

“What? You don't like that?!”

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

A sprint and a leap placed him within the driver’s seat and one more led him to the passenger’s. Fleet did his eye light upon the seat he had just discarded in anticipation for Mei taking her place within it. She did, and soon would they find themselves mobile. Thumps accompanied the dead’s travels overtop the vehicle’s front and roof. Ryoku’s expression had become grave, ire-tinged as he placed his best effort in keeping an eye on the situation. There was enough space where the rearward windshield was for him to station himself there. Of course, many decided to try their hand at pursuing them. A few of them would burst into flame, fall, and result in many trialing behind them to trip over them. Though, that was the last of what he had at that moment, evident with the heavy breaths he had begun to take.

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

Mei's progress was fleet, excessively so. The engine continued to roar with gasoline gurgling vigor as she finally passed through the flock of Them. Signs of metallic carnage plagued the roads and with difficulty she would elude the inactive vehicles to the best of her ability. She was now wordless for her jaw had been locked, her teeth gritting as though she were about to chew through steel. Her eyes are fixated on the road and the road only for her driving expertise had been limited. It appeared today is when she would endure her driver's license test.

She barely notices that she'd run straight into an odd type of creature. It was a woman, scarcely dressed, and with large claws. This female monster was clawing at the windshield and making it difficult for Mei to see. "Get. OFF!" She flicks the windshield wipers on with agitates the cadaver's grip on the car. She turns the wheel hard and causes the car to become horizontol in the road. The siren is then smashed off the car's front as Mei strafes by an opposingly vertical car that was in the road. She steers once again and gets back on track.

She withdraws her phone from her pocket and begins to configure it. "GPS... GPS..."

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

What energy was available congregated to assure the canine had a steadfast grasp of his position as the car’s integrity was tested to its limit. This pulled his attention towards the frontward windshield. Grotesque and disturbing as it was, it provoked little but a readied glower from the transfigured pup. Fortunately, his help wasn’t needed. Already had Mei tossed it off with some impressive driving. A quick study no doubt. While she worked at configuring her phone, Ryoku remained where he was. His gaze thirsted for something and quick enough he was to discover it as Mei continued to speed down the road. A great portion of focus resulted in a quickly-retreating truck parked on the road’s side to be practically infused with fire. With sight of this, he was free to sink into a position of repose as he gathered himself from his pyrokinetic practices. As he did, it erupted into a skyward-stretching pillar of billowing smoke and flame. Some of the infected were caught in its blast radius, others were pulled into a duration of confusion and simplistic intrigue.

[Devil]

M E I | I S A Y A M A

The abrupt explosion rattles throughout the interior of the car and successfully manages to have the same effect on her bones. She looks shaken as she peers towards the smoldering corpse of the truck that had been idling on the road. Whilst the undead were gawking at the synthetic destruction she would compromise and run over the ones that were not expecting to become roadkill as she engraved the pattern of her car's tires into their faces. She takes periodic glances from her phone and to the road. "We're in... Lucasville? We just were anyway. If it weren't for this GPS I'd have no idea how to get to Mic Mac from here." She vigilantly continues to operate the car as she aggressively darts down the road. She sees a turn up ahead and swerves a little before she got to the stopsign since she did not intend on stopping and then turning. The strafe is managed and she continues down the new road she was on.

[Lex'Talionis]

R Y O K U

Somewhat lethargic had his movements become. With that, he decided to start to carve a path back to the passenger’s seat. Moving towards that goal was done during periods where the car wasn’t swerving. He parked himself there, recalled past shouts cast upon him to buckle his seatbelt. He had the mind to make an attempt before realizing he was unable to and, for the first time ever, it was his decision for few was present and willing to enforce such laws. Fruitless it would be in these times. Mei’s words went unanswered and both would likely enter into a timeless duration of silence. Perhaps fifteen seconds? Suddenly, and calmly, Ryoku spoke, though kept his nigh sightless gaze ahead, ever-still loitering at the dashboard.

“Zombie apocalypse,” Ryoku stated simply. “It’s like some kinda sick joke. This really can’t be happening.” But it was. “All those stupid jokes about being prepared for the zombie apocalypse…can we even call Them that?”

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